Today in Wheeling History: June 7—Harriette Shull “Hydie” Friend, preservation leader and Wheeling Heritage executive director, inducted into the Wheeling Hall of Fame (2019).
Harriette Shull “Hydie” Friend (born 1945) grew up just outside Oglebay Park, the daughter of Harriette Hitchman Shull and Sherman C. Shull, and later the stepdaughter of Brooks E. Wigginton, the Wheeling Park Commission’s longtime landscape architect. Her early exposure to Wheeling’s parks and public landscapes shaped her lifelong commitment to preservation, public history, and community revitalization. Friend joined the City of Wheeling’s Department of Development in 1983, where she helped secure funding for the restoration of the historic Centre Market houses, a project that sparked renewed investment in the surrounding neighborhood. As deputy director of development, she oversaw zoning, subdivision review, and major civic initiatives including the riverfront amphitheater, the city’s bike trail system, and the Waterfront Wednesdays concert series.
Her leadership expanded further when she became executive director of the Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation in 2002. Under her direction, the organization strengthened Wheeling’s national heritage designation, developed interpretive signage, curated exhibits such as "Made in Wheeling" and "Crossroads of America," and guided the creation and operation of Heritage Port. On May 7, 2016, she received the Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation’s Friend of Heritage Award for her decades of preservation work. On April 24, 2019, the Oglebay Foundation honored her with the G. Randolph Worls Spirit of Oglebay Award for volunteer grant writing that has generated more than $10 million in support of Wheeling’s parks. Her career reflects a practical, optimistic devotion to preserving Wheeling’s past while strengthening its future.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library – Wheeling Hall of Fame [Hydie Friend] (https://tinyurl.com/yswkvkds), Weelunk – “Hall of Fame Board Reveals 2019 Inductees” (https://tinyurl.com/42bnrwz9), The Intelligencer – “Hydie Friend Earns Wheeling National Heritage Area Corp.’s Friend of Heritage Award” (https://tinyurl.com/4j86pcc3), West Virginia Press Association - “Oglebay Foundation honors Hess Family, Hydie Friend” (https://tinyurl.com/mubv9c5n), Oglebay Foundation - “Hydie Friend - Oglebay Foundation" (https://tinyurl.com/2dp8wx2a)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; City of Wheeling, Oglebay Park, Weelunk
Harriette Shull “Hydie” Friend (born 1945) grew up just outside Oglebay Park, the daughter of Harriette Hitchman Shull and Sherman C. Shull, and later the stepdaughter of Brooks E. Wigginton, the Wheeling Park Commission’s longtime landscape architect. Her early exposure to Wheeling’s parks and public landscapes shaped her lifelong commitment to preservation, public history, and community revitalization. Friend joined the City of Wheeling’s Department of Development in 1983, where she helped secure funding for the restoration of the historic Centre Market houses, a project that sparked renewed investment in the surrounding neighborhood. As deputy director of development, she oversaw zoning, subdivision review, and major civic initiatives including the riverfront amphitheater, the city’s bike trail system, and the Waterfront Wednesdays concert series.
Her leadership expanded further when she became executive director of the Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation in 2002. Under her direction, the organization strengthened Wheeling’s national heritage designation, developed interpretive signage, curated exhibits such as "Made in Wheeling" and "Crossroads of America," and guided the creation and operation of Heritage Port. On May 7, 2016, she received the Wheeling National Heritage Area Corporation’s Friend of Heritage Award for her decades of preservation work. On April 24, 2019, the Oglebay Foundation honored her with the G. Randolph Worls Spirit of Oglebay Award for volunteer grant writing that has generated more than $10 million in support of Wheeling’s parks. Her career reflects a practical, optimistic devotion to preserving Wheeling’s past while strengthening its future.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library – Wheeling Hall of Fame [Hydie Friend] (https://tinyurl.com/yswkvkds), Weelunk – “Hall of Fame Board Reveals 2019 Inductees” (https://tinyurl.com/42bnrwz9), The Intelligencer – “Hydie Friend Earns Wheeling National Heritage Area Corp.’s Friend of Heritage Award” (https://tinyurl.com/4j86pcc3), West Virginia Press Association - “Oglebay Foundation honors Hess Family, Hydie Friend” (https://tinyurl.com/mubv9c5n), Oglebay Foundation - “Hydie Friend - Oglebay Foundation" (https://tinyurl.com/2dp8wx2a)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; City of Wheeling, Oglebay Park, Weelunk
RSS Feed