Jay Rockefeller

Emile Hodel became editor of the Beckley Post-Herald

Michael Benedum built the Bridgeport Civic Center

Reorganization transferred state mental health and penal institutions to Department of Mental Health and the Commissioner of Public Institutions

Weirton Steel purchased Browns Island for $40,000

S. Maude Kaemmerling willed 3,135 acres of land in Canaan Valley to West Virginia for recreational use

FMC developed new source of brine at Bens Run

City National Bank opened its doors under President Donald Shonk

Bishop mine explodes again

Jim Comstock founded the weekly West Virginia Hillbilly

Deer restocking program ended

Roy Bird Cook received the Award of Merit from the West Virginia Library Association

Little Jimmy Dickens left the Grand Ole Opry

Irvin Dugan retired as newspaper artist

Donald Duncan's sons took over the Duncan Yo-Yo Company

Fairfax Stone dedicated as state historic monument and became state park

Gunner Gatski played football one year for Detroit

The Knights of the South Branch was organized to revive medieval jousting

Roy Lee Harmon wrote Unto the Hills

Logan High School and its field house and athletic fields were constructed on Hatfield Island

Ken Hechler moved to West Virginia to teach at Marshall College (now University)

The first interstate highway construction contract in the state was awarded on I-64 for a bridge across a road in Cabell County

Jean Lee Latham was awarded the Boys' Clubs of America Junior Book Award for Trail Blazer of the Seas

The McClains were approached by WVU professors who feared that early West Virginia histories would be lost if not reprinted

Kyle McCormick wrote The Story of Mercer County

John Norman served on the aircraft carrier Saratoga

A group from West Virginia and Ohio purchased land to establish a college with an independent board of trustees, now Ohio Valley University

Marbon Chemical is built

The announcement of plans to merge the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central System was made

Filippo Colasessano's son began selling pepperoni rolls in his Fairmont lunch spot

The Division of Disease Control began a statewide polio vaccination program

The Kanawha River bridge was opened in Winfield

Red Ribble stopped photographing southern West Virginia

Otis Rice began teaching at West Virginia Institute of Technology

The Wm. M. Ritter Lumber Company company stores were sold

The Wm. M. Ritter Lumber Company coal reserves were leased to the Island Creek Coal Company

Shenandoah Downs purchased land north of Charles Town Race Track for night harness racing

WVU Rod Hundley became All-American in basketball

Jim Sprouse began practicing law

Beckley radio station WAJR increased to 5,000 watts

Ernest T. Weir died

The last high school basketball was played under the African-American West Virginia Athletic Union

Benjamin Starks founded the Beacon Journal in Charleston

The Federation of Labor and Industrial Union Council agreed to combine as the West Virginia Labor Federation, AFL-CIO

West Virginia State College lost its federal land-grant status

Stanley H. Martin became president of West Virginia Wesleyan College

The Whipple mine shut down and the company store closed

The Winfield bridge was completed

WSAZ radio switched affiliation to NBC

Chauncey H. Browning's unexpired term in the Supreme Court ended

The Conference of Appalachian Governors was formed

The President's Appalachian Regional Commission, PARC created, led by FDR Jr.

The position of state archeologist was created by state legislature

Tony Boyle became vice president of the UMWA

Chauncey H. Browning was Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court

Clay County was producing 900,000 tons of coal

Jack Fleming became general manager of WAJR radio in Morgantown

Construction on the Summersville Lake and Dam began.

Construction on the Summersville Lake and Dam began

Greer Lime Company was formed

The Greer Lime Company began production at Key

The Glen Rogers Mine was closed by the Old Ben Coal Corporation

Partner D. Ray Hall sold Gravely Motor Plow and Cultivator Company to Studebaker

Weirton had highest population in Hancock County at 28,201

Vera Andrews Harvey replaced Roy Lee Harmon as poet laureate

The campus of Storer College was added to the Harpers Ferry National Historic Park

The United Hospital Center was erected

The state population fell to 1,860,421

Frank Hutchison's "Alabama" became a major county hit for Cowboy Copas

Storer College buildings were added to the Harpers Ferry National Park

Kanawha County peak population at 252,925

Governor Smith was the Democratic state chairman

Tom Kromer returned to Huntington from Albuquerque

John L. Lewis retired as the president of the UMWA

Arden Cogar Sr. started the Webster County Wood Chopping Festival

D. K. Shroyer became president of Beckley College (now Mountain State University

The City-County Building in Ohio County was dedicated

Plum Orchard Lake Wildlife Management Area purchased by the West Virginia Conservation Commission

The N&W operated its last steam equipment

The Chesapeake & Ohio and the Baltimore & Ohio began a gradual consolidation that eventually included Western Maryland

Otis Rice received a Ph.D. in history at Univ. of Kentucky

Wm. M. Ritter Lumber Company was sold to the Georgia-Pacific Corporation

Rocket boys Homer Hickam, Roy Lee Cooke, Willie Rose, Jim O'Dell Carroll, Quentin Wilson and Sherman Siers won top prize at the National Science Fair for their exhibit "A Study of Amateur Rocketry Techniques"

Reported 110,000 Catholics in West Virginia

St. Marys population peaked at 2,442

Fred Schaus left as basketball coach at WVU

Mary Lee Settle wrote Know Nothing

The Preston Railroad line was abandoned

South Charleston's population peaked at 19,180

Weirton population peaked at 28,201

Jerry West was unanimous choice for first-team All-American

Jerry West co-captained the undefeated U.S. Olympic team

West Liberty State College enrollment exceeded 1,000 for the first time

The West Virginia Music Educators Association began the movement to adopt "The West Virginia Hills" as the state song

Wheeling Steel plants stretched for 30 miles along the Ohio River

Henry Aaron was appointed conductor of the Wheeling Symphony

There were 1,000 students enrolled at West Virginia Institute of Technology

Patrice Harris was born in Bluefield

John McKay became head coach at University of Southern California

Pearl Buck founded the Pearl S. Buck Foundation

French Carpenter record, Old-Time Songs and Tunes from Clay County, West Virginia, released

Ted Cassidy secured television role on The Addams Family

Maryland Pimlico Race Course installed lighting to compete with newer tracks

C&O acquired the Western Maryland Railroad

Swimming pool at Chief Logan State Park opened

Congress passed the Civil Rights Act

Roy B. Clarkson published Tumult on the Mountains: Lumbering in West Virginia, 1770-1920

Legislature enacted law that authorized election of delegates to a state constitutional convention

Work began at Parkersburg to make U.S. 50 a four-lane highway

Ellis Dungan married Elaine Runner

North Hall was completed at Fairmont State College

Part four of Flora of West Virginia was published

The Food Stamp Act was passed, making the program permanent

U.S. Forest Service published reports on West Virginia forests, stating that 74% of the state was forested

Harry B. Heflin retired as president of Glenville State College

An addition to the Pioneer Center at Glenville State College was completed

The Hazel Atlas Corporate Headquarters in Wheeling was donated to the West Liberty State College

Homer Hickam graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute with a B.S. in industrial engineering

Ella Holroyd was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music by Concord College

Sam Huff began his career with the Washington Redskins

Schools in West Virginia were considered fully desegregated

The Better Roads Amendment was voted on in the general election to provided money for the "building and construction of state roads and highways"

Don Redman died

A radiocarbon date estimated the Kanawha Madonna to be around 350 years old

Elizabeth Kee retired from Congress

John Knowles wrote Double Vision: American Thoughts Abroad

Supreme Court ruling State ex rel. Smith v. Gore required equal apportionment in the election of delegates to a constitutional convention and derailed a move to draft a new state constitution

The number of state senators was set at 34

The U.S. Library Services Act was amended to provide funds for library education and library construction

Hartman Hall was built at Beckley College (now Mountain State University)

The National Bank of Commerce purchased the old Kanawha County library property in Charleston

The N&W acquired the Nickel Plate in a merger that included the Wabash Railroad, the Wheeling & Lake Erie, the Akron, Canton & Youngstown and the Pittsburgh & West Virginia

John Norman joined the surgical team at Boston City Hospital

Oscar Mairs and Hillis Youse recorded the Luther Elkins petroglyph site.

Joe Powell became state director of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO.

Leonard Riggleman retired as president of Morris Harvey College (now University of Charleston)

Chuck Ripper quit Standard Printing & Publishing Co to be full-time freelance artist

The Rock Lake Pool remained racially segregated after the Civil Rights Act

The West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey first began extensive excavation on the St. Albans archeological site

The Soupy Sales Show weekday morning show debuted in New York

Lawmakers created a 17th state senate district in Kanawha County

Bill Campbell beat Ed Tutwiller in golf in the U.S. Amateur Championship Final

Miles Stanley organized the AFL-CIO Appalachian Council

Western Pocahontas Corporation and Pocahontas Land Corporation donated land for Twin Falls State Park

Morris Harvey College (now University of Charleston) began offering an associate degree in nursing

The Valley Falls State Park area was acquired by the state

Cyrus Vance became deputy secretary of defense under Robert McNamara

The federal Economic Opportunity Act was signed into law

Wheeling Dollar Saving & Trust acquired South Wheeling Bank and Trust

The state purchased the old Wheeling Custom House and leased it to the West Virginia Independence Hall Foundation.

Charles Gabor became conductor of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra

Henry Aaron left Wheeling

Patch Adams graduated from George Washington University

Appalachian Volunteers took over many county anti-poverty programs

Walter Barnes retired from serving as president emeritus of the Folklore Society

Maurice Brooks published The Life of the Mountains

Robert C. Byrd was elected secretary of the U.S. Senate Democratic Caucus

The state capitol building annex was torn down

Marmet Hospital became part of General Hospital (now Charleston Area Medical Center)

Samuel Cooper was named West Virginian of the Year by the Charleston Sunday Gazette-Mail

Fine arts building and dining hall were finished at Fairmont State College (now University)

Frank George was featured on his first recording

Grave Creek Mound State Park created

Charles Haden served on the Monongalia County Board of Education

Charles Haden first became a member of the faculty of WVU College of Law

Chuck Howley played for the Dallas Cowboys in the "Ice Bowl"

Sam Huff retired from the Washington Redskins

Charles James II modernized the James Produce Company with computers and refrigerated trucks

Hugh Curry became president of Kanawha Valley Bank

Ellie Mannette migrated to the U.S.

Catherine Marshall wrote Christy

A new dormitory was constructed at Marshall University

The Marshall University Library was remodeled and expanded

John Brooks Cottle died

Mountaintop removal mining began in West Virginia

Ruth Ann Musick stopped serving as editor of the West Virginia Folklore Journal and retired from Fairmont State

John Norman became involved in medical research concerning organ transplants

Eldora Nuzum was named president of the Association of Newspaper Editors of West Virginia

A par-3 nine-hole golf course opened opened at Pipestem State Park

Otis Rice served as president of the West Virginia Historical Association

The Soupy Sales Show was taken off nationally

West Virginia Legislature recognized the Secondary Schools Activities Commission as a legal entity

Clarence C. Elmore, the state Alcoholic Beverage Control commissioner, was indicted on charges of income tax evasion.

Red Sovine wrote "Phantom 309"

Miles Stanley returned to West Virginia from Washington

West Virginia adopted a corporate net income tax

Reported 7,100 people were employed in textile-related jobs in West Virginia

A nine-hole golf course opened at Twin Falls State Park

Cecil Underwood announced his candidacy for governor

C. W. Ferguson III became circuit judge

The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy was incorporated

West Virginians ratified the Modern Budget Amendment to the state constitution

Republican Arch A. Moore Jr. was elected state's 28th governor

Republican Arch A. Moore Jr. was elected state's 28th governor.

Richard Nixon was elected president

Jim Sprouse ran unsuccessfully for governor

Chauncey H. Browning 's son, Chauncey H. Browning Jr., was elected state attorney general

Muriel Dressler published "Appalachia"

Easton Roller Mill was willed to the Monongalia Historical Society

Ann Flagg died in Illinois

Jack Fleming became sports director of WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh

Jack Fleming became announcer for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association

Ruth Ann Musick published Green Hills of Magic

Fort Ashby was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Population of Grant County was at 8,607

Alberta Pierson Hannum's book Spin a Silver Dollar radio play was published as The Blue House by U.S. Information Agency

The National Park Service opened the Harpers Ferry Center, to serve National Park units nationwide

Frank Haymond received the American Bar Association's ABA Medal

Henry Clay Furnace was added to the National Register of Historic Places

James Dickey's novel, Deliverance, made the term "hillbilly" sinister

Every Ohio River county except Jackson had at least one chemical plant

Sam Huff ran unsuccessfully for Congress

Alice Moore was elected to the Kanawha County Board of Education as an opponent of sex education

Kanawha Records stopped recording

Kenova population peaked at 5,000

Maryat Lee moved to Powley Creek

Everett Lilly moved back to Raleigh County following son's death

Alex Mahood died

Joe Manchin graduated from WVU with a bachelor's in business administration

The tannery in Marlinton closed

Paul Marshall became a registered architect

Irene McKinney received her master's from WVU

The Meadow River Lumber Company was sold to Georgia-Pacific

Arnold Miller was forced to retire from mining by black lung disease and arthritis

Alan Mollohan began a Fairmont law firm

Ona presented four NASCAR Grand National races

Mylan Pharmaceuticals incorporated in Pennsylvania as Mylan Laboratories

Justin B. Roberts became president of Ohio Valley College (now University)

Squire Parsons graduated from West Virginia Institute of Technology

The Penn Central Railroad corporation entered bankruptcy

Frank Beyer purchased the Philippi mummies

The first VHF non-commercial station in the state, WSWP-TV, started in Grandview

Rock Springs Park shut down and was purchased by the Department of Highways.

The Ruffner Hotel closed and was demolished for a parking lot

David Selby earned a doctorate in drama from Southern Illinois University

The Meadow River Lumber Company closed

Jim Comstock republished Hubert Skidmore's Hawks Nest

Ada "Bricktop" Smith recorded her only recording, "So Long, Baby," with Cy Colemen

The South Charleston Mound was placed on the National Register of Historic Places

State Police department headquarters relocated to new facilities

Jerry West led the NBA in scoring

The Folklore Society met at WVU

The Highlands Conservancy worked to make cranberry backcountry a federal wilderness area

Federal Highway Act passed allowing tolls to be retained

Bob Wise received a B.A. from Duke University

Bill Withers moved to Los Angeles

WSAZ changed to WGNT

An addition was added to the Kanawha (now Yeager) Airport

A. James Manchin was elected secretary of state

Sam Harshbarger, Darrell McGraw and Thomas Miller were elected to the Supreme Court of Appeals

Nick Joe Rahall was first elected into the U.S. House of Representatives in the 3rd Congressional District

Democrat John D. "Jay" Rockefeller IV was inaugurated as governor

The annual Civilian Conservation Corps reunion began at Camp Woodbine

Morris Harvey College became the University of Charleston

James Stam became president of Salem College

Another Soupy Sales Show was offered syndication

Mary Lee Settle won the National Book Award for Fiction for Blood Tie

Frank Thomas wrote It Is This Way with Men Who Fly, a history of West Virginia aviation

The B&O South Branch line was turned over to the West Virginia State Rail Authority

The Nelson family sold the United Carbon Building

Cyrus Vance had a role in Camp David peace and the Panama Canal Treaty

The West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey moved to the Mont Chateau Research Center from WVU

The first class of 33 students graduated from the School of Osteopathic Medicine

The region's first cardiac catheterization laboratory was opened at Wheeling Hospital

The "fetus protection policy" was instituted by the American Cyanamid's Willow Island Plant

Bob Wise became involved in community redevelopment from the Mingo County floods

Governor Rockefeller gave Roy Lee Harmon emeritus status s poet laureate

The Huntington Advertiser ceased publication and merged into the Herald-Dispatch

Boar hunting began in West Virginia

The Allegheny Indian Council and Cultural Center was founded in Phillipi

The court ruled that unequal per pupil funding among West Virginia counties violated the state constitution's mandate for a "thorough and efficient" school system in Pauley v. Kelly

Maryat Lee wrote John Henry

The military program was discontinued at Linsly School

Jack Maurice became a contributing editor and columnist to the Charleston Daily Mail

Jon McBride became an astronaut

Louise McNeill was appointed poet laureate by Governor Rockefeller

Arnold Miller resigned as president of UMWA

State Supreme Court ruled on Morningstar v. Black and Decker, which held that the court had the ability to create common law

State Supreme Court ruled on Bradley v. Appalachian Power Co., where the court abolished the comparative negligence rule

A second Mormon "stake" was organized in Fairmont

Deadly riots prompted Arthur Recht to place Moundsville Penitentiary under judicial control

The WVU Personal Rapid Transit system was completed

Jayne Anne Phillips published Black Tickets

Jim Sprouse was appointed a judge of the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals by President Jimmy Carter

Building C was added to the state police academy

Sam Church Jr. became president of UMWA

Marshall Buckalew was elected president of the West Virginia Historical Education Foundation

The West Virginia Historical Society ceased publication of West Virginia History

West Virginia Independence Hall was opened as a museum by the Department of Culture and History (now Arts, Culture & History)

The West Virginia Juried Exhibition was first held at the Cultural Center

Mack Samples began serving as festival president of the West Virginia State Folk Festival

The Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places

Meredith Sue Willis wrote A Space Apart

Tom Wolfe published The Right Stuff, celebrating Chuck Yeager

Virginia Maw Brown left the Interstate Commerce Commission

Actor Bob Denver married Dreama Perry of Bluefield

A. James Manchin was reelected secretary of state

Earl Ray Tomblin elected to the Senate

Thomas McHugh elected to the Supreme Court

West Virginia voted Republican in presidential election

Arch A. Moore Jr. elected for a third term as governor

Ken Hechler was elected West Virginia secretary of state

Alan Mollohan beat Jim Altmeer to remain in the House of Representatives

Voters approve the state lottery amendment

A. James Manchin ran for state treasurer

John Raese lost to Jay Rockefeller in his bid for the US Senate.

Nick Rahall again defeated Ken Hechler in the 4th Congressional District

Bob Wise ran unopposed for reelection to Congress

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor was Awarded the Newbery Medal for Shiloh

Eldora Nuzum retired from the Elkins Inter-Mountain

The North Central Association approved baccalaureate degrees in business administration, elementary education, liberal studies, and psychology at Ohio Valley University

Henry Payne was runner-up for the Mencken Award

Charlotte Pritt left the state Senate

Dyke Raese was inducted into the WVU Hall of Fame

The National Labor Relations Board ruled on unfair labor practices in the Ravenswood Strike

Richard Freeland re-entered the recording business when he started Freeland Records

Otis Rice became vice president of the West Virginia Historical Education Foundation

Cynthia Rylant was awarded the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for children's fiction for Missing May

Fred Schaus was named to the WVU Hall of Fame

Jefferson County voters approve video lottery

Ken Hechler was reelected as West Virginia's secretary of state

Republican Gov. Cecil Underwood was elected to second term

Darrell McGraw was reelected state attorney general

Charlotte Pritt ran against Republican Cecil Underwood for governor of West Virginia and lost

Franklin D. Cleckley left the Supreme Court

Robin Davis elected to the Supreme Court

John Perdue first elected state treasurer

A. James Manchin was reelected to the House of Delegates

Evan Jenkins was elected to the State Senate

Frank Jezioro was the director of the Division of Natural Resources

Don Nehlen entered the College Football Hall of Fame

Ohio Valley College changed its name to Ohio Valley University

James A. Johnson became president of Ohio Valley University

Time Well Wasted album released by Brad Paisley

Congressman Nick Rahall was the top Democrat on the Committee on Resources and second most-senior Democrat on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Michael J. Bransfield became Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston

The Harrison Rural Electrification Association served 5,500 customers

St. Francis Hospital was bought by LifePoint Hospitals of Tennessee

R. John Reynolds became president of Salem International University

Salem Education LLC assumed control of Salem International University

Marshal University joined Conference USA