Chuck Yeager

William "Wally" Barron received law degree from WVU

Ann Flagg graduated from Garnet High School

WVU granted a degree to its first known African-American student, Kenneth Jones

John McKay graduated from Shinnston High School

UMWA eliminated the traditional wage differences between northern and southern coalfields

Cleve Bailey appointed director of the state budget

Main structure of the Buckhannon Highways Garage was built by prison labor

The administration building was built at Buckhannon Highways Garage

Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper were married

Rose Cousins went to Tuskegee Institute to try out for the Air Force training program for black combat pilots

West Virginia: A Guide to the Mountain State was published

An extension was added to the original 1927 Diamond Department Store building

Joanne Dru married Dick Haymes

West Virginia Farm Bureau Service Company was sold to Southern States Cooperative

Ruel Foster joined the faculty of WVU

Earle T. Andrews became general manager of operations of the Berkeley Glass Sand Mining Plant in Morgan County

Governor Neely appointed Howard Gore to the state's three-man Public Service Commission

Alberta Pierson Hannum wrote The Gods and One

Roy Lee Harmon wrote Around the Mountains

Homer Holt began practicing law in Charleston

Another Textile Workers of America strike occurred at Interwoven Mills

It's Wheeling Steel radio program moved to the NBC Blue Network

Johnnie Johnson left West Virginia

The first funds were allocated by legislature for libraries

Hubert Skidmore wrote Hawks Nest

Hubert Skidmore wrote Hawks Nest

The Little Beaver Lake was created with the damming of Little Beaver Creek

Joseph Long left office as president of Huntington Chamber of Commerce

The electric railway from McMechen and Moundsville were replaced by buses

Walter Martens began a partnership with his son Robert Martens

Sandy Mason died

Matilda Mason became the president of Mason College of Music and Fine Arts

Labor leader Joe Powell began work as a glass cutter for Roland Glass Company in Clarksburg.

Attorney General Abraham A. "Cousin Abe" Lilly resided in the penthouse at the Ruffner Hotel

An article by Clay Perry in the Saturday Evening Post describes four cavers trapped in the Sinks of Gandy for five hours

Col. H. Clare Hess was appointed superintendent at the State Police Academy

The National Labor Relations Board found Weirton Steel guilty of unfairly promoting its company union

The Stone & Thomas department store chain came to Charleston

The butadiene plant at Institute had capacity of 80,000 tons/year

Morris Harvey College became a self-governing independent college

The Navy named a light cruiser the U.S.S. Huntington

Volkmar Wentzel enlisted in the Air Force

A mine strike at Widen occurred

WSAZ radio began fulltime operation and assumed frequency of 930 kHz

New River State College was renamed the West Virginia Institute of Technology (now WVU Institute of Technology)

Hurry-up Yost retired as Michigan's athletic director

Helen Froelich married Rush Holt

Citizens in Grafton formed the International Mother's Day Shrine Commission.

C&O and B&O merger continues

John Hodel became editor of the Beckley Register

Clair Bee wrote Comeback Cagers, the last of the Chip Hilton series

Betsy Byars published her first book, Clementine

Fannie Cobb Carter returned to Charleston

West Virginia purchased 11 miles of logging railroad and established Cass Scenic Railroad State Park

Charleston's population peaked at 85,796

Franklin Cleckley earned B.A. from Anderson College

James Dent began writing the Charleston Gazette's "Gazetteer" column

Duncan Yo-Yo Company hit its peak sales with 18 million yo-yos

The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation was organized

Construction of the government bunker and the simultaneous addition of a new hotel wing were completed at the Greenbrier

Davis Grubb wrote Voices of Glory

Hawkshaw Hawkins returned to King Records and recorded "Lonesome 7-7203"

The state purchased and planned restoration of the former logging town of Cass

Joseph Hodges succeeded John Swint as the fifth bishop of the diocese of Wheeling

William Hoffman wrote A Place For My Head

Interwoven Mills ownership changed

Kaymoor mine closed

The original Kingwood Tunnel was closed and sealed

John Knowles wrote Morning in Antibes

William Marland took a job as a Chicago taxi driver to "compose his character"

A new dormitory was constructed at Marshall University

West Virginia Archeological Society members Delf Norona, Oscar Mairs and Bob White described the May Moore Mound as the third largest in West Virginia

J. Kemp McLaughlin was appointed assistant adjutant general with promotion to brigadier general

J. Kemp McLaughlin served as Kanawha County commissioner

Mildred Mitchell-Bateman was appointed the director of the Department of Mental Health by Governor Barron

Plum Orchard Lake was constructed

Donald Rasmussen came to West Virginia as associate chief of internal medicine at Miners Memorial Hospital in Beckley

Nat Reese was hired as a photographic silk-screen printer at Rockwell International's aviation plant in Princeton

Eleanor Roosevelt stopped serving as U.S. representative to the United Nations

The C. Z. Ruth Memorial Annex at St. Joseph's Hospital in Parkersburg was built to accommodate major services

The Sheriff's Succession Amendment was first rejected by legislation

WVU Rod Thorn became All-American in basketball

Catholic population in West Virginia was 110,000

There were 100 Catholic churches, a new cathedral five hospitals 43 elementary and secondary schools, one college and a preparatory seminary in West Virginia

Cyrus Vance became secretary of the army

Jerry West set the record for guards with 63 points in one game

Dr. Herbert Warden performed the first open-heart surgery in West Virginia

A fire ended racing at Wheeling Downs

Wheeling College (now Wheeling University) received national accreditation

Billy Cox moved to Nashville and formed the King Kasuals with Jimi Hendrix

Frederick M. Staunton, publisher of the Charleston Daily Mail, retired

Chief Logan State Park gained state park status

Denomination adopted the name Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Orval Brown was released from the state mental hospital at Weston

Stephen Coonts earned a B.A. at WVU

George Crumb was award the Pulitzer Prize for Echoes of Time and the River: Four Processionals for Orchestra

Phyllis Curtin sang with the Charleston Symphony Opera

Phyllis Curtin was named West Virginian of the year with George Crumb by the Charleston Sunday Gazette Mail

Home Demonstration clubs changed name to Extension Homemaker Clubs

National attention was brought to the issue of mine safety

Fesenmeier sold its brewery to Little Switzerland Brewing Company

Two-year associate degree in forestry was developed at Glenville State College

Five high schools were consolidated into Gilmer County High School

The last Gravely tractor rolled off the Dunbar assembly line

Charles Haden served on the Monongalia County Board of Education

Roy Lee Harmon wrote Rhymes of a Mountaineer

The Modern Budget Amendment made the governor responsible for preparation of the state budget

West Virginia's first spring gobbler season began

Sonny Hyde transferred to the state Department of Natural Resources to work on Outdoor West Virginia (now Wild Wonderful West Virginia)

The Jones Diamond left the Smithsonian to be on exhibition at the State Fair

Linsly School relocated to Banes Hall in Wheeling

The present entrance to the Lost World Cavers was dug through a hill

Joe Manchin's family shoe store burned

A new academic building was constructed at Marshall University

Enrollment at Marshall University reached 8,177

Irene McKinney received her bachelor's from West Virginia Wesleyan College

M. Blane Michael graduated from New York University

M. Blane Michael began working at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York

R. E. Fisher died leaving the Moorefield paper to Pheobe Fisher Heishman and husband David

Mountain Artisans was founded

John W. Saunders became president of Beckley College (now Mountain State University) replacing D. K. Shroyer

The National Bank of Commerce built a new building known as Commerce Square in Charleston

New Vrindaban began as a project of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

The New York Central System merged with the Pennsylvania Railroad to create the ill-fated Penn Central

The annual Nature Wonder Weekend was first held in North Bend State Park

Nylon precursor chemical stopped being produced at Belle Works

Logging on Otter Creek began again

Pilgrim Glass Corporation plant manager Karel Konrad introduced cranberry glass

Radio station WVWC, licensed to West Virginia Wesleyan College, went on air

The last case of polio in West Virginia was reported

James Rexrode's works were displayed at the Shenandoah Valley Folklore Society at the Harrisonburg Arts and Crafts Festival

Spanky Roberts retired from McClellan Air Force Base

The West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey conducted another extensive excavation on the St. Albans archeological site

David Selby appeared in Dark Shadows

James A Butcher became president of Shepherd College (now University)

Governor Hulett Smith proposed $150 million bond issue for school construction and state facilities improvement.

Grace Martin Taylor retired from Morris Harvey College (now University of Charleston)

Norman L. Fagan suggested a Theater West Virginia show based on the Hatfield-McCoy Feud

The Evangelical United Brethren Church merged with the Methodists forming the United Methodists, becoming West Virginia's biggest denomination

There were 240 Evangelical United Brethren Churches in West Virginia, at the time of their merger with the Methodists

Kendall Vintroux retired from the Charleston Gazette

VISTA volunteers had streamed into rural and hard-pressed areas of West Virginia

The WAJR facilities moved to the Greer Building

West Virginia counties reasserted their control over economic opportunity commissions and community action programs, as local officials react to War on Poverty

WesBanco was incorporated

Wheeling Downs reopened

Jon Dragan founded Wildwater Expedition Unlimited at Thurmond

Bill Withers was discharged from the U.S. Navy in San Jose

Runway expansion for jet airliners began at Kanawha Airport

Keith Ham leased 130 acres in Marshall County for the establishment of a rural retreat

Nick Saban led the Monongah High School football team to a state championship victory over Paden City High

Helen Chilton graduated from Denison University

Charleston Section of the National Council of Jewish Women undertook “Appalachian Corridors,” the first exhibition to expressly curate the work of Appalachian artists

Wild boars were released by the Department of Natural Resources as a game species for reclaimed surface mines

M. Blane Michael served as assistant U.S. attorney, Southern District of New York

A $30 state clothing allowance reached about 44,000 welfare children

Morgantown Glassware Guild closed

John Norman was named the Charleston Sunday Gazette-Mail West Virginian of the Year

Phase I of the WVU Personal Rapid Transit project was completed

William Page Pitt retired

Nick Rahall graduated from Duke University

Cecil Roberts began working at Carbon Fuel's No. 31 mine in Winifrede

C. Donald Robertson was indicted on federal charges of taking kickbacks on FHA low-income housing assistance

An extended care facility was added to St. Francis Hospital

Alex Schoenbaum and Ray Danner merged their companies to form Shoney's Big Boy Enterprises

The first permanent building of Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College was dedicated in Williamson

Leon Sullivan was appointed to the board of directors of General Motors

Both Honey in the Rock and Hatfields and McCoy were performed by Theatre West Virginia

The woolen mill in Parsons closed

ACTION became the federal agency that oversaw VISTA and the Peace Corps

Charleston returned to the International League in baseball

An editorial advisory board for the West Virginia History was created

The Coliseum basketball arena was completed at WVU

Robert Kreis instituted Wheeling Symphony's first concert tours

Bill Withers released his first album, Just As I am

WVU at Parkersburg separated from WVU to the state's first community college

John Zontini was inducted into the West Virginia Sports Writers' Hall of Fame

Barry Vance began spending summers painting in the Shenandoah Valley

Clyde Ware's second novel, The Eden Tree, was published

Logan County presented its first annual Arts and Crafts Fair

Arden Cogar St cut an 8x8 inch horizontal yellow poplar in 7.05 seconds

Jack Maurice won the Pulitzer Prize for the editorials he wrote on the Kanawha County Textbook Controversy

Georgia-Pacific tore down the Meadow River Lumber Company sawmill at Rainelle

M. Blane Michael became a law clerk to Judge Robert Maxwell

John Keel first published The Mothman Prophecies

Additions were added to the Mount St. George mansion (Vancroft)

Otter Creek was designated a wilderness area under the Eastern Wilderness Act by Congress

Squire Parsons became the baritone singer for the Kingston Quartet

Pendleton Nursing Home was formed

Janet Pauley filed a class-action law suit against the Lincoln County school system, alleging children in Lincoln County were not receiving educational opportunities equal to students in richer counties

St. Francis Hospital board of directors developed plans for a new patient tower, parking garage, medical office building, and renovations

The Grafton Daily Sentinel became the Mountain Statesman

John Kelly resigned as state treasurer

The Ohio Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation was founded

Virginia's Chapel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places

The Watters Smith Memorial State Park expanded due to gift of land by Rachel Smith Hershey

A botanist from the state Department of Agriculture resurveyed the state's weeds

The federal Eastern Wilderness Act passed

West Virginia Northern Community College opened a third campus in New Martinsville

Legislature created the West Virginia State Rail Authority

Harness racing at Wheeling Downs stopped

A dog racing bill was passed by the state legislature

The nursing school at Wheeling Hospital was discontinued

Wheeling Hospital moved to a new facility

Bob Wise graduated from the Tulane University School of Law

Dennis Harrah was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams football team

Governor Rockefeller gave Roy Lee Harmon emeritus status s poet laureate

The Huntington Advertiser ceased publication and merged into the Herald-Dispatch

Boar hunting began in West Virginia

The Allegheny Indian Council and Cultural Center was founded in Phillipi

The court ruled that unequal per pupil funding among West Virginia counties violated the state constitution's mandate for a "thorough and efficient" school system in Pauley v. Kelly

Maryat Lee wrote John Henry

The military program was discontinued at Linsly School

Jack Maurice became a contributing editor and columnist to the Charleston Daily Mail

Jon McBride became an astronaut

Louise McNeill was appointed poet laureate by Governor Rockefeller

Arnold Miller resigned as president of UMWA

State Supreme Court ruled on Morningstar v. Black and Decker, which held that the court had the ability to create common law

State Supreme Court ruled on Bradley v. Appalachian Power Co., where the court abolished the comparative negligence rule

A second Mormon "stake" was organized in Fairmont

Deadly riots prompted Arthur Recht to place Moundsville Penitentiary under judicial control

The WVU Personal Rapid Transit system was completed

Jayne Anne Phillips published Black Tickets

Gov. Jay Rockefeller persuades legislature to gradually eliminate the 3% sales tax on food

Jim Sprouse was appointed a judge of the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals by President Jimmy Carter

Building C was added to the state police academy

Sam Church Jr. became president of UMWA

Marshall Buckalew was elected president of the West Virginia Historical Education Foundation

The West Virginia Historical Society ceased publication of West Virginia History

West Virginia Independence Hall was opened as a museum by the Department of Culture and History (now Arts, Culture & History)

The West Virginia Juried Exhibition was first held at the Cultural Center

Mack Samples began serving as festival president of the West Virginia State Folk Festival

The Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places

Meredith Sue Willis wrote A Space Apart

Virginia Maw Brown left the Interstate Commerce Commission

Actor Bob Denver married Dreama Perry of Bluefield