West Virginia Trivia & Tidbits - Page 4

Looking for West Virginia trivia? Try our list West Virginia little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

—Elk and otters are among animals that can be seen in their natural habitat at the West Virginia State Wildlife Center at French Creek in Upshur County (pop. 23,404). Wildlife can be viewed along a 1.25-mile trail that winds through a hardwood forest.

first appeared: 3/25/2007

—Smoke Hole Caverns in Grant County (pop. 11,299) may have been named because American Indians used the caverns to smoke and preserve venison and wild game, sending clouds of smoke swirling into the valley.

first appeared: 3/11/2007

—Frank Buckles, 106, still runs his farm near Charles Town (pop. 2,907) and is among a handful of living World War I veterans. Buckles lied about his age to join the Army and provided ambulance service in France in 1917 and 1918.

first appeared: 2/27/2007

—For 50 years, the Rev. Charles P. Wood in Hinton (pop. 2,880) collected more than 500 clocks, which tick away today at the Wood Memorial Clock Museum in Hinton.

first appeared: 2/11/2007

—More than 1 million marbles are rolled out each day at Marble King Inc. in Paden City (pop. 2,860), a marble factory since 1949.

first appeared: 1/28/2007

One of the most influential labor leaders of the 20th century, Walter P. Reuther served as president of the United Auto Workers from 1946 to 1970 and helped develop the workingman’s benefits package, from healthcare to pensions. Born in 1907, Reuther grew up in Wheeling (pop. 31,419).

first appeared: 1/14/2007

—The pride of the West Augusta Historical Society is its restored round barn in Mannington (pop. 2,124), which contains exhibits of old tools and farming equipment.

first appeared: 12/17/2006

—A popular regional fare are pepperoni rolls, which are sticks or slices of pepperoni baked inside a white yeast bread roll. The culinary combo was first baked in the early 1900s at the Country Club Bakery in Fairmont (pop. 19,097).

first appeared: 12/3/2006

—Garrett Kysar, 14, of Charles Town (pop. 2,907) coasted to first place in the masters division of the 69th annual All-American Soap Box Derby in July in Akron, Ohio. The race is nicknamed the “Gravity Grand Prix” because the homebuilt cars lack engines.

first appeared: 11/19/2006

—In his workshop in Eleanor (pop. 1,345), Jimmy Tribble has a home-run business making hybrid baseball bats. The MetalWood Bats have a bamboo wood barrel and an aluminum handle.

first appeared: 11/5/2006

—U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd became the longest serving U.S. senator in history in June with nearly 48 years of service. At 88, the Democrat from Sophia (pop. 1,301) is running for a record ninth term this fall. He was born in 1917 in North Wilkesboro, N.C.

first appeared: 10/22/2006

—A unique course at West Virginia University in Morgantown (pop. 26,809) is “Tradition of Hunting,” which covers the evolution of hunting, the role of hunting in wildlife management, hunting ethics, gun control and the economics of hunting.

first appeared: 10/8/2006

Trans Allegheny Books in Parkersburg (pop. 33,099), a former Carnegie Library, boasts an elegant wrought iron and brass staircase, stained-glass windows and glass-tiled floors.

first appeared: 9/24/2006

G-N Ramp Farm in Richwood (pop. 2,477) is believed to be the world's only ramp farm. Also known as wild leeks, ramps are a wild onion-like vegetable native to eastern North American mountains.

first appeared: 9/10/2006

Chartered in 1852, Ravenswood (pop. 4,031) is named after Lord Ravenswood, the hero of Sir Walter Scott's novel, The Bride of Lammermoor. The town is located on land surveyed by George Washington and bought in 1772 from King George III of England.

first appeared: 8/27/2006

Thousands of people get a bang out of the old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration hosted by the volunteer firemen in Ripley (pop. 3,263). The patriotic celebration attracted President George W. Bush in 2002.

first appeared: 8/13/2006

Issued last year in the 50 State Quarters Program, the Mountain State's coin depicts the New River Gorge Bridge, an engineering wonder spanning a natural beauty. At 3,030 feet long, it is the world's second longest steel-arch bridge.

first appeared: 7/30/2006

Resurgence of football at Marshall University in Huntington is the subject of We Are Marshall, an upcoming movie starring Matthew McConaughey. The school's football team perished in a 1970 plane crash that killed all 75 people aboard.

first appeared: 7/16/2006

The boomtown of Nitro (pop. 6,824) sprang up in 1917 when thousands of construction workers built a government explosives manufacturing plant during World War I. The plant was finished in November 1918, about the time the war ended.

first appeared: 7/2/2006

Situated on the windy ridge of Backbone Mountain near Thomas (pop. 452), the Mountaineer Wind Energy Center is one of the largest wind farms east of the Mississippi River and generates enough electricity to power 22,000 homes.

first appeared: 6/25/2006

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