Cynthia Rylant

Governor Rockefeller called for broad changes in the state banking system.

Reagan administration implemented stricter eligibility standards for black lung compensation

Colonel Florence A. Blanchfield Army Community Hospital at Fort Campbell was dedicated

Kanawha Valley Memorial Hospital (later CAMC) moved to new complex

Assets of City National Bank at over $81 million

Bernard Coffindaffer underwent open heart surgery

The Louisville & Nashville railroad line merged into the Seaboard Coast Line Corporation

Davis Grubb's Ancient Lights was published posthumously

The High Gate mansion was listed in the National Register of Historic Places

William Hoffman wrote The Land That Drank the Rain

Bill Hopen completed his first public sculpture commission, a Mother's Day memorial

Sam Huff was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Weirton workers purchased the plant from National Steel Corporation

Marshall University presented Howard B. Lee with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree

Cynthia Rylant wrote When I was Young in the Mountains

Holt, Rinehart, and Winston published a paperback edition of the stories of Beece D'J Pancake

Henry Payne graduated from Princeton University

Pence Springs was studied by scholars from the University of Kentucky

Jayne Anne Phillips published her first of three novels, Machine Dreams

William Pierce established his headquarters in a compound near Hillsboro

Henry Schmulbach's Wheeling house was added to the National Register of Historic Places

The Shott family endowed the Hugh I. Shott Jr. Foundation

Union Carbide had a tragic industrial accident at its Bhopal, India facility

E. M. Statler was inducted into the Wheeling Hall of Fame

Charleston became the first city in U.S. to be able to chose long-distance carriers other than AT&T

Railroads ceased operation in Tucker County

The golf course at Twin Falls State Park was expanded to 18-hole

AT&T broke up

C. W. Ferguson III stopped serving as circuit judge

A renovation on Welch Community Hospital was completed

West Virginia History began annual publication

The School of Osteopathic Medicine started a postdoctoral training program

Thomas Conlin became conductor of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra

WVU Hospitals became a separate nonprofit corporation, affiliated with West Virginia University

Meredith Sue Willis wrote Personal Fiction Writing

The American Cyanamid decided to settle the Willow Island sterilization suit out of court

Warren McGraw stopped serving as state senate president

John Zontini was inducted into the Marshall University Athletics Hall of Fame

Helen Holt retired

Coach John McKay retired

The Pocahontas Times became one of the first papers in West Virginia to switch completely to the use of computers

Pruntytown Correctional Center reopened

Mary Lou Retton was inducted to the U.S. Olympic Committee Hall of Fame

Otis Rice became a member of the editorial board of Filson Club Quarterly

Rock Lake Pool was closed by its owner

Revival of the Sagebrush Roundup radio show was first held

The Old Salt Sulphur Springs resort was added to the National Register of Historic Places

Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel filed for bankruptcy

Blakers Mill was moved to Jackson's Mill

Frederick A Reichle purchased property at Timberline

Predecessor banks were renamed United National Bank

Robert Phalen became president of UMWA District 17

WAJR launched the Metronews Radio Network

Melvin Lentz became wood chopping champion

The Pence Springs prison closed and all inmates were transferred to the Alderson Federal Prison for women

Meredith Sue Willis wrote Only Great Changes

Ellie Schaul was was awarded the 1985 West Virginia Juried Exhibition Governor’s Award

The Charleston Rotary club elected its first two women members

The Ohio Valley Refining Company closed in St. Marys

The Shepherdstown historic district expanded

Former Governor Hulett Smith's wife, Mary Alice, died.

Edward Stifel II constructed a new three-story lodge

The business and operation tax (B&O) was eliminated for most business activities

Corporate net income tax rose to 9.75%

A lost of $279 million from the Consolidated Investment Fund

Charleston joined the Class a South Atlantic League

Hazo W Carter, Jr. became president of West Virginia State College

Chestnut Ridge Hospital was built

Harry Hamm authored the report "Wheeling 2000"

Denise Giardina wrote Storming Heaven

Tim Armstead graduated from the UNiversity of Charleston

John Davis Chandler portrayed "Bleak" in the film Adventures in Babysitting

Otis Rice received the first Virgil A. Lewis Award of the West Virginia Historical Society

St. John's Chapel near Sweet Springs resort in Monroe County was added to the National Register of Historic Places as a part of the Lynnside Historic District

Congress created the National Scenic Byways program to recognize national and state roads of special scenic value

Leon Sullivan was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom

The Andrew S. Rowan Memorial Home was closed

Jerry West was named to the WVU Sports Hall of Fame

The West Virginia National Guard was activated during the Gulf War

The Whipple Company Store was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Jesco White appeared in the film Dancing Outlaw

A flood wall was built at Williamson

Meredith Sue Willis wrote Quilt Pieces

Melvin Wine was chosen as a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts

Laurence Yep published The Star Fisher

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor was Awarded the Newbery Medal for Shiloh

Eldora Nuzum retired from the Elkins Inter-Mountain

The North Central Association approved baccalaureate degrees in business administration, elementary education, liberal studies, and psychology at Ohio Valley University

Henry Payne was runner-up for the Mencken Award

Charlotte Pritt left the state Senate

Dyke Raese was inducted into the WVU Hall of Fame

The National Labor Relations Board ruled on unfair labor practices in the Ravenswood Strike

Richard Freeland re-entered the recording business when he started Freeland Records

Otis Rice became vice president of the West Virginia Historical Education Foundation

Jay Rockefeller successfully backed the Coal Act to ensure continued funding of the UMWA health insurance

Fred Schaus was named to the WVU Hall of Fame

Putt-putt golf and games center opened at former Rock Lake Pool

Sam Snead was named golf professional emeritus upon return to the Greenbrier

The state corporate net income tax rate was at 9%

A broad national agreement between UMWA and Bituminous Coal Operators Association was negotiated

Richard Eddy became president of UMWA District 31

The federal Corporation for National and Communities Service was created to oversee AmeriCorps and domestic programs

Richard Hunt bought Whipple Company Store and renovated it for tourism

Meredith Sue Willis wrote Deep Revision

Margaret Workman received the West Virginia Prosecuting Attorneys Association's Excellence in Criminal Justice Award

WVU at Parkersburg awarded its first BS degrees in elementary education

"Diamond Teeth" Mary McClain issued her first recording, “If I Can’t Sell It, I’m Gonna Sit Down On It”

Evan Jenkins changed from Republican to Democrat and won a seat in the House of Delegates

Toni Stone was inducted into the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame