B. BLAINE FOX, SR. Self-made men, men who have achieved success because of their personal qualities, always command the
admiration and respect of those who know them. The world today needs men of action and accomplishment, who
are not afraid to risk their all on the strength of their faith and judgment. Among the business men of Charleroi
who have succeeded in the face of discouraging conditions, simply by force of their own energy and vitality, the
subject of this sketch is entitled to specific mention.B. Blaine Fox, Sr., was born at Newberne, West Virginia, on the 12th of July, 1884, and is the son
of I. M. and Alice M. (Ballentine) Fox, the former of whom is a retired farmer, a member of the Methodist
Protestant church and a republican in politics. He is the son of Benjamin and Rhue (Hinzman) Fox, the former of
whom was of English descent, followed the vocation of farming, gave his political support to the republican party
and died at Weston, West Virginia, in 1886. The subject's mother is the daughter of John and Mary (Nichols)
Ballentine. Her father, who died at Ripley, West Virginia, in 1924, was a veteran of the Civil war and was a
member of the Methodist Protestant church.B. Blaine Fox attended the public schools of Newberne and then took a course in the Mountain State Business College at Parkersburg, West Virginia. Following this he became a clerk in the freight department of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1903, when he returned home and worked on his father's farm for two years, at the end of which time he obtained a position as warehouse man for the Burnsville Grocery Company, Burnsville, West Virginia. On August 1, 1906, he was promoted to the position of traveling salesman for that company, continuing on the road until November 1, 1907, when he became a salesman for the Pugh & Beavers Grocery Company, of Elkins, West Virginia. At the end of a year he became manager for that company, continuing in that capacity until 1917, when he came to Charleroi and organized the Fox Grocery Company, of which he is treasurer and manager. He has devoted himself very closely to the promotion of the interests of this enterprise, in which he has met with a very gratifying measure of success, the Fox company now being numbered among the substantial and successful concerns of this city. The company has a branch house at Uniontown, Pennsylvania, which likewise is under the supervision of Mr. Fox. He is also interested in other institutions of this locality, being president of the Community Savings & Loan Company, and of the Quality Oil & Gas Company, both of Charleroi, Pennsylvania. The latter company also operates a branch at Uniontown, where they do an extensive wholesale oil and gasoline business. Mr. Fox is a man of progressive tendencies, courageous and determined in carrying out his well formed plans, and whose business judgment is considered sound and reliable.
Politically Mr. Fox is an earnest supporter of the republican party and takes a commendable interest in all public affairs affecting in any way the prosperity and welfare of this community. Fraternally he is a member of
the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and
the Knights Templar degree of the York Rite. He is also a member of Charleroi Lodge No. 494, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and belongs to the Charleroi Rotary Club, the Nemacolin Country Club and the Monongahela Valley Country Club. He is a member and liberal supporter of the Methodist Episcopal church of Charleroi. He is a genial and interesting companion, is fond of the society of his friends and throughout the circles in which he moves is held in very high regard.On June 9, 1909, at Elkins, West Virginia, Mr. Fox was married to Miss Alice Leona Bosworth, who was born at Chester, Pennsylvania, June 2, 1889, the daughter of C. C. Bosworth, who is division superintendent for the West Penn Power Company at Elkins. Mrs. Fox was educated in the public schools of Elkins, West Virginia, and the Randolph-Macon Institute, at Danville, Virginia. She is a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, gives her support to the republican party and is an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. and Mrs. Fox are the parents of three children, namely: Ruth Bosworth, born June 7, 1910; Alice Leona, born July 23, 1915; and B. Blaine, Jr., born March 2, 1923.