By John Olesky (BJ 1969-96)
Paula and I had a double dip of delight for Thanksgiving weekend. Well, make that a trifecta.
First, there was the family Thanksgiving dinner in Aurora.
After an overnight stay in the Waynesburg, PA Comfort Inn, we drove to Wheeling on Saturday and walked a few miles on a paved walkway along the Ohio River while we watched a tug push nine coal barges, toured historic sites in the city where West Virginia’s independence from Virginia began, donated a few bucks to the Wheeling Island Casino, had dinner at scenic, hilly Oglebay Park and took the three-mile auto tour of the holiday Festival of Lights before heading home to Tallmadge to finish the 556-mile trip.
West Virginia seceded from secessionist Virginia in 1861 during the Civil War. The convention that established West Virginia as a state was held in Wheeling, which became the first state capital, two decades before Charleston got the designation permanently. Today, the building is called Independence Hall.
The Wheeling Suspension Bridge, once the longest suspension bridge in the world, connects the city and Wheeling Island.
Click on the headline to see photos of our trip.
"West Virginia seceded from secessionist Virginia in 1861 during the Civil War."
ReplyDeleteThey then became a part of Ohio during the early days of the rubber industry. Akron was the capital.
I learned that at Margaret Park School.