Significant contributions to others earned places in the Martins Ferry Hall of Honor for five individuals during the eighth annual induction ceremony Sunday at the high school cafetorium.

Martins Ferry Superintendent Dirk Fitch opened the ceremony with a greeting to all attendees.

“As long as you folks need this house, it’s yours to have,” Fitch said.

The first inductee was James H. Carson M.D., inducted by John Applegarth. He was a member of the Martins Ferry Volunteer Fire Department and emergency squad, instructing fellow members in emergency care treatments. Carson provided free flu shots to firemen and their families.

He was Martins Ferry’s Civil Defense director, and it prepared citizens in the event of an attack by foreign nations. He was medical director at the city’s continuous health screening and health assessment clinics, tending to more than 1,700 citizens.

The second inductee was Harold “Hoot” Gibson, inducted by Mayor Paul Riethmiller. Gibson was a veteran Martins Ferry volunteer firefighter and Ladder Co. captain who lost his life in the line of duty while fighting the 1977 fire at the Briggs Brothers Department Store, which was at one time an opera house.

More than 1.14 million gallons of water were poured onto the structure over a six-hour battle to bring the flames under control. Several units remained on the scene, pouring water on the structure more than 12 hours from the time of the initial alarm.

The third inductee was William F. Grammer, inducted by Denny Lucas. Grammer was founder of the Martins Ferry Swim Team in 1968 and a swim coach for the team for 31 years. Grammer was also pivotal to the establishment of the Belmont County Summer Swim League. In 2003, the Martins Ferry Municipal Swimming Pool was renamed in his honor.

Lucas said the Martins Ferry High School coaches wore purple to the ceremony in honor of Grammer, because he was always surrounded by purple swim trunks, towels, shirts and everything to do with the swim team.

Grammer was inducted into the U.S. Army in 1942. He drove supply trucks in New Zealand and New Guinea and dived from a truck into a ditch while Japanese fighters were scraping the area.

The fourth inductee was John G. Kramer, D.D.S., inducted by Lois Suriano. Kramer opened a dental practice in Martins Ferry after attending Ohio State University.

He received numerous honors, including being the recipient of the OSU College of Dentistry’s Most Distinguished Alumni award.

Kramer is the only dentist to serve as chief of staff at Eastern Ohio Regional Hospital. He served on the committee to have the modern Martins Ferry Public Library built and worked on the committee to have the new addition added to the hospital.

The fifth and final inductee was Joseph Weiskircher, an entrepreneur who purchased the failing Ohio Valley Dairy in 1914 with the help of a $1,000 loan and turned it into a successful business. Today, that company is known as United Dairy Inc.

Weiskircher also became a civic leader known for his philanthropy. He served as a director of Citizens Bank and The Belmont Brewing Co. He was a member of the Elks, Kiwanis, and a charter member of the Belmont Hills Country Club. Weiskircher was instrumental in the building of the St. Mary School. The plaque was presented to his grandson, Richard Brennan.