Michael W. Smith

Roger Howdyshell bought Marble King

John Sayles and Maggie Renzie arrived in West Virginia to produce a film about the Matewan Massacre

Kathy Mattea got a record contract with Mercury Records

Willow Glen "McKinley's Palace" was added to the National Register of Historic Places

No known granny-midwives were practicing in West Virginia

State Supreme Court ruled on La Rue v La Rue, which created the concept of equitable distribution of marital assets

Main Street Morgantown was organized

West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Mountain Stage began as a radio show hosted by Larry Groce and George Daugherty

Waterford Park (later Mountaineer) racetrack closed

The "Big John" dragline scoop came to the Hobet 21 surface mine in Boone and Lincoln counties

The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake was published by Atlantic Monthly Press/Little Brown

Silver Creek ski area opened

The major northern and southern branches of American Presbyterianism reunited

Ronald Ohl became president of Salem College

The Seneca Glass Company closed

Ada "Bricktop" Smith published her autobiography

Silver Creek ski area opened down the mountain from Snowshoe

Tobacco was the second most valuable farm crop in West Virginia

Stephen and Deborah Starks continued publication of the Beacon Journal under the name West Virginia Beacon Digest

A continuous-care and kidney dialysis center was dedicated at Wheeling Hospital

Additional repairs were made to the Wheeling Suspension Bridge

Winterplace ski area opened

WSAZ music changed from program format to country music

The Diamond department store closed

"Diamond Teeth" Mary McClain appeared in the documentary Free Show Tonight

Marc Harshman's first book of poetry, Turning Out the Stones, was published

The Charleston Gazette-Mail named Buck Harless West Virginian of the Year

George Daugherty and Larry Groce hosted Mountain Stage

The West Virginia Association of Museums was organized

West Virginia had 69 bank holding companies and 134 subsidiaries

The Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge was established by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake was published in German

St. Francis Hospital was expanded

There were three Seventh Day Baptist churches in West Virginia with 411 adherents

There was a special legislative session on education

Melvin Lentz became wood chopping champion

Weirton population was at 22,124

Meredith Sue Willis wrote Blazing Pencils

Wood County was the third most populous county in the state

Medal of Honor recipient Cornelius Charlton’s remains were moved to American Legion cemetery in Beckley

Tim Armstead graduated from West Virginia University College of Law

John Chambers went to work for Cisco Systems

Snowshoe purchased Silver Creek

James Jett was a member of the U.S. sprint relay team that won a gold medal at the Olympic Games

Marshall University football team defeated Youngstown in the national championships

Samuel Starks home was place on the National Register of Historic Places

Reported 130 outdoor sculptures in 36 West Virginia counties

Rod Thorn was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame

The Linde Division of Union Carbide was spun off to form Praxair

The New River Fellowship purchased a meeting house

West Virginia Radio Corporation acquired WCHS-FM

James Rowley was elected president of the West Virginia Historical Education Foundation

West Virginia State College (now University) received full accreditation from the North Central

D. Ray White was featured in Talking Feet

Columbia West Virginia facility was built in Craigsville

WVU at Parkersburg awarded its first BS degrees in business administration

John P. Carrier became president of West Virginia Institute of Technology (now WVU Tech)

Alex Mooney ran unsuccessfully for New Hampshire legislature

Tunney Hunsaker retired from the police force

Conchata Ferrell was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Ohio Valley College expanded

The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake was published in Brazilian Portuguese

Jayne Anne Phillips published Shelter

Jayne Anne Phillips published Shelter

The Rural Electrification Administration was abolished

Chris Sarandon married Joanna Hall Gleason

West Virginia became the third state to file suit against the tobacco industry to recover costs for smoking-related illnesses

The Tri-State Racetrack installed 400 video lottery slot machines

Hinchcliff Lumber Company added a scragg mill

Union Carbide's silicones products plant at Sistersville was sold

The present Unitarian Universalists building in Charleston was dedicated

The United Carbon Building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places

Melvin Lentz became wood chopping champion

Ginny Hawker began serving as president of West Virginia State Folk Festival

The West Virginia Lottery Commission approved the first 400 video slot machines at Wheeling Downs

The first open heart surgery in the area was performed at Wheeling Hospital

The Howard Long Wellness Center opened at Wheeling Hospital

Jesco White was featured in a brief cameo on Roseanne

Meredith Sue Willis wrote The Secret Super Powers of Marco

Meredith Sue Willis wrote In The Mountains of America

Tommy Thompson left the Red Clay Ramblers

A bridge on U.S. 19 south of Summerville was renamed the Ralph Eugene Pomeroy Memory Bridge.

Robert W. Stephens Jr. became president of Ohio Valley College (now University)

Blind Alfred Reed's complete recordings appeared on compact disc on the Document label.

Chris Sarandon cited the influence of WVU Professor Patrick Ward Gainer

David Selby received the first Life Achievement Award from WVU's Creative Arts College

Management of Spring Hill Cemetery was placed in the hands of a board of commissioners

"Troop" designations replaced former companies in reorganization of State Police

Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel, Weirton Steel and steel unions lobbied to curb imports

Stone & Thomas was sold to the Elder-Beerman Company

The Huntington Tobacco Warehouse closed its doors

Tobacco lawsuit was settled with $1.8 billion in 25 years

The Universalist Meeting House in Marshall County congregation disbanded

WesBanco acquired the Hunter Insurance Agency

The name was changed from the Charleston Symphony Orchestra to the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra

The Doc Williams Country Store in Wheeling closed

The modern courthouse at Winfield was completed

Basketball player Vicky Bullett helped a Brazilian team win a league championship in 1998.

Fayette Station Bridge was renamed the Tunney Hunsaker Bridge

Camp Twin Creeks at Minnehaha Springs became coed

The West Virginia Motorsports Council was established by Governor Wise

Mountain Stage began broadcasting on public television

North Bend State Park added a 305-acre lake

Brad Paisley joined the Grand Ole Opry

Ashby Berkley and his sister sold the Pence Springs property

Jayne Anne Phillips published Motherkind

Pilgrim's Pride bought out WLR Foods poultry processors

The PROMISE scholarship was funded

The governance role in St. Joseph's Hospital by the Sisters of St. Joseph ended

Mary Lee Settle wrote I, Roger Williams

The Smoke Hole Lodge closed

Surface mining production was 60 million tons

The Thomas Memorial emergency center was expanded

Marsh Wheeling Stogies stopped making cigars

Joseph Carter was elected president of UMWA District 17

The West Virginia Mining and Reclamation Association merged with the West Virginia Coal Association

Carl J. Smith began serving as director of the Geological and Economic Survey

The West Virginia Hillbilly ceased publication

Grant Cooper became conductor of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra

Major renovations took place at Kanawha Airport

The West Virginia legislature established an independent National Coal Heritage Area Authority to manage the heritage area

Brad Paisley released his second album

Henry Payne published Payne & Ink: The Cartoons and Commentary of Henry Payne, 2000-2001

Dominion Hope Gas Company opened a gas-fired electricity generating plant at Bull Creek

Guides to the texts and location of roadside historical markers was issued

Richard Ferrin became president of Salem International University

Pocahontas County was identified by the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development as one of the nation's top 59 counties for second homes

United National Bank became state chartered United Bank

The West Virginia Distinguished Service Medal was awarded to Gene Vance who was killed in service in Afghanistan

The State Medical Association established the West Virginia Medical Foundation

Westvaco and Mead merged to form MeadWestvaco

Extensive renovations of the Kimball WWI Memorial began

New Mennonite Congregation started in Greenbrier County

The Metropolitan Theater opened after being closed for renovation in the 90s

WVU announced that the Mountaineer Field would be renamed Milan Puskar Stadium home of Mountaineer Field

Brad Paisley released his third album

Ashby Berkley reclaimed the Pence Springs Resort property

Soupy Sales published his memoir Soupy Sez

An expansion at Tamarack opened

West Virginia crime rate ranked 7th lowest

Reported 60% of West Virginia crimes are larceny-theft

West Virginia prisoner population had the 6th highest growth rate

Unionized labor at 14.2% of the work force

Number of farms in West Virginia decreased to 20,800

Circulation of the Hampshire Review was 6,950

Dominion Hope provided natural gas to 439 communities in West Virginia in 32 West Virginia counties

The state Supreme Court heard 2,449 cases and issued 159 opinions and 434 orders

There were about 100 employees in the Division of Labor

The West Virginia Department of Natural Resources listed 17 public fishing lakes and ponds in the state

Video lottery sales represented more than 70% of the lottery's total revenue

The Department of Mines had 110 employees, including 74 inspectors

Circulation of the Dominion Post was 20,454 on weekdays and 24,192 on Sundays

Total circulation of West Virginia newspapers was 781,753

There were 161 commercial sawmills in West Virginia

Reported enrollment at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College was 2,580

The student population at West Liberty was 2,375

There were 2,837 students enrolled at West Virginia Northern Community College

West Virginia State University had 2,482 students enrolled

There were 2,183 lottery machines at Wheeling Downs

There were 1,356 students at Wheeling Jesuit University

Circulation of the Wonderful West Virginia was 40,000

Frank Hutchison was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame

The Morris Brothers were inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame

The Morris Brothers were inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.