West Virginia Culture Center Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

WVPB Shares Documentary Honoring The Legacy Of Woody Williams

West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) recently aired a new documentary about the life of Medal of Honor recipient, Woody Williams titled, “Woody Williams: An Extraordinary Life of Service.” The public is encouraged to join us for a special screening on Monday, Dec. 11 at 5:30 p.m.

Join Us Monday, Dec. 11 at 5:30 p.m. in the West Virginia Culture Center Theater

West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) recently aired a new documentary about the life of Medal of Honor recipient, Woody Williams titled, Woody Williams: An Extraordinary Life of Service. The public is encouraged to join us for a special screening on Monday, Dec. 11 at 5:30 p.m.

WHAT: Screening of Documentary Film Woody Williams: An Extraordinary Life of Service

WHERE: Culture Center Theater. Capitol Complex

WHEN: 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

The documentary chronicles the life of Hershel “Woody” Williams, America’s last living World War II Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. William’s life was dedicated to God, family, country and perhaps above all, service. In 2022, Williams passed at the age of 98, and would lie in honor at both the West Virginia State Capitol and the US Capitol.

The documentary shares how Williams at the age of 85, formed the Woody Williams Foundation, dedicated to honoring and helping Gold Star Families. Through the work of the foundation, there are now Gold Star Families Monuments in every state.

View the trailer below.

Second Annual W.Va. Academic Showdown To Be Held March 31

Matchups for the finalists in the second annual West Virginia Academic Showdown were announced last week. Ten teams from nine high schools from across the state will compete for first place at the end of the month.

The five matchups include:

James Monroe High School versus Winfield High School
Morgantown High School Team 1 versus George Washington High School
Spring Mills High School versus Wheeling Park High School
Huntington High School versus Morgantown High School Team 2
Ripley High School versus Berkeley Springs High School

The matchups were announced by the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) in an online drawing.

The finale will feature double elimination at three venues within the Culture Center in Charleston on March 31 at 9 a.m., according to the WVDE.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) will stream the finale on its YouTube channel and broadcast it live on the West Virginia Channel.

The Academic Showdown held its inaugural competition last year where George Washington High was crowned the grand champion.

The event is made up of 9th-12th graders and covers a variety of subjects – from literature and math to religion and mythology and even pop culture.

The program is the result of a partnership between the WVDE, the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, WVPB, and the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History.

According to the WVDE, in its second year, the competition has more than doubled in participation with 71 teams competing in five regionals.

Memorial Schedule For Woody Williams

Hershel “Woody” Williams will lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, July 2 and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, July 3. A State Memorial Service in Williams’ honor will be held inside the State Culture Center Theater at 4 p.m. Sunday. A live stream will be available for Sunday's event.

The memorial services scheduled this weekend to honor America’s last World War II Medal of Honor recipient and West Virginia native Hershel “Woody” Williams have been announced.

SATURDAY

8 a.m. Procession

A procession will depart from Beard Mortuary in Huntington at 8 a.m. The procession route will follow Route 60 through Ona and Milton before getting on I-64 at Exit 28.

The procession will remain on I-64 until Exit 99, turning right onto Greenbrier Street, before turning left onto Kanawha Boulevard and entering the State Capitol from the south side of the Complex.

Upon arrival, the casket will be carried into the State Capitol Building and positioned in the Lower Capitol Rotunda.

10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Public Viewing

Williams will lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda for a public viewing.

SUNDAY

Additional Public Viewing 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Public visitation will continue at the Capitol Rotunda.

State Memorial Service 4 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

A State Memorial Service in Williams’ honor will be held inside the State Culture Center Theater at 4 p.m. The service will include several tributes which will be announced closer to the service.

Seating

Public seating inside the State Culture Center Theater will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. There will be very limited seating inside the theater.

Additional overflow seating will be available both inside and outside the Culture Center with video and audio provided.

Parking (for both Saturday and Sunday)

Parking for guests will be provided.

Lots around the Capitol Complex will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. The public employee parking garage off Greenbrier Street and the Laidley Field parking lot will also be open to the public.

Free shuttle services will be offered all day within the service area. Designated handicap parking spaces will also be available at the lot beside the State Culture Center.

Public Entrance (for both Saturday and Sunday)

All attendees must enter the Capitol Building using the public west wing entrance.

Doors will open at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

How To Watch

The service will be broadcast on television via the West Virginia Public Broadcasting Channel. Find your station here (Use column labeled “WVPB”).

West Virginians may also watch the State Memorial Service on Sunday via online live stream.

A burial schedule is undetermined at this time. Burial services will be private for family only.

George Washington High Wins W.Va. High School Academic Contest

George Washington High School of Charleston on Friday won an academic competition involving teams of students from across West Virginia.

George Washington defeated Spring Mills High School of Berkeley County in the championship round of the West Virginia Academic Showdown at the state Culture Center in Charleston. George Washington won $10,000 and Spring Mills $6,000.

In addition, George Washington team captain Reese Mason received $1,000 for being chosen the top competitor.

Under the competition, which was based on the popular History Bowl quiz format, 29 teams from 19 high schools signed up for four regional events. The eight regional winners then advanced to the state finals.

Berkeley Springs and PikeView were eliminated in the semifinals and received $4,000. Greenbrier East, Ripley, Sherman and Tug Valley were eliminated in the quarterfinals and received $3,000.

The competition subjects included literature, math, history, science, geography, fine arts, religion and mythology, social science, philosophy, current events, pop culture and general knowledge.

Schools formed teams of four students from grades 9 through 12 with a fifth member serving as an alternate.

December 27, 2006: Artist June Kilgore Dies

Artist June Kilgore died on December 27, 2006, at age 79. The Huntington native was an expressionist painter who spent 30 years as an art professor at Marshall University. Kilgore’s modern and abstract work evokes intense emotion and a sense of the spiritual.

An eloquent communicator, she had a significant influence on her students at Marshall and inspired many accomplished West Virginia artists, including Dolly Hartman and Sally Romayne.

Kilgore’s work can be found in a number of prestigious collections, including those of former Senator Jay Rockefeller and the Federal University of Brazil. She was the subject of the first artist retrospective at the Culture Center in Charleston and had one-person exhibits in Louisville and New York City.

In 1997, Kilgore won one of three Governor’s Awards in the West Virginia Juried Exhibition for her abstract painting “Black Garden Stone for Meditation (With Guardians),” which also received the show’s highest honor, the D. Gene Jordon Memorial Award. Two years later, she won another Governor’s Award.

June Kilgore is remembered today as one of West Virginia’s most influential artists of the 20^th century.

April 26, 1937: West Virginia's First Historical Marker Placed

On April 26, 1937, West Virginia’s first highway historical marker was installed in Charleston, detailing the history of our state capitol.

In that first year, 440 sites were marked by these white aluminum signs, which feature a circular state seal at the top. Initial funding was provided by one of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs.

After the early flurry of activity, the highway marker program waned until the centennial of the Civil War and West Virginia statehood in the 1960s. Existing markers were inventoried, damaged and missing markers were replaced, and nearly 300 additional sites were selected. Since that time, new markers have been added yearly, as funds permit, to commemorate more recent events or topics that may have been missed in the past.

Today, the roadside markers program is operated by the Archives and History Section of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History, with the cooperation of the Division of Highways. New markers are approved by the Archives and History Commission.

Some 1,000 markers are scattered along roadsides across West Virginia, marking significant historical events, prehistoric sites, and geological and natural features.