December 18th at NOON

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Celebrate the Holiday Season with the Madison School Choir as they sing a selection of Christmas favorites.

BICYCLING IN DECEMBER

FOR THOSE WHO LOVE TO RIDE

On Tuesday, December 11, Pittsburgh resident and former Wheeling teacher Jim Joyce will present a tribute to the bicycle by and for those who ride. Joyce is the editor of a new book called The Bicycle Book: Wit, Wisdom, & Wanderings. It is a celebration of the bicycle by people who love to ride—a tribute to one of the finest, most efficient, useful machines ever invented. The book is packed with original stories, narratives and cartoons from a talented corps of writers and cartoonists, covering cycling fact, humor, recollection, commentary, or prediction, not only in the U.S., but also in Europe and North Africa. Editor Jim Joyce is the founder of Bikexchange.com. He contributes several of his own stories to the book, and plans to donate 15% of his royalties in equal shares to SoldierRide, the League of American Bicyclists, and the United States Association of Blind Athletes’ tandem cycling program. Published by Satya House Publications, The Bicycle Book will be available November 2007 via http://www.satyahouse.com/. Copies of the book will also be available for purchase and signing at Lunch With Books. Schedules permitting, Jim will be joined by Andy Wallen of Wheelcraft Bicycles, book contributor and Wheeling attorney Jay T. McCamic, and Wheeling area graphic artist Kate O'Kelley. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

From West Virginia to Rome and Back Again...

On Tuesday, December 4th at noon, local author Silvio “Joe” Perilli will visit Lunch With Books to discuss his new book From Rome Italy to Wheeling, WV. Though born in West Virginia, Perilli grew up in Italy, and settled in Wheeling later in life. The book began as a simple biography intended only for family members and grew over eight years into a fascinating chronicle of a life’s journey. It includes Perilli’s struggles with English upon returning to the U.S as well as his military service in the U.S. Army. As Perilli spent most of his life in Wheeling, the reader also experiences some of the history of the city through the author’s eyes. Copies will be available for purchase. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Tuesday, Nov 27th at NOON

FDR

Renowned historian and Marshall University political science professor Jean Edward Smith will appear at Lunch With Books on Tuesday, November 27th at noon to discuss his new biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt, called FDR. The reviews of the book have been ecstatic. Publishers Weekly, in a boxed, starred review (their highest category), called FDR “a magisterial biography.” Smith’s “eloquent synthesis of FDR’s complex and compelling life is remarkably executed and a joy to read.”

Library Journal, in another starred review, labeled FDR “essential.” “This page-turner is the best single volume biography available of America’s 32nd president.”

Kirkus Reviews also gave FDR a star and said, “An outstanding biography of ‘the most gifted American statesman of the twentieth century’.”

Other reviewers have been equally enthusiastic. John Meacham of Newsweek author of Franklin and Winston, called FDR “a towering new biography.” Syndicated columnist George Will wrote, “Jean Edward Smith, author of acclaimed biographies of John Marshall, the definer of the nation, and Ulysses Grant, whose sword saved the nation, now provides this study of Franklin Roosevelt, reviver of the nation. It will secure Smith’s standing as today’s foremost biographer of formidable figures in American history.”

Random House, Smith’s publisher, apparently shares that view. It ordered a first printing of 75,000 copies – almost unprecedented for a scholarly biography.

Professor Smith, who was one of three finalists for the Pulitzer prize in 2002 for his biography of U.S. Grant, is the author of twelve books, including a biography of Chief Justice John Marshall. Professor Smith earned his undergraduate degree fromPrinceton University, received his Ph.D. from Columbia University, and served as a professor of political economy at the University of Toronto for many years.

More glowing reviews of FDR from across the nation:

“FDR is practically a Cliff Notes bio. This is a terrific one-volume comprehensive look at an extraordinary life.” --USA Today

“Smith’s FDR is a model presidential biography...Now at last, we have the biography that is right for the man...Smith “is that rarest and most welcome of historians, one who addresses a serious popular readership without sacrificing high scholarly standards.” --Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post

“Smith vibrantly captures the complete drama of an American original.” --Newark Star-Ledger
“Jean Edward Smith is an accomplished biographer, and he lays out in the most charming prose the dynamics of a gifted politician”. --Michael P. Riccards, The Washington Times

“Jean Edward Smith has dug more deeply into the Roosevelt collection of books and documents than all of his predecessors. The result is a picture of the 32nd President richer in detail and explanation than any other work. Even Smith’s footnotes throughout the text, not to mention his 153 pages of endnotes, are instructive and absorbing.”

--Professor Henry F. Graff
Columbia University
The New Leader

“Smith, in this remarkable, sympathetic biography, doesn’t flinch at Roosevelt’s mistakes….The Roosevelt who emerges here – neither a stranger nor a painted icon – is flawed and magnificent.” --The New Yorker

“FDR will secure Smith’s standing as today’s foremost biographer of formidable figures in American history.” --George F. Will

“A magisterial biography…Smith’s eloquent synthesis of FDR’s complex and compelling life is remarkably executed and a joy to read.” --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A rare combination of history and narrative prose.” --Buffalo News

Buffalo Bill in Wheeling!

Nov 20th, 2007, Kate Quinn, Buffalo Bill

On Tuesday, November 20th at noon, Kate Quinn will be at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program to discuss the life of the legendary scout, hunter, and Pony Express rider Buffalo Bill Cody, who brought his famous Wild West Show to Wheeling on August 31st, 1895 and several other times. The Wheeling show featured a reenactment of Custer’s Last Stand at Little Big Horn, as well as a performance by sharpshooter Annie Oakley. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

More New Programs Announced

Feb 19th 2008, WV Author and WVU English Professor Mark Brazaitis

Author Mark Brazaitis will appear at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program on Tuesday, February 19th at noon. A professor of English and Creative Writing at West Virginia University, Brazaitis is the author of An American Affair, winner of the 2004 George Garrett Prize for fiction, as well as The River of Lost Voices: Stories from Guatemala, winner of the 1998 Iowa Short Fiction Award, and a novel, Steal My Heart. He is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and his stories, poems and essays have appeared in The Sun, Beloit Fiction Journal, Notre Dame Review, Atlanta Review, Shenandoah and other literary journals. Brazaitis has also published journalism in The Washington Post, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Detroit Free Press and American Medical News.

Feb 26th 2008, WV Author Gretchen M. Laskas

Author Gretchen Moran Laskas will appear at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program on Tuesday, February 26th at noon. Laskas is a native West Virginian who now resides in Northern Virginia. She is the author of The Midwife’s Tale, which received a starred review in Library Journal, as well as awards for Outstanding Contribution to Appalachia and Best Appalachian Novel. Her latest novel for young adults, The Miner’s Daughter, is the story of the 1930's coal camps and how church and secular organizations came together in order to bring families out of poverty. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

March 11th 2008, Susan B Anthony, Portrayed by Patty Cooper

The Ohio County Public Library’s celebration of Women’s History Month continues as the famed women’s rights movement leader, suffragist, and abolitionist Susan B Anthony visits Lunch With Books on Tuesday, March 11th at noon. Ms. Anthony will be portrayed by Patty Cooper, a veteran member of the West Virginia Humanities Council History Alive program. Anthony, who died 14 years before the 19th Amendment extending the right to vote to women was ratified, was a pioneer, whose tireless efforts made the amendment possible. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

April 8th 2008, eBay Day at the Library, Part Deux

Would you like to learn how sell your Extra stuff on eBay? You are invited to a free class at the Ohio County Public Library. Ebay day at the library is back by popular demand on Tuesday, April 8th, 2008 beginning at noon and ending at 2:30 pm. Sponsored by the United States Postal Service and the OCPL’s Lunch With Books program, the class will be taught by a representative of the USPS. The class will include an introduction to buying and selling on eBay, the world’s largest and best known internet auction web site. Attendees will learn how to: register and get started; develop listings; use shipping labels through eBay/Paypal; pay for postage online; and use smart U.S. Postal Service shipping solutions, like free carrier pick-up at your home or office. Free educational materials designed to help you with your listings will also be available. For more information, please call the library at 304-232-0244.

Is There A Wheeling Feature Film? Yes.

Nov 13th 2007, Greg Sabo, The Courier

On Tuesday, November 13th at noon, Filmmaker Greg Sabo of Sabo Studios will be at the Ohio County Public Library’s to discuss his recent digital motion picture, The Courier, which was filmed on location in Wheeling. The action film features Wheeling’s own Frank O’Brien as a mob boss. Greg Sabo is an award-winning cinematographer whose primary work is filming commercials. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

November 6th

Edwin Sharp, author of The Spirit of America

Meet author Edwin J. Sharp on Tuesday November 6th at noon at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program. Sharp’s new book, The Spirit of America, features a group of young people in their rendezvous with destiny as they experience the turbulent times of the Great Depression and World War II while growing up in Wheeling. Mr. Sharp has had an ongoing interest in history and possesses an intense interest in the American ideals that prompted the writing of this book. He has maintained close relationships with his classmates and will share their memories dating back to 1940. Mr. Sharp served three years in the U. S. Army with a tour of duty in Korea. He is a graduate of Wheeling Jesuit University, and served as a Special Agent of the FBI, focusing on Organized Crime investigations. Mr. Sharp is married and has four grown children and resides in Winchester, Virginia. Copies of The Spirit of America will be available for sale and signing. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

A Reunion to Die For

October 23rd, 12 Noon

Meet Lauren Carr, Author of A Reunion to Die For, as she discusses the life of a mystery writer balancing a career in murder while caring for her family!

Hancock County’s newly elected Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Thornton is a man of integrity with a determined sense of justice. When seemingly innocent cheerleader Grace Henderson is murdered, Josh’s memories fly back to high school and to the freakishly similar way his dear friend Tricia Wheeler had committed suicide. Re-opening the investigation into Tricia’s death while simultaneously conducting Grace’s, Thornton must use every ounce of his integrity, ingenuity, and tight circle of close friends while he scrambles to solve the two murders that have nearly everyone around him becoming either suspect or victim… including himself!

New Programs Announced for 2008

Jan 15th 2008, History Alive: Victoria Woodhull

Long before Hillary Clinton, there was Victoria Woodhull. Portrayed by Betty Leavengood, Woodhull was the first female candidate for president of the United States, and she will visit the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books Program on Tuesday, January 15th at noon. The History Alive program is sponsored by the West Virginia Humanities Council. Woodhull ran against Ulysses S. Grant in 1872 as the nominee of the Equal Rights Party. Woodhull was a staunch advocate for social reforms and equality for women, including the right to vote. Her views on marriage were seen by some as too radical and led to rivalries within the suffrage movement. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

April 26th 2008, Mothman: Behind the Red Eyes with Jeff Wamsley

Jeff Wamsley, curator of the Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant, WV, will be at the Ohio County Public Library for a special Saturday Lunch With Books program on April 26th at noon. Wamsley will discuss his book, Mothman: Behind the Red Eyes, which look deeper into the mystery of the Mothman legacy with the most extensive collection of data ever assembled. Research materials include firsthand eyewitness accounts, rare documents & press archives, UFO/Men in Black encounters, the Silver Bridge disaster, TNT Area archives, illustrations, maps, photos, and more. The book, along with other Mothman souvenirs, will be available for sale. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

It's Tea Time

October 16th, Tea Time Traditions

On Tuesday, October 16th at noon, Judi Hendrickson and Jeanne Finstein will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library to share pictures and stories on the history and traditions of tea. The program will cover the first recorded use of tea through Victorian traditions related to tea etiquette. Free tea sample will be provided.

Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Christmas in October

Morgantown resident Robert Tinnell, filmmaker and author of the graphic novel/cookbook Feast of the Seven Fishes, appeared at Lunch With Books today. Tinnell shared his memories of the Italian American Christmas Eve tradition with an audience of 40 people. He said he wrote the book, which began life as a web-based comic strip, as a love letter to his family. He said he hoped the book would help to inspire a new generation to preserve such important familial/cultural traditions, which are unfortunately fading away as a feature of modern life. Tinnell said the book is being turned into a major motion picture, which will begin filming in November. He said he hoped the story would help people to see Italian Americans as the wonderful, hardworking, funloving people they really are rather than the typical Hollywood caricature of Italian Americans as gangsters. Tinnell said that Feast of the Seven Fishes was a labor of love, and described the tremendous effort it took to bring the book and film to life despite the naysaying of some. He concluded by answering audience questions and signing books. Copies of Feast of the Seven Fishes are available at http://www.feastofthesevenfishes.com/.

New Programs Announced

Dec 4th, 2007, Silvio Perilli

On Tuesday, December 4th at noon, local author Silvio “Joe” Perilli will visit Lunch With Books to discuss his new book From Rome Italy to Wheeling, WV. Though born in West Virginia, Perilli grew up in Italy, and settled in Wheeling later in life. The book began as a simple biography intended only for family members and grew over eight years into a fascinating chronicle of a life’s journey. It includes Perilli’s struggles with English upon returning to the U.S as well as his military service in the U.S. Army. As Perilli spent most of his life in Wheeling, the reader also experiences some of the history of the city through the author’s eyes. Copies will be available for purchase. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Dec 11th, 2007, The Bicycle Book: Wit, Wisdom and Wanderings with Jim Joyce

On Tuesday, December 11, Pittsburgh resident and former Wheeling teacher Jim Joyce will present a tribute to the bicycle by and for those who ride. Joyce is the editor of a new book called The Bicycle Book: Wit, Wisdom, & Wanderings. It is a celebration of the bicycle by people who love to ride—a tribute to one of the finest, most efficient, useful machines ever invented. The book is packed with original stories, narratives and cartoons from a talented corps of writers and cartoonists, covering cycling fact, humor, recollection, commentary, or prediction, not only in the U.S., but also in Europe and North Africa. Editor Jim Joyce is the founder of Bikexchange.com. He contributes several of his own stories to the book, and plans to donate 15% of his royalties in equal shares to SoldierRide, the League of American Bicyclists, and the United States Association of Blind Athletes’ tandem cycling program. Published by Satya House Publications, The Bicycle Book will be available November 2007 via http://www.satyahouse.com/. Copies of the book will also be available for purchase and signing at Lunch With Books. Schedules permitting, Jim will be joined by Andy Wallen of Wheelcraft Bicycles, book contributor and Wheeling attorney Jay T. McCamic, and Wheeling area graphic artist Kate O'Kelley. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Dec 18th, 2007, Madison School Choir

The Madison School Choir will visit Lunch With Books to sing a selection of Christmas favorites.

And a Preview of Comming Attractions for 2008!

March 4th 2008, WV Author Meredith Sue Willis

On Tuesday, January 15th at noon celebrated West Virginia author Meredith Sue Willis will visit the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program. Willis is the award winning author of several works of fiction, including Higher Ground, Only Great Changes, and Oradell at Sea. She has also written several books about writing and the teaching of writing, including Personal Fiction Writing, Blazing Pencils, and Deep Revision. The versatile author’s recent books include the children’s novel Billie of Fish House Lane, a collection of short stories called Dwight's House and Other Stories, and a science fiction novel for young adults, The City Built of Starships. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

April 8, 2008: It's eBay Day at the Library, Part 2!

Back by popular demand: Join us for a second opportunity to learn how to sell your stuff on Ebay, the number one online acution website. Presented by the United States Postal Service. Class will run from noon to 2:30.

April 22nd 2008, Classical Guitarist Kevin Hubbard

Massachusetts based Classical guitarist Kevin Hubbard will visit Lunch With Books on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 at noon. Hubbard will perform "Classical Guitar with a Taste of Jazz," featuring classical pieces from various eras by composers from Europe (Spain & Italy in particular), Asia, and the Americas, a jazz standard, and originals that combine classical with other styles such as jazz and folk. The program will include a brief spoken history of the guitar, composers' backgrounds, and anecdotes. Hubbard is also a successful artist, an author, and the 1996 World Table Hockey Champion. His debut CD, entitled Aspirations, will be available for purchase.

Buon Natale! (It's Christmas in October!)

October 9: Author Robert Tinnell

On Tuesday, October 9th at noon, author and filmmaker Robert Tinnell will appear at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program. A Fairmont West Virginia native, Tinell will discuss his book, Feast of the Seven Fishes, a celebration of the Italian American Christmas Eve tradition of eating seven different kinds of seafood. The book began life in 2004 as an online comic strip drawn by artists Ed Piskor and Alex Saviuk. Now a graphic novel complete with recipes, Tinnell’s book chronicles a love story set against the backdrop of a 1983 feast. Although fictional, the events depicted in the book are based on the author’s real life experiences and composites of people he knew. Robert Tinnell is also a filmmaker and has written two other graphic novels. Production of the film version of Feast of the Seven Fishes begins in November 2007. For more on the book, visit http://www.feastofthesevenfishes.com/. Copies of the book will be available for sale. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

A Survivor's Story

Lunch With Books was very honored to host Wheeling resident and distinguished WWII veteran Paul McGinnis last Tuesday, September 25th. A large audience of 53 people assembled to hear a harrowing and touching story of survival.

Mr. McGinnis began his service as a signalman aboard the USS Indianapolis in 1944. During his time on board the heavy cruiser, he witnessed and barely dodged a Kamikaze attack that took the lives of 9 men. In 1945 the Indianapolis delivered to the island of Tinian the parts for the atomic bomb later detonated over Hiroshima, Japan. Soon after the delivery, the Indianapolis was struck by Japanese torpedoes and sunk. With great sadness, Mr. McGinnis described the agonized screams of the men burned alive in a horrific oil fire. Alone in the water after abandoning ship, Mr. McGinnis watched the Indianapolis rise vertically to stand straight up above the sea, bow forward, before slipping beneath the waves. With great emotion, Mr. McGinnis described the horrible fate he imagined for those men trapped on board as the pressure of the sea's depths crushed the ship with them still inside.

After joining a group of survivors in the water, Mr. McGinnis said he did his best to improve morale by singing marching songs he learned at the University of Illinois where he had been trained as a signalman. At one point, Mr. McGinnis encountered a sailor named Fred Kouski from Bridgeport Ohio who had been badly burned during the attack. Mr. Kouski later died at sea.

Although the Indianapolis incident is infamous as one of the worst documented examples of mass shark attack, not all of the survivors encountered sharks. In fact Mr. McGinnis was very happy to report that he was one of the men who actually never saw a shark while in the water. He did, however, hear the horrifying screams of other men as they fought off attack.

As the days went by, the men began to suffer greatly from dehydration. Mr. McGinnis described dreaming about drinking iced tea and lemonade, which he said always tasted salty. This led him to believe that he may have unconsciously drunk some salt water, a hazardous activity that caused many of the men to hallucinate badly, and eventually killed them. Mr. McGinnis also described the cyclical suffering he experienced from being burned by the sun reflecting off the mirrorlike surface of the sea during the day, then being chilled to the bone in the icy waters at night.

By the time the men were rescued, groups of survivors stretched 13 miles across the surface of the ocean. Mr. McGinnis described how men were strapped to the wings of one of the rescue planes to keep them safe from shark attack until rescue ships could arrive. As the rescue began, a plane dropped a can of water near Mr McGinnis. He was unable to reach it in time and watched it sink to the bottom of the ocean. The same plane then circled and dropped another can of water in the exact same spot, an improbable bit of sharpshooting that Mr. McGinnis called a "miracle". He was able to retreive the can and drink the water, which he said probably saved his life. He later felt guilty for not sharing the water.

Mr. McGinnis concluded by describing the long fight by the Indianapolis survivors to clear the name of their Captain Charles McVay, who was blamed for the tragedy. The efforts of the crew were finally rewarded as the U.S. Congress finally exonerated McVay in 2000.

While 1197 men served aboard the Indianapolis, only 317 emerged from the ocean still alive, a fact which still causes a great deal of sadness for Paul McGinnis.

When asked by an audience member if he had been on the ocean since, Mr McGinnis allowed that he had waded into the surf, but that cruises aboard ships are not for him. In response to another audience question, Mr.McGinnis said that he joined the navy at the tender age of 17 and that when the Indianapolis was sunk, he was only 19 years of age.

Mr. McGinnis received a standing ovation from the Lunch With Books audience.

Mr. McGinnis's full story, along with the stories on many other survivors of the Indianapolis, can be found in the book Only 317 Survived.

Paul McGinnis listens to a question from an audience member.

Madonna of the Trail

On Tuesday, October 2nd at noon, members of the Wheeling Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will be at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program to discuss the history and purpose behind the twelve “Madonna of the Trail” monuments, which were erected along National Road by the D.A. R. in the late 1920’s. The statues, one of which stands near Wheeling Park, were designed to commemorate the spirit of the woman pioneer.

September 25th: Wheeling's Paul McGinnis

A Survivor's Story

Wheeling resident Paul McGinnis, a survivor of the sinking of the USS Indianapolis in the Pacific Ocean during World War II, will appear at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program on Tuesday, September 25th at noon. The heavy cruiser Indianapolis was sunk by Japanese torpedoes in 1945 after delivering materials used to make the atomic bomb later detonated over Hiroshima. Mr. McGinnis was among the 317 who survived from a crew of nearly 1197 men. The remainder died from dehydration, exposure, and shark attack as the men drifted at sea for several days. The tragedy was the worst at sea loss of life in the US Navy’s history. Mr. McGinnis told his full story in the book Only 317 Survived. For more information, please call the library at 304-232-0244.

Celebrate Constitution Day

On Tuesday, September 18th at noon, the Ohio County Public Library will celebrate Constitution Day with Dr. Joe Laker, Professor of History at Wheeling Jesuit University. Dr. Laker will review Jan Crawford Greenburg's new book, Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle to Control the United States Supreme Court. The book is written for everyday readers, and includes an insider’s look at the personalities and political leanings of the justices who have been appointed to the nation’s highest Court in recent decades. As always, the event is free and open to the public. Please bring your lunch. Free beverages will be provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Dr. DW Cummings

On Tuesday, September 11th at noon, Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library will welcome Dr. D.W. Cummings, the Pastor of the Bethlehem Apostolic Temple in Wheeling. Dr. Cummings is the current President of the Ohio Valley Pastor’s Association, and is a well-known and respected voice on radio, television, and in print. Dr. Cummings will discuss his recent travels in Africa and Israel and share his thoughts on Biblical prophecy and the End Times. As always, the event is free and open to the public. Please bring your lunch. Free beverages will be provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Tuesday, September 4th 2007

Dr. David Javersak

Celebrate Labor Day at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, September 4, 2007. Dr. David Javersak, Dean of the School of Liberal Arts at West Liberty State College, will be at the library’s Lunch With Books program to explain how and why Wheeling workers united to keep a Carnegie library out of town in 1904. Dr. Javersak will discuss his article, "One Place on the Great Green Planet Where Andrew Carnegie can't get a Monument with His Money”. Dr. Javersak will also touch on the career of Wheeling born labor leader Walter Reuther. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

New Programs Announced!

New Lunch With Books Programs for November 2007

Nov 6th Edwin Sharp, The Spirit of America

Meet author Edwin J. Sharp on Tuesday November 6th at noon at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program. Sharp’s new book, The Spirit of America, features a group of young people in their rendezvous with destiny as they experience the turbulent times of the Great Depression and World War II while growing up in Wheeling. Mr. Sharp has had an ongoing interest in history and possesses an intense interest in the American ideals that prompted the writing of this book. He has maintained close relationships with his classmates and will share their memories dating back to 1940. Mr. Sharp served three years in the U. S. Army with a tour of duty in Korea. He is a graduate of Wheeling Jesuit University, and served as a Special Agent of the FBI, focusing on Organized Crime investigations. Mr. Sharp is married and has four grown children and resides in Winchester, Virginia. Copies of The Sprirt of America will be available for sale and siging. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Nov 13th 2007, Greg Sabo, The Courier

On Tuesday, November 13th at noon, Filmmaker Greg Sabo of Sabo Studios (www.gregsabo.com) will discuss his recent digital motion picture, The Courier, which was filmed on location in Wheeling. The action film features Wheeling’s own Frank O’Brien as a mob boss. Greg Sabo is an award-winning cinematographer whose primary work is filming commercials. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Nov 20th, 2007, Kate Quinn, Buffalo Bill

On Tuesday, November 20th at noon, Kate Quinn will discuss the life of the legendary scout, hunter, and Pony Express rider Buffalo Bill Cody, who brought his famous Wild West Show to Wheeling on August 31st, 1895. The Wheeling show featured a reenactment of Custer’s Last Stand at Little Big Horn, as well as a performance by sharpshooter Annie Oakley. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Nov 27th, 2007, Dr. Jean Edward Smith, FDR

On Tuesday, November 27th at noon, join renowned historian and biographer, Dr. Jean Edward Smith of Marshall University at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library. The author will discuss his latest book, FDR, a meticulously researched biography of the thirty-second President hailed by Publisher’s Weekly as an “eloquent synthesis of FDR's complex and compelling life...remarkably executed and a joy to read.” The Lunch With Books program is free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch. Free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Dr. Scott Hahn Offers Reasons to Believe

Dr. Scott Hahn Visits Lunch With Books

Franciscan University Professor Dr. Scott Hahn appeared at the Ohio County Public Library's Lunch With Books program on Tuesday, August 21st. The author of more than a dozen books on theology and Christianity, Dr. Hahn discussed ideas from his latest book, Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Explain, & Defend the Catholic Faith.

Before a record LWB audience of 126 people, Dr. Hahn explained why he wrote a book dealing with the difficult subject of apologetics, the defense of faith in God in general, and Christianity and Catholicism in particular. Dr. Hahn based his defense on the natural world, reason, Biblical evidence, and theological evidence.

He discussed the current popularity of various atheist books on the bestseller list, and recommended Alister and Joanna McGrath's The Dawkins Delusion?: Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine as a counterpoint.

Dr. Hahn concluded by answering audience questions and spent more than an hour signing books after the event. He expressed some pleasant surprise regarding the local interest in his work and said he very much enjoyed his visit to Wheeling.

BLOOD DRIVE AT THE LIBRARY

The American Red Cross Blood Services will be holding a blood drive on Wednesday September 5th at Ohio County Public Library’s Auditorium from 10 am to 4pm. Our blood inventory levels are at or below a one day supply for most of the blood types. We are encouraging all eligible donors to come out and help save lives by donating blood. All presenting donors will receive a free cooler while supplies last and will be entered into 3 drawings: one drawing for 2 NASCAR tickets to the 2008 Daytona Race which includes round trip airfare and hotel; another drawing for a Gas Grill; and the final drawing for 4 tickets to the Brad Paisley concert at the Post Gazette Pavilion in Burgettstown PA.
To be a blood donor, individuals must be at least 17 years old, weigh 110 pounds or more, be in good general health, and not have donated blood within the past 56 days. The Greater Alleghenies Region recently increased the minimum weight limit to be consistent with other Red Cross Regions nationwide. For further donation information, or to check on other bloodmobile locations, individuals may call toll free 1-800-GIVE LIFE (1-800-448-3543) or go online at http://www.redcrosslife.org/. For information about the library, please call 304-232-0244.

eBay Day at the Library!

Would you like to learn how sell your Extra stuff on eBay? You are invited to a free class at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 beginning at noon and ending at 2:30 pm. Sponsored by the United States Postal Service and the OCPL’s Lunch With Books program, the class will be taught by Dina Lord, SBS, eBay Ambassador for the Pittsburgh District United States Postal Service. The class will include an introduction to buying and selling on eBay, the world’s largest and best known internet auction web site. Attendees will learn how to: register and get started; develop listings; use shipping labels through eBay/Paypal; pay for postage online; and use smart U.S. Postal Service shipping solutions, like free carrier pick-up at your home or office. Free educational materials designed to help you with your listings will also be available. For more information, please call the library at 304-232-0244.

DR. SCOTT HAHN, REASONS TO BELIEVE

DR. SCOTT HAHN

Popular speaker and teacher Dr. Scott Hahn will be at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program on Tuesday, August 21st at noon. Dr. Hahn has delivered numerous talks nationally and internationally on a wide variety of topics related to Scripture and the Catholic faith. Over 500 of these talks have been produced on audio and videotapes by St. Joseph Communications.

Dr. Hahn is currently a Professor of Theology and Scripture at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he has taught since 1990, and is the founder and director of the Saint Paul Center for Biblical Theology. In 2005, he was appointed as the inaugural Chair of Biblical Theology and Liturgical Proclamation at St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Dr. Hahn has written numerous books and articles, including, most recently, Letter and Spirit (Doubleday: New York, 2005), Understanding the Scriptures (Midwest Theological Forum: Chicago, 2005), and Ordinary Work, Extraordinary Grace: My Spiritual Journey in Opus Dei (Doubleday Religion: New York, 2006). At Lunch With Books, he will discuss his latest book, Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Explain, and Defend the Catholic Faith (Doubleday: New York, 2007).

Scott Hahn has ten years of youth and pastoral ministry experience in Protestant congregations (in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Kansas and Virginia) and is a former Professor of Theology at Chesapeake Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1982 at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Fairfax, Virginia. He entered the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil, 1986.

Copies of Reasons to Believe as well as other books will be available for purchase and signing.

Note: Ticketed Event. Very few seats remain. Those interested may be placed on a waiting list. Call the library at 304-232-0244 for more info.

American Pragmatism

Aug 14th, 2007, Dr. Richard Mullin

On Tuesday, August 14th at noon, Dr. Richard P. Mullin, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Wheeling Jesuit University, will discuss his new book: The Soul of Classical American Philosophy: The Ethical and Spiritual Insights of William James, Josiah Royce, and Charles Sanders Peirce.

The books presents the thought of three Americans whose deep and rich insights can reawaken the best that the human spirit has to offer. William James, Josiah Royce, and Charles Sanders Peirce lived and wrote at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries, but their message rings true for us today.

Genuine philosophy signifies a way of life. William James pointed out that philosophy throws far-flashing beams of light without which we could not get along. James, Royce, and Peirce emphasized the primacy of ethics and the integration of rigorous scientific thinking with openness to religious faith.

The defining character of American philosophy is pragmatism. Erroneous notions of pragmatism abound, but its true meaning is this: the things that we really believe are those that we put into practice. In our present culture, many intellectual currents deny free will, dismiss the idea of community as nothing but a network of economic relations, and reduce the meaning of human existence to acquisitive materialism. The classical pragmatists, by contrast, offer a worldview that is scientific without being materialistic and which shows reverence for the communal and spiritual aspects of human existence.

The Soul of Classical American Philosophy serves to introduce the thought of James, Royce, and Peirce to non-specialists while offering a fresh interpretation to hold the interest of readers familiar with this area. Philosophy, and American life in general, can be rejuvenated by a drink from the spring of Classical American Philosophy.

Richard Mullin earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in philosophy from Duquesne University. After teaching philosophy for seven years at St. Bernard College in Alabama, Mullin joined the faculty at Wheeling Jesuit University where he taught for thirty years. He has lectured on American Philosophy in Slovenia and Slovakia, and has presented numerous papers to the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy throughout the United States and once in Poland.

Since retiring from full-time teaching his main occupation is writing. He and his wife, Marian, reside in Wheeling. The couple has three sons. Matthew, his wife, Dana, and their two daughters, reside in Fishers, Indiana; Marcus and his wife, Lisa, live in Wheeling; and Richard is a resident of Morgantown, West Virginia.

Copies of The Soul of Classical American Philosophy will be available for purchase and signing. For more information, please call the library at 304-232-0244.

New Programs Announced

A series of exciting new programs have been booked for the Ohio County Public Library's Lunch With Books Program for the fall of 2007. They include:

September 11th: Dr. D.W. Cummings

On Tuesday, September 11th at noon, Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library will welcome Dr. D.W. Cummings, the Pastor of the Bethlehem Apostolic Temple in Wheeling. Dr. Cummings is the current President of the Ohio Valley Pastor’s Association, and is a well-known and respected voice on radio, television, and in print. Dr. Cummings will discuss his recent travels in Africa and Israel and share his thoughts on Biblical prophecy and the End Times.

September 18th, 2007, Constitution Day: Dr. Joe Laker, Book Review

On Tuesday, September 18th at noon, the Ohio County Public Library will celebrate Constitution Day with Dr. Joe Laker, Professor of History at Wheeling Jesuit University. Dr. Laker will review Jan Crawford Greenburg's new book, Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle to Control the United States Supreme Court. The book is written for everyday readers, and includes an insider’s look at the personalities and political leanings of the justices who have been appointed to the nation’s highest Court in recent decades.

October 2nd—The Daughters of the American Revolution on the History of the Madonna of the Trails Statues

On Tuesday, October 2nd at noon, members of the Wheeling Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will be at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program to discuss the history and purpose behind the twelve “Madonna of the Trail” monuments, which were erected along National Road by the D.A. R. in the late 1920’s. The statues, one of which stands near Wheeling Park, were designed to commemorate the spirit of the woman pioneer.

October 9th 2007: Robert Tinnell, Feast of the Seven Fishes

On Tuesday, October 9th at noon, author Robert Tinnell will appear at the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program. A Fairmont West Virginia native, Tinell will discuss his book, Feast of the Seven Fishes, a celebration of the Italian American Christmas Eve tradition of eating seven different kinds of seafood. The book began life in 2004 as an online comic strip drawn by artists Ed Piskor and Alex Saviuk. Now a graphic novel complete with recipes, Tinnell’s book chronicles a love story set against the backdrop of a 1983 feast. Although fictional, the events depicted in the book are based on the author’s real life experiences and composites of people he knew. Robert Tinnell is also a filmmaker and has written two other graphic novels. Production of the film version of Feast of the Seven Fishes begins in November 2007. For more on the book, visit www.feastofthesevenfishes.com. Copies of the book will be available for sale.

October 16th, Tea Time Traditions

On Tuesday, October 16th at noon, Judi Hendrickson and Jeanne Finstein will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library to share pictures and stories on the history and traditions of tea. The program will cover the first recorded use of tea through Victorian traditions related to tea etiquette.

photo by Miya

October 23: A Reunion to Die For with Author Lauren Carr

West Virginia author Lauren Carr will discuss her new murder mystery, A Reunion to Die For. A follow up to her first book, A Small Case of Murder, the new book follows prosecuting attorney Joshua Thornton to his high school reunion in Chester West Virginia in the midst of a series of murders.