Wheeling WVA Inquiry (Weirton, Wellsburg, Benwood: 2009, amusement park, home)

[edee]

Hello,

We're wondering what Wheeling is like. Is there any resurgence of a historic district? How are the views? Is the air polluted from coal-fired plants and Ohio Valley industry?

Many thanks; all responses are greatly appreciated.

[greytercel]

lived there a couple years 98-2000; visited recently--dismal economy--some good people , but a considerable number of smart-alecky redneck types that seem to have an inordinate disrespect for women.....alcoholism is everywhere--really....it is the main form of recreation there and I am not exaggerating...Wheeling does have some things to offer: low cost of living, nice little tourism industry, family friendly, but there just isn't enough there economically to put up with the aforementioned annoyances....

[SteelersFan09]

Aside from the economy, Wheeling's biggest problem is lack of things to do. I grew up there and it's a very very boring place.

[David Kennedy]

Cabella's is a big draw..finding something on the positive side..

The rush is on to bring the full scale casio's into operation. Wheeling will be the gambling leg of the Pittsburgh region...much like Atlantic City...big flashes of light among the dire poverty...bus the old folks in, take their money...send them back home until the next time...if you have a background in gambling the jobs are there...don't pay much but they are there...

[italianbluesboy]

I have had many friends in Wheeling and spent much time there. People are a nice balanced hybrid between hard edged Pittsburghers and aw shucks hillbillies. The air seemed fine, Di Carlos and DeFelice pizza was good, as was wedding soup at Undos and sausage and peppers at the Bella Via. However good paying jobs are scarce. Most of my friends moved to Columbus or Pittsburgh for a better paying career. There's a reason that Wheeling-Weirton is one of the fastest shrinking depopulating areas in America.

[Former Whg Resident]

Wheeling was a great place to grow up in the 50s and 60s. But when the steel mills started to go, so did Whg. Growing up in whg I can still remember downtown was always full of people and during the holidays, you had to side-step them. Now it's a ghost town and it breaks my heart because the before was so much better than the after. Remember the 5&10 stores, Krese-- (sp?), Murphys, Woolworths. Dept stores, Good's, Stones, Hornes, Kaufman's. Movies-Court, Rex, Victoria and the Capital (only one that showed Disney flicks). God, I could go on and on about memories of wheeling back in the day when population was over 50,000. I went to Central and graduated in 1967 and like most of my classmates, we went to college and moved to other towns -- I moved to Colorado and love it here. One town has my soul and the other has my heart.

[MaryG1959]

My grandmother lived on High St in Benwood---the area at that time was quaint--charming---havent been back in YEARS!

LOVED going there but do remember the steel mill and soot....

[Former Whg Resident]

oh yeah, I remember the soot so well. The day after it snowed, tiny, tiny black specks were all over the snow.

[celeste4]

Originally Posted by SteelersFan09

Aside from the economy, Wheeling's biggest problem is lack of things to do. I grew up there and it's a very very boring place.

I hear you! I grew up there myself,and I can say that I ended starting my drug "career" there because there was nothing to do but get stoned. And I even played sports and music and was very active,yet it still felt like there was nothing to do.
Also,people tend to be very close-minded there. There's seems to be nothing for people to do but sit around,eat and get fat. No one walks anywhere anymore. I notice that when I visit my family.
Pretty much the only good thing in Wheeling is that it's close to Pittsburgh and Coleman's fish market.

[tallymarra]

I lived there all my life, ther is no job base, if you are are a teacher you will be on the sub list forever unless you have that name,jobs are all
poverty level incomes, old money still runs the town .The new things are the mall {Highlands} same stores in a different area. The talk here is
Wheeling will soon be the home of a single A baseball team, Pirates affiliate, but all construction has stopped at the mall due to contracters not being paid.. no ground has been broken for this or the water amusement park that is on the drawing board

60 MILES FROM the SUPER BOWL CITY.

The pirates, once a great baseball franchise , are dissmal at best. the management there doesnt pay their players attractively, so they put bumms on the field, This management is the same one that owns most of your newspapers OGDEN NEWS.

The schools are top noch, and this is one of the best areas to raise children, baseball for kids is big,

The beast of the east really brings in teams from out of the area, travel teams/ ALL AGES FOR BOYS JULY 4TH WEEKEND


Girls softball, is now being added.to the Beast of the East starting this 2009 year

Hockey was introduced a while back but it seems to be dying off .The
highschools have acceped it and they play in the Pittsburgh division
PIHL. a LOT OF KIDS MOVE ON TO THE NEXT LEVEL FROM HERE.The Wheeling Nailers ECHL, play here.

Colemans fish mkt., Dicarlos pizza, Drovers wings in Wellsburg

there are major colleges in our area, West liberty state college once ranked the 10th cheapest college in the usa. soon to become a
a university in may 09,

Wheeling college, wv northern community college, belmont tech, in ST.CLAIRSVILLE OHIO,

The problem here is jobs..., when the kids graduated there is nothing here to keep them, even working for the State of WV pays below the poverty level, but now in this economie theres nowhere to go
except the EASTERN PANHANDLE of wv and that has slowed in its self. We like it here , and we plan to stay