Jayne Anne Phillips

The first annual Apple Butter Festival was held at Berkeley Springs State Park

The Mountaineer Mall opened in Morgantown

The Elkins newspaper building burned to the ground

William Pierce co-founded the National Alliance

A replica of Pricketts Fort was rebuilt

Richard Freeland moved Rebel Records to Asbury in Greenbrier County

Leonard Riggleman fought to prevent Morris Harvey College from being given to the state

Rock Springs Park structures were sold to make way for a new road and Ohio River bridge.

The B&O railroad tracks were removed in Rosbys Rock

The St. Albans Archeological Site was placed on the National Register of Historic places

Sam Snead left the Greenbrier for the Homestead

Sites in Mingo, Logan and Wyoming counties were established for the southern West Virginia community and technical college

Blaze Starr wrote an autobiography

Sunrise mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places

Ewel Cornett assisted in reorganizing the Theatre West Virginia

The Catholic Committee of Appalachia raised concerns regarding the economic and political inequalities

A bronze casting of the "Lincoln Walks at Midnight" statue was made by Bernard Wiepper for the West Virginia capitol

Twin Falls pioneer homestead completed

A collection of Melville Davisson Post's stories were published in The Methods of Uncle Abner

Congress abolished the Office of Economic Opportunity poverty agency

Don West wrote O Mountaineers: A Collection of Poems

The Folklore Society met at Fairmont State

The Tomlinson mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places

WVU at Parkersburg enrollment was at 5,149 students

Baggage claim addition was built at Kanawha (Yeager) Airport

Conchata Ferrell won the Drama Desk, Obie and Theatre World Best Actress Awards

A craft sales shop was established at the Culture Center in Charleston

Ruth Ann Musick published Coffin Hollow

It was discovered that Friars Hole Cave connected with Snedegars Cave

Glade Creek Mill was dedicated

Excavation at Grave Creek Mound by the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey identified a moat surrounding the mound

K. K. Hall granted injunctions against a wildcat coal strike

The Raleigh Register and Post-Herald of Beckley were sold to Clay Communications

Recorded 26 instant libraries serving the residents of West Virginia

Corridor E (now I-68) was completed as part of the Appalachian Development Highway system

Kanawha Valley Bank moved into the new One Valley Square building

Logan County began production of the drama, The Aracoma Story

Harley Warrick painted a Mail Pouch sign in the State Museum

Three new justices were seated on the five-member court after the general election

Kathy Mattea entered WVU

Irene McKinney published her first book of poems, The Girl with the Stone in Her Lap

New Mennonite Congregation started in Monroe County

The Midwives Alliance of West Virginia was founded

Alan Mollohan married Barbara Whiting

Morgan Morgan's log house was restored by the Berkeley County Historical Society

The Morgantown Dominion Post began publishing once a day

Two cougars were captured in Pocahontas County

The Greenbrier Historical Society moved its museum from the city library to the North House

Breece D'J Pancake entered the creative writing program at University of Virginia

A stone was dedicated in Lewisburg to honor Dick Pointer's heroism

Pricketts Fort State Park opened during the 1976 Bicentennial

Elinor Horwitz wrote Contemporary Folk Artists

Otis Rice became book review editor of West Virginia History

Soupy Sales hosted ABC's Junior Almost Anything Goes

Chris Sarandon was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar and a Best Acting Debut Golden Globe Award for Dog Day Afternoon

Red Sovine wrote the song "Teddy Bear"

Anne Spencer's Lynchburg home was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

The West Virginia State Farm Museum was started by Walden Roush

The Stifel family deeded the Edemar estate to Oglebay Institute for a fine arts center

Boyd Stutler's John Brown materials were acquired by the State Archives

The Ohio Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation was chartered by the Unitarian Universalist Association

Control of the WAJR company was transferred to the Greer family heirs

Uncle Homer Walker performed at the Smithsonian Institution Festival of American Folklife

Charles W. Ferguson II died

WesBanco became a bank holding company

The Archives and History moved to the Culture Center

The West Virginia Department of Culture and History was created by legislature

Jim Comstock first tried to sell the West Virginia Hillbilly newspaper

Wheeling Downs began dog racing

The WVSSAC reestablished the girls state basketball tournament

The Graham House was added to the National Register of Historic Places

Barry Vance moved permanently to West Virginia

John Chambers went to work for IBM

John McKay became coach of Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Mount de Chantal Visitation Academy was placed on the National Register of Historic Places

The Mountain Artisans dissolved

Ohio Valley College was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Auburn School one-room school closed

Owens-Illinois Glass Company began phasing out operation at the Fairmont plant

William Pierce published The Turner Diaries under a pseudonym.

The legislature commissioned an independent study of the PSC's structure and operations

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

Gov. Jay Rockefeller persuades legislature to gradually eliminate the 3% sales tax on food

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

Holt, Rinehart, and Winston published a paperback edition of the stories of Beece D'J Pancake

Henry Payne graduated from Princeton University

Pence Springs was studied by scholars from the University of Kentucky

William Pierce established his headquarters in a compound near Hillsboro

Cynthia Rylant wrote Waiting to Waltz

Henry Schmulbach's Wheeling house was added to the National Register of Historic Places

The Shott family endowed the Hugh I. Shott Jr. Foundation

Union Carbide had a tragic industrial accident at its Bhopal, India facility

E. M. Statler was inducted into the Wheeling Hall of Fame

Charleston became the first city in U.S. to be able to chose long-distance carriers other than AT&T

Railroads ceased operation in Tucker County

The golf course at Twin Falls State Park was expanded to 18-hole

AT&T broke up

C. W. Ferguson III stopped serving as circuit judge

A renovation on Welch Community Hospital was completed

West Virginia History began annual publication

The School of Osteopathic Medicine started a postdoctoral training program

Thomas Conlin became conductor of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra

WVU Hospitals became a separate nonprofit corporation, affiliated with West Virginia University

Meredith Sue Willis wrote Personal Fiction Writing

The American Cyanamid decided to settle the Willow Island sterilization suit out of court

Warren McGraw stopped serving as state senate president

John Zontini was inducted into the Marshall University Athletics Hall of Fame

Helen Holt retired

Coach John McKay retired

Huntington Galleries changed its name to the Huntington Museum of Art

State lost $300 million in stock market when A. James Manchin was treasurer

Comprehensive state gazetteers were published by the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey

Vitro Agate ceased operations

John Sayles wrote Thinking in Pictures: The Making of the Movie Matewan

Jon McBride was assigned as assistant administrator for congressional relations at NASA

David A. Raese became publisher of the Dominion Post

Joe Mullins won the West Virginia Veterans' Memorial design competition

Swami Bhaktipada of New Vrindaban was arrested and charged with racketeering and accused of ordering the murders of two Krishna devotees

Henry Payne began syndication with United Feature Syndicate

U.S. Department of Agriculture wanted to classify the pepperoni roll bakeries as meat packers

The Pittston Coal Company withdrew from the Bituminous Coal Operators Association

The Ohio Valley Refining Company was closed

Swami Bhaktipada was expelled from ISKCON

Ohio Valley College expanded

The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake was published in Brazilian Portuguese

Jayne Anne Phillips published Shelter

The Rural Electrification Administration was abolished

Chris Sarandon married Joanna Hall Gleason

Michael Smith founded Rocketown Ministries

West Virginia became the third state to file suit against the tobacco industry to recover costs for smoking-related illnesses

The Tri-State Racetrack installed 400 video lottery slot machines

Hinchcliff Lumber Company added a scragg mill

Union Carbide's silicones products plant at Sistersville was sold

The present Unitarian Universalists building in Charleston was dedicated

The United Carbon Building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places

Melvin Lentz became wood chopping champion

Ginny Hawker began serving as president of West Virginia State Folk Festival

The West Virginia Lottery Commission approved the first 400 video slot machines at Wheeling Downs

The first open heart surgery in the area was performed at Wheeling Hospital

The Howard Long Wellness Center opened at Wheeling Hospital

Jesco White was featured in a brief cameo on Roseanne

Meredith Sue Willis wrote The Secret Super Powers of Marco

Meredith Sue Willis wrote In The Mountains of America

Tommy Thompson left the Red Clay Ramblers

A bridge on U.S. 19 south of Summerville was renamed the Ralph Eugene Pomeroy Memory Bridge.

Camp Twin Creeks at Minnehaha Springs became coed

The West Virginia Motorsports Council was established by Governor Wise

Mountain Stage began broadcasting on public television

North Bend State Park added a 305-acre lake

Brad Paisley joined the Grand Ole Opry

Ashby Berkley and his sister sold the Pence Springs property

Pilgrim's Pride bought out WLR Foods poultry processors

The PROMISE scholarship was funded

The governance role in St. Joseph's Hospital by the Sisters of St. Joseph ended

Mary Lee Settle wrote I, Roger Williams

Michael Smith performed at the presidential inaugural prayer service

The Smoke Hole Lodge closed

Surface mining production was 60 million tons

The Thomas Memorial emergency center was expanded

Marsh Wheeling Stogies stopped making cigars

Joseph Carter was elected president of UMWA District 17

The West Virginia Mining and Reclamation Association merged with the West Virginia Coal Association

Carl J. Smith began serving as director of the Geological and Economic Survey

The West Virginia Hillbilly ceased publication

Grant Cooper became conductor of the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra

Major renovations took place at Kanawha Airport

Bill Withers was awarded the honorary degree Doctor of Music from WVU

Don Blankenship was released from prison after serving a one-year term for a misdemeanor charge of conspiring to willfully violate mine safety standards