By Liz Beavers, Mineral News and Tribune
KEYSER, W.Va. — A Mineral County resident would like to see Keyser and Mineral County honor the man who created “Frosty the Snowman,” and he thinks the side of a county building is the perfect place.
Attorney Roy Hardy appeared before the Mineral County Commission July 23 to ask permission to pursue the placement of a mural honoring Walter E. “Jack” Rollins on the side of the Community Corrections building located at the intersection of North Main and Armstrong streets.
Rollins, who lived in Keyser at one point and is buried in Queen’s Point-Meadow Point Cemetery, wrote the lyrics to the classics “Frosty the Snowman,” “Here Comes Peter Cottontail,” and “Smokey Bear.”
“His family lived on the second floor of what is now the Nelson Michael office,” Hardy said, noting that even after he moved away, “he came back to Keyser a lot.”
Roy noted that a lot of small towns with a similar connection to cultural history use that connection to bring in tourists.
