​Today in Wheeling History: November 9--John A. McGinnis files for a patent on a bicycle-support (1892).
 
John Alphus McGinnis was born on April 10, 1867, in Evansville, Preston County, West Virginia, to Dr. David James McGinnis and Martha Ann Beall McGinnis. After his father's death in 1870, the family relocated to Wheeling, where young John received his education in the city's public schools. On November 9, 1892, McGinnis filed for U.S. Patent No. 513,243 for an innovative bicycle-support, which was granted on January 23, 1894. His design featured a collapsible kickstand that attached to the rear wheel axle, swinging up when not in use and providing a wide, stable base when deployed—a practical solution for cyclists of the era.
 
McGinnis spent his career at Wheeling Stamping Company, joining as a youth and eventually becoming plant foreman. He worked alongside company leaders including A.W. Paull, with whom he co-invented a cap retainer for collapsible tubes in 1921. McGinnis married Anna Elizabeth "Annie" Rautabaugh around 1892, and they had four children: Archibald, Mabel, Howard, and Gladys. After a six-month illness, McGinnis passed away on July 18, 1942, at Ohio Valley General Hospital at age seventy-five. He was buried in Greenwood Cemetery.
 
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://tinyurl.com/2mwzv8tp); Google Patents (https://tinyurl.com/2x4e92c8) (https://tinyurl.com/mr2cskwh), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/45mppjud), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/2pu6h8v5), Clio (https://tinyurl.com/bdf7ykny)
 
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; U.S. Patent Office, Find a Grave, Wheeling Intelligencer, Google Maps

​Today in Wheeling History: November 8—New program director Arlen Sanders made WWVA a "full-time country radio station" (1965).
 
On November 8, 1965, newly appointed program director Arlen Sanders transformed WWVA into a full-time country music station, marking a pivotal moment in Wheeling's broadcasting history. Sanders, a former top disc jockey at 50,000-watt KRLA in Los Angeles and music director at KEZY in Anaheim, brought modern radio techniques to the historic station. His appointment by general manager George Faulder coincided with a critical period for WWVA and its flagship program, the Wheeling Jamboree, which faced possible cancellation after the 1962 demolition of the Virginia Theatre.
 
Sanders initiated "The Big Country Sound," combining contemporary country hits with sharp modern programming. Under his leadership, WWVA added 27 new acts within 15 months, including David Houston, Esco Hankins, and the Stanley Brothers. Sanders left in 1967, succeeded by Bob Finnegan as program director. Finnegan continued the station's modernization while retaining its rustic charm. The transformation proved remarkably successful. By 1968, WWVA had expanded its audience tremendously and attracted top country stars regularly. In 1969, the Jamboree moved to the renovated Capitol Music Hall. Glenn Reeves served as Executive Director from 1970-1982, launching the annual Jamboree in the Hills festival in 1977, which became one of America's largest outdoor country concerts. Sanders later worked at KIEV, KCNW in Tulsa, and during the 1980s became a stage actor while consulting for WWVA. He died of a stroke in 1994 at age 64.
 
To learn more: Wheeling Jamboree - Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/4maaw93c), WWVA Jamboree History - LiquiSearch (https://tinyurl.com/3bpayy6a), Wheeling Jamboree Official History (https://tinyurl.com/yb48c8c6), WWVA 1170AM History - Facebook (https://tinyurl.com/4vs7a5fw), WWVA Radio Station – Ohio County Public Library (https://tinyurl.com/5c8c5mwz), WWVA 1170AM History – Facebook (https://tinyurl.com/4vs7a5fw), e-WV Encyclopedia – Wheeling Jamboree (https://tinyurl.com/2tvwkzft), Wheeling's 50000 watt WWVA 1170 AM "Big Country" DJ - History of the Ohio Valley - Facebook (https://tinyurl.com/2x3se32t), Los Angeles radio People, Where are they Now? - LARadio.com (https://tinyurl.com/2c634yt2), Arlen Sanders Music By the Pacifics - Hopped-Up-Mustang KEZY DJ - YouTube (https://tinyurl.com/58kr6pww), Arlen Sanders - Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum - Digital Archive (https://tinyurl.com/5cpdvu7v), World Radio History (https://tinyurl.com/ntupmspb), Internet Archive (https://tinyurl.com/muvudxy6)
 
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; LARadio.com, YouTube

Today in Wheeling History: November 7—Isaac Leffler, early Wheeling lawyer, Virginia House of Delegates representative for Ohio County, U.S. Congressman, and member of Wheeling’s legal and civic elite during its formative years, is born near Wheeling (1788).
 
Isaac Leffler was born on November 7, 1788, at his grandfather’s plantation “Sylvia’s Plain” in Washington County, Pennsylvania, near Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia). He was educated in public schools and graduated from Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. After studying law, Leffler was admitted to the bar and began practicing in Wheeling, where he became a prominent attorney and legislator. He served multiple terms in the Virginia House of Delegates between 1817 and 1833, representing the Ohio District, and was appointed to the State Board of Public Works in 1827.
 
Leffler was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as an Adams Party candidate, serving from 1827 to 1829. After an unsuccessful reelection bid, he moved westward to the Michigan Territory, settling in what is now Des Moines County, Iowa, in 1835. There, he continued his legal career and held several territorial government positions, including Speaker of the Wisconsin Territorial House and U.S. Marshal for Iowa. He died on March 8, 1866, in Chariton, Iowa, and is buried in Chariton Cemetery. His legacy includes shaping early Wheeling governance and contributing to frontier legal systems in the Midwest.
 
To learn more: U.S. House Biography (https://tinyurl.com/yahvyn43), Wikipedia Entry (https://tinyurl.com/3ehf68mj), Biographical Directory of Congress (https://tinyurl.com/jyv8kba8), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/mr22spas), Geneanet Family Tree (https://tinyurl.com/4uc7vdkk)
 
Photo credits: Find a Grave, Muscatine Evening Journal (Iowa)

​Today in Wheeling History: November 6—The first commercial flight departed from Wheeling-Ohio County Airport, marking the beginning of scheduled air service in the Upper Ohio Valley (1946).
 
On November 6, 1946, regular air service began at Wheeling-Ohio County Airport (Stifel Field) when a Capital Airlines-PCA Capitaliner landed at 9:50 a.m., arriving from Pittsburgh en route to Birmingham, Alabama. George Sherry, a Bellaire city councilman and businessman, became the first scheduled passenger to arrive at the airport. Seriously injured in a 1942 munitions plant explosion, Sherry required frequent medical trips to Cleveland and Pittsburgh, making air service particularly valuable to him.
 
That afternoon at 1:55 p.m., Edward W. Stifel Sr.—the "father of the airport" for whom the field was named—and his wife, along with Mr. and Mrs. Henry T. Schaefer, became the first passengers to board a northbound flight from Wheeling. Postmaster John J. Mathison and other officials were present to handle the first airmail, including over 6,000 "first flight" covers held for collectors. The airport's dedication had occurred just days earlier on November 1, 1946, culminating a 15-year dream that began in 1931. Trans World Airlines (TWA) service would soon follow, connecting Wheeling to destinations worldwide and transforming the city's role in regional transportation.
 
To learn more: Airline Archives – Wheeling-Ohio County Airport (https://tinyurl.com/4afunawt), Wheeling Ohio County Airport – Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/4exed35n), Ohio County Public Library – Airport Dedication Souvenir Program (PDF) (https://tinyurl.com/88wjpu6s), Business View Magazine – Celebrating 75 Years of Flight (https://tinyurl.com/bdcta96n), Weirton Daily Times – Wheeling’s Aviation History (https://tinyurl.com/3cw5h6z9), Wheeling News-Register (https://tinyurl.com/54p4mj2c) (https://tinyurl.com/2zhpzjvw), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/mry29n9s)
 
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wikimedia Commons, Wheeling News-Register, Wheeling Intelligencer

​Today in Wheeling History: November 5—Right Reverend Frederick Deane Goodwin, retired Episcopal Bishop of Virginia who died in Wheeling, was born in Cismont, Virginia (1888).
 
Frederick Deane Goodwin was born November 5, 1888, in Cismont, Virginia, to Reverend Edward Louis Goodwin and Maria Jane Smith Goodwin. He attended Episcopal High School in Alexandria, earned three degrees from the College of William and Mary (B.A., B.S., and M.A.), and graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1917. An accomplished student and athlete, Goodwin won three letters in athletics and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
 
Ordained a deacon in June 1917 and priest in June 1918, Goodwin served as rector of Cople, Lunenburg, and North Farnham parishes in Virginia. On May 22, 1930, he was elected Coadjutor Bishop of Virginia on the first ballot and was consecrated October 16, 1930. He became the ninth Bishop of Virginia on January 1, 1944, serving until his mandatory retirement in 1960.
 
Goodwin married Blanche Elbert Moncure on October 17, 1917; she died in 1955. They had three children. His Wheeling connection came through his daughter, Mrs. Peyton R. Williams, whose husband served as rector of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church. Bishop Goodwin died at Peterson Place in Wheeling on January 13, 1968, at age 79, after a long illness. He was buried at Yeocomico Episcopal Churchyard in Kinsale, Virginia.
 
To learn more: Wikipedia – Frederick D. Goodwin (https://tinyurl.com/37wnxb3p), Find a Grave – Frederick Deane Goodwin (https://tinyurl.com/5n6u2hcb), Wikitree – Frederick Deane Goodwin (https://tinyurl.com/yc6dwbcm), Goodwin-Keithley Genealogy (https://tinyurl.com/2e9nj2rr), The Church’s Debt to the Goodwin Family (PDF) (https://tinyurl.com/4m2hfj3n), The Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/3umj8yf8), Wheeling News-Register (https://tinyurl.com/2zpuf393)
 
Photo credits: Wikimedia Commons, Find a Grave, Wheeling Intelligencer, Wheeling News-Register

​Today in Wheeling History: November 3—Gus Scarvelis, who immigrated to Wheeling as a child and became an inventor and research engineer creating numerous patents while working for Owens-Illinois in Toledo, Ohio, died at age 74 (1989).
 
Gus Scarvelis was born on June 21, 1915, in Kardamyla, Chios, Greece, to Stephanos "Steve" Scarvelis, a goldsmith, and Giannoula. In 1923, at age seven, Gus immigrated to America aboard the Madonna Ship from Piraeus, arriving in Wheeling, West Virginia, on November 1. He joined his father and older brother Peter, who were already working in the area. Tragically, within a year of arrival, his mother died unexpectedly in nearby Weirton, followed shortly by his father's death. Orphaned, Gus was raised by his three older siblings. His brother Peter worked in the steel mills but died in a mill accident in 1946 at age 39.
 
Determined to escape the dangerous mill work, Gus pursued higher education despite financial hardships. He attended Rochester High School in Pennsylvania (1935) and Georgia Tech (1938) before transferring to Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, earning his metallurgical engineering degree in 1949. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II (1945-1946) in the Philippines and Korea. Gus married Falea Adams in 1945 and worked as a research engineer, creating patents including "Pouch manufacturing means and method" for food packaging, "Method of extruding a foamed plastic composition," "Process for making wet-strength paper and product thereof," and "Method of preparing polystyrene beads for molding." He retired in 1977 after 20 years at Owens-Illinois and died November 3, 1989, in Toledo, Ohio.
 
To learn more: Gus Scarvelis – Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/2t42yadp), Find a Grave Memorial (https://tinyurl.com/ycy8bd4j), Toledo Blade (https://tinyurl.com/4mefyfwt), Google Patents (https://tinyurl.com/yc45v7jx) (https://tinyurl.com/aj7b5f5x) (https://tinyurl.com/46tm275b) (https://tinyurl.com/9xkf6xe6) (https://tinyurl.com/33e35k9p)
 
Photo credits: Toledo Blade, Google Patents, Find a Grave

​Today in Wheeling History: November 2--Wheeling resident Sheldon Joseph filed a patent application for a cluster incandescent gas-lamp (1901).
 
Sheldon Joseph was born on February 18, 1857, in Ohio. Before moving to Wheeling, he worked as a teacher in Ohio schools and resided in Columbus, where he demonstrated his inventive talents. Joseph received multiple U.S. patents, including one for a gasoline-gas-generating device (Patent No. 656,892) in August 1900 and a hose-coupling design (Patent No. 659,071) in October 1900, both while living in Columbus. On November 2, 1901, now a Wheeling resident, Joseph filed his patent application for a cluster incandescent gas lamp that allowed multiple gas lights to burn together on one fixture. His design used a special collar with grooves and holes that held wire supports firmly in place, keeping each delicate glass mantle from shifting or breaking. This invention was granted as Patent No. 692,449 on February 4, 1902.
 
Joseph relocated to Wheeling around 1901-1902, where he became the local representative for the West Virginia Humane Society, a position documented in the 1912 State Board of Control report, which listed him as the Wheeling agent earning $60 monthly. He later served as Wheeling's first truant officer for the public school system. At the time of his death, Joseph lived at 1140 Eoff Street with his wife, Ivah (or Iva) Willard Joseph, whom he married around 1902. They had one son, Willard R. Joseph, who died in infancy in 1902. Sheldon was a member of the Fourth Street Methodist Episcopal Church and the Knights of Pythias fraternal organization. He passed away on July 17, 1937, following a two-week illness, and was buried in Peninsula Cemetery. His wife Iva died on January 25, 1941, and was also buried in Peninsula Cemetery.
 
To learn more: Google Patents (https://tinyurl.com/2hsv73wu) (https://tinyurl.com/y9dcbsp6) (https://tinyurl.com/3b8wjwzn), Wheeling Daily Register (https://tinyurl.com/a88rakma) (https://tinyurl.com/4b4jtpad), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/599e3hce) (https://tinyurl.com/mrnu49rv), Internet Archive (https://tinyurl.com/3tmm2ad7)
 
Photo credits: U.S. Patent Office, Find a Grave, Wheeling Daily Register

​Today in Wheeling History: November 1—J.C. Penney Department Store opens as one of the original anchor tenants at the Ohio Valley Mall in St. Clairsville, serving the Wheeling area (1978).
 
On November 1, 1978, J.C. Penney officially opened its new 155,000-square-foot department store at the Ohio Valley Mall near St. Clairsville, Ohio, marking a significant retail shift for the Wheeling area. The opening ceremony featured Max Coats, the store manager who formerly supervised the downtown Wheeling location, and Miss Ohio 1978, Sher Patrick, sharing scissors for the ribbon-cutting before hundreds of shoppers. District Manager Karl Scheffer joined other company dignitaries for the celebration that began at 9:45 a.m.
 
The new store represented J.C. Penney's 85th location in Ohio and was considered one of the chain's most complete department stores due to its extensive size and offerings. Built on two levels with a freestanding 12,000-square-foot auto center, the facility featured the fullest collection of fashion apparel available in the nationwide 1,500-store chain, along with appliances, furniture, sporting goods, a restaurant, and a beauty salon.
 
J.C. Penney's presence at the Ohio Valley Mall resulted from the failed Fort Henry Mall proposal in downtown Wheeling. After Wheeling voters rejected the urban renewal project in 1973, the company—along with Sears and Montgomery Ward—shifted their commitments to the Belmont County location. The store had operated in Wheeling's McFadden Building at 1122-24 Market Street since 1937, remaining downtown for over four decades before the mall relocation.
 
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling WV; J.C. Penney Officially Opens New Mall Store - Wheeling News-Register (https://tinyurl.com/2uyemkfd), Ohio Valley Mall History – Times Leader (https://tinyurl.com/3vz4k7aj), Remembering Retail – Ohio Valley Mall Opening (https://tinyurl.com/3b5hfys4), Lede News – Changing Face of a Hometown (https://tinyurl.com/49uy5wrv), Archiving Wheeling – Fort Henry Mall & Urban Renewal (https://tinyurl.com/mr3r4bwj), Ohio County Public Library Flickr page  (https://tinyurl.com/mry2nehf)
 
 
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling WV; Wheeling News-Register

​Today in Wheeling History: October 31--Captain R. C. Marshall and Captain V. E. Clark of the aviation department of the War Department inspect Kyle Smith's patented airplane in Wheeling, declaring it better than any Curtiss airplane and among the lightest, strongest, and most perfectly adjusted and constructed machines in the country (1916).
 
S. Kyle Smith was born in February 1889 in Wheeling, West Virginia, to Harry M. Smith and Carrie Smith. His grandfather, Philip Christopher Smith, was born in Baden-Baden, Germany, in 1835 and immigrated to America, settling in Wheeling's 3rd Ward where he worked as a barber. Kyle Smith became a pioneering aviator, inventor, and aircraft manufacturer who founded the Kyle Smith Aircraft Company in 1916, making him a leader in West Virginia's early aviation industry. Smith met legendary flier Glenn Curtiss in 1908 and thereafter built his own Blue J Monoplane, designing and constructing his aircraft entirely by hand, fabricating even the smallest components himself. The company maintained offices in Wheeling (Box 273) and operated a manufacturing facility in Huntington. On October 21, 1916, professional aviator Harmon J. Norton of the Curtiss Aviation School in Buffalo, New York, flew Smith's newly constructed monoplane over Warwood, performing loops and spiral glides before landing on Upper Sister's Island, praising it as one of the finest machines he had ever piloted. Ten days later, on October 31, 1916, War Department aviation officials Captains R.C. Marshall and V.E. Clark inspected Smith's aircraft and declared it superior to any Curtiss airplane. Smith's company advertised its "Only Original All-American Monoplane" with land models priced at $3,000 and water models at $3,100. The company was formally incorporated on May 28, 1917. Beyond aviation, Smith invented the "Terralite" lens, widely used by automobile owners. Kyle Smith died on September 2, 1987, at age 98 on the dance floor at Mountain Jack's in Akron, Ohio, and was buried at Rose Hill Burial Park in Fairlawn, Ohio.
 
To learn more: Aviastar.org (https://tinyurl.com/2u6rhc46), Wheeling Daily Register (https://tinyurl.com/5f2btum5), The Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/2s32wsx5) (https://tinyurl.com/4fjdhe8a) (https://tinyurl.com/mrxem5sn), Historic Wheeling Aviation Wiki (https://tinyurl.com/3x4bn876), Bizapedia Company Record (https://tinyurl.com/beujepx3), Facebook - West Virginia Heritage, History, and Memories (https://tinyurl.com/yf7jrzak), WorthPoint  (https://tinyurl.com/4s48ykdw), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/mtxbw3u7) (https://tinyurl.com/yhchk3tb)
 
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; West Virginia Heritage, History, and Memories Facebook page, Wheeling Daily Register, Wheeling Intelligencer, WorthPoint

​Today in Wheeling History: October 30—Francis J. Love, former U.S. Representative and Warwood High School principal, dies in Wheeling (1989).
 
Francis Johnson Love was born January 23, 1901, in Cadiz, Ohio, to Ulysses and Laura Johnson Love. After graduating from Cadiz High School, he earned his A.B. degree from Bethany College in 1924. Love served as principal of Warwood High School in Wheeling from 1926 to 1929, also coaching an AAA baseball team. He obtained his J.D. from West Virginia University Law School in 1932 and immediately began practicing law in Wheeling.
 
Love served as Republican U.S. Representative for West Virginia's 1st Congressional District from 1947 to 1949, losing his 1948 reelection bid to Democrat Robert L. Ramsay. He unsuccessfully sought the seat again in 1950 and 1952. Love attended six consecutive Republican National Conventions (1952-1976) as a delegate, gaining national attention when he recommended President Ford choose a woman running mate eight years before Geraldine Ferraro's historic nomination. In 1966, he challenged Senator Jennings Randolph but lost 60-40 percent, vigorously opposing Vietnam War policies during the campaign.
 
Love championed reduced EPA regulations on coal usage and authored "Mend Your English" (1969). His wife Pearl died in 1945. Love resided at Good Shepherd Nursing Home before dying October 30, 1989, at age 88. He is buried at Union Cemetery in Cadiz, survived by daughter Sally Love Rochlin.
 
To learn more: Francis J. Love – Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/4d494hce), Infoplease Biography (https://tinyurl.com/mumfa76c), Biographies.net (https://tinyurl.com/3v85zdvf), Political Graveyard – WV Delegation 1964 (https://tinyurl.com/msunrz7c), DBpedia Entry (https://tinyurl.com/yt7e9mba), Wheeling News-Register (https://tinyurl.com/48ya3f7z) (https://tinyurl.com/4xpm4j2c) (https://tinyurl.com/2nv6nbsc), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/bdekubfs) (https://tinyurl.com/4ep54yzs)
 
Photo credits: Wheeling News-Register, Wheeling Intelligencer, Wikimedia Commons, Google Maps