The Greenbrier Resort Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

November 19, 1899: Sculptor Gladys Tuke Born

Sculptor Gladys Tuke was born in Pocahontas County on November 19, 1899. After studying art in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia, she returned to West Virginia in the 1930s. She took up residency at The Greenbrier resort’s Art Colony and became well known for her sculptures of horses. During World War Two, Tuke taught sculpture and pottery to soldiers who were recovering at The Greenbrier, which had been converted into an army hospital. She set up her own studio in White Sulphur Springs after the war.

In 1956, Tuke reopened The Greenbrier’s Art Colony. She was assisted by Jeanne Eleanore Coyne, a pictorial artist and teacher at the Greenbrier College for Women. The Art Colony’s tradition continues today as skilled artisans craft woodwork, clothing, jewelry, pottery, and other items on site.

Over the years, Gladys Tuke’s sculptures were featured at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Woodmere Art Gallery in Philadelphia, the All-American Exhibition of Sculpture at the Cincinnati Museum of Art, and the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C. She died in Denmar Hospital in 1982 at the age of 82.

Company Owned by Gov. Jim Justice Giving Away Tickets to Event at Resort (Also Owned by Justice)

The Greenbrier resort has announced it’s giving away prizes and tickets to an upcoming golf tournament. A coal company controlled by the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is paying for the tickets.

The Professional Golfers’ Association will hold a tournament, dubbed “A Military Tribute”, at the Greenbrier resort from Sept. 9 to Sept. 15. The Associated Press reported the resort announced there are 30,000 tickets available for fans who register online starting Friday, Aug. 16.

During the tournament the resort says there will also be several drawings for a total of 150 prizes, those being valued at $1,000 or more. Those interested can also register online.

Tickets are courtesy of coal mining company Bluestone Resources. Justice owns both Bluestone and the Greenbrier resort.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice gives a speech during a Department of Tourism conference Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, at the Morgantown Event Center.

He and his companies have recently been under fire for being rife with conflicts of interest — the businessman turned governor operates dozens of companies regulated by state agencies he oversees.
The Greenbrier’s PGA announcement comes one day after the Charleston Gazette-Mail published a roughly 6,000-word expose on Justice and his conflicts of interest, in partnership with ProPublica.

October 23, 1943: German POWs Arrive at Camp Ashford

On October 23, 1943, German prisoners of war were moved into Camp Ashford at White Sulphur Springs. This was one of two POW camps in West Virginia during World War II. The other was at Camp Dawson in Preston County.

Camp Ashford was built in the summer of 1942 by Italian POWs, who stayed at the camp until the German prisoners arrived the following year. The 165-acre camp was a standard army double-barbed wire compound. It could hold up to 1,000 prisoners, who lived in former Civilian Conservation Corps buildings. While imprisoned in Greenbrier County, the Italian POWs also helped local farmers make hay and harvest crops.

When the German POWs arrived in October 1943, they were assigned to Ashford General Hospital. The hospital was located nearby at The Greenbrier, which the U.S. military had taken over during the war. The facility helped wounded military personnel recover through activities like swimming and golfing.

The German POWs stayed at Camp Ashford until the end of the war, when the camp was shut down and The Greenbrier was restored into the resort that tourists know today.

West Virginia Resort to Use FanDuel for Sports Wagering

FanDuel will provide interactive sports wagering services at The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia.

The Greenbrier announced Tuesday that New York-based FanDuel will handle retail, online and mobile sports wagering for the resort in White Sulphur Springs.

The resort’s onsite betting will take place at The Casino Club, which is open only to resort guests and event participants, golf and tennis members and Greenbrier Sporting Club members.

West Virginia lawmakers this year approved sports betting at the state’s five casinos and on approved mobile apps, shortly before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a federal law that had banned most sports betting.

The state Lottery Commission approved sports betting rules last week. The goal is to have sports betting underway by the start of football season in September.

Nonprofit, Governor’s Resort Ordered to Pay in Rental Cases

A nonprofit group has been ordered to make good on unpaid bills for rental equipment and services for a canceled golf tournament at a West Virginia resort owned by Gov. Jim Justice.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the orders were made last month in West Virginia federal court.

In one case, the Justice-owned Greenbrier resort and Old White Charities, the financial arm of the PGA Tour’s Greenbrier Classic, were ordered to pay nearly $623,000 plus interest to Special Event Service and Rental of Bartlett, Tennessee. The company’s lawsuit says equipment was damaged by a June 2016 deadly flood around the resort. The tournament was canceled.

In a separate judgment, Old White Charities was ordered to pay $754,000 plus fees and interest for services and equipment provided in July 2016 by Select Event Group of Laurel, Maryland.

Economic Roadmap for West Virginia Outlined at Chamber's Business Summit

West Virginia’s state university and commerce officials say plastics and chemical manufacturing, cybersecurity, higher-end tourism and automotive assembly are sectors where the state can turn its lagging economy around.

In an address Thursday to business leaders at the Greenbrier Resort, West Virginia University President Gordon Gee says they collaborated to produce a roadmap for reinforcing the state’s existing foundation for growth and identify sectors to diversify the economy.

West Virginia has been hurt by sharp declines in coal production and employment the past several years despite an uptick this year.

A full report is expected by mid-September. It follows a study conducted by McKinsey & Co., a global management consultant. Additional ideas can be submitted via email leading up to the release of the final report.

Other sectors identified Thursday are computer cloud services and data centers and life sciences.