By William “Skip” Deegans
Shown is a 1941 photo of Dr. Louise McNeil Pease, who was born Louise McNeil in 1911 on a farm in Buckeye, Pocahontas County.
Her father, George Douglas McNeil, was an educator and author, and Pease declared at an early age of 16 she wanted to become a poet. After graduating from high school she taught in Pocahontas County schools before attending Concord College where she received a degree in English. For graduate school she attended Miami University and studied at Middlebury College and the University of Iowa. She received a doctorate in history from West Virginia University.
Pease sold poems to the Saturday Evening Post for $5 a line. Her first book of poems was “Mountain White,” published in 1931. Her poetry appeared in Harpers, Atlantic Monthly, Saturday Review, and Good Housekeeping. In 1939, she published “Gauley Mountain,” one of her best known books, and married Dr. Roger Pease, an agricultural economist. After hearing Pease read her poetry in Huntington in 1964, Jesse Stuart, the famed Kentucky author, wrote, “Girl, there’s genius in you – you have power. You are a first class poet.” Throughout her writing career, Pease taught at Concord College, Fairmont State College, Potomac State College and West Virginia University.
Pease received many accolades for her poetry. West Virginia Governor Jay Rockefeller appointed her state poet laureate in 1977, and she retained that position until her death in 1993. In 1985, The Charleston Gazette named her West Virginian of The Year. West Virginia University added her to the Academy of Distinguished Alumni in 1989.
Pease was no stranger to Greenbrier County. As a young girl, she showed sheep at the Greenbrier County Fair, and she and her husband moved to Lewisburg in 1977.
Photo: Courtesy of the West Virginia University Regional History Center.
Sources: West Virginia University Library, New York Times, Beckley Post-Herald, The WV Encyclopedia.
