New AmeriCorps Member at GHS

GREENBRIER COUNTY W.Va. (WVDN) – The Greenbrier Historical Society is excited to announce that it has selected a new AmeriCorps Member, Vicky Neal, for the next year. Neal will be primarily working on the Hidden History Project in Western Greenbrier County.

This project, under the leadership of Janice Cooley, GHS Board Member, is designed to conduct research and collect oral histories, photos, artifacts, and memorabilia that will help capture the true history of the people who once lived and continue to live in Western Greenbrier County and were/are associated with the now diminished coal mining, timbering and railroad industries. This work will culminate in an exhibit to be placed in Western Greenbrier County.

Neal brings a wealth of education and experience to this endeavor including a BS in Art Education from Glenville State College and a Master of Secondary Education from WVU.  She taught in Preston County and in Greenbrier County where she led an Oral History Grant Project to capture the memories from the 1920s onwards.

In support of the Hidden History Project, Cooley is using this announcement as an opportunity to recognize Ms. Neal and the tremendous support she will bring to the effort, as well as offering a direct question to the community. She said, “Can you help us as we work to conduct oral histories, and collect photos, artifacts, and memorabilia? Do you or a member of your family have stories to tell that will help others understand the tremendous history and lives of the people who made the industries successful?  Communities such as Rainelle, Rupert, Quinwood, Smoot, Grassy Meadow, Leslie, Dawson, and Charmco are but a few of the many communities we wish to highlight in this Hidden History exhibit.”

Even if you now live outside of Western Greenbrier County, but you or your family once lived there, they want to hear from you. To reach either Ms. Cooley or Ms. Neal, please call the Greenbrier Historical Society at 304-645-3398 and let them know you have a story to tell.

PHOTO CAPTION:  Janice Cooley (left) and Vicky Neal (right) in front of the original oil painting of the Meadow River Lumber Company which hangs in the North House Museum.  (Photo by Marlyn McClendon)

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