James Wentz: Gene Henry Had Business Sense

W. Gene Henry of Martinsburg has passed away. I interviewed him in 1997 for a personality profile and to respectfully ask about the source of his wealth.

Henry made news that year by buying his former high school building. It is not many people who can claim to own their former seat of secondary learning, perhaps Gary Stern in the Brownstone building qualifies, but it is unusual that someone will buy a former classroom property.He bought the former Martinsburg High School, commonly called the Benson Building, for civic reasons. He presented the property, free and clear, to the borough of Martinsburg for whatever purpose it wants to make of the site.

"I expect," Henry said, "that the building may be torn down and the land used to construct some new facility."

It was, and became the town's administrative and police building.

Buying the Benson building turned out to be an expensive undertaking. It was formerly owned by Larry Milby, who paid $30,101.97 for the Spring Cove School District facility in 1992. Milby first intended to open a business building and assembling model automobiles. When that venture was stymied, and with later failure to pay federal income tax, the property was taken by the Internal Revenue Service and offered for a closed-bid auction. The minimum bid had to be $11,202.16. Henry and two other potential buyers submitted envelopes.

"I took three bids to the auction – one low, one medium and one high," he recalls.

He ultimately decided to submit the high bid of more than $30,000, when actually his low bid (in the $15-20,000 range) would have gained the property.

"I hate closed-bid auctions," he sighed.

Then the interview turned to the source of his wealth, of which he was very open.

Another auction, this one open, hotly competitive and public, was one of the reasons for Henry's prosperity and financial ability to help his community. He and Martinsburg-area resident Roger Smith had been co-partners in local mobile home court development. They decided that single proprietorship was desirable, and agreed to auction off their property – at which time both bid for sole ownership. Henry's bid of almost $1 million won the day. He wisely expanded and increased his business interests, controlling about 280 mobile home spots alone.

Henry showed entrepreneurial enterprise even as a high school student by acquiring his first antique car, a 1926 Model T Ford, which significantly appreciated. After his 1950 graduation from Martinsburg High, where he played center on the school's basketball team, he obtained college degrees and embarked on a career in education. He retired in 1980, at which time he devoted himself to business ventures.

"I owned some waterside property at Raystown that was sold for $40,000," he remembered. "With that stake, I began investing in property."

From that beginning he successfully increased his holdings, earning millions.

A bachelor, Mr. Henry made other contributions to the welfare of the Martinsburg area and contributed to more civic improvements. The only visible evidence of his generosity is a plaque at the borough building.

Editor's Note: James Wentz is a Cove historian and former Herald columnist.