Thomas Downs

Thomas Downs

WeatherBELL Analytics Continued from page 1 artifacts housed therein. Its close

WeatherBELL’s Winter Outlook

For more information about WeatherBELL’s services and to get the hot-off-the-press forecast updates, please visit our website www.weatherbell.com or contact us at sales@weatherbell.com.

While much of the fall is expected to be warmer than normal, a few major cold outbreaks are expected.

After a cold opening to October, our research points to another twoweek cold stretch likely occurring sometime from late October to early November and another sometime in December.

For the heart of the winter, we are expecting a cold start to the east of the Rockies, but then expect moderating conditions as the winter goes on along the East Coast. The Upper Midwest, Canada, and the Pacific Northwest are the regions most likely to see significant cold snaps

Help Museum

the building to acquire and display relevant new exhibits.

The Museum has received a matching grant totaling $43,500 from the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.

The replacement process consists of removing sashes, repairing, cleaning and priming the sashes, re-glazing, painting and then re-installing the sashes. The Museum will use the same contractor as was used for the historic “Henderson Hall” restoration, completed several years ago. The Museum sees this endeavor as the logical first step to a systematic renovation of the building. Future proposed projects include HVAC updates, a new elevator and updated lighting.

If you are not familiar with this Museum, the building houses oil and gas history, information about local industry and history about the formation of the State of West Virginia. It was, for over 80 years, the W. H. Smith Hardware Company which was a vibrant retail and commercial center. The building was acquired by the Oil, Gas and Industrial Historical Association, Inc. in 1991 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. This multi-storied brick building has been re-purposed from a commercial site to the Museum and retains its character of sturdy wooden floors and high ceilings of years gone by. The rugged and substantial construction has made it ideal for the many heavy this winter. proximity to other historically significant buildings such as the Wood County Courthouse, the Smoot Theater, the Blennerhasset Museum and Blennerhasset Hotel make it an ideal economic resource for West Virginia and Mid-Ohio Valley tourism.

The Museum is striving to become an Eastern United States Tourism Destination and needs your help!

Please consider sponsoring or donating to this most worthy cause. Contributions can be made by check made out to the Oil, Gas and Industrial Historical Association, Inc. Your check can either be mailed to: P. O. Box 1685, Parkersburg, WV 26101 or to Wesbanco 411 Market Street, Parkersburg, WV 26101 attention Oil and Gas Museum Window Project.