In 1957, the official elf of the Mountain State Forest Festival was sketched by Arnold Schultz of the U.S. Forest Service. The image of the elf painting a maple leaf was used in all advertisements for the MSFF, but remained nameless for a number in years.

A ‘Name the Elf’ contest was opened up in 1969 to elementary school students, and MSFF officials received more than 1,000 entries. But one suggestion was everyone’s favorite — Woodly the Elf — submitted by Christina Hensil Storrick. The MSFF program for that year said Hensil reasoned in childlike simplicity, and she chose that name because, “When she thinks of the Forest Festival, I think of the woods, so I named the elf ‘Woodly.'”

Storrick, who is a school counselor at North Elementary and Coalton Elementary schools in Elkins, said she remembers enlisting the help of her mom with the ‘Name the Elf’ Contest. At the time, Storrick was a student at Third Ward Elementary School.

“I remember going home and talking to my mom about it,” she said. “We brainstormed ideas, and we thought it was about the forest and woods, so I asked her ‘what about Woodly?'”

Jaime Sue McGee Cupp served as the first Mountain State Forest Festival Woodly the Elf in 1969. At that time, she was in sixth grade at St. Brendan’s Catholic School in Elkins, and she was appointed to the position. Today, students in grades three, four and five submit a poster of Woodly the Elf enjoying Mountain State Forest Festival events, and the winner of the contest gets the honor of portraying Woodly.

She said she thought that made a lot of sense, and it all came together.

“I wrote my idea down on a piece of paper and it won,” she said.

But Storrick said she did not remember thinking it would be good enough to win.

“I was in second grade, and I worked on my answer, and then I moved on,” she said. “You know how kids are in second grade. They think about it for a few minutes and think it’s good and move on. But I honestly did not think later my idea would win. Five seconds after we came up with the idea and put it to paper, I was back outside playing and running around.”

Storrick’s prize for naming Woodly was a $25 savings bond.

Jaime Sue McGee Cupp talks with West Virginia Gov. Arch A. Moore Jr. during the 1969 Mountain State Forest Festival.

With a new name for the elf, Mountain State Forest Festival officials decided to debut a new character to the minor court. Jaime Sue McGee Cupp was appointed to serve as the first Woodly the Elf in 1969.

“My mom, Lorrayne McGee, made my costume that first year,” Cupp said. “She took boots and covered them with orange velvet.”

Cupp was in sixth grade at St. Brendan Catholic School when she was appointed Woodly the Elf by former Festival volunteer Mary Hartman.

“I was very excited to serve as Woodly,” Cupp said. “I enjoyed tumbling down the hill during the coronation, and I remember performing upstairs at my school in the cafeteria.”

Cupp said as Woodly, she enjoyed the Festival.

Jaime Sue McGee Cupp’s mother, Lorrayne McGee, made her costume, including orange, velvet-covered boots.

“I enjoy everything I do with the festival,” Cupp said. “It’s an exciting week for little kids and everyone. I am one of the people who really love the festival. I lived away from Elkins after I grew up, but I always came back for the Festival. Sometimes, I missed Thanksgiving or Christmas, but I always came back for the festival.”

Cupp said she was proud to have been the first ‘Elf of the Bunch.’

The following year, Storrick was appointed to be the second Woodly the Elf.

“My grandmother, Mabel Hensil, did sewing for the MSFF,” she said. “When I was Woodly, I remember grandma designed my costume in her head. She made the outfit, and I remember going to her house and having her try on the outfit and modifying it. I remember always thinking it was pretty awesome that my grandmother designed it and made it.”

Storrick said her Woodly costume was green with brown tights.

“My grandmother molded the velvet around a pair of tennis shoes so you could not see the tennis shoes. She made the toe curl up and then on the end on the toe, she attached a gold and brown pompom. When she made the hat, it went over to one side. It was solid green to match,” she said.

Storrick said the costume was solid colors with no embellishments.

“My grandmother said when you are using velvet, the beauty is in the fabric itself. She said you don’t have to put a lot on it, because the beauty is in the fabric,” she said.

During the festival, Storrick said she remembers riding the train and visiting all of the schools in the county. She said she enjoyed walking down Davis & Elkins College hill during the Coronation and riding through the Grand Feature Parade.

“When I was Woodly, I was only in third grade. I remember my parents worrying about the weather, because I wore that costume all week.”

All in all, Storrick said she really had fun being Woodly.

“My grandmother made me a little dress with the leftover velvet,” she said.

Storrick said then-local photographer Joseph Singleton took her Woodly picture.

“He took all of my pictures. I remember sitting there when he took my Woodly picture. He told me to keep my back straight, and it was fun to work with him,” she said.

But Storrick said the best part of Woodly lies in something different.

“I remember spending time with my grandmother as she designed the costume,” she said. “I remember the time with Joseph Singleton as he took my picture and spending time with my parents. It makes me think of the people and interacting with them rather than actually being Woodly. That is what sticks out the most in my mind — the people more than the events.”

Storrick said she thinks her grandmother had it right.

“She said you have to appreciate the beauty in the fabric, and you don’t have to add a lot to something when the beauty is in the fabric,” she said. “That speaks to a lot of things. At the Mountain State Forest Festival, the beauty is in the leaves of the trees and the beautiful fall day and people getting together. That is what is cool, and it never changes.”