P.O. Box 517, Weirton, WV 26062 Volume 5 Issue 1 Also in this issue: Museum Officers: Elected 7-7-2012 February 6, 2013 President/Exec. Director Dennis R. Jones 1st Vice President Pamela Makricosta Treasurer Paul B. Zuros Secretary Kim Salter Museum Location 3149 Main Street Newsletter Composer: Dennis Jones [email protected]Museum Phone: (304) 224-1909 Museum Hours: Mon thru Fri JAN. - FEB. JAN. - FEB. JAN. - FEB. History of Dunbar School Presented at WAMCC Website: www.weirtonmuseum.com 10 - 2 You may call to set up an appointment for other possible times. Email Address: Mayor Andochick Pays a Visit See Page 5 Photo courtesy Weirton Steel Archives - WAMCC Unveiling Held on Feb. 2 On February 2, WAMCC’s Black History Month Committee un- veiled the Weirton Dunbar School history display. Kim Salt- er was Chairperson for the com- mittee, while Bob Kelley donated 2 football jackets, some frames, accessories, and money to pur- chase 2 curio cabinets to hold pictures and memorabilia for the display. Dennis Jones performed the scanning and printing of the pictures and also designed the 2 life-size cut outs and displays of Dr. Major and Bob Trice. Corliss Brown, Kim, Bob, and Dennis met regularly to con- struct the displays. About 65 people braved the cold & snow and came to see the unveiling. (more on pages 2 & 3) Dunbar High School Band - Marching in the 1950 Independence Day Parade In front of the “Control” sign Right to Left: Wileva McCatherine, Early Brown, Ronald Brown, and Joe Hill, Jr. In front of the “Quality” sign, Lexie Lester is visible. Band Director Charles Turner can be seen in front of band. Bob Kelley Receives Lifetime Honorary Membership Also on Feb. 2, Bob Kelley was awarded a lifetime honorary membership to the Weirton Area Museum & Cultural Center. Bob recently donated money to purchase the 2 curio cabinets shown above along with the football jackets and other Dunbar school memora- bilia for the Dunbar School Display. Museum President Dennis Jones stated that Bob, who lives on the west coast, always visits our museum when in town, which is about 4 - 5 times each year. We thank Bob Kelley for all the support he has given to WAMCC. Photo by Dennis Jones Mailing Address P.O. Box 517 Weirton, WV 26062
Unveiling Held on Feb. 2 On February 2, WAMCC’s Black History Month Committee un-veiled the Weirton Dunbar School history display. Kim Salt-er was Chairperson for the com-mittee, while Bob Kelley donated 2 football jackets, some frames, accessories, and money to pur-chase 2 curio cabinets to hold pictures and memorabilia for the display. Dennis Jones performed the scanning and printing of the pictures and also designed the 2 life-size cut outs and displays of Dr. Major and Bob Trice. Corliss Brown, Kim, Bob, and Dennis met regularly to con-struct the displays. About 65 people braved the cold & snow and came to see the unveiling.
(more on pages 2 & 3)
Dunbar High School Band - Marching in the 1950 Independence Day Parade In front of the “Control” sign Right to Left: Wileva McCatherine, Early Brown, Ronald Brown, and Joe Hill, Jr. In front of the “Quality” sign, Lexie Lester is visible. Band Director Charles Turner can be seen in front of band.
Bob Kelley Receives Lifetime Honorary Membership Also on Feb. 2, Bob Kelley was awarded a lifetime honorary membership to the Weirton Area Museum & Cultural Center. Bob recently donated money to purchase the 2 curio cabinets shown above along with the football jackets and other Dunbar school memora-bilia for the Dunbar School Display. Museum President Dennis Jones stated that Bob, who lives on the west coast, always visits our museum when in town, which is about 4 - 5 times each year. We thank Bob Kelley for all the support he has given to WAMCC.
Photo by Dennis Jones
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 517
Weirton, WV 26062
Page 2 Volume 5, Issue 1 Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center Newsletter
History of Dunbar School Presented at WAMCC
Above: Corliss Brown (left) and Helen Jeter look at the photos in one of the curio display cabinets. Corliss assisted in putting the displays together. Helen’s father was the Pastor of the Shiloh Apostolic Church on Avenue A in Weirton.
Photo at right: Henrietta Trice (left) is standing next to the dis-play of her father, Bob Trice, at WAMCC. Bob Trice graduated from Dunbar in 1945 and played for the Homestead Greys (1949-51). He helped the Greys beat the New York Black Yankees at Cove Field in 1949. On Sept. 13, 1953, Bob became the first Afri-can-American to play for the Philadelphia Athletics in the Ma-jors. His best performance dur-ing his brief time in Major League Baseball was when he pitched a complete game 1-0 shutout against the World Champion New York Yankees before a home crowd in Philadelphia in 1954.
Above: Black History Month Committee Chairperson (and WAMCC Secretary) Kim Salter is discussing the displays with Ambrose Bolling. For a complete history of Dunbar School click on: http://weirtonmuseum.com/dunbarhistory.pdf
Above: Bob Kelley and Faith Melto. Faith’s grandmother was a neighbor of Bob’s family, when he lived in Weirton on Loeb St.
Above: Some of the 65 people who attended the Black History Month unveiling event on February 2 at Weirton Area Museum & Cultural Center.
Photo by Dennis Jones Photo by Dennis Jones
Photo by Dennis Jones
Photo by Dennis Jones
Photo by Dennis Jones Above: Robert Pendergrass, Jr. is shown with the Dunbar Raiders logo, which his Uncle MacArthur Williams designed. Mr. Williams, who now makes his home in New Jersey, sent the logo to WAMCC to be in the display.
Photo by Dennis Jones
Photo courtesy Weirton Steel Archives
Page 3 Volume 5, Issue 1 Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center Newsletter
Dr. Anthony Major Has His Day - Feb. 2, 2013
Photo by Dennis Jones
Photo by Dennis Jones
Others Who Have Had Their Day in Weirton
“Jim Wares Day” - March 12, 1967 Mayor Frank Rybka is shown visiting with Coach James T. Wares, as he proclaims March 12, 1967, to be “Jim Wares Day” in Weirton. Coach Wares was honored with a large banquet that evening at the Millsop Community Center.
“Joe Hill Day” - September 16, 1978 Mayor Mike Andochick is signing a proclamation declaring Sept. 16, 1978 to be “Joe Hill Day” in Weirton. Joe (seated next to the Mayor) received the honor for over 50 years community service he had given to the City of Weirton. Standing behind are left to right: Amos Gregory, Herbert Veal, and Joe Young.
Dr. Anthony John Major Display The above display shows Dr. Major and many of the historical testimonials describing him and his contributions to the educational system and community life in Weirton. Dr. Major was born Feb. 2, 1899, and he would have been 114 years old. An historical sketch of Dr. Major can be found at: http://weirtonmuseum.com/drmajortribute.pdf Dr. Major’s honorary cake was donated by museum President, Dennis Jones.
Mayor George Kondik Delivers Proclamation Mayor George Kondik delivered a wonderful proclamation, declaring the day February 2, 2013, to be “Dr. Anthony J. Major Day” in Weirton. The Mayor’s proclamation will be on display with the Dunbar History at WAMCC.
Photo courtesy Weirton Steel Archives
Page 4 Volume 5, Issue 1 Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center Newsletter
African-American Archaeology “Kicks Off” Black History Month
Presentation by Heather Cline On Saturday, Feb. 2, Heather Cline, Lead Curator of the Grave Creek Archaeological Complex in Moundsville, delivered a very interesting power-point presentation titled “African-American Archae-ology in WV and the Ohio Valley.” Types of ar-chaeological sites included those of industrial slav-ery, free blacks, underground railroad, domestic & urban sites, labor camps (coal, lumber, and rail-roads), and cemeteries. Heather pointed how Afri-can-American Archaeology was indicated by unique evidence including subfloor pits, root cellars, re-mains of lower grade chopped meats (bone frag-ments), great amounts of fish remains, ceramics, and charms like pierced coins, metal disc, polygons, and objects marked with an “X.” Heather detailed several investigated locations including the Jenkins Plantation in Cabell County, Arbuckle’s Fort in Greenbrier County, J. P. Parker’s House & Foundry Site in Ripley, OH, and several other locations in-cluding Jefferson, Berkeley, Jackson, and Kanawha Counties in West Virginia. A question and answer session followed the presen-tation and included questions about slavery and the underground railroad in our local area of Weirton. After her 45 minute presentation, Heather remained for the unveiling of WAMCC’s Dunbar School His-tory Display.
Photo by Dennis Jones Photo by Dennis Jones
Photo by Dennis Jones
Photo by Dennis Jones
Above: Heather Cline of the Grave Creek Archaeological Complex speaking to about 65 highly interested visitors for WAMCC’s Black History Kick Off event. TV News 9 cameras are in photo.
Above: Heather Cline is showing a slide that discusses the evidence of early African-Americans at the Cumbo Yard Industrial Park in Berkeley Co.
Above: Another view of the audience on Feb. 2, 2013, at Weirton Area Museum & Cultural Center
History Game Order Fulfilled
On January 7, Daniel Lyons (see photo at left), for-mer member of the Weirton Steel Chorus, came to Weirton Area Museum to claim his Weirton Area History Game, which he had ordered way back in 2007. WAMCC thanks Daniel for his part in Weir-ton’s history. See caption on photo for more details.
Above: Daniel Lyons on Jan. 7, 2013, with the Weirton Area History Game he had ordered in 2007. WAMCC was unable to reach Mr. Lyons because his phone number, recorded by the museum, was incorrect. He joined the Male Chorus in 1978 and was there when it folded in 2005-06. He is retired from Weirton Steel Co. and devotes his time to the Tri-State Marines Corps as Comptroller, and publishes the quarterly newsletter for the club. His grandfather was Geza Ko-kochak, one of Weirton’s first realtors. Daniel was very happy to finally receive the history game and provided good comments about the Weirton Steel Chorus display currently at WAMCC.
Page 5 Volume 5, Issue 1 Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center Newsletter
Weirton Area Archaeology Presented - Jan. 10
Photo by Dennis Jones
Mayor Andochick Pays a Visit
Photo by Dennis Jones
Photo by Dennis Jones
Photo by Dennis Jones
Photo by Dennis Jones
Mayor Andochick & G. David Low’s Training Suit On January 22, former Weirton Mayor Mike Andochick visited WAMCC and donated several items and photographs that once belonged to astronaut G. David Low, who was the husband of his daughter Joann. The donated materials will be used in a future “Space” exhibit at WAMCC. Mr. Low flew missions on the orbit-ers Columbia (Jan. 9-20, 1990), Atlantis (August 2-11, 1991), and Endeavor (June 21-July 1, 1993). He logged over 714 hours in space, including a 6-hour spacewalk. Mr. Low died of cancer on March 15, 2008.
Mayor Andochick & Victor Greco Above: Victor Greco and Mike Andochick, Jr. at the museum. Mike Andochick, Jr. served as Weirton’s Mayor from 1971 thru 1979. Behind him is a painting of Thomas E. Millsop, Weirton’s first Mayor (1947-55) and a photo of his first wife Loretta B. Millsop.
Dr. Robert Maslowski, PHD On January 10, former Weirton resident & Madonna graduate, Dr. Robert Maslowski, PHD, presented the ancient Archaeology of the local area, including locally-found artifacts, ranging from arrowheads to pottery. The Monongahela village at Half Moon was discussed, as well as the petroglyphs discovered there and at Brown’s Island. Bob also included a discussion about the possible Hol-liday’s Cove Fort site for future discovery.
Dr. Maslowski is shown discussing a slide on the petroglyphs discovered at Brown’s Island published by James Swauger in 1969 & 1974.
The large crowd of 75 very interested people filled the museum presentation area. Many of those present went to school with Bob at Madonna High School in Weirton.
Page 6 Volume 5, Issue 1 Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center Newsletter
Acknowledgements A special thank you is in order for those who helped with our first 2 events of the year, starting with the lecture on Jan. 10 by Dr. Robert Maslowski thru the “kick off” of Black History Month on Feb. 2. We give thanks to Bob & Lea Shirer and Dave Whanger for helping get the place in order before the events. We thank Dr. Maslowski and Heather Cline for delivering exciting and educational presentations. We thank Kim Salter, Bob Kelley, Corliss Brown, and others who donated their time and materials in assembling the Dunbar History Display. We thank the Weir-ton Daily Times and Channel 9 TV for being present to cover our events and also to help promote them. We also thank the Wheeling Intelligencer , Hancock County Courier, WEIR radio, and Deb Witkowski of “What Would Deb Do?”. We thank Shirley Whanger for supplying and serving refreshments, and Jolene Zuros and Andrea Anderson for their help.
We thank Weirton Mayor George Kondik for showing his support for our efforts and being there for us. We thank the Hancock County Museum for supplying a photo and brief history of Billy Wilson, the slave who became a free man after saving the life of Richard Hooker Brown in the Civil War. We thank all of you who come and attend our events, especially those who came last Saturday in the frig-id cold with a threatening snowstorm. It gives us a good feeling when you show your interest, and it encourages us to keep on progressing toward completing renovations in our museum. Below is a list of our next 3 events. Hope to see you there!
Dennis R. Jones, President / Executive Director
Upcoming WAMCC Events
Saturday - March 9 - 10:00 am
Tom Zielinsky talks about
“The Final Days of Weirton Steel”
Saturday - April 13 - 11am to 3pm
5th Annual Festival of Nations
at the Weirton Event Center
Dr. Juginder K. Luthra is Chairperson for this event
