Breaking News

Columns

Wheeling Tile, Cozy Collectible

Like many Wheeling residents, I am fortunate to have three beautiful and original fireplaces in my home. These lovely fireplaces are surrounded by carved and convenient mantels that are the perfect spot for displaying antiques! Each fireplace is enhanced by decorative wall and floor tiles. In its heyday, Wheeling manufactured everything from cigars to steel. This hotbed of manufacturing relied on the immigrant workforce and quality handwork that made the name of the Friendly City known around the world. Wheeling Tile is a good example of a manufacturer that turned out masses of ...

Something To Think About

It was later than I had hoped as I left the store. I guess I lost time as I perused the winter markdown bargains. However, it was dark now and winter storm clouds were brewing up something. I pulled my scarf around my neck to ward off the chilly wind as I made my way to my car. Now I was questioning why I didn’t park closer to the door. It wasn’t so much the cold I dreaded. It was the not-so-crowded parking lot and the growing darkness that had me worried. Clutching my packages closer, I picked up my pace to the car. Hitting the key fob, I chucked my bags in the front seat, ...

Frances Ware, Beautiful Glass, Interesting Story

Presidents’ Day is celebrated on Monday, Feb. 21, this year and honors all those who served as United States presidents over the years. So, in honor of Presidents’ Day, I want to feature the beautiful Frances Ware glass in my column today. Since it’s one of my favorite examples of Victorian glass, I’ve written about it before and recall the fascination I developed with this fancy glass and the story behind it. Made in the 1880s by Wheeling’s own famous glass manufacturer Hobbs, Brockunier, Frances Ware is highly collectible and beautiful to display. A clear or frosted ...

A Savory Sweet Day

Sitting next to my favorite chair in the family room is a good-sized canvas tote filled with cookbooks. When I feel the urge for something interesting for dinner or maybe a new idea for a dessert, I grab several cookbooks and begin to read. I have a sizable collection of cookbooks. Many were purchased, given to me as gifts or inherited from family members. Some of the books are those paperback versions filled with recipes from an assortment of churches, fire departments and other entities that were compiled and sold as fundraisers. And I still have several of the paper pages ...

Collectors Love Vintage Valentine’s Day Trinkets

Do you have a favorite Valentine decoration or trinket that you display each year? Of course, I do — actually I have several. One is a heart shaped glass candy dish made by LE Smith Co., one of the last molded glass companies in the country founded in nearby Jeannette, Pa. This lovely candy dish is a delight to bring out and fill with chocolates each February. The ruby glass makes for a dramatic statement and of course, ruby glass has long been collected by fans of Victorian and art glass. This dish is classified as a nappy in antique glassware terminology, which means that it’s ...

Organization Is The Key

I should have taken his advice years before this. A very conscientious physician, after evaluating a pain in my back, picked up my purse and immediately put it back down. Well, there’s part of your problem, he said. You are only aggravating your bulging disc by carrying that heavy bag around. And he was right. I carried a large handbag at the time. Not only did it contain a wallet (by no means filled with cash), there also was an assortment of makeup, handkerchiefs, an envelope filled with store coupons, hand sanitizer, pens, pencils, notebooks, a cell phone and my camera I was ...