Garbart shares walk scenes on social media
KINGWOOD — Jill Garbart likes to walk.
While she walks around Kingwood, she takes photos and makes videos to share with her followers on Facebook and YouTube.
“Walking makes me feel better,” Garbart said. “I started taking pictures and posting them. I thought the people who moved away would like them.”
She was right.
Garbart said many of the people who follow her posts are from out of town.
She said the posts and videos bring back memories of when they lived in Kingwood.
“Our walk this morning, stopped by the Catholic church statue ‘Priests Who Served the Catholic Church in Kingwood WV.’ Then we walked through the neighborhood behind Save-a-Lot to see Preston Memorial Hospital with Preston High School close by. Then down to see the 911 center. It was a very quiet walk down the lane, peaceful with a great mountain view. Cell tower located below that,” Garbart wrote about one of her treks.
“That’s the walk my girls take with Grandma when we’re home.” Laura Rosier Bissett commented on social media.
“I enjoy your morning walks, and I don’t have to get out of bed. Thank you,” Debbie Helms Taylor wrote on Facebook.
On her walks, Garbart often reports finding change.
“This morning’s walk. One penny. Statue on Court House lawn. Mural on Child’s Feed. Old Schwab building. Wesbanco flowers. Main Street Kingwood sign. View from Springhill Drive. Church on McDonald Street. Beautiful morning for a walk,” she wrote.
Garbart said she is saving the found coins in a jar she painted.
“I’m going to give it to my grandchildren one day and let them sort it,” she said. “Some people find four leaf clovers — I find change.”
This walk, like all the others, was enjoyed by Garbart’s fans.
“Your walks keep me connected to the good things in life. And to many of the good people of my hometown,” David McCrum wrote.
Garbart said she has always enjoyed walking.
“You see a lot when you walk different times of the day,” she said. “Different times of the day bring out different people.”
She said she doesn’t always walk alone. Sometimes her daughter-in-law or her husband join her on her adventures.
Garbart said most of the people who follow her on Facebook and YouTube once lived in the Kingwood area.
“I think they enjoy the pictures and videos. They bring back memories,” she said.
Garbart said one of her favorite posts was about the buckeye tree she photographed.
“A lot of people commented about picking up buckeyes,” she said. “One person said they remembered stringing them into a necklace when they were younger.”
For Garbart, sharing Kingwood is also preserving its history.
“It will let people know what it is like now,” she said.
“Enjoyed these along with all your walks. Hope to be back visiting Kingwood if we have a class reunion next July. Sure miss the buckwheat cakes and ‘young’ friends,” Glenn Schaeffer posted.
“I hope you will be able to visit with your class and your friends soon. I miss the way things used to be,” Garbart replied.
You can find Jill Garbart’s walks at www.facebook.com/jill.garbart/posts/3548791338486779.
Or go on YouTube at Jill Garbart Studio, where you can take a virtual ride around town in a 1939 Chevrolet pickup and see the historic bank building, Prime Thyme Restaurant and more.
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