Motown Magazine April/May 2018

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These people keep town and campus blooming all summer long.

NEIGHBORHOODS ISSUE I

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THINGS TO LOB

We think these sports should be more popular.

CROSS THIS BRIDGE

Lower Greenmont gets a new way to town.

volume 7

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issue 4

PUBLISHED BY

New South Media, Inc.

709 Beechurst Avenue, Suite 14A, Morgantown, WV 26505

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR

Nikki Bowman, nikki@newsouthmediainc.com EDITOR

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MORGA NTOW N is published by New South Media, Inc. Copyright: New South Media, Inc. Reproduction in part or whole is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of the publisher. © N EW SOU T H M EDI A, I NC. A LL R IGH TS R ESERV ED

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EDITOR’S NOTE

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Choose your own ending,

PA M K ASEY,

Editor

Follow us at . . . @morgantownmagazine @morgantownmag @morgantownmag

THE PLACES NEW SOUTH LIVES

“I live in Wiles Hill. It’s very walkable—the streets are calm, and it’s a great place to walk our dog. It’s pretty centrally located, so we can get to different parts of town easily. And we have easy access to the stadium for football games.” — Allison “I own a house in Sabraton. The best thing about it is that it’s close to the rail-trail—I can ride my bike to work and walk my dog to the dog park. It’s usually quiet, but it’s close enough to town that I can get food delivered, all types. I can also get on the interstate in just a few minutes.” — Julian “I’ve lived in Cheat Lake for five years and I absolutely love it. It’s a close-knit community where everyone knows you. I have an amazing group of friends who feel more like family. Cheat Lake has a lot to offer, like great local restaurants that we always try to support. I am lucky enough to have friends who have boats, and during the summer months we spend as much time on the water as possible.” — Jeremiah “I grew up in Westover. We had a good gang of kids the same age who ran all over. It’s also surprisingly diverse. Shout out to Colasante’s for their pizza!” — Becky “Living in Suncrest, it was easy to get everywhere.

But I moved to South Park two years ago, and I love the historic old homes and being able to walk downtown.” — Nikki

CARLA WITT FORD

I

t’s the season of the great future-self scavenger hunt, the personal choose-yourown-ending adventure: house hunting. Maybe it’s time for you to change it up. Gardening on a big property? Entertaining in a lowmaintenance townhome? Fixing up a fixer-upper? Every house implies a lifestyle.

Just as much fun, house hunting is an exploration down obscure alleys and into the stories of neighborhoods. Clusters of homes that have basement showers evoke images of coal miners trudging home at the ends of their work days.

Blocks of Sears kit homes speak of aspiring families before World War II. Some neighborhoods wandered as they grew, exposing secluded ravines and unexpected views, and others were laid out on neat grids all at one time. House hunting brings these local histories to life.

Choosing a house, new or old, is a matchmaking between your city’s past and your family’s future.

It’s a lucky artifact of history and topography that Morgantown’s residential areas fall into distinct enclaves. Residents distinguish their neighborhoods increasingly through friendly signs, street fairs, group yard sales, neighborhood associations, local Facebook discussions, and active engagement with city council.

Our April/May issue always celebrates Morgantown’s neighborhoods. It uncovers cafés and pubs off the beaten path and points residents to possible future selves—where you might like to live if you get your first job after college or expand

your family or decide it’s time to downsize. At the same time, we often hear from readers that they relied on this issue when they moved to town for the first time to sort out what’s where and find their own best place in town.

Our neighborhoods issue is also about the things that contribute to the quality of life we share across all neighborhoods. In this issue, we have a story about the people who keep town and campus in bloom all summer long and one about the new pedestrian bridge that will connect the Deckers Creek rail-trail directly with Greenmont, part of the always-growing interconnectivity of our neighborhoods and trails. Hop off the trail there to get to Quantum Bean, the new coffee roaster and café set to open soon in Greenmont.

New restaurants have opened elsewhere in town, too—read in this issue about La Tapatia taqueria and market in Sabraton and RocKa Poké Noodle Bar downtown.

Also for this issue, we got to talk with people who are passionate about alternative sports old and new—pickleball, anyone? And we met some of the barbers who keep Morgantown’s guys looking fresh.

Morgantown is more diverse and surprising than you’d ever think, for a town this size. It’s a great place to find your next house and your next future self.

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In This Issue

JULIAN WYANT

APRIL/MAY 2018

The Places We Live

The Hard Part

It’s house-hunting season—where should you be living?

Let these guys be part of your lifelong hair experiment.

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APRIL/MAY 2018

In This Issue This Matters

Departments 6 Editor’s Note

14 Who’s This Meet the people behind the colorful blossoms around town and on campus.

28 Dish It Out Ton Sittichaimanee brings Hawaiian fusion downtown.

16 Eat This A little Guadalajara in Morgantown. ¡Nos gusta mucho!

16 What’s This Aerial Aptitude’s drone images are giving us a new perspective.

9 This Matters To . . .

1 Indira Majumder has retired from pediatrics—but not from service.

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56 Across County Lines Towns nearby have great things going for them, too.

59 The Scene 60 Calendar

17 Know This An interior designer’s creative connections bring comfort to families of sick children.

18 Love This Project Lifesaver helps police bring missing loved ones home.

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32 House & Home

Question your assumptions about rent. And walls.

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4 Then & Now 6 WVU’s Field House was sidelined in 1970. Soon it will be permanently retired.

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20 Do This Think beyond the baseball, basketball, and football this summer.

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22 Shop This Nature’s Granite offers rock- solid customer service.

23 Drink This Coming soon: hand-selected, fresh-roasted coffee with a shot of tradition.

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24 Watch This See behind the making of the documentary Hot Rod, released in April 2018.

26 Wear This Plan your outfits for spring events early, say Morgantown’s formalwear experts.

ON THE COVER This inviting kitchen, photographed by Carla Witt Ford, is part of Hardwood Interiors & Design’s full rehabilitation of a home in Evansdale—see our neighborhoods story on page 36.

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EAT / LOVE / WEAR / SHOP / WATCH / KNOW / HEAR / READ / DO / WHO / WHAT

All Decked Out

Nothing dresses up a riverfront like a riverboat. Soon, we’ll have one here: the Mountaineer Star, an excursion boat modeled after the Mississippi River paddlewheelers of a century ago. She’s been around: 1965 Gray Line Tours buys her from builder Dubuque Boat & Boiler Works of Iowa to take passengers on Miami’s Biscayne Bay as the Biscayne Belle.

1978 Pittsburgh’s Gateway Clipper Fleet buys her and renames her the Gateway River Belle. She cruises the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio rivers.

2004 Her paddlewheel is removed because the U.S. Coast Guard says she’s too stern-heavy. That’s okay— it was just for show. It’s really her diesel engine that powers her.

2005 Acquired by the Tunica Riverboat Company, she takes passengers on excursions up and down the Mississippi River as the Tunica Belle.

2017 Michael Hughes of Access H2O of Millsboro, Pennsylvania, buys her, brings her back to the Monongahela, and renames her the Mountaineer Star.

PAM KASEY

Hughes plans to dock his Mountaineer Star at Walnut Street Landing, the soon-to-be-upgraded dock at the bottom of Walnut Street, and to offer cruises on the Mon.

LET'S GO!

WVU’s EcoCAR 3 team will travel to Arizona and California in May for the fourth and final year of the competition that creates a more eco-friendly Chevrolet Camaro. The team’s car will be judged there against 15 other teams’ cars in everything from safety and emissions to handling and consumer appeal. WVU finished fourth in 2017 and is hoping for a win this year.

MOUNTAINEERS!

In June, WVU’s two Mars Ice Challenge teams will travel to NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, where 10 university teams will compete to extract the most water from simulated Martian subsurface ice stations. WVU’s MIDAS II team captured top overall honors in the 2017 competition.

Its VULCAN Drilling System team finished third in the most water extracted category.

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Morgantown’s visual appeal through flowers is the goal of Marchetta Maupin, Morgantown’s urban landscape director.

Maupin volunteered with the Master Gardener Program before coming on board with the city in 2002, and she dedicates herself to beautifying downtown.

Meet the people behind the colorful It’s not always easy. blossoms around town and on campus.

Flowers selected for planting in hanging baskets have to ➼ APRIL SHOWERS ARE said to bring be able to withstand the heat of an urban setting. Maupin often tries to match the May flowers, but this doesn’t give due colors in a basket to the surrounding credit to horticulturists. Both the city of storefronts, and she works to create as Morgantown and WVU have dedicated much variety as possible. staff who plan, plant, and maintain the The early years of the basket program flowers we enjoy from spring through fall. were ones of trial and error, she says, If you spend time downtown, you’ve but experience has led to a lively mix likely noticed the cheering appearance of petunias, million bells, geraniums, of flower baskets in early spring. These and other trailing plants adorning our decorative fixtures don’t appear and lampposts. Nowadays, Maupin and her sustain themselves magically—they’re team of one full-time employee and the product of the coordinated efforts two seasonal interns care for about 55 of a very few people. Improving WHO’STHIS

Petal Pushers

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baskets and permanent city landscaping, including planting, installation, and daily watering in warm weather.

Many residents have told Maupin they have favorite baskets and that they enjoy walking with friends and visitors to enjoy the beauty of her floral displays. She’s delighted when people admire the baskets and the other projects she supervises, like the rain gardens near Stewart Street and at the Morgantown Market Place pavilion on Spruce Street or the various plantings in front of city buildings and in the parks.

The yearly cycle of caring for the city’s plantings never ends, but neither do the positive results—and the same is true for WVU. Even those of us who don’t hang out on campus benefit from WVU’s lush plantings here and there.

Ed Mason is a veteran of horticultural work and brought his experience to Morgantown two years ago as assistant director of Roads & Grounds at WVU. This department is composed of around 60 employees. About half are involved in landscape maintenance, and one of the most notable aspects of their work is the

MARCHETTA MAUPIN (5); JULIE BUCHANON

THIS MATTERS

COURTESY OF ED MASON

perennial and annual beds located throughout campus.

Work on these plantings begins in the fall when staff plant bulbs and order other flowers. Graduate students at the WVU Greenhouse care for annuals until they are delivered to Mason’s team, who place them in the ground in April. Mason appreciates this in-house connection. “They are grown at the university and planted at the university.”

Annuals stay in flower longer than perennials and are often placed in prominent areas where they will be seen by many. Staff replace them throughout the season to ensure continuous bloom. Mason gives special attention to new market offerings and to increasing the variety, although he says he’s always on the lookout for anything blue and gold.

The goal of Mason’s team is to make the grounds safe and aesthetically pleasing for students and visitors. Their work is also nature-friendly: Bees enjoy the floral developments as additional sources of pollen and nectar, and groundskeepers compost old plantings so they can provide soil and nutrients for their replacements.

When groundskeepers work in the beds in front of the Mountainlair, some of WVU’s most prominent, passersby often stop to compliment new plantings or ask questions, Mason says.

The same is true for Maupin and her team downtown. The appreciation is a welcome interruption—so next time you pass by someone tending flowers around town, stop and thank them. written by austin rempel MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

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EATTHIS

Taqueria Out Front, Market Inside La Tapatia Market and Tacos brings Guadalajara to Morgantown. ➼ IF YOU’VE DRIVEN Green Bag Road in the direction of Sabraton in the past few months, you’ve probably noticed a food truck you’ve never heard of parked in a prominent place.

That food truck—or food trailer, really—is the kitchen of La Tapatia Market and Tacos, the hottest new Mexican cuisine in town.

Silvia Ornelas and Sela Garcia opened La Tapatia in December. Ornelas came to Morgantown 17 years ago from the Mexican state of Jalisco, west of Mexico City, the home of mariachi music and tequila. She worked in the restaurant industry, then opened her own place, El Jalisco in Westover, around 2010. Garcia, also from Jalisco, came to Morgantown to study at WVU, and she worked for Ornelas in Westover. Patrons liked the restaurant, but its out-of-the-way location proved to be a challenge, so Ornelas closed it.

Lately, though, friends have been driving all the way to Washington, Pennsylvania, to a Mexican taco stand and market there.

“I decided to give it another try.” Ornelas says. The name La Tapatia describes a person from Guadalajara, the capital of Jalisco. “Here, Mountaineer. There, Tapatio, if you’re a boy; Tapatia, if you’re a girl.”

La Tapatia’s configuration—kitchen outside—is unusual for this part of the world, but it’s authentic to the style of food. “We wanted to do like in Mexico,” Ornelas says.

“They have the taco stands always outside, and they’re the best tacos. The trailer draws people in to see what we have, too.”

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Order outside or in, then claim one of the few tables if you’re eating there. “We have tortas, quesadillas, burritos, fajitas, nachos—but tacos is the main thing,” Ornelas says. “The most popular would probably be asada.” La Tapatia’s tender, rich, and deeply flavorful carne asada has just the right amount of char. Dishes can also be ordered with carnitas, chicken, shrimp, tongue, and chorizo. Ornelas smashes and serves guacamole fresh in a molcajete, the rough black mortar and pestle made from volcanic stone that releases oils when the seasonings are crushed. The restaurant’s fresh-made tomatillo salsa comes in a mildly spicy green version, with serrano peppers, and a slightly spicier red one with arbol.

Inside, the little market carries a surprising variety of Mexican goods: posole, mole, Maseca corn mixes for making tortillas and tamales, and dried peppers and other seasonings, along with canned goods, bottled hot sauces, packaged sweets, piñatas, and Mexican soda and beer. Occasional Facebook posts note fresh offerings like tomatillos or nopalitos, the edible young paddles of the prickly pear cactus.

La Tapatia may put tables in the parking lot this summer for an even more authentic experience. The restaurant also does catering—call for details. 14 Marvin Gardens, 304.241.1545, @tapatia304 on Facebook written by pam kasey photographed by julian wyant

WHAT’STHIS

Eyes in the Sky

Aerial Aptitude of Morgantown is giving us a new perspective. ➼ LICENSED PRIVATE PILOT Shane Smith bought his first drone just a couple years ago. “As I got better with video and pictures, I realized there’s more to it than just a hobby,” he says.

Drones, he began to see, can shoot images from perspectives that previously were available only through expensive helicopter rentals.

They offer quick, affordable video inspection of infrastructure like cell phone towers and the electrical grid. They can capture dramatic footage of expansive properties for real estate sales. They can reveal topographical detail for construction planning and contour mapping.

Smith earned his remote pilot certificate through the Federal Aviation Administration and started Aerial Aptitude. Two drones give him flexibility. A smaller, lighter-weight device works well for hiking out to remote places.

A larger one takes higher-resolution images and is more stable against drafts.

For those considering drone imagery, Smith points out that FAA regulations require imagery taken for commercial use to be obtained by a certified drone pilot. “It’s all about safety,” he says. 304.805.4247, aerialaptitude.com written by pam kasey photographed by shane smith

THIS MATTERS KNOW THIS

Homemade Hospitality An interior designer uses her creative connections to bring comfort to families of sick children.

COURTESY OF SARAH MCBRIDE

➼ AS SOON AS SARAH MCBRIDE walked into the new Jeff and Vicky Hostetler Family Resource Center at Ruby Memorial Hospital, she knew she had her work cut out for her.

The Hostetler family donated money in August 2017 to create a space where the families of sick children could find refuge from the stresses of hospital life. But the room the hospital set aside had none of the homey vibe the Hostetlers hoped to provide, so they recruited McBride’s Reclaim Design Co. to spruce things up.

“It looked like a waiting room,” she says.

“When you walked in there you knew you were in a hospital.”

McBride wanted to combine the feel of home and a cozy coffee shop, two places where people are best able to relax and recharge. But she would have to bring that vision to life while also meeting the stringent requirements for hospital furnishings.

Patients frequently visit the resource center with their families, and many of those parents have weakened immune systems. McBride couldn’t pick any furniture for the space that would harbor pathogens. But sterilizable furniture often looks—well, it looks sterile.

So McBride worked with the folks at Star Furniture to find a fabric that looks great, repels moisture, and can be cleaned with straight bleach while still maintaining its color. That’s what she used to upholster seating in the living room and video game areas. “It’s safe, it’s extremely comfortable, it’s pleasing to look at,” she says. “It just looks like a piece of furniture you’d see in anybody’s home.”

One of the most popular parts of the resource center is its coffee bar, where families can get a cup of coffee from a Keurig machine, make a cup of tea, or warm up a packet of oatmeal. “It looks like you’re sitting in a Starbucks or a coffee shop in the middle of a city,” McBride says. The centerpiece of the space—besides its view of Milan Puskar

Stadium—is a long cafe table and four custom bar stools made by Josh Perry of Artfully Industrial. The table is constructed of wood and steel and it’s sealed for easy cleaning. “It’s rustic, it’s industrial, but the lines on it are very clean,” McBride says.

She painted the walls in neutral colors and used faux greenery to bring some life to the space, since real plants aren’t allowed. She contacted Emily Kurth of Coco & June to create custom artwork set in sealed barnwood frames. McBride is especially proud of the hanging that reads “Together is a Great Place to Be.” “Nobody wants to be in a hospital. But I wanted them to be able to focus on the fact that they’re together,” she says.

McBride is no stranger to hospitals. She attended WVU for her nursing degree,

then worked for WVU Hospitals for several years before becoming a stay-at-home mom. Then she started helping friends— and eventually friends of friends—decorate their homes. “I had people calling me and saying, ‘Hey, this might sound strange, but would you mind coming over and helping me look at colors?’”

She launched Reclaim Design Co. in October 2016 to connect her design clients with Morgantown creatives.

McBride says she was proud to see those creatives—Perry, Kurth, and the folks at Star Furniture—rally behind the resource center. “People who are part of a small business are so generous and apt to give back,” she says. “We’re stronger together than anybody is apart.” written by zack harold MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

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THIS MATTERS

LOVETHIS

Homing In

says the process goes even faster when multiple officers are on the case. “We get them surrounded, and we’re going to find them real fast.”

If police cannot find the missing person within the first 30 to 45 minutes, Bise takes to the air in a West Virginia State Project Lifesaver helps police bring missing loved ones home, Police helicopter, searching for a signal at safe and sound. the missing person’s last known location.

Once he finds the signal, he radios the location to the searchers on the ground.

Participants are equipped with transmit➼ IT’S A NIGHTMARE THAT can easily This is all just hypothetical, however— become reality for anyone who has a ters about the size of a men’s watch that emit although officers undergo regular retraining parent with dementia or a child with a signal every second. “We have receivers autism. One minute they’re safe at home that can pick up that signal,” Bise says. Every to ensure they can conduct a search effectively, they’ve never had to go looking for a and the next—gone without a trace. bracelet has a unique frequency so officers missing person. Strange as it might seem, Wandering is a common behavior for can specifically tune into the missing perBise says participants change their behavior people with cognitive impairments, and a son’s transmitter. when they’re fitted with transmitters. “Once deadly risk. That’s why Project Lifesaver was About 30 people in Monongalia we put them on the program, they quit wanfounded in 1999 in Chesapeake, Virginia.

County were wearing transmitters in dering. I don’t know what’s going on here, The nonprofit organization provides law March 2018, and 10 police officers in but that’s good. Ten years of doing this, and enforcement agencies with equipment and the county were trained to find them. never really had a callout.” training to quickly locate wandering people If a participant comes up missing, their Contact the Monongalia County who have cognitive disabilities. caregiver calls 911, and dispatchers Sheriff’s Office if you’re interested The Monongalia County Sheriff’s contact the sheriff’s office, which sends in signing a loved one up for Project Office joined the Project Lifesaver out Project Lifesaver–trained officers Lifesaver. Applicants fill out packets program in 2007. The program is open to to locate the person. Their cruisers are with personal and medical information, individuals with Alzheimer’s, dementia, equipped with antennas that can locate which are then reviewed by the sheriff’s traumatic brain injuries, autism, and a transmitter within a half mile in any department. The program costs $10 per any other kind of cognitive impairment direction. Once officers get a hit, they month but, if a family can’t afford it, “that would make them wander and set out on foot with handheld receivers the service is free of charge. 116 Walnut not know how to get home, even if they that allow them to home in on the signal.

Street, 304.291.7260, monsheriff.com might be 100 yards down the road,” says “You keep narrowing it down until you Deputy A.D. Bise, Mon County’s Project find what you’re looking for,” Bise says.

Lifesaver coordinator.

It’s effective with just one officer, but Bise written by zack harold photographed by julian wyant

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THIS MATTERS

THISMATTERS TO

Indira Majumder ➼ INDIRA MAJUMDER CANNOT STOP CARING. After 30 years of serving as one of Morgantown’s best-known pediatricians, she still calls the children she treated “my kids.” Majumder immigrated from India to Morgantown with her husband almost 50 years ago. She now serves as president of the Rotary Club of Morgantown, a member of Friends of Deckers Creek, a board member of the Hindu Religious & Cultural Center, and a volunteer in several other capacities. “People know me. Let’s put it this way,” she says. interviewed by J. KENDALL PERKINSON | photographed by CARLA WITT FORD

On Morgantown Morgantown is my home! I have been here for 48 years.

My husband is a professor emeritus in the College of Education Hall of Fame.

My parents came, my in-laws came, my sister and her family came. I go to India every year, but this is my home. I have seen Morgantown grow. I have seen the university grow. The only thing that makes me sad is when they cut down the trees.

It’s like a matchbox city now. If you cut down one tree, plant a tree.

On finally letting go of her career The reason I retired was because I had three beautiful grandchildren.

When my granddaughter was born, I drove every other weekend to North Carolina. Then I would have to drive all the way back, because Monday morning my office was open—other children were waiting for me. When the boys were being born, that’s when I decided it was time for me to leave. I said, “All these years I have taken care of everybody else’s children and grandchildren. It is time for me to take care of my own grandchildren. Life is too short.”

On staying busy in retirement Rotary International is sort of my life right now. I go to district meetings and international meetings, and I’m also a teacher for the leadership group. And there’s volunteer service with Friends of Deckers Creek, cleaning the area. I go to schools to read aloud with the children. And there’s road cleaning; we clean Stewartstown Road twice a year. I also still go to pediatrics conferences. After retirement, if people don’t have a goal, they get very depressed. Being busy, your brain stays good.

On guiding principles for life The Rotary Four-Way Test: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? That is what I followed in my practice. We also have a saying in our scriptures, “The whole world is your family.” In Sanskrit it is Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. For me, one God, no denominations.

You may be Christian, Jewish, Hindu, or Muslim. One God. My life is very simple: Service over self. That is the motto in Rotary.

And this is what I followed in my practice, too.

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THIS MATTERS

D0THIS

A Little Friendly Competition ➼ NOT EVERYONE WANTS TO run back and forth across a soccer field as hard as they can or risk getting hit by a wild pitch. At the same time, there’s nothing like a little exercise and competition among friends. If you’d like to play a sport this summer that’s more relaxed—or a little off-the-wall—there’s plenty to do in Morgantown. Here are just a few of the options.

Horseshoes Morgantown made a mark in horseshoes long ago: Our very own Anna Lindquist was the 1949 Women’s World Champion and a 1996 inductee into the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association of America Hall of Fame.

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The basic principle of the game is to land a tossed horseshoe closest to the stake, with points awarded to only one player each round, called an inning.

Rules vary, but the game ends at a predetermined point total or number of shoes thrown.

Horseshoe pits are among the many recreational facilities at Mylan Park, where the season starts in April. It’s a family-friendly sport, says longtime player Dan Thorn. Players meet there each week to pitch some horseshoes and enjoy each other’s company, and new people are always welcome. For club play, Morgantown residents are served by Marion County’s Affiliated Horseshoe Pitchers–MCPARC club. The club is

directed by Charlie Bunner who, asked how long he’s played, jokes only that he’s played “for a long time.”

Membership in the league is inexpensive and the price varies by age, but those who just want to play and aren’t worried about the formalities are encouraged to head to Mylan Park on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. pitchwithus.com/ wvhpa, www.horseshoepitching.com

Pickleball A cross between badminton, racquetball, and tennis, pickleball is said to be America’s fastest-growing sport.

Like tennis, pickleball can be played in singles or doubles, but uses a shorterhandled paddle and a lighter-weight ball.

NIKKI BOWMAN; LISA AHMAD; COURTESY OF NATIONAL HORSESHOE PITCHERS ASSOCIATION

You don’t have to play hardball to enjoy time on the court or the field with friends this summer.

COURTESY OF NATIONAL HORSESHOE PITCHERS ASSOCIATION; COURTESY OF SOFT LACROSSE (2)

THIS MATTERS

A point is awarded when the opposing player or team fails to return the ball to the server, and the game continues to 11 or beyond that until there’s a 2-point margin. Underhand serving and a smaller, badminton-sized court make the game less physically demanding than tennis—though still a workout.

Justin Stephens, an ambassador for the USA Pickleball Association, plays with the Morgantown Pickleballers. The social environment is one of Stephens’ favorite aspects, but he says what newcomers often like is the fact that it’s easy to learn.

Pickleball is great for all ages, and everyone is invited to stop by and check it out. The only necessary equipment is a paddle, but Stephens says not to worry if you don’t have one—someone will be happy to let you use theirs.

You can play pickleball Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 a.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church and on Sunday afternoons from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the West View Tennis Center. Join “Morgantown Pickleballers” on Facebook for more information.

Soft Lacrosse A lower-impact reinvention of the familiar sport, soft lacrosse, as promoted by the organization Soft Lacrosse, aims to provide

children with emotional, social, and physical education—all while having some fun.

In lacrosse, players use sticks consisting of two parts, a shaft and a scoop, to move a ball across a field and throw it into the opposing team’s goal, earning a point. The team with the most points at the end of four timed periods wins.

Soft Lacrosse works to integrate itself into communities in the seven states where it’s played so far, explains Thomas Moore, a former Morgantown lacrosse player and coach who serves as executive director of the national organization. Coaches work with physical education teachers and after-school programs to provide opportunities for kids to learn life skills through play and teamwork.

Soft lacrosse is played “no contact” at younger ages, allowing children to build strong senses of friendship and respect before moving to the greater physicality the game is known for.

No child is turned away by Soft Lacrosse, Moore says. Staff work to be accommodating, and required equipment, like the stick and safety gear, is provided to families at cost. @softlacrossewv on Facebook, softlacrosse.org

Bocce

Westover Park and covering them to protect them from the elements.

Similar to lawn darts and beanbag toss, bocce (“BAH-chay”) is played with two teams formed from as few or as many players as desired. One team rolls a small ball, called the jack, across the court. Each team then tries to land its four larger balls closer to the jack than the other team’s. Play goes back and forth until one team reaches an agreed-upon number of points.

Throwing the ball is called “bowling,” and it provides good cardio exercise while strengthening hand-eye coordination and improving mobility in the joints. The game is not geared around speed but rather around planning and strategy; it’s more important to bowl accurately than quickly.

The local West Side Warriors proudly took second place at the Italian Festival in Shinnston in 2017. The sport is great for anyone from age 12 to 90, says Denny Moody, who’s played for a few years and enjoys the camaraderie. The best way to get involved, Moody says, is to stop by Westover Park on a day they’re playing.

There is no fee and no equipment is necessary. They meet Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays around 5 p.m. once the weather warms up in April.

Westover did the area a service recently by renovating two bocce ball courts at

written by austin rempel MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

21

COURTESY OF NATURE’S GRANITE

to ask, because they think they can’t afford it. But there are some inexpensive—but beautiful—granites,” she says.

More than anything, Congedo wants to make her clients’ design dreams come true. Instead of having customers flip through catalogs or scroll through computer images, her showrooms on Canyon Road in Morgantown and in Grantsville, Maryland, are packed with stone remnants. The attached warehouses are filled with full-size slabs to help customers better visualize the material in their homes.

Congedo and company often send shoppers home with a sliver of their chosen quartz or granite. “They want to take the little piece and hold it next to their floor sample and door sample and paint sample.” And if there’s even a shred of doubt before customers sign on the dotted line, Nature’s Granite is happy to have a slab shipped to the Grantsville facility so customers can see it for themselves.

But that commitment to customer service doesn’t end at the showroom door. Congedo has built a crack team of professionals to guide clients through every part of the purchase and installation process. Customers start off in the capable hands of Summer Cooke and Mike Rogers, directors of sales for the Morgantown and Grantsville showrooms, respectively. They are then handed over to Cheryl Tuma, director of customer relationships—she’s the one who schedules a visit by a templater and works through any necessary changes that arise as the project progresses. Chad Wamsley manages the Maryland-based fabrication shop. Shawn Tuma, director of field service, oversees the company’s team of templaters and installers and also coordinates any post-installation service that might be necessary.

Congedo says it’s all about offering customers the kind of service she wishes she’d gotten, back when she was on the other side of the sales counter.

“If I don’t hear the word ‘love,’ I say, ‘Keep looking,’” Congedo says. “They have to love it.” 965 Canyon Road, 304.777.2254, naturesgranitellc.com, @naturesgranitellc on Facebook

SHOPTHIS

Set in Stone

Nature’s Granite offers rock-solid customer service. ➼ NATURE’S GRANITE OWNER CHRISTINE CONGEDO understands exactly how first-time customers feel when they come to one of her showrooms. During a previous career as a software engineer for the U.S. Department of Defense, she purchased a house in Baltimore’s Little Italy neighborhood to convert into four highend apartments. She wanted granite countertops for the kitchens, so she started checking out suppliers.

It was a frustrating experience, to say the least. “I hate shopping. I would prefer to walk into a place and say ‘Here’s the colors, what do you think is best?’ But no one would do that,” she says. “I must have gone to 15 different companies.”

Now that she runs her own countertop and fireplace supplier, she tries to remember her own frustrating experience. “It’s overwhelming—there’s so much to choose from. I decided I was going to make sure whoever came, they were going to flippin’ love it,” she says. “I am not a salesperson. I’m just a person.”

Congedo is happy to offer design advice. For instance, she urges against using dark stone in small rooms with limited natural light. “It’s going to make the room shrink.” She’s also happy to explain the pros and cons of natural materials like soapstone, granite, and marble versus composites like quartz. And she’s committed to helping customers find materials that fit their budgets. “People feel they can’t afford granite. They never even want 22

MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

WHAT’STHIS

Cross This Bridge

Morgantown’s trail connections just keep getting better. ➼ THE LONG-AWAITED Deckers Creek pedestrian bridge is finally coming to pass. Located directly under the Walnut Street bridge, the span will connect the Deckers Creek rail-trail near Stanley’s Spot Dog Park with Decker Avenue in Lower Greenmont.

For trail users, this means no longer having to look wistfully across the creek toward that loaf of Phoenix Bakery bread or that Chestnut Brew Works pint—so close, yet so far! Now they’ll be a short, easy hike off the trail.

For Greenmont, and especially the lower section between the creek and Brockway Avenue, the bridge could be a real boost to lifestyles and property values.

“Greenmont has experienced a renaissance over the last 20 years,” says Greenmont Neighborhood Association President Ivy Deal. “But this has been an underused and blighted portion of our neighborhood. We’re hoping the bridge sparks forward-thinking development.

It could really elevate that section of our neighborhood.”

The bridge is on track to open this spring, with the possibility of new access sidewalk and lighting to follow.

To be part of a creekside cleanup that will take place around the time of the opening, keep in touch with the Greenmont Neighborhood Association. “Greenmont Neighborhood Association” on Facebook, thegreenmontgroup@gmail.com written by pam kasey

written by zack harold

photographed by julian wyant

THIS MATTERS

DRINKTHIS

A Giant Leap

Quantum Bean’s hand-selected, fresh-roasted coffee comes with a shot of tradition. ➼ SAMUEL AND SUSAN BONASSO are trying to be patient. For months, the sign in the window of their future South Park coffee roastery has read, “Coming Soon!” Several times they have predicted an opening date for the Kingwood Street location; each time they’ve pushed it back. But they believe Quantum Bean will be worth the wait.

Truth be told, Quantum Bean’s coffee bar has been in the works since Samuel roasted his first beans on a perforated baking sheet in his home oven more

than three years ago. After graduating from WVU, he lived in San Diego and New York, cities that honed his taste and passion for coffee. He progressed through a series of equipment upgrades, refining his techniques and preferences.

Meanwhile, the Bonassos began selling at farmers’ markets in Bridgeport and Morgantown.

While Morgantown has several roasters, Quantum Bean will be the only one with a specialty coffee bar. This has quite a few people eager for the doors to open—perhaps none so eager as the Bonassos themselves.

The delays center around their desire to source just the right materials as locally as possible. The shop’s main counter—built from Namibian desert leadwood by Longing Woodworks, near Pittsburgh—is itself a functional piece of art. They are currently waiting on walnut tables from a Fairmont carpenter. “We could go with pine and have it done tomorrow,” Sam says. “But we’re trying to balance keeping things local and getting things done on time.”

Samuel is bringing tradition from

his Italian heritage into the shop. While Americans tend to get comfortable with their laptops at coffee shop tables, Italians often don’t even sit. They stand, talk, and sip at “leaning bars” for 10 to 15 minutes before going about their days.

The Bonassos are waiting for a leaning bar with an unmilled “live edge” from a woodworker in Bridgeport.

The Bonassos also hope to instill something beyond aesthetics. The beans roasted at Quantum are hand-picked by farmers, chosen by themselves personally, and purchased directly, in order to keep the profit with the farms. “We want to bring the Morgantown community closer to the journey of coffee,” Samuel says. “The people making your drink are the same people who directly traded with the farm to buy that coffee, who tested that coffee.

It’s farm-to-cup.” 258 Kingwood Street (soon), quantumbean.com, @quantumbeancoffee on Facebook written and photographed by

j . kendall perkinson

MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

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THIS MATTERS

WATCHTHIS

You Gotta Love It, Baby Behind the documentary Hot Rod, released in April 2018. ➼ WHEN “HOT ROD” HUNDLEY died in March 2015 at the age of 80, Morgantown production company Pikewood Creative immediately started planning a documentary to honor the beloved WVU basketball great. They saw an opportunity to kick off their reporting: Jim Nantz, Hundley’s former broadcasting partner for the Utah Jazz, was going to be in the state in July for the Greenbrier Classic.

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MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

Over the following two and a half years, Pikewood’s crew traveled seven states to interview more than 30 people on camera and talked with many others over the phone. Those interviews didn’t always come easy: Some took an entire year to schedule.

The small Pikewood team consisted of director and editor Dan Lohmann, producer Tony Caridi, assistant producer and Tony’s

son Matt Caridi, and a few helpers, including Dale Miller and John Raese. “We did this at the absolute bare minimum number of personnel, and he did 95 percent of the work,” Tony Caridi says, gesturing to Lohmann.

The team read every article, book, and mention of Hundley. They watched many hundreds of hours of footage. Matt Caridi scrubbed through video after video of games that Hot Rod called or played in, sometimes watching three or more two-hour-long games just to find a threesecond clip. The resulting documentary Hot Rod, released in April 2018, tells the life story of a legend.

Before he was superstar Hot Rod Hundley, he was Rodney Clark Hundley of Charleston, West Virginia. Born in October of 1934, Hundley had a rough start to life. His mother worked as a waitress and had to have others watch him while she worked for very little pay.

She put him up here and there while she

Hot Rod Assistant Producer Matt Caridi photographing Hot Rod Hundley’s newspaper clippings.

THIS MATTERS

Director Dan Lohmann tucked away in the editing room, where he spent many hours editing the documentary.

worked, eventually finding an elderly couple to take care of him while she went to Washington, D.C., to find work. He spent his adolescence playing basketball at the local YMCA. The Y became his home and basketball his escape. As a junior and senior in high school, Hundley lived on his own at a hotel. He cried himself to sleep at night, but put up a happy-golucky facade for friends.

Hundley enrolled at WVU in 1953, and his basketball career blossomed under the guidance of his coaches. When “Hot Rod” was on the court—the nickname was in place by his sophomore year— the streets of Morgantown were dead: Everyone was in the Mountaineer Field House watching his behind-the-back passes, shots from one knee, and other antics. Hot Rod displayed the skill of a Harlem Globetrotter, giving the fans, referees, and other players shows they would never forget. “People would come

in droves to see him,” former WVU basketball star Jerry West said in the film.

In 1957, the Cincinnati Royals used their first overall draft pick on Hundley, but then immediately traded him to the Minneapolis Lakers. His antics on the court slowed in the NBA setting, but they never stopped off the court. After six seasons with the Lakers and a stint selling shoes for Converse, he landed a role as an analyst with legendary Lakers announcer Chick Hearn. And that’s where he found his niche.

Hot Rod became the first simulcast voice of the newly formed New Orleans Jazz in 1974. He followed the team to Salt Lake City in 1979. And although the Utah Jazz struggled during its first few seasons, Hot Rod kept fans coming back. He had the charisma and passion the Jazz needed.

During some turbulent times in the organization, then–head coach Frank Layden ran a poll to find the most popular player on the Jazz. The people of Utah voted

Hot Rod as one of their favorite players— as the announcer. Fans loved him because he had the feel of the game like no other announcer. And listeners adored his Hot Rodisms, like hippity-hop, dribble drive, frozen rope, no-look pass, yo-yo dribble, and the famous “You gotta love it, baby.”

After 35 seasons and 3,051 games called, Hundley retired in 2009 as the voice of the Utah Jazz. Soon after, his legendary number 33 was retired at the WVU Coliseum. During the ceremony, after many years off the court, Hot Rod took his well-known hook shot that bounced off the rim, then the backboard, and then gently, like a feather, fell into the net. “He loved this moment in his life,” Jim Nantz said in the documentary. “He came back to West Virginia and, of course, he was embraced.

The fans in West Virginia are incredible and they are so loyal to their own, and he just bathed in that embrace.”

Not only are West Virginia fans fiercely loyal, but they’re also proud. Proud of their own and even more proud of those who reflect positively on the state. That’s just what Hot Rod did. He gave West Virginia a name and brought Morgantown together in a way no one ever had. Hot Rod was No. 33 on the court, but No. 1 in the hearts of all West Virginians.

“What struck me,” says Tony Caridi, “was that almost 60 years after he had bounced a ball in West Virginia, he is still so revered by those people who knew and saw him as a player in West Virginia.” West Virginians stand a little bit taller when one of their own is mentioned, Lohmann interjects, “and Hot Rod Hundley stands way up at the top of that list.”

Hundley’s legacy goes beyond the court and microphone. Late in his life, he established a basketball scholarship at WVU in his name to provide opportunities for kids in situations like his.

The 90-minute documentary Hot Rod premieres April 3 at 7 p.m. on AT&T SportsNet–Pittsburgh and April 16 at 8 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

It will also be available for streaming in the near future. written and photographed by julian wyant MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

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THIS MATTERS WEARTHIS

Hometown Formalwear Plan your outfits for spring events early, say two of Morgantown’s formalwear experts. ➼ RIGHT ALONG WITH THE wildflowers that are suddenly decorating our West Virginia hills, formal events like proms, graduations, and weddings are beginning to pop up.

From pastels to jewel tones and florals to prints, women are donning garments and accessories that make a statement— while men are having their fair share of fun with shades of blue, patterns, and plaids.

No matter what event you find yourself planning for this season, two trusted community staples, Coni & Franc and Daniel’s of Morgantown, are here help you assemble a perfectly curated outfit that will rise to the occasion.

Coni & Franc No two garments at Coni & Franc are exactly alike. With a large but selective inventory of hand-picked fashion pieces ranging from bold and dazzling to classic and timeless, the store’s staff can help clients find just the right outfits while ensuring their looks are one-of-a-kind.

“Coni & Franc specializes in having clothing choices in a wide size range that are not found in other stores or online,” says Connie Merandi, who owns the shop with her husband, Frank. “We do not pick the styles that are heavily advertised; rather, we have clothing and accessories that are special and found in small boutiques.”

But whether you settle on a floor-length gown, a cocktail dress, or a jumpsuit or pantsuit, finding the right garment is just one piece of the formalwear puzzle. Equally important to choosing an outfit is ensuring that it offers a flattering fit. Merandi encourages customers to start shopping a few months in advance to allow time for tailoring and personal design changes—although her staff can also accommodate last-minute shoppers on their quests to look their best. And while walk-ins are always welcome, Merandi recommends making an appointment to ensure a stress-free shopping experience. “It is most advantageous to let our Coni & Franc staff know the event information so that we are ready for your arrival and can help you find the perfect selection,” she says.

Formalwear options suit a variety of budgets, and layaway is also available. “The budget should include everything from the skin out: foundations, clothing, accessories, etcetera,” Merandi counsels shoppers. Dresses for weddings and graduations vary in price, with starting prices of $175 for short styles and $225 for long styles, while full-length prom gowns range from $220 to $650. Accessories can go from $25 to $325. “Complete the look and choose items that are versatile, good investments that can be used again with future outfits.”

This season, Merandi says almost anything goes: formfitting and free-flowing silhouettes, long and short hemlines, on-the26

MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

shoulder and off-the-shoulder necklines, and bell sleeves and cap sleeves, as well as beaded and sequined details.

Additionally, incorporating accessories such as earrings, necklaces, cuffs, rings, handbags, and wraps can make a statement by bringing personality to your ensemble. “These must be considered and chosen as carefully as the garment to properly reflect the person wearing them,” Merandi says.

“These things play an important role in the image the customer wants to project. When you change up your accessories, you can re-invent the look to reflect your own style and not look the same as someone else.” A good handbag is a fun and often striking accessory to add style and finish, she says. “When you choose a beautiful purse, it marks your spot at the table and says a little about who you are.”

And don’t forget the shoes.

“If the ensemble is simple, then the shoes can make a statement. But if the outfit is elaborate, it is often better to select a shoe that does not draw as much attention,” Merandi says.

easy by suggesting appropriate styles that will work for your specific event and body type.” 422 High Street, 304.296.9466, coniandfranc.net, @conifranc on Facebook

“We advise our clients to wear a comfortable heel height for them so that they can keep their shoes on, smile, walk, stand, and dance.”

To plan an outfit around unpredictable spring weather— especially for outdoor venues—Merandi suggests dressing in layers and always having an umbrella on hand. “Good choices in unpredictable situations are dresses with jackets that can be removed if necessary,” she says. “Keep a scarf on hand if you should need just a light wrap. A soft sweater or a lighter-weight evening jacket that can adapt to different conditions are also good options.”

With seemingly endless possibilities, styles, and factors to consider, choosing the right formalwear can overwhelming. But with the help of expert stylists, that doesn’t have to be the case.

“The shopper who comes to Coni & Franc can experience different styles they might not ever think would work for them, and people are continuously surprised at the possibilities,” Merandi says. “Our trained sales staff can make the process

THIS MATTERS

Daniel’s of Morgantown Whether you’re a working professional looking to add some class to your wardrobe, a guest at a black tie wedding, or a high schooler ready to make a lasting impression at prom, the staff at Daniel’s of Morgantown is prepared to keep you looking sharp this spring.

“When you walk through the door, somebody will greet you and walk you through the entire process,” owner Phil Mauser says. “And if you don't know what you’re looking for, we will pick your brain and make it happen so that you leave here with something you’re happy with.”

Mauser suggests visiting the store at least two weeks in advance of an event in order to take measurements and allow for tailoring, but says he and his staff are also equipped to work under pressure. “We know how gentlemen sometimes operate, which is why we have our own inventory so that we can tailor your outfit right here in the store and often turn things around in one day or even on the same day.”

Depending on the attire a client is interested in, Mauser says pricing can range from about $350 for a traditional tuxedo to over $1,000 for more creative, customized options. For someone who is a little hesitant to make a purchase, Mauser says formalwear can also be rented from the store starting at around $125, including everything you need to be dressed to the nines: shirt, vest, tie, coat, pants, and shoes.

“The nice thing about tuxedos is that they are pretty classic,” Mauser says. “Once you make an investment in one, styles don't change too much. Most guys have one or two suits or sport coats in their closets that fit them well and they can wear to a range of events.”

The single most important thing when it comes to men’s formalwear, though, according to Mauser, is custom tailoring to ensure a proper, comfortable fit. “You don’t want to wear something that is ill-fitting,” he says. “No matter how nice the suit is, if it doesn’t fit you, it won’t look right.”

The venue of the event also plays a key role in determining the appropriate attire. “You don't want to wear anything that will make the people holding the event upset or take the attention away from them,” he says. “For example, wearing a tux to a barn wedding doesn’t make sense. Lightweight trousers and a sport coat is better fitted for that circumstance.”

For events that allow for some creativity, more modern trends include tuxedo coats and dinner jackets in varying shades of colors like blue and red or patterns and plaids that maintain a classic look with black satin lapels.

And when it comes to accessories, don’t overlook the details, says Mauser. Luckily, Daniel’s makes this easy by offering everything you need to be expertly outfitted from head to toe.

“For men, we’ve got to think about things like watches, cuff links, shoes, belts, and ties,” Mauser says. “What we’re seeing a lot of right now are brighter colored ties and bow ties and brown shoes instead of black.”

Mauser also offered one other piece of sage advice: steer clear of pleated trousers. 2908 University Avenue, 304.296.7202, danielsofmorgantown.com, @danielsofmorgantown on Facebook written by kaylyn christopher

| photographed by julian

wyant

MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

27

Aloha Poke

JULIAN WYANT

RocKa Poké Noodle Bar has brought the latest Hawaiian food trend to Morgantown.

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MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

DISH IT OUT

Ton Sittichaimanee dishes it out

HOLY BASIL CHICKEN TRADITIONALLY KNOWN AS KRAPOW Main ingredients 1 cup jasmine rice 1 chicken breast 1 bell pepper For the sauce 5 cloves fresh, peeled garlic

J. KENDALL PERKINSON

“I

wanted to be the first person to have a poke shop in the state of West Virginia.” Ton Sittichaimanee sits at a table in his Morgantown restaurant, RocKa Poké Noodle Bar, a handwritten family recipe in front of him. All around him is evidence that he has succeeded at his goal and, at the same time, introduced Morgantown to a food trend that is sweeping the nation.

In 2017, Business Insider called poke “the next phenomenon in fastcasual food.” Poke (“po-kay”) is a traditional Hawaiian dish that combines raw seafood—think sashimi—with a wide array of fresh vegetables, spices, and delicious sauces. Hundreds of poke restaurants have opened in the continental U.S. over the past several years as more and more mainlanders come to appreciate the dish.

“There are poke shops all over

10 Thai basil leaves

big cities like New York and D.C.,” Sittichaimanee says. “Even Pittsburgh has three or four of them right now.” His brother owns a restaurant in D.C. with a poke shop right next door. “I saw it and liked it,” he says.

In many of these places, poke is becoming popular as a healthy and tasty takeout meal. It’s also less expensive for business owners, who don’t need industrial cooking equipment or major ventilation. “The concept itself is very easy,” Sittichaimanee says. But despite the fact that he refers to his new place as a “shop,” he has definitely aimed for something grander.

RocKa Poké is large and totally renovated with modern decor that emphasizes dark surfaces and moody lighting. Its two dining rooms offer a variety of seating options with more than a dozen seats at the bars alone. And while poke itself requires little equipment, the restaurant is operating with a full kitchen.

3 tablespoons chili garlic sauce 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon ground pepper 3 tablespoons oyster sauce 3 tablespoons cooking oil 1 Cook rice as recommended on your packaging. 2 Puree sauce ingredients together and gently warm to a simmer. 3 Cut chicken breast and bell pepper to desired size. 4 Saute chicken with bell pepper, then cover in sauce.

5 Fry egg sunnyside up at slightly higher temperature for crispier texture. 6 Plate fried egg on top of rice, chicken to the side.

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written by j. kendall perkinson 30

MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

JULIAN WYANT

Sittichaimanee invested personal sweat in the space. He constructed an enormous bench that spans one wall of the restaurant himself. The renovations took longer than he’d hoped, but he finally opened the doors in October of 2017.

While Sittichaimanee originally started RocKa Poké with the intention of serving poke exclusively, he’s already taking advantage of that full kitchen by filling out the menu with a considerable range of Asian fusion options. When Sittichaimanee was a child, his father often cooked Asian fusion in their D.C.area home, and RocKa’s menu allows him to expand into those culinary roots. This positions him well for trends within the poke scene. “A lot of poke shops now are more fusion,” he says. “We do shrimp, salmon, scallops, tofu, even chicken.”

Sittichaimanee arrived in Morgantown almost two decades ago. He came for an undergraduate degree at WVU and never left. He’s spent much of this time in the food and service industries. He’s served as a manager at establishments as varied as college nightspot Bent Willey’s and the classier Vintage Room, which was located where RocKa Poké sits now. He developed everything on RocKa Poké’s menu himself, but the sous chef he worked with at Vintage, Rob Guillermo, now heads up the kitchen.

It’s taken a little time for poke to catch on in Morgantown, but Sittichaimanee says business is picking up as people unfamiliar with the dish learn what RocKa is all about.

Weekends are pretty busy, and even he is surprised at how popular his Sunday brunch has quickly become. The drink specials don’t hurt: $3 bloody marys and a variety of $10 bottomless mimosas are easy on the wallet.

Sittichaimanee shared with Morgantown a family Thai dish traditionally called “krapow” but labeled Holy Basil Chicken on RocKa’s menu. As with a lot of Asian fusion dishes, much of the flavor is dependent on a good sauce or curry.

In Thailand, krapow is often made with jalapenos to give it more spice. “That makes even me sweat,” he says. He prepares this milder version of the dish without jalapenos, which should work for most palates. The egg should be done with a quick, hot fry to give it the proper texture. “Sunnyside up, but it has to be crispy on the outside.” 467 Chestnut Street, 304.225.9595, rockawv.com

CANDACE NELSON

DISH IT OUT

HOUSE & HOME

Teepee on a Hilltop

A Morgantown couple has found a rent-life balance that works for them.

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A

t the end of a productive work day, Aysha Mahmood drives home in her Mercedes-Benz, reflecting on the meetings she had with clients. She parks her car. She’s looking forward to putting her feet up, seeing her fiance, Christopher Lazzell, and eating dinner. But first, she has to switch out her dress and high-fashion stilettos for her Carhartt pants and a pair of boots, then trek up a steep and muddy hillside to the abode she and Lazzell share: a teepee that sits atop one of the highest points in the Morgantown area, just a five-minute drive from downtown.

Along the way, she’s likely greeted by Frank, the donkey who roams the land. If it’s a cold day, chances are good that when she finally steps foot inside the teepee, her cat, Roshni, is cozied up taking a warm evening nap by the fire that Lazzell spent the last 30 minutes getting started in the wood burner.

There is no electricity on top of the hill—or running water, for that matter— so the fire is not only their source of heat, but also their means of cooking food.

Just because they’ve chosen a lifestyle that’s off the beaten path doesn't mean they’re totally off the grid, though; nor do they consider themselves minimalists by any stretch of the imagination. “It’s not necessarily that we’re going completely green or not participating in society,” Lazzell says. “It’s just that we want to produce more than we consume.”

Lazzell started living on the property, which is owned by a family friend, in June of 2015 after he decided he no longer wanted to continue renting apartments and working as an accountant. At that time, it was just him living by himself in a tent. “It was about me figuring out how to be sustainable and provide the basics in life for myself,” he says. “I thought, if I want to be a successful person in life and grow an empire and start a business and a family, I need to start from square one. Everything I've learned in life has taught me to build the foundation first, so I wanted to learn how to get food, water, and shelter figured out.”

Mahmood, on the other hand, admittedly hates bugs and “critters,” yet she found something compelling about the life Lazzell was creating. When the couple started dating in 2015, Mahmood, who is from the Washington, D.C., area, was used to city living. Her parents had moved to the United States from Pakistan

HOUSE & HOME

to pursue the American dream. So when she expressed interest in relocating to Morgantown to live with Lazzell in the middle of the woods, she was met with puzzled looks.

“My parents came from villages in Pakistan where people live on dirt roads and have no shoes, so they couldn’t understand why I wanted to do this,” she says.

But Mahmood was determined to give it a shot. “That was about two years ago,” she says. “I’d never been in the woods in my life. The first time I came out here to visit Chris, I was trying to walk up the hill and it was pitch dark and I just couldn’t do it. I ended up sleeping in his truck that night.”

Much has changed since Mahmood first moved into the tent in March of 2016. She came to love breathing the fresh air, eating the berries off the bushes, drinking water from the natural spring at the bottom of

the hill, and waking up with the birds and the sun. She and Lazzell adjusted nicely to life in the tent. But as winter arrived and weather got colder, they needed to come up with an alternative.

Mahmood and Lazzell agreed an apartment was out of the question, because they had grown accustomed to sleeping outdoors and didn’t want to spend money on rent—an expense they believe yields them no return. So, through discussions and brainstorming, the idea for the teepee was born. “There’s a reason the Native Americans have been living in these for 2,000 years and have never really changed the design,” Lazzell says. “They found something that works really well.”

To make their dream a reality, Lazzell and Mahmood got in touch with Native Americans out West who hand-stitched a canvas that would form the walls of the teepee. Then, Lazzell cut down 17 cherry

logs, and and the couple hand-processed each one to create poles for the structure of the teepee.

“We took all of the bark off by hand, sanded them, and polished them down,” Mahmood says. “It took about four to five hours to do each log.”

When it was all said and done, the process took about six weeks and cost them less than $3,000. Now, the 17-foot-tall, 13-foot-across teepee is even furnished with decorative pillows and baskets, each of which has been carried up the hill on their shoulders.

Originally, the plan was for the couple to live in the teepee for a few months while they built a house in the woods made entirely of materials from the land. They still plan to build, but for now, Mahmood and Lazzell, who are entrepreneurs, are taking their time and allowing themselves to focus on personal and career growth.

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HOUSE & HOME

“We keep ourselves really busy,” Mahmood says. “If we would’ve built the house two years ago when we wanted to, I would’ve felt like we missed out on a lot because of all the stuff we’ve learned since then.”

That doesn't mean it’s been a smooth ride.

“There are always little adjustments that need to be made,” Lazzell says. “The whole thing has been an extreme learning experience.” For example, when Lazzell and Mahmood noticed that the smoke from their wood burner wasn’t rising to the top of the teepee and exiting through its flaps, they needed to get resourceful.

“You can’t just Google solutions here,” says Mahmood.

With time and experience, they’ve found solutions—like installing a double-walled, insulated chimney to get rid of smoke, building a trench around the teepee to eliminate flooding, opting for canned goods like lentils and chicken soup to avoid attracting wildlife visitors, and barking loudly to ward off the occasional pack of coyotes.

Not only have they adapted to their lifestyle— they prefer it.

“We are truly content at this point in our lives, where we are right now, in the teepee,” Mahmood says. “Yes, I curse about it and it’s difficult sometimes, but when you wake up here, it’s like paradise. We traveled the world this winter, and all we could think about was how much we missed it here while we were away.”

Contrary to what some may believe, living modestly doesn’t impose limits on what the couple can and can’t do. “Quite the opposite,” says Lazzell. “It allows us to do more.” When he mentions to clients or business partners that he lives in a teepee, they often think he’s joking.

“I pull up in a brand new car, wearing dress pants and dress shoes, and to them, it doesn’t add up,” he says. “But it’s about priorities. We’ve decompressed the stress and allowed ourselves to really flourish, spread our wings, grow in a way that we want to grow, and be able to take care of the things we want to take care of.”

As for sharing such close quarters with another person? Mahmood and Lazzell agree that the expansive outdoors beyond their teepee’s walls is all the space they need. “Living here is so free, so quiet, and so healing—there’s a certain energetic aspect to it,” says Lazzell. “When we’re up here, the stress and things from the day are so much easier to let go.”

Lazzell and Mahmood hope their experience can be an example to others who crave a lifestyle beyond conventional standards. “I want others to be able to picture themselves doing something like this, because of the reward it entails,” Mahmood says. “I really want people to know this is attainable.” written by KAYLYN CHRISTOPHER photographed by CARLA WITT FORD 34

MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

The

Written by PAM KASEY

Contents

CLOSE TO DOWNTOWN & CAMPUS 37 WALK, BIKE, OR SHORT DRIVE

TO CLASS, WORK, DINING, AND ENTERTAINMENT

CLOSE TO HOSPITALS & EVANSDALE CAMPUS 40 UNIVERSITY, PROFESSIONAL,

AND MEDICAL COMMUNITY WITH

GREAT DINING

CLOSE TO HIGHWAYS 43 QUICK ACCESS TO POINTS NORTH,

SOUTH, EAST, AND WEST, PLUS AFFORDABILITY

AWAY FROM IT ALL / CLOSE TO THE LAKE 46 SPACE TO BREATHE AND KICK BACK,

PLUS ALL THE SCENERY AND

RECREATION A LAKE OFFERS

Are you living in First Ward but wondering if Suncrest might be a better fit?

Moving to town for the first time and not sure where to start? Choosing a neighborhood in Morgantown is all about your priorities.

If you like walkability, parks, and a central location, near-downtown neighborhoods are for you. The north side, around the hospitals and WVU’s Evansdale campus, is all about family and schools. Residents near the highways have a quieter life and easy access to the surrounding region, and Cheat Lakers enjoy modern living and weekends on the water.

From there, it’s the specific neighborhoods that define Morgantowners’ lifestyles. Which place is right for you?

LIVABILITY Morgantown came in 43rd in Livability.com’s Top 100 Best Places to Live for 2018.

Livability.com gathers data in more than 40 categories on 2,300 cities with populations under 350,000 and aggregates it under eight quality-of-life factors. At the same time, it surveys more than 2,000 adults each year about the importance of each of those factors in order to weight each category for a final score.

Morgantown’s scores Housing 78, #9

Education 74, #59

Amenities 74, #12

Health 65, #63

Infrastructure 59, #21

Social and Civic Capital 57, #86

Economy 62, #56

Demographics 36, #90

Morgantown’s high marks in housing, amenities, and infrastructure compared favorably even with cities that rank high year after year—typically college towns like Boulder CO, Madison WI, and Charlottesville VA. livability.com

For walkability to downtown, it doesn’t get much better than Greenmont. This one-time working-class neighborhood on the streetcar line between downtown and Sabraton’s tin mills and glass factories now houses a mix of owners and renters in early-20th century homes on compact lots— the farthest of which are a 20-minute walk to downtown.

A more affordable neardowntown neighborhood, Greenmont has undergone a renaissance. Today it has more than its share of hangouts and local eats, beloved breadmaker and pizzeria Phoenix Bakery chief among them. Just down the street, Chestnut Brew Works operates a cozy tasting room, and its Halleck Pale Ale is on tap all over town. Beertopia maintains a nice tap list and, as an active homebrew supply shop, hosts frequent conversations about the finer points of beer, wine, hard cider, and mead making. And Greenmont’s longstanding neighborhood bar, Gene’s Beer Garden, is the envy of many neighborhoods. For another kind of brew, local coffee roaster Quantum Bean, already a staple at the Morgantown and Bridgeport farmers’ markets, is set to open its specialty coffee shop on Kingwood Street in the spring of 2018.

Also in the spring, Greenmont’s connectivity is getting even better. The long-awaited Deckers Creek pedestrian bridge between Lower Greenmont and the Deckers Creek Trail will open (see page 22). Greenmont residents will have direct access to the rail-trail, a short walk to Stanley’s Spot Dog Park, and new traffic-free walkability directly to the farmers’ market, shops, restaurants, and entertainment downtown.

Plotted on a neat MEDIAN HOME LISTING PRICE grid between Willey $185,000 in March 2018 Street and Richwood SCHOOLS Avenue, Woodburn Eastwood Elementary, lies just east of Mountaineer Middle, the university’s University High downtown campus.

The neighborhood’s NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION harmonious racial Woodburn Association of and economic diverNeighbors sity includes both homeowners and renters who enjoy walkability to downtown—either directly, via streets, or by a small detour through Whitmore Park.

When its neighborhood Woodburn Elementary closed in 2013, residents worked to keep the building in use. Today the property serves as home to several community nonprofit groups including the PopShop performing arts school and M.T. Pockets Theatre. Woodburn’s neighborhood bar, Mario’s Fishbowl, is voted Best Neighborhood Bar by our readers every year, and Cheese Louise and Town Hill Tavern are other local favorite spots.

MEDIAN HOME LISTING PRICE $149,900 in March 2018

SCHOOLS Mountainview Elementary South Middle Morgantown High * * Find address-specific school information at croppermap.com/ monongalia

NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION Greenmont Neighborhood Association

NEIGHBORHOOD DISCUSSION “Greenmont Neighborhood Association” on Facebook

JULIAN WYANT; MARY WADE BURNSIDE

Places DOWNTOWN MORGANTOWN FARMERS MARKET

MORGANTOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY

MORGANTOWN HISTORY MUSEUM

MONONGALIA ARTS CENTER

Fresh and friendly, every Saturday May through October, with less frequent winter markets indoors.

Spruce and Fayette streets, morgantownfarmersmarket.org

Fun children’s activities, extensive digital library, and best used book sale in town Tuesdays and 1st and 3rd Saturdays. 373 Spruce Street, morgantown.lib.wv.us

Rotating and permanent displays interpreting Morgantown’s frontier, river, industrial, and cultural history. 175 Kirk Street, morgantownhistorymuseum.org

Art gallery, art sales, community benefits, music lessons, choral and chamber concerts, and hilarious comedy nights.

107 High Street, monartscenter.com

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FESTIVE

places

Chocolate Lovers’ Day is April 21, 2018, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., downtown and in the Wharf District.

Neighbors meets monthly MEDIAN HOME SALE PRICE and hosts a neighborhood$247,500 in 2017 wide yard sale each August SCHOOLS when students return to Mountainview Elementary, WVU. Morgantown High South Middle School sits in South Park, Morgantown High and nearby residents are often treated to the sights NEIGHBORHOOD ASSCIATION and sounds of the high South Park Association of school’s 250-plus-piece Neighbors marching band. Come NEIGHBORHOOD DISCUSSION Halloween, homeowners “South Park Neighbors, in the heart of the Morgantown” on Facebook neighborhood take it to a higher level—the trick-ortreating here is some of the best in town. Year-round, residents make frequent use of Facebook to connect over everything from found pets to furniture giveaways.

First Ward lies south of downtown MEDIAN HOME SALE PRICE between Dorsey Avenue and White $193,250 in 2017 Park. Like Greenmont, First Ward is SCHOOLS a relatively affordable near-downtown Mountainview Elementary, neighborhood, with farthest homes a South Middle, little more than a 20-minute walk from Morgantown High the heart of town but only a 10-minute bike on First-Ward’s flat terrain.

NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION One of the best neighborhoods First Ward Neighborhood in town for families just starting out, Association First Ward has good-sized yards, quiet NEIGHBORHOOD DISCUSSION streets, lots of sidewalks, and great “Morgantown First Ward park access. Grassy Jack Roberts Neighborhood Association” Park, at the heart of First Ward, has a on Facebook playground, a basketball court, and a ballfield. It’s also a choice spot for July 4 picnics, sparklers, and fireworks. At the far edge of First Ward, forested White Park offers walking and biking trails around the reservoir. First Ward also hosts the Morgantown Ice Arena.

Want to get a feel for First Ward? Check out Mundy’s Place, the neighborhood bar, for hot dogs, open mic nights, and live music many Saturday evenings.

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MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

MedExpress Kids’ Day The kids take over downtown July 21, 2018, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with dozens of fun booths and activities.

Arts Walk September 18, 2018, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Businesses all over downtown stay open late to offer hors d’oeuvres and live music and showcase local art.

Wine & Jazz Festival Scheduled for September 15 & 16 in 2018, Wine & Jazz showcases local and regional artisans, wineries, and musicians.

Parades So many parades!

The WVU Homecoming Parade in October and the Christmas Parade in December are among our favorites.

NIKKI BOWMAN; SHANE SMITH; NIKKI BOWMAN; LANCE MUSCARA

South Park has much the same neighborhood walkability and access to downtown as Greenmont, with a grander feel. South Park homes are pricier, but you get what you pay for: tree-lined streets, larger homes with distinctive architectural features, and landscaped front plots with cheery flowers and manicured shrubs.

The South Park Historic District has more than 500 historic homes. Homes nearest town occupy small, easymaintenance lots in a flat section of the neighborhood.

Although parking in this section can be tight, many properties have off-street parking, and on-street parking is managed through blue-painted curbs and city-issued passes. Farther uphill, many homes enjoy spectacular views over downtown and the hills to the west.

South Park residents walk their dogs and strollers evenings and weekends and wave hello to porchsitting neighbors. The South Park Association of

Brokered by

J.S. WALKER ASSOCIATES

CARLA WITT FORD

JSWALKER.COM

WALK TO TOWN Kate and Zac Freedman moved to Morgantown in 2017 for his assistant professorship at WVU. They first thought they’d like Cheat Lake but, when their agent at J.S. Walker Associates showed them this house in South Park, it stuck in their minds. “We saw houses in Cheat Lake and we’d say, ‘It doesn’t compare to that house we saw in town,’” Kate says.

Morgantown’s near-downtown neighborhoods—South Park, First Ward, Greenmont, and Woodburn—are drawing growing buyer attention. “They’re within walking distance of a vibrant downtown that has so much to offer with restaurants, shopping, entertainment, and obviously access to WVU’s downtown campus,” says J.S. Walker broker and owner Steve Walker.

“People like to be close to all of those amenities. It’s also an attractive area for people who want to buy older homes to upgrade them.”

The Freedmans looked at their South Park house seven or eight times before making a decision—a high level of service on the part of J.S. Walker. “What we believe in is, you serve the client first, and then everything else falls into place,” says Steve of his firm, the No. 1 agency in the sale of single-family homes in Morgantown. One year and a newborn son later, Kate is confident they made the right decision. “It’s challenging moving to a new place,” she says. “Being in a community where we can walk downtown, or go outside and have a conversation with our neighbors, who have been so friendly, it’s been great.”

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MARY WADE BURNSIDE

When it came time to furnish the home, the homeowners turned to interior designer Dorinda Westbrook at Classic Furniture.

The tidy enclave of Evansdale sits between MEDIAN HOME LISTING PRICE 8th Street and Evansdale Drive. Most of the $185,000 in March 2018 neighborhood’s 100 or so homes date to the SCHOOLS 1950s and ’60s. Serviceberry trees planted by Suncrest Elementary, the city 15 years ago bloom white in mid-April Suncrest Middle, and bear edible berries the residents and birds Morgantown High share. The neighborhood is distinguished by a tight-knit but welcoming feel, spectacular views NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS over the Monongahela River from the backs of Evansdale Neighborhood homes on Riverview Drive, and Blaney House, Association, Wiles Hill– Highland Park Neighborhood the sprawling, beautiful home of the president of Association West Virginia University.

To get to the nearby neighborhood of NEIGHBORHOOD DISCUSSIONS Wiles Hill and Highland Park, take Stewart @evansdalewv, @whhpna Street away from downtown. Everything on the on Facebook left, from Jones Avenue to Willowdale, is Wiles Hill. Just across Willowdale—Gibbons Street and Eastland Avenue out to McCullough—lies Highland Park. The neighborhoods bridge WVU’s two campuses and offer relatively quick access to both.

The 950 or so homes in these two neighborhoods date to the 1920s through the ’60s. Highland Park is a little leafier, with a gentler landscape; Wiles Hill occupies more dramatic terrain. But children play in pedestrian alleys and on quiet streets in both. Many residents have been in the neighborhood for decades, some living in houses they grew up in.

Children in these neighborhoods attend the same schools. Evansdale is a little closer to dining and shopping. Ogawa Japanese restaurant and Ta-Khrai Thai Cafe sit just across University Avenue, fast-casual options like Panera Bread and Qdoba lie on Patteson Drive, and the Kroger on Patteson is open 24 hours. In Wiles Hill and Highland Park, the heart of the neighborhood is Wiles Hill Park. The Wiles Hill Community Building, a former school now managed by the city’s Board of Parks and Recreation (BOPARC), holds a community art studio and hosts dance classes, mahjong, and other community events.

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MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

BEFORE

CARLA WITT FORD

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Renovation by

HARDWOOD INTERIORS & DESIGN

If you want to live close to the medical and professional businesses on the north side of town, you can’t beat Evansdale. Many of this established neighborhood’s VISIT THEIR KITCHEN AND BATH SHOWROOM older homes are diamonds in the rough.

AT NORTHPOINTE PLAZA When Michele and Reg Messenger of Hardwood HARDWOODINTERIORSDESIGN.COM Interiors & Design—a custom millwork company known for quality cabinetry, windows, doors, and flooring, as well as renovations and new home construction—bought this house, they embarked on a dramatic and inspirational transformation.

“The house was very dark. We added an addition on the back and tons of windows to bring the natural light in,” says Michele. They opened up the floor plan to make it more conducive to modern lifestyles and widened the staircase.

They flanked the house with garages and added a large butler’s pantry with a pass-through window from the mud/ laundry room, which connects to one of the garages. She says, “We were doing this project as a spec remodel—Reg has been building homes for over 30 years—and we wanted to keep the home transitional so it would appeal to any potential buyer. By just changing the knobs on the white inset cabinetry in the eat-in gourmet kitchen, the look could be traditional or more contemporary.” What was once a small and dark cottage is now a stunning and airy, yet livable, home in an unbeatable location.

Michele, who has worked in new home construction and remodeling as well as kitchen and bath design, chose espresso-stained, wide-plank white oak flooring throughout the home and painted the walls a warm white. Two master suites grace this five-bedroom home. The one on the first floor is now used as a home office suite, and the second one upstairs has a large walk-in closet with built-ins. The walk-out basement is perfect entertaining space, complete with a bar, workout room, and spacious family room. The end results are nothing short of spectacular.

“We never even had to list the house,” says Michele.

“The layout and location was perfect for the current homeowner.”

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GETTING places Bicycle

Rail-trails make for easy bicycle access to many parts of town.

Elsewhere, drivers, please share the road.

Uber Yes, it works here.

Personal Rapid Transit Built in the 1970s as a prototype for direct-to-destination mass transit, Morgantown’s 5-station, 8-mile PRT system is one of the few in the world. It carries 15,000 people every school day.

50 cents per trip for the public; WVU ID rides free. transportation.wvu.edu/prt

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MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

MEDIAN HOME SALE PRICE Mylan Pharmaceuticals, $268,000 in 2017 the National Energy Technology Laboratory, SCHOOLS and the National Institute Suncrest Elementary for Occupational Science North Elementary and Health.

Suncrest Middle This part of town Morgantown High enjoys the full range of Morgantown’s dining NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION Suncrest Neighborhood experience: fast food to fine Association dining and many ethnicities.

It has quick access to two NEIGHBORHOOD DISCUSSION 24-hour Kroger stores and @suncrestneighbors on hosts several specialty Facebook groceries, including one Middle Eastern and two Asian grocers.

And sports fans can do no better, with WVU’s Mountaineer Field, Coliseum, soccer stadium, and other athletic facilities close by and the Monongalia County Ballpark, home to WVU baseball and the minor league West Virginia Black Bears, just over the river.

Taxi Motown Taxi 304.291.8294 motowntaxis.com Motown Taxi app

Mountain Line 20 routes around town, into the county, and to Pittsburgh International Airport, all tracked on the Mountain Line Bus Finder app. busride.org

Zipcar Five locations across town. zipcar.com

KATIE GRIFFITH; NIKKI BOWMAN (2); COURTESY OF WVU

Suncrest spreads out on broad lawns that homes closer to downtown never had. The neighborhood takes unmistakeable pride in its appearance. And like its lawns, Suncrest itself rambles. Starting from the Coliseum and Krepps Park, it encompasses University Avenue and Collins Ferry Road all the way to Van Voorhis and, in some definitions, beyond. Most homes date to the 1920s to ’50s, and some are architectural showpieces.

Families love Suncrest. The city’s Krepps Park hosts baseball, picnic pavilions, a dog park, and one of the city’s two public swimming pools.

The neighborhood’s two elementary schools and middle school are located very close by, making for high family involvement in school programming.

Also, because of the neighborhood’s demographics, those schools are the most diverse in town: students at North Elementary, for example, speak more than 30 languages at home.

Those demographics follow from Suncrest’s location near a concentration of professional and scientific institutions that attract staff from all over, places like the city’s two hospital complexes,

Places to play Dorsey’s Knob Park Lots of amenities, including the views from Sky Rock. U.S. Route 119

Granville Softball Fields Ballfields and concession stand. Granville Hazel Ruby McQuain Riverfront Park Amphitheater, river view, rail-trail access. Sturgiss Street, Morgantown Jack Roberts Park Playing fields, basketball court, and playground. Madigan Avenue, First Ward King Street Mini Park Playground, open field. King Street, South Park

JULIAN WYANT; ELIZABETH FORD; CASSIA KING; PAM KASEY

Krepps Park Playgrounds, picnic area, dog park, and public pool. 1235 Parkview Drive, Suncrest

Sabraton stretches east of downtown along the Deckers Creek valley to Interstate 68. It started out in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a cluster of industrial facilities on the creek—a tin plate company, glass factories— that workers living in Greenmont and Woodburn commuted to on the Richwood Avenue trolley.

Residential communities gradually formed around the livelihoods, and the independent town of Sabraton was annexed to Morgantown in the mid-20th century.

Today, residents in that part of Morgantown identify themselves into several neighborhoods— in addition to Sabraton, Jerome Park, between Richwood Avenue and Powell Avenue, and Norwood Addition, east of Sabraton Avenue.

The main strip of Sabraton offers plenty of amenities: popular restaurants like Woodburn Shanks for barbecue and hometown favorite Pizza Al’s, along with a small hardware store, a lawn and garden store, and two supermarkets.

Fawley Music has town’s largest selection of all things musical instrument and lessons, and the Mon County Habitat for Humanity ReStore makes fixtures, furnishings, and building materials available for re-use. A high-end shooting range, Defense in Depth, also operates here.

Beyond the MEDIAN HOME LISTING PRICE main shopping and $145,000 in March 2018 dining strip, this part of town offers SCHOOLS affordable homes Norwood Addition and most of Sabraton: Brookhaven in quiet residential Elementary, South Middle, enclaves along Morgantown High; Jerome with great outdoor Park: Eastwood Elementary, recreation. Paul Mountaineer Middle, Preserve in Jerome University High Park holds a picnic NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS area and basketball Jerome Park Neighborhood court. Marilla Park Association, Norwood has ballfields, Addition Neighborhood tennis courts, Association picnic pavilions, a skate park, and an NEIGHBORHOOD DISCUSSIONS outdoor swimming @morgantownjpna pool. And all of Sabraton lies along the Deckers Creek rail-trail, a 19-mile trail that, uphill to the east, follows the creek at a gentle grade through the dramatic Deckers Creek Gorge and mining-era remains to highland wetlands and, downhill to the west, meets up with the Caperton Trail along the Monongahela River in town.

Marilla Park Tennis courts, swimming pool, skate park, picnic pavilions, and rail-trail access. East Brockway Avenue, Sabraton Mylan Park Grass and turf multipurpose sports diamonds and fields, horseshoes, fairgrounds, an aquatic center soon to come, and many more facilities.

500 Mylan Park Lane, mylanpark.com Suncrest “Lake” Mini Park Picnic area and playground.

Woodland Drive, Suncrest Paul Preserve Basketball court and picnic area.

Mineral Avenue, Jerome Park Westover City Park Playground, ballfields, covered bocce courts. DuPont Road, Westover White Park Baseball fields, ice arena, trails.

East Parkway, First Ward Whitmore Park Wooded trails.

Richwood Avenue, Woodburn MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

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RIVER Places DINE RIVERSIDE Table 9 40 Donley Street dinetable9.com Oliverio’s Ristorante 52 Clay Street oliveriosristorante.com Mountain State Brewing 54 Clay Street mountainstatebrewing.com

CAST OFF Morgantown Marina Slip rentals Donley Street, 304.296.8356

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MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

STAR CITY MEDIAN HOME LISTING PRICE $165,000 in March 2018

SCHOOLS Suncrest Elementary, Suncrest Middle, Morgantown High

POPULATION 2,024 (2016)

WEBSITE starcitywv.com

GRANVILLE & WESTOVER MEDIAN HOME LISTING PRICE $160,000 in March 2018

SCHOOLS Skyview Elementary, Westwood Middle, University High

POPULATION Granville 2,560; Westover 4,240 (2016)

WEBSITES granvillepd.org, westoverwv.org

espresso drinks, healthy meals, indulgent desserts, and drinks after work, draws people from all across the region. Its location on the rail-trail makes it a great start or midpoint for a walk or bike trip, and its covered terrace is perfect for people-watching. Down the street, Unique Consignment’s gently used furnishings turn over quickly. The Wow! Factory is a favorite place for pottery painting, glass fusing, and other craft activities, and residents love the new Aldi grocery store that opened in early 2018.

Across the Mon River to the west of Morgantown, Westover and Granville offer quiet, affordable, family-friendly neighborhoods. Both have benefited in recent years from annexing adjacent shopping areas, meaning city services like parks, police and fire response, paving, and snow removal are well-funded. It also means a wide variety of shopping is close by—the Morgantown Mall, University Town Centre, and The Gateway, all just off the interstate, offer clothing, housewares, sporting goods, art supplies, casual to fine dining, and much more.

Walnut Street Landing Boat ramp, small parking area, dock in progress Walnut Street Edith Barill Riverfront Park Boat ramp, trailer parking Star City Van Voorhis Trailhead Canoe/kayak launch, parking Star City Fort Martin Boat Launch Trailer parking Left bank, Fort Martin Road

THROW IN A LINE Fish for bass and catfish off the piers at Star City’s Edith Barill Riverfront Park and behind the Morgantown Energy Associates plant at the bottom of 6th Street, or for muskie, sauger, and walleye below the Morgantown Lock and Dam. Buy a fishing license at wvfish.com or through retail license agents across the area.

PAM KASEY; ELIZABETH FORD; NIKKI BOWMAN; PAM KASEY

Located beside exits on Interstate 79, the three independent municipalities adjacent to Morgantown—Star City, Granville, and Westover— offer affordability and convenient access to shopping and the surrounding region.

Once home to as many as 13 glass factories, Star City, just north of Morgantown proper, took a blow from the decline of the glass industry and the loss of coal mining across the region. But Star City’s welltraveled University Avenue business corridor between Morgantown and the interstate is attracting new attention and, with that, the town has started to remake itself. Enterprising residents are opening new shops and office spaces and refreshing existing housing stock.

As the region increasingly appreciates the recreational appeal of the Monongahela River and the rail-trail system, Star City’s riverfront is another factor in a budding renaissance. Edith Barill Riverfront Park, with playground, pavilions, and public boat ramp, is a much-used gathering spot and trailhead.

Terra Cafe, a popular spot for

McQuain Riverfront Park Small ramp Sturgiss Street

EASY TO GET EVERYWHERE

Renovations by

When Dominick Claudio’s great-grandfather came from Italy, he lived in a brick coal company row house near the main drag in Star City. Later, Claudio’s uncles operated grocery CLAUDIOCOMPANY.COM stores with living quarters above. It’s a smalltown urban lifestyle that fell away with the decline of the coal- and glass-fueled economy but appeals again now to many.

Claudio sees a lot of value for the future in the Star City he grew up in and lives in today. “Access to WVU’s Coliseum, the soccer fields, the baseball stadium, hearing the marching band play all summer and fall—those were highlights of my life, growing up,” he says. “We are a selfsustaining, 1.7-square-mile town with our own police force, fire department, water, garbage pickup, everything a town like Morgantown has, just on a smaller scale.” Housing is very affordable, and the river and rail-trail are a short walk down the road. With Star City’s prime location between Morgantown and the interstate, he says, “it’s easy to get everywhere from here.”

Claudio lives over his Star City accounting business in a space he made over in an urban-industrial style. And he's been updating those old row houses—one of them for his mother, and others for resale to residents who, like him, want to bring that small-town urban lifestyle back. “With 22,000 cars driving down University Avenue a day, this is forever going to be a commercial district. But if we can get people living in our urban areas again, where we originally started three generations ago, I think that’s when we’re going to see the best impact for a great future.”

CLAUDIO

DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

Updated brick row houses in Star City allow residents to live close to services and enjoy the built environment of an earlier time.

CARLA WITT FORD

Claudio's own loft space shows the potential of a small-city urban makeover.

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CARLA WITT FORD CARLA WITT FORD

ELIZABETH FORD

When West Penn Power dammed the Cheat River MEDIAN HOME LISTING PRICE at the state line in 1925 to harness it for electric$329,000 in March 2018 ity, little did anyone know that the 13-mile-long SCHOOLS Cheat Lake the dam created would become Cheat Lake Elementary, Morgantown’s playground and a home for those Mountaineer Middle, who prefer outdoor recreation and a beautiful, University High quiet retreat.

Today, Cheat Lake is one of the Morgantown WEBSITE area’s most affluent and fastest-growing cheatlake.com communities. Homes tend to be newer on larger lots, though they range from easy-care townhomes to mansions with beautifully spacious, landscaped grounds.

Cheat Lake especially attracts boaters, fishers, and swimmers who enjoy convenient access to flatwater. Other outdoor pursuits are close at hand, too: paddlers love the river upstream for its class II to III Cheat Narrows and class III to V Cheat Canyon whitewater, and Coopers Rock State Forest’s hiking trails lead to dramatic rock formations for climbing and breathtaking views over the Cheat River Gorge. Lakeview Golf Resort & Spa offers the Morgantown area’s best golfing.

Dining and entertainment reflect Cheat Lake’s casual, outdoor-centered lifestyle. Lakeside dining comes with spectacular sunsets at Crab Shack Caribba, The Lake House Restaurant, and Whippoorwill Bar & Grill. Away from the lake, Tropics Restaurant and Bar serves up authentic Hawaiian food with live entertainment on its expansive, lushly planted decks. And Chestnut Ridge Park offers outdoor concerts every weekend through the summer.

Cheat Lake is removed from the bustle of Morgantown, but it’s not isolated. As the community has grown, businesses have sprung up along the corridor between there and town. Cheat Lakers can find everything from cafe sitting to clothing and housewares to medical services on the path of their commute. In that way, it’s the best of both worlds.

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MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

OUTDOOR LIVING

Interior Design by

WELLS HOME FURNISHINGS

VISIT THEIR SHOWROOM AT 1040 FAIRMONT ROAD IN WESTOVER

CARLA WITT FORD

WELLSHOME.COM

Shawn and Maria Summers enjoyed a close-to-town location in South Hills for 20 years before building their new house at Cheat Lake in 2016. “We were looking for easy living—3,000 square feet all on one floor, but not a ranch home,” Shawn says. “There’s nothing in Morgantown like that.” They based their new home on an earlier home style in the neighborhood, and Shawn’s construction company built it. But when it came to styling the interior, they looked to the design services at Wells Home Furnishings.

“It was basically a blank canvas when we started,” says Wells designer Caitlin Furbee. “Shawn and Maria already had their sectional and chairs. The living room ceiling is so high, anything you’d put there could look wimpy. But they’re not afraid to add color, so we used bold oranges and large art. Upstairs we added a lot of orange and lime green. And in the bedroom, more purple colors.” While these rooms are very modern, Wells has done many traditional and transitional interiors in the neighborhood, too, Furbee says. “We base it on your home’s characteristics and your personal flair. No matter how big or small the project, we can help people achieve their dream rooms.”

The Summers and their two children are loving their new lifestyle. “We hike and mountain bike at Coopers Rock quite a bit, and we’ve gone out on the lake on friends’ boats,” Shawn says. “We can walk to dinner at Lakeview or Tropics, and Spa Roma is right here, and there’s a new cafe. And the drive to town is nothing.

I never thought it was going to be so convenient here.”

WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY JULIAN WYANT If there’s one time when trust matters, it’s when someone is standing behind you holding a straight razor to your scalp. A barber earns that trust, but it also flows from his shop’s decor, the camaraderie among the crew, and even the music they play. Whether you rock the freshest styles or like a full-on retro grooming experience, you can find a home among Morgantown’s barbers. The hardest part may be figuring out which one—for help with that, check out our barbershop quartet.

Scan with Spotify to listen to a song you might hear in this barbershop

SHARP AS AN ERROL Grooming young barbers

One of the best feelings in the world is that after-haircut, fresh-and-clean sensation.

But for Martinsburg native Errol McCurrie, barber, barber instructor, and owner of Sharp As An Errol Barber School on Beechurst Avenue, one of the best feelings is seeing a student execute a tight cut.

“What I teach them is how to be successful in the barber industry, and that’s through cutting, styling, the business of barbering— 50

MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

and social media,” he says.

When McCurrie decided he wanted to become a master barber, West Virginia’s lack of barber schools sent him out of state.

He wanted to make sure others didn’t have to go through that. “I took it upon myself to get an educators’ license,” he says. “I learned the craft inside and out to where I’m comfortable enough to teach others.” He had to jump through more hoops—extensive regulations and state and school policies—to open SAAE. “It took me a long time to get open and going,” he says. Now SAAE is the only dedicated barber school in the state.

Not only does McCurrie provide his students the proper barber education, he also helps them find jobs after graduating—sometimes at another shop he owns. “We’re growing fast. I’m working on my second school location now, in Martinsburg.”

SAAE’s sign doesn’t say it’s a barber school, and walk-ins are often confused when

they find out. That doesn’t bother McCurrie, or his clients. “They come in because it says $6,” he says. “Then, when their haircut is better than what they expected, they start coming regularly, and they actually ask for the last student that cut their hair.”

Although SAAE is a school, the professional environment and the music the students play give it that barbershop atmosphere. “I allow them to play music because it lets the day go by,” McCurrie says.

“I have some country boys and I have some city boys, so the music varies.”

SAAE is a full-service barbershop, offering haircuts and shaves as well as facials, women’s cuts, skin care treatments, and ingrown hair extractions, all at a discounted rate. SAAE is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

551 Beechurst Avenue, 304.381.2712, saaebarberschool.com, @saaebarber on Facebook

Scan with Spotify to listen to a song you might hear in this barbershop

CLASSIC CUTZ

Faith and fades

Brooklyn native Bilal “Al” Adams, owner of Classic Cutz, knows all about the hair-raising struggles of opening your own shop.

“When I started Classic Cutz, I started it off a credit card, and I couldn’t afford to finance an apartment and a business,” Adams says. “So a lot of nights I slept in the back room and cried, wondering if I was doing the right thing.”

For his success, Adams credits God first and then J.T. Thomas, who owned the no-longerstanding Players Club in Westover. Adams met Thomas while he was visiting Morgantown and looking for a haircut—back when he had hair.

Particular about his hair and knowledgeable about cutting, Adams stood out to Thomas as someone who acted like a barber.

“Then he just told me, ‘Man, honestly, I feel like God wanted me to talk to you,’” he says. “I was like, ‘What could God want me to know?’ and he said, ‘God gave you a talent, and you’re not using it.’ And that’s something that sunk in.”

After this epiphany, Adams attended the Charleston School of Beauty Culture and graduated in 2003. He perfected his craft working in Charleston, then in Westover with then–business partner Rob Clark before opening Classic Cutz on Wall Street in 2011. He’s since opened two more locations: one next door and another on University Avenue. Each spot has its own distinct look and crew, but what doesn’t change is the talent and the music. “We’re a hip-hop place. I love hip-hop. Everything is style, everything is fashion, and the music goes with the haircut,” Adams says.

Despite his success, there’s one word Adams likes to use as his guiding principle: humbleness.

As the name implies, Classic Cutz offers the services you would expect from a classic barbershop, minus the antiquated styles and techniques. Some services include hot shaves, hot towels, and any haircut you could want.

On top of that, Classic Cutz has Samantha McClung—one of the best female barbers in the state, according to Adams—who does dreadlocks, female cuts, and color.

A Classic Cut is $15, but on Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. it’s just $10. 217 and 219 Wall Street, 2001 University Avenue, 304.241.1790, @classiccutzwv on Facebook MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

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Scan with Spotify to listen to a song you might hear in this barbershop

MAN’S IMAGE Style on schedule

Man’s Image has been a pillar of Morgantown style since 1969. The appointment-based barbershop has jumped from location to location and now sits in Chelsea Square.

Owned by master barbers Rex Hartley and Seth Gartin, Man’s Image provides men—and women—with a pristine, private setting that is conducive to budding friendships, deep conversations, and fresh cuts.

Seth Gartin’s look exudes the classic rock he bumps. “We’re on a Led Zeppelin kick lately,” he says. “It’s usually going to be some type of classic rock, because no one can complain about it.”

Gartin’s family moved from Colorado to Morgantown when he was 4 years old. His new next door neighbors were the owners of the Morgantown Beauty College. “They became like my grandparents,” he says—which likely explains his passion for cutting. After high school, Gartin studied graphic design in college for a while, then ventured over to Morgantown Beauty College. “I knew it was what I always wanted to do, but when both of your parents are teachers, not going to college really isn’t an option.”

The leap from computer-generated art to hair art isn’t as big as it might seem.

Both fields allow Gartin to express himself creatively—one just requires a lot more standing. “I’ve always been artsy like that,” he says. “For an artist, it’s pretty cool when you have basically living artwork that you’re sending out every day.”

Now, as both a cosmetologist and a barber, Gartin has the skills to complete every look for men and women, even if he has to decode requests from customers who aren’t sure what certain terms mean. “I love both, but my passion lies with men’s hair,” Gartin says. “The symmetry matters more. You can hide a bad women’s haircut very easily with styling, but a men’s haircut, you see every single line and hair.”

Each haircut at Man’s Image includes full shampoo, straight-razored nape, and styling for $20. It’s $10 to get the scruff off your face, and $25 to clean up both your head hair and facial hair. Man’s Image is open by appointment only, Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. 1137 Van Voorhis Road; Gartin, 304.777.9313; Hartley, 304.685.9077; morgantownbarbers.com 52

MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

Scan with Spotify to listen to a song you might hear in this barbershop

LADIES & GENTS

Growth and change

Sometimes just a barbershop isn’t enough.

Rob and Shaylin Clark opened Glow Beauty Lounge on Pleasant Street in 2012. What began as a salon has evolved over time into a tworoom barbershop–salon combo now known as Ladies & Gents.

Rob, a Morgantown native, grew up playing basketball, and at 12 he started cutting his friends’ and teammates’ hair. He finished high school, then went to Morgantown Beauty College in 1997. He took a totally different direction for a while and got a chemical engineering degree from Drexel University in Philadelphia but, like most West Virginians, he missed home. He came back looking to open a shop and up the ante on the local barbershop scene.

That’s when he hooked up with Bilal Adams, owner today of Classic Cutz, and they opened a shop in Westover in 2005. Four years later, Rob opened the cool and popular The Shop on High Street. Co-locating with Shaylin was his next evolution.

“People were telling me for a long time that we should’ve done it,” Rob explains, “but it didn’t make sense to me because I thought, a barbershop is a barbershop—you’ve got guys being lewd and running their mouths and stuff, and I just didn’t think it would mix.” But Shaylin liked the idea, and Rob came to feel it was time for his barbershop to grow up.

Ladies & Gents—as you can surmise—caters to both men and women. Rob’s side sports vintage barbershop chairs and decor, a flatscreen TV for watching movies, and brandnew flooring that gives the feel of an old-time barbershop. Shaylin’s side is sleek and modern, much like herself, with beautiful furnishings that get you in the mood to be pampered. Like their looks, both sides offer something different to their clienteles, but one thing remains the same: the quality of the work they produce.

Ladies & Gents offers ladies everything from cuts to ombre and balayage to microblading. For the gents, Rob and his team offer all the fixings: hot shave, hot towel, haircut, beard cut, and razor line-ups with prices ranging from $20 to $30. This dream team duo’s workday starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday and runs until 6 p.m. most days. 224 Pleasant Street, 304.241.1383 MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

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THE U: SPONSORED CONTENT

2018 WVU Off-Campus Housing As compiled by West Virginia University.

More rental resources at campuslife.wvu.edu.

• 1 and 2 bedroom apartments • Furnished or unfurnished available • New carpet & hardwood floors • On-site laundry • Private parking & water included

Highland House Properties 236 Highland Avenue

304 Properties 304.685.3092, 304properties.com A D Rentals 304.322.1533 Aerostar Apartments 304.598.3300 Apollo Rentals 304.685.3048 Ashworth Landing 304.290.4834 Barnette Rentals 304.545.5587 Barrington North Apartments 304.599.6376, morgantownapartments.com

• Secure key pad access

BCK Rentals 304.594.1200, bckrentals.com

• Walking distance to both campuses/ football stadium

Bel-Cross Properties 304.296.7930, belcross.com

• Starting at $375 per person

Bent Tree Court/Avalon 304.296.3606, benttreecourt.com

304.296.3919 | hgbw@comcast.net

Big Blue Apartment 304.685.3146, bigblueapt.com Blue Sky Realty 304.292.7990, blueskywv.com

• Floor plans ranging from studios to three bedrooms

Bon Vista 304.599.1880, morgantownapartments.com

• State-of-the-art fitness center

Bossio Rentals 304.292.7233, bossioent.com

• Yoga room • Sauna

State on Campus Morgantown 331 Beechurst Avenue

• Over-sized hot tub • Business center and clubhouse • Starting at $740/month and leases by the bed

304.291.4250 | stateoncampus.com

Brunswick Apartments 304.291.2787, cormorantco.com The Cabanas 304.599.1998, thecabanas.net Campus Evolution Villages 304.599.8200, cevillages.com Campus View Apartments 304.599.4376, campusview.net Cedarstone/Fountainview 304.599.4959, wvurent.com

• 1 to 4 bedroom apartments • 2 to 6 bedroom houses • Dozens of properties • Amenities vary per property • Prices range; check website for prices and availability

Pearand Corporation Office: 74 Kingwood Street, Suite A 304.292.7171 | pearandcorporation.com

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MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

• Three leasing agents, all licensed Realtors.

• Shawn Kelly, Broker Russ Randolph and Kenny Charmatz, leasing agents

Chateau Royale Apartments 304.599.7474, chateauroyaleapartments.com Chess Townhomes 304.494.2400, chesstownhomes.com Chestnut Hill/Colonial Park 304.599.8333, goldcrestproperties.com Clear View Rentals 304.319.0830, clearview-rentals.com College Park 304.293.5840, collegepark.wvu.edu Collins Ferry Court 304.692.7086, halfknights.com

THE U: SPONSORED CONTENT

Copper Beech Townhomes 304.292.7970 cbeech.com/morgantown.htm C & S Rentals 304.216.2150 The Dayton/View At the Park 304.284.0122, phoenixgroupwv.com Domain at Town Centre 304-598-0700, domainmorgantown.com Eldred Apartments 304.282.5543 Forest Hills Apartments 304.599.1998, foresthillsapts.net Fourth Street/Morgan Pointe 304.598.2424, me-apts.com Fountainview 304.599.4959 Georgetown Apartments 304.599.2031, georgetownapartmentsmorgantown.com Gilmore Street Apartments 304.767.0765 Giuliani Properties 304.288.3308, giuliani-properties.com Green Properties 304.216.3402 Harless Center at Central Place 304.292.4061 Hartman Rentals 304.291.2729, hartmanrentals.net Hopewell Properties 304.698.5674 HTM/Double G Properties 304.685.1138, htmproperties.com Hymark Properties 304.319.1243, hymarkproperties.com Infinity Properties 304.225.7777, infinityproperties.com Inglewood Properties 304.599.4502 Kelly Rentals 304.291.5100, kellyrentalwv.com Kingdom Properties 304.292.9600, kingdomrentals.com Lenhart Properties 412.980.0865 The Lofts 304.598.0001, theloftsonline.com Mel Friend Apartments 304.296.7121, friendrentals.com

Metro Property Management 304.413.0900, metropropertymgmt.net

Seldar Properties 304.599.2300, seldarproperties.org

MJM Rentals, LLC 304.376.273,0 mjmrentals.com

Smith Rentals LLC 304.322.1112, smithrentalsllc.com

Morgantown Rentals 304.685.3537, morgantownrentals.net

South East Court 304.598.9002, southeastcourt.com

Mountaineer Court 304.598.2560, mountaineercourt.com

Stadium Court 304.594.9295

Mountaineer Place 304.906.4173, mountaineerplace.com

Street’s Apartments 304.599.3640

Mountain Valley Apartments 304.599.6827, liveatmountainvalley.com

Tera, LLC 304.296.8943, rentalswv.com

Old Colony 304.291.2121, oldcolony.com

Terrace Heights Apartments 304.292.8888

Ondo Rentals 304.599.8329, ondorentals.com

Timberline Apartments 304.599.1225, vanguardrealty.com

Park Properties, LLC 304.296.8943

UClub Sunnyside 304.759.8311, uclubsunnyside.com

Perilli Apartments 304.296.7476, perilliapartments.com

University Commons Riverside 540.974.7371, ucrhoa.com

Pierpont Place 304.598.0092, pierpont-place.com

University Hill Apartments 304.282.7872

Pineview Apartments 304.599.0850, alleghenydevelopment.com

University Park 304.293.7275, universitypark.wvu.edu

Pinnacle Heights Apartments 304.692.6694

University Place 304.293.2253, uplace.wvu.edu

Pinnacle Property Management 304.376.2730

University Student Apartment Management 304.241.4449

Prete Rentals 304.599.4407, jdlmpllc.com

Vandalia Apartments 304.293.0543, vandaliaapartments.wvu.edu

PRU Rentals, Inc. 304.291.2103, pru-morgantownrentals.com Rachel Rentals 304.599.1306 Ralph Pell 304.288.8510 RD Rentals 304.599.1358 RE/MAX Property Management 304.292.3900 Richwood Properties 304.291.2616, richwoodproperties.com Rice Rentals 304.598.7368, ricerentals.com The Ridge 304.599.8949, ridgewv.com Rystan Place 304.460.1700, alexandrarentals.com Scott Properties 304.296.7400, scottpropertiesllc.com

The Villas at Bon Vista 304.599.1884, morgantownapartments.com West Greene Townhomes 304.599.1157 West Run Apartments 304.599.1907, westrunapartments.com Whipkey Apartments 304.594.2728 Wilkins Rentals 304.292.5714 WinCor Properties, LLC, 304.292.0400, wincorproperties.com Windwood Place 304.599.3165, windwood-homes.com Woodburn Rentals 304.216.1650, woodburnrentals.com Wubbie/Downtown Apartments 304.322.0046, motownapts.com

MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

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ACROSS COUNTY LINES

Worth the Commute

While Morgantown offers an active lifestyle, a lively downtown, and an exciting arts culture, towns nearby have a lot going for them, too. Here’s some of what residents love about our neighboring communities. written by pam kasey

Bridgeport Median home listing price $250,000 in March 2018 Distance from Morgantown About 40 minutes

FAVORITE EATS Almost Heaven Desserts almostheavendesserts.com Mia Margherita miamargherita.com Provence Market Cafe provencemarketcafe.com

LANDMARKS Bowstring Bridge, North Virginia Avenue at Simpson Creek

RECREATION Bridgeport City Park 515 Johnson Avenue Pete Dye Golf Club petedye.com Plan a visit greater-bridgeport.com

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MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

Bridgeport is a small city with a dynamic economy. Neither a county seat nor a historic industrial center, it has emerged as a hub for professionals and new development.

Located on the interstate central to the region’s active oil and gas fields and home to the longest runway in the state, Bridgeport has long been a natural site for energy company headquarters. Other major employers in town include health care, with United Hospital Center located right on the interstate; information technology at the nearby FBI, NASA, and other high-tech facilities; and aerospace and aviation at the Mid-Atlantic Aerospace Complex at the North Central West Virginia Airport.

In recent years, Bridgeport has become known for high-end office space, eclectic dining, and a wide range of interstate lodging options. It also knows how to have a good time. Opened in 2012 and busy all summer long, the Bridgeport Recreation Complex offers four lighted baseball fields with scoreboards and bleacher seating, a concession stand and press box, a basketball court, and other facilities. The Bridgeport Farmers Market, held weekly in the warmer months and monthly through the winter, may be the largest and liveliest in the state with local produce, meat and eggs, honey, syrup, and baked goods as well as fresh flowers and live plants, many artisans, and food and beverage vendors.

With its location on the interstate and its regularly scheduled flights to Chicago, Washington, D.C., and other locations, Bridgeport is well-connected with the region and beyond.

COURTESY OF GREATER BRIDGEPORT CVB; ELIZABETH FORD; CARLA WITT FORD (2); COURTESY OF GREATER BRIDGEPORT CVB

Population: 8,400

ACROSS COUNTY LINES

Fairmont Median home listing price $150,000 in March 2018 Distance from Morgantown About a half hour

NIKKI BOWMAN (4); CARLA WITT FORD (2)

Population 18,600 Fairmont lies where the Tygart Valley and West Fork rivers flow together to form the Monongahela. Its name reflects its fair, high view of the rivers, and its place at a confluence means bridges and river views are a pleasant aspect of the everyday landscape.

Fairmont has an illustrious coal, railroad, and river transport history. Its historic downtown is almost entirely intact, making for a town center with a lot of personality. The decline of coal hurt the economy in the latter part of the 20th century. But as the seat of Marion County and home to Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community and Technical College, the city has an educated population and, in recent decades, it’s found ways to diversify its economy. Technology plays a strong role: The city is home today to the NASA Independent Verification and Validation facility, the FBI’s National White Collar Crime Center, and the High Technology Foundation.

Downtown Fairmont hosts popular diner, cafe, and craft beer establishments. North central West Virginia’s Italian heritage thrives here: the Country Club Bakery is said to have invented the pepperoni roll, and you will find some of the area’s best-loved Italian restaurants here along with the Feast of the Seven Fishes street festival celebrating Italian Christmas Eve tradition. In summer, children play at the wave pool, and events organized by the active parks agency take place nearly every weekend—primary among them, the late-May Three Rivers Festival at Palatine Park on the Monongahela River.

With six interstate exits, every part of Fairmont is convenient not only to Morgantown and points north but also to Clarksburg and Bridgeport shopping, the regional North Central West Virginia Airport, and the state capital of Charleston.

FAVORITE EATS Colasessano’s, colasessanos.com Little Red Hen Bakery @thehenbakes on Facebook Muriale’s Italian Kitchen murialesrestaurant.com

LANDMARKS Pricketts Fort State Park prickettsfort.org Robert H. Mollohan “Million Dollar” Bridge, Jefferson Street

RECREATION Coal Country Miniature Golf coalcountrywv.com Palatine Park, mcparc.com Wave Pool, mcparc.com Plan a visit, marioncvb.com

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ACROSS COUNTY LINES

The Fifth Floor @thefifthfloorwv on Facebook

Distance from Morgantown About 45 minutes

LANDMARKS

Population: 16,000

Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson Statue courthouse plaza, Main Street West Virginia Civilian Conservation Corps Museum wva-ccc-legacy.org

RECREATION AND ENTERTAINMENT Veterans’ Memorial Park cityparksofclarksburg.com Vintage Theatre Company vintagetheatre-wv.com Plan a visit clarksburgvisitorswv.com

MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

Median home listing price $118,500 in March 2018

Julio’s Cafe @julioscafewv on Facebook

Downtown Historic District West Main and West Pike streets

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Clarksburg A small city that keeps tradition alive, Clarksburg offers affordability centered on a historic downtown.

The seat of Harrison County, Clarksburg came to be as a transportation center. It was a stop on the Northwestern Turnpike between Winchester, Virginia, and what became Parkersburg on the Ohio River.

The B&O Railroad arrived in the mid-19th century, and remnants of the city’s railroad and industrial coal and glass history can still be seen.

Industrialization brought immigrants, and the city’s rich heritage includes Belgian, Irish, Spanish, and Greek influences—the June Greek Food Festival is a hit every year. But the largest influence, and the one felt most by far today, is Italian. Family-owned Italian bakeries and restaurants are found all over town. Glen Elk Village is an Italian enclave and dining destination, and the city hosts the regionally popular West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival every Labor Day weekend.

A hub for media and communications, Clarksburg is home to two television and six radio stations and an independent daily newspaper. Health care is a major employer, with Highland-Clarksburg behavioral and mental health hospital and the Louis A. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center located here. The FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services division houses the agency’s criminal fingerprint repository and other databases as well as research into biometric identification technologies conducted jointly with the Department of Defense.

For downtime, some of the most concentrated shopping in the region is located along Emily Drive, on I-79. Parks and playgrounds are found all over town, and a riverside walking trail is popular yearround. A 2,000-seat outdoor amphitheater hosts live music and free movie nights throughout the warm seasons. Vintage Theatre Company produces improv, Shakespeare, and other performances, and downtown’s 1913 theater re-opens in 2018 as the fully refurbished Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center.

LAURA WILCOX ROTE; CARLA WITT FORD (4)

FAVORITE EATS

OUT & ABOUT IN THE MOUNTAIN CITY

FEB 21 • 123 PLEASANT STREET

The 2018 Best of Morgantown Awards Party

1

2 3

COURTESY OF BOM WINNERS, VIA PHOTO BOOTH BY AMBERLEE CHRISTEY PHOTOGRAPHY; 5 AND 6 JULIAN WYANT

4

Our 7th year of BOM was the biggest yet! We celebrated BOM winners in 101 categories this year at our February 21 Best of Morgantown party. Davisson Brothers Band, voted Best Band yet again by readers of Morgantown magazine, treated attendees to a performance at Best Music Venue 123 Pleasant Street. The crowd enjoyed eats from BOM winners and party sponsors Ali Baba Restaurant, Atomic Grill, Black Bear Burritos, The Cupcakerie, Oliverio’s Ristorante, Pizza Al’s, Tailpipes, and Tropics Restaurant and Bar. Jaime “Just Jaime” Ames, personality on Best Radio Station WVAQ, awarded plaques to winners. So much fun, we’re already looking forward to next year.

5 6

1 Rilley Lydon and Josh Graham goof around. 2 Exotic Jungle folks have a good time being themselves. 3 Mountaineer Zone owners Mudassar, Sheraz, and Lisa Ahmad have fun with the props. 4 Atomic Grill crew cheese away. 5 Jaime Ames honors winners and entertains the crowd.

6 Davisson Brothers Band treat guests to a performance.

7 Contemporary Consignment owner Hallie Waugaman and guest smile for the camera.

7 MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

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JIMMY FONTAINE

Your local guide to life, art, culture, & more DEC/JAN 2013

April APRIL 3 Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella WVU Creative Arts Center, 1 Fine Arts Drive Tues. 7:30 p.m., 304.293.7469, events.wvu.edu This lush production features an incredible orchestra, jaw-dropping transformations, and all the moments you love—the pumpkin, the glass slipper, the masked ball, and more—plus some surprising new twists. Be transported back to your childhood as you rediscover some of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most beloved songs in this hilarious and romantic Broadway experience.

APRIL 7 Handmade Market for Trail Opening Day Terra Cafe, 425 Industrial Avenue Sat. 10 a.m.–3 p.m.

Enjoy shopping for hand-crafted jewelry, art, pottery and other local artisan products on Terra’s outdoor patio. 10 percent of artisan sales will benefit the Mon River Trail Conservancy and the rail-trails. Join trail users for a two-mile walk starting at Terra at 10:30. Free Morgantown Farmers Market Wesley United Methodist Church Gymnasium 503 North High Street, Sat. 11 a.m.–1 p.m. morgantownfarmersmarket.org Latin Festival Garcia’s Grill at the Cue, 222 High Street, Sat. 1–5 p.m., “Garcia’s Grill at the Cue” on Facebook Live salsa band SabroSon, DJ Gary Laruta, dance lessons, face painting, piñatas, raffle 60

MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

APRIL 7 Straight No Chaser Back by popular demand. If the phrase “male a cappella group” conjures up an image of students in blue blazers, ties, and khakis singing traditional college songs on ivied campuses, think again. Straight No Chaser are neither straight-laced nor straight-faced, but neither are they vaudeville-style kitsch. $49 WVU Creative Arts Center, Sat. 7:30 p.m., events.wvu.edu

drawings, and more. The event is a fundraiser for the WVU Latin Dance Club and the WVU Culturas Club. Adults $5, 10 and under $3

housewares from Turkey—and, for the first time, Turkish towels. $1 admission fee benefits Empty Bowls Monongalia.

APRIL 9–10

APRIL 10

Bridges Without Boundaries North Central West Virginia Business Summit I-79 Technology Park, Fairmont, Mon. 5:30–7:30 p.m., Tues. 8 a.m.– 2 p.m. morgantownchamber.org A regional business summit focusing on regional housing needs, transportation and infrastructure, and the future of north central West Virginia. Keynote speakers include Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Mayor Bill Peduto; Don Williams, district engineer of the West Virginia Department of Transportation; and WVU Energy Institute Director Brian Anderson. Fees vary; register online.

APRIL 9–12 Linda Hall’s Turkish Bazaar Euro-Suites Hotel, 501 Chestnut Ridge Road Mon.–Thurs. 11 a.m.–7 p.m.

Authentic pearls, ghems, jewelry, scarves and

The Layers of a Garden West Virginia Botanic Garden, 1061 Tyrone Road, Tues. 7 p.m., wvbg.org Armchair travel with WVBG Executive Director Bill Mills to the many gardens he has designed or travelled to. Discussion will focus on the seasonal sequence of these gardens and the many layers of flowers and foliage that make for a rich garden palette. WVBG members $20, non-members $30 APRIL 11–13 Igniting Investments for our Future Marriott Waterfront Place, 304.293.8680 Wed. 12:30–7 p.m., Thurs. 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.

Fri. 8:15 a.m.–1:30 p.m., extension.wvu.edu The Community Leadership Academy helps emerging and established leaders develop their leadership skills. This year’s keynote speaker is Devine Carama from Believing in Forever, Inc.

MAY 4–5

24th annual Cheat River Festival Live

COURTESY OF FRIENDS OF CHEAT

music, art market, nonprofit tents, silent auction, food and merchandise vendors. Cheat Fest advances Friends of the Cheat’s watershed projects.

Presale online $5 for Friday, $15 for Saturday; at the gate, $10 Friday, $20 Saturday.

Kids under 12 free

Albright, Fri. 5–10:30 p.m.

Sat. 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. cheatfest.org

APRIL 19 Appalachian Global Dinner Series: 8th annual Keiseki Hill & Hollow, 709 Beechurst Avenue, Thurs.

304.241.4551, hillandhollowwv.com @hillandhollowwv on Facebook Formal Japanese multi-course meal prepared in an Appalachian–Japanese Fusion. One seating.

APRIL 20 Young at Art: Drone’s Eye View Spark! Imagination and Science Center Mountaineer Mall, Fri. 4–7 p.m.

304.292.4646, sparkwv.org Visitors will create map-like art using images taken from satellites. Museum exhibits will also be open for exploration. Adults $2, children $6, under 12 months free Board Game Night Apothecary Ale House and Café, Fri. 5:30– 8 p.m., @generationmorgantown on Facebook Bring Your Own Game to Generation Morgantown's first ever Game Night. Join your fellow young professionals in playing some of the board games everyone grew up on.

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APRIL 12–15 Superheroes & Supervillains M.T. Pockets Theatre, 203 Parsons Street, Thurs.–Sat. 7 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. mtpocketstheatre.com This season the M.T. Pockets Theatre Youth Theatre Program will be exploring character development and the elements of story building with Superheroes and Supervillains – Write Your Own Adventure. Adults $15, senior/military $13, students $10 APRIL 13 Young at Art: Fresco Spark! Imagination and Science Center Mountaineer Mall, Fri. 4–7 p.m.

304.292.4646, sparkwv.org Visitors will create a fresco-like artwork.

Museum exhibits will also be open for exploration. Adults $2, children $6, under 12 months free Northern Lights WVU Creative Arts Center, 1 Fine Arts Drive Fri. 7:30 p.m., wvsymphony.org Enjoy a performance of Brahms’ “Academic Festival Overture,” Strauss’ Horn Concerto No. 2 with Erik Ralske on French horn, and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5. Free with WVU ID, $10 off for West Virginia residents APRIL 13–14 April Dinner Modern Homestead, Reedsville Sat.–Sun. 5–8 p.m., mymodernhomestead.com Enjoy this monthly dinner based on new and classic cookbooks available at Modern Homestead. The menu is thoughtfully planned with local, seasonal ingredients. The April

dinner will include the homestead salad, turkey lasagna, and rhubarb crumble cake for dessert.

Vegetarian options available upon request.

Adults $40, kids 12 and under $15.

APRIL 14 Touch a Truck: Mighty Machines and More Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum WVU Mineral Resources Building Room 125 Sat. 10 a.m.–2 p.m., 304.293.5708 wattsmuseum.wvu.edu Children can explore heavy machinery and meet the people who operate these machines and learn what these machines can do.

West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival WVU Creative Arts Center, Sat. mountaineershortfilmfest.org The West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival celebrates exceptional, compelling, and innovative works in film, experimental video, and animation. Its primary mission is to foster creative approaches to these genres and to expose West Virginia University students and the Morgantown community to the world of independent filmmaking and video art.

WVU Baseball vs. Oklahoma State Monongalia County Ballpark, 2040 Gyorko Drive, Sat. 4 p.m., wvusports.com Watch as the Mountaineers take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Old Time Dance Marilla Center, East Brockway Avenue, Sat. 8–10:30 p.m., morgantowndance.com Learn traditional old time West Virginia dance with Mary Alice Milnes to the music of Gerry Milnes and friends. Suitable for all levels of experience. $3 to $10

Earth Day Walk West Virginia Botanic Garden 1061 Tyrone Road, Sat. 10 a.m., wvbg.org Hike some of Executive Director Bill Mills’ favorite places in the garden on the day before Earth Day. Explore from the Welcome Center, over the boardwalk, into the Rhododendron and Hemlock forest, then ending with the Reservoir Loop. Free Second annual Morgantown Housing Fair Morgantown Mall, Sat. 10 a.m.–3 p.m.

304.376.8823, ralfetty@yahoo.com Looking to rent or buy? Come to the housing fair to talk with landlords, realtors, lenders, and others who can help. Children’s activities, too. Free Chocolate Lovers’ Day Downtown Morgantown, High Street, Sat. 11 a.m.–3 p.m., downtownmorgantown.com Rain or shine, Main Street Morgantown will host the 19th Annual Chocolate Lovers’ Day. This one-day extravaganza invites the public to indulge in an array of chocolate creations.

Adults $5, children 5 and under free West Virginia Bites & Brews WV National Guard Morgantown Readiness Center, 90 Army Band Way, Sat. 5–9 p.m. sparkwv.yapsody.com Enjoy local craft beers, tasty foods, and great music at the 3rd Annual West Virginia Bites & Brews. The event will feature breweries, food trucks, live music, raffles, and a LEGO building competition. Proceeds benefit the Spark!

Imagination and Science Center. 21 and older $35, designated drivers $12 12th annual Friends of Deckers Creek Spring Meltdown Morgantown Brewing Company, 1291 University Avenue, Sat. 6 p.m.–midnight deckerscreek.org/events MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

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Family-friendly, live music, silent and live auctions—visit website for a list of items.

Fundraiser benefits efforts to clean and protect Deckers Creek. Free APRIL 21 Morgantown Farmers Market Wesley United Methodist Church Gymnasium 503 North High Street, Sat. 11 a.m.–1 p.m. morgantownfarmersmarket.org APRIL 22 Willie Watson with Maria Allison 123 Pleasant Street, 123 Pleasant Street, Sun. 7 p.m., 304.292.0800, 123pleasantstreet.com Formerly with Old Crow Medicine Show, Watson is the real deal. $12 / $15 day-of APRIL 23–28

COURTESY OF BLUE AND GRAY REUNION

Appalachian Global Dinner Series: Ramp-a-Rama Hill & Hollow, 709 Beechurst Avenue, Mon.–Sat. 304.241.4551, hillandhollowwv.com @hillandhollowwv on Facebook All ramp menu, all week long.

APRIL 25–MAY 5 Early Voting for the May 8 Primary Election Four locations countywide, Mon. 9 a.m.– 7 p.m., Tues.–Sat. 9 a.m.–5 p.m. monongaliacountyclerk.com Mountaineer Mall, 5000 Green Bag Road; WVU Alumni Center, 1 Alumni Drive; Westover Community Building, 399 Crowl Street, Westover; Mason-Dixon Historical Park, 79 Buckeye Road, Core. Register by April 17. Valid ID now required.

APRIL 26 Murder at the Grand Speakeasy Morgantown Brewing Co., 1291 University Avenue, Thurs. 6–9 p.m., 304.292.6959 morgan@morgantownbrewing.com, “1920s Murder Mystery Beer Pairing Dinner” on Facebook It’s the height of Prohibition in 1920s Chicago, and there’s a mob war brewing between the South Side Gangsters and the Northern Chicago Mob Outfit. Will they resolve their disputes? Or will a melee erupt? $40 APRIL 27 Young at Art: Tessellations Spark! Imagination and Science Center Mountaineer Mall, Fri. 4–7 p.m.

304.292.4646, sparkwv.org Make a tessellation, a geometric that repeats without overlapping or leaving negative space between repetitions. Adults $2, children $6 APRIL 28 & 29 Mason-Dixon Ramp Festival Sat. & Sun. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. masondixonpark.net/ramp.html Ramp-seasoned and other hearty homemade foods, local crafters, blacksmith, chainsaw carving, live music. Free 62

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MAY 31–JUNE 3 WORTH THE DRIVE Blue and Gray Reunion Sutlers and craft tents, a parade, encampments for reenactors from both sides of the war, artillery and small arms demonstrations, a choir concert, Civil War Ball, and of course, a re-enactment of the 1861 first land battle of the Civil War. Philippi, Thurs.–Sun., blueandgrayreunion.org

May MAY 4 Young at Art: Brusho Batik Spark! Imagination and Science Center Mountaineer Mall, Fri. 4–7 p.m.

304.292.4646, sparkwv.org Visitors will create distinctive batik masterpieces on paper using ink crystals and simple resist. Museum exhibits will also be open for exploration. Adults $2, children $6, under 12 months free MAY 5 Morgantown Farmers Market 415 Spruce Street, Sat. 8:30 a.m.–noon morgantownfarmersmarket.org It’s the start of the summer farmers’ market at the Morgantown Market Place. Stock up on locally grown produce, eggs, meats, cheeses, baked goods, and so much more. Markets take place every Saturday morning through October.

Mohigan Strawberry 5K Run/Walk Morgantown Marriott, 2 Waterfront Place, Sat. 10 a.m.–noon, “Mohigan Strawberry 5K Run/ Walk” on Facebook This 5K run/walk benefits Morgantown High School academics. Registration is from 8:30–9:30 a.m. the morning of the event. $20 to $25.

WV Irish Road Bowling Coopers Rock State Forest, Bruceton Mills, Sat. 1 p.m., wvirishroadbowling.com The ancient sport of Irish Road Bowling has been played on rural Irish country roads for more than 300 years. Now it is being played in the green hills and valleys of WV. Enjoy the pleasure of an afternoon walk with your friends and family and at the same time enjoy some friendly competition with an easy to learn sport. $5 per team 22nd annual Sweets for the Sweet Erickson Alumni Center, Sat. 7–11 p.m. caritashouse.com Hosted by Caritas House, the Sweets for the Sweet dessert competition features a variety of desserts from local restaurants. All proceeds go to Caritas House in support of serving West

Virginians battling HIV/AIDS, individuals in recovery, and those experiencing homelessness.

Advanced tickets $25, at the door $30 MAY 6 Spring Spectacular Bonus Bike Ride Wharf District Parking Garage, 40 Clay Street Sun. 9 a.m.–2 p.m., crcyclists.org Enjoy either a 21 mile rail-trail ride or a challenging 60 mile road ride over the hills of West Virginia. A helmet and a signed waiver are required. Both rides are free.

MAY 8

COURTESY OF WEST VIRGINIA BLACK BEARS

Election Day Tues., monongaliacountyclerk.org Check website for your polling place.

Valid ID now required.

MAY 9 WVU Baseball vs. Virginia Tech Monongalia County Ballpark, 2040 Gyorko Drive, Wed. 6:30 p.m., wvusports.com MAY 11 Young at Art: Lichtenstein Spark! Imagination and Science Center Mountaineer Mall, Fri. 4–7 p.m.

304.292.4646, sparkwv.org Visitors will graphic and colorful pieces with a nod to pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. Museum exhibits will also be open for exploration. Adults $2, children $6, under 12 months free MAY 11–12, 17–20 On Golden Pond M.T. Pockets Theatre, 203 Parsons Street, Thurs.–Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. mtpocketstheatre.com The classic American dramedy that’s every bit as touching, warm, and witty today as when it debuted on Broadway in 1979. The turbulent relationship between father and daughter, the generation gap between young and old, and the difficulties facing a couple in the twilight years of a long marriage all combine in a play that gives us unique insight into the modern American family. Adults $15, senior/military $13, students $10, children $7 MAY 12 Hometown Show 123 Pleasant Street, 123 Pleasant Street, Sat. 9 p.m., 304.292.0800, 123pleasantstreet.com J. Marinelli, GoodWolf, The Furr. $5 MAY 19 Bird banding walk Prickett’s Fort State Park, 106 Overfort Lane Fairmont, Sat. 8 a.m.–1 p.m., prickettsfort.org Enjoy the sounds of spring as one of West Virginia’s premier birders points out the many species of birds and waterfowl Pricketts Fort State Park has to offer. Joey Herron will get you up close as he bands birds during your visit. Wear NEARBY

JUNE 21–23 WV Black Bears vs. State College Spikes Cheer our very own West Virginia Black Bears on as they kick off their 2018 Minor League Baseball season. $8.50–$12.50 Monongalia County Ballpark, 2040 Gyorko Drive, Granville, Thurs.–Sat. 7:05 p.m., 304.293.7910, westvirginiablackbears.com sturdy walking shoes and bring binoculars or camera. Free Appalachian Global Dinner Series: Poultry in Motion Hill & Hollow, Seneca Center, 709 Beechurst Avenue, Sat., 304.241.4551, hillandhollowwv.com @hillandhollowwv on Facebook The food songs of Hasil Adkins and Daniel Johnston paired with spring lagers.

MAY 24–26 NEARBY West Virginia Three Rivers Festival Palatine Park, Fairmont, Thurs.–Sat. @wvthreeriversfestival on Facebook Grand feature parade, pepperoni roll bakeoff and eating competition, carnival rides and games, live entertainment nightly, and fireworks, all at the head of the Mon River.

Upcoming JUNE 2 Deckers Creek Trail Half Marathon Deckers Creek Trail, Masontown, Sat. 8:30 a.m., montrails.org Run 13.1 miles on a mostly downhill course that descends about 800 feet from the starting point in Masontown to the finish line in downtown

Morgantown. Bus shuttle to start, course and finish line photos, chip timing, great finish line food, live music, unique awards. $60–$65 JUNE 2–3 Old Morgantown Glass Show and Sale VFW Post, 340 Holland Avenue, Westover Sat. 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

412.217.2083.

Don’t miss this annual show and sale of Morgantown-made glass. Collectors’ seminars. $5 JUNE 9 NEARBY Park Concert Series: Allegheny Reign Mason-Dixon Historical Park, 79 Buckeye Road Core, masondixonhistoricalpark.com Bring a blanket and a chair and sit back and enjoy some bluegrass at the amphitheater at the park. Adults $5, kids under 12 free

Submit your event!

Send your events to place in our calendar to morgantown@ newsouthmediainc.com with the subject line “calendar.”

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THEN & NOW

The inauguration of WVU president John Roscoe Turner in 1928 was the first event to take place in WVU’s brand new Mountaineer Field House.

The Field House was sidelined in 1970. Now known as Stansbury Hall, it’s about to be retired permanently.

FOR MORE PHOTOS

of Morgantown’s past, check out wvhistoryonview.org

Soon to be Retired Opened in 1929, Mountaineer Field House came about due largely to the efforts of Harry Stansbury, WVU athletic director from 1916 to 1938 and a powerful force shaping the university’s athletic programs. He raised money to build Mountaineer Field in 1924, then lobbied the state Legislature for funds to complete the Field House. It was the most modern athletic arena in the region when it opened.

The Field House holds a special place in the hearts of thousands as the home floor for basketball greats Rodney Clark “Hot Rod” Hundley 1954–57, Jerry West 1957–60, and other stars of the 1940s, ’50s, and ’60s. Mountaineer basketball was played here until the WVU Coliseum opened in 1970. WVU written by pam kasey 64

MORGANTOWN • APR/MAY 2018

renamed the Field House Stansbury Hall in 1973, and it now houses philosophy, statistics, and the Army and Air Force ROTC. Stansbury Hall’s days appear to be numbered. It occupies a large plot of primest WVU real estate: just beside downtown and the downtown campus, at a stop on the PRT, with long river and Caperton rail-trail frontage. WVU is considering the site for a new Business and Economics building, possibly in combination with housing, retail, and a recreation center.

Then & Now is published in partnership with WVU Libraries’ West Virginia & Regional History Center. wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu

| photographed by julian

wyant