You Can Beat a Race, But You Can’t Beat the Races

Ohio County Public Library Archives February 25, 2017February 28, 2017 1 Comment 8471 Views

Featured Image: Wheeling Downs and Big Bill Lias

Memories of Wheeling Downs & Big Bill Lias

by Hugh Stobbs

[This story is in partnership with our friends at Weelunk. Be sure to read about Steve Novotney’s interview with Mr. Stobbs, here.]

Wheeling Downs pennant, Hugh Stobbs Collection.

[Hugh Stobbs, who worked for many years at Wheeling Downs, appeared at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on July 26, 2011 to discuss his memories of the track, the horses, the gamblers, Bill Lias and all of the things that made Wheeling Downs the interesting place it was in its heyday. The following story was adapted from the transcript of his program as well as from recent discussions with Mr. Stobbs. Pieces from Mr. Stobbs’s extensive collection of Wheeling Downs memorabilia are currently on display in the store windows at 1310 Market Street in downtown Wheeling and in the main display are at the library.]

This talk will be presented in three segments. The first will explain how Wheeling Downs developed through the years. The second will be about Bill Lias, because everybody associates him with Wheeling Downs. And the last segment will cover my introduction to Wheeling Downs, the different jobs I did there, the people I worked with, and various other things about the track. Read More

Private Collector

Close Cover Before Striking: Mid Century Wheeling in Matchbook Cover Art

Seán Duffy January 6, 2017 Leave a Comment 3853 Views

Loving the Light

Are you now, or have you ever been, a phillumenist — a practitioner of phillumeny or phillumenism?

And what is this phillumeny, you may well ask? Read More

Private Collector

Cups and Cups of Nostalgia

Ohio County Public Library December 1, 2016December 1, 2016 3 Comments 7924 Views

Hazel Atlas Milk Glass Cups

by Terry Woods

[Introductory note: After learning about the West Virginia Northern Community College Alumni Association’s Hazel Atlas Glass Collection currently on exhibit in the Board Room at the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling, Terry Woods, from Texas, decided to loan his own amazing collection of more than 100 Hazel Atlas milk glass mugs to the library archives. These cups are painted with important themes for children of the fifties and sixties like Mr. Woods, including early TV westerns and space shows, as well as Christmas. After receiving the disappointing news that two-dozen of the fragile mugs were broken in transit, Mr. Woods worked tirelessly to replace them via online auctions. As a collector, he admitted to having a great deal of fun doing so. We thank Mr. Woods for sharing his collecting story.]

My first Hazel Atlas cup was a black Hopalong Cassidy I had as a kid. Our mom had to paint initials on two identical cups to determine which was mine and which was my sister’s.

The collection started when I found a blue Hoppy just after my wife and I got married in November of 1988. I then found a green Hoppy and a children’s circus themed mug. The quest was on! Read More

Ohio County Public Library Archives Private Collector

More Baseball & Soda Pop

Seán Duffy April 11, 2016 9 Comments 16352 Views

Featured Image: Wheeling Soda Pop and Bottlers

Spring Time in Wheeling, Continued…

Nothing says spring quite so clearly as an April day at the old ballpark, with the sun shining warmly on your face and tiny, cool bubbles bursting on the tip of your nose as you raise an ice cold bottle of sweet soda pop to your lips for a refreshing drink. Well, that’s our theory anyway, as we celebrate spring with a new exhibit of baseball artifacts combined with Thad Podratsky’s amazing collection of early Wheeling pop bottles — on display now at the Ohio County Public Library. As a complement to this display, we present a two-part post on the history of baseball and pop bottling in old Wheeling.
▶ Read Part 1: “A Social Game of Ball”

Part 2: The Pop-Post

An assortment of Painted Pops. Thad Podratsky Collection.

“I do Sierra Mist commercials not because they pay me a lot of money or because it only takes a couple of days. I do it because I have a respect for all sodas and I like to communicate that. Some people say soda, some people say pop. Where I’m from in Indiana they called it breakfast.”
-Comedian Jim Gaffigan

“Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter, sermons and soda water the day after.”
-Lord Byron

Category Archives: Private Collector

Memories of Wheeling Downs & Big Bill Lias

Loving the Light

Hazel Atlas Milk Glass Cups

Spring Time in Wheeling, Continued…

Part 2: The Pop-Post