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Twenty-year retrospective: Old Fort Steuben Project

When I was hired in March, 2004, as the first Director at Historic Fort Steuben, I had inherited an organization with an amazing story. Founded in 1986 by forward thinking individuals representing a broad spectrum of the community, the group was able to research, raise funds, acquire the property, and reconstruct the original 18th century military fort on its original site. They went on to develop Fort Steuben Park with its landmark Veterans’ Memorial Fountain and construct the Fort Steuben Scenic Byway Visitor Center with grants from ODOT and the Federal Highway Administration. The ...

Earth Action Day: Unleashing our power for our planet

April 22nd will mark the fifty-fifth anniversary of Earth Day. The power of those 20 million voices that came out on the streets that first Earth Day led the U.S. to create the EPA and the first generation of environmental laws addressing clean air, clean water and toxics. Fast forward to today. Under the banner of, “Our Power. Our Planet”, EARTHDAY.ORG, the global organizer of Earth Day, is calling on people from all walks of life to join in “Earth Action Day” -- an effort to once again mobilize people power to tackle the current generation of environmental crises. 2024 ...

How will you express your thanks this Easter?

I could not possibly let this Sunday go by without telling all of you, who continue to read this little section of the newspaper, that I hope your Easter will be a beautiful one. And why shouldn’t it be? It’s spring. Everything is once again in bloom. For some reason, nature appears prettier on this particular day. As if everything is brand new. Like everything is going to be alright. Easter just gives us that feeling –– like the world is a little more beautiful today than on any other day of the year. Yes, this holiday does bring up a few depressing, personal reminders ...

Trump administration calls for rate cuts as part of plan

Watching and listening to the interview on Sunday, April 6, 2025, with NBC News’s “Meet the Press,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called it a “false narrative” that people close to retiring may be reluctant after their retirement savings dropped last week because of the stock market downturn. Once again, the elite fail to understand how the wage workers’ 401k retirement plans work. When a retired employee separates from the employer who does not have a Defined Benefit Pension, which more than 90% of private sector workers do not have, the 401K is used to create an income ...

A defining moment for college sports and West Virginia’s youth

The recent $2.8 billion settlement in House v. NCAA is more than a headline—it’s a seismic shift in the landscape of college athletics. This case, which directly confronts decades of inequity in student-athlete compensation, is the latest in a series of defining moments forcing us to rethink how we value the young people who power billion-dollar sports industries. The settlement compensates former athletes for lost opportunities dating back to 2016 and introduces a groundbreaking model that allows schools to pay athletes directly starting in 2025. But while the college world is ...

History in the Hills: Woven history

This month at Historic Fort Steuben, we are hosting our annual Spring Quilt show. We are in our 15th year for the show at the Fort and it is always one of my favorite events. This year, we have 45 quilts on display ranging from small lap quilts to large king-sized pieces. My colleague, Mary Snyder, does an incredible job organizing the event every year, and this year is no exception. I am always amazed at the craftsmanship of these unique objects. I grew up around quilts and quilting so, I know just a little bit of the process of creating these works of art. My grandmother was a ...