History

November 11, 2019

We stood around the podium topped with a glass case like mythical giants peering down at tiny humans, and for me, the moment felt just as magical. It was 1994, and I was in the Nelle M. Krise Rare Book’s Room a...

BILL HOGAN’S MUSINGS: Peace Corps in East Wheeling?

Bill Hogan

November 9, 2019

This is a tough one to get started. There are so many people involved from not only different backgrounds but different continents. ONE: PEACE CORPS When we arrived in Cove, Benin, West Africa, starting our ...

Legendary Barber Recalls 50 Years of Work in Wheeling

Laura Jackson Roberts

November 8, 2019

Ralph Tomlinson was 94 years old when he cut his last head of hair on July 6, 2018. For 50 years, Ralph barbered in Wheeling, 49 of them at his shop on 33rd Street. You might call him a legend. To hear more ...

Echoes … Of Life on Top of Violet Hill

October 26, 2019

Editor's note: Last week, Anne Hazlett Foreman shared Echoes ... Of Life Below Violet Hill. Today, we read about life on top of Violet Hill. We moved to the big brown stucco house on top of Violet Hill whe...

Handled With Dignity: Putting the Past to Rest

Kelly Strautmann

October 25, 2019

It took a village to honor an anonymous young girl’s skeletal remains retrieved from the now-closed Ohio Valley Medical Center. Two hospital retirees, a historian, a funeral home, a library and, finally, a ceme...

ECHOES … Of Life Below Violet Hill

October 19, 2019

Long before my family moved to the brown stucco house at the top of Chicken Neck Hill overlooking Elm Run, I was a resident of Birch Lynn and spent most of the summers on the gently sloping hillside below it. ...

AS I SEE IT: Reading — Soul Food for the Heart and Mind

September 14, 2019

“You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read. It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected ...

THE GRIFFITH FILES: When Wheeling Put On a Big Show to Celebrate Its Bicentennial

Gerry Griffith

September 7, 2019

Fifty years ago, I was a defender of Wheeling’s Fort Henry in the last battle of the Revolutionary War; a Union soldier guarding a prisoner of war camp during America’s Civil War; one of a dozen or so jubilant ...

ECHOES … Of That First Day at the Mount — and Beyond

August 31, 2019

It is said that moments of trauma or great joy are etched in our minds forever and, like Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD), can come back as vivid memories unexpected and unwelcome in their timing and inten...

Celebrating the Musical Women of Coal Country: Karen Collins, Elaine Purkey Remember Hazel Dickens

Seán Duffy

August 26, 2019

The Ohio County Public Library and the WALS Foundation will celebrate Reuther-Pollack Labor Heritage Week through the music of two legendary West Virginia singer-songwriters whose work has brought attention to ...

BILL HOGAN’S MUSINGS: Poppa’s One, Two, Three

Bill Hogan

August 24, 2019

Driving through Wheeling Park, I noticed a sign — “Bandstand” — and followed it to the top of the hill. I haven’t been up there in decades. The last time was for a party we had there when the rails around the b...

Wheeling Heritage Media Launches Podcast on Wheeling Brewer

Weelunk Staff

August 21, 2019

Murder (maybe). Philanthropy. Prostitution. Industrialization. Corruption. All these words are synonymous with Wheeling brewer Henry Schmulbach. And Wheeling Heritage is bringing Wheeling’s brewing history t...

Exley Remembers (sort of) Three Days of Craziness on Max Yasgur’s Farm

Fred Connors

August 13, 2019

Wheeling resident R. Banford Exley has sporadic memories of a raucous music festival he attended 50 years ago on a New York dairy farm. He hadn’t heard of the Woodstock Music Festival until a friend asked hi...

Experience Wheeling’s Rowdy Past at the Francis Pier-Pint Brew-Off: Prohibition Edition

Laura Jackson Roberts

August 12, 2019

The logo was designed by Erin Rothenbuehler, programming and archives coordinator at the Ohio County Public Library. According to local historian Sean Duffy, history and beer go together naturally. Luckily ...

People’s University to Explore Wheeling’s Labor History

August 2, 2019

Wheeling was a hotbed of unionism throughout its industrial period. In observation of the 250th anniversary of Wheeling's founding, People’s University at the Ohio County Public Library will explore that indust...

Jewish Community Celebrates 170 Years of Worship

July 31, 2019

Following the second wave of Jewish migration to the United States during the 1840s-80s, the early Jewish community in West Virginia was comprised mainly of German and other central European Immigrants. German ...

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...

THE GRIFFITH FILES: Growing Up on Big Wheeling Creek in Elm Grove

Gerry Griffith

July 27, 2019

"Stay away from the creek.” ... In the Elm Grove neighborhoods along Big Wheeling Creek in the early 1960s, no parental directive was ignored more often. The wide, often-muddy tributary with its rocks, crawd...

For the Love of Bicycling: Then and Now

Jeanne Finstein

July 24, 2019

Bicyclists in the Ohio Valley enjoy myriad recreational opportunities, from scenic bike trails to winding country roads beyond the city. Wheeling has a rich bicycling tradition, as evidenced by the popularity o...

DiCarlo’s Pizza: A Cultural Icon

Jeremy Morris

July 22, 2019

There are only two kinds of pizza, good pizza and very good pizza. — Peter Reinhart, author of "American Pie, My Search for the Perfect Pizza" Ask just about any Ohio Valley resident, and they will affirm ...

AS I SEE IT: Mourning the Loss of My JITH Traditions

July 21, 2019

Editor’s note: Here in the Ohio Valley, the third weekend in July has meant an annual pilgrimage to Jamboree In The Hills for a lot of local country music fans. But for the first time in over 40 years, Jamboree...

Those Were the Days: Veteran Broadcaster Shares Jamboree Memories

July 20, 2019

Editor's note: Here in the Ohio Valley, the third weekend in July has meant an annual pilgrimage to Jamboree In The Hills for a lot of local country music fans. But for the first time in over 40 years, Jamboree...

A VIEW FROM THE MOON: First Footprints on the Moon — 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11

Robert E. Strong

July 20, 2019

For untold generations, human beings had looked at the moon and wondered ... What was it? Was it a God? Was it a place? What was it made of? Did anyone or anything live there? Only poets, writers, philosophers ...

Unexpected to Unbelievable: A Jamboree Love Story

July 19, 2019

Editor's note: Here in the Ohio Valley, the third weekend in July has meant an annual pilgrimage to Jamboree In The Hills for a lot of local country music fans. But for the first time in over 40 years, Jamboree...

The ‘Hills’ Hold His Heart

July 18, 2019

Editor's note: Here in the Ohio Valley, the third weekend in July has meant an annual pilgrimage to Jamboree In The Hills for a lot of local country music fans. But for the first time in over 40 years, Jamboree...

Warwood Neighborhood One Step Closer to ‘Historic District’ Status

July 16, 2019

Part of the Warwood neighborhood is one step closer to becoming a nationally recognized historic district. Wheeling Heritage has selected Weller and Associates to complete an architecture and history survey of ...

Harshman’s Poem Celebrates ‘Wheeling at 250’

Marc Harshman

July 9, 2019

Editor's note: "Wheeling at 250" was commissioned by the Wheeling 250 committee. The poem, written by Marc Harshman, West Virginia's poet laureate, was premiered at the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra's concert on...

Cracks, Whizzes and Cheers: Eight Decades of American Legion Baseball

NIck Musgrave

July 5, 2019

Before the advent of television, Wheeling families found entertainment among the sounds of cracks, whizzes and cheers of the local baseball diamonds. The Friendly City was home to teams at all levels: from the ...

Weelunk Reader From Croatia Wins Haiku Contest

Phyllis Sigal

July 3, 2019

Never in 250 years, has Goran Gatalica set foot in Wheeling, West Virginia. But this year’s haiku contest winner — who also took second-place honors — learned enough about our city from his Croatian friends,...

THE GRIFFITH FILES: How Mom, Zane Gray, the Beverly Hillbillies and the Revolutionary War Inspired a Lifetime of Reading

Gerry Griffith

June 29, 2019

I was a child television junky in 1963, well-versed in the classics like Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Car 54: Where Are You?, Ben Casey, The Red Skelton Show, Hawaiian Eye, Wagon Train, Dr. Kildare, Rawhide, Route 66, th...

Mounds of Learning Opportunities at Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex

Kelly Strautmann

June 28, 2019

You pay homage to it every time you say the name of its hometown. It’s one of the largest Adena burials found in the country. It’s been the center of hoaxes, and Charles Dickens even paid it a visit. There is a...

ECHOES … Of Guns and Rose — Tales of Summer Vacations Long Ago

June 22, 2019

There is no place hotter in August than Vicksburg, Mississippi. It was just one of many of our destinations during most summers when I was young. My father ’s spin on summer fun was narrow and pointed. Pointed ...

Celebrating Juneteenth Wheeling Style

June 18, 2019

Many Americans probably believe that once President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 that all slaves were set free and lived happily ever after. In reality, the road to freedom for most e...

Events to Celebrate Statehood, Independence Hall and Suspension Bridge Milestones

Jessica Broverman

June 17, 2019

A once-in-a-lifetime celebration experience is on tap from Thursday, June 20, through Sunday, June 23, marking milestone anniversaries with family-friendly signature summer events. “A number of elements came...

Looking to the Past and to the Future, Wheeling Heritage Celebrates 25 Years

Nora Edinger

June 11, 2019

Most city residents probably don’t realize that every trip to the grocery store, every school bus run and all those drive-thrus for coffee are all taking place within a national park of sorts. And, they have...

‘Rithmetic Genius Born in Ohio County — Go Figure

May 29, 2019

Most people can remember their parents or grandparents talking about the three R’s of schooling: reading, writing and arithmetic. These three subjects were the foundation of early education throughout the Weste...

With So Much to See and Do, Wheeling Punches Above Its Weight Class

Wheeling Heritage Staff

May 27, 2019

To use a sports analogy, Wheeling punches above its weight class. For a city of only 27,000, Wheeling boasts a tremendous number of high-quality cultural institutions and tourism attractions. Not many look like...

Placing of Roses on Civil War Veterans’ Graves, Tours and Ceremony at Greenwood Cemetery

May 26, 2019

Friends of Wheeling will partner with the Ohio Valley Civil War Roundtable in placing white roses on the graves of both Union and Confederate Civil War veterans in Greenwood Cemetery, beginning at 9 a.m. on Mem...

The House in the Photo: A History of Echo Manor

Laura Jackson Roberts

May 24, 2019

There are many images of Wheeling from its early days, but certain photos just stick with us. One, in particular, generates discussion: a well-known sepia image from the turn of the century. Runners wind their ...

DOWNTOWN DO-OVER: Bringing Buildings Back From the Brink

Nora Edinger

May 22, 2019

Editor’s note: The Downtown Do-Over series is taking a close look at the ongoing revival of Wheeling’s city center. In today’s story, Weelunk looks at what it actually takes to restore historic structures. View...

People’s University Uncovers the Obscure McLure

May 19, 2019

Editor’s note: The Ohio County Public Library has launched its 26th People’s University, an eight-week series featuring weird, wild, wacky, whimsical stories from Wheeling, including: Native-American oddities, ...

BILL HOGAN’S MUSINGS: The Flicks

Bill Hogan

May 18, 2019

I was fortunate to attend a noon talk at our library recently, about the old movie theaters in West Virginia. It brought back so many memories of when I was a kid in the 1930s and ’40s when going to a movie on ...

Wheeling’s American Legion Post 1: Leading the Way in Service for 100 years

NIck Musgrave

May 15, 2019

Editor's note: Learn more about Wheeling Post No. 1 of the American Legion — officially the oldest post in the U.S. — at Lunch With Books, Tuesday, May 21, at the Ohio County Public Library. The program will in...

Political Peculiarities and the Blues at People’s University

Dr. Joseph Laker

May 10, 2019

Editor’s note: The Ohio County Public Library has launched its 26th People’s University, an eight-week series featuring weird, wild, wacky, whimsical stories from Wheeling, including: Native-American oddities, ...

Suicide, a Suspicious Drowning and Good Times Are Brewing at People’s University

Ryan Stanton

May 5, 2019

Editor's note: The Ohio County Public Library has launched its 26th People's University, an eight-week series featuring weird, wild, wacky, whimsical stories from Wheeling, including: Native-American oddities, ...

Local Secret Worth Sharing: Home for Men Celebrates 90 Years of Service

May 1, 2019

"One of the secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others." — Lewis Carroll One of Wheeling's best-kept secrets, the Home for Men in Warwood, is celebrating its 90th annivers...

10 Ways to Celebrate Historic Preservation Month in Wheeling