Wheeling Film Society Screening and Conversation!

The Wheeling Film Society is a partnership among Oglebay Institute’s Towngate Cinema, Wheeling Jesuit University’s Fine and Performing Arts Department & Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library. See a classic film for free on a Friday on the big screen at Towngate, then join in a discussion of the film the following Tuesday at the library!

SEE "Play It Again Sam," at Towngate Cinema, Friday November 30, 7 pm.

THEN join the Conversation with WJU film professor John Whitehead on Tuesday December 4 at noon at LWB at the OCPL.

Woody Allen originally wrote his relationship-comedy fantasia on Humphrey Bogart’s persona in Casablanca and other films as a stage play, adapted here for the cinema exactly three decades after the Bogart-Bergman classic as the first of many screen-pairings of Allen and Diane Keaton.  Allen’s character, pushed around by his ex-wife and hapless in a series of blind dates, becomes so obsessed with trying to “be like Bogart” that he conjures a Bogie avatar by his side to advise him on his romantic moves and missteps.  Allen’s legendary love of cinema was first introduced on screen in this early film, which pointed the way to Annie Hall and Manhattan later in the 70s.

All programs – screenings and conversations – are FREE. Attend as many as your schedule allows. All are welcome, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Parental Guidance is recommended for all programs.

Nov. 27: Immaculate Reflections of Jim O'Brien

Pittsburgh author Jim O’Brien will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, November 27 at noon to discuss his new book, Immaculate Reflections. Subjects covered include the “Immaculate Reception” on the 40^th anniversary of the pivotal event in the Steelers’ history, Steeler greats like Troy Polamalu and Franco Harris, the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, and the Pirates’ Bill Mazeroski.  Steelers’ founder Art Rooney Sr. called O’Brien “a real Pittsburgh guy,” and the late Myron Cope called him “Pittsburgh’s premier sports historian.” 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 call 304-232-0244 for more information.

Nov 20: The Music of Angela Easterling

Angela Easterling, an Americana-Roots Singer-Songwriter based in Greenville, SC, will perform at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, November 20 at noon. Her program, "A Songwriter's Journey Through American Music,” was presented as part of the Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibit, "New Harmonies: CelebratingAmerican Root’s Music.” It includes original songs interspersed with selections of classic folk, roots, country and rock tunes. Easterling will discuss the craft of songwriting and tell the stories behind her songs and how they came to be, weaving in some of the history of roots music and the artists who have influenced her writing. Roger McGuinn, founder of the Byrds, called Angela "a bright shining star on the horizon!" For more info, visit www.angelaeasterling.com. 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 call 304-232-0244 for more information.

The Unknown Soldiers

Dr. Art Barbeau, emeritus professor of history at West Liberty College/University, will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday November 13 at noon to discuss his book, TheUnknown Soldiers: African American Troops in WWI in honor of Veteran’s Day. During WWI, thousands of African Americans labored, fought, and died to make the world safe for a democracy that refused them equal citizenship at home. 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 call 304-232-0244 for more information.

Book Description from Amazon.com: During World War I 370,000 African Americans labored, fought, and died to make the world safe for a democracy that refused them equal citizenship at home. The irony was made more bitter as black troops struggled with the racist policies of the American military itself. The overwhelming majority were assigned to labor companies; those selected for combat were under-trained, poorly equipped, ad commanded by white officers who insisted on black inferiority. Still, African Americans performed admirably under fire: the 369th Infantry regiment was in continuous combat loner than any other American unit, and was the first Allied regiment to cross the Rhine in the offensive against Germany.The Unknown Soldiers, the only full-scale examination of the subject, chronicles the rigid segregation; the limited opportunities for advancement; the inadequate training, food, medical attention, housing, and clothing; the verbal harassment and physical abuse, including lynchings; the ingratitude, unemployment, and unprecedented racial violence that greeted their return. The Unknown Soldiers is an unforgettable, searing study of those wartime experiences that forced African Americans to realize that equality and justice could never be earned in Jim Crow America, but only wrested from its strangling grip.