PROGRAM CHANGE

PLEASE NOTE: The Lunch With Books program featuring violinist Juan Jaramillo, originally scheduled for January 10, 2012 at noon, has been POSTPONED, most likely until summer 2012. Details will be announced when confirmed. We apologize for any inconvenience.

OCPL

Ring in the New Year with Yodeling Dick

On Tuesday January 3 at noon, Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library will welcome back a true American original. Known only to a select few, Richard Bruce Morriale (aka Yodeling Dick Brooks) has been composing, performing, and recording music for over sixty years. Heard over various radio stations in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Colorado, Arizona and West Virginia as a singer, announcer, and D.J., Mr. Brooks will offer a “one-man folk festival,” featuring as many musical instruments as he can bring for a variety of selections, including original songs and interesting commentary. The Famous Baristas of New Martinsville called him “An American Original,” Marty Stuart presented him as “The Real Deal,” and Jay Leno referred to him as “West Virginia’s Best Kept Secret.” Now you can find out why. Ring in the New Year with Yodeling Dick’s “Feast of Sounds.” Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Dec 27: A "Light-Hearted" Career Criminal

Sisters Debbie Frye and Tracy Mercier, both ex-CIA, will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday Dec 27 to tell the fascinating story of their late father and his life of crime. The bizarre story, discovered by the sisters years after their father had died, has ties to the WV Penitentiary at Moundsville and to Wheeling and the local region. The book is described as “a refreshing look at a light hearted criminal, unlike many of the true crime stories on the market today. It is a book about a boy who...grew to become a notorious opportunist whose crimes netted more money than many legendary outlaws.” Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Dec 20 at noon: More Immigrants, Migrants & Neighborhoods...

Pictures, snacks, good times.

Join the Family.

Next Monday Evening and Tuesday at Noon: Seamus McGraw

Author of Fracking Bestseller to Appear at Library

Journalist and national bestselling author Seamus McGraw will be at “Fracking Facts” at the Ohio County Public Library on Monday December 12 at 7 PM. He will then present a second program on Tuesday, December 13 at noon at the library’s Lunch With Books series. At 3 PM on the 13^th, McGraw will stop at Books-a Million at the Highlands for a book signing. A bestselling author of national renown, McGraw will discuss his new book, The End of Country, about the battle that ensued after the discovery of Marcellus gas deposits. The conflict pitted corporate America against locals determined to extract their fair share of the windfall-but not at the cost of their way of life. McGraw, a native of the region whose own mother was one of the first to receive a leasing offer, tells the story of the cutthroat dash by petrodollar billionaires to secure drilling leases that will make some poor residents rich, and put the entire community at risk of having its land and water contaminated. About the book, Tom Brokaw said, "The End of Country" is an elegantly written and unsettling account of what can happen when big energy companies come calling in rural America. This cautionary tale should be required reading for all those tempted by the calling cards of easy money and precarious peace of mind. The result too often is bitter feuds, broken dreams, a shattered landscape."

Seamus McGraw is a full-time writer who has seen his work published in Playboy, Reader's Digest, Penthouse, Radar, Spin, and The Forward. He has received the Freedom of Information Award from the Associated Press Managing Editors, as well as honors from the Casey Foundation and the Society of Professional Journalists. McGraw is currently working on a documentary trailer about his family's experiences with the Marcellus shale. He grew up pitching hay and spreading manure on the same fields the gas companies are now prospecting. He still lives in the woods of northeastern Pennsylvania with his wife and four children.

Fracking Facts and Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Fracking Programs

Thursday December 8 @ 7 PM: The Benefits of Marcellus Shale Fracking: Fact or Fiction?
Ohio County Public Library - Auditorium

Get an alternative view of Marcellus Shale drilling in the local region. Guest speakers Claudia & John Detwiler from the"Marcellus Shale Protest"group out of Pittsburgh, will provide a look at the other side of natural gas drilling (fracking),including an examination of the industry's claims regarding jobs numbers, freedom from dependence on foreign oil, the bridge fuel idea, and impacts on real estate values.

Also, Seamus McGraw (The End of Country) will appear next Monday Dec 12 at 7 and then again on Tuesday Dec 13 at noon. Same location.

Dec 6: The Table My Mother Set

Theresa DeCaria will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday December 6 at noon discuss what began as a simple project to compile her mother's recipes as a gift for her family and blossomed into a 128 page fully-illustrated cookbook honoring family, food, and tradition. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.





Get the Blues as the People’s University Concludes

The Ohio County Public Library's People’s University: Music Appreciation series will conclude on Tuesday evening, December 6 at 7:00 PM in the library's auditorium with the Blues: History, Players, Geography, featuring guest lecturer Bruce Wheeler, Executive Director Wheeling Symphony & Heritage Music Bluesfest founder.

The Music Appreciation series is designed to provide an opportunity for adults to learn or refresh their knowledge of music from classical to jazz, blues and other forms of music. The courses are free of charge and meet at 7:00 PM in the library's auditorium. For more information, please call 304-232-0244.

Nov 29: Meredith Mileti

Pittsburgh based author Meredith Mileti will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday November 29 at noon to discuss her debut novel, Aftertaste: A Novel in Five Courses. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Next: More Marshall County Patriots & Heroes (also: The Importance of Youth Symphony)

The first Wheeling Civil War 150 Fashion Show was a great success! 194 people attended, including models and volunteers -- the third highest total for any adult program ever held at the library. Many thanks to Kate Quinn and Judi Hendrickson for their tireless work. Thanks also to PD Gregg for building a terrific set, to Vicky Musicaro and Jean Bailey for the fabulous food, to Ed Phillips for going the extra mile, to all of our volunteers, to our fantastic models and to our dedicated patrons. Many, many, many thanks to all. We hope everyone enjoyed the show. Incidentally, as I was too busy to take photographs, please feel free to email any digitals to lunchwithbooks@yahoo.com

And, of course, the show goes on--Next up at Lunch With Books tomorrow:

Author Gary Rider will return to Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday November 22 at noon to discuss his second volume of Marshall County Patriots and Heroes featuring 140 military profiles and over 80 pictures. The book covers the American Revolution to Afghanistan with stories about POW's and KIA's, including more than sixty World War II veterans' stories, as well as eleven family groups -- husbands & wives, fathers & sons and brothers. Mr Rider will also bring journals and diaries that were used in writing some of the stories, and hopes to have some memorabilia from World War II. Copies of Marshall County Patriots and Heroes will be for sale at: $25.00 Hardback and $20.00 Softback. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

AND then tomorrow evening @7:

The People's University, Music Appreciation series continues with Dr. Matt Inkster on the importance of youth symphony.

A Fashionable Era

Civil War Fashion Show Is Nov. 20

November 12, 2011
The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register

Ballgowns and bonnets will abound at the Civil War Fashion Show to be held at the Ohio County Public Library, 52 16th St., Wheeling, from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20.

The event is part of the Civil War sesquicentennial observance and will highlight the fashions, including uniforms, of the period.

Organized by the Friends of Wheeling, the Ohio County Public Library and the Wheeling Civil War 150 Commission, the program will include costumes for men, women and children.

Sponsored by a grant from Wheeling National Heritage Area Corp., this program is evidence of the variety and value of the programs that Ohio County Public Library's program director, Sean Duffy, has presented to the community, organizers said.

For this occasion, the auditorium of the library will be transformed into a dazzling stage setting by P.D. Gregg, set designer for Oglebay Institute's Towngate Theatre, who has donated his time and energy to the project.

Stages will provide some of the costumes, but most were designed and made by the participating models. "Making costumes is very difficult and time-consuming, but well worth the effort," said Kate Quinn, who has made several vests, frock coats and gowns for the show.
Quinn, a Friends of Wheeling member, will narrate the program with tidbits of information about why the fashions were made the way they were and how women coped with the voluminous petticoats, hoops and skirts of the period.

Judi Hendrickson, also , a Friends of Wheeling member, is organizing the many models involved in the show. Detailed descriptions of each outfit will give the audience an insight into the types of materials used during the period.

"We are striving to make this as authentic as possible. I think the audience will be delighted with the show and learn a little something at the same time," Hendrickson remarked.

A reception with light refreshments will be held after the fashion show.

The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Seating is limited. To assure a seat, send an email message to LunchwithBooks@yahoo.com or call the library at 304-232-0244 by Friday, Nov. 18.

AND Next Tuesday at NOON:

Then on November 22 at noon, Lunch With Books continues with author Gary Rider, who will return to discuss his second volume of Marshall County Patriots and Heroes, featuring 140 military profiles and over 80 pictures. It covers the American Revolution to Afghanistan with stories about POW's and KIA's, including more than sixty World War II veterans' stories, as well as eleven family groups -- husbands & wives, fathers & sons and brothers. Mr Rider will also bring journals and diaries that were used in writing some of the stories, and hopes to have some memorabilia from World War II. Copies of Marshall County Patriots and Heroes be for sale at: $25.00 Hardback and $20.00 Softback.

Then on Tuesday Evening at 7 PM, the People's University, Music Appreciation series continues with Dr. Matt Inkster on the importance of youth symphony.

Next Tuesday: The Cherokee Language and Classical Music

FIRST AT NOON:

In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, Travis Henline, site manager of West Virginia Independence Hall, will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, November 15 at noon to offer a crash course in the Cherokee Indian language. Henline will use Total Physical Response (TPR), a language teaching method developed at Dartmouth University in order to teach useable language to foreign diplomats in a short period of time. It uses nonverbal cues and is very interactive, requiring lots of student participation. Henline took a ten day immersion course on the Eastern Band Cherokee language using TPR. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.


& THEN AT 7 PM: The People's University, Music Appreciation: Classical Music as a Communicative Form and the Composer's Voice with Maestro André Raphel, Wheeling Symphony.


Plus: Volunteers are still needed for the Civil War 150 Fashion Show on Sunday, November 20 from 2-4 pm. Please help!

Nov 8: Critically Acclaimed Author Marie Manilla

West Virginia author Marie Manilla will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday November 8 to discuss her work, including the acclaimed collection of short stories, Still Life with Plums. A Huntington native, Manilla is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Marshall University, and WVU. Her prize-winning fiction has appeared in The Chicago Tribune, Mississippi Review, Prairie Schooner, Calyx Journal, Portland Review, Kestrel, and numerous other journals. Her stories have been collected in Still Life with Plums just out from West Virginia University Press. ForeWord Reviews nominated the collection for Book of the Year in the short story category. Six of the stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and the book was a finalist for the Weatherford Award. Daniel Wallace, author of Big Fish, selected her forthcoming novel, Shrapnel, as winner of the Fred Bonnie Award for best first novel. Shrapnel, set in Huntington, not only explores the legacy of war in three generations of the same family, but it examines and dispels inflated stereotypes that outsiders often hold about West Virginians. Marie continues to live in her hometown where she regularly teaches writing and American Literature at Marshall University. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

"Marie Manilla’s Still Life With Plums houses in its pages a repository of heartache and joy. Its soul lies in life’s little moments, somehow still yet perpetually fleeing. Manilla’s words take flight in the mind and dance 'like paper birds in the wind.' Inevitably, the words will root inside the reader, like the memory of a fossil or a Polaroid picture, and once there, they will cease to be still. Just as the people in these stories, they will keep on humming."Glenn Taylor, author of The Ballad of Trenchmouth Taggart and National Book Critics Circle Award finalist

Nov 1: Photographing Nature

Naturalist Bill Beatty will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday November 1 at noon to provide some insights into the secrets of photographing the natural world. Well known for his study of the local screech owl population, Bill Beatty has been a longtime naturalist with Oglebay Institute and is the founder of a nature programming, photography and education company known as “Wild and Natural.” Bill has forty years of experience as a naturalist and has published three books and numerous magazine articles. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Oct 25: Paranormal Stories

The Halloween Queen ™ Pamela E. Apkarian-Russell will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday October 25 at noon to share ghost stories and tales of the paranormal. She will also share an amazing Halloween collectibles display in the library’s main display case. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

See You @ the Expo

First Ohio Valley History Expo to be Held October 22

The first ever Ohio Valley History Expo will be held on Saturday, October 22 from noon until 4:00 pm in the lower level of the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling. The brainchild of Wheeling Area Historical Society president Margaret Brennan, the Expo is being planned and organized by members of the Wheeling Heritage Round-table, a consortium of organizations interested in preserving and promoting local history.

The logo for the Expo, featuring Wheeling's famous Mingo statue, was created by graphic artist Hilary Curto, courtesy West Virginia Northern Community College. A partnership grant to help fund the event was provided by the Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation. Additional funding was provided by the Ohio County Public Library.

The Expo will provide a free educational and networking opportunity for those interested in history, preservation and genealogy by providing a one-stop-shop to "meet the experts" in those fields. More than two dozen local groups and individuals will have displays at the Expo, including regional museums, genealogical societies, historical societies, writers, researchers, educators, independent historians, archives and libraries, Representatives will be on hand to answer questions and provide information. Most will have free informational handouts and brochures and some will have books and other items for sale.

The keynote speaker for the Ohio Valley History Expo will be James Alexander Thom, who will speak in the library's auditorium at 1:00 PM. A book signing will follow.

In addition to bestsellers like Follow the River, and Panther in the Sky, Mr. Thom has written, The Art and Craft of Writing Historical Fiction. and is at work on a new book, a sequel to 2007's St. Patrick's Battalion, which includes looks at the Sultana disaster, President Lincoln's assassination and funeral, and the tragedy of Andersonville prison, among other topics.

Mr. Thom's novels have sold millions of copies. Follow the River, the story of a young Virginia woman's 1000 mile escape from her Shawnee Indian captors, is now in its 37th printing and still sells 30,000-40,000 copies a year. Mr. Thom lives with his wife, Dark Rain, a Shawnee, in a 130-year-old cabin he reconstructed. Also a writer, Dark Rain is the author of The Shawnee:Kohkumthena's Grandchildren among other books.

Mr. Thom is known for his rigorous and often hands on research. He believes that in order to talk or write about something accurately you have to experience it. Consequently, one can find him hiking old Indian trails and canoeing rivers. He traveled, for example, the entire route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition while writingFrom Sea to Shining Sea and traced Mary Ingles' 1000 mile escape, following the Ohio, Kanawha and New Rivers while living off the land, for Follow the River. In addition to his writing, Mr. Thom is also a tireless environmentalist, and Dark Rain is always at his side during this work.

The Thoms greatly enjoy visiting Wheeling and the Ohio Valley as numerous friends and family members still live locally. When the two appeared at the library's Lunch With Books program in 2008, they drew one of the largest audience's in the program's history.

In addition to the Thoms, the Ohio Valley History Expo will feature musical entertainment by Richard Pollock and Bob Heyer of the Cabin Fever String Band, as well as a performance by Gallowglass. Formed in 2000 by musicians Michael Petersen and Patrick Coughlan, Gallowglass performs both instrumental and vocal music from the Celtic nations, played on traditional acoustic instruments. The band has performed at many area venues over the years, including the annual Wheeling Celtic Celebration and the Fort Henry Days festival.

The Ohio Valley History Expo is free and open to the public. Light refreshments, including free beverages and popcorn will be served. For more information, please call the library at 304-232-0244 or the Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation at 304-232-3087.

HISTORY EXPO Next Saturday!

If you have a Facebook account, please click on THIS LINK and "Like" the page.

ALA Takes Notice

Lunch With Books was mentioned in the American Library Association's Programming Librarian blog by Angela Henshaw, Program Officer/Web Editor for the ALA Public Programs Office.

Thanks Angela. We appreciate the kind words.

LWB

Oct 18 @ Noon: VIKINGS!

West Liberty history professor Dr. Darrin Cox will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, October 18 at noon to present “Exploring the Explorers: Vikings.” In this "hands-on" material history display, Dr. Cox will discuss the popular misconceptions regarding the first Europeans to set foot in the New World. Besides discussing Viking culture and allowing participants to try on and feel reproductions of the armor, clothes, and jewelry of these daring seafolk, he seeks to rescue the image of the Vikings from their traditional portrayal by Christian monks as bloodthirsty, horned-helmet wearing savages. Dr. Darrin Cox is an Assistant Professor of History at West Liberty University who holds a Ph.D. in Late Medieval/Early Modern Gender from Purdue University. He also earned his Master of Arts in Medieval History at West Virginia University and has been a Viking re-enactor for 15 years. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Wed Oct 12 at noon: Travels to Rome and the Holy Land

Dr. Dennis Woytek will be at a special Wednesday edition of Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on October 12 at noon. Dr. Woytek is a professor of Journalism and Multimedia Arts at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He was responsible for the creation of numerous websites such as the original Pittsburgh Steelers, designing the Pittsburgh Tribune Review online edition, Pittsburgh Brewing Company, and The Pittsburgh Jazz Society. Professor Woytek's dissertation titled "Community of Memory: How Technology has Enabled Vietnam Veterans to Reunite and Narrate the Public Memory" has been presented at several conferences and Vietnam veteran's reunions. In 2010, Dr. Wotek documented (on film) a historic interfaith trip to the Holy Land and Rome as part of a group of nearly 30 lay and religious leaders. The Pursuer of Peace Pilgrimage, led by Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik and Rabbi Aaron Bisno of Pittsburgh’s Rodef Shalom Congregation, spent about three days in Rome and three days in the Holy Land, visiting spiritually significant sites. The goal of the trip was to strengthen understanding between the two faith communities as they visited holy sites, including St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican museums, the catacombs of Catholics and Jews, the Roman Forum and a meeting with the chief rabbi at the synagogue in Rome. In the Holy Land, the pilgrims visited the Church of the Nativity, the Mount of the Beatitudes, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the Western Wall, the Jewish Quarter and Yad Vashem, the international Holocaust memorial, meeting with leaders in the Jewish and Catholic dialogue. The pilgrimage was a celebration of Catholic-Jewish relations, a step toward bringing the Catholic and Jewish communities closer together in the pursuit of peace. Dr. Woytek’s presentation will feature a screening of a 35 minute DVD of the pilgrimage, followed by remarks by Woytek and a question and answer period. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

New People's University: Music Appreciation

LIBRARY TO OFFER MUSIC APPRECIATION

The Ohio County Public Library will offer a fourth installment in its popular series of programs entitled, “The People’s University.” The new installment, "Music Appreciation," will provide an opportunity for adults to learn or refresh their knowledge of music from classical to jazz, blues and all major forms of American popular music. The courses are free of charge and will be taught by Bruce Wheeler, Executive Director of the Wheeling Symphony, Maestro André Raphel, Music Director of the Wheeling Symphony, and Dr. Matt Inkster, conductor of the symphony's youth orchestra.

Series 4 Music Appreciation, Schedule

Classes meet on Tuesday evenings @ 7:00 PM

Week 1 (Oct. 25)*: American music since 1940 and the influence of the war with Maestro André Raphel, Wheeling Symphony.

Week 2 (Nov. 1)*: The Evolution of Popular American Music with Bruce Wheeler, Exec. Dir. Wheeling Symphony

Week 3 (Nov. 8)*: Jazz: History, Players, Geography with Bruce Wheeler, Exec. Dir. Wheeling Symphony

Week 4 (Nov. 15): Classical Music as a Communicative Form and the Composer's Voice with Maestro André Raphel, Wheeling Symphony

Week 5 (Nov. 22): The Importance of a Youth Symphony with Dr. Matt Inskter (Wheeling Youth Symphony Conductor)

Week 6 (Nov. 29): Live Concert! Wheeling Youth Symphony Orchestra concert @ St. Alphonsus Church

Week 7 (Dec. 6): Blues: History, Players, Geography with Bruce Wheeler, Executive Director Wheeling Symphony & Heritage Music Bluesfest Founder

Attendees of the first 3 classes will receive free tickets to the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra’s Masterworks II concert on 11.11.11 – An American Salute on Veteran’s Day, that will include: Bernstein: Symphonic Dances from West Side Story; Danielpour: Come Up From The Fields Father, World Premiere; & Copland: Symphony No. 3.

To register for the People's University, Music Appreciation series, please call 304-232-0244 or email lunchwithbooks@yahoo.com.

October 11: Mozart Park

Henry Schmulbach researcher Ryan Stanton will be at Lunch Weith Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, October 11 at noon to provide a history of Mozart Park, including Schmulbach’s incline and the casino. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Friday Oct 7: Ken Hechler

Dr. Ken Hechler, former U.S. Congressman, West Virginia Secretary of State and advisor to President Harry Truman, will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Friday, October 7 at noon to discuss his new book, Soldier of the Union. Through letters written by his ancestors, the book offers a vivid account of the 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War. From camp life at Parkersburg and Summersville, to the battlefields of Lewisburg, Antietam, Chickamauga and others, the experiences of the 36th regiment are described by George and John Hechler. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

The first ever Ohio Valley History Expo is coming to your Library!

The first ever OHIO VALLEY HISTORY EXPO is coming to the Ohio County Public Library on Saturday, October 22 from noon until 4 pm.

A variety of local and regional history, preservation, and genealogy groups will have display tables throughout the lower level of the library. National bestselling author James Alexander Thom (Follow the River) will be the keynote speaker in the auditorium at 1 PM. Gallowglass will provide music.

The program is being organized by the Wheeling Heritage Roundtable.

We need your support. If you have a Facebook account, please like the OHIO VALLEY HISTORY EXPO page by following this link.

See you at the Expo!

Oct 4: Bayard Young's Photographs of Eleanor Roosevelt at Arthurdale

Storyteller Judi Tarowsky will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday October 4 at noon to talk about the experiences of her father, freelance photographer Bayard Young, who took photos of Eleanor Roosevelt during one of her visits to Arthurdale, West Virginia in the 1930s. Judi will share some of the photographs he took with his Speed Graphic camera , which have not been seen locally since then. Judi is a member of the West Virginia Storytelling Guild & the Ohio Order for the Preservation of Storytelling. She earned a Graduate Certificate in Storytelling from the School of Library Sciences at the University of North Texas, and a BS in journalism from WVU. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Good News for Kindle Owners

Good news for Kindle owners!

Electronic books are now available to owners of Amazon Kindle E-Readers through the Ohio County Public Library on the West Virginia Deli web site. E-books were previously only available to non-Kindle users. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Amazon's press release:

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1608874&highlight=

and here is the link explaining how it works:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?docId=1000718231

Sept 27 at noon: The Sultana Disaster

Through pictures and words, Kate Quinn will tell the moving story of the Sultana Disaster at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, September 27 at noon. On April 21, 1865 the steamer Sultana left New Orleans with 2000 men on board. Most were Union soldiers that had been released from Confederate prison camps. The U.S. Government had contracted the boat to return the men to their homes in the North. Several of those men were from Wheeling. At 2 a.m. on April 26, the boilers exploded killing 1,547 men. The boat's legal capacity was 376. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Next Fracking Facts: Straight Talk with Dr. Bob Henry Baber

Fracking Series at Library Continues

The Ohio County Public Library's "Fracking Facts" series about Marcellus Shale drilling issues in the Ohio Valley will continue on Thursday evening, September 22 at 7:00 PM. Dr. Bob Henry Baber, Mountain Party candidate for Governor of West Virginia will present, "Straight Talk with Dr. Bob Henry Baber."

According to his web site at baber4governor.com, "Bob Henry Baber is running for the governorship of West Virginia on a platform of fiscal responsibility, economic growth, affordable health care, promotion of education, and environmental stewardship. He has raised over 20 million dollars in his career for economic development, education, community service, the arts, the enviroment, and for social programs."

Dr. Baber is presently employed as a Major Gifts Officer at Glenville State College in Glenville, WV, and has been a grant writer, poet, novelist, creative writing teacher, mosaic artist, keynote speaker, storyteller, environmentalist, and populist politician. He is also the former Honorable Mayor and current Poet Laureate of Richwood, West Virginia.

In addition to his talk on fracking, Dr. Baber will also discuss and sign copies of his latest book, Pure Orange Sunshine, which has been described as "Jack Kerouac’s On The Road meets Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest meets Gurney Norman’s Divine Right’s Trip – a stream of consciousness narrative with powerful conflicting themes of love and hate…peace and war. Pure Orange Sunshine is a classic chronicle of strike-breaking, strip-mining and hitch-hiking. It’s highly recommended for fans of fiction based on facts."

Like all library programs, the "Fracking Facts" series is free and open to the public. Additional events in the series will be announced as they are scheduled. Call 304-232-0244 for more information.

The Bicentennial of Steamboating

October 2011 marks the 200^th year since the New Orleans steamboat passed Wheeling the afternoon of October 21^st, 1811 on its epic voyage to New Orleans. The New Orleans, the first steamboat on the Western Rivers, (rivers that flow into the Gulf of Mexico) was built and launched at Pittsburg, (no h then) and made the first successful steamboat trip down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to New Orleans. The New Orleans steamboat was jointly owned by Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston and constructed by Nicholas Roosevelt. This steamboat voyage sparked a revolution in America. On September 20 at noon, Wheeling’s steamboat historian, John Bowman will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library to tell the story of the New Orleans. John also created a scale model of the historic vessel that is now on display in the library’s main display case. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Gaspipe Rosie

Barbara Gregorich, author of Women at Play: The Story of Women in Baseball, will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County on Friday, September 16 at noon to share the story of Wheeling’s own Rosie Gacioch. Rosie grew up in South Wheeling, two blocks from Pulaski Field, where she first tried out for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. She went on to become one of the league’s most dominant players and one of the inspirations for the film, A League of Their Own, starring Tom Hanks and Rosie O’Donnell. Chicago based author Barbara Gregorich interviewed Rosie extensively for her book. A native of nearby Masury, Ohio, just north of Youngstown, Barbara says she strongly identified with Rosie when she interviewed her. The full program description: When Women Played Baseball-The Story of Margaret, Nellie, and Rose. In 1934 two teen girls played hardball on a bloomer girl baseball team — a team that stopped in Wheeling specifically to pick up a third teen: Rose Gacioch. These three young women — Margaret Gisolo, Nellie Kearns, and Rose Gacioch — came from very different backgrounds and had different reasons for playing baseball. When the season was over they followed different path. But playing baseball on Maud Nelson’s last bloomer girl team profoundly affected their lives and helped determine their careers. This talk, accompanied by slides, leaves audiences deeply moved. Barbara Gregorich is the author of the baseball novel, She’s on First, and the award-winning baseball nonfiction title, Women at Play: The Story of Women in Baseball. In addition to writing for adults and speaking on various subjects ranging from baseball to grammar, Gregorich has written more than 150 children’s books and workbooks. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.

Two Expert Book Reviews for the Price of One...

Lunch with Books, noon, Tuesday, Sept. 13, Ohio County Public Library

Tim Luke will review two books - “Priceless: How I went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures” by Robert K. Wittman and “Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art” by Laney Salisbury. Luke will bring his unique, insider perspective to these actual events, which changed the way artwork is vetted, sold at auction and protected around the world. The event is free and open to the public.

Friday 9-9: SONGS OF THE IRISH BRIGADE

FRIDAY September 9: The Irish Volunteer!

Equal parts musician and historian, New Yorker David Kincaid will perform Civil War songs of the Irish Brigade at a special Friday edition of the Ohio County Public Library’s Lunch With Books program on September 9^th at noon. The program will be a part of Wheeling’s Civil War 150^th anniversary observance. After founding the roots-rock band the Brandos, Kincaid was inspired to become an Irish Brigade re-enactor by the discovery of an Irish-American great-great grandfather who served in the Union Army. He began researching period Irish music, and in 1997, released the critically acclaimed album “The Irish Volunteer: Songs of the Irish Union Soldier 1861-65.” Great care was taken to give the album an authentic, 19th century feel and sound, from the use of only period style instruments and vocal harmonies, to the enlisting of some of the finest musicians in Irish traditional music. Kincaid has played numerous times at the Dublin Ohio and Pittsburgh Irish festivals as well as at Gettysburg National Military Park. He also served as a consultant and performer for the Civil War film, Gods and Generals. David later released the album, “The Irish American Song,” which includes both Union and Confederate tunes. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are provided. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 for more information.