The Marriage of the Bluefields Michael Abraham May 19, 2017 Chasing The Powhatan Arrow Find other articles in this series here Bluefield, Virginia wasn’t much different from Bluefield, West Virginia, seemingly more of a continuation of the same strip of aged...
Immigrants Flock to the Coal fields of Southern West Virginia Michael Abraham May 16, 2017 Chasing the Powhatan Arrow Other stories in the series can be found here It’s only three miles along SR-120 from Pocahontas, Virginia to its more affluent sister town, Bramwell, West Virginia. On our...
From Appleseed to Audubon…Meet Henderson Hall Mark Payne May 11, 2017 The 29-room Henderson Hall mansion, located at Williamstown, sits on a terrace overlooking the Ohio River. The house, completed in 1859 by G. W. Henderson, counts among its many visitors the likes of John...
We Watch Forever Gerry Griffith March 2, 2017 They had a party at our prison last night and they thought we couldn’t see. This rotten stone hell where we walk in darkness forever is not as it was when I faced the hangman in 1932 or as it was when...
Your Guide to Exploring West Virginia Women’s History Eliza Newland February 27, 2017 History helps us learn more about who we are. When we do not know our own history, however, our power and dreams can be hindered. The contributions and accomplishments of women have often been overlooked and...
Camp Brookside: A Hub of Activity in Summers County Angela Allison February 22, 2017 Last May marked the opening of the newly restored Camp Brookside Environmental Education Center. This 32-acre island within the New River Gorge National River once provided a summer retreat for the children of...
Ghosts of America’s Worst Industrial Disaster on West Virginia’s New River Gorge Gerry Griffith January 30, 2017 2 Comments Captain Ron’s long ponytail stood straight out in the wind as he gunned the jet boat and turned the wheel of the craft hard to the right, sending up a spray of New River water and a yelp from his energized...
Sam Mason: Wheeling’s Deadliest Outlaw Joe Roxby January 24, 2017 When that boy grows enough ass to break his neck, they ought to hang the bastard.” Those words, once spoken about the late Col. Charles Askins in his youth, might have been better saved for Sam Mason,...
A Very Special Christmas Remembered Roger L. Raines December 21, 2016 Leaving Harrisonburg, Virginia after attending a three-day meeting, rather than go to Lynchburg where I had been working, I decided I would drive home to Alabama to spend two days with my wife. The last year...
The Mabel Files: Japan Casts the Die Gerry Griffith December 7, 2016 Wheeling’s Centre Market, and the shops nearby like Tom and Lizzie Minns’ Confectionary on Market Street, were at rest on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 7, 1941, while the USS West Virginia and USS Tennessee...
The Wheeling Mob: Part 5 Steve Novotney December 1, 2016 WARNING: This article contains explicit language and subject matter that is not suitable for children. It is the equivalent of Rated R.(Writer’s Note: This is the fifth in a series of stories that will...
Marshall Continues to Find Strength Through Tragedy Bob Powell and G Thornhill November 14, 2016 On the night of November 14, 1970, a Southern Airways DC-9 approached a foggy and rainy Tri-State Airport in Wayne County. The airliner slammed into a hillside just short of the runway and burst into flames....
Bill of Rights 225th Anniversary Exhibit to Display at 42 Sites in West Virginia Carol Nutter November 11, 2016 The West Virginia Humanities Council has partnered with the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the National Archives to provide a free, pop-up exhibit observing the 225th anniversary of the Bill of...
The Wheeling Mob: Part 4 Steve Novotney October 29, 2016 This article contains explicit language and subject matter that is not suitable for children. It is the equivalent of Rated R.(Writer’s Note: This is the fourth in a series of stories that will...
“The Bunker” at the Greenbrier Gerry Griffith September 25, 2016 From Top Secret to Tourist Stop --"The Bunker" at the Greenbrier Between 1961 and 1992, if an enemy bomber looked like it was headed for the Nation’s Capital with intent to drop a nuclear device, all 435...
The Whores, The Help, and the Hooligans Bill Hogan September 21, 2016 1 Comment It seem truly strange to me today to put myself back in the early 1940s, when I was barely in my teens. The attitudes and mores that made up the culture of those times seem unreal in today’s world, but...
County Lines: Facts from the 55 Kensie Hamilton September 17, 2016 While everyone probably knows a little something about most of West Virginia’s 55 counties, we wanted to increase the type of knowledge people have about our great state. It is with that goal in...
The Enduring Mystery of the Grave Creek Stone Christina Fisanick Greer September 1, 2016 3 Comments (written with Rebecca Taylor) As a girl growing up in 1980’s Moundsville, West Virginia, my* teachers must have taken me and my classmates on tours of the Mound and its museum more than a half a dozen...