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"I am completely smitten with the Lunch with Books patrons...who welcomed me like a long-lost cousin. It takes two to have a successful reading: an enthusiastic presenter and an engaged audience, and boy did the stars align for us." -Marie Manilla, Still Life with Plums

"Lunch With Books is an outstanding program -- one of the best in the country." -NPR Journalist Matthew Algeo, The President is a Sick Man


"With a new book in hand, I’ve visited a lot of libraries lately, and I think the Ohio County Public Library is my all-time favorite. People are kind and welcoming, and deeply appreciate a visiting writer." -Jaimy Gordon, Lord of Misrule (National Book Award)

“I wanted the book launch to be at Lunch With Books because it is the best library book program in West Virginia and because Wheeling and the Wheeling area was centrally involved in so many of the firsts in West Virginia sports.” –Bob Barnett, Hillside Fields: A History of Sports in West Virginia

This blog is being discontinued.

This blog is being discontinued.
Please visit: www.ohiocountylibrary.org/calendar

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Aug. 5 at noon: Receiving the Spiritual Bread: the Presbyterian Church in Wheeling

Jeanne Finstein of Friends of Wheeling will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, August 5 at noon to present Receiving the Spiritual Bread: the Presbyterian Church in Wheeling. The growth, strength, and decline of the Presbyterian church parallel the growth, economic strength, and population decline that Wheeling itself has experienced over the years. Finstein’s presentation will follow events throughout the history of Wheeling alongside the history of the local Presbyterian denomination. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

July 29 The B.&O. During the Civil War

On Tuesday, July 29 at noon at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library, Dan Toomey, author of The War Came by Train, The B. & O. Railroad During the Civil War, will explore the concept that the “first front” of the war was neither a political nor a geographical boundary, but the main line of the B.&O. When the Civil War began, railroads in the North were poised to support the Union war effort by moving men and material in volumes and speed never before seen in the history of warfare. One of the leading railroads in the nation, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was located in the South, but economically tied to the North and West. Immediately after the firing on Fort Sumter, the Baltimore and Ohio became the first military objective of the war. Union soldiers arrived at Camden Station on April 19, 1861, following the first land battle of the war that was fought on the streets of Baltimore. The same day Virginia state troops occupied Harpers Ferry where a 1000-foot bridge carried trains over the Potomac River. A month later, a Union regiment commanded by a former B&O employee left the western terminus at Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia), to drive off Confederate forces near Grafton. Thus, it can be stated that that the first front of the war was neither a political nor a geographical boundary, but the main line of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Dan Toomey will explore this first front concept in depth.

Author Daniel Carroll Toomey is a seventh generation Marylander whose first American ancestor
taught school for John Carroll of Carrollton. His a graduate of the University of Maryland and the author of several books including The Civil War in Maryland, Marylanders at Gettysburg, and The Maryland Line Confederate Soldiers’ Home. He is also co-author of Baltimore During the Civil War and Marylanders in Blue, all of which were published by Toomey Press. Mr. Toomey has lectured for a number of historical organizations as well as the National Park Service and the Smithsonian Institution. He course “The Civil War in Maryland” has been offered at a number of local colleges. He has also contributed to radio and television programs and two Civil War battle videos. He is a member of the Surratt Society, and the Maryland Arms Collectors Association, and the Company of Military Historians. He serves on the Maryland Military Monuments Commission and was project historian for the Maryland Memorial erected at Gettysburg in 1994. Dan Toomey has won numerous awards for his historical research and exhibits including the Gettysburg National Battlefield Award in 1985 and was the 2001 recipient of the Peterkin Award given by the National Park Service at Fort McHenry for his many contributions in the field of research and preservation. Toomey is currently the Guest Curator at the B&O Railroad Museum for the five year exhibit, The War Came By Train, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American railroading and its impact on American society, culture, and economy. The Museum is home to the oldest, most important and comprehensive collection of American railroad artifacts in the world including an unparalleled roster of 19th and 20th century railroad equipment. The 40-acre historic site is regarded as the birthplace of American railroading and includes the 1851 Mt. Clare Station, the 1884 Baldwin Roundhouse.

Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

AND on July 29 at 7 PM: People's University, American History III, The Jazz Age, part 1.

In a nation weary of war, women exercised their newly found freedom (having won the right to vote in 1920) and Harlem nightclubs thrived, featuring jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.
Instructor: Dr. Joe Laker. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

After the Storm

Burial of the Civil War Dead

July 22, 2014

Event starts at 12:00 PM.


When the fighting stops and the armies move on, what happens to the dead left behind? Local efforts might take care of the problem initially, but the cleanup is a process that will last years as family members search for loved ones and the government or Confederate associations seek ways to properly care for the dead.

Kathleen Logothetis Thompson graduated from Siena College (2010) with a B.A. in History and a Certificate in Revolutionary Era Studies and from West Virginia University (2012) with a Masters in History (focus on the American Civil War). She is pursuing her doctorate at West Virginia University. Kathleen has been a seasonal historical interpreter at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park since 2010.

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Moses Fleetwood Walker at Noon and the Great War at 7 PM

Lunch With Books: Moses Fleetwood Walker


July 15, 2014, Event starts at 12:00 PM.

Stark State College instructor Craig Brown is leading an effort to create an official day to honor Moses Fleetwood Walker, the first African American to play major league baseball, many years before Jackie Robinson. Walker was born in Mt. Pleasant Ohio. Brown will discuss Walker's fascinating life. Meanwhile, you can show your support by liking the Moses Fleetwood Walker Day Facebook page: 

https://www.facebook.com/mosesfleetwoodwalkerday






And at 7 PM: The People's University, American History III, World War I, part 1 with instructor Dr. Hal Gorby.



Wednesday, July 2, 2014

July 8 (rescheduled from Jan 7) Black Damp Century

Author Kerry George will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling on Tuesday, July 8 at noon to discuss his book, Black DampCentury, a story of strife, loyalty, and fury set against the backdrop of coal mining in West Virginia, beginning with the bloody battle at Blair Mountain. Mr. George is a retired U.S. Mine Inspector. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

Top Ten Lunch With Books Programs

Program; Presenter; Attendance; Date

1. SAENGERFEST; Eintracht German Singing Society; 200; 07-17-10

2. A Lucky Child; Auschwitz Survivor Judge Thomas Buergenthal; 198; 03-04-11

3. Fashion Show; Civil War 150; 194; 11-20-11

4. Ruanaidh; Art Rooney, Jr. and Jim O'Brien; 168; 06-15-10

5. Follow the River; James Alexander Thom; 160; 06-05-08

6. Warwood Memories; 157; 12-18-12

7. The Quiet Man Pub Reading; 150; 08-30-12

8. Wheeling Then and Now; Sean Duffy; 146; 09-07-10

9. Bloch Brother Tobacco; Stuart Bloch; 131; 04-27-10

10. Reasons to Believe; Dr. Scott Hahn; 126; 08-21-07

Book Discussion Groups

The Ohio County Public Library facilitates book discussion groups for both young adults and adults. Currently, the OCPL offers two adult groups, which meet on the first Monday and third Thursday of each month.

In addition to its own growing collection, the OCPL has access to the book discussion collection of the West Virginia Library Commission.

To join or form a book discussion group, or for more information, please call 304-232-0244.

Meeting of the Minds Philosophy Group

The Meeting of the Minds Philosophic Inquiry Forum is facilitated by David Weimer. The group meets virtually every Tuesday at 6 PM. Call the library for meeting room locations.

For more information, visit www.firstknowthyself.org/m&mphilosophy.htm or contact group organizer, David Weimer, at 740 526-0985 or by email at dwwweimer@comcast.net..