There is not a single building in the town of Logan that is not historically connected to the annals of times past where the names of many civic, business, and political leaders strived and even thrived in what was an ever-growing city full of vigor and vision — most of which occurred in the…

Among the many lessons from 2020 is this one: People need people.

The original mountaineers of this part of what became West Virginia brought with them many skills; one of which was the art of making their own corn liquor known as moonshine. Even after the coal industry started booming in the county, there were many residents who made a decent living makin…

Barring a last-minute intervention by a court, West Virginia’s children enrolled in public schools will be heading back to the classroom this week.

President Donald Trump claims to love his country and wants to defend its Constitution. Yet, his recent behaviors and comments, especially instigating his followers to violently attack Congress on Jan. 6, counteracts that. The president’s mental functioning has long troubled many people and …

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Other than a few employees inside doing routine maintenance chores and construction workers outsize rebuilding a plaza, the Mountain Health Arena in downtown Huntington has been a lonely place for nearly a year.

COVID-19 ruined 2020 for most of the world; the only way out of the disaster was a vaccine. Thankfully, in less than one year, scientists produced effective vaccines, that previously required multiple years.

A short tour of Logan will reveal from its mostly brick structures that much of its glamourous but notorious past occurred from around 1908 through the 1940s, although events of interest certainly didn’t end following World War II. It’s just that the early decades of the 1900’s are more rive…

For the second time in my life, I’m a Nielsen family. I’ve been asked to keep a diary for a week of all the shows I watch on television to help determine shows’ ratings.

So, here I sit on New Year’s Eve, just hours before 2020 will finally come to a dead end, and I can only reflect on the worst year of my lifetime — a lifetime that spans over six and one-half decades. I am convinced that 2020 is in fact the year of the Devil. And no matter what transpires in…

Recently revised federal regulations concerning coal-fired power plants could mean another one will shut down by the end of the decade.

President-elect Joe Biden is three weeks away from taking the oath of office, and West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice is getting ready to take his oath for the second time.

I have been blessed with good health for all of my life, and I thank God for that. I have never had to deal with such things as diabetes, heart disease, obesity, or other health-related problems that plague many of my friends and acquaintances. Regular check-ups have continuously, however, r…

Coming up on New Year’s, I’m more than ready to kiss 2020 a not-so-fond farewell and look forward to a brighter year ahead — 2021 — with, we all hope, relief from the coronavirus pandemic, an economic revival, and much-needed healing from the wounds of partisan strife.

It would figure that the reliably highbrow Brookings Institution, whose pretense is self-evident by way of appellation, would assign nomenclature to the role establishments such as bars play in their communities.

Christmas nearly always means a wonderful time for children, but like some other holidays, it also means it is a special time for those of us who enjoy “pigging out.”

Amidst all of the craziness going on concerning last month’s election, I think I’ve figured out why Donald Trump is fighting so fiercely to retain his position as president of the United States.

It’s a good thing Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia all have West Virginia nearby or else they would run low on electricity.

It had to happen, or did it? Mary is dead.

The 2020 high school football season has ended in West Virginia with the meekest of whimpers. Champions were decided not on the playing field but by the state Department of Education’s color-coded map.

Some years ago, while waiting for the next author to speak at a Florida book fair, the women seated beside me asked, “Where are you from?” “West Virginia,” I replied. She stared at me and replied, “Then, we have nothing to talk about.” She, like millions of people with no connection to West …

In a ruling issued on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, the U.S Supreme Court struck down an order by the governor of New York limiting attendance at houses of worship while allowing businesses it deemed essential to admit as many people as they wanted.

With the probable exception of the television and radio media, I believe most people are glad the recent election is over with and that we can now finally prepare for Christmas without the rhetoric that comes with the political campaigning process.

For the first time in more than fifty years, my wife and I this year did not spend Thanksgiving with our parents or our children or our grandchildren. We have wonderful memories of all those past Thanksgivings, of those times with loved ones who have meant so much to us. Memories of long dri…

This is Thanksgiving week, which normally means the beginning of a slow news season that lasts until after New Year’s Day. People are taking vacations or getting ready for the new year, so not much happens other than crime and sports news.

A formal dedication of a new five-lane bridge spanning the Guyandotte River into Logan connecting the Logan boulevard will soon be conducted — or by the time of this publication — may already have been completed. The bridge, which is certainly a nice addition to the town of Logan, replaces a…

Put yourself in the grandstand at Wheeling Island stadium, the evening of a state high school football championship in AAA between Cabell Midland and Morgantown. Midland has been trailing the Mohigans for three quarters. It’s now fourth and one at midfield for Midland, with Morgantown up 20-…

In the mid-1980s I was able to enjoy a few days of vacation in Israel. Most of the time was spent in and around Jerusalem, but one day I figured I needed to see Tel Aviv.

History was truly made Nov. 3 in more ways than one when the political “Trump Train” sped through Logan County, as well as surrounding counties. The well-oiled machine rampaged from one polling place to another, mangling nearly all Democrats who happened to be in its way. At day’s end, about…

Marshall University has experienced a spike in the number of people on campus known to be infected with the COVID-19 virus. What’s happening on campus carries some lessons for the public at large.

(Writer’s Note: With today being celebrated as Veteran’s Day, I dedicate the following writing to all of the military men and women who have over the years sacrificed their efforts to help secure the freedoms that we continue to cherish as true mountaineers and Americans; especially, freedom…

The Chesapeake, Ohio, Village Hall frequently posts messages on its eastern wall aimed at drivers heading onto the 6th Street Bridge leading into Huntington. My favorite message of theirs goes: “Have you prayed today?”

Gov. Jim Justice says he has no immediate plans to order more restrictions on West Virginia residents despite the uptick in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.

A while back something came up that required me to drive over to Maysville, Kentucky, one evening. I clocked out of work, did what I needed to do there and began the two-hour drive back to Huntington.

Inspired by a recent article in the Charleston Gazette-Mail concerning bologna — and, no, I don’t mean anything found on the political pages of the state’s largest newspaper — I recently got to thinking about what people eat in southern West Virginia, aside from pizza and all of the fast foo…

As the national election drew to a close, many eyes were on Pennsylvania, where the future of fracking could have determined who lives in the White House this time next year.

Three Republican governors deserve high praise for their conscientious handling of the coronavirus pandemic and its often lethal disease, COVID-19. They are governors Asa Hutchison of Arkansas, Larry Hogan of Maryland and West Virginia’s own Jim Justice.

With Halloween just around the corner, I am reminded of times past when danger lurked on nearly every roadway in Logan County during this time of year. Thank goodness, everybody now seems to have their cell phones and other gadgets to keep themselves occupied, and perhaps that helps to keep …

The Cabell-Huntington Health Department says local residents aren’t doing enough to prevent the spread of COVID-19. If the public doesn’t comply, steps will be taken, the health department says.

As he returned from treatment for COVID-19 at Walter Reed Naval Medical Center, President Trump appeared to strike a triumphant pose on the White House portico and said, “Don’t be afraid of COVID; don’t let it dominate your life.”

Way back when Trailways buses were traveling throughout Logan County and at least four taxi cab services existed within the busy little town of Logan, women came from far and near to shop, while men found their ways to Logan, perhaps to visit one of the many pool halls or beer joints that co…

It was 1957 in Logan County, a time of extremely high unemployment in the coalfields.