This story begins 16 years ago1, early in the morning on October 30. Janice and Melias Kramer, and their year-old daughter Andrea were on vacation in the Allegheny Mountains, near the border of Virginia and West Virginia.
Driving on a back road, a drunk driver sped out of nowhere. In the accident, Janice and Melias Kramer died, probably upon impact. Andrea survived miraculously unscathed, and was sent to her Aunt Flora Little, her mother’s sister in California.
At least, that’s what the records—newspaper and otherwise, say. Records also exist, however, which state that a certain Melias Kramer bought some land in the Allegheny chain—land including the area where the accident occurred—16 years ago, the transaction concluding on November 4. This Melias Kramer bought, from the government, a 10 kilometer square region, for the amazingly low price of $1,000.
Today, according to the records, Andrea Kramer still lives in California. Her aunt, thrifty in other ways, hired tutors to give her daughter an education. She receives a monthly money order from the United States government for $542.32. The United States government has no records of sending such a stipend.
Andrea turned 17 on May 21. She received her driver’s license a year ago, and has registered in her name a 1964 Buick LeSabre station wagon. Since she started driving, Andrea has received only one bad mark—a parking violation. A parking violation in the city of White Sulphur Springs, in the state of West Virginia.
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