“Summits bathed in glory….”
“Life is Old There….”
This is a view of Middle Island Creek taken from the Rails to Trails trestle near West Union. The Trail continues into the town of about 670. The town and this portion of the Creek are in Doddridge County.
Middle Island Creek meanders along slowly, through the jug handle, for 77 miles. It is actually a river which is only a bit over 26 miles from its headwaters here in Doddridge County to its confluence in the Ohio River at Middle Island, St. Marys, in Pleasants County! The Stream drains an area of 565 square miles of the Allegheny Plateau.
2022 Marble Fest in Paden City
We had a vendor table and we planned to sale so we got up early on Friday September 23rd and headed from North Bend State Park to the 2022 Marble Fest in Paden City. It is about a 42 mile drive, through beautiful mountain country all the way. The Wetzel County Convention and Visitors Bureau hosted the Paden City Marble Fest on September 23rd and 24th. Marble lovers near and far remember the Sistersville Marble Festival which has become almost legendary.
Sistersville was festive, family-focused, and the whole community was involved. Jim and Mary King founded and coordinated the Festival for 20 years from 2000-2019. There was always a children’s marble tournament, a silent marble auction, a flea market, and marble making demonstrations.
The air was cool and fresh and the sky robin-egg blue as we parked under the cottonwoods along the Ohio River in Paden City Park. We were not the first to arrive and as we made our way to our table under a large pavilion we spoke to friends and recognized most of the other sellers. We had seen some of them in May at the Marbles in the Mountains show in Pigeon Forge Tennessee.
Also, we met new glass artists during the day like Thomas Militello (Comet Creations) who is from Gowanda, New York just south of Buffalo.
Rather than give our impressions of the Fest we will refer you to the local report “Paden City Hosts Marble Fest 2022” which was published in the Tyler Star News in Sistersville on 10/10/2022.
Here are some photos from the Marble Fest:
One Final Thought From Marble Fest
If the Paden City Fest is designed to “take the reins from the former Sistersville Marble Festival” as has been suggested, then there needs to be a long-range vision for the Fest. Work needs to be done with community and state wide marketing.
Visiting with Old Friends
Well, we had accomplished some of the things that we had come to West Virginia for. We had visited old stamping grounds as well as some places we had never been before. And we had attended the Marble Fest in Paden City. Now we were anxious to see old friends whom we had not seen in years.
Dave McCullough
First stop was Dave’s Appalachian Swirls in Pennsboro where we found Dave McCullough hard at work sorting colors and cullet for his planned October 10th run.
We talked marbles, health (as you can see Dave is looking good!), and old times (really old like 50 years ago). It was a fantastic time for us and we enjoyed it tremendously. This visit was certainly one of the highlights of the whole trip for all three of us! 
Sam Hogue
Our next stop was just west of Pennsboro along Lamberton Road in Ellenboro. This is a picture of a machine which is older than any of us! It is the infamous Peltier 1940 Pee Wee marble machine. There is even a YouTube online showing the machine in action![1]
Sammy cranked it up for us and it runs like clockwork! And it certainly isn’t the only marble machine that Sammy owns. This is probably the longest visit we have ever had with Sammy, and we had a wonderful time. And, of course, we loaded up on art marbles and odds and ends of all sorts. This is just one wall in Sammy’s gift shop!
Roger Hardy & West End Antiques
Can you imagine one of Roger’s favorite antiques in his West End Antiques in Clarksburg? The shop is stuffed with possibilities! Perhaps a long handle Akro Agate basket or a special child’s tea set? Nope: a 1946 Seeburg jukebox! This according to WDTV 5 in Clarksburg.
We were amazed as we walked across the front porch and entered the shop at just how many varied pieces of furniture are on offer! West End has the largest collection of Akro Agate glassware in America! We were astounded at the variety, and there are so many hard-to find pieces. But the Hardys also offer other unique items and all kinds of smalls and collectibles plus tons of marbles! 
West End is a wonderful shop and if you haven’t been then we urge you to add it to your bucket list. If you have been, then we recommend that you return. It is that fantastic nostalgic kind of antique store where you can browse, see things you never even knew existed, and shop to your heart’s content.
Roger told the TV reporter in 2018 that “Most of the people who really collected antiques are now gone. The younger generation, for the most part, does not care. It has really hurt the market.”[2] But he has been in the antique business since the 1960s and antiques and glass remain both his career and his hobby.
Jim & Mary King
We stopped in Sistersville and talked with Jim and Mary King at their store King’s Corner Furniture. And we spent a little time in Salem. We have believed for years, with no formal documentation or proof at all, that L.E. Alley, Sr. made small glass animals in Salem.
Weston State Hospital, Weston: The stately old hospital is sleepy, but still busy! In its present incarnation as The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum it features walking tours inside & out & ghost tours. The hospital also welcomes paranormal groups large & small.
Country Roads
We drove well over 500 miles within West Virginia. We visited, or visited again, Weston, Harrisville, Belmont, Sistersville, Vienna, Huntington, Milton, Beckley, Clarksburg, Princeton, Barboursville, Nutter Farm, Mabscott, Sissonville, and Cairo.
Well, it’s time to close up Cabin 8 and head home. We still have a few more stops to make along the way. Check out our last West Virginia stories at West Virginia Here We Come! Part III.
