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Wild and Wonderful in West Virginia
August 05, 2009
When driving through the gorgeous mountains and valleys of the West Virginia countryside, one may realize that the state is truly “Wild and Wonderful.” This was the thought of Paul O’Gorek on his first visit to the Mountain State. Paul first encountered the majestic beauty of West Virginia when traveling as a member of the University of Pittsburgh basketball team as they ventured to Morgantown to play the Mountaineers. He said, “The first time I saw the mountains, I fell in love with West Virginia.”
Paul O’Gorek grew up in Indiana where he fell in love with his high school sweetheart, Sandra. After Paul completed his education, the couple moved to Circleville, West Virginia in Pendleton Country. Here Paul served as the pastor at the Presbyterian Church for ten years and raised their three children, Sarah, Sam and Joe. In 1994, the O’Goreks found a home in Harrisonburg, Virginia where Paul now resides and serves as Chaplin at the Sunnyside Presbyterian Retirement Community. Sunnyside houses 650 residents and provides services at all levels from independent retirement to health care. Sandy works as a physical therapist with Jim Wampler and Associates in Harrisonburg.
In 2003, the O’Goreks wanted to find a place to enjoy and share the serenity of West Virginia with others. They found and purchased an 80 acre property near Sugar Grove, West Virginia. To fulfill Paul’s passion for fishing and the outdoors, he constructed two ponds on his property and stocked them with four different species of trout: rainbow, brook, golden and brown. In the spring of 2005, while being a faithful steward of his land, Paul suffered the loss of his right leg as a result of a tractor accident. However, he persevered and continued to work toward his dream of creating a mountain hideaway.
Toward the end of the same year, they purchased the house that stood on their property with the hopes it would complete their mountain escape. Once the renovation of the house began, they discovered the original logs of the house and chose to preserve them. Several rooms in the house are lined with barn wood from Paul’s family barn that was disassembled in Indiana. Paul and Sandy have transformed the house into a cozy, country home and said that the completion of their house is “a dream-come-true.”
Wanting to share their peaceful abode with others, they began to bring residents from the Sunnyside Retirement Community over the mountain to West Virginia. Paul and Sandy provide the visitors with wonderful hospitality and take them to the ponds to fish. Paul stated, “It is really satisfying to give folks an opportunity to do something that they thoroughly enjoy.” The O’Goreks have hosted over one hundred visitors in 2008.
“Farm Credit has made our dream a reality.”
Paul stated, “Farm Credit has made our dream a reality. Their competitive loan features have made it possible for us to enjoy our home in West Virginia. I appreciate the positive attitude of our loan officer, Greg Mitchell, and all of the Farm Credit employees. They are wonderful people to deal with.”
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