by Hallie Herold
Director
In partnership with Pocahontas County Historical Society, McClintic Library welcomed the West Virginia History Contest and Old-Time Spelling Bee during the Pioneer Days celebration in Marlinton, the county seat of Pocahontas.
These events have been happening at the Museum in Marlinton for more than 45 years under the direction of Dr. Denise McNeel. Over the years, the contest quizzed on a variety of local history knowledge including familiarity with the eclectic collection of artifacts housed in the Museum. In an effort to continue this honored tradition, the librarians put their heads together to create new questions on county and state history. We had a great time drawing from audio-visual materials available in the libraries as well as our vast nonfiction sections. The process was humbling as we only skimmed the surface of information on the shelves and shared many utterances of “listen to this” and “I didn’t know that.”
The turnout for participants was unprecedented. Air conditioning and the inviting environs of the library were most appreciated and made for an evening of shared learning and laughter.
Spelling contestants impressed the crowd and meandered into vocabulary that stumped even the hosts. Luckily, a dictionary was close at hand.
In the history contests, young, older, and even a beauty queen stepped up to answer questions regarding Civilian Conservation Corps projects, geological regions of our county, inventions, legislation and much more!
Did you know that the Rural Route postal delivery system was the brain child of a West Virginian with the first rural delivery taking place within the state? Or, that the Great Seal of West Virginia has a reverse side known as the Less Seal? Of course, details won’t be divulged here, but come out next year to learn more. Start preparing now by visiting the libraries’ West Virginia sections, stop by McClintic Library for a tour of the history room from our very own historian librarian, Pam Johnson, and contact the Pocahontas County Historical Society to schedule a tour of the Museum in Marlinton.
