WVU Libraries

Blog post by Stewart Plein, Rare Book Librarian.

The humble groundhog.  Few animals have had such an interesting history.  The lowly critter has been the subject of both good and bad intentions.  On the plus side, the groundhog was painted by Audubon, starred in a Hollywood blockbuster movie, and revered as a weather prognosticator.  However, the flip side of the equation sees the groundhog vilified as a garden thief as well as a tasty addition to a hunter’s stew.  Read the rest of this entry »

Blog post by Jane Metters LaBarbara, Assistant Curator, WVRHC.

On January 26, 1937, the Ohio River’s floodwater in Parkersburg, WV reached a peak of 55.4 feet, which was 19.4 feet above flood stage.  Two days later, the floodwaters at Huntington, WV would also peak at more than 19 feet above flood stage.  Thankfully, the flood was not an overnight surprise, but it was also not without cost.   Read the rest of this entry »

Blog post by Lori Hostuttler, Digital Projects and Outreach Archivist, WVRHC.

Today we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who championed equality and justice and espoused non-violence, unconditional love for our enemies, tolerance and service.  His words are just as poignant today as they were in the 1960s.  And his dream is still something we strive to achieve.  He is certainly someone that inspires me to be an optimist, to cherish love and to forgive – to be a better person.  Thinking about my blog entry for today, I wondered if Dr. King had any West Virginia connection.  I found that he spoke in Charleston 55 years ago this week.

The MLK Memorial in Washington, DC taken during my visit there in 2012.

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Blog post by Stewart Plein, Rare Book Librarian.

Boy with goldfish

For well over a hundred years photographs have documented the moments that make up our lives, from the celebrations to the everyday.  These photos often include our faithful companions as important members of the family.  While man’s best friend may be a dog, other creatures of fur and fin were also considered good companions.  Here’s a look at West Virginians posing with their best friends.

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Blog post by Jane Metters LaBarbara, Assistant Curator, WVRHC.

Have you ever heard the expression “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”?  Those words ran through my head when I processed a recently acquired scrapbook here at the WVRHC.  The individual who gave it to us got it from someone who rescued it from a recycling bin in a local building.  This scrapbook is now A&M 4065, Worthington Pharmacy Scrapbook, with contents dating from ca. 1926-1935.

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Blog post by Lori Hostuttler, Digital Projects and Outreach Archivist, WVRHC.

50 years ago today, December 19, 1964, the WVU Mountaineers football team faced the University of Utah’s Utes in the Liberty Bowl at Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  Unfortunately, WVU lost that game by a wide margin.  Let’s hope our return to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl redeems us. In the meantime, we can glimpse back at the 1964 game through yearbooks, newspapers, and photographs available at the West Virginia & Regional History Center.

Mountaineer Mascot Ed Pritchard looks on during the 1964 Liberty Bowl.

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Blog post by Michael Ridderbusch, Associate Curator, WVRHC.

Thousands of pages of newspapers at the West Virginia and Regional History Center have been digitized and are now searchable, with additional installments to be added in the future.  They’re available via the Library of Congress website “Chronicling America.”  Read the rest of this entry »

Blog post by Stewart Plein, Rare Book Librarian.

As the holiday season approaches, let’s take a look back at gift books from the rare book collection in the West Virginia and Regional History Center.  These books were designed to capitalize on the holiday season or they were given as holiday gifts.  Read the rest of this entry »

Blog post by Jane Metters LaBarbara, Assistant Curator, WVRHC.

Ninety-one years ago, on December 1, 1923, the battleship USS West Virginia was commissioned.  The ship was actually christened two years earlier, on November 19, 1921, and was the second ship to be named for West Virginia (the first was an armored cruiser later renamed USS Huntington).

Image of the USS West Virginia battleship being launched after christening.

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Blog post by Lori Hostuttler, Digital Projects and Outreach Archivist, WVRHC.

This fall I have had the pleasure of displaying a small exhibit on the History of Extension at WVU to two events, the Smith-Lever Act Research Symposium and the WVU Extension Annual Meeting.  The exhibit contained photographs, books, and early extension bulletins, but the item that generated the most interest was a scrapbook that documents camp life at Jackson’s Mill in 1925.  The scrapbook contains fantastic images of campers at work and play at the state 4H camp in Weston, W. Va.

 Scrapbook cover

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Blog post by Michael Ridderbusch, Associate Curator, WVRHC.

While not a museum, the West Virginia and Regional History Center sometimes acquires artifacts, most of which accompany collections of family papers, business records, and related material.  The top hat of teacher, newspaper publisher, prosecuting attorney, and Parsons, West Virginia mayor James Porter Scott (1857-1938) is such an item, filling a unique niche in our collection.  Though over a century old, its brown silk outer layer still has a reflective sheen.

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Blog post by Stewart Plein, Rare Book Librarian.

The works of Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning author Pearl S. Buck have found a permanent home at WVU in the West Virginia & Regional History Center, thanks to a partnership with West Virginia Wesleyan College, which housed Buck’s manuscripts for many years, and the Pearl Buck Birthplace Foundation, the manuscripts’ original home.

WVU Libraries’ Dean Cawthorne’s collection of the works of Pearl Buck, as displayed in his office.

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Blog post by Jane Metters LaBarbara, Assistant Curator, WVRHC.

Did you know that some books with gilt edges (edges covered with gold leaf or paint, like the pages shown below) contain secret art?  As far back as the 10th century, artists painted designs on the edges of book pages; many surviving examples of these paintings are on books that have gilt edges.  The images, called fore-edge paintings, tend to be painted on the book’s fore-edge, which is the edge opposite the book’s spine.

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Blog post by Lori Hostuttler, Digital Projects and Outreach Archivist, WVRHC.

On September 19, 1931, residents of Harrison County, West Virginia, mobbed the county jail in Clarksburg.  The confessed murderer, Harry Powers, waited inside in his cell.  Less than a month earlier, he had admitted to the horrific murders of two women and three children on his farm outside of Clarksburg in the small community of Quiet Dell.  The mob, upset with the slow progress of the court, wanted justice and wanted it fast. Realizing violence was very likely, police slipped Powers away to the State Penitentiary in Moundsville to wait for his trial.

The scene at the jail makes headlines.

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Blog post by Michael Ridderbusch, Associate Curator, WVRHC.

The magnificent Kearse Theater in Charleston, West Virginia, though listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, was demolished two years later due to apparent lack of interest.  It opened auspiciously in November 1922, with a gala attended by West Virginia governors E.F. Morgan, William A. MacCorkle, and Wesley A. Atkinson, as well as Mayor Grant P. Hall of Charleston, and functioned as a cultural center until its closure in 1979.

Recently, when digitizing negatives from the Gravely and Moore studio photograph collection at the West Virginia and Regional History Center, images of the Kearse were resurrected showing both its facade and interior.

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Blog post by Jane Metters LaBarbara, Assistant Curator, WVRHC.

Since it is Fall Break here at WVU, we will take a break from showcasing the WVRHC’s great collections to bring you a WVU history factoid:  the current tobacco free campus policy is not the first attempt to eradicate tobacco use at WVU.  Most of us are aware the WVU’s campus has been tobacco free since 2013 .  Less well known is the temporary tobacco prohibition that occurred over 100 years earlier.  Read the rest of this entry »

Blog post by Stewart Plein, Rare Book Librarian.

Bob, at the feet of his owner, Professor William P. Willey, poses with the Junior Law class of 1909.

Dogs have always been popular pets for students and faculty alike at WVU.  This is just as true today as it was 107 years ago when Bob, a medium sized dog of unknown parentage with black and tan markings, first placed a paw on campus.  The beloved pet and constant companion of William P. Willey, one of WVU’s first professors, serving both the History and Law departments, Bob was more than one man’s best friend.  Known and loved by every student on the WVU campus, Bob happily held the tail wagging title of mascot for the WVU College of Law from 1907-1910.   Read the rest of this entry »

Blog post by Jane Metters LaBarbara, Assistant Curator, WVRHC.

Rebecca Harding Davis (June 24, 1831-September 29, 1910) was born Rebecca Blaine Harding in Washington, Pennsylvania.  Today marks 104 years since her death.  She is perhaps best known for her novella Life in the Iron Mills (1861) and for her pioneering role in literary realism.   Read the rest of this entry »

Dear students, staff, faculty, and community members:  have you ever used the West Virginia and Regional History Center’s website?  Have you been longing to give the Center feedback on the design or usefulness of the website?  Now is your chance!

We have created a brief survey to give you an opportunity to tell the WVRHC about your experience with its website. The survey focuses on the site’s general usability, not specific digital resources.

Participants who include their email addresses will be eligible to win a framed 8 x 10 print photo of the winner’s choice from West Virginia History OnView.  Two prizes will be awarded. The contest is open until October 31, and the winners will be alerted by November 7.  Thank you for your participation!

For more information, contact Jane LaBarbara at jane.metters@mail.wvu.edu.

A group portrait of the Deakins Line Surveying Team of Preston County, West Virginia.  Thankfully, web surveys are easier to complete than geological surveys.

Blog post by Lori Hostuttler, Digital Projects and Outreach Archivist.

This week researchers and educators are gathering at West Virginia University to celebrate 100 years of cooperative extension at the Century Beyond the Campus: Past, Present, and Future of Extension research symposium.  Agricultural education has always been a fundamental part of West Virginia University’s mission and the holdings at the West Virginia and Regional History Center (WVRHC) reflect this commitment.  Extension program records, county agent reports, faculty files, as well as photographs and serial publications document the rich history of extension at WVU.  Read the rest of this entry »