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WHEELING -- Two men well known for their service to the Wheeling community will soon enter the Wheeling Hall of Fame.
Dr. William Mercer and the late Robert Otten both will join nine other inductees at a Saturday, June 10, ceremony at WesBanco Arena. Otten and Mercer are being inducted in the category of public service.
The event is open to the public and will begin at 6 p.m. A catered dinner is included. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased at WesbancoArena.com, or by calling the box office at 304-233-7000 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Robert J. Otten
The only child of Frederick and Florence Kern Otten, Bob Otten was born in Newark, New Jersey, and was graduated from Arts High School and the Parsons School of Design in New York City in 1942 majoring in interior and theatrical stage design. He was a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers.
Bob was a World War II veteran who served in the Army from 1943-46 as a member of the Air Corps Camouflage and Special Services Group stationed in Walterboro, South Carolina.
Following his military service, Bob moved to Wheeling in 1946 becoming Oglebay Park's first drama director of theatrical productions. In 1950, Bob joined Stone & Thomas Department Stores in Charleston as sales promotion director. In 1962, he returned to Wheeling, assuming the duties of director of interior design for Stone & Thomas.
At the request of the Rebekah Harkness Foundation, Bob constructed a scale model of the portable stage in the East Room of the White House that was presented to President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson.
That model now resides in the Johnson Memorial Library in Austin, Texas.
When he retired in 1983, Otten held the position of corporate vice president of sales promotions.
In retirement, his design talents shifted to Oglebay Park, influencing the design of many of the facilities within the park, with the Glass Museum being among his favorites. In 1985, he created the first of five initial displays in the park's Festival of Lights. Throughout his years with Oglebay, he created 50 festival displays including the official festival ornaments for the event's first 20 years.
Otten is also well known and remembered as the founder of the Wheeling Amateur Hockey Association, established in 1964 with only seven youngsters. Otten saw the league grow to 450 Wheeling area youth. In 1970, the Amateur Hockey Association gave Otten a special award for his work in the advancement of American amateur hockey. Today, high school hockey teams statewide vie for the Bob Otten Cup.
Otten played hockey as a teen and tried out with the New York Rangers. It is not surprising that he was recruited by Wheeling Thunderbirds (now the Nailers) officials to organize the off-ice officials for Wheeling's entry into the East Coast Hockey League. Otten was a Rotarian for more than half a century and served as president in 1973-74. In 1985, he was named a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International. He was recipient of numerous community service awards that included citizen of the month and distinguished service awards from the Wheeling Jaycees. He also served on advisory boards for the Wheeling Symphony, Belmont College, West Liberty State College, West Virginia Northern Community College, and Victorian Wheeling.
Dr. William Mercer
William C. Mercer was born November 6, 1953, at Ohio Valley Medical Center in Wheeling, a son of Joseph Loran and Helen (Dauber) Mercer. He attended Warwood High School and graduated in 1975 from West Liberty State College. Mercer then pursued his medical degree at West Virginia University Medical School where he graduated in 1979.
He completed a three-year family practice residency at Wheeling Hospital and was chief resident during his third year there. He then began private practice by taking over Dr. William J. Steger's practice. For 37 years, Mercer maintained a private practice until he joined Wheeling Hospital in 2018. He retired from private practice in 2021 but found he didn't enjoy retirement. He returned to practice and is seeing patients in the three local post-acute and long-term care facilities, where he has served as a certified medical director.
Mercer also sees patients through Project Hope, a street medicine program he brought to Wheeling. He began working with the homeless in 2006, and this work eventually launched Project Hope. A program of the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department, Project Hope has been one of the outstanding street medicine programs in the nation. The group was invited to the International Street Medicine Institute's Annual Symposium in Rotterdam, Netherlands, because of its first-rate reputation and its success in small communities.
As the 25th health officer of the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department, Mercer was instrumental in achieving a new Clean Indoor Air Regulation in 2005, which was expanded to include bars and restaurants. It served as a model for other counties in West Virginia, and many adopted similar regulations. During his 22 years as health officer, he also developed a program called "Joe Too Cool to Smoke/Vape." With the blessing of the Charles M. Schulz family, he was able to take a larger-than-life-sized 500-pound statue of Snoopy to the schools in Ohio County, using it as a fun way to teach students the hazards of tobacco and vaping.
In 1996, Pittsburgh Magazine named Mercer as one of the best physicians in the northeastern region of the United States, and in 2008, he was honored as the state of West Virginia's Family Physician of the Year. Youth Services System, Inc. named him Good Samaritan of the Year in 2016. He also is a member of the West Liberty State College Wall of Honor.
Mercer devoted his adult life to the health care and education of Wheeling's citizens of all ages and economic levels. He was awarded the prestigious Milton and Ruth Roemer Prize for leading these programs and overcoming the adversity he faced with the implementation of the Clean Indoor Air Regulation.
He received the prize in Boston in November 2022. As Jean Schulz said in her letter supporting his nomination for this award, "It has been my pleasure to have our dear Snoopy associated with Dr. Mercer's program, and all of us at 'Snoopy Center' have appreciated being associated with Dr. Mercer."
Dr. Mercer resides in Wheeling with his wife Gigi, children Chris (Teal), Steve (Bre), Andrew and Taylon and grandson Finn. He joins his father, J. Loran Mercer, and his brother, Dr. Donald Mercer, in the Wheeling Hall of Fame.