Archiving Wheeling

Archiving Wheeling Ohio County Public Library Archives WALS Foundation

From Camp Lee to the Great War: June 18, 1918 – Lester Scott

Archiving Wheeling June 18, 2018 Leave a Comment 2828 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 53

“I have arrived safely overseas…”

In what is essentially his thirty-seventh letter home, US Army Wagoner (mule team driver) Lester Scott, a World War I soldier from Wheeling, West Virginia, writes, this time courtesy a signed, Red Cross form postcard announcing his safe arrival in France addressed to his brother-in-law (his sister Minnie’s husband Jame Riggle), “I have arrived safely overseas.” The postcard was sent from Newport News, Virginia, but refers to Lester’s arrival in France as a part of the American Expeditionary Force.

On the same day that Lester Scott arrived on French soil, the French army repulsed a German attack on the Reims front and the Russian battleship Svobodnaya Rossiya was scuttled in the Black Sea to avoid being captured by the Germans. Meanwhile, the German submarine U-151 fired torpedoes at the British flagged merchant ship, SS Dwinsk near Bermuda, badly damaging her. The U-151 then fired two torpedoes at the USS Von Steuben, which was attempting a rescue. The Von Steuben was able to outmaneuver the torpedoes and avoid being hit.

Lester Scott was drafted in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, where so many Wheeling soldiers were trained. And, like so many of his Ohio Valley comrades, he served in the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. This is his thirty-seventh letter home, dated 100 years ago today, June 18, 1918. Read More

Archiving Wheeling Ohio County Public Library Archives WALS Foundation

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Cleo Episode

Archiving Wheeling May 31, 2018 2 Comments 3454 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 52

“My own darling Less, How can you doubt my love for you?”

Who the heck is Cleo?!

That was a question from a listener who said he’s heard every episode of “From Camp Lee to the Great War,” but still can’t figure it out.

If you’ve also been listening but not necessarily reading all of the accompanying blog posts on Archiving Wheeling dot org, you might have the same question: Who the heck is Cleo?

Well, the short answer is that Cleo Hewitt is Wagoner Lester Scott’s girlfriend back in Wheeling. We don’t know a great deal about her, but to remove some of the mystery, we’ve created this special edition of “From Camp Lee to the Great War.” Let’s just call it, “The Cleo Episode.”

After listening today’s podcast, you will know as much as we do about the mysterious Cleo.

Real Photo Postcard: Lester Scott.From the personal collection of Marjorie Richey. — Real Photo Postcard: Lester Scott. From the personal collection of Marjorie Richey.

Real Photo Postcard: Cleo Hewitt. From the personal collection of Marjorie Richey.

Archiving Wheeling

The Spirit of the Wheeling Doughboy

Seán Duffy May 28, 2018May 28, 2018 4 Comments 9879 Views

Wheeling's version of the Spirit of the American Doughboy has stood guard at Wheeling Park since 1931. — Wheeling’s version of the Spirit of the American Doughboy has stood guard at Wheeling Park since 1931.

Standing Guard

He’s a familiar figure to most Wheeling residents.

After all, he has stood guard vigilantly at Wheeling Park for more than eighty years — grenade in one hand, [part of a] rifle in the other. He even inspired a 2011 motion picture featuring a lot of local sets and actors. Read More

Archiving Wheeling Ohio County Public Library Archives WALS Foundation

From Camp Lee to the Great War: May 23, 1918 – Lester Scott

Archiving Wheeling May 23, 2018May 25, 2018 Leave a Comment 2048 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 51

“Please write and tell Cleo Good Bye for me…Well Boss, all I can say is, Good Bye and Good Luck…”

In his thirty-sixth letter home from Camp Lee, Virginia, to his sister Minnie Riggle, US Army Wagoner (mule team driver) Lester Scott, a World War I soldier from Wheeling, West Virginia, says he weighs 172 pounds. Dutch is in good spirits and nearly as heavy as Les. The boys are in good spirits. He sends best regards to every one of his friends, to Minnie and Jim, to Dad, and to Cleo. It’s clear that Les knows he’s going to France soon. He tells Minnie she should not worry about him. He’ll be alright. She will hear from him before too long.

Elsewhere on the same day, Arabs successfully attack the Ottoman Turks near Abu Naam, and the British armed mercantile cruiser “Moldavia“, carrying American troops, was torpedoed and sunk, killing 56. Costa Rica declared war on Germany in an effort to gain favor from Woodrow Wilson for its new leader who had taken power after a coup. The gesture was ineffective.

Lester Scott was drafted in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, where so many Wheeling soldiers were trained. And, like so many of his Ohio Valley comrades, he served in the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. This is his thirty-sixth letter from Camp Lee, dated 100 years ago today, May 23, 1918. Read More

Archiving Wheeling Ohio County Public Library Archives WALS Foundation

From Camp Lee to the Great War: May 19, 1918 – Charles Riggle

Archiving Wheeling May 19, 2018May 20, 2018 Leave a Comment 1794 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 50

“We han’t allowed to write any military information anymore, and you see a fellow hasn’t got much to write…”

In his fifteenth letter home from Camp Lee, Virginia, dated May 19, 1918, PFC Charles “Dutch” Riggle, a WWI soldier from Wheeling, WV, tells his brother James “Abe” Riggle that he’s still in Battery F but doesn’t know for how much longer. He’s drilling a great deal but he can’t talk about the military anymore. He had his picture taken and he’ll send one home. That’s about it!

Elsewhere on the same day, German planes raided London and bombed British hospitals outside the war zone, killing or wounding hundreds. Airman Gervais Raoul Victor Lufbery, who served in both the French Air Force and the U.S. Army Air Service, was killed in aerial combat. Meanwhile on the home front, the Washington Senators Walter Johnson pitched a grueling 18 innings to beat the Cleveland Indians (whose pitcher also went the distance) 1-0.

Charles “Dutch” Riggle was drafted into the US Army in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, Virginia, where so many Wheeling draftees and volunteers—including his sister-in-law Minnie Riggle’s brother, Lester Scott—were trained. Dutch Riggle was a Private First Class in Battery F of the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, in France. Riggle was a farm boy with little formal education who grew up in the hills of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. He spelled many of his words phonetically. His letters have been transcribed exactly as they were written. This is his fifteenth letter from Camp Lee, dated 100 years ago today, May 19, 1918.

Archiving Wheeling Ohio County Public Library Archives WALS Foundation

From Camp Lee to the Great War: May 18, 1918 – Lester Scott

Archiving Wheeling May 18, 2018 Leave a Comment 1745 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 49

“What has become of Cleo?”

In his thirty-fifth letter home from Camp Lee, Virginia, to his sister Minnie Riggle, US Army Wagoner (mule team driver) Lester Scott, a World War I soldier from Wheeling, West Virginia, says he’s done some excellent firing at rifle practice, hitting four bulls eyes from 100 yards left-handed. Then he got seven out of ten hits right-handed. They have to shoot different distances from different positions. He shoulder was sore the next day. He got 18 out of 60 total shots in the bullseye. Les is unsure if he’ll get that furlough. Les now has a helper who has to do whatever Les tells him. He talks too much. Les says Jim is welcome to wear any clothes he left behind. Les wants to know what has become of his girlfriend Cleo.

Two days earlier on May 16, 1918, the U.S. Congress passed the Sedition Act, which prohibited “any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States … or the flag of the United States, or the uniform of the Army or Navy.” A serious challenge to the First Amendment, the Sedition Act was repealed in 1921. Elsewhere on May 18, 1918, British planes made air raids against German towns and a TNT explosion at the Aetna Chemical Co. in Oakdale, Pennsylvania killed 200 people.

Lester Scott was drafted in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, where so many Wheeling soldiers were trained. And, like so many of his Ohio Valley comrades, he served in the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. This is his thirty-fifth letter from Camp Lee, dated 100 years ago today, May 18, 1918.
Read More

Archiving Wheeling Ohio County Public Library Archives WALS Foundation

From Camp Lee to the Great War: May 12, 1918 – Lester Scott

Archiving Wheeling May 12, 2018May 31, 2018 Leave a Comment 1896 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 48

“I am going to send some money home before long. Maybe you can use it now to buy cows with. I only have two more months to pay my liberty bonds out in…”

In his thirty-fourth letter home from Camp Lee, Virginia, to his sister Minnie Riggle, US Army Wagoner (mule team driver) Lester Scott, a World War I soldier from Wheeling, West Virginia, says he’s been busy packing mule harnesses and drilling. He’s qualified on gas mask school. He refers to Minnie’s “new separator” [probably a cream separator, a common tool on dairy farms]. He says he’ll be sending money how so Minnie can buy cows. He’s paying on his liberty bonds and took out $5000.00 in insurance. He’s ready to go overseas anytime.

In this letter, Les asks Minnie if she knows what their father, Christopher Columbus Scott, meant in his May 10 letter, when he wrote, “I was talking to Cleo Hewett and she says she is afraid she is left on you now.” In response, Les wrote to Minnie, “if you know what he meant about Cleo, he has me guessing.” This happens to be the only instance in which we actually have a letter from home to pair with a soldier’s letter. You can see a couple of photographs of Christopher and an image of his letter as well as the transcription below. His words are also included in the podcast. And he finally reveals the mysterious Cleo’s surname. Look for a future podcast dedicated to Cleo and Les, coming May 23.

The “Liberty Bonds” Les refers to were sold to raise money for the war effort. Marketed as a patriotic duty, the bonds were essentially loans to the government that were to be repaid with interest added after a specified time had passed. Despite these efforts, U.S. debt grew to more than $25 billion by war’s end.

Elsewhere on the same day, Julius Rosenberg, who would be executed along with his wife Ethel 35 years later as Soviet spies, was born in New York City.

Lester Scott was drafted in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, where so many Wheeling soldiers were trained. And, like so many of his Ohio Valley comrades, he served in the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. This is his thirty-fourth letter from Camp Lee, dated 100 years ago today, May 12, 1918.
Read More

Archiving Wheeling Ohio County Public Library Archives WALS Foundation

From Camp Lee to the Great War: May 6, 1918 – Charles Riggle

Archiving Wheeling May 6, 2018September 7, 2018 Leave a Comment 1884 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 47

“P.S. Boss don’t you worry while me and Less is gone, for we will be back in about a year from now. Ha Ha!”

In his fourteenth letter home from Camp Lee, Virginia, dated May 6, 1918, PFC Charles “Dutch” Riggle, a WWI soldier from Wheeling, WV, tells his brother James “Abe” Riggle that he’s as well as ever and having a good time eight miles from Camp Lee on military police duty. They are guarding an electrical power plant, a waterworks, and a bridge across the Appomattox River. It’s a dandy place to fish. The plant supplies electricity and water for Camp Lee. It’s “90 degrees in the shade,” but they have a swing to jump in the river. He says Les [Lester Scott] is “driving mules every day.” If Charles Gettings is sent to Camp Lee, Dutch wants him to look him up. He’s still with Tib Meriner, a “dandy good fellow.” Dutch supposes Walter Toland is showing his courage now in France. He thinks we’ve got a good Army of a million men in France and even though they are not fighting much now, the Germans will get licked soon.

Just a few days prior on May 2, 1918, British and French military leaders argued at a meeting in Abbeville over the entry of U.S. troops into the conflict. American soldiers were arriving at the rate of 120,000 per month, but as Charles Riggle noted in his letter, very few were yet involved in fighting despite the ongoing German Spring Offensive. General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), resisted giving the Allies power to command his troops. Pershing reached a compromise, allowing one third of U.S. troops to join the effort by July. The remainder would benefit from more training. These decisions would have important repercussions for Wheeling PFCs Charles Riggle and Lester Scott and their comrades in arms.

Charles “Dutch” Riggle was drafted into the US Army in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, Virginia, where so many Wheeling draftees and volunteers—including his sister-in-law Minnie Riggle’s brother, Lester Scott—were trained. Dutch Riggle was a Private First Class in Battery F of the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, in France. Riggle was a farm boy with little formal education who grew up in the hills of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. He spelled many of his words phonetically. His letters have been transcribed exactly as they were written. This is his fourteenth letter from Camp Lee, dated 100 years ago today, May 6, 1918.

Archiving Wheeling Ohio County Public Library Archives WALS Foundation

From Camp Lee to the Great War: April 26, 1918 – Lester Scott

Archiving Wheeling April 26, 2018April 27, 2018 Leave a Comment 2130 Views

From Camp Lee to the Great War: The Letters of Lester Scott and Charles Riggle: Podcast Episode 46

“I was at the remount station yesterday and helped bring back 26 more mules. There were quite a few hit their meat house against mother earth before we got back…”

In his thirty-third letter home from Camp Lee, Virginia, to his sister Minnie Riggle, US Army Wagoner (mule team driver) Lester Scott, a World War I soldier from Wheeling, West Virginia, says he’s always glad to get mail from home. It’s been seven months since he left West Virginia. Les is sorry to hear that Jim [Riggle] got hurt riding his horse. The army would teach him to ride. He brought 26 more mules to camp. A few died on the way. More rookies arrived and were assigned as helpers to the “old wagoners” like Les. Ed Fisher wrote Les that Oliver Moss has a “Ford machine” [car] now. Les wants to know what has become of Charles Gettings. He once again promises to come home on a pass. Minnie does not need to record that will. Les might be going back to Dutch Gap. He asks Minnie to excuse his mistakes because he can’t see very well.

A few days before Les sent his letter, on April 21, 1918, Germany’s flying ace Red Baron (Manfred von Richthofen) was shot down and killed in a dogfight over France by the British, who bury him with honors. Elsewhere on April 26, the German Spring 1918 Offensive continued and the Second Battle of Kemmel Ridge was underway as the first Italian troops were close to arriving on the French front. Dutch hurdler Fanny Blankers-Koen, was born, and would win an Olympic gold medal 30 years hence.

Lester Scott was drafted in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, where so many Wheeling soldiers were trained. And, like so many of his Ohio Valley comrades, he served in the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company, Battery “A,” 80th (Blue Ridge) Division in France. This is his thirty-third letter from Camp Lee, dated 100 years ago today, April 26, 1918.

Ohio County Public Library Archives

Produced by Patti: The Hub Department Store and its Local Television Show, “Hey There!”

Laura Carroll April 24, 2018April 24, 2018 2 Comments 3442 Views

– By Peggy Adams Gallup and Laura Carroll

Back in the day of black & white television and American Bandstand, way before You Tube and Facebook, the Hub Department Store (1324-30 Market St.) sponsored a local TV show entitled “Hey, There!” Produced by Patti Adams, a senior at St. Joseph’s Academy, the show, which aired on WTRF-TV, was aimed at fellow teenagers and featured a mix of fashion, sports, and news commentary. In the fall of 1958, a photographer from Life Magazine traveled to Wheeling, WV to take photographs and interview Adams for a feature story. The photographer took many candid shots of Patti at the TV station, her school and other locations in Wheeling as well as the Adams home in Yorkville, Ohio.