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Words Worth Repeating

The vistas are very different these days. Standing on Chapline Street looking down 12th Street, there is an optical illusion of the Ohio River being at eye level. A passing barge appears to be sailing along Water Street.

It’s the flagpole sitting atop a concrete base at Heritage Port that puts it into proper perspective as I scan the scene. I can’t help but wonder what my dad would say about the happenings in his hometown these days. He wouldn’t much recognize the streets he walked when growing up, or the waterfront where he unloaded boats to make a few bucks when he was barely old enough to drive. He might chuckle to know there is a small plaque bearing his name beneath those waving flags at the port.

Thirty years ago this year, my father, Harry Hamm, wrote a plan known as WHEELING 2000. In it was his vision for the city as it morphed from a retail hub to a tourist destination and a great place to maybe retire. Little did he know that while his plan continues to gather dust, slowly it is coming to fruition.

I wish I could tell him that despite the loss of businesses and buildings, there is a renaissance taking place in the city. Many of the older buildings that could no longer sustain themselves have been torn down. While there have been few new builds — The Health Plan, the bookstore at West Virginia Northern and a new bank in Warwood — Wheeling is learning to reuse and readapt some of its finer structures.

The Stone Center, once a bustling store, is now a combination of business and residential space. That might surprise my dad but maybe he’d be glad to know the building continues to throw its shadow over the downtown. He might shake his head in disbelief at how the old Boury building has been restored for apartment dwellers. As a train enthusiast he would be happy to know a portion of train track remains inside the building.

In his plan, my dad suggested Wheeling might take on an identity much like that of historic Williamsburg, Va., by touting its wealth of history and structures. Heritage Port is ripe for a starting point where he envisioned kiosks filled with history facts, photos and even a boat or two parked for tours.

And wouldn’t Wheeling be a fine place for a fire department or police museum? There are residents whose attics and old scrapbooks are filled with pictures and memorabilia begging to be shared with the rest of us.

Why not an ice cream soda parlor or a remake of Zeller’s Steak House that recalls Wheeling’s more notorious characters and times? The possibilities for Wheeling and surrounding cities and towns to grow and prosper are out there.

“We are convinced that Wheeling is fortunate in having plenty of thoughtful, committed people and leaders ready and willing to try more useful approaches in reversing the economic downturn in recent years.”

Those were my father’s words, 30 years ago. But let me be the first to echo them today.

Heather Ziegler can be reached via email at hziegler@theintelligencer.net.

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