July 2: Meet Marie Manilla

West Virginia author Marie Manilla will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling on Tuesday, July 2 at noon to discuss her debut novel, Shrapnel, about generational, geographical and political differences and what it takes to bridge them. The book explores the legacy of war in three generations of men from the Butler family. Huntington native Marie Manilla is a graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop whose fiction has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Echo Ink Review, Prairie Schooner and other journals. She first appeared at Lunch With Books in 2011 to read from her short story collection, Still Life With Plums. “I am completely smitten with the Lunch with Books patrons,” Manilla said after her program. “It’s not always easy to read one’s fiction in public, but this library family provided a sea of welcoming faces filled with warmth, attentiveness, and good will.” The library’s First Monday Book Discussion Group will discuss Shrapnel on Monday evening, July 1 at 7 PM. Manilla will be present for the discussion, providing a rare, in person opportunity to interact with the author of a discussion book. 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 the library at 304-232-0244 or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

June 25: Meet House Restoration Expert Ron Tanner and Cleo the Dog

LUNCH WITH BOOKS, Tuesday, June 25 at noon— From Animal House to Our House

Author Ron Tanner will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling on Tuesday, June 25 at noon discuss his book, From Animal House to OurHouse: A Love Story, which describes his adventures with girlfriend Jill as they attempt to save and restore a grand old Baltimore Victorian that was wrecked by a fraternity. Tanner maintains a blog about the adventures at www.houselove.org. He is tarveling across the country in a camper van with his dog Cleao. 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 the library at 304-232-0244 or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

 

 

AND THAT EVENING AT 7 PM:

PEOPLE'S UNIVERSITY American History 2, The Civil War & Statehood: Tuesday, June 25 at 7 PM--Rea Redd, a highly regarded Civil War expert and Dir

ector of Eberly Library at Waynesburg University where he also serves as an instructor of American history, will lead the final class in the series on June 25. "Reconstruction" will feature a review of the process that began in 1862 of states reentering the Union. Consideration will be given to Lincoln's, Johnson's and the Congress' evolving reconstruction plans; the movement of African Americans from freedom to citizenship; the return of soldiers to civilian life; and how Americans viewed the war during and after Reconstruction. People's University programs are free and open to the public. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 (to RSVP) or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

Arts Fest at the Library Schedule, Saturday, June 22

11 AM: History of Dance in the Ohio Valley

Don Feenerty will present lecture interspersed with dances by members of the Heritage Dance Association. The program is based on primary sources that mention styles of dance and in some cases the names of dances—all taken from journals and books written by men who lived or traveled through Western Pennsylvania and Western Virginia. Dancers will be costumed in fashions of the 18th and 19th centuries.

1:00 PM: Poetry Prompts Suitable for Everyday Praxis

In this hands-on creative writing workshop, WV Poet Laureate Marc Harshman will show how things as mundane as lists, eavesdropping, headlines, and imitation, especially imitation of voice, can provide a way forward not only to new poems but to the re-seeing of old ones.  He promises to bring a wide range of samples to help fuel the search for the news that stays new.

2:30 PM: Songs & Poems of the Civil War & W.V. Statehood

Featuring QuarterTone Quartet, Dr. David Thomas and CJ Farnsworth, with readings of poems by Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Stephen Crane among many others, as well as songs like "Battle Cry of Freedom," "West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home," and "Aura Lee," among many others. Experience the emotional and intellectual power of well-chosen words, both spoken and sung.

The library will also sponsor the "Spoken Word Tent" at the West Virginia Northern Community College Square from 10 AM to 5 PM. Local history and local interest books will be available for purchase. Children’s author DeeDee Barbour will sign books from 10-11, Marc Harshman 11 to noon and steamboat historian John Bowman 12:30 to 3:30. Additional authors will be announced.

All library ARTS FEST events are free and open to the public. Please call 304-232-0244 or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

Note: Some projects are being presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views or recommendations do not necessarily represent those of the West Virginia  Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Then at LUNCH WITH BOOKS on Tuesday, June 25 at noon— From Animal House to Our House

Author Ron Tanner, who is traveling around the country in a camper van with his loyal dog Cleo, will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling on Tuesday, June 25 at noon discuss his book, From Animal House to Our House: A Love Story. The book describes his adventures with girlfriend Jill as they attempt to save and restore a grand old Baltimore Victorian that was wrecked by a fraternity. Tanner maintains a blog about the adventures at www.houselove.org. Meet Ron and Cleo and pick up a copy of the book. 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 the library at 304-232-0244 or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

AND...

That evening at the PEOPLE'S UNIVERSITY American History 2, The Civil War & Statehood: Tuesday, June 25 at 7 PM--Rea Redd, a highly regarded Civil War expert and Director of Eberly Library at Waynesburg University where he also serves as an instructor of American history, will lead the final class in the series on June 25. "Reconstruction" will feature a review of the process that began in 1862 of states reentering the Union. Consideration will be given to Lincoln's, Johnson's and the Congress' evolving reconstruction plans; the movement of African Americans from freedom to citizenship; the return of soldiers to civilian life; and how Americans viewed the war during and after Reconstruction. People's University programs are free and open to the public. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 (to RSVP) or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

Library to Celebrate West Virginia’s 150th Birthday

The Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling will participate in Wheeling’s Civil War 150 West Virginia Statehood Sesquicentennial Week celebration by offering a series of free programs in support of the event.

On Tuesday, June 18 at noon Dr. David Zimring will be at the library’s popular Lunch With Books program to present, "Secession in Favor of the Constitution: How West Virginia Justified Separate Statehood during the Civil War.”  The program is in partnership with the Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation. Dr. Zimring earned his PhD from the University of Virginia and is a professor of history at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He also taught Civil War history at Virginia Tech. His scholarly paper on the subject of West Virginia statehood was published in West Virginia History: A Journal of Regional Studies.  Vol. 3, No. 3, Fall, 2009. He has presented at the Society of Civil War Historians Conference in Lexington, KY, and at Appomattox Courthouse, Appomattox, VA, among other places. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served.

That same Tuesday evening at 7:00 PM, at the library’s PEOPLE'S UNIVERSITY American History 2, The Civil War & Statehood series, Dr. David Javersak, a member of the West Virginia Sesquicentennial Committee will present "The Wheeling Conventions.” Dr. Javersak’s lecture will answer key questions such as: Why did Western Virginians opposed to Virginia's secession from the Union choose Wheeling for their conventions? How and why did they create a Reorganized Government of Virginia? And how did a new state evolve from the deliberations at Wheeling’s Custom House? People's University programs are also free and open to the public.

The library’s celebration will continue at the third Wheeling Arts Fest on Saturday June 22, from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Programs will be presented in the library’s auditorium, some with financial assistance from the West Virginia Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations will not necessarily represent those of the West Virginia Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

At 11 AM: The Heritage Dance Association will present a program entitled, "The History of Dance in the Ohio Valley". It will be part lecture and part dance demonstration. Don Feenerty will be presenting the lecture interspersed with dances by members of the Heritage Dance Association. The program is based on primary sources, mainly journal entries that mention dance, the style of dance and in some cases the names of dances—all taken from journals and books written by men who lived or traveled through Western Pennsylvania and Western Virginia. Dancers will be costumed in fashions of the 18th and 19th centuries.

At 1:00 PM, WV Poet Laureate Marc Harshman will present a Creative Writing Workshop called "Poetry Prompts Suitable for Everyday Praxis."   In this hands-on writing workshop Mr. Harshman will show how things as mundane as lists, eavesdropping, headlines, and imitation, especially imitation of voice, can provide a way forward not only to new poems but to the re-seeing of old ones.  He promises to bring a wide range of samples to help fuel the search for the news that stays new.

The library’s events will continue at 2:30 PM with “Songs & Poems of the Civil War & Statehood,” featuring the Quarter Tone Quartet and readers Dr. David Thomas and CJ Farnsworth. The program will include readings of poems by Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Stephen Crane among others, as well as songs like "Battle Cry of Freedom," "West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home," and "Aura Lee," among many others.

The library will also sponsor the "Spoken Word Tent" at the West Virginia Northern Community College square from 10 AM to 5 PM. Local history and local interest books will be available for purchase. Marc Harshman will sign books from 11 AM to noon and steamboat historian John Bowman will be available from 12:30 to 3:30 PM. Additional authors will be announced.

All library WV 150 events are free and open to the public. Please call 304-232-0244 or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

Tuesday, June 11: OFFICIAL BOOK Launch at noon & the Civil War in Wheeling at 7 PM

“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

Author Bob Barnett will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling on Tuesday, June 11 at noon for the official launch of his new book, Hillside Fields: AHistory of Sports in West Virginia from WVU Press. Barnett chose Wheeling for the honor because of its rich sports tradition in the state. The book chronicles the famous athletic triumphs and heart-breaking losses of local heroes and legendary teams, recording the titanic struggles of a small state competing alongside larger rivals. The story of the growth of sports in West Virginia is also a story of the tribulations, hopes, values and triumphs of a proud people. Bob Barnett taught sport history at Marshall University in West Virginia for 35 years. He has published over 300 articles in publications such as Saturday Evening Post, American National Biography, the Washington Post, Sports Heritage, and the Dallas Cowboy News, has been a section editor for the Journal of Sport History and the Encyclopedia of Appalachia, and has written two documentaries for West Virginia Public Television. Barnett is the author of Growing Up in the Last Small Town: A West Virginia Memoir. 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.

and at 7 PM...

PEOPLE'S UNIVERSITY American History 2, The Civil War & Statehood-Wheeling in the Civil War

The June 11 class will be taught by Dr. Jeanne Finstein, an amateur historian with special interests in Wheeling and the Civil War. She is president of Friends of Wheeling and a member of the Wheeling Civil War 150 Committee, the Upper Ohio Valley Civil War Roundtable, and the Wheeling Area Genealogical Society. The class will explore Wheeling's role in wartime events - militarily, economically, and politically, including a look at important locations and buildings in Wheeling during the war years, some of which still remain. The story will then focus on some of the local people whose efforts changed history. People's University programs are free and open to the public. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 (to RSVP) or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.