#Parkersburg

[unteriors]

Myrtle Street, Parkersburg, West Virginia.

[20th-century-railroading]

Baltimore & Ohio F7A #4563 sits at the west end of the High Yard in Parkersburg, West Virginia near OB Tower as the locomotive awaits departure to the west; February, 1974. Parkersburg was once a major division point along the St. Louis main line.

[archivist-crow]

The Haunted Atlas

Blennerhassett Hotel - Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia

39°15′53″N / 81°33′41″W

The hotel is named after the area's most famous residents, Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett, but was not owned by them.

History

The Blennerhassett Hotel was built in 1889 by William N. Chancellor, two-time mayor of Parkersburg who made his fortune in oil and by building ornate hotels and homes after the Civil War. The hotel was the First National Bank of Parkersburg. Reopened as a hotel in 1986 with 104 rooms. The grand hotel has been restored and is the centerpiece of downtown Parkersburg today. It is a Registered National Historic Landmark.

Haunting Activity

The most frequently encountered ghost is that of Chancellor himself, who appears in various locations in the hotel dressed in a fine three-piece gray suit. He is identifable by his distinct cigar smoke smell, and also by the appearance of actual smoke. Chancellor’s portrait in the lobby has been seen mysteriously and suddenly wreathed in fragrant smoke, especially when ghost tour groups gather there to hear stories about the hotel. Cigar smoke is smelled wafting throughout the hotel.

Chancellor has been seen in the hotel's corridors, elevators, and guest rooms, startling visitors. He is especially active on the second floor. Chancellor is believed to play with the buttons in the elevator, causing the doors to open and close repeatedly. In 2003, a guest turned out his light at night and immediately felt a weight at the end of the bed. Turning on the light, he was startled to see Chancellor's form sitting at the end of his bed. The ghost said, "I was here first!" and disappeared. At the time, the hotel was undergoing extensive renovation, and Chancellor’s portrait had been temporarily removed from the library. When the portrait was restored—and the renovation completed—sightings of Chancellor decreased. Apparently, the ghost was stirred up by all the activity.

On the first floor in the bar and lounge now called Spats, apparitions have been seen in the huge mirrors. The mirrors were made from framed door casings of a New York City Victorian apartment. Among the ghosts appearing in the glass are a man dressed in a white tuxedo and carrying a black cane and a sea captain dressed in a dark coat and hat.

Guests have sometimes been startled by the shrieking of an invisible woman. Her voice comes over microphones set up in the ballroom and also emanates in guest rooms. Sometimes she shrieks and sometimes she sounds like she is laughing hysterically. One possible explanation concerns the death of a woman during the days when the hotel was a bank. She was crushed against an outside doorway of the building by a tractor-trailer rig that jumped the curb.

A ghostly maid continually mops the floor in the lobby. Phantom big band music drifts about, and at Christmas-time the voices of children singing "Jingle Bells" can be heard above the hotel's piped-in music.

Other phenomena include poltergeist disturbances such as the unexplained breaking of glasses; electrical malfunctions and oddities; apparitions of unknown persons; and a mysterious "bad" feeling in the Red Room, used for business meetings and social functions.

Text from The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits, Third Edition by Rosemary Ellen Guiley (Checkmark Books - 2007)

[aryburn-trains]

Norfolk & Western (N&W) - 4-8-4 - #604 on the Cavalier Parkersburg, VA 5/4/1958

[the-hermit-at-midnight]

Unveiling the Mystery: The Weeping Woman Grave in Parkersburg, WV

In the heart of Parkersburg, West Virginia, lies a grave shrouded in mystery and surrounded by tales of sorrow – the Weeping Woman Grave. This enigmatic burial site has captured the imagination of locals and visitors alike, leaving them intrigued by its haunting presence and the stories that surround it.

The Weeping Woman Grave is located in a quiet corner of a historic cemetery, its weathered tombstone bearing the name of Mary Jane, a woman who is said to have lived in the 19th century. The legend goes that Mary Jane's life was marked by tragedy, and her spirit is believed to linger in the cemetery, perpetually weeping for her lost loved ones.

Many variations of the tale exist, but the common thread is one of heartbreak and loss. Some say Mary Jane lost her children, while others believe she mourned the untimely death of her husband. The specifics may vary, but the underlying theme is a life marked by grief, eternally embodied by the sorrowful figure on the gravestone.

Visitors to the Weeping Woman Grave often report experiencing an eerie presence, especially during twilight hours. Some claim to have heard faint sobbing or seen the silhouette of a woman dressed in mourning attire near the grave. Skeptics attribute these experiences to the power of suggestion, while believers insist that Mary Jane's spirit continues to weep for her lost happiness.

Local folklore has woven a tapestry of ghost stories around the Weeping Woman Grave, adding to the allure of this quiet resting place. Some paranormal enthusiasts visit the site armed with cameras and audio recording devices, hoping to capture evidence of supernatural activity. Whether these encounters are purely psychological or a genuine connection with the otherworldly, the stories persist, contributing to the mystique of Mary Jane's grave.

Despite the speculation and tales that surround the Weeping Woman Grave, it remains an integral part of Parkersburg's local lore. The cemetery itself is a historical gem, with ornate tombstones and a serene atmosphere that invites contemplation. Whether one is a believer in the supernatural or a skeptic, the Weeping Woman Grave stands as a testament to the power of storytelling and the enduring fascination with the mysteries that lie beneath the surface of our everyday lives.

In the quiet corners of Parkersburg, the Weeping Woman Grave invites visitors to ponder the fragility of life, the weight of grief, and the enduring power of myth. It serves as a reminder that, even in death, the stories of those who came before us continue to capture our imaginations and connect us to the rich tapestry of history that defines our communities.

[ausetkmt]

Defense Attorney Joe Munoz sits with Rhonda Bay in Wood County Circuit Judge Jason Wharton’s court on Wednesday where Bay accepted a plea deal to plead guilty to a charge of accessory after the fact to burglary, a misdemeanor offense. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG — A Parkersburg woman accepted a plea deal and will likely testify next week in a murder trial.

Rhonda Bay, 35, appeared in Wood County Circuit Court on Wednesday before Judge Jason Wharton to enter a plea of guilty to a charge of accessory after the fact to burglary, a misdemeanor offense.

Bay was originally charged with accessory after the fact to murder following the Memorial Day Weekend 2021 murder of Darren Jimmie Salaam. Victor Thompson is scheduled to go to trial Monday before Wharton for the murder of Salaam. Vincent Cross will also be tried for being an accessory after the fact to murder.

Thompson was indicted on two counts of murder and one count of burglary after allegedly shooting and killing Salaam, 36, of Akron, in May 2021.

By entering into the plea agreement the original indictment against Bay will be dismissed. She is also expected to testify next week.

“The defendant will be forthright and truthful with the prosecutor’s office and other law enforcement agencies in regards to all inquiries made to this agreement including debriefings with the respect to the defendant’s knowledge of the facts surrounding the shooting of Darren Salaam,” Bay read from the plea agreement.

She said she is willing to do that.

Bay said she bought Thompson cigarettes, giving him food and telling him a place where he could go after the offense when he broke into a home at 4420 17th Ave. She told him he could go to an old tattoo shop on 19th Street.

She said she knew that he had broken into the house when she did this, but did not immediately know he had shot and killed someone.

Bay told Wood County Prosecutor Pat Lefebure that Thompson did not really tell her what happened at the residence, only indicating he said he was in trouble when Lefebure asked her about whether Thompson told her about firing the gun.

Thompson allegedly went to the residence on 17th Avenue to collect a debt and there may have been a disagreement involving a drug transaction before he shot Salaam through a curtain divider, prosecutors said during a bond hearing in 2021. Thompson was arrested in Ritchie County after a weeklong manhunt.

Thompson’s criminal history includes prior felony convictions for operating a methamphetamine lab, unlawful assault, third-offense driving under the influence and uttering between 2003 and 2014, prosecutors previously said, adding he also had ties to the Aryan Brotherhood.

Bay said she had gone to the residence early in the morning with Thompson to get $140 in money that was owed to her from a female resident there. She did not get the money. Thompson was there because the resident also owed him money for a drug debt and also did not get the money. Bay did not believe Thompson had a weapon at that time.

Thompson’s girlfriend was upset he did not get the money and belittling him, Bay said.

Bay got dropped off at her house and did not go back to the house on 17th Avenue.

Sometime later Thompson and his girlfriend showed back up at Bay’s house after the shooting, but she did not learn of the shooting later after she saw news reports about it and Thompson’s girlfriend later indicated to Bay Thompson shot someone there.

She never saw Cross and did not know him. She also admitted to using drugs at the time.

Lefebure said Bay is providing assistance in this case against Thompson and he feels the plea agreement is in the best interest of everyone.

The statute of limitations for the crime she is pleading guilty to is usually one year. Bay waived that and proceeded to plead guilty.

She could face a possible sentence of one year in jail and a fine of $500. Defense attorney Joe Munoz moved for alternative sentencing. Wharton ordered a pre-sentencing investigation through the Adult Probation Office.

Sentencing is set for 9 a.m. Dec. 22.

[grittyghoul]

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[snappbenefits]

Reasons To Provide Group Health Insurance in Beckley and Morgantown, WV

Investing in an insurance policy can help one avoid many risks. The insurance plans are highly diverse, and one may have to go through the terms & conditions carefully before saying yes to the product. While life and health insurance are the two most important types of coverage that every individual has to consider, one may think of being covered by long-term disability insurance in Parkersburg and Charleston, WV, as well.

The idea holds ground as being disabled can put one at considerable risk of life and health. Awareness of the policy and its inclusion and exclusions is always essential. It suffices to know that long-term insurance is a unique insurance coverage that will provide lost wages up to a limit when one cannot work due to an injury or illness. This coverage will remain valid for an extended period and is usually provided for five years or more. A disabled individual may obtain it right up to the day of retirement.

The extent of benefits provided varies sharply! While it may not equal income, it offers at least 60% to 80% of the monthly salary to the disabled person. This enables them to pay the daily costs and bills as needed. The coverage does not kick in immediately after a claim is filed, however. Instead, one would have to wait for a period of 90 days to a year. The time depends on the insurance carrier and the terms of the plan.

Qualifying Factors The long term disability insurance is provided to individuals who qualify for it. While the policy may be provided as part of employee benefits, it may also be purchased by individuals. While each carrier defines disability in their manner, understanding the following terms may prove beneficial for the recipient:

Own-occupation disability- Inability to work on a specified task that had been the profession of the disabled person

Any-occupation disability- Being incapable of handling any kind of tasks both within and outside the area of expertise

Coverage Inclusions Some of the common conditions covered by the policy include the following:-

· Musculoskeletal Disorders · Cancer · Fractures And Sprains · Muscle And Ligament Tears & Strains · Mental Health Issues · Heart Attack · Stroke · Conditions Affecting Blood Circulation

One must file a claim and wait for a specified period to obtain the benefits. The coverage will only become active subject to approval by the insurance company.

Exclusions This type of insurance covers every health condition, especially pre-existing conditions. Some of the most common exclusions include:-

· Pre-existing conditions · Crime-related injuries · No coverage for convicted persons · A disability that occurs during incarceration · Revoked professional certification or license · Self-inflicted injuries · Active participation in a riot · War or act of war · Workplace injuries

Most employers provide group health insurance in Beckley and Morgantown, WV, as a part of employee benefits. This ensures a win-win situation for all concerned.

[sebbys-mama]

Gretchen Fleming has been missing from Parkersburg, West Virginia (USA) since December 12, 2022. I know it's a long shot, but I thought I'd share this anyway.

Just in case.

If you have any info, call Detective Zimmerman @ 304-424-1072

[hometoursandotherstuff]

This large 1886 Victorian in Parkersburg, WV is just about perfect. It's so well preserved and yet has style. 5bds, 2.5ba, 3,512 sq ft, $379k.

As soon as you enter, you can see that the hall is perfectly preserved.

The rooms are blank canvases. Pay special attention to the spectacular original fireplaces. Even the tile flooring around them and the fireboxes are original.

This is a cute room, also with an original fireplace. It looks like most of the light fixtures are original.

They've got this room set up as a sitting room, but it's definitely the dining room. It has the wainscoting and a built-in cabinet, too.

Lovely fireplace. I think that they may have added, or updated, the clock in the middle.

This is quite a good size for a powder room.

The kitchen remodel is in such good taste. I hope that the new owner continues to respect this wonderfully cared-for home.

Here in the laundry room, there's another original cabinet.

The bedroom hallway is a bit narrow.

I think that this bedroom would be better in a lighter color. There's a little office, which is probably a sunroom.

I would say that this is the outside of the sunroom, and it even has a little porch.

This bedroom is quite large.

Linen closet in the hall.

This fireplace is a beauty, also.

And, here's a cute little bedroom.

There's a porch under the sunroom.

And, they've got some container gardens in the yard.

It looks like the garage has potential for an apt. upstairs.

8,250 sq ft lot

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1024-Ann-St_Parkersburg_WV_26101_M34294-64741

[porcelainapparition]

Parkersburg, West Virginia

built in 1926

[unteriors]

Myrtle Street, Parkersburg, West Virginia.

[catfindr]

[rockyp77mk3]

Abandoned B&O Parkersburg Branch tunnel. WVA.

[vitaleum]

Parkersburg, West Virginia. March 8, 2024.

[justforbooks]

Morgan Spurlock

American film-maker best known for his acclaimed 2004 documentary Super Size Me

Few film-makers can say that their work has made a change to the real world, but Morgan Spurlock had a stronger claim than most. His 2004 documentary Super Size Me, an exposé of how the fast food industry was fuelling America’s obesity epidemic, appeared to have direct repercussions for the world’s largest fast food chain, McDonald’s.

Shortly before the film came out in May that year, the company introduced its Go Active! menu, which included salad items; six weeks after its release, the company abolished its supersize portions entirely.

McDonald’s claimed these menu changes were a coincidence. But the director, who has died aged 53 of complications from cancer, struck a timely blow at the business when awareness about fast food’s corrosive role in public health was on the rise.

Super Size Me’s high-concept premise – eating three McDonald’s meals for 30 days straight – was key to conveying Spurlock’s message. With the director gaining 11kg, plumping out his body fat from 11% to 18% and inflicting heart palpitations, impotence and depression on himself, his gonzo approach put him at the forefront of the early noughties boom in cinematic documentaries instigated by Michael Moore. “There’s real power in a documentary,”Spurlock later said.

Doubts later emerged about Spurlock’s experiment in bodily attrition, after he refused to release his diet logs from the period; and then when it later emerged that he was an alcoholic who had also imbibed during the shoot.

An inveterate attention-seeker and twinkly-eyed showman, he was not going to let these details affect either the purity of Super Size Me’s marketing line, or his emerging career as a documentary star; a budding Moore for the Jackass generation. He would consistently target totems of modern capitalism and consumerism, though none of his subsequent works had the same kind of influence as his 2004 lightning-bottler.

Spurlock was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and grew up in Beckley in the Methodist household of his auto-repair shop-owning father Ben and mother Phyllis, an English teacher and high-school counsellor. Though his parents later divorced, he credited his mother in particular with instilling in him a sense of activism: “She was one of those people who speak up when she didn’t agree with things. She was a collector of people too: if you had the ability to help people, you should,” he told the International Documentary Association.

A childhood fan of British humour such as Fawlty Towers and Monty Python, he was already exercising his entertainer’s streak doing “funny walks” around the house aged six or seven.

Rejected five times by University of Southern California’s film school, he graduated from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts in 1993. “I wanted to be Spielberg. I wanted to write and direct scripted movies,” Spurlock told Interview magazine. He originally showed promise in this direction, winning an award for his stage play The Phoenix at the New York international fringe festival in 1999.

After stints as a personal assistant on Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway and Luc Besson’s Leon (both 1994), Spurlock first stepped in front of camera as a promotional spokesman for Sony Electronics. But his breakthrough came though hitching himself to the reality TV bandwagon with the self-created internet webcast, and, later (in 2002), MTV show, I Bet You Will. As one of the presenting team, Spurlock goaded members of the public into humiliating themselves for money – with stunts such as being “wedgied” or eating a worm burrito.

Super Size Me grossed $22m on a $65,000 budget, making it one of the most profitable documentaries of all time. Spurlock believed his body never fully recovered – though he lost the weight thanks to a special diet concocted by his then girlfriend, the vegan chef Alex Jamieson (the pair married and had a son, Laken, in 2006, before divorcing in 2011; Spurlock had been previously married to Priscilla Somer between 1996 and 2003).

He also later expressed doubts about the longer-term impact of Super Size Me on fast food corporations, later reflecting: “People say to me, ‘So has the food gotten healthier?’ And I say, ‘Well, the marketing sure has.’”

Spurlock could not skewer the zeitgeist again to create a second “doc-buster”, despite tilting at big-hitter topics such as terrorism (in 2008’s Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?) and product-placement and advertising (POM Wonderful Presents: the Greatest Movie Ever Sold in 2011). With his trademark handlebar moustache, he settled into a reliably affable front-of-camera presence nosing around socio-cultural issues and foibles – sometimes fatuously.

In total, he directed and produced nearly 70 films and series, including a One Direction hagiography in 2013 and a Super Size Me sequel in 2017. But he retained keen business sense and marketing nous throughout this prolific output. “He taught us that we have to be chief executive artists,” his fellow documentary-maker Ondi Timoner told Variety.

Towards the end of Spurlock’s life, his career was on hold after he confessed in a 2017 blogpost to sexually abusive behaviour, including an allegation of rape while at college and paying off a production assistant he had harassed. “I have been unfaithful to every wife and girlfriend I have ever had,” he also wrote, explaining he had been sexually abused in his youth. He divulged all this possibly pre-emptively in anticipation of future accusations in the up swell of the #MeToo movement.

Making himself the focus of the story was true to his modus operandi, and his professed desire for self-improvement could indeed have made a fascinating documentary.

But the mea culpa proved an effective self-cancellation, with him resigning from the production company, Warrior Poets, he had founded in 2004 and being sued by Turner Entertainment Networks for an aborted project.

He divorced his third wife, the producer Sara Bernstein – with whom he had a second son – in 2024. His final documentary credit was for a mockumentary creating a fake history around the classic 1992 Simpsons episode Homer at the Bat.

Spurlock is survived by his children, Laken and Kallen, by his parents and his brothers, Craig and Barry.

🔔 Morgan Spurlock, director and producer, born 7 November 1970; died 23 May 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?