Utterback Family Fund

The Utterback Family Fund supports the restoration of the historic Cottrill Opera House in Thomas, West Virginia, with future consideration for the Mountaintop Library after restoration is complete.

TYPE OF FUND: Designated

DATE ESTABLISHED: 1999

PURPOSE: To provide an annual donation to Alpine Heritage Preservation, Inc., for the restoration of the Cottrill Opera House in Thomas, WV. After restoration of the Opera House is complete, the Directors of TCF may use the funds for the Mt. Top Library, Thomas, WV.

DISTRIBUTION: Upon the recommendation of the Grants Committee, and approval of the Board of Directors of TCF.

VARIANCE POWER: If, in the judgment of the TCF Board of Directors, the restrictions and conditions of the fund become unnecessary, incapable of fulfillment or inconsistent with the charitable needs of the community, the TCF Board of Directors maintains the right to modify the terms of this fund.

FUNDING: Initial donation of $5,000.00 from Harry K. and Phyllis H. Utterback.

BACKGROUND: This fund memorializes the Utterback family, residents of Coketon, WV near the turn of the century. Harry Cunningham Utterback, father of the donor, was born in 1904 and graduated from Thomas High School in 1922. Mortimer N. Utterback, father of Harry C., is pictured in the book Thomas, West Virginia, 1906. Harry C. is the namesake of two men also pictured in the history: Harry Nethkin and William Cunningham, both close friends of his father. By the late 1920s, the Utterbacks had moved to Cumberland, MD, where they remained until their deaths, but they maintained strong ties to the Thomas area, instilling in their descendants a love for the West Virginia Highlands.