Master Gardeners Make a Difference in Community Earl Nicodemus July 17, 2020 Did you like to play in the dirt when you were a little girl or boy? Do you still like to play in the dirt? If so, then you are a good candidate for the Master Gardener program. The Master Gardener pro...
WEELUNK FOR KIDS: Wheeling Landmark Scavenger Hunt (Part I) Earl Nicodemus April 13, 2020 Editor's note: At Weelunk, we’re all about keeping you connected to your community. Because that looks a little different right now, we’re bringing you ways to engage while staying safe and healthy. We hope Wee...
EARL’S CAPERS WITH KIDS: Fun at the Fair Earl Nicodemus September 29, 2019 Earl’s note: Here is another in a short series about things to do with kids. Today, we go to the Ohio County Country Fair. This year's fair is set for Oct. 4-6. The refreshing autumn breeze carries the aro...
EARL’S CAPERS WITH KIDS: Picture-Perfect Project Earl Nicodemus September 15, 2019 Earl’s note: This is the fourth of a short series about things to do with kids. The activities described in the series are inexpensive and fun things that anyone can do with children. Today, we take photos. ...
EARL’S CAPERS WITH KIDS: Cherished Camping Adventures Earl Nicodemus August 10, 2019 Earl’s note: This is the third of a short series about things to do with kids. The activities described in the series are inexpensive and fun outdoor things that anyone can do with children. Today, we...
WISH YOU WERE HERE: The Robert Schramm Collection of Historic Postcards (Part 1) Earl Nicodemus July 28, 2019 Writer's note: This is the first of a short series of Weelunk pictorials from the collection of retired West Liberty State College (now university) Professor Robert (Bob) Schramm. As a colleague, friend and...
EARL’S CAPERS WITH KIDS: Adventures in Geocaching Earl Nicodemus July 13, 2019 Earl’s note: This is the second of a short series about things to do with kids. The activities described in the series are inexpensive and fun outdoor things that anyone can do with children. The next story in ...
EARL’S CAPERS WITH KIDS: No Worms Needed Earl Nicodemus July 6, 2019 Earl’s note: This is the first of a short series about things to do with kids. The activities described in the series are inexpensive and fun outdoor things that anyone can do with children. The next story in t...
Cyber Safety — Avoiding Scams and Malware Attacks Earl Nicodemus June 9, 2019 This story is designed to help you to stay safe in the digital world. As you will see, the story consists of three sections. The first section deals with malware, such as computer viruses, adware, etc. The s...
Into the Woods: Spring Traditions in Ohio County Earl Nicodemus June 2, 2019 March rains and April showers bring ramps and morels before they bring May flowers. When we see those patches of green in the woods as we drive the country roads in mid to late April, we know that spring is jus...
Sanitizing Personal Data From Old Electronic Equipment Earl Nicodemus March 31, 2019 Did you know that the files that you have deleted from your Smartphone, tablet or computer are not really gone? Did you know that erasing files from your jump drive or flash memory card does not really remove t...
How to Keep Your Kids Safe Online Earl Nicodemus March 4, 2019 Editor's note: This is the first of a couple of Weelunk stories Earl Nicodemus is planning regarding cyber safety. The next one will be about cyber security for adults. The chances of your child being harmed...
EARL’S GARDEN NOTES: A February Primer Earl Nicodemus February 10, 2019 Greetings to those of you who like to play in the dirt! A few years ago, I wrote a year-long series of monthly Weelunk articles about gardening titled “Betty’s Garden Diary.” Since that series ended, folks have...
Ohio County Country Fair in Pictures Earl Nicodemus October 22, 2018 1 Welcome to the Ohio County Country Fair! Held in conjunction with Oglebayfest during the first weekend in October every year, the Ohio County Country Fair has become a cherished tradition here in the upper Ohio...
Lieutenant Benjamin Biggs and the 135th Ohio Infantry Earl Nicodemus September 16, 2018 By the spring of 1864, the tide of the Civil War favored the north. In March of 1864, Ulysses S. Grant was appointed general-in-chief of the Union Army. Grant’s strategy was to keep the pressure on the Confeder...
Geo-History: The Gnadenhutten Massacre Earl Nicodemus March 27, 2018 1 EARL'S NOTE: One of the darkest days in American history was March 8, 1782. On that date, 96 innocent Christian men, women, and children at Gnadenhutten in Ohio were brutally executed by members of the Pennsylv...
Geo-History: The Treaty of Fort Pitt and the Coshocton Massacre Earl Nicodemus February 27, 2018 1 Earl’s Note: This is the second in a planned series of short installments about the events that shaped our history. Events that took place in other locations often involved the men and women from our part of th...
Geo-History: The Squaw Campaign Earl Nicodemus February 13, 2018 3 Earl’s Note: This is the first in a planned series of short installments about the events that shaped our history. Events that took place in other locations often involved the men and women from our part of the...
Travels With Betty, Part 2 Earl Nicodemus January 13, 2018 1 Editor's Note: This is the second and final installment of the story of Earl and Betty's epic cross-country travels. If you haven't read the first part, you can catch up here. If you are a member of my gener...
Travels With Betty, Part 1 Earl Nicodemus November 14, 2017 How would you describe America? Have you ever thought about how you were respond if someone asked you to describe America? Would you talk about the people or the cities or the politics or religions? For most of...
Betty’s 2017 Garden Earl Nicodemus June 23, 2017 Betty’s Garden Diary Revisited! Preface Greetings fellow Weelunk gardeners! This is a follow-up to the “Betty’s Garden Diary” series that my wife, Betty, and I published on Weelunk last year. Since we stopp...
The Early History and First Court of Ohio County Earl Nicodemus June 13, 2017 Earl’s Note: This is a written version of the Fort Henry Speaker Series program presented on April 27, 2017. A video of that program is available online at this web site. The PowerPoint presentation a...
Catfish Fishing on the Ohio River Earl Nicodemus February 15, 2017 1 A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work! – Unknown Cover picture - Russ Cook holding a good sized Ohio River Catfish that he caught. The problem with the world today is that not enough peop...
The West Liberty Tanneries Earl Nicodemus January 11, 2017 3 When West Liberty was settled, the region had a lot of oak trees. In addition to supplying lumber for the building needs as the community grew, those oaks also provided a plentiful supply of oak bark to the two...
Habitat for Humanity – Making a Difference One Home at a Time Earl Nicodemus December 15, 2016 What is Habitat for Humanity? Habitat for Humanity is a nondenominational Christian ministry which is devoted to the vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Habitat seeks to put God’s l...
Betty’s Garden Diary for November 2016 Earl Nicodemus November 5, 2016 3 It is hard to believe that we started the Betty’s Garden Diary series almost a year ago and that this is our last edition already. In this installment, we will discuss some of the things that we will be doing t...
Betty’s Garden Diary for October Earl Nicodemus October 3, 2016 2 This month’s cover picture shows Sweet Potato plants in bloom. Sweet potatoes are in the same family as Morning Glories, so the blossoms look very similar. Welcome to the October edition of Betty’s Garden Di...
Do You Live in a Sears House? Are You Sure? Earl Nicodemus September 19, 2016 6 Do you live in a Sears or Montgomery Ward house? Was your house built from a kit that was purchased through a mail-order catalog? Are you sure? From 1909 to 1940, Sears Robuck & Co. Sold over 90,000 houses ...
Betty’s Garden Diary for September – The Underground Edition Earl Nicodemus September 8, 2016 2 This is the underground issue of Betty’s Garden Diary. Most of the crops in Betty’s garden have been harvested, but things are still going on. In this installment of Betty’s Garden Diary, we will discuss things...
Betty’s Garden Diary for August 2016 Earl Nicodemus August 23, 2016 Betty's Garden mid-August. The first two plantings of corn have been harvested Welcome to the August issue of Betty’s Garden Diary. In this issue of Betty’s Garden Diary, we will discuss what is happenin...
Betty’s Garden Diary for July 2016 Earl Nicodemus July 18, 2016 3 Welcome to Betty’s Garden Diary for July, 2016! Betty's Garden on July 14, 2016 Things are going well in Betty’s garden. God has blessed us with plenty of timely rain showers, so things are growing li...
Betty’s Garden Diary for June 2016 Earl Nicodemus June 21, 2016 Betty’s Garden Diary - June, 2016 Since June and July usually bring lots of dry weather, most of this issue of Betty’s Garden Diary will be devoted to water management and most of that discussion will be...
Betty’s Garden Diary for May 2016 Earl Nicodemus May 27, 2016 3 Betty's Garden Diary - May, 2016 Several folks have asked why this series is called “Betty’s Garden Diary” if Earl writes it! The reason is that Betty does most of the work in the garden! Our garden is a...
Betty’s Garden Diary For April, 2016 Earl Nicodemus April 23, 2016 Betty’s Garden Diary for April 2016 Betty's Daffodils Blooming in April Spring has arrived, but it did so with a wintry blast during the end of March and first of April. We got Betty’s garden tilled before ...
Betty’s Garden Diary for March 2016 Earl Nicodemus March 14, 2016 Betty’s Garden Diary March, 2016 Spring is just around the corner! In this issue of Betty’s Garden Diary, we are going to discuss selecting a location for your garden, composting, starting bedding plants...
Betty’s Garden Diary for February 2016 Earl Nicodemus February 24, 2016 1 Betty’s Garden Diary February, 2016 Simple Soil Science for Gardeners Betty’s Garden Diary thanks Dr. Michael Nicodemus for his contributions to this edition. Dr. Nicodemus has a PhD in Forestry from Purd...
The Mostly True Story of “Betsy” Zane Earl Nicodemus February 7, 2016 3 Just about every school child knows the story of how a 17-year-old girl named Elizabeth Zane saved Fort Henry by running to the cabin of Ebenezer Zane and returning with an apron full of gunpowder...
Betty’s Garden Diary: January 2016 Earl Nicodemus January 18, 2016 While this is being written, it is three degrees in West Liberty and Betty’s garden is white with snow. However, the seed catalogs that have appeared in our mailbox have brought on our annual spring fever. Even...
Betty’s Garden Diary Earl Nicodemus December 28, 2015 8 Author's Note: This is the first installment in a planned series of informational articles for Ohio Valley gardeners. We will publish one installment this month and one in January. Then the installments will be...
A Family Story: The Curtises of West Liberty Earl Nicodemus November 5, 2015 1 One of the old families of importance to the history of West Liberty and of America was the Curtis family. They were descendants of a Welsh gentleman named Sir James Curtis. In 1776, John Curtis joined Smallwoo...
Captain Samuel Brady: Part 3, Conclusion Earl Nicodemus May 4, 2015 Brady’s Rangers were very effective in their pursuit of the Indian raiding parties. Numerous times, they rescued women and children who had been taken captive by the Indians. When Brady’s Rangers encountered an...
Captain Samuel Brady: Part 2 Earl Nicodemus April 27, 2015 1 After living in a cabin in Wellsburg for a period of time, Sam and Drucilla obtained property in West Liberty, with assistance from Van Swearingon, where they built a large frame house. One of the photos with t...
Captain Samuel Brady: Part 1 Earl Nicodemus April 14, 2015 2 Captain Samuel Brady – Hero of the Revolution Part 1 During the Revolutionary War, the most well-known and respected individual in the Upper Ohio Valley was not named McCullough or Zane or Wetz...
The Mostly True Story of Simon Girty Earl Nicodemus January 29, 2015 1 By Earl Nicodemus Weelunk Contributor Even though I am a storyteller rather than a historian, I have attempted to find out the real story of Simon Girty. Other than Benedict Arnold, no other individual as...
Storytelling: Court Day in West Liberty Earl Nicodemus January 23, 2015 2 by Earl Nicodemus To the reader: I must preface this document by informing the reader that I am a storyteller rather than a historian. Until radio took over the storytelling role about 100 years ago, Americans...
