New Programs Announced

Dec 4th, 2007, Silvio Perilli

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

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

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

Dec 18th, 2007, Madison School Choir

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

And a Preview of Comming Attractions for 2008!

March 4th 2008, WV Author Meredith Sue Willis

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

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

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

April 22nd 2008, Classical Guitarist Kevin Hubbard

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

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

October 9: Author Robert Tinnell

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

A Survivor's Story

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Paul McGinnis listens to a question from an audience member.

Madonna of the Trail

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

September 25th: Wheeling's Paul McGinnis

A Survivor's Story

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

Celebrate Constitution Day

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

Dr. DW Cummings

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