On Tuesday, December 9 at noon at the Ohio County Public Library at 52-16th Street in Wheeling, attorney Jeremy McCamic will present at Lunch With Books. Mr. McCamic served in the U.S. Marines during the Korean War, earning three battle stars and a Letter of Commendation. He has practiced law in Wheeling since 1957 and has authored several books, including Korea Revisited, and 21 Poems. He will discuss his life experiences and the books will be available for purchase and signing at the event through Words & Music bookstore. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and complimentary beverages are served. Please see the library's web site at www.ohiocountylibrary.org or call 304-232-0244 for more information. 


That same day at 7 PM:


The People's University, Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, Class 7: Righteous Gentiles: Points of Light in a Dark Era 

One of the main "groups" that witnessed the unfolding of the Holocaust were the "by-standers." Most of the people living in Nazi-Occupied Europe reacted with ambivalence to the Nazi's genocidal policies, some with apathy, others with fear and still others collaborated on some level or another. A small minority of non-Jewish people broke with what was normative behavior and went out of their way to save their Jewish neighbors, friends, colleagues or even unknown victims. In most cases these acts of altruism, kindness, religious piety and basic humanity could potentially bring a death sentence on the saviors themselves. After the Holocaust, the State of Israel created a mechanism to pay homage and respect for the “Righteous Gentiles” who had saved Jews. This presentation will attempt to illuminate the historic phenomenon, the difficulties facing saviors, and some of the dilemmas about whether or not to award certain individuals with this (Israeli/Jewish) recognition. Personal stories will be central to the discussion. 

Instructor: Avi Ben-Hur, Director of Education, Scholar in Residence, Classrooms Without Borders

Note: The photography exhibit titled "Poland: A Journey Through Holocaust Sites to Insights," will be on display in the Ohio County Public Library’s auditorium through December, 2014.

Nov. 25 They Gave the Scalp Halloo

C. Allan Spencer will discuss his book surveying the battle tactics and culture of the indigenous people of the Great Lakes and Eastern Woodlands regions from the 16th to 18th centuries.




November is Native American Heritage Month. See our display now in the main display case. 

Special Friday Lunch With Books!

Watch the book trailer: 

http://www.helloamericanladycreature.com/thetrailer/

This Thursday, Nov, 13 at noon The Habermehl-Guire Collection

Bekah Karelis will show and discuss the Habermehl-Guire Photograph Collection, an exciting discovery of historic glass plate negatives from turn-of-the-century Wheeling.

LWB Evening Edition: Nov. 6 (Thurs., 7 PM) Spanish and American Music

André Raphel

Maestro André Raphel of the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra will lead a panel discussion with composer Roberto Sierra and violinist Michael Ludwig, guest artist for the WSO’s November 7 concert, which will feature Sierra’s Fandangos and other Spanish and American music.

Roberto Sierra

November 4 at noon: Poet Bonnie Thurston

Bonnie Thurston believes “place shapes person.” Her book of poetry, The Heart’s Lands  (2001) dealt with New Mexico and England. Belonging to Borders (2011) is about Celtic places. Cinnamon Press (Wales) had an open call for manuscripts. Of over 1000 received, her book of poems about the southern Appalachians, A Place to Pay Attention (2014), was one of 10 selected for publication.

Dr. Bonnie Thurston, a native of West Virginia, currently lives in solitude near Wheeling, WV having resigned the William F. Orr Professorship in New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 2002. She earned the B.A. in English (First Honors) from Bethany College, and the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Virginia. Bonnie wrote her doctoral dissertation on Thomas Merton and is particularly interested in his poetry and inter-religious thought. She has done post-doctoral work in New Testament at Harvard Divinity School; Eberhard Karls University in Tuebingen, Germany; and the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem. Bonnie has written or edited fifteen theological books and over 100 articles, has contributed to reference works in New Testament and taught at the university level for 30 years. Her poetry frequently appears in religious periodicals, and she has authored three volumes of verse, all published in Wales. Bonnie is a widow, an avid reader, gardener and cook, enjoys classical music (especially the opera and liturgical music) and loves the West Virginia hills.

Happy Halloween!

Friday, Oct. 31 at noon: Halloween & Day of the Dead 

Pamela Apkarian-Russell, owner of Castle Halloween Museum, will discuss the art, literature and traditions of Halloween. She will also be bringing items to delight your eye!  

Oct. 21 Wheeling Film Society: North by Northwest

John Whitehead

The Wheeling Film Society (WFS) announces its third annual season of screening-discussions of classic Hollywood films.  John Whitehead, professor of film studies at Wheeling Jesuit University and author of Appraising The Graduate: The Mike Nichols Classic and Its Impact in Hollywood(2011) and Mike Nichols and the Cinema of Transformation (2014) will serve as host for the screenings and conversations.  First up, on Friday, Oct. 17  at 7 PM at Towngate Cinema, a free screening of North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959) - 136 mins. And on Tuesday Oct. 21 at the Ohio County Public Library at Noon join the Conversation about North by Northwest. Unsurprisingly, when Hitchcock approached the National Park Service about dangling Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint from Abraham Lincoln’s nose, Park officials declined.  So Hitchcock filmed on location at the Visitor’s Center and built a studio replica of the monument for his stars to climb on.  As justly famous as this climactic scene is, it is less celebrated than the one in which Grant battles a crop duster in a cornfield.  The spectacular success of North by Northwest, a love story masquerading as a spy thriller, made possible Hitchcock’s next, riskier project, Psycho.  Beloved but often marginalized as a mere entertainment, North by Northwest explores the same preoccupations with existential identity and intimacy as “serious” films like 1958’s Vertigo. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and complimentary beverages are served. Please see the library's web site at www.ohiocountylibrary.org or call 304-232-0244 for more information.

Lunch With Books: Chief Cornstalk and the War for Middle Ground October 14, 2014

Event starts at 12:00 PM.


Doug Wood, who portrays Cherokee leader Ostenaco for WVHC's History Alive, will discuss the Shawnee and Cornstalk's 1763 campaign against western Virginia. 2013 is the 250th anniversary of that campaign and the War for the Middle Ground. 2014 will be the 250th anniversary of the Treaty of Muskingum at the end of the War for the Middle Ground, and that treaty had a huge impact on subsequent WV history, particularly in the upper Ohio Valley region of our state.  Mr. Wood will explore the War for the Middle Ground, Cornstalk's Campaign, and the Treaty of Muskingum.

Lunch With Books: Chief Cornstalk (History Alive) October 07, 2014

Meet Chief Cornstalk

Event starts at 12:00 PM.

Cornstalk was a Shawnee chief who fought in the French and Indian War and carried out raids into the Greenbrier Valley during Pontiac’s Rebellion. On October 10, 1774, he led nearly a thousand Shawnee warriors against an equal number of Virginians at the Battle of Point Pleasant in the major engagement of Dunmore’s War.

Portrayed by: DAN CUTLER , courtesy West Virginia Humanities Council's History Alive program.

Doug Wood

The Native American History Series continues October 14 with Doug Wood on Cornstalk, November 25 with C. Allan Spencer on Eastern Woodland Culture, and January 6 with Alan Fitzpatrick on his book, Place of the Skull.

Sept. 30 Secrets and Surprises of Classic Polish Cuisine

Laura & Peter Zeranski, co-authors of the acclaimed Polish Classic Recipes and Polish Classic Desserts, are returning to Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library, on Tuesday September 30 at noon, with an exciting all-new program. Laura will share many hints, tips and secrets for success with your favorite Polish dishes.  Peter will be sharing classic holiday traditions and tales of growing up Polish.  And both cooks will be doing food demonstrations with delectable free samples of Polish dill pickle soup and apple raisin cake. Polish Classic Desserts was recently bestowed with a prestigious award from Gourmand Magazine as the Best Eastern European Cookbook of 2013. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and complimentary beverages are served. Please see the library's web site at www.ohiocountylibrary.org or call 304-232-0244 for more information.

Sept. 23: The Rock Hurler

Daniel T. Davis of the Emerging Civil War Speaker’s Bureau will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, September 23 at noon to present “The Rock Hurler: George Crook, the Army of West Virginia and the Battle of Fisher’s Hill.” The Battle of Fisher’s Hill too place from September 21 to 22, 1864, and the program will mark the sesquicentennial.  Daniel T. Davis graduated from Longwood University with a B.A. in Public History in 2005. He worked for five years as a historian at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park and Appomattox Court House National Historic Site. Dan currently resides in Vienna, VA with his wife and their beagle mix, Bayla. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and complimentary beverages are served. Please see the library's web site at www.ohiocountylibrary.org or call 304-232-0244 for more information.

Lunch With Book On the Road (Again)

Due to the temporary closure of the Ohio County Public Library’s main parking lot for repairs, the library’s September 16 Lunch With Books program will be offered on the 3rd Floor of the Wheeling Artisan Center above River City Restaurant at 1400 Main Street in Wheeling.

On Tuesday, Sept. 16 at noon, Indiana based living historian Gib Young will portray Theodore Roosevelt in honor of the President’s September 1902 visit to Wheeling.

Gib Young is a charter member of the Champion Hill Toppers Vintage Base Ball Club (1862 rules and uniforms). As a singer and actor, he has appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals and is active in The Company Singers (A Civil War era singing ensemble.) He has been a life long admirer of Theodore Roosevelt and is a member of the Theodore Roosevelt Association. Fritz Klein, the foremost Abraham Lincoln interpreter, convinced Mr. Young to become a professional interpreter himself. Mr. Klein felt that Young’s Theodore Roosevelt impression was the best he had ever seen. Besides the physical resemblance to Roosevelt, Mr. Young has been able to develop the vocal attributes and movements of his subject to a high degree. Mr. Young has had the honor of appearing as TR at Mt. Rushmore National Memorial, Washington’s Mt. Vernon, the JFK Library and the American Museum of History of the Smithsonian among other places. He has offered scores of presentations before historical societies, schools, and libraries.

Just as they are at the library, this Lunch With Books program will be free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages will be provided. For more information, call the library at 304-232-0244 or visit the library’s web site at www.ohiocountylibrary.org. The Artisan Center can be reached at 304-232-1810 or by visiting www.artisancenter.com. Parking is available at the Robert C. Byrd Intermodal Transportation Center, located just across Main Street from the Artisan Center.

If all goes according to plan, Lunch With Books will return to the library's auditorium for the September 23 program, "The Rock Hurler: George Crook, the Army of West Virginia and the Battle of Fisher’s Hill" with Daniel T. Davis of the Emerging Civil War Speaker’s Bureau.

Parking at Library to be Temporarily Limited - Book Drop Unavailable

Parking at Library to be Temporarily Limited - BookDrop Unavailable

Beginning August 11, the Ohio County Public Library, located at 52 16th Street, Wheeling, will undergo a resealing and water protection for the foundation on the 17th Street side of the building, as well as a repaving of the entire driveway. As a result, parking will be impacted and the book drop unavailable for a period of one to two months.

For the first half of the project, the parking lot behind the building will remain open with one-lane access to the lot. Parking along the driveway and along the 17th Street side of the building will be lost for the entire project along with access to the book drop.

The Library is arranging for temporary book drops to be located in the Eoff Street/16th Street parking lot which will remain open to patrons throughout the project. These book drops may not be available during the first week of the project.

Library programs will also be impacted by the project. Programs scheduled for August 19 through the end of September may be postponed or held at another location. Please check the Library's website at www.ohiocountylibrary.org or call 304-232-0244 for updates and more information. Updates will be posted as they become available. 

Next Tuesday at the Ohio County Public Library

Aug. 12 at noon: Visit South Africa 

Chad Felt, an English teacher at Linsly School, will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, August 12 at noon to share some of his experiences from his travels in South Africa as well as some of the books and readings that connect to that experience. A long time educator, Chad Felt came to Linsly in 2011 and recently received his second "Outstanding Educator Award" from the West Virginia Governor's Honors Academy. In 2012, Chad received a fellowship from the National Endowment of the Humanities for study in South Africa, and he will share some observations and reflections on that experience. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

Then at 7 PM: Meet Some Residents of Greenwood Cemetery  

If you missed the recent on site tour, you can still meet some of the residents of Greenwood Cemetery at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday August 12 at 7 PM. Actors portraying various "residents" of Greenwood cemetery will appear in costume to discuss their lives. The program is free and open to the public. Free beverages will be served. And don't miss the new Greenwood Cemetery display now featured in the main display case at the library. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information. *above photo by Joanne Cochran Sullivan 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

After the Storm

Burial of the Civil War Dead

July 22, 2014

Event starts at 12:00 PM.


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

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

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

Lunch With Books: Moses Fleetwood Walker

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

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

https://www.facebook.com/mosesfleetwoodwalkerday

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

July 8 (rescheduled from Jan 7) Black Damp Century

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

July 01, 2014: Lunch With Books: Author David Giffels

Author David Giffels will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, July 1 at noon to discuss his new book The Hard Way on Purpose, a collection of linked essays about the quirky, hardbitten cultural landscape of the Rust Belt and the people who thrive there. 

An assistant professor of English at University of Akron, Giffels teaches creative nonfiction in the Northeast Ohio Master of Fine Arts Program.

Giffels’ last book, All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling-Down House, received widespread acclaim, from the New York Times, which described it as “sweet and funny” to the Los Angeles Times, which called it “a truly wonderful book” to Oprah’s O at Home magazine, where it topped the “Fantastic Summer Reads” list.

Giffels is coauthor of Are We Not Men? We Are Devo! and Wheels of Fortune: The Story of Rubber in Akron. He was a longtime columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal and a contributing commentator and essayist on National Public Radio station WKSU in Kent, Ohio. He has written for the New York Times Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Grantland, Parade, Redbook and many other publications. He also was a writer for the MTV series Beavis and Butt-Head.

His recent awards include the Cleveland Arts Prize for literature, the Ohioana Book Award, and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists award for excellence.

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

Javersak will Explore the Gilded Age and the Great War

June 24 The Great War: 100 years Later 

On Tuesday, June 24 at noon, century after the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand sparked war in Europe, Dr. David Javersak will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library to discuss the impact of the First World War on the people and industries of the Upper Ohio Valley. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

June 24 at 7 PM: The People's University, American History III, The Gilded Age to the Jazz Age, part 2, 

The growth of industry, increased production of steel, increased demand for oil, and railroad development, led to rapid wealth accumulation for certain businessmen, who became known as “Robber Barons.”

Instructor: David Javersak (retired professor of history, West Liberty University). 

Arts Fest Events at Library Will Explore the History of Photography

The Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling will serve, along with West Virginia Northern Community College and West Virginia Independence Hall, as one of the venues for the annual Wheeling Arts Fest on Saturday, June 21.

As announced by the History and Literature Committee of the City of Wheeling Arts and Cultural Commission, the theme for the library events will be the “Art and History of Photography.”

The first program will begin at 11 AM in the library’s auditorium, and will feature West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman, who will conduct a special reading plus workshop concerned with ekphrastic poetry, that is, poetry that is inspired by or offers comments upon another art form, such as photography.  He believes ekphrastic poetry provide an exciting prompt for a writer and suspects that people know more of such work than they may realize citing the pop song “Starry Night” by Don McLean, as one example, and Bob Dylan’s many allusions to Shakespeare, as another. Harshman will conduct a reading of some of the seminal verse arising from this peculiar yet often popular perspective. Following the reading he will lead participants in a writing exercise designed to draw them into a full engagement with a work of art that will fuel their own literary art, their own work of words. 

Harshman was appointed poet laureate by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin in 2012.  His eleven children’s books include THE STORM, a Smithsonian Notable Book, and he has three new children’s books forthcoming.  His full-length poetry collection, GREEN-SILVER AND SILENT, was recently published and his fourth chapbook, ALL THAT FEEDS US: THE WEST VIRGINIA POEMS came out from Quarrier Press just last year. Last year, Marc was commissioned by the Wheeling National Heritage Area to write a poem in honor of West Virginia’s Sesquicentennial. On June 20th his poem “A Song for West Virginia” was presented in both Charleston and Wheeling as a part of the day-long festivities.  A new, full-color edition of this poem will be available at the Wheeling Arts Fest.

At noon, Miriam Meislik, Media Curator, Archives Service Center, University Library System at the University of Pittsburgh, will present a history of photography as an art form and discuss the importance of photographs as primary source documents for historians. The presentation will include a hands-on exhibit. Meislik is an experienced speaker and educator and has published a book called Historic Photos of Pittsburgh.

At 1:30 PM, attendees will be able to learn the art, science and history of tintype photographywith expert Jason Snyder, owner of Pittsburgh Tintype Studio. Snyder uses a 19th century process to create unique photographs on aluminum using the same technique that was popular during the Civil War era. Following Snyder's presentation, for a fee, guests will be able to have their own authentic tintype portrait taken and developed. “This is an excellent opportunity for living historians and Civil War reenactors to have an authentic tintype portrait made in costume,” Snyder said. The photographs will be 4x5 in size, and Snyder will offer a discount from his usual studio rate to $45 per plate. He will only have time to complete a limited number of tintypes, so make your reservation today by sending an email to lunchwithbooks@yahoo.com or calling 304-232-0244. Stages Inc. of Wheeling will be on hand with one-size-fits-all costumes for people who want to have a tintype done and don't have a costume with them. There will be no charge for costume use.

In addition to the library programs, the History and Literature Committee will offer a “Spoken Word” table at the main festival venue at the WVNCC plaza. Books from local authors will be available.

All of the library’s Arts Fest programs are free and open to the public. As described above, there will be a charge of $45.00 for any attendees who would like to receive a tintype portrait from Pittsburgh Tintype Studio. Please call the library at 304-232-0244 or visit ohiocountylibrary.org or wheelingartsfest.com for more information.

Tuesday June 17: The Petersburg Campaign at Noon & People's University American History III at 7 PM

June 17 The Petersburg Campaign 

Edward S. Alexander, Park Ranger at Pamplin Historical Park & The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier and a member of the Emerging Civil War Speakers Bureau, will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, June 17 at noon to discuss the early stages (June-August, 1864) of the Petersburg campaign. His focus will be primarily on the first assaults against the city, the Crater, Reams Station, and Deep Bottom. He will also explain why he believes it is a mischaracterization to refer to Petersburg as a “siege.” Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.

& at 7 PM

People’s University to Explore the Gilded AgeThrough the Jazz Age

The new People's University series 9, American History III: The Gilded Age to the Jazz Age, will begin at the Ohio County Public Library on June 17 and continue to meet for eight consecutive Tuesday evenings at 7 pm, ending August 5. Each class will be approximately 60-90 minutes in length.

The full schedule for People's University American History III is as follows:

Class 1,June 17:  The Gilded Age (1878-1889) pt. 1

The growth of industry, increased production of steel, increased demand for oil, and railroad development, led to rapid wealth accumulation for certain businessmen, who became known as “Robber Barons.” Instructor: David Javersak (retired professor of history, West Liberty University).

Class 2, June 24: 

The Gilded Age (1878-1889) pt. 2. Instructor: David Javersak

Class 3, July 1: Progressive Era (1890-1913) pt. 1

The excess of the Gilded Age was followed by a period of social activism and political reform exemplified by efforts like trust-busting and woman suffrage. Instructor: David Javersak

Class 4, July 8: 

Progressive Era (1890-1913) pt. 2. Instructor: David Javersak

Class 5, July 15: The Great War (1914-1918) pt. 1

World War I began in Europe in 1914. The U.S. entered the war in 1917 and the Allied Powers were victorious over the Central Powers by 1918. Instructor: Hal Gorby (history PhD candidate at West Virginia University)

Class 6, July 22: The Great War (1914-1918) pt. 2. Instructor: Joe Laker (retired professor of history, Wheeling Jesuit University)

Class 7, July 29: The Jazz Age (1919-1928) pt. 1

In a nation weary of war, women exercised their newly found freedom (having won the right to vote in 1920) and Harlem nightclubs thrived, featuring jazz musicians like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. Instructor: Joe Laker

Class 8, August 5: 

The Jazz Age (1919-1928) pt. 2. Instructor: Hal Gorby

In keeping with the mission of public libraries as sanctuaries of free learning for all people, the Ohio County Public Library created The People’s University, a free program for adults who wish to continue their education in the liberal arts. The People’s University features courses (taught by experts in each subject) that enable patrons to pursue their goal of lifelong learning in classic subjects such as history, music appreciation, philosophy, and literature. Patrons may attend as many classes as they wish. There are no tests of other requirements and all programs are free and open to the public. To register for American History III, please email the library by visiting the library's web site at www.ohiocountylibray.org and clicking to the "Contact/Email us" page, call 304-232-0244, or visit the Reference Desk.

Fracking Facts and Lunch With Books present...

Book Review: Fractures

Mary Ellen Cassidy will review Fractures by Lamar Herrin, a novel about a family trying to deal with the discovery of Marcellus Shale under their land.

AND...

On Sunday June 29 @ 2 pm: Triple Divide (film) 

Fracking Facts presents a screening of the film, Triple Divide. Public Herald investigative journalists shine a light on fracking and state regulators on a cradle-to-grave journey for the truth. 

June 3: Meet Author David O. Stewart

David O. Stewart, nationally known for his award-winning nonfiction works on Aaron Burr and the U.S. Constitution, will be at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, June 3 at noon to discuss his first novel, The Lincoln Deception. Blending real and fictional characters, the book is a gripping historical mystery exploring the endless fascination with Lincoln’s assassination and the conspiracy behind it. A death bed confession and a long-hidden conspiracy are at the heart of The Lincoln Deception, a historical mystery centered on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln – the only real conspiracy to kill a president in American history. In March 1900, as former Congressman John Bingham of Cadiz, Ohio lies dying, he tells a strange tale to his physician, Dr. Jamie Fraser. Thirty-five years earlier, when Bingham prosecuted eight members of John Wilkes Booth's plot to kill Lincoln, conspirator Mary Surratt divulged a secret so explosive it could shatter the republic.  Though Bingham takes the secret to his grave, Fraser cannot let go of the mystery. Bored with small-town medical practice, he begins to investigate, securing an unlikely ally in Speed Cook, a black, college-educated professional ballplayer and would-be newspaper publisher. Though a mismatched pair, Cook and Fraser agree that the accepted version of Lincoln's assassination rings false. Was Booth truly the mastermind or were other, more powerful forces pulling the strings? David O. Stewart’s talk will explore what we know about the Booth Conspiracy but tend to forget, and also what we still do not know. After practicing law for many years, David O. Stewart began to write history, too.  His first book,The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution, was a Washington Post bestseller and won the Washington Writing Award as Best Book of 2007.  Two years later, Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy, was called “by all means the best account of this troubled episode” by Professor David Donald of Harvard.  David’s latest work is American Emperor, Aaron Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson’s America, an examination of Burr’s Western expedition, prompted the Society of the Cincinnati to award David its 2013  History Prize.  The Lincoln Deception, an historical mystery about the John Wilkes Booth Conspiracy, was released in late August 2013.  Bloomberg View called it the best historical novel of the year, while Publishers Weekly called it an “impressive debut novel.”   David also is president of the Washington Independent Review of Books, an online book review. A book sale and signing will follow. Lunch With Books programs are free and open to the public. Patrons are invited to bring a bag lunch and free beverages are served. Please visit ohiocountylibrary.org, call 304-232-0244, or visit facebook.com/lunchwithbooks for more information.