Seven Honored as West Virginia History Heroes
By LINDA COMINS Arts & Living Editor
POSTED: March 9, 2008
Seven people with Northern Panhandle ties were honored as West Virginia History Heroes during the 12th History Day celebration in Charleston.
History enthusiasts gathered Thursday, Feb. 21, in the Norman L. Fagan West Virginia State Theater of the Cultural Center for the awards ceremony that kicked off a day of celebrating West Virginia history.
Dr. Robert S. Conte, chairman of the West Virginia Archives and History Commission, was assisted by Dr. Charles Ledbetter, vice chairman, in presenting History Hero awards to 40 individuals from around the state for their grassroots-level contributions to the preservation, promotion and perpetuation of the state’s rich history. City, county and state historical, preservation and genealogical groups and museums provided nominations for the awards.
Those receiving 2008 History Hero recognition included:
? James Edward Dague and Karen Dennison Hucko, honored for spending months recording tombstone inscriptions for Mount View Cemetery in Marshall County. They compiled a list of nearly 2,000 graves and spent additional months of research to supplement the tombstone readings.
Dague also has researched the Dague family and associated families, spent many hours doing courthouse and library research and collected many obituaries that he shares on the Internet.
Hucko has helped record tombstone inscriptions for numerous Marshall County cemeteries and has transcribed Marshall County census records for the Internet. She is the author of books about several families and compiled a book of Richmond family obituaries.
In addition, Hucko has researched, ordered and set government-issued headstones for 11 Revolutionary War and Civil War soldiers in Marshall County.
Dague and Hucko were nominated for the History Hero honor by the Marshall County Virtual Genealogy Society.
? Clarence Delancey, recognized as “a hard worker” for the Tyler County Museum. He is a member of the board of directors of the museum and the Heritage and Historical Society.
Delancey has adopted the Boy Scout youth room at the museum and has brought many scouts and their leaders to the museum to arrange and frame displays of memorabilia and to prepare the room for visitors. He also has participated in fundraisers, laid brick for a flower bed, weeded flower beds and mowed the lawn.
He was nominated by the Tyler County Heritage and Historical Society.
? Judi Hendrickson, secretary of the Friends of Wheeling preservation group, was cited for her historical efforts. She is co-author of “Walking Pleasant Valley,” a history of old Wheeling homes and families along National Road, and is researching the Woodsdale area of Wheeling for another book. She presents programs on Victorian wedding traditions and the history of tea.
In 2003, as coordinator of the Lewis and Clark Project at Wheeling Jesuit University, Hendrickson organized the distribution of educational materials to schools in the state. She also researched and presented the Native American character, Sacagawea, to children.
Hendrickson was nominated by the Wheeling Area Historical Society.
? Deborah H. Smith, regent of the Wheeling chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, was recognized for preservation efforts. She purchased the former Third Presbyterian Church in South Wheeling, preventing its demolition. Currently, she is restoring the building; the project has been adopted by the Wheeling DAR chapter which holds meetings in the old church building.
Smith, a member of the Friends of Wheeling and the Wheeling Area Historical Society, has presented programs on historic preservation. A Mayor’s Award recipient, she is restoring her fifth Victorian home, a former halfway house located in the Wheeling Island Historic District.
Smith was nominated by the Wheeling DAR chapter.
? Phyllis Walters, recognized as recording secretary for the Wheeling Area Genealogical Society. She started by filing obituaries for the late Audra Wayne. Walters took over the task in 1998 and developed her own system. Walters spends 20 to 30 hours a week on obituary filing work. She also has served on the group’s book committee and assisted others with tasks.
Walters was nominated by the Wheeling Area Genealogical Society.
? The late Gail Yoho was remembered for serving the Marshall County Historical Society in many capacities for several years. Yoho, who died in 2007, chaired the genealogy and museum committees, served as editor of the society’s newsletter, was a volunteer typist for the publication of “Descendants of Simon and Elizabeth Martin Dakan” and was the society’s historian, preserving a written and pictorial record of society activities.
Yoho also catalogued donors and donated items and she donated many artifacts to enrich the society’s museum. As genealogy chair, she worked tirelessly to organize and enlarge the society’s genealogy records and distributed information to people all over the country.
Yoho was nominated by the Marshall County Historical Society.
The 12th History Day was a joint effort of the West Virginia Archives and History Commission, Friends of West Virginia Culture and History, Mining Your History Foundation, Preservation Alliance of West Virginia Inc., West Virginia Humanities Council, West Virginia Association of Museums, West Virginia Historical Association, West Virginia Historical Society and West Virginia Division of Culture and History. Throughout the day, the State Capitol Rotunda was filled with exhibitors and re-enactors.
Next year’s event is scheduled for Thursday, March 5, 2009. For more information about History Day or the History Hero awards, call Joe Geiger, acting director of archives and history for the Division of Culture and History, at 304-558-0230, Ext. 165.
