Morgantown August/September 2019 by Morgantown Magazine

Release your inner kid at

WVPOPCON

GOING 3-D

Students on the loose making

LIVE JAZZ

Public sculpture coming our way

STUDENT S U RV I VA L G U I D E 2019 2020

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF WVU AND MORGANTOWN

GETTING THE STADIUM READY FOR PRIME TIME CREATING ENTREPRENEURS

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volume 8

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issue 6

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f you’re just getting back to town for the school year, here’s your catch-up: Remember that proposal the city made in the spring to loop its boundary around a lot more land? It’s been getting pushback from residents and business owners in the targeted areas. You’re back in plenty of time to say your piece. The mechanism the city proposes to use is called a “minor boundary adjustment” in state law. That doesn’t reflect the scale of it: It would increase the city’s • footprint by a third; • population by more than a third; and • revenues, through taxes and fees, by something like a sixth. Opponents say they’re happy with the police, fire, and other services the county provides. And they take issue with the way the city manages existing problems and revenues. Point taken. Morgantown does struggle to find a solution for its homeless and addicted. It does need more and better sidewalks. It does have a legacy unfunded pension liability. But how do we square the complaints with the fact that the area is attracting people, steadily and fast? The population of Monongalia County is up 30 percent just since the turn of the millennium, and reason tells us that most of those 25,000 people moved here, to the metro center. 6

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Morgantown is growing, no way around it. What’s the solution? Should a growing city maintain is footprint forever? Should it annex around people who have chosen to buy near and not in it, grandfathering their properties’ lower-tax status? Those paths just don’t make sense. A responsible city administration has to take demographic trends into account and plan accordingly. People who buy or set up shop adjacent to cities that, on balance, are getting things right are reasonably at risk of being annexed. Ultimately, this public dialog may be useful only as a dry run for a future annexation attempt. The way a minor boundary adjustment progresses is for the county commission to vote on whether it’s in the public interest or not. From what I understand, the city hasn’t garnered the two of three votes it would need—it may in fact have none. The city has not announced a timeline for finalizing its proposal, and the dialog continues. You can still get up to speed— search “annexation” at morgantown. gov to review the city’s documentation and visit @f.a.i.r.inc.morgantownwv on Facebook to see the opposing arguments. If this proposal fails, maybe it has pointed the way to what’s really needed: a collaborative metro–county plan for Morgantown, Westover, Star City, Granville, and Monongalia County together. Embrace change —

PA M K ASEY,

Editor

INTERN JACKPOT!

New South Media hit it this summer with four great interns. They’ve gotten experience in everything from photography to social media to advertising, and we’ve loved their creative contributions.

Savannah Carr is a Mabie, West Virginia, native pursuing a degree in English with an emphasis in professional writing and editing. She will graduate in December 2019. Meanwhile, she’ll continue her internship and also join us on staff part-time as web and social media manager. Welcome, Savannah! Jenny Corona was raised in Wheeling, West Virginia, and New York City. She’s studying interactive design for media and practices photography, music, and illustration in her spare time. Her internship continues through the fall semester. Kayse Ellis is a Charleston, West Virginia, native studying journalism with minors in strategic social media and professional writing. After graduating, she hopes to continue her modeling career in New York while maintaining a blog about fashion, health, and travel. From Baltimore, Maryland, and Hampshire County, West Virginia, Nicole Wills has a degree in communications and advertising from WVU. She’s passionate about hospitality and tourism, and she loves live music and exploring the outdoors with her dog, Harley.

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MORGANTOWN â&#x20AC;¢ AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

In This Issue

COURTESY OF LUKE ACHTERBERG

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

51 Learning the Business

Student Hands Over Survival Guide Matter

How ideas become reality at WVUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s LaunchLab.

From freshman to senior, start your semester off on the right foot.

WVU art students are sculpting their own futures.

MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

In This Issue Departments

This Matters

6 Editor’s Note

14 Shop This Find everything you’re looking for and more at Street’s in Masontown.

26 Dish it Out Meet the family that put Buffalo wings on the menu in Morgantown.

15 Do This Check out what the Morgantown Public Library has to offer, right from your phone.

45 The U Prepping for the big game starts long before kick-off. 61 Calendar

16 Try This Comics, superheroes, video games—oh my!

17 Who’s This Welcome a new face to the Mountaineer field this football season. 18 Hear This Jazz provides the perfect soundtrack for late summer nights. 19 Love This A group at WVU is working to dish out justice, and food, for all. 19 Eat This Rachael McGee’s confectionery creations taste sweet as honey. 20 Read This A review of the West Virginian authors featured in Mountains Piled Upon Mountains.

64 Then & Now

20 Pick This Fresh apples close to home. 21 Try This Spin up a sweat at these unique Morgantown cycling classes. 22 Support This We’re a small fundraising effort away from a new oasis just south of town. 24 This Mattered To … An appreciation for the namesake of Stansbury Hall.

26 ON THE COVER Our whimsical illustrations for this issue thanks to incoming Shepherd University freshman Abby Bowman.

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

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MORGANTOWN â&#x20AC;¢ AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

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

Welcome to Morgantown! More than 2,000 international students attend WVU each year. In 2018–19, they came from a record 115 countries. International students bring us fresh ideas, interesting customs, and the liveliest restaurant scene anywhere around. We’re glad to have you!

BANGLADESH JAPAN IRAN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES NIGERIA OMAN INDIA PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

SAUDI ARABIA KUWAIT

100

200

Number of Students WVU received a 2019 Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization, one of just five colleges and universities recognized.

300

WVU maintains Global Portals in Riffa, Bahrain, and Shanghai, China, and is preparing to develop a third in South America.

400

500

40 WVU students are currently working to earn Global Mountaineers Certificates documenting their intercultural competency. MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

THIS MATTERS

SHOPTHIS

huge windows facing the road. They’re smaller today, but still display goods for sale inside. Street always knew he wanted to work in the family business, even when he was little and his father, Dennis, ran things. “I had no use for school—I just wanted to work and work.” He’s helped in the store “since I could stock the candy,” he says. When he got a bit older, he moved on to bagging groceries. Today, the Street’s operation sprawls across 12 buildings, and Roger Street and his brother, Dave, run the business with the help of their wives, sons, and daughters-in-law. In the main shop, walk down the stairs from the grocery section toward the hardware department to see historical photographs, including one of Frank Street and his wife standing in front of their Ford showroom. Continue walking down the steps to see pages of Street’s calendars going back as far as 1937. The store still sells Street’s calendars, continuing a decades-old tradition. That lower level of the main shop offers hardware, paints, plumbing supplies, and more. Street’s has been an Ace Hardware franchise since 1974. Hardware is one of Roger Street’s favorite

Street’s Has It All This Preston County superstore is fourth-generation family-run. ➼ “WE CAN BUILD YOUR HOUSE, we can furnish your house, and we can sell you a gun to protect your house,” says Phyllis Hamrick. She’s an employee of Street’s store in Masontown, and she’s not exaggerating. From lumber and appliances to fishing gear and school supplies—and porch furniture, and groceries, and toys—this one-stop shop has it all. In an age when big box stores have replaced local businesses everywhere, Street’s has served Masontown and surrounding Preston and Monongalia counties for well over a century— including customers who make the halfhour drive from Morgantown. Building a superstore Back in the 1800s, the farmers in Preston County needed a local store, says Roger Street. His great-grandfather, Frank L. Street, was one of those farmers. “They thought he could do good at it and helped him get started.” 14

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

That was 1898. Street’s was a feed store, at first. After a while, the Street family started buying lumber from sawmills on Bull Run and Herring Road in Masontown. They planed the wood, adding finished lumber to their shop. Then, in 1915, Frank Street added a Ford dealership. Cars were transported in boxcars. Street’s bolted the wheels on, and the cars were ready for sale. Roger Street guesses that Henry Ford was only 34 years older than his grandfather and says Frank Street dealt with Henry Ford directly. “My great-grandfather liked to build. He built the original part of the store, he built the original garage,” Street says. Both buildings stand today, although one had to be rebuilt when the cinder blocks started to crumble. Another of the early buildings caught fire in the 1930s. But the original Ford showroom still stands on Main Street. In its first rendition, the building had

THIS MATTERS

DOTHIS

A Limitless Online Library Libraries are leaping into the future with technological advances. ➼ IF IT’S HARD for you to make time to departments in the store, along with guns and ammo. Street’s has the meats But one department in particular draws people from all over: the butcher counter. Ham hocks and bacon are popular, and a butcher will cut beef fresh while you wait, too. Much of this meat is raised on Street’s own hundredsome-head beef cattle farm, and the rest is sourced from other local farms. The meat is the draw for Morgantown resident Jack Taylor, who’s been a customer going back 40 years. He lived in the Masontown area in the ’70s and ’80s and appreciated not having to make the drive to Morgantown to shop. Now, living in Morgantown, he doesn’t like the supermarket offerings as much so he drives to Masontown for the quality local meats. “I’ve pretty much bought everything they have,” he says. Running his farm and working hands-on overseeing the store, Street has been working with family and with employees who feel like family his whole life. “We’ve got a lot of good employees and a lot of good customers,” he says. Even

the customers feel like family—and some actually are. Preston County resident Beth Witt’s grandfather was Frank Street’s brother-in-law. Her grandfather was an employee of Street’s, she says, and he lived in a house Frank Street built. When her grandfather developed dementia and would wander from home, “they could always find him down at the store,” she says. Witt reminisces about when the store was a five-and-dime, with clothing, craft supplies, and fabric. She’s seen changes not just in the products Street’s carries, but also in the buildings it’s built and occupied over the years. Now she shops mostly for lumber, and for meat when she runs out from her own cattle farm. No matter what the store sells, she says, one thing stays constant: “The store and the atmosphere is really family-based and community-based.” For new shoppers, Street advises just stopping by. “If they would just come up to look around, they’d probably be surprised to see what all we do have out in the buildings and in the store.” written and photographed by aldona bird

get to the library, you’ll be happy to learn about the massive amount of material you can borrow online anywhere, any time. The digital branch of the library is available free of charge with just a library card number. The library makes that convenient too: Once you’ve gone into the library with a photo ID to get a card, you can renew over the phone or online. Among the materials available to borrow are books, comic books, animated picture books, language lessons, movies, TV shows, and genealogical materials. There are 40 different music lessons ranging from banjo to cello to voice. Any magazine you could imagine being in a grocery store can be borrowed. There’s also a system where you can stream music for five hours each day or download three songs a week to keep. All digital materials aside from music downloads conveniently return themselves on the due date. “The goal of this system is to meet readers wherever they are,” says library Director Sarah Palfrey. If you can’t get to the library during service hours, you can still experience literature whenever you want to in any format you want. This technology is here now, she says, and absolutely anyone can find something they want to read. The library is always evolving and has never stopped. written and illustrated by jenny corona MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

THIS MATTERS

other collectibles, art, and a retro gaming lounge—including, of course, comic books. Hayes’ favorite event is the cosplay September 7 & 8, 2019 costume contest. Cosplay—a fusion of the Mylan Park Expo Center $10/day words “costume” and “play”—is when wvpop.com fans dress up as their favorite characters from movies, TV shows, comics, or video games. “You always get your Deadpool, Harley Quinn, and definitely a Batman,” she laughs. “And sometimes you’ll get a, ‘Who’s that supposed to be?’” The junior show takes place on Saturday, but the real competition is on Sunday, when adults with the best costumes win cash prizes or gift certificates to Comic Paradise Plus. One of the convention’s biggest cosplay highlights is the impeccable replicas of Darth Vader and Chewbacca walking around, ready for the cameras. They’re the work of the 501st Legion’s West Virginia Charter—in Hayes’ words, a “serious to the book” Star Wars and costume enthusiast organization that promotes its love for the movie series through event appearances and charity work. “I don’t know if I’d call it cosplay,” she says. “It’s so much more than that.” WVPopCon has brought in wellestablished names from the comic world. Distinguished illustrators and authors Pat Olliffe and Ron Frenz, most notable for their work with Marvel Comics, and Peter TRYTHIS David, an award-winning writer best known conventions along for The Incredible Hulk series, to name just the Eastern Seaboard a few. Small comic publishing companies in the early 2000s, like Aspen Comics and Action Lab Comics Jon Hayes wanted attend regularly as vendors and have even to bring the same created comics exclusively for WVPopCon. fun atmosphere to Another one of WVPopCon’s more Morgantown so local artists could showcase popular vendors is The Collector’s Cave, a their fantastical worlds comic store located in Pittsburgh known for You don’t have to drive to the big city to bring offering exclusive and hard-to-find Funko right here at home. out your inner kid. He had the knowledge Pop! figures—those vinyl figurines with and connections—he’s abnormally large heads and tiny bodies ➼ FOR FANS OF THE FANTASTIC, modeled after pop culture characters. the owner of Comic Paradise Plus in the comic convention is the best thing In recent years, WVPopCon has gone Fairmont and Morgantown. So in 2012, since comic books first appeared on beyond the realm of comics to include Hayes and his wife, Julie, took on the newsstand racks in the 1930s. From local businesses. Food vendors like complex venture of bringing everything awe-stricken kids meeting their favorite Garcia’s Latin Market and Pyles of Pasta pop culture to the wild and wonderful superheroes to adults reminiscing on have kept attendees fueled. state. “We were more excited than their towering comic book collections, As the convention continues to worried,” Julie Hayes says. people of all ages get caught up in Since then, WVPopCon has only grown, succeed, the Hayes’ vision remains to exploring the worlds pop culture writers offer a family-friendly environment with new vendors added each year and an and artists have created. And they don’t ever-expanding comic-loving community: where people of all ages and interests have to drive six hours to New York City about 2,500 attending, in recent years. The are welcome. “Some come for the to experience Marvel’s chronicles—the visually lavish event includes entertainment comic collecting aspect, some for the West Virginia Pop Culture and Comic atmosphere, some not sure what to and a Retro Gaming Lounge as well Book Convention, or WVPopCon, expect,” Hayes says. “The great thing as more than 100 exhibitors. Attendees brings the fun to Morgantown’s Mylan about pop culture is, there is a little bit of can find anything from comic-inspired Park in late summer each year. something for everyone.” T-shirts and jewelry to plushies and After attending several comic WVPopCon

written by kayse ellis

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

COURTESY OF JULIE HAYES (5)

Morgantown’s Own Marvels

WHO'STHIS

Welcome to Town, Coach Brown

COURTESY OF WVU ATHLETICS

WVU’s new football coach begins building his legacy by listening. ➼ NEAL BROWN DIDN’T KNOW much about Morgantown before taking the job as WVU’s 34th head football coach. He had visited town only a few times. Most of his interactions involved “passing by on the interstate,” he says. Brown says he’s been pleasantly surprised since moving to town in the spring—surprised by the level of diversity in town, by the quality of the local school system that his children attend, and, most of all, by the welcome his family has received. “The people always make the place,” he says. He has met lots of people since moving to the Mountain State. In May and June, he traveled the state as part of the annual Coaches Caravan, which gave him some quality time with WVU basketball coach

Bob Huggins. “He loves this place— it’s evident,” Brown says. He also got some face-time with the fans. “That’s one of the things that drew us to this opportunity. It’s a passionate fanbase.” Some of those passionate fans fretted when WVU announced it was hiring Brown, who has never run a big-time football program before. But he says those naysayers are ignoring the time he spent as an offensive coordinator at Texas Tech and the University of Kentucky. In particular, his two seasons with the Red Raiders gave him a crash course in Big 12 football. He’s been to all the stadiums, played against all the teams, and is familiar with the nuances of the conference’s officiating. “I’m not doing things for the first time,” he says.

Brown has spent time engaging the fanbase here at home, too. The team held a student appreciation day during spring practices and plans to hold another this fall. Brown doesn’t see connecting with the student body as an extra credit assignment—to him, it’s vital to the success of a team. He attributes his accomplishments at his last job as head coach at Troy University in Alabama—the 35–16 record, the three bowl wins, a new state-of-the-art athletics facility, the attendance records—at least in part to his program’s success in rallying the student body behind the team. “You’ve got to go embrace them,” he says. Brown has also been spending time with one of WVU Athletics’ elder statesmen: Don Nehlen. “He’s one of the first names you think of when you think West Virginia football,” Brown says. “I drive to work on a road named after him. He’s done a ton for this program. I have a ton of respect for him, not just as a coach but as a man.” He won’t get into specifics about what they discuss, but Brown wants to keep the relationship going. “I ask a lot of questions whenever I can.” That’s the cornerstone of Brown’s leadership style—asking questions and listening to the answers. That’s how he has gone about building his first football program as head coach. “We spent the first three or four months just listening and getting a feel for how things work. Who our players are. Who the support staff is,” he says. “I don’t think you can go about creating your vision or correcting any issues until you know what the issues are and know what the real positives are.” So what can we expect from a Neal Brown–led Mountaineer football team? Brown wouldn’t make us any specific promises. He had 15 practices with his players this spring, but the roster is still in flux—he’s still waiting for some players to show up, and others have left for other schools. Brown will say just one thing: “We’re going to be a group that’s young and fun to watch.” No matter how the season goes, one expects Coach Brown will soon have even more people to talk with—at the grocery store, at the barber shop, at the gas pump. He doesn’t mind. Recognition comes with the position. “If they don’t know you, you’re not doing a very good job,” he says. written by zack harold MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

THIS MATTERS

Those lessons paid off. In addition to his career as an academic, Sims has appeared on dozens of recordings and played live with The Temptations, The Four Tops, Matisyahu, and 10,000 Maniacs, along with a host of other artists. His heart remains with jazz music, though, because it offers something other music doesn’t. “If you go see a pop act, they’re going to sound the same no matter how many people are there,” he says. But no two jazz shows will ever be the same, thanks to the live, improvisational nature of the music. A band might play the same tunes night after night, but members will change keys, tempos, and the length of tunes depending on feedback from the audience. “It’s going to be a reflection of the people that are there.” That live, improvisational nature will be on display at the 26th annual West Virginia Wine and Jazz Festival, coming September 21 and 22 to Camp Muffly on 4-H Camp Road just south of town. Sims serves on the festival’s board and was in charge of booking acts for this year’s event. He says he’s proud of the HEARTHIS diverse line-up. “It goes everything from vocal jazz and big bands to smooth jazz— and those are not the same at all.” This year’s festival will feature R&B-influenced organ jazz by the Dave Braham Trio, another trio led by pianist Jazz needs an audience—so Jared Sims is connecting WVU music James Fernando, and Washington, D.C., students with the wider Morgantown scene. trombonist Reginald Cyntje, whose my star players graduate the next year, I group fuses world rhythms with socially ➼ THERE WAS A JAZZ SCENE in don’t have anyone to fill those roles.” conscious lyrics. Jazz vocalist and WVU Morgantown back when Jared Sims was Under Sims’ leadership, the WVU alum Sarah Barnes will also perform, as working on his undergrad at WVU in Big Band also plays regular dates at will groups of jazz students from WVU the mid-1990s. But, in his words, “it Black Bear Burritos’ Evansdale location. and West Virginia Wesleyan College. wasn’t very cohesive.” Musicians mostly The shows are usually packed with Sims will appear onstage as a member of hung out in cliques. There was no people of all ages. And he’s now toying both the WVU Faculty Jazz Quintet and regular public jam session. with the idea of playing jazz shows at Morgantown IX, a group comprised of Things had changed significantly by high schools throughout the state. It’s all players from the local jazz scene. the time he returned to Morgantown part of Sims’ efforts to get students to It’s all part of Sims’ continued effort to in 2016, when the university hired him play for “people who aren’t their friends create the kind of music scene he wishes to head up its jazz studies program. and parents,” he says. he’d had as a student. “It’s frightening “I like it a lot more now. It’s more of a Sims believes that, to prepare his that there are so many musicians who play community,” Sims says. students for careers as music professionals, to audiences of other musicians. That’s Sims has made a point to integrate the they should be engaged in their art a recipe for extinction.” And extinction jazz program into that community. Stop outside the classroom. When he was a is not where Sims sees jazz heading. by Morgantown Brewing Company on student, Sims played sax as part of a In fact, he thinks audiences might be any Thursday night while school is in traveling WVU spirit squad, representing more accepting of the genre—especially session, and you’ll find music students the university at events across the state the flavors that blend in influences of jamming with music professors as well as alongside other musicians, cheerleaders, electronic and world music—now than players who have no formal training— and the Mountaineer mascot. It taught ever before. they just know how to blow. There might him valuable lessons about what it means “I’m trying to create jazz musicians, even be a high school kid in the mix. to be a traveling musician—like how to not for the year 1958, but for the present.” “I’m trying not to lock out people who ride in a car for three hours and get out are new to the music,” Sims says. “It’s written by zack harold ready to play. like running a football team. If I have all 18

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

COURTESY OF JARED SIMS

He Can Swing It

THIS MATTERS Fellows from the Food Justice Lab’s Appalachian Food Justice Institute working at Sprouting Farms in Talcott, West Virginia.

LOVETHIS

Food for Thought WVU’s Food Justice Lab links geography and food security. food assistance providers. And clicking on “Find Food” takes researchers, social healthy, and affordable is a challenge workers, and the public to an interactive for West Virginians across the state. map of grocery stores, farmers markets, Students and staff in WVU’s Food charitable assistance agencies, and other Justice Lab study the causes, then food sources across the state. The map turn what they learn into action. “We details whether a retailer sells fresh produce research inequities within food systems and whether it accepts SNAP and WIC and try to come up with ideas and federal food assistance vouchers. “We are solutions to help organize communities about the democratization of information to enact change,” says Joshua Lohnes, food policy research director at the FJL. and knowledge, and we share what we know to help others,” says Amanda Marple, the Food insecurity isn’t a new problem. group’s education and outreach director. “Food issues have been brewing for Beyond research, the FJL works closely over 400 years, and there is no one with farmers, community development solution,” Lohnes says. Its root causes organizations, and government agencies can differ from one time period and to make sense of the complex social one community to another—cultural, dynamics behind food inequity. Its environmental, economic, and political Nourishing Networks program has conditions can all contribute. The FJL is housed in the Department convened workshops in some of the more food insecure counties of the state— of Geology and Geography and, while the connection between food security and Calhoun, Fayette, Wetzel, and others. In the workshops, local stakeholders identify geography is not immediately obvious, barriers to and resources for more equitable the lab makes the connection on its food distribution. Then they craft specific website. Food has been a basic human right under international law since 1948, strategies to improve access to nutritious, the website points out, and more than 30 affordable foods in their communities. The group is also interested in policy countries recognize the right to adequate food in their constitutions. “Our research solutions. “We try to change laws at state and national levels and, by doing so, try highlights the institutional structures that fulfill or hinder this right in different to ensure access to healthy and nutritious food for all West Virginians,” Lohnes says. places,” the site explains. Food Justice Lab staff are hopeful for the FJL staff and students ground their future. The lab’s goals include continued work in research, much of it made available to the public through its WV FOODLINK research, new and stronger partnerships, and more training for anyone interested website. Among the resources it shares in learning about food system inequities. are profiles of each West Virginia county documenting demographics like population foodjustice.wvu.edu, foodlink.wvu.edu and income and listing food retailers and written by savannah carr

COURTESY OF WVU FOOD JUSTICE LAB; COURTESY OF HONEYCOMB BAKING

➼ FINDING FOOD THAT IS FRESH ,

EATTHIS

Prickle Your Fancy Cactus makes perfect for baker Rachael McGee. ➼ IF EYE-CATCHING TREATS in interesting flavors sound succulent to you, pick Honeycomb Baking to hallmark the next special event in your life. Owner and worker bee Rachael McGee opened her bakery in 2014 and has been whipping up cheerful goodies to please even the biggest sweet tooth ever since. The bakery offers an array of treats including sugar cookies, cakes, cake pops, brownie pops, macarons, and cupcakes, all of which can be custom decorated to suit any occasion. “I have a classic, feminine approach to design, with an obsession for detail,” McGee says of the decorative touch she lavishes on all her work. Each piece is carefully crafted to perfection. Honeycomb Baking offers flavors ranging from traditional vanilla and chocolate to surprises like pink prosecco or champagne. Hibiscus, wildflower honey, and blueberry and lavender are new buttercream flavors that are a musttry. Add an electrifying filling like berry mascarpone or amaretto peach for even more flavor. Looking for a great gift? Honeycomb Baking sells decorated sugar cookies at Farmhouse Cafe during holiday seasons. The bakery is taking orders now by email for custom creations for 2020. 304.578.1781, honeycombbaking.com, @honeycombbakingwv on Facebook written by savannah carr MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

READTHIS

Moving Mountains New collection explores Appalachian wilderness and the people who shape it.

written by jess walker 20

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

PICKTHIS

No Fresher Pick your own apples this fall at Heritage Farm. ➼ ONCE UPON A TIME, apple orchards were a common part of the small farms in the hills around Morgantown. Fall seasons meant caramel apples and latticed pies from fresh, local fruits, and winters were warmed by homemade, cinnamonlaced applesauce and apple butter. In recent decades, the Potomac Highlands and Eastern Panhandle have been as local as apples get. “Folks from this area will drive a couple hours to get to Romney to go get apples,” says Heather Neill. This fall, she’s changing all that. Neill started planting apple trees on her farm a half-hour south of Morgantown in 2014. Her Zion Heritage Farm is a property that has meaning for her. A descendent of the local Morgans and Pricketts, Neill grew up in Florida but visited the area as a kid. When she decided to move north with her son, Wes, she found this eight-acre farm near Prickett’s Fort State Park that was first settled by her Prickett ancestors in the middle 1800s. Neill worked full-time as a real estate agent and started to act on her ambitious plans. That included

written by pam kasey

CARLA WITT FORD; ZION HERITAGE FARMS

➼ “ANTHROPOCENE” IS MORE than a spelling bee word. It’s our current geological age, where humans significantly influence the natural world. WVU Press’s Mountains Piled Upon Mountains: Appalachian Nature Writing in the Anthropocene invites readers to lace up their boots and trek the peaks and valleys of this relationship with nature. The collection features short stories, literary nonfiction, and poems from almost 50 Appalachian writers, including several with roots in West Virginia. In some pieces, Appalachia acts as a living photo album of loved ones. Sarah Beth Childers’ “Beaver Pond” overflows with lush descriptions of a pond the narrator fished with her late uncle. M.W. Smith’s poem “The Grandfather I Never Knew” celebrates the wooded acres a moonshine-drinking ancestor left his family. In others, Appalachia provides the landscape for discussion of current issues. The two girls in Meredith Sue Willis’ “Water Tank” navigate between the environmental destruction they see and the brighter future they imagine. Heather Ransom’s “Stockholm State: A History” explores the damaging role of coal. The underlying theme, though, is hope that people work with nature instead of against it. Ann Pancake’s “Letter to West Virginia, November 2016” is a stirring ode to love and loss. In “Forest Disturbance,” Katie Fallon and her WVU students accept responsibility as voices for an Appalachian forest whose song has long been silenced. These stories aren’t to be swallowed in a single sitting. They’re like nature itself. They encourage readers to slow down and sit for a spell, taking in the complex beauty and strife our age brings.

erecting a greenhouse, creating an irrigation pond, establishing a vegetable garden, and starting beehives, but, mainly, planting a large meadow in apples—land enough for more than 1,200 trees. She planted her first 10 trees herself: Gold Rush, a variety created from the wildly popular West Virginia–originated Golden Delicious. By the summer of 2014, she and her son had almost 100 apple, pear, and peach trees in the ground. They’ve planted more trees every year since. Establishing a large orchard starting from very little experience takes grit. In 2016, the return of the 17-year cicadas damaged a tremendous number of young trees. In 2017, several bucks moved in, got all the apples, and destroyed more trees—so that fall Neill Zion installed thousands of feet of eight-foot deer fence. Then, in the winter of 2019, mice or rabbits girdled more than 100 trees— chewed the outer bark all the way around, preventing the transport of nutrients— and she had to graft the trees to save what she could. All of this labor and investment is finally bearing spherical, juicy fruits. “Barring some other yet unforeseen catastrophe, we’ve got a lot of apples,” Neill laughs. What kinds? So many. Neill loves to experiment. She’s growing fruits like Honeycrisp and Jonalicious that are great for eating out of hand. Her Northern Spy is renowned as a sweet-tart baking apple that holds its shape, and Ashmead’s Kernel and Newtown Pippin break down smoothly for good sauce and butter. Gold Rush is good for all uses. She’s growing about 70 varieties in all, some that are found in the grocery store but most of them heritage cultivars that few of us have ever tasted. Picking will start in September or October—dates and times are uncertain in this first year. Check the farm’s Facebook page, then give the area’s only u-pick apple orchard a try. @zionheritagefarm on Facebook

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Take It for a Spin These Morgantown studios will have you clipping into the bike and out of the world. ➼ SINCE SPIN CLASSES CAME TO THE FITNESS SCENE in the ’90s, they’ve morphed to challenge not only riders’ physical fitness, but their mental fitness, too. In 2019, cycling instructors are taking their classes on journeys of intense cardio conditioning that work the heart, muscles, and mind. Whether you’re looking for a simulation of an outside ride to escape fatigue or a community dance party on a bike, you’ll find the right cycling class for you at one of these three Morgantown studios.

COURTESY OF CYCLE FUSION; KAYSE ELLIS (2)

written by kayse ellis

Cycle Fusion Calling all road bike riders! If you’re looking for an accurate simulation of your ride outside, Cycle Fusion is right for you. Owner and trainer Leanne DiAngelo opened Cycle Fusion with the outdoor experience in mind, keeping her studio bright with natural light and in view of the tree line around Cheat Lake. After each session, the Precor Chrono Power bike computer system emails riders ride data on energy output, RPMs, and calories burned so they can easily track their improvements. And what would Cycle Fusion’s name be if it didn’t imply fused workout classes? Not only does this studio provide separate cycling, yoga, aerial yoga, and strength training classes through bootcamps and personal training, it also fuses strength training or yoga with a cycling session. With 30 minutes of heart-pumping cardio and 30 minutes of lifting or channeling your inner yogi, you will get the full-body health kick you never knew you needed. 170 Lakeview Drive, cyclefusionwv.com

Pro Performance RX Pro Performance has been open since 2006 and, with its three locations, it provides full fitness facilities and a multitude of fitness classes, from Zumba to Pilates to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu— including cycling. Instructor Kimberly Zaph says that everyone from beginner to avid rider can succeed in the classes at Pro Performance. With low-lighting, a range of terrain types, and music tailored to themed rides, cyclists are invited to an exciting, fresh ride each time and never have to feel like they’re competing. “Our riders are a friendly crew, and we support each other, especially during the challenging rides,” says Zaph. Pro Performance members can join rides without additional fees, and walkins are welcome on a daily or weekly payment plan. To see the full list of classes, check the gym’s website—or, to book a class, download the Pro Performance app. 308 Cheat Road, properformancerx.com

Zenergy At Zenergy, all riders are welcomed into the studio by staff and instructors— they understand that the first ride can be intimidating. But in a candle-lit room with no mirrors, the beat of the music controlling the tempo, cyclists are encouraged to clip into the bike and out of the world with the help of their instructors. Each ride is unique, from the instructor’s taste in music to the way he or she encourages the class. While Zenergy is a fitness studio, instructors focus more on the health of the mind than of the body, explains studio manager and instructor Erin Hubbard. “The goal of the class is to be having fun while sweating,” she laughs. What Hubbard takes most pride in is the community that Zenergy has shaped. Whether it’s through participating in themed rides, celebrating a rider’s birthday, or acknowledging milestones, Zenergy was built to include everyone. 417 Suncrest Towne Centre Drive, zenergycycling.com/morgantown MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

THIS MATTERS

It takes decades of unmolested growth for a forest to mature to that level. So if we’re to have restorative places like that for hiking— and for their unique habitats and other benefits—we have to be savvy. Elizabeth Zimmermann The serene loop trail at Elizabeth’s Woods was savvy. In 1994, she donated 84 wooded acres south of town is almost ready for hikers. just south of Morgantown to the West Virginia Land Trust. Based in HIKING IN A YOUNG FOREST CAN ➼ Morgantown, the WVLT is known today BE INTENSE. The trees and shrubs are for its hand in conserving more than waging a ground battle for sunlight. Chaos tangles all over the understory, and 9,000 acres of extraordinary properties fast-growing vines can trip hikers even on in every part of West Virginia. But a quarter-century ago, there was no land well-maintained trails. trust. Zimmermann’s bequest was the But eventually, the trees win out. founding property—the impetus for the They grow stout and tall. Their leaf organization’s formation. canopy starves low shrubs and vines of Zimmermann’s vision was for her light, leaving the forest floor clear. Vistas already mature woods to serve as a nature breathe, open and hushed. There’s a preserve and a place for recreation and reason people describe the feeling in a mature forest as “cathedral”: It’s vertical, education. The WVLT held Elizabeth’s Woods passively for two decades—two filter-lit, sacred. more decades of unmolested growth.

Just Add Parking

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Then, a few years ago, two adjacent tracts came available, and the WVLT built on its holdings. “We could continue to leave it— protecting the water that flows into the Mon, protecting the wildlife that’s in the mature hardwood forest, and maybe allowing some research projects to go on,” says WVLT Executive Director Brent Bailey. “But we want to make it more publicly open because we think it plays into what Morgantown wants to be, which is a healthy community.” Tom’s Run Preserve The WVLT calls its now-320-acre oasis beside the Monongahela River Tom’s Run Preserve. It’s off Exit 146 of Interstate 79, just seven miles south of town. The preserve takes in most of the land between Little Falls Road and State Route 73, extending north just past a sharp turn in the river. Tom’s Run Preserve is mostly mature forest on gentle slopes, with sharper drop-offs close to the river. In one steep and bouldery reach, Tom’s Run cascades

COURTESY OF WEST VIRGINIA LAND TRUST

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COURTESY OF WEST VIRGINIA LAND TRUST

as Little Falls. Rhododendrons grow tall in those lower, wetter areas, alongside beech trees and maples. On the drier ridges, oaks and hickories dominate. Wood thrushes nest there. “The wood thrush is a ‘dense forest obligate’—it needs mature forests to nest,’” Bailey says. “I love knowing they’re here. They’ve been in serious decline—there are places where they used to be and you won’t find them anymore. But we have some of the healthiest populations in West Virginia, because we have some of the best forests remaining in the eastern U.S. So the role of places like this becomes increasingly important as fewer forests like this exist.” Tom’s Run Preserve is big enough— more than three times the size of either WVU’s Core Arboretum or the West Virginia Botanic Garden—that shy critters feel at home. Black bears raid neighbors’ bird feeders from there. Fishers live there, too—that’s a weasel relative the size of a house cat. The preserve is also big enough for a hiker to get away from the sights and sounds of civilization.

Public access As the WVLT added to its original property, staff were inspired to more fully honor Zimmermann’s vision. They’ve harnessed thousands of hours of volunteer muscle and expertise— students and retirees, Boy Scouts, The Shack Neighborhood House and MedExpress staff, and experienced trail builders from the American Hiking Society—to develop a two-mile loop trail in Elizabeth’s Woods. The trail turns, crests, and falls through leaf litter among the high, old trees. Handsome hand-built structures make a couple of short steep sections safe and divert running water to prevent washouts. Not all land trusts develop public access. Their core function is usually to hold development rights in order to preserve properties in perpetuity. The WVLT does hold such rights for about 20 properties across the state, but it also goes beyond that. “We really see our land protection as supporting West Virginia’s sustainable future,” Bailey says. “When people talk about moving

to Morgantown, they want to know, ‘What can you do there?’ We play a really important role here, as in other communities around West Virginia, in preserving places that protect the outdoors and give people recreational opportunities.” Over time, the WVLT plans to develop biking trails on other parts of Tom’s Run Preserve. Bicycle access will be possible just a nine-mile rail-trail ride from Hazel Ruby McQuain Riverfront Park. Meanwhile, because the Elizabeth Woods retreat has been built “insideout,” in Bailey’s words—a developer might usually start with parking and then figure a trail out, but the WVLT did the trail first—all that’s needed to make this serene preserve accessible to hikers is a small parking lot. The land has already been cleared and drawings and permits have been prepared, so it could be done as early as the end of the year. Consider donating at wvlandtrust.org: click “donate now” and designate your gift for the Elizabeth’s Woods parking area. written by pam kasey MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

THIS MATTERS THISMATTERED TO

Harry Stansbury He was the first to introduce an all-class, all-state football team in 1917 by polling West Virginia’s top sportswriters.

He oversaw the creation of the WVU Indoor Track Games that brought some of the nation’s greatest track and field athletes to the WVU Field House from 1929 to 1939, including Olympic sprinter Jesse Owens.

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Stansbury developed the Wrestling and Boxing program at WVU.

Stansbury’s grandson, John, a retired emergency medicine physician who graduated from WVU Medicine, and his great-grandsons—Ryan, who is assistant vice president, Provider Network Services, at WVU Health Sciences, and Rob, who is a pulmonary and critical care physician and professor at WVU—are proud of their heritage. Pictured are: Kristin, Corinne, Ryan, John, Rob, Becca, Isaac, and Avery. Missing from the photo is the late Vicki Stansbury.

CARLA WITT FORD

Stansbury helped shape West Virginia University’s athletic department through the construction of Mountaineer Field in 1924 and the construction of the Field House in 1929, which was renamed Stansbury Hall in his honor in 1973.

Stansbury was instrumental in organizing the Eastern Basketball Conference that survived for six years until 1940, and the Eastern Boxing Conference that lasted until the sport was dropped.

Stansbury began the first state high school basketball tournament and later the first state track and field meet.

ABBY BOWMAN

➼ HARRY A. STANSBURY ONCE SAID,

“When I die, my perfect wife and all of my descendants may justly be proud of the name they bear, and glory in my struggles to preserve it.” Even though the building that bears his name is being torn down to make room for a new business school facility, Stansbury’s legacy is woven into the fabric of the state, and his descendents are indeed proud of the name they bear and bleed gold and blue. During his lifetime, Stansbury was called the “Builder of the Empire of Sports.” And for good reason. He was a star athlete at Wesleyan College—he played baseball, track, and was the quarterback and captain of the 1912 unbeaten football team—and served as the college’s athletic director before being hired away by the school’s nemesis, West Virginia University, in 1916. At the time, it was not a decision that was welcomed in Morgantown. Stansbury’s wife, Ada, recounts the decision in her 1969 memoirs. “Harry Adams Stansbury braved the wrath of many. He once recalled, ‘When I went down the river from Buckhannon to Morgantown in December, 1916, to be interviewed by a dozen leading citizens about the job as Athletic Director of West Virginia University, I learned that I was unanimously opposed. This resentment will die, he thought, so he accepted the post just in time to make the front page of the Morgantown afternoon paper. The headline read: ‘Stansbury to Come Anyhow.’” She said, “Harry stayed on the job for 21 years, working around the clock at times and gaining for West Virginia University its great heritage in the world of athletics. He was the first of three full time Athletic Directors that West Virginia University ever had. His name became synonymous with West Virginia University sports.” During Stansbury’s tenure, he raised the money—around $740,000—to build Mountaineer Field, where the Life Sciences building now stands. A friend of Stansbury’s wrote that the stadium would have been named The Stansbury Stadium if he had not vehemently opposed it and practically forbade it. Ada Stansbury said, “Harry wrote in a letter to a friend the following lines, ‘I am glad you recall that I declined to have the Stadium named after me, and I recall in turn that more than 1,200 of the 1,300 student

ballots cast were for ‘Stansbury Field,’ probably the only time in the history of the University when the Athletic Director was even momentarily popular.’” In 1924, the first game was played in Mountaineer Field with about 24,000 fans watching a 40–7 victory over Washington and Jefferson College. Stansbury was only 33 years old at that time. Stansbury also spearheaded the building of the Field House in 1928, which gained a reputation as one of the largest and finest sporting complexes in the region. The Field House, which was renamed Stansbury Hall in 1973, was home to WVU basketball, track, wrestling, and boxing. On July 1, 1938, Stansbury resigned his position as athletic director to accept a new position as the managing director of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce— the chamber’s first paid employee—in Charleston, where he worked until 1959. Stansbury wrote in a letter dated November 11, 1959: “I decided to quit my State Chamber job and for the first time since 1915, June 15th, be my own boss. Actually, the public was my boss from the time I began to play football, baseball and be a public character about 1907, just 52 years ago and I was on a salary for 45 years and 67 days. Everybody talks about my work for the State Chamber, for Wesleyan, the Stadium, the Field House, etc., but except for my family, my proudest possession is the Stansbury farm, and the 26 years of Sunday. …” When Stansbury was presented the Order of Vandalia on May 31, 1965, WVU president Paul Miller said, “Harry Adams Stansbury, the building in which we now stand today, is a monument to your willingness to ignore unthinking criticism while doing the job you knew had to be done. Across the street, the Stadium is another example of your acceptance and accomplishment of a difficult task. You brought Inter-Collegiate Athletics to a point where the University competed on even terms with the best in the Nation. The University’s first organized scholarship program and the first regular channel of public information came from creative and refreshing approach to Education. Your determination to stick with a job until it was properly done, has earned for you a prominent place in the Annals of West Virginia.” written by NIKKI BOWMAN

Adapted from

Sunday Gazette-Mail April 12, 1964 written by A.L. Hardman

In 1920, W VU Athletic Director Harry Stansbury was walking across the old athletic field when a student speared him with a javelin. Stansbury recalled, “Out of the corner of my right eye, I saw the javelin coming, turned my head away from it and the spear (8 feet, 2 inches long) with a steel point, glanced off my shoulder, striking me in the neck, about an inch from my jugular vein. “It picked up perhaps a half inch of flesh and skin at the deepest penetration, and came out about five inches further ‘west,’ so to speak, after passing above my Adam’s apple in such fashion as to half choke me. …    Battles to Avoid Choking “Its force k nocked me down flat, and in the act of falling I grabbed the javelin with my right hand and held it in such a fashion as to prevent its choking me completely. “Everybody from Nate Cartmell (the track coach and football trainer) to Stockton Gaines, who threw the javelin (about 140 feet from where it struck me) tried to help me. “But with a few well chosen cuss words, I made it clear that nobody except me could do this job. I walked clear across the campus, down the tree-covered ‘Lover’s Lane’ past Woodburn Hall to the medical school where the only doctor around was a famous pathologist. …    Pulled Out of Neck Backwards “The doctor examined the situation and saw that the jugular vein was a safe distance from the spear, etc., and that it could be safely pulled out—backwards. “He tried but became ill and had to give way to Cartmell, who placed his knee against my side; his left two-fingered hand against the side of my face and pulled HARD. So out it came. “I don’t believe they used any anesthetic. In any event, they then placed iodine swabs on wires and pulled them to and fro through the hole the javelin had made. …    Worked in His Garden “After this I went home with a big towel wrapped around some bandages and giving the appearance of heading for the Arctic. “Ms. Stansbury said, ‘What in the world happened to you?’ “I replied, ‘I damn near got killed.’”

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Flavor ¡Olé!

How a family from Buffalo changed Morgantown’s palate forever.

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

DISH IT OUT

The Nagowskis dish it out

WINGS OLÉ’S SALSA ROSA FRESH VERSION 3 cups tomatoes, small (¼") diced ¼ cup fresh cilantro, minced ½ small white onion, small diced 1 teaspoon lime juice 6 to 8 fresh New Mexico chili peppers, seeded, small diced* ½ teaspoon sea salt 1 tablespoon garlic, minced

f you happened to be up on WVU’s Frat Row on a certain evening in the spring of 1977, you might have taken part in an event that ultimately revolutionized Morgantown’s dining scene. Freshman Dan Nagowski and his dad, Dan Nagowski—“Boss,” for clarity— hosted a tasting. It was a self-defense move on the younger Nagowski’s part. Where he was from, outside Buffalo, New York, people were mad for beef on weck—rare roast beef on kummelweck, a Kaiser-style roll, with horseradish. And Buffalo wings had recently set local menus on fire. So for him, Morgantown’s 1970s restaurant scene lacked pizzazz. “All there was was a few Italian quick-food places and a couple of burger joints,” he recalls. “That was it.” Nagowski’s dad had just retired from a career as a salesman for Johnson Wax, and Nagowski had a proposal for him. “I said, ‘Let’s open a restaurant and do something different.’” First, though, they wanted to do a little informal market testing. Several of Nagowski’s swim team mates

Yield: 3.5 cups

were brothers at Kappa Sigma, so the fraternity opened its kitchen and dining room for the event. The hopeful restaurateurs served Buffalo wings, beef tacos in hard shells, and beer, and all a student had to do to try it out was agree to fill out a comment card. “Probably 100, 125 people came,” Nagowski says. “They ate all the food we brought.” Not everybody eats like a frat boy Boss Nagowski and son opened their first Wings & Things restaurant in the summer of 1977. They set up shop in a grittier part of town—at the upper edge of today’s Wharf District, back when South University Avenue was just two lanes, the building Oliverio’s Ristorante is in was occupied by the West Virginia Paper Co., and CSX still hauled freight along the Morgantown side of the river by rail. “Everybody thought we were crazy,” Nagowski says. But the idea—to introduce Buffalo wings, beef on weck, and Tex-Mex to a college town that had none of that—drew a following. In those days, Wings & Things was open until 3 a.m. “When the train came through,

WINTER VERSION 3.5 pounds canned diced tomatoes, half drained 1½ cups canned diced green chilies ½ large white onion, small diced 1 cup canned jalapeño, small diced 1 cup cilantro, minced ⅛ cup sea salt ¼ cup garlic, minced ½ cup cider vinegar Yield: 12 cups Combine ingredients into a medium bowl and mix well. Refrigerate to chill. Serve. Keeps well in refrigerator or freezer.

* Depending on harvest and availability, cubanelle, serrano, and habañero peppers may be substituted. Salsa heat will be affected.

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DISH IT OUT

the caboose guy would jump off and run up to the restaurant, no matter what time of day it was, and place an order for everybody on the train,” Nagowski remembers. “And then they’d blow the whistle, and he’d run back down with the food.” Nagowski worked in the kitchen as much as he could while he continued on through college. By the time he graduated, business was so good that they soon opened a second restaurant, in Suncrest, in 1981, and a third in Fairmont in 1983. It wasn’t all easy—it turned out that fraternity boy enthusiasm didn’t necessarily reflect the whole market. A customer once reported the restaurant for serving undercooked meat—the roast beef used in beef on weck is traditionally served very rare. Since the kummelweck were expensive to bring from Buffalo anyway, the Nagowskis eventually dropped beef on weck from the menu. And when it came to wings, it turned out Morgantown tastes weren’t quite ready for the heat level of the original Buffalo-style wing sauce; they toned it down to more of a mild barbecue sauce. Guacamole wasn’t an immediate hit, either. In 1985, the Nagowskis changed the name of the restaurants from Wings & Things to Wings Olé. They opened just one more location, by necessity rather than by choice. When the state widened South University Avenue in the summer of 1990, Wings & Things’ original Wharf Street location had to be demolished. “It was at what is now the center of the southbound lane on Don Knotts Boulevard,” Nagowski says—wistfully or comically, or maybe a little of both. They moved the restaurant north a couple blocks and opened in the current location on University Avenue at the Westover Bridge. And at about that same time, they settled on a menu for their three locations that was pretty similar to today’s: a quirky mash-up of Buffalo wings, Tex-Mex favorites, and a few American standards. Wings Olé today Boss Nagowski passed on in 2005, and the third generation— Daniel Nagowski—now oversees much of the operation. Everything is made fresh in the Suncrest restaurant every day and distributed to the other locations. That includes a wide selection of burritos, enchiladas, and tacos as well as fajitas and quesadillas, with the whole range of filling options one expects. Buffalo wings come with three sauces these days: regular, grandé—that’s the original Buffalo sauce, back on the menu since the mid-’80s—and an extra hot caliente. Sides include nachos, potato skins, and fried mushrooms. The restaurant’s most popular meal? Overwhelmingly, it’s the Beef Burrito and Fries & Bleu. “It was the favorite in 1977, and it’s the favorite today,” Nagowski says. Don’t bother asking what’s in their homemade bleu cheese dressing. Nagowski and his wife, Melissa, guard the recipe closely, and both are fond of explaining, “That put our kids through college.” But they did share with us the recipe for another signature sauce—their Salsa Rosa. “We came up with that recipe with input from some family members in Las Cruces, New Mexico,” Nagowski says. It’s best, he points out, made with fresh, highquality vegetables. “I think it adds a whole different flavor profile—I put it on everything.” Fans of the restaurants will find it’s a good way to approximate Wings Olé flavor at home. A signature snack on the menu and a kid favorite is the S&S Chips, for “sweet and spicy.” “In Poland they call it a chrusciki, ´ and it’s a dessert,” Melissa Nagowski says. 28

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Like a lot of successful family-run businesses, Wings Olé inspires employee loyalty. Nagowski has particular appreciation for Pham Burton who started with the business in 1981, eventually became operations manager for all three locations, and retired in 2012 but still helps out. Marion Hunter started in 1987 and now serves as operations manager. Debbie Broughton came on in 1986 and manages the downtown Morgantown store today, and Tina Bienkoski, with the business since 1988, manages the store in Fairmont. That kind of stability makes for a consistent dining experience. A West Virginia tradition Wings Olé has been a favorite affordable stop for generations of WVU students. Meanwhile, times have changed. Buffalo wings can now be ordered in restaurants all over Morgantown with anything from traditional sauce to nuclear-level piquancy to Asian flavors. Mexican restaurants are found in all parts of town, and guacamole is almost as common as ranch dressing. We have in part the Nagowskis to thank for that. “This is our 43rd year in business in Morgantown. There’s not very many restaurants that stay around for 43 years,” Nagowski says. “One reason is the quality of our food.” Back in the ’80s, he says, Wings Olé used the slogan “Nothing fancy, just good food.” They’ve also used another slogan, one these transplants from Buffalo, New York, have earned: “A West Virginia tradition.” written by pam kasey photographed by carla witt ford

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Learning the Business Entrepreneurial spirits soar at WVUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s LaunchLab. written by micaela morrissette

Iconic EDU team James Carnes (left) and Kyle Gillis pitched their business at St. Louis University in April 2019.

COURTESY OF WVU LAUNCHLAB

hen industrial engineering students James Carnes and Kyle Gillis crossed paths their junior year at WVU, both already had some experience as entrepreneurs. Carnes, from Weirton, ran a cellphone repair business. Gillis, from Wheeling, had co-launched a clothing line. Gillis also ran a YouTube channel for which he produced videos promoting engineering to youth. Shortly after they met, Gillis asked Carnes to be a featured guest in one of those videos. Visiting Carnes’s home to film the segment, he discovered a tinkerer’s workshop. “I could tell James was someone who was a maker,” says Gillis. When they realized they shared a passion for inspiring young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, their company, Iconic EDU, was born. Iconic EDU makes drone kits for high school students to assemble and fly. The kits come with educational how-to videos and built-in experiments that students perform, using the drones to prove and engagingly illuminate Newton’s Second Law, for example, or other principles mandated in curricular requirements. “We take a basic science concept,” explains Carnes, “and bring the words to life.” The kits are one facet of the company. But in a completely separate facet, Iconic EDU also intends to sell drone-collected air-quality data to government agencies and private corporations. Those revenues will fund production of the kits and accompanying educational modules, enabling schools to participate at no cost. “As of now, the two parts of the business are in parallel, almost two separate things,” Gillis says. “The magic is when they integrate. And if we can integrate, I think we’ll be an example of how private-public relationships and school systems can work in the future.” Iconic EDU’s business model is especially innovative, but even entrepreneurs launching more traditional startups face a complex set of challenges. That's where WVU's LaunchLab comes in.

teaching and learning entrepreneurship LaunchLab closely mentors and trains any WVU student trying to develop a product or imagine, start, or sustain a business. Students are matched with experts in their specialty fields and in subjects such as patents, prototyping, market research, and taxes. Almost half of LaunchLab’s users hail from engineering, with another quarter from the business school and the college of agriculture, natural resources, and design. “We see a lot of science and engineering students,” acknowledges Carrie White, WVU’s assistant vice president for entrepreneurship and innovation and LaunchLab’s director, “and it could be because we are located on the engineering campus and those students tend to be more inclined toward product design. But we saw a big increase in agriculture and creative arts this year. We’re excited about that.” She’s also proud of the fact that their percentage of female clients jumped from 17 percent in 2016–17 to 30 percent in 2017–18, one benefit of the women’s pitch competition they’ve hosted for the past two years. With LaunchLab coaching, Gillis and Carnes became adept at pitching their concept. And with LaunchLab funding, they traveled to competitions picking up seed money. Locally, they won the 2018–19 West Virginia Collegiate Business Plan Competition, which annually distributes $10,000 grand prizes to each of two winners and $20,000 in at-large money. LaunchLab offers WVU participants support and training throughout the yearlong,

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MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

economic development here.” The growth of programs like LaunchLab takes place against a wider backdrop of statewide investment in entrepreneurial training programs, with stakeholders all around the table concurring that support for small businesses must be part of any effort to energize West Virginia’s economy. Although almost 99 percent of the state’s businesses have fewer than 500 employees and half the private workforce is employed at small businesses, West Virginia ranks among the bottom five states in business launches and patents per capita, according to 2016 data,

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: WVU Tech student Nima ShahabShahmir formed Future Funghi to market his patented plant-based Styrofoam substitute. Roark Sizemore's Morgantown nonprofit Pantry Plus More provides food and personal hygiene items to K–12 students in Monongalia County public schools. WVU Tech biology graduate and pharmacy technician Christina Stover is perfecting a test strip that monitors diabetics’ glucose levels pain-free. Zack Wright pitched his SwifTAG system for managing small laboratory animals at Carnegie Mellon University in February 2019.

COURTESY OF NIMA SHAHABSHAHMIR; COURTESY OF WVU LAUNCHLAB (3)

three-round process, itself a crash course in entrepreneurship with intensive feedback from judges who are often potential investors. Students from any college in West Virginia who are serious about registering businesses in-state are eligible to compete. Fostering small businesses in West Virginia is a priority for both the competition and LaunchLab. “WVU is a land-grant institution: Our responsibility is to give back to our state,” White says. “We always encourage students to launch their businesses in West Virginia, to stay in the state so they can have an impact on

and 49th in the percent of the adult population becoming entrepreneurs. Initiatives to bolster the environment for entrepreneurship range from infrastructure enhancements such as increased broadband coverage to regulatory benefits like the Young Entrepreneur Reinvestment Act, which waives the business registration filing fee for any West Virginia resident younger than 30. Organizations like Vision Shared advocate for integrating entrepreneurship education into schools even at the K–12 levels, and WVU is looking at implementing a required course for all undergraduates. “Our next thing in the next three years is designing curricula,” LaunchLab’s White says. “We want to have an innovation certificate, a major, and a minor and get students thinking from the educational standpoint across the curriculum, so every student takes a class in innovation.”

COURTESY OF WVU LAUNCHLAB

the sap flows at sage LaunchLab resources are available not only to Morgantown student businesses like IconicEDU, but also at applied innovation centers on WVU’s Beckley and, most recently, Potomac State campuses. At Beckley, student products in development range from Trevor Johnson’s Ammulock gun lock to Christina Stover’s Si-Mo Strip, a prick-free device for testing blood sugar. And at Potomac State, LaunchLab has just joined forces with an initiative that was already marrying small business training with an agricultural degree: the Sustainable Agriculture Entrepreneurship (SAGE) program.

Students at Potomac State College of WVU in Keyser tapped 500 maple trees in the winter of 2019 and bottled 95 gallons of syrup.

With college support, Potomac State SAGE students develop a project—honey, lavender, or mushroom production, say—and run it like a business. Last year, SAGE got into the business of maple syrup production, and that led the program to LaunchLab. “The winter of 2018, I got a phone call from a local gentleman named Ed Hartman,” explains Corey Armstrong, who directs SAGE at Potomac State. “He and his wife, Karen, had been producing syrup from a company called Indian Water Maple Company for a long time. They saw an article in the paper about the SAGE program, and they called up and said, ‘Hey, you should be doing maple syrup production. If you guys want to come and see our operation, we’ll help you get started.’ They lived up on the mountain surrounded by sugar maple trees and they were just these old-school, awesome folks. Ed and Karen donated 25 buckets and a little woodfired evaporator and helped us tap trees using the bucket system.” Bucket-based production was fun, if not efficient. “It seemed like all winter we were cooking sap, and we made about a gallon and a half of syrup,” laughs Armstrong. “But that motivated us to bump things up.” In the spring of 2018, when the program suffered a tragic blow with Ed Hartman’s death, a syrup production supply company jumped in to offer guidance and resources, and the

MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

college administration committed to investing in a serious commercial system. SAGE bought equipment, renovated an old pavilion into a sugar shack, and ran main and lateral sap lines. “By last fall, we were ready to roll,” says Armstrong. “We tapped 500 trees and produced 95 gallons of syrup.” The community support that enabled SAGE to launch the business has helped them move the product—almost half has been sold without significant marketing. “We’re selling mostly to staff, faculty, and students,” Armstrong explains, “but also throughout the community. A couple restaurants buy our syrup. A local senior citizen organization bought ten cases to fundraise money for their own organization, but they were helping us out just as much. All that revenue goes back into farm operations, into the maple syrup enterprise, so we can continue to increase production and get into other projects students want.” The SAGE–LaunchLab partnership began when SAGE entered the syrup production project into LaunchLab’s Demo Day competition in April—and won. The relationship has quickly strengthened. LaunchLab is now supporting SAGE’s creation of a multidisciplinary mobile trailer: a potentially adaptable workspace that could be used as an outdoor classroom for taking agriculture entrepreneurship education on the road to youth and farmers.

working the american dream

understand what I wanted to do then. They helped me get a better idea of how to take a grandiose dream and break that down into realistic and time-effective solutions.” The $10,000 prize Masters won at the competition was welcome, but far from enough to start his business. “Where LaunchLab helped most was getting me in front of lending companies and banks. What made people want to take a risk on me was that people had known me from LaunchLab, they knew I’d won the competition, they knew a lot of people had my back.” Without LaunchLab’s guidance and connections, Masters speculates, Micro Genesis likely would not exist today. Thanks to stories like Masters’, WVU’s model for training the state’s youth to build and sustain independent businesses is gaining attention across the nation and around the globe. In June, LaunchLab’s parent program, IDEA Hub, won the Deshpande Foundation’s Entrepreneurial University Rising Star Award. And in September, LaunchLab presents in Stockholm on its entrepreneurial ecosystems. As for Gillis and Carnes, they won’t even graduate until December, but they’re already thinking big—they have to. Getting IconicEDU’s drone kits into classrooms involves satisfying state educational standards as well as local boards of education, administrators, teachers, and students. On the data side, they must meet standards set by the Department of Environmental Protection and the Environmental Protection Agency, an arduous process for which they allow at least three years. Not to mention that they’ve assigned IconicEDU the ambitious goal of making West Virginia the first state to measure air quality in every county. But the classroom trials they’ve performed at Fairmont and Morgantown high schools assure them they’re on the right track. Students immediately began Instagramming and Snapchatting the kits: a good omen, they feel. “One teacher said it was the most excited and engaged she’d seen her students in the last year,” Carnes recalls. That response drives IconicEDU. “We want to see our impact on paper and in the communities,” Gillis stresses. “In 10 years, ideally we’re making strides for West Virginia, we’re seeing the impact our kits have had in the classroom, seeing those kids graduate and what they’re able to do. Keeping our roots in West Virginia and improving the state is huge for us.”

Students have caught the entrepreneurial bug: the number of SAGE students has doubled to 32 in the past year and a half; and more than 2,000 students have visited LaunchLab since that program started in 2014, with 170 businesses in the pipeline. Recent LaunchLab client startups include Andrew Rhodes’ Neighborhood Kombuchery, opening soon in Morgantown; Zack Wright’s SwifTAG Systems, which develops and provides laboratory animal management solutions, such as a tracking system for lab mice; Future Fungi, which creates plastic and Styrofoam alternatives from agricultural waste products and plant-based materials; and Pantry Plus More, a nonprofit fighting childhood food insecurity in Monongalia County. Two LaunchLabsupported winners of the 2014–15 Collegiate Business Plan Competition are thriving locally: Pubstompers, which purchased and now does business as Morgantown Brewing Company, and Micro Genesis, a microgreen producer whose facilities include a greenhouse in Westover. Micro Genesis owner Jordon Masters remembers how LaunchLab helped turn his vision into reality. “LaunchLab was still relatively new the year I entered the Collegiate Business Plan Competition, LaunchLab is one of three WVU IDEA Hub programs connecting so I wasn’t aware of it. When I got to current or aspiring small business owners with a vast support network. the second round of the competition, LaunchLab serves WVU's student community, while sister IDEA Hub someone called me and said, ‘Hey, programs WVU Innovations and the Community Business Center offer we’re the LaunchLab and this is what zero-cost services to university employees and the public respectively. we do. We noticed that you’re in the ideahub.wvu.edu competition. We’d like to have you come in and talk to us a bit.’ I didn’t even fully

got a business idea?

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

doing wvu

right

Don’t leave all of these key Mountaineer experiences for your last year. Go to FallFest, the free concert with popular performers that kicks the school year off right. FallFest is scheduled for Tuesday, August 20 this year behind the Student Rec Center. Meet the Mountaineer Mascot. In 2019–20, Putnam County native and junior public relations major Timothy Eads sports the buckskin. A game at Milan Puskar Stadium isn’t just about football. It’s also about pride—The Pride of West Virginia, that is. See WVU’s impressively big, irresistibly brassy band march live at least once. Put your arms around your fellow Mountaineers and sing “Take Me Home, Country Roads” after a winning football game at Mountaineer Field.

HAYLEY RICHARD (2), KAYSE ELLIS; HAYLEY RICHARD

Students from more than 100 countries attend WVU. Check out one of the many international events—like the International Street Festival that will take place on High Street on September 21 this year.

Better Safe

Catch a show at the Creative Arts Center. Performances go on year ’round and cross all genres of music and theater.

The university administration and WVU Police work hard to keep campus safe, and students can do their part to stay safe, too.

Read the Campus Read—for 2019– 20, Educated: A Memoir, by Tara Westover—and participate in one or more related events.

Students who have registered cell phone numbers with the university are automatically enrolled in WVU Alert. Update your phone number if you change it, and register a parent, too.

Join the campus-wide dialogue on other issues of the day by attending a Festival of Ideas lecture.

Download the LiveSafe app and connect with WVU. It enables direct and discreet two-way communication with WVU Police using text, picture, video, and audio. It also lets you virtually walk friends and family home with SafeWalk. Put the acronym ICE—In Case of Emergency—in your cell phone contacts with the name and number of a family member who knows your medical conditions. If you’re unresponsive, medical personnel will know to contact that person. Walk in groups on well-lit streets and become familiar with the locations of the blue emergency phones on your routes. More tips at police.wvu.edu/campus-safety

Canoe or kayak on the Mon River or Cheat Lake. Take in the view from Coopers Rock and hike out to Rock City. Ride a sled down Law School Hill. Bike the 50 miles of the Caperton, Mon River, and Deckers Creek rail-trails. Give back to Morgantown and West Virginia by doing one of the many service projects the university offers. Get a selfie with President E. Gordon Gee.

MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

The Mountie Bounty on your Mountaineer Card will get you what you need all over campus, from school supplies and snacks to copies and laundry—but it’s also good at CVS, Panera, Sheetz, and other shops and restaurants across town. Here are a few of our favorites.

river birch cafe 48 Donley Street

terra cafe

lotsa stone fired pizza

425 Industrial Avenue

419 High Street

search the greeks

331 Beechurst Avenue

where to use your

”

the cupcakerie

online for a complete list.

chaang thai 361 High Street

Here to There

the grind

68 Willey Street

194 Willey Street

oryza asian grill 51 Donahue Drive

bus

bike

free parking

Mountain Line Transit Authority buses are also free with a WVU ID. Many routes and schedules are tailored to the WVU community. Use Google Maps and the Mountain Line Bus Finder app to plan your trips. busride.org

Morgantown has an active community of cyclists. Bike racks can be found near most university buildings and all over downtown. Find a bicycle commuter map at bikemorgantown.com.

If you drive to campus, park for free in the Coliseum lot and ride the PRT. For a different solution, consult the list of university and other lots and garages at commuter.wvu.edu/ parking-and-traffic.

car sharing prt

Quickest way between campuses, and free with WVU ID.

going farther? 38

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Better yet, ditch the hassles of car ownership. Zipcars may be rented by the hour at three locations in town. zipcar.com

home base for commuters

Most students live off campus. The Downtown Commuter Lounge at Elizabeth Moore Hall offers a refrigerator and microwave, free lockers, and wi-fi. The Commuter Student Lounge in Mountaineer Station at the base of the Medical Center PRT station has indoor bicycle racks, showers and lockers, and wi-fi.

Megabus connects Morgantown with Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. and Southern Airways Express to Pittsburgh and Baltimore. megabus.com, iflysouthern.com

COURTESY OF RIVER BIRCH CAFE; COURTESY OF LOTSA STONE FIRED PIZZA; CARLA WITT FORD; CARLY SUPLITA; CARLA WITT FORD; KATIE GRIFFITH; CARLA WITT FORD (2)

“

Quality Time

downtime

on a budget

Weekend visits from parents are a chance to try something new. Here are our picks for any family mood.

Carless for the weekend? Cash-strapped, too? WVUp All Night has you covered late, but there’s plenty to do in Morgantown that’s free or cheap the rest of the day, too.

hang out by a waterfall An outpouring of volunteer support has reclaimed a near-campus oasis for recreational use. The Falling Run Greenspace has miles of trails and rocky cascades, too. fallingrungreenspace.wvu.edu ride the rail-trails Morgantown is the lucky hub of 50 miles of rail-trail along Deckers Creek and the Monongahela River, with more distant connections north and south. montrails.org boost your morgantown cred The Morgantown History Museum’s collection of photographs and artifacts is open Monday through Saturday. Donation appreciated. 175 Kirk Street, morgantownhistorymuseum.org ogle the universe The WVU Planetarium atop White Hall offers free shows at 8 and 9 p.m. every other Friday night. Reserve a seat for the star show online. No reservation needed for after-show access to the observatory and its 14" Celestron telescope. 135 Willey Street, planetarium.wvu.edu show off your hockey stop Starting in September at the Morgantown Municipal Ice Arena, you can skate two hours for just $5 plus $3 skate rental. 1001 Mississippi Street, boparc.org

PAM KASEY

live music, no cover Black Bear Burritos might be one of the best deals in town. Its affordable meals burst with fresh ingredients, and there’s live music many nights each week. 132 Pleasant Street and 3119 University Avenue, blackbearburritos.com gear rental With a Mountaineer Card, you can gear up for everything from water sports to snow play. Reserve in person at the Student Rec Center. 2001 Rec Center Drive, adventurerecreation. wvu.edu/gear-rentals

active Hike at Coopers Rock or rent bikes at the Student Rec Center or Wamsley Cycles (709 Beechurst Avenue, wamsleycycles.com) and ride the rail-trails. Later, meet up with friends at Black Bear Burritos (132 Pleasant Street or 3119 University Avenue, blackbearburritos. com)—there’s a good chance there’ll be live music. Breakfast like townies at the Blue Moose (248 Walnut Street, thebluemoosecafe.com).

Live Music Venues

These are just some of the great stages in town.

123 pleasant street 123pleasantstreet.com black bear burritos 132 Pleasant Street 3119 University Avenue blackbearburritos.com gene’s beer garden 461 Wilson Avenue genesbeergarden.com mainstage morgantown 444 Chestnut Street mainstagewv.tunestub.com metropolitan theatre 371 High Street morgantownmet.com mundy’s place 669 Madigan Avenue @mundysplace on Facebook

spirited Cheer our teams on at a WVU or West Virginia Black Bears game (wvusports. com, westvirginiablackbears.com). Sample Morgantown’s eclectic barbecue scene with takeout from Woodburn Shanks (1616 Earl Core Road, morgantownbbq.com) or dinner at Smokin’ Jack’s (245 Cheat Road, smokin-jacks. com). Sunday brunch at Iron Horse Tavern (140 High Street or 525 Granville Square, ironhorsetvrn.com)—go early to avoid the line. refined Take in the traveling exhibits and permanent collection at the Art Museum of West Virginia University (2 Fine Arts Drive, artmuseum. wvu.edu). Enjoy fine dining at Bourbon Prime (Morgantown Marriott, 2 Waterfront Place, bourbonprime.com), Stefano’s (735 Chestnut Ridge Road, stefanoswv.com), or The Wine Bar at Vintner Valley (510 Burroughs Street, vintnervalley.com). Try Table 9 (40 Donley Street, dinetable9.com), with its wide windows and riverside deck, for Sunday brunch. shopping Shop for home decor at University Town Centre or browse the boutiques at Suncrest Towne Centre. Get a taste of Morgantown’s international flavor for dinner at an Indian, Middle Eastern, or Thai restaurant downtown— or find Chinese, Egyptian, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Vietnamese, and other cuisines across town. You can’t go wrong with brunch at Terra Cafe (425 Industrial Avenue, terracafewv.com).

wvu creative arts center One Fine Arts Drive events.wvu.edu

Still not sure? Check out BOM— that’s Best of Morgantown—at morgantownmag.com for other ideas.

MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

clear bag policy There’s nothing like a good tailgate for getting into the game day spirit. Neighborly, rowdy, sober, foodie—there’s a parking lot atmosphere to suit any taste. This will orient you and, if you’ll have game day visitors, it will help you coordinate parking and fun.

Fans attending ticketed events events at WVU are limited to one clear bag—a one-gallon freezer bag or a bag up to 12" x 6" x 12"—and one 4.5" x 6.5" clutch for privacy. Cameras and binoculars may be taken in, though not their cases. Keys, wallets, makeup, and other small items may be carried in pockets or in a clutch or clear bag. The policy speeds up entry at the gate and improves security. wvusports.com/clearbag

Student LOT Staged in the University Park courtyard, this alcohol-free tailgate features free food, music, guest appearances, and giveaways. The festivities start three hours before kickoff and end 30 minutes before kickoff. A student ID gets you and one guest in. 442 Oakland Street Blue Lot Sprawled between Milan Puskar Stadium and WVU’s Ruby Memorial Hospital, the Blue Lot is Tailgate Central, with food and drink sales, music, cornhole, and general game day mayhem. Medical Center is the nearest PRT station.

mountaineer the month sportsby2019-20 soccer volleyball

ap r ma y j un e j ul y

ma r

jan feb

pt oc t no v de c

au g

Which sports do you love? Mountaineers compete in more than a dozen through the year.

Other lots Tailgating at other season-pass WVU lots is generally a little more restrained, though also enthusiastic. The Light Blue Lot, beside the Blue Lot in a smaller space northeast of the stadium, is more familyoriented. The Brown Lot, behind the College of Law and high above the action, gives panoramic views of the stadium and Blue Lot. Single-game fee lots draw tailgaters, too, and the atmosphere varies from game to game: These include the Green Lot, on Van Voorhis Road in front of Mountaineer Station, as well as the Gold, Burgundy, Purple, and other lots. Tailgating goes on at the Coliseum lot, too, where parking is free and the stadium is close enough to walk to—or catch a shuttle bus from there to the stadium for a small fee. Engineering is the nearest PRT station. Sober tailgate WVU Collegiate Recovery hosts a sober tailgate before most home games and opens for all games. Serenity Place, 628 Price Street, “WVU Collegiate Recovery” on Facebook Organization tailgates Lots of campus organizations host tailgates. Check organizations’ websites or Facebook pages for schedules and locations. Off-campus tailgates Pregame fun happens all across town. If friends or family are visiting, their hotel may host or allow tailgating and offer a shuttle to and from the stadium.

cross country football golf rifle swimming/diving tennis rowing wrestling basketball track & field gymnastics baseball

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

WVU lots open at 7 a.m. for Saturday games. Pets must be leashed and tended to, and recycling bags are provided in some of these lots— please be tidy. Search “tailgating” at wvusports.com for details. Visiting fans looking for season permit parking can call the Mountaineer Athletic Club at 304.293.2294.

nd annual

mountaineer week november 1–9

The yearly weeklong celebration of all things Mountaineer includes everything from funnel cakes and kettle corn to the Beard Growing Finals and the PRT Cram. It kicks off with the much-anticipated Mountaineer Week Craft Fair in the Mountainlair Ballroom, November 1–3. mountaineerweek.wvu.edu

Where to Watch If you prefer big screens and game day specials to stadium excitement, try one of these spots.

iron horse tavern 140 High Street and 525 Granville Square @ironhorsetvrn on Facebook kegler’s sports bar & lounge 735 Chestnut Ridge Road keglerssportsbar.com mario’s fishbowl 704 Richwood Avenue and 3117 University Avenue mariosfishbowl.com

ELIZABETH FORD; COURTESY OF DAN FRIEND

mountain mama’s Chelsea Square, 1137 Van Voorhis Road @mountainmamas1 on Facebook mountaineer tap house 453 Oakland Street @mountaineertaphouse on Facebook the varsity club 910 Willowdale Road @varsityclub.morgantown on Facebook

2019

wvu football home games AUG 31

JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY

SEPT 14

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY

OCT 5

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS* (HOMECOMING)

OCT 12

IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY*

NOV 9

TEXAS TECH* (MOUNTAINEER WEEK)

GOLD RUSH

STRIPE THE STADIUM

TRUE BLUE

NOV 23

OKLAHOMA STATE* * BIG 12 CONFERENCE GAME MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

celebrate fall in

morgantown AUGUST 24

South Park Super Sale South Park 8 a.m.–1 p.m.

AUGUST 30

classic cutz offers $10 cuts on Wednesdays. 219 Wall Street, 2001 University Avenue, classiccutzwv.com

Arts Walk

Downtown, 6–9 p.m.

the morgantown beauty college will cut and style your hair starting at $10.50 and offers the whole array of salon and spa services at discounted prices. 276 Walnut Street, morgantownbeautycollege.edu

SEPTEMBER 1

Handcrafted Cooperative 413 Spruce Street, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

SEPTEMBER 7&8 WVPopCon

sharp as an errol barber school offers $8 haircuts along with discounted shaves, facials, skin care treatments, and more. 551 Beechurst Avenue, saaebarberschool.com

Mylan Park, $10/day 10 a.m.–7 p.m., 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

It’s easier than ever. Each of these food courier services has arrangements with dozens of Morgantown chain and independent restaurants, and all have apps. dubveatz Locally owned delivery service. Corner Store for toiletries and Mountain People’s Co-op, Kroger, and Walmart pickup. $4 delivery fee in town. doordash Restaurant-negotiated delivery fees vary, and prices for menu items may differ from in-house. Surge pricing can apply at busy times. Website says the company works to overcome food waste and hunger in the communities it serves. eatstreet The website shows delivery fees of $2 to $4.50 and gives wait times and summarized customer ratings. Some restaurants have minimum orders. grubhub Users can order for pickup or delivery. Restaurants negotiate their own arrangements, so charges vary. Menu prices are the same as in-house, although some restaurants set minimum orders. Website shows wait times and detailed customer ratings. Registered students can get discounts. 42

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

ubereats $5 delivery fee, plus surge pricing at busy times. Can pay with Uber account or credit card and track order through the app. should i tip? Yes. Delivery drivers deal with traffic, weather, wear and tear on their vehicles, and hangry customers. DubVEatz gives 15% directly to drivers, an appreciated recognition but not necessarily enough. GrubHub recommends $5 or 20%, whichever is greater.

International Street Festival

High Street, 10 a.m.–2 p.m.

SEPTEMBER 21–22 West Virginia Wine & Jazz Festival

Camp Muffly; $25/day Free shuttle from Mountainlair

SEPTEMBER 26–29 Preston County Buckwheat Festival Kingwood

SEPTEMBER 27 Arts Walk

Downtown, 6–9 p.m

SATURDAYS THROUGH NOVEMBER Morgantown Farmers Market

8:30 a.m.–noon 413 Spruce Street

JULIAN WYANT

Order In

SEPTEMBER 21

get involved and give back ANIMAL FRIENDS OF NORTH CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA animalfriendswv.org

AVIAN CONSERVATION CENTER OF APPALACHIA accawv.org

CHRISTIAN HELP motownchristianhelp.com

EMPTY BOWLS MONONGALIA Ebmon.org

FRIENDS OF DECKERS CREEK deckerscreek.org

LIBERA liberawv.com

MON COUNTY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY moncountyhfh.org

PANTRY PLUS MORE

International flavors are easy to find in Morgantown. Whether you’re missing that special snack from home or experimenting in the kitchen, chances are you can find what you seek at one of these specialty markets. regions services african caribbean foods Oxtail, goat meat, and salt fish, plus hard-to-find spices, sauces, and more—all in a clean and friendly atmosphere. 1393 Earl Core Road, 304.241.1804, “Regions Services” on Facebook asia royal grocery This tidy space stocks hardto-find fixings and includes fresh fish, meat, and produce and frozen prepared foods. 1137 Van Voorhis Road, 304.322.2741, @asiaroyalgrocery9 on Facebook kassar’s food and gifts Aisle after aisle of Middle Eastern ingredients and halal foods as well as a sizable menu of freshly prepared foods. 1137 Van Voorhis Road, 304.599.7252 la tapatia market and tacos Order your meal from this little taqueria, then shop the surprising variety of Mexican goods while you wait. 14 Marvin Gardens, 304.241.1545, @latapatia26508 on Facebook

mid -atlantic market Specialty pastas, sauces, antipasti, and cured meats direct from Pittsburgh’s Strip District. Deli sandwiches, bread baked onsite. 7000 Mid-Atlantic Drive, 304.777.4686, midatlanticmarket.com von son asian market Fresh produce, varied meats, frozen prepared foods, select pastries, and hundreds upon hundreds of sauces, specialty ingredients, snacks, and housewares. 1389 University Avenue, 304.292.9230, @vonsonmarket on Facebook

pantryplusmore.org

RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE rmhcpgh-mgtn.org

SCOTTS RUN SETTLEMENT HOUSE srsh.org

WEST VIRGINIA BOTANIC GARDEN

ELIZABETH FORD

wvbg.org For more volunteer opportunities, visit iserve.wvu.edu.

Be a Good Resident

Both city and county officials meet in Morgantown to make decisions about roads, greenspace, and other matters that affect residents. Meetings are open to the public— students are welcome. morgantown city council The seven-member council meets at 7 p.m. on the first, third, and last Tuesdays of

each month at City Hall, 389 Spruce Street. morgantown.gov monongalia county commission The commission meets every Wednesday at 10 a.m. in the Monongalia County Courthouse at 243 High Street. monongaliacounty.gov elections The 2020 elections—the primary on May 12 and the general on November 3—will elect state delegates and senators, state executives up to the governor, West Virginia’s three members of Congress and one of its two senators, and president. Register to vote at the county clerk’s office at 243 High Street or online at sos.wv.gov. MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

CARLA WITT FORD

The staff at Morgantown Eye Associates model eyewear from the office’s large inventory.

SPONSOREDCONTENT

Check Children’s Eyes Early

Dr. Dona Wratchford grew up near Elkins, West Virginia, and has lived in Alaska, Arizona, and Oklahoma. She has boys ages 2 and 10, and she likes to camp, fish, and kayak. She also skates roller derby.

she uses lens therapy and vision training to strengthen the eye muscles and the connection between the eyes and the brain. Correcting vision problems can help with Even if surgery turns out to be necessary, learning and coordination. training before and after ➼ CHILDREN MAY NOT KNOW if their can prevent a common situation in which surgery overcorrects the alignment. vision isn’t quite right. And if it isn’t, that can lead adults to believe they have Visual-Motor Integration learning disabilities or developmental When a child is diagnosed with dyslexia delays. A developmental optometrist can or learning disabilities, the underlying evaluate vision problems and provide cause may be a need to coordinate what treatment—improving a child’s school the eyes see with what the muscles need performance, self-confidence, and to do. Wratchford conducts standardized social interactions. visual developmental tests, then creates Developmental optometrist Dr. Dona an individualized program to improve Wratchford trains the eyes and the brain visual-motor integration. Exercises can to work together for better learning and include tricks for distinguishing “b” from coordination. She works with children as “d” and “q” from “p,” working with well as with concussion and stroke victims. colored geometric blocks, or walking a Treating these common conditions can zig-zag line while thinking “left” and greatly help a child’s development. “right.” The activities train the eyes, brain, and muscles to work together and Strabismus and Amblyopia When the eyes are not aligned properly— can help a struggling child catch up in school and in daily tasks. one or both turn in, out, up, or down— it’s a condition known as strabismus. As Test Early, Then Yearly many as four out of every 100 children Early testing is so important that all has crossed eyes or another form of American Optometric Association strabismus. To avoid double vision, the optometrists provide a first eye exam for brain may also ignore the signal from one free before age 1. Wratchford recommends of the eyes, resulting in amblyopia, or follow-ups at ages 3 and 5, then yearly. “lazy eye.” Strabismus and amblyopia can Any child who avoids near work or cause eye strain and headaches and make covers one eye or tilts to one side when it hard for a child to learn to read. They reading is a high priority for vision testing. can also affect eye-hand coordination and Children who have a hard time finding make social interactions difficult. things—their own shoes among several When Wratchford conducts an pairs, for example—or who run into things evaluation that shows misalignment, should also have their vision evaluated. 44

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

The most experienced eyecare practice in town with nearly 40 years of history, Morgantown Eye Associates provides primary care for the eye: vision correction tailored to your lifestyle as well as basic medical care with referral for serious conditions. The office’s large inventory of lenses, frames, and contact lenses and its on-site opticians mean same-day fulfillment for many prescriptions, and MEA’s three enthusiastic optometric physicians enjoy the use of state-ofthe-art equipment, several pieces unduplicated in the region, for fast, accurate imaging and assessment.

We See You! 3000 Hampton Center 304.598.2020 morgantowneye.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLISON TOFFLE

THE U

Field Goals

It takes a special team to keep Milan Puskar Stadium in top shape. As home to a Big 12 football team, WVUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Milan Puskar Stadium hosts hundreds of thousands of fans and appears on national TV many times each year. From tailgate areas to turnstiles and TV screens to toilets, it has to look great and function smoothly for every game. Making sure that happens falls to a large, coordinated team on a schedule of weekly, pre- and post-game, occasional, and annual tasks, culminating in a blitz in the August weeks before the first kickoff. When the Mountaineers welcome James Madison University on August 31 for their first home game of the season, hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what will have gotten the stadium in top condition. written by pam kasey

| photographed by carla witt ford MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

THE U

Every week all year ’round Turf never sleeps Mountaineer Field’s current playing surface, installed for the 2016 football season, is FieldTurf’s Revolution 360. It’s a long-pile polyethylene turf that’s infilled with sand and rubber particles for traction and shock absorption. But artificial turf doesn’t take a break, even in the off-season. WVU Athletics maintenance staff groom that expanse of grass facsimile every week, game or no game. Regular grooming loosens and smoothes the infill and minimizes compaction. Yard lines don’t have to be touched up—that coloration is part of the turf.

The bright side Roadways, parking lots, concourses, concession stands—the stadium complex is lit by what must be tens of thousands of light bulbs. WVU Facilities Management does a weekly sweep to discover and replace burned-out bulbs. Milan Puskar Stadium has been migrating to longerlived LED lighting, so replacements won’t be needed as often.

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

THE U

Once a year A cushy job

Making concessions

In this 60,000-seat stadium, about 5,000 season ticket holders upgrade their comfort by renting installed, cushioned seats and backs. Those are supplied by IMG College Seating in partnership with Panhandle Cleaning and Restoration, but they’re installed over an intensive series of pre-season and early-season weekend work sessions by Morgantown High School Band students and families as the band’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Band families also staff the kiosk where about 2,000 seat backs are rented for any given game.

Food facilities on the concourses are manned by the multinational food services and facilities management company Sodexo, with a certain number let out to local food vendors. In addition, on a schedule that meets fire code, a third party contractor that specializes in exhaust hood cleaning keeps the cooking facilities sparkling and safe.

Press on WVU Athletics electronics staff do a complete pre-season check of the electronics that serve and are controlled from the press box. That includes among other systems telephones, wireless infrastructure, and sound. Staff work with Panasonic to complete any maintenance on the south end zone board and Daktronics for work on the newer north end zone board, and the LED ribbon boards get attention, too.

Life is suite

Screens are cleaned and checked for corrosion regularly. These were replaced in the summer of 2018 to take all units to high definition with digital sound.

All of the suites—18 at Touchdown Terrace, 12 in the press box, and three in the Milan Puskar Center football training and office facility—get a thorough going-over. Seats, cabinets, refrigerators, windows, carpets, speaker systems, ceiling tiles, and everything that isn’t listed there is checked. MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

THE U

Game Day!

Before the coin flip Stadium seats are powerwashed for every game. This important service is contracted out to a thirdparty cleaning contractor. The contractor also sets more than 1,000 barrels out in tailgate lots for trash and recycling.

After the final down What amounts to a daylong party for tens of thousands of people leaves a mark. The cleaning contractor cleans up inside the stadium: removes trash and recycling and pressure washes the concourses and restroom walls. The contractor also collects the 1,000-plus trash and recycling barrels from the tailgating lots.

And the cycle starts again.

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s go, Mountaineers!

MORGANTOWN â&#x20AC;˘ AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

SPONSOREDCONTENT

Killing Painkillers Advantage Health & Wellness helps patients find and fix the causes of their pain without the use of addictive substances. ➼ BEFORE THERE WAS AN EPIDEMIC, before the overdose deaths, before the heroin, before the pill mills and faked prescriptions, there were people suffering from pain. These people went to their doctors for help, where they were prescribed highly addictive narcotics that were supposed to take the pain away. Of all of the awful consequences this approach to pain management has wrought, here’s perhaps the worst: The drugs didn’t even work. “In recent surveys and research, Americans report no change in pain. After 30 years of killing people and ruining families, it hasn’t helped,” says Morgantown chiropractic physician Kevin Trembush. “It’s not fixing your pain.” Painkillers only mask pain—they don’t address the causes. In some cases, they may even make the causes worse. Prescription opioids may convince a patient that a musculoskeletal condition is less severe than it is or that it has healed. This can lead to overexertion and a delay in the healing process or even permanent injury. But the medical community is coming around to ways to treat pain. West Virginia Senate Bill 273, "Reducing Use of Certain Prescription Drugs," went into effect in June 2018. The bill aims to reduce the overuse of opioids and to provide alternative treatment plans—including the use of chiropractic medicine. Chiropractic physicians are skilled in conservative,

noninvasive, and nonpharmaceutical methods to alleviate pain, and they urge patients and other health care providers, where appropriate, to exhaust these options before resorting to riskier and more invasive treatments such as drugs and surgery. For those seeking out this alternate method of pain management, Trembush is the owner and founder of Advantage Health & Wellness (AHW) and manager of Advanced Physical Medicine of WV (APM), located together in one facility in Morgantown. This creates, in effect, a multidisciplinary practice that brings chiropractors, massage therapists, physical therapists, nurse practitioners, and doctors together to assess patients’ pain, figure out what is causing it, and determine how best to manage it by using each type of provider’s expertise and, if possible, without resorting to surgery or opioid medications. “Current literature is now supportive of the fact that, in most cases, we get as good or better results with pain management as these drugs will,” Trembush says. “Most of the time, patients are getting the result that they came in for.” The sheer magnitude of America’s prescription opioid abuse epidemic has evoked visceral responses and calls to action from the public and private sectors. As longtime advocates of drug-free management of acute, subacute, and chronic back, neck, and neuro-musculoskeletal

pain, the chiropractic profession is aligned with these important initiatives and committed to actively participating in solving the prescription opioid addiction crisis. A profession dedicated to health and well-being, doctors of hiropractic (DCs) are educated, trained, and positioned to deliver non-pharmacologic pain management and play a leading role in “America’s Opioid Exit Strategy.” Rather than continuing down the destructive path of masking pain with over-the-counter and prescription opioids, Americans of all ages should look at the potentially life-changing beneﬁts of chiropractic care. In many cases, chiropractic can not only relieve pain in the short term, it can also help avoid or at least delay costly invasive surgery. Non-surgical treatments are less disruptive to the lives of patients and their families, innately have lower risk, and cost far less. They also help patients avoid starting down the path of opioid use that can lead to abuse. At AHW and APM, patients begin with an evaluation, which can involve a chiropractor, a physical therapist, and a medical provider as well as x-rays and other testing. From this, Trembush’s team puts together a program to manage the pain. This might involve therapies that may be used long-term, like chiropractic or massage, or injection therapy, where medicine is injected into a specific pain generator. It might involve lifestyle changes. “That’s very specific to each person: What are you doing to facilitate this pain? How do we avoid this from happening?” Trembush says. “This is very personalized care.” Weight loss can be an important part of pain management, too. “I’ve found that, if somebody just loses a quarter of their over-weight, it makes a tremendous difference in the reporting of knee pain, back pain, and pain in general,” he says. An opioid-free approach to pain management is not right for all patients. "If you’re having chronic pain from cancer or cancer treatment, pain from a true psychological pain generator, or tooth pain, I’m not the guy to come to,” Trembush says. “We will help you find the right place to be if we are not the answer for you.” But, he says, almost everyone else can find pain relief without resorting to surgery or addictive opioids. Even if the first plan of action isn’t successful, the team at Advantage Health & Wellness and Advanced Physical Medicine will keep searching. “Until patients get tired of trying, we’re going to continue to try,” Trembush says. MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

MORGANTOWN â&#x20AC;¢ AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

written by

Pam Kasey

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the most satisfying major? One where you get to pour molten metal has to be a contender.

MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

WVU Sculpture Program Coordinator Dylan Collins and his 3-D–printed face.

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

as part of their everyday studies. They do their loud, strenuous work out of sight, so far in the depths of the Creative Arts Center that visitors have to be led there. But this fall, the Sculpture Program is going to become exuberantly more visible. Skills before ideas One way for art to happen is idea first. “Then the making is second—you know, in service to the idea,” Collins says. A lot of art programs are like that. But WVU’s works the other way around. “We really are focused on tools and materials—not just about the idea, but really about the process. Being makers,” Collins says. “That includes thinking about how we use our hands, how we use old and new technology, and how we use materials in order to make commentary on contemporary life, contemporary culture.” In their first year, undergraduates pursuing sculpture learn the fundamentals of drawing and composition. Things get hot and heavy in their second year as they sample sculpture materials and processes in classes Collins teaches. They learn to use welders, forges, table saws—equipment found in good fabrication shops. “We have the most amazing top-of-the-line tubing roller and topof-the-line-belt sander,” Collins says, geeking out a little. Students make molds, cast plastics, weld metal, melt and pour aluminum and bronze. “We have all the things to do stone carving. And we're always bringing in new technology, like 3-D printing and laser cutters—more contemporary machinery.” Students learn that sculpture is not just artistry; it’s also structural integrity: strength and stability. “Even in the beginning

PAM KASEY

arry Whittington has always liked to paint. He’s been an aircraft mechanic, too. So when he got his hands on metal fabrication equipment as a graduate student in WVU’s School of Art and Design, it made a whole new kind of creative sense for him. “It blew my mind to see how these things are created, fuel controls and jet engines,” Whittington says. Turning that same equipment to creative purposes gives him a physicality and freedom painting didn’t. “When you paint a picture, the square you’re working in controls your composition,” he says. “What controls the composition when you’re dealing with sculpture? You control the composition, completely and totally. I get to do things larger, work with more content, better conceptual ideas.” It’s a common experience. A welding class Dylan Collins took in college unexpectedly gave shape to his creative life. “I have a real artistic family. I was always into painting and drawing,” he says. “I hadn't thought that much about sculpture. But when I learned how to weld, I had this revelation that my lifelong pyromania could be fulfilled via welding. That kind of additive process, along with the use of fire, was totally the sweet spot for me. I've never looked back.” Today, Collins plays with metal and fire as much as he can. He exhibits his work in galleries and museums across the U.S. every year. And he shares his enthusiasm for manipulating matter with up-and-coming artists as assistant professor and coordinator of the Sculpture Program at WVU. Sculpture is probably the one WVU program where students melt, hoist, mold, pound, balance, extrude, weld, saw, and grind

Originally a painter, graduate student Larry Whittington loves the freedom of threedimensionality. BOTTOM Collins fires up the Speedy Melt forge.

We really are focused on tools and materialsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; being makers.

PAM KASEY

DYLAN COLLINS, WVU SCULPTURE PROGRAM COORDINATOR

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

COURTESY OF WVU SCULPTURE PROGRAM

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Work by students Kyleen Kelly, Leigha Takacs, and Molly Davis on display in the Sculpture Program’s Sculpture Critique Space.

PAM KASEY

classes, they get to make functional pieces. I have them make a chair that they have to be able to sit on,” Collins laughs. “That’s one of my sneaky projects.” With hand skills beginning to form, students shift in their junior and senior years to thinking more about concepts in classes with Collins’ colleague, Associate Professor Jason Lee. “In advanced sculpture, we address the ideas they want to express and how to find the best solutions for those,” Lee says. Art, to him, is problem-solving. “You’re supplied with this problem: You have to find a means of presenting an idea in a way that’s pleasing to the audience, using a wide range of materials.” For sculpture, that includes materials and methods sampled in students’ earlier years, plus every single possible other thing. “It’s not like we’re doing marble carving,” Lee says, evoking an outdated idea of what a sculptor does. “Everything is available to the contemporary sculptor. I make a joke that sculpture embraces all other mediums as subgenres. Photography and video are a big part of what I do in my own work—we have to know everything.” Grad student Whittington has fun playing with stream-ofconsciousness ideas of free will, evolution, and survival and extinction. “I find it fascinating that a lot of the pictures we have of dinosaurs, they’re naked, but then we come to find out they have feathers. Tyrannosaurus probably looked like a giant turkey. We impose our nakedness on other things,” he says. “I saw this picture of a naked owl—without feathers. It was a genetic disease. The owl symbolizes knowledge and secrecy, so I did a series of three naked owls in different poses to be a representation of privacy and the internet and how we’re exposed.” Twenty to 40 students study sculpture at WVU in any given semester, a handful of those grad students. A lot of them go into it never having used so much as a drill, and Collins likes to tell them they can brag to their grandmas about using a table saw. “I’m only halfway joking, because that’s a real achievement—it’s a life skill, to learn how tools operate. It builds incredible confidence. You might do boring things with it like putting up a TV in your house or building some flat-pack furniture, but you can at least speak the language of that.” Like Whittington, some students have the sort of revelatory experience that welding gave Collins. “When you learn how to work with tools and materials, it just opens up a whole world of creative possibilities,” Collins says. As coursework progresses, students

build all kinds of sculptures, representational and abstract. They work on public art projects and service learning projects. The maker focus grounds WVU’s Sculpture Program solidly in Appalachia, Collins says. “There's such a blue-collar legacy, a lot of industry, and there's always the spirit of innovation.” At the same time, he says, the art is fresh. “We’re making work that's very contemporary.” CESTA: Putting the A back in STEM Take a trip over to the Evansdale Library this school year and walk up to the second floor. There, you’ll see the sculpture that came out of the summer 2019 Community Engagement in Science Through Art program. CESTA brings six college students from across the country together each year—two chemists, two engineers, and two sculptors—to conceive and create together, over the period of just one summer month, a large sculpture that conveys a message about the beauty of chemistry. “As far as I know, there’s nothing like CESTA anywhere else in the country,” Lee says. He likes to say that CESTA puts the “A,” for “art,” back in “STEM,” for “science, technology, engineering, and math.” The program is the community engagement aspect of Associate Professor of Chemistry Jessica Hoover’s fouryear National Science Foundation CAREER award, and Lee co-coordinates it with Hoover and with Teaching Associate Professor of Engineering Todd Hamrick. CESTA isn’t so much a class as a commission: Participants are chosen in a competitive application process, and they’re paid for their time. It gives them the opportunity to work across disciplines, and it makes them think deeply about how to communicate scientific concepts in ways that get people interested. The 2016 CESTA sculpture, Glukupikron, combined a phenylthiocarbamide molecule and a glucose molecule to express the bitter and sweet aspects of life. 2017’s Object D4h, a rotating sculpture of metal and plastic, examined the structure

A student desk, part of a series by Collins. MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

As far as I know, there’s nothing like CESTA anywhere else in the country. JASON LEE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF SCULPTURE

PAM KASEY; COURTESY OF WVU CESTA PROGRAM

TOP LEFT Welding the 2018 CESTA sculpture Cytochrome C, pictured at right. TOP RIGHT the 2019 sculpture The Brain Complex. OPPOSITE 2017 sculpture Object D4h.

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

COURTESY OF WVU CESTA PROGRAM

of a molecule synthesized in Hoover’s lab—“D4h” is a chemists’ category for one type of symmetry. In 2018, the wood, metal, and ceramic work Cytochrome C communicated the important role of the enzyme in biology. It also charged smartphones. The Brain Complex, on display now in the Evansdale Library, represents chemical interactions that take place in the four lobes of the brain. “I think this year’s is the most successful of the four in grasping all of the different elements of the project—every participant had a lot of input,” Lee says. “And it’s interesting. Each of the lobes has a peep hole in it, and there’s a mechanical animation inside.” Because of CESTA’s compressed timeline, although the chemistry and engineering participants have been accepted from anywhere, Lee chooses WVU students as the sculpture participants so they can hit the ground running in the studio. Past CESTA sculptors have gone on into theater technology, foundry work, and master of fine arts programs. 2019 was the fourth and last year the CESTA program was funded, but it’s just one illustration of the Sculpture Program’s commitment to collaborative, contemporary work. Out of the gallery and onto the lawn As industrial-scale as its students’ activities are, it’s surprising that the Sculpture Program stays so hidden. But that will change this fall with the 2019–2021 WVU Sculpture Tour.

SEE SCULPTURE STUDENTS’ WORK Annual Juried Student Exhibition December 5, 2019–January 10, 2020 Creative Arts Center Laura and Paul Mesaros Galleries MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

Formed to Fit II, a cast iron and fabricated steel sculpture by Pennsylvania artist Jennifer Garey, and Enigma, a stainless steel work by Ohio sculptor Kevin Lyles, part of the 2019–2021 WVU Sculpture Tour.

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

arts: designing and fabricating playground equipment, repairing aircraft, apprenticing with other artists or at the Carrie Blast Furnaces outside Pittsburgh. Some continue in academia— managing 3-D printers and other high-tech equipment for universities. Graduates’ diverse life paths reflect the program’s true commitment to hand skills. “We always stress that it’s not a failure if you don’t go forward with an art career,” Collins says. “You might decide, ‘I like to build things and work with my hands—I like that kind of blue-collar job.’”

COURTESY OF WVU SCULPTURE PROGRAM

For Collins and for School of Art and Design Director Alison Helm, the event is a longtime dream made real. Organizing a large-scale, many-artist outdoor installation from scratch takes years: To seek grant funding. To identify a large display area with visibility, walkability, and parking. To pour concrete pads. And, of course, to attract artists’ submissions and select the pieces to be displayed. The call for proposals went out last November. “We had close to 50 entries,” Collins enthuses. “The work that was selected is incredible. A lot of really stunning work didn't get accepted—that’s how competitive it was.” Winning sculptures that will soon be on their way to Morgantown include Calibration, a flowing, cantilevered swirl of painted steel from Kentucky sculptor Luke Achterberg; Dynamic Energy, a giant shining welded aluminum cog from Michigan artist Douglas Gruizenga; and an angled, dimpled shape of cast iron, steel, and felt that New York state sculptor Coral Lambert calls Star Gazer. Other pieces wrought in stainless steel, fiberglass, resin, cedar, graphite, and urethane foam from artists as far as Oregon and as near as Fairmont, West Virginia—eight in all—will be installed by the artists on the grounds of the Creative Art Center in early October and will remain in place for two years. When these invited pieces go up—one of them 14 feet tall and a vivid orange color—everyone who lives in or visits Morgantown will be aware that there’s a creative force promoting sculpture here. “This gives us artwork on arguably the busiest intersection in all of Morgantown—right out across from the Coliseum—something front and center in the public view that reflects what we do inside this building,” Collins says. “We’re hoping it gets people excited about checking out all the cool things that we do here.” He’s proud of the Sculpture Tour as a cultural contribution to life in Morgantown. “Public sculpture, it’s a civic enhancement.” He’s also looking forward to the instruction and inspiration it will bring to his program’s budding makers. “We get to use this as a teaching opportunity, because our students will be involved with viewing and assisting in the installation process. How does a sculpture go up? It’s not just how do you make a thing, but it’s professional practice,” Collins says. After he graduates in 2021, Whittington hopes to be an art professor. Other sculpture students find opportunities in both industry and the

MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

MORGANTOWN â&#x20AC;¢ AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Your local guide to life, art, culture, & more AUG/SEPT 2019

August

AUGUST 11

Fifth Annual Great Pepperoni Roll Cookoff

AUGUST 8

Whose rolls do you like best? Try them side by side and find out. Cookoff proceeds support the 5th anniversary statewide tour of Golden Horseshoe, the musical that celebrates West Virginia history. 8-roll ticket $10

BOPARC Sounds of Summer Concert: Jazz on the Green Jack Roberts Park, Thurs. 4–9 p.m., “BOPARC” on Facebook Take a blanket and picnic on the green to the strains of world-class jazz. Jenny Wilson Trio with Curtis E. Johnson, Bob Thompson Quartet, Salsamba with Eric Suseoff. Free

WV Black Bears vs. Williamsport Monongalia County Ballpark, 2040 Gyorko Drive, Granville, Thurs. 6:35 p.m. Fri. & Sat. 7:05 p.m., 304.293.7910 westvirginiablackbears.com The Black Bears take on the Crosscutters. Thursday: Bobblehead Night; Friday: Fireworks; Saturday: Military Appreciation Night benefiting Operation Welcome Home. $8.75–$12.75

CARLA WITT FORD

AUGUST 8–10

Morgantown Market Place Pavilion, 400 Spruce Street Sun. 2 p.m. @goldenhorseshoemusical on Facebook

AUGUST 9 North Elementary Back to School Bash North Elementary School, 825 Chestnut Ridge Road, Fri. 10 a.m.–2 p.m., @pantryplusmore on Facebook Free backpacks, haircuts, dental screenings, and school supplies. Open to all 2019-20 Monongalia County Schools students. AUGUST 9–11 AND 15–17 Dead Man’s Cell Phone MT Pockets Theatre, 203 Parsons Street, Thurs.– Sun. 8 p.m., 304.284.0049, mtpocketstheatre.com Jean is sleepwalking through her life until she answers a dead man’s cell phone. It turns out to be a wake-up call. $7 / $10 AUGUST 10 The Sheppard Brothers Chestnut Ridge Park, Sat. 6–8:30 p.m. @chestnutridgeparkwv on Facebook Live music in a casual outdoor setting. $5 AUGUST 11–13 WV Black Bears vs. Auburn Monongalia County Ballpark, 2040 Gyorko Drive Granville, Sun. 4:05 p.m., Mon. & Tues. 6:35 p.m. 304.293.7910, westvirginiablackbears.com Our Black Bears face the Doubledays. Sunday: Play Catch; Monday: Faith and Family; Tuesday: Paw Patrol. $8.75–$12.75

AUGUST 12

AUGUST 17–19

Monongalia County Fair Parade Downtown, Mon. 7:30 p.m.

WV Black Bears vs. Williamsport Monongalia County Ballpark, 2040 Gyorko Drive, Granville, Sat. 7:05 p.m., Sun. 1:05 p.m., Mon. 6:35 p.m., 304.293.7910 westvirginiablackbears.com The Crosscutters come back for more. Sunday: Team photo and autographs; Monday: Baseball movie night. $8.75–$12.75

AUGUST 13–17 Monongalia County Fair Mylan Park, 500 Mylan Park Lane, Tues.–Sat. 304.291.7201, moncountyfair.org Carnival rides, agricultural and livestock events, pageants, food vendors, a quilt show, and other exhibits, plus motorsports. Day pass $10 AUGUST 17 High Street Cruise-in High Street, Sat. 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Get a good look at all the cool cruisers. Celebrate Woodburn An Arts Community Festival Whitemoore Park, Sat. noon–8 p.m., “BOPARC” on Facebook Walking trail, art projects, picnic area, and live music by The Lords of Lester, The Soul Miners, Jenny Wilson Trio, and Chris Haddox and Friends. Meadow Run Chestnut Ridge Park, Sat. 6–8:30 p.m. @chestnutridgeparkwv on Facebook Live music in a casual outdoor setting. $5; under 7 free

AUGUST 18 Birds, Bees, Flowers, Trees West Virginia Botanic Garden, 1061 Tyrone Road Sun. 4–7:30 p.m., 304.322.2093, wvbg.org This year’s West Virginia Botanic Garden fundraiser event features entertainment by the dynamic string trio The Elk River Ramblers and culinary delights by award winning chefs Dale Hawkins and Teresa Lipps with Fish Hawk Acres. Silent and live auctions. All ages. $85 AUGUST 20 Nature Connection Talks WVU Core Arboretum, Tues. 6 p.m. arboretm.wvu.edu Retired state fisheries biologist Frank Jernejcic will talk about monitoring, marking, and relocating timber rattlesnakes at Cooper’s Rock and WVU state forests. Free MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

AUGUST 30 Downtown Morgantown Arts Walk Downtown, Fri. 6–9 p.m. downtownmorgantown.com Dozens of downtown shops and restaurants host local artists displaying their best—wander to also discover live music and food specials. WVU Women’s Soccer vs. High Point Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, Monongahela Boulevard, Fri. 7 p.m., wvusports.com The Mountaineers face the Panthers. $5

COURTESY OF 123 PLEASANT STREET

Sofar Sounds Concert Somewhere in town, Fri. 7:30–10 p.m. sofarsounds.com/morgantown Unspecified bands in an unspecified location—a different BYOB musical adventure every month. $20 AUGUST 31 Mountaineers Football vs. James Madison University Milan Puskar Stadium, Sat. 2 p.m., wvusports.com Cheer on the WVU Mountaineers as they take on the James Madison University Dukes in their first game of the season. The game will air on AT&T SportsNet.

AUGUST 24

The Soul Rebels

New Orleans brass army The Soul Rebels march in with support from Habatat and Lamar Riddick. 18-plus. $12 / $15 day-of 123 Pleasant Street, Sat. 8 p.m., 304.292.0800, 123pleasantstreet.com

AUGUST 23 WVU Women’s Soccer vs. Duquesne Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, Monongahela Boulevard, Fri. 7 p.m., wvusports.com The Mountaineers take on the Dukes in their first home game of the season. $5 AUGUST 23–24 Wild & Wonderful Country Music Fest Mylan Park, Fri. & Sat., wwcfest.com Rockin’ in the fresh West Virginia air. 15-plus bands with headliners Hank Williams Jr. and Old Dominion; hosts Davisson Brothers Band. $79+ Sprint, Splash, Spin Triathlon Marilla Park, kids’ race Fri. 6:30 p.m., adult first heat Sat. 7 a.m., 304.296.8356, boparc.org Participants swim 330 yards, bike 11 miles on paved rail-trail, and run 5K. Chip timing, individual and relay divisions, t-shirts. Register by August 13. $10 / $35 / $60 AUGUST 23–25 7th Annual West Virginia Tattoo Expo Morgantown Event Center, Three Waterfront Place, Fri. & Sat. noon–10 p.m., Sun. noon–7 p.m., 304.626.5541, wvtattooexpo.com Tattooing and piercing from more than 160 artists, art displays, seminars. $15 day, $40 weekend AUGUST 24 3rd Annual Cheat Lake Regatta Cheat Lake Marina and Crab Shack Caribba, 69 62

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

Mont Chateau Road, Sat. 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., @cheatlakeregatta on Facebook Watercraft races, poker run, boat tours, afterparty, Light Up Cheat Lake. Benefits local causes. Weary Space Wanderer Chestnut Ridge Park, Sat. 6–8:30 p.m. @chestnutridgeparkwv on Facebook Live music in a casual outdoor setting. $5

West Virginia Hitchers Chestnut Ridge Park, Sat. 6–8:30 p.m. @chestnutridgeparkwv on Facebook Live music in a casual outdoor setting. $5; under 7 free The Company Stores and The Greens 123 Pleasant Street, Sat. 8 p.m. 304.292.0800, 123pleasantstreet.com WVU kickoff party. 18-plus. $7

September SEPTEMBER 1

AUGUST 24–25 Mountain Spirit Pow Wow Mason-Dixon Historical Park, Core, Sat. & Sun. 10 a.m.–5 p.m., masondixonhistoricalpark.com Food, entertainment, beautiful Native American dress, and more. $5; 5 and under free NEARBY

AUGUST 25 Food Truck Sunday at Coopers Rock Coopers Rock State Forest, Sun. noon–5 p.m. @coopers.rock.wv on Facebook The best mobile deliciousness. Vendor permit proceeds improve campground. AUGUST 28–30 WV Black Bears vs. Batavia Monongalia County Ballpark, 2040 Gyorko Drive, Granville, Wed. 6:35 p.m., Thurs. 10:05 a.m., Fri. 7:05 p.m., 304.293.7910 westvirginiablackbears.com Our Black Bears face the Muckdogs. Wednesday: WVU Marching Band. Saturday: Education Day. Friday: Fireworks. $8.75– $12.75

Handcrafted Cooperative Market Place Pavilion, 415 Spruce Street, Sun. 10 a.m.–4 p.m., thehandcraftedcooperative.com A juried market of the handmade and vintage. Free SEPTEMBER 6 WVU Women’s Soccer vs. Penn State Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, Monongahela Boulevard, Fri. 7 p.m., wvusports.com The Mountaineers go up against the Nittany Lions. $5 SEPTEMBER 7 Tour of the Night Sky West Virginia Botanic Garden, 1061 Tyrone Road, Sat. 7:30–9:30 p.m., 304.322.2093 wvbg.org WVU Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy D.J. Pisano will start the evening with a talk about night sky highlights including planets, star clusters, and galaxies. This will be followed, weather permitting, with the opportunity to look at some of these objects through telescopes. All ages. Non-members $15; members free

SEPTEMBER 7 & 8 WV Pop Culture and Comic Book Convention Mylan Park, 500 Mylan Park Lane, Sat. 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.–5 p.m., @wvpop on Facebook WVPopCon is artists, creators, cosplay, apparel, video and tabletop gaming, panels, and more. $10 per day, under 10 free

The Avett Brothers WVU Coliseum, Tues. 7:30 p.m., 304.293.7469 ticketmaster.com The Avett Brothers’ music has roots in traditional folk and bluegrass but also captures the high spirits and no-boundaries attitude of rock ’n’ roll. Their most recent studio album, “True Sadness,” has dominated multiple charts. $35; WVU students $20 SEPTEMBER 12

ADAM POLINSKI

SEPTEMBER 10

SEPTEMBER 22

WVU Women’s Soccer vs. Stony Brook Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, Monongahela Boulevard, Thurs. 7 p.m., wvusports.com Our Mountaineers take on the Seawolves. $5

Food Truck Sunday at Coopers Rock

SEPTEMBER 14

Coopers Rock State Forest, Sun. noon to 5 p.m., @coopers.rock.wv on Facebook

Mountaineers Football vs. NC State Mountaineer Field, Sat. noon, wvusports.com Watch our WVU Mountaineers go up against the North Carolina State University Wolfpack. Gold Rush game—wear gold! Airs on FS1.

deeply personal and tragically honest in its examination of this all-too-common human experience. $7/$10

SEPTEMBER 15

SEPTEMBER 21

Deckers Dash 5k Marilla Center, Sun. 10 a.m. deckerscreek.org/events A down-and-back course from Marilla Park to Hazel Ruby McQuain Park and back. Awards for top three male and female finishers. Proceeds support the work of the Friends of Deckers Creek. $30; youth $20

International Street Festival High Street, Sat. 10 a.m.–2 p.m. See the flags of more than 100 nations at WVU and in Morgantown. Sample foods from Africa, Latin America, Europe, India, the Middle East, and Asia, and enjoy dance and fashion shows. Music from Samba Ensemble and SabroSon.

The best mobile deliciousness, all parked in one place. Proceeds from vendor permits go toward materials for new tent pads in Camp Rhododendron Campground.

SEPTEMBER 21–22 SEPTEMBER 19–21

SEPTEMBER 26–29 NEARBY 78th Annual Preston County Buckwheat Festival Kingwood, Thurs.–Sun., buckwheatfest.com Parades, arts and crafts, carnival, livestock, pageant, and delicious buckwheat cake dinners served all weekend long.

SEPTEMBER 27 Downtown Arts Walk Downtown, Fri. 6–9 p.m. downtownmorgantown.com Dozens of downtown shops and restaurants host local artists displaying their best—wander to also discover live music and food specials.

Bucking the System Hill & Hollow, 709 Beechurst, Thurs.–Sat. 304.241.4551, @hillandhollowwv on Facebook Tracing the Buckwheat Trail from Southeast Asia to the Southern table.

West Virginia Wine & Jazz Festival Camp Muffly, 4-H Camp Road, Sat. 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun. noon–6 p.m., wvwineandjazz.com Best of Morgantown Best Festival year after year. Drink wine, shop local foods and crafts, and soak up great jazz in a camp atmosphere. $25/day

SEPTEMBER 20

SEPTEMBER 22

SEPTEMBER 28

WVU Women’s Soccer vs. Fairleigh Dickinson Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, Monongahela Boulevard, Fri. 7 p.m., wvusports.com The Mountaineers face the Knights. $5

5th Annual Morgantown Marathon WVU Coliseum, Sun., morgantownmarathon.com Morgantown Marathon, Mon Health Half Marathon, and Mountain Mama 8K. Proceeds support Operation Welcome Home’s job resources for veterans. $12.50–$95

SEPTEMBER 20–22 AND 26–28

WVU Women’s Soccer vs. Bowling Green Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, Monongahela Boulevard, Sun. 1 p.m., wvusports.com The Mountaineers meet up with the Falcons. $5

NEARBY Mason-Dixon Line Festival and Buckwheat Cake Breakfast Mason-Dixon Historical Park, 79 Buckeye Road, Core, Sat. 8 a.m.–noon masondixonhistoricalpark.com Enjoy a home-cooked buckwheat cake breakfast with sausage—or, if those aren’t your style, choose regular pancakes. Stay for the Mason-Dixon Line Festival. Breakfast $9, under 12 $5

’night, Mother MT Pockets Theater, 203 Parsons Street Thurs.–Sat. 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m. 304.284.0049, mtpocketstheatre.com A Pulitzer prize–winning portrayal of one woman’s decision to end her own life and her mother’s attempts to change her mind. It is

5th Annual One-Mile Meal Hill & Hollow, 709 Beechurst, Sun. 304.241.4551, @hillandhollowwv on Facebook An entire meal sourced from one farm.

WVU Women’s Soccer vs. Iowa State Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, Monongahela Boulevard, Fri. 7 p.m., wvusports.com The Mountaineers take on the Cyclones in their first Big 12 match-up of the season. $5

See our Motown Lowdown at morgantownmag.com for weekly updates. MORGANTOWNMAG.COM

THEN & NOW

Eleanor Roosevelt addressed students at University Demonstration High School in 1936, just a few years after it was built. It was originally intended to serve 500 students.

With additions and updates, the school operates today as Mountaineer Middle School and serves about 540 students in grades 6 through 8.

A Class Act In 1925, the West Virginia Legislature established University Demonstration High School. Sometimes also called a laboratory school, a demonstration school operates in conjunction with a university as a place to conduct educational research and train future teachers. WVU’s University Demonstration High School bounced between several locations during its infancy: the Old Tea Room on the corner of Spruce and Willey Streets, floors above a gas station and garage on University Avenue and Stewart Street, and even WVU’s former library. In 1933, the school settled into its home at a newly constructed facility in University Heights, atop North Price Street. Students’ learning at Demonstration

High helped shape the instruction and, rather than lecture, teachers worked with pupils to solve problems. WVU operated University Demonstration High until 1972, when the university transferred it to Monongalia County Schools to become the area’s second regular public high school. High schoolers walked the halls for the last time in November 2008 before University High moved to its current location along Bakers Ridge Road. Now younger students romp around the building’s classrooms, as it houses Mountaineer Middle School, formerly Cheat Lake Middle School. Then & Now is published in partnership with WVU Libraries’ West Virginia & Regional History Center. wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu

written by jess walker 64

MORGANTOWN • AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019