Spring Cleaning? How the Clean Blockers of the 1940s Can Inspire Today’s Volunteers Emma Wiley April 19, 2021 As flowers are blooming, seasonal allergies are flourishing, and warmer weather is in the air...so is spring cleaning. Today, members of Volunteer Wheeling can be seen cleaning the streets and organizing the co...
All Aboard!: The Streetcar Trolleys that Changed Wheeling Emma Wiley April 14, 2021 Seventy-one years ago, on April 14, 1948, the last streetcar of Wheeling made its final trip—its last day overshadowed by historic flooding on the Ohio River.1 Even though Wheeling’s streetcars may have ended q...
These Vintage Easter Ads Provide a Glimpse Into Wheeling’s Past Emma Wiley April 3, 2021 Easter dresses...Easter bonnets...For those who celebrate Easter, you know that your attire is important. Spring is in the air, a time of rebirth, out with the old, in with the new. Last year, when all of us we...
Wheeling’s Historic Female Doctors Emma Wiley April 1, 2021 “Doctress”...“Lady Doctor”...“Girl Doctor”...These are just a few of the peculiar titles that have been given to some of the historic Wheeling women who worked as physicians. Today, most of us don’t think twice...
Help Us Solve History’s Mysteries!: Women’s History Month Edition Emma Wiley March 26, 2021 A Partnership Between Weelunk, Archiving Wheeling, and the Ohio County Public Library Archives. Do you recognize any of these people? These are all historic photos of Wheeling people, places, and things that...
The Many Madonnas (of the Trail) Emma Wiley March 23, 2021 A Pioneer Woman The “Madonna of the Trail” statue on the edge of Wheeling Park along Route 40 is hard to miss. It has become an icon in Wheeling and has been featured prominently on everything from welcome sig...
Adventures in the Archives: The YWCA Blue Triangle Collection Emma Wiley March 19, 2021 Wheeling and the greater Ohio County area has centuries of history...and therefore thousands of historical documents and other ephemera. So where does it all go? Short answer: the library. In addition to its...
Boiled Tongue and Pine Apple Cheese?: A 1852 McLure House Dinner Menu Emma Wiley March 8, 2021 Food is an integral part of human life. Not only is it what fuels and energizes our day, but food gathers people to share and connect in community. Everyone has a favorite dish and many of us still have fond me...
Help Us Solve History’s Mysteries! Emma Wiley February 26, 2021 A Partnership Between Weelunk, Archiving Wheeling, and the Ohio County Public Library Archives Do you recognize any of these people? These are all historic photos of Wheeling people, places, and things that ...
The Blue Triangle Branch of the YWCA Emma Wiley February 25, 2021 The local Wheeling branch of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) is well-known around the city for its services and impact on people’s lives. However, for over three decades between 1921 and 1956, Wh...
The First Wheeling Wedding? Emma Wiley February 13, 2021 “I do hereby Certify that I have this day solemnized the Right of marriage between Mr. John McIngtur (McIntyre properly) and Miss Sarah Zane agreeable to an act of assembly in such case made and provided. Witne...
A Tennis Giant: Arthur Ashe at Oglebay Emma Wiley February 8, 2021 In July 1960, Wheeling had a 16-year-old visitor to the tennis courts of Oglebay. Few knew that this young African American boy would become one of the greatest American tennis players of all time. His name was...
Kicking Off Black History Month Emma Wiley February 1, 2021 Black History Month was created by the famous African American historian, Carter G. Woodson, in 1926. Originally known as “Negro History Month,” it was a response to what Woodson saw as a disturbing lack of Bla...
Uncovered in Photographs: The Children Who Worked Wheeling’s Factories Emma Wiley January 26, 2021 While Wheeling has a rich and proud history of organized labor, the issue and history of child labor is often overlooked. There are few records or histories examining or documenting child labor in Wheeling; the...
The Giant Wheeling Tabernacle Built in Only Four Days Emma Wiley January 11, 2021 In only four days between January and February of 1912—over a century ago—hundreds of Wheeling residents came together to build an enormous low-roofed building on the eastern side of 26th Street in Center Wheel...
‘Tis the Time for Calendar Updates: Funky Holiday Edition Emma Wiley January 1, 2021 For many of us, as we turn over our calendars to the new year of 2021, it means updating with the new dates, birthdays, and holidays. Everyone has the main dates covered, but Weelunk has a list of wacky other h...
Children of Wheeling Share Their Letters to Santa Emma Wiley December 25, 2020 Santa has a special message to the children of Wheeling this Christmas. Share his letter with your children and browse through the letters Santa received from our youngest Weelunk fans! Dear Children of Wheeli...
Ringing in a Vaccine Emma Wiley December 22, 2020 Imagine all of the church and school bells ringing and all of the factories and trains whistling in Wheeling all at the same time. Incredibly loud right? That cacophony of noise lasted two long minutes at no...
Seafood Traditions: Coleman’s Fish Market and the Feast of the Seven Fishes Emma Wiley December 17, 2020 This time of the year is usually one of celebration, good will, spending time with family and friends, and shopping. But, few places get as busy as Coleman’s Fish Market in Centre Market, Wheeling. At first ...
Local Letters to Santa from 1904 Emma Wiley December 11, 2020 Writing letters to Santa Claus has long been a tradition for many children who celebrate Christmas. Some send the letters in the mail, leave them by a plate of milk and cookies on Christmas Eve, or give them to...
Wheeling Mad Lib: ‘A Day in Wheeling’ Emma Wiley December 9, 2020 As the pandemic rages on and infected numbers are higher than ever, many of our beloved annual holiday practices and traditions are being reimagined and creatively changed to best protect ourselves and our comm...
No Rest for the Dead: The History of Moving Bodies in Wheeling’s Cemeteries Emma Wiley November 30, 2020 Wandering around some of Wheeling’s graveyards, you might see some gravestones with dates older than the cemetery itself. How can that be? Answer: For many residents of Wheeling’s existing cemeteries, thi...
Cultural Appropriation in Wheeling: History of the Improved Order of Red Men Emma Wiley November 27, 2020 Editors Note: Weelunk, as a subsidiary of Wheeling Heritage, is committed to telling diverse, nuanced, and difficult histories, especially when those narratives occur in our own backyard. The line between cultu...
Reexamining Wheeling’s Mingo Statue Emma Wiley November 16, 2020 The Mingo statue has long been a recognizable landmark on Wheeling’s landscape. It has been featured on the cover of tourism brochures and included in the Smithsonian Art Inventory. Recently, it has even been u...
13 Things to do on Friday the 13th Emma Wiley November 13, 2020 Halloween may be over, but there’s still time to get your spook on the last Friday the 13th of 2020! Check out these interesting and chilling things to do in the Wheeling area today… Tour Wheeling’s Many C...
The Green Book: Navigating Wheeling During Segregation Emma Wiley November 6, 2020 “Write for Reservations—Moderate Rates.”1 This 1956 listing for lodging at the Wheeling Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Blue Triangle Branch did not just reach a local audience; in fact, it was part ...
The Forgotten Wheeling Suffragist: May Hornbrook Emma Wiley November 3, 2020 When Wheeling residents think of a local suffragist, their minds probably jump to Dr. Harriet B. Jones, the first woman licensed to practice medicine in West Virginia in addition to her extensive suffrage activ...
The People of Power, WV Emma Wiley November 2, 2020 Connections to place are powerful. The former residents of Power, West Virginia know this all too well. What do you do when your childhood village no longer exists? While abandoned or “ghost” towns are not u...
10 Silly Suffrage Snippets from The Wheeling Intelligencer Emma Wiley September 29, 2020 On March 10th, 1920, West Virginia became the 34th state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that recognized every citizen’s right to vote, regardless of sex. Women’s suffrage would offi...
