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Beast of the East Shirts Become Memory Quilt for Blue

Twelve years ago Chuck Blue’s son, Tim, volunteered him to be a Beast of the East scorekeeper at Monarch Field in Glen Dale, and each year for his 11 years of  service he has been presented with an official Beast of the East shirt.

Blue, a resident of Sardis, said he is like many individuals who have received a sports shirt. They just their shirt in a box somewhere in their home as a keepsake.

Well, this past week, Blue  unveiled his shirts ,which have been made into a memory quilt.

Present for  unveiling, which took place at the John Marshall High School Baseball Field, was Bob Montgomery, who serves as field supervisor for the Beast of the East games at Monarch Field. It just so happens that Montgomery was the individual who made sure Blue had a shirt on the first day of the Beast of the East event.

After announcing after the 2015 Beast of the East event that he was retiring, Blue decided he needed to do something with the shirts rather than have them take up space in a box. So he contacted Powhatan Point resident Eugene Walters, a graduate of Kent State University with a degree in interior design, about the possibility of converting the shirts into a memory quilt.

Walters, whose family has been  long-time friends of Chuck’s family, told him he would be glad to design the shirts-turned-memory quilt.

By the way, Walters calls his memory quilts, “Wrapping Yourself in Memories.”

Blue said, “When I  first shown the finished product, I was taken back somewhat as the 54 by 84 blanket had also been personalized with the names of my  two sons, my daughter, their spouses, and  six grandchildren.”

Blue is looking forward to proudly showing the quilt to those in attendance at this year’s Beast of the East this week.

Although Blue “retired” as a full-time Beast of the East scorekeeper following last year’s event,  he did agree to keep score for games, two each day, and thus he will still be at the field all four days, along with the “Showcase” Day.

Blue explained that by keeping score for the Beast of the East full-time, it made for a long day as he had to travel 45 miles each way from his home. So he after last year he decided to step down and let someone else have the opportunity to meet the players, coaches and umpires. He added, “When you work for ‘Monty,’ you do more than keep score, as your duties consist of not only welcoming the teams and the umpires, but also do some ‘house cleaning’ of the field, if necessary.”

Blue, who has been a long-time scorekeeper in multiple sports at River High School, said, “I’m glad my son recommended me to keep score for the Beast of the East, and the opportunity to meet and work with  the Montgomerys, Bob and his wife, Sabrina. They do an  outstanding job keeping the field in top condition.”

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As to the “Showcase” event on Wednesday, this will mark the first time it has been held at Monarch Field.

The “Showcase” gives players participating in the Beast of the East the opportunity to show their talent to Major League scouts, college coaches and others.

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There will be two Marshall County Beast of the East locations, the other being Valley Fork Park in Moundsville, where four fields will be utilized.

Five games a day will be played Thursday through Sunday.

At VFP there will be one field for those 19 years of age and under, and three fields for those 14 years of age and under.

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The format of the Marshall County Chamber of Commerce sponsored Business After Hours changed considerably this past week.

At most of BAHs events the first thing those in attendance do is get in line for the food, and after consuming their food they wait for the prize drawings.

However, on Thursday, they didn’t receive a ticket for the drawings and instead they had to visit 18 booths at which tourist attractions were on display.

The Moundsville Economic Development Council  hosted the BAH event with MEDC executive director Suzanne Park coming up with the idea to remind local residents of what is available in the Moundsville-Glen Dale area when they have family and friends visiting them, or they may be asked what attractions are available in the area.

The following set up booths for viewing:

Alexander’s on 7th; Archive of the Afterlife; Bonnie/Dwayne Bed and Breakfast; Cockayne Farmstead; Four Seasons Pool; Fostoria Museum; Grand Vue Park; Grave Creek Mound; Greater Moundsville Convention and Visitors Bureau; Marshall County Chamber of Commerce; Marshall County Fair; Marx Toy Museum; Moundsville Economic Development Council (three displays including the Escape Room at the former prison, paranormal events at the former prison and tours offered at the former prison); Sleep Inn and Suites; Strand Theatre (two displays, the Theatre and the Grisell Center for the Arts).

By the way, in addition to visiting the booths, a requirement for a ticket for a prize drawing was that each individual was required to participate in a mini Escape Room game. Everyone seems to have had a great time.

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I also learned some additional information while talking to the people manning the booths.

Councilman David Wood said he hopes that a meeting will take place soon involving council members and the city’s Parks and Recreation Board. He informed me that this past week, council had approved two new members to parks and recreation board. They are Sabrina Montgomery and Ted Zervos. He also stated that the appointment of a third new member is forthcoming.

At the Cockayne Farmstead booth, I met new executive director Janell Keyser; at the Marx Toy booth, Francis Turner had toys on display which were between 55 and 85 years of age; at the Marshall County Fair booth, the schedule of events for this year’s fair was being handed out by Beth Bertram.

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Lt. Gene Hunt has assumed his duties as commanding officer of the Salvation Army which serves Marshall, Wetzel and Tyler counties.

Hunt previously spent six months, two weeks in November and four weeks in December, in the area, during which time he assisted Major Ed Long in preparation for the Christmas season.

Earlier this month, Hunt graduated from the Salvation Army training school in Atlanta, Ga., and received the assignment for the local area.

Hunt is from North Carolina, and prior to attending Salvation Army school was employed in environment services and as a correctional officer.

He said he has been a Pittsburgh Steeler fan for many years, and proudly displays on his desk a pencil holder with a Steeler logo.

Hunt is looking forward to his first appointment, noting that he was very pleased to learn of his assignment. He said, “I made friends with a number of individuals when I was here previously, and I look forward to becoming meeting others in the communities which the Salvation Army serves.”

He added, “I will be available 365 days a year. If anyone needs me they can reach me at 304-845-0510.”

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Don’t forget the Ice Cream Social to be held on the lawn of the Marshall County Courthouse on Monday evening.

It is being sponsored by the Marshall County Farm Bureau in honor of National Dairy Month, being observed this month.

This event has been an annual event for many years, with the public invited to attend.

Members of the MCFB will begin dipping free ice cream at 6:30 p.m. You can eat your ice cream to musical entertainment.

Those attending are to bring their favorite lawn chair.

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Professional storyteller Bizzie Vunderink from Ashland, Ohio, will present “Tales from a Trunk” at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Moundsville-Marshall County Public Library, and again at 2 p.m. at the Benwood-McMechen Public Library.

“Tales from a Trunk” is described as a fun, interactive program in which those in attendance will help tell the stories by pulling items from a trunk.

This is one of several special programs offered through the Marshall County Libraries’ Summer Reading Program titled, “Ready, Set, Read.”

Children pre-school through sixth grade may register at the libraries and earn prizes throughout the remainder of the summer by reading books.

Programs are sponsored by the Evan G. Roberts Trust, through BB&T Bank, and the Robert Baker Family. For more information call the library at 304-845-6911.

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“Backyard Adventures” with Daniel Caron, a professional nature photographer, will present a program at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Moundsville-Marshall County Public Library at which attendees will learn about nature and wildlife in their own back yard.

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A third attraction, this one at the two libraries, will be taking place on Thursday, and will be presented by scientist Robert Strong from the SMART Science Center in Wheeling.

The programs will be at 11 a.m. at the Moundsville-Marshall County Public Library, and 2 p.m. at the Benwood-McMechen Public Library.

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This year’s annual Patriotic Moundsville Baptist Church program will be held at 6 p.m. on July 3. The theme will be, “American Dreamers Keepin’ the Dream Alive!” The musical entertainment will be provided by Baptist Church members, along with members of other local churches.

The event is a tribute to those who have served, or are serving in the military.

The public is invited to the event which will conclude with a pie and ice cream social.

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