A VIEW FROM THE MOON: SMART-Center Turns 25 — 50 Years Ago (Part 1) Robert E. Strong April 30, 2019 In elementary school, I labored under the common misconception that persists with most youngsters unabated to this day. I thought that “Science” is the accumulation of random facts and figures about a field of ...
The Adventures of a First-Time 5K Runner (She Did It for the Kids) Jennifer Kellner-Muscar April 21, 2019 “Sometimes it isn’t about doing it well, it is simply about doing it." — Jennifer Kellner-Muscar Two years ago, at the age of 39, I ran my first 5K. I came in dead last. Here’s how it happened. Je...
What We Lost at Wheeling Jesuit University Kelly Strautmann April 14, 2019 Author’s note: It was impossible for me to write a piece on WJU objectively, so I did a deep dive into my personal experience. I believe the courses of study left at WJU for the upcoming year are no less import...
A VIEW FROM THE MOON: Practice Makes Perfect — 50th Anniversary of Apollo 9 Robert E. Strong March 18, 2019 As the rocket blurred into the clouds, I watched the joyful exuberance of the hundreds of kids around me all still spellbound by the launch of Apollo 9. As I kept turning, this view was quickly replaced as th...
BILL HOGAN’S MUSINGS: On Being Irish Bill Hogan March 17, 2019 I am Irish, I guess, because I don’t know what else to be. I am half German, but being German never came easy to me. We are a melancholy lot; I am. That is why we sing and laugh so much, because we are so ve...
AS I SEE IT: The Devastating Diagnosis of Dementia Ellen Brafford McCroskey March 2, 2019 Mom’s dance with the devil named dementia began around 2004. Dementia is a cunning fellow when he first appears — a forgotten word or two, a misplaced set of keys, a question repeated once too often — all these...
A VIEW FROM THE MOON: Big Idea — The Fractional Gravity Experiment (Part 3) Robert E. Strong February 27, 2019 (Editor’s note: In the last two weeks, we read about the Big Idea (Part 1) and Big Idea (Part 2). Today, Robert E. Strong wraps things up. Did his "Big Idea" make the cut? Read on ... ) For over third of a c...
A VIEW FROM THE MOON: Big Idea — The Fractional Gravity Experiment (Part 2) Robert E. Strong February 19, 2019 (Editor's note: Last week we read about the Big Idea (Part 1). Today, Robert E. Strong recaps that article and moves on to Part 2.) As a recap from Big Idea: The Fractional Gravity Experiment (Part 1): ...
BILL HOGAN’S MUSINGS: Building Good Neighbors Bill Hogan February 16, 2019 Editor's note: The IDEAS page is our place for public opinion, a place where a person can express what concerns them about present-day Wheeling or the world. However, there is one major caveat. The author must ...
ROBERTS RUMINATES: Things That Go Click in the Night Laura Jackson Roberts February 2, 2019 At 2:30 a.m. the other night, I pulled back the curtains beside my bed to see sheets of rain ponding on the road. I watched for a long time. I listened, and I counted the seconds as the traffic light down the r...
AS I SEE IT: Cold Hands Helped by Warm Hearts Ellen Brafford McCroskey January 12, 2019 If you happened to be in the area of 20th and Eoff streets in Center Wheeling recently, you may have spotted something heartwarming through the falling snow showers. Attached to the fencing of the bridge spanni...
POSTSCRIPTS FROM THE EDGE(WOOD): Christmas Tree Prey for Praying Mantises Christina Fisanick December 29, 2018 When I woke up that morning, they were everywhere. Hundreds of tiny insects were swarming in the dim morning light of my dining room and kitchen. They were climbing the walls, clinging to the ceilings, and edgi...
AN ESSAY FOR THE DAY: Wrapping Up a New Christmas Tradition Colin McNickle December 25, 2018 A tradition nearly 33 years in the making is about to be wrapped in the extended McNickle family this Christmas. Yuletide traditions run deep in this Scots-Irish clan with its first American roots in Eastern...
AS I SEE IT: Farewell, Red D — Jamboree In The Hills ‘Hiatus’ Marks the End of an Era Ellen Brafford McCroskey December 22, 2018 For the first time in many years, Santa will not be leaving four-day passes to Jamboree In The Hills in my family's stockings, and for this reason, I feel certain that LiveNation is near the top of Santa’s Naug...
Weelunk Writer Takes Readers on a Sparkling Tour of Oglebay Christina Fisanick December 16, 2018 Everyone who knows me knows that I love all things Oglebay — the history, the lakes, the lodge, the rolling hills. And yet up until this year, I had all but sworn off the Festival of Lights. That is, until I wa...
A VIEW FROM THE MOON: The Golden Anniversary of the Apollo 8 Earthrise Image Robert E. Strong December 15, 2018 1 For the vast majority of the human tenure on this planet, the surface of the Earth — or very near the surface — was the sole domain of human direct first-hand experience of the universe. Other than the occasion...
BILL HOGAN’S MUSINGS: Let’s Give Thanks for Thanksgiving Bill Hogan December 2, 2018 I believe it is beautifully ironic that my favorite holiday is identified with the unglamorous turkey. I remember that when we were training for the Peace Corps on Saint Helena’s Island off Beaufort, S.C., we h...
A VIEW FROM THE MOON: Why Can’t We See the Footprints on the Moon (Part II) Robert E. Strong November 24, 2018 In our last installment, Where Are the Footprints on the Moon?: Part I, we discussed that because the Earth’s moon is big and very far away, you just cannot see small objects on such a huge scale. The footprint...
Counting Her Blessings Along the Bridle Trail Melanee Sinclair November 24, 2018 I am more fortunate than one should ever be. Most weekends, I tag along on a trail ride at the Oglebay Stables. The Bridle Trail at Oglebay is a special place. It starts at the end of the stable’s parking lo...
AN ESSAY FOR THE DAY: A ‘Catfelt’ Thanksgiving Wyeth McNickle (as told to Colin McNickle) November 22, 2018 It was three years ago this very week that my sister, Winslow, and I were left in a box at the door of an animal shelter just north of Pittsburgh. WYETH Known as Poopsie and Popsie then, and just over a ...
BILL HOGAN’S MUSINGS: The Present Predicament of the Catholic Church as Seen From the Sidelines Bill Hogan November 18, 2018 Editor's Note: The Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston has been and continues to be a significant sponsor of Weelunk. The staff and board of directors of Weelunk are grateful the Diocese sees the organization as a f...
ROBERTS RUMINATES: A Place for Piles Laura Jackson Roberts November 17, 2018 We tidied up our house the other day. It was in desperate need, and during the miserable exercise — one replete with whining and bickering and arguments about who was absolutely not going to pick up that shoe o...
A VIEW FROM THE MOON: Where Are the Footprints on the Moon? (Part 1) Robert E. Strong November 15, 2018 1 Nearly a third of a century ago, on a tropical island in the South Pacific far, far away, I started organizing weekly educational and public StarWatches as the laboratory portion for a high school astronomy cla...
The Decline of Community Matthew Rafa November 11, 2018 Editor's Note: We believe that our community should be honest, open-minded and willing to engage in a civil dialogue about the issues facing our community, both present and future. The IDEAS page is our place f...
Dear Non-Voters: Think Twice Before Skipping the Midterms Rosemary Ketchum November 5, 2018 Editor's Note: We believe that our community should be honest, open-minded and willing to engage in a civil dialogue about the issues facing our community, both present and future. The IDEAS page is our place f...
POSTSCRIPTS FROM THE EDGE(WOOD): The Pleasure of the Sunday Drive Christina Fisanick October 14, 2018 Once cars became more affordable in the 1920s and ‘30s, families began to enjoy the ritual of the Sunday drive. For some people, Sunday drives meant leaving the smoke and noise of the city behind for bucolic ro...
AS I SEE IT: Lessons Learned From the Trump Administration Ellen Brafford McCroskey October 7, 2018 Anyone who knows me is well aware that I am not a fan of President Trump. But as my husband keeps reminding me, he is my President, regardless of whether or not he has my support. I attended the recent Morri...
I Was an Undercover Protester at Trump Rally Rosemary Ketchum October 6, 2018 This past Saturday in Wheeling, W.Va., President Donald Trump made waves in the Friendly City. In the hours leading up to his arrival, hundreds of folks came to show their support for the President and his poli...
A Love Letter to the Oglebay Train Room Kelly Strautmann September 15, 2018 They say nothing lasts forever, and everything changes. You hear it your whole life. And there are many things you wait with mild to severe anxiety to change — from the small, everyday things to the bigger life...
AS I SEE IT: Love Is Love — Especially Between LGBTQ Youth and Their Parents Ellen Brafford McCroskey September 1, 2018 It was announced last month that former Vice President and long-time LGBTQ advocate Joe Biden is launching a campaign to promote family acceptance of LGBTQ youth. The Biden Foundation, with the help of Grammy A...
AN ESSAY FOR THE DAY: Fanfare for the Sunflower Colin McNickle August 25, 2018 “I don't think there's anything on this planet that more trumpets life than the sunflower,” says one of the characters in “Calendar Girls,” a movie from 2003. “For me that's because of the reason behind its nam...
BILL HOGAN’S MUSINGS: Nothing Happens by Accident Bill Hogan August 18, 2018 1 Susan and I arrived at our new home in Cove, Benin, in West Africa around the first of October 1987. We were driven the 100 kilometers from the de facto capital Cotonou by a Peace Corps truck with our belonging...
AS I SEE IT: Adventures of the Dog-Catcher’s Wife From the Shotgun Seat Ellen Brafford McCroskey August 11, 2018 People either love my husband or hate him, depending upon the circumstances of their introduction. Doug has been the Ohio County Humane Officer and Dog Warden for over 20 years now, so plenty of local residents...
PHYLosophy: Memories … A Matter of Record Phyllis Sigal August 4, 2018 2 Flashback: It was late summer 1977 when I snagged that cool job at National Record Mart's brand-new store in downtown Wheeling. (It was something to do during my one-year hiatus between colleges.) Previousl...
AS I SEE IT: It’s All Good in the Neighborhood Ellen Brafford McCroskey July 28, 2018 When I was in first grade, I spent what seemed like an eternity home from school recovering from chicken pox. It was during those long days of boredom that I first discovered the gentle wisdom of Mister Rogers....
Victorian North Wheeling, A Place to Call Home Angela Zambito Hill December 14, 2014 2 By Angela Zambito Hill Weelunk Contributor When I travel, I enjoy studying urban residential architecture and going on period home tours. Learning about the history of homes and the people that inhabited ...
