Wiles Hill School
Senior–Community Center
(Most recent updates,
click here)
(National Register of Historic Places,
click here)
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Blog This Blog (short for Web Log) is a chronological record, in reverse order, of postings on this Web site. Here you will be able to see at a glance what is new since the last time you logged on. Below you will find the last posting first on the list.
Friday, February 22, 2007 In the interim between my last posting and this one, many projects have been ongoing and completed at the the new Community/Senior Center. The kitchen has finally been approved by the County Health Department. Barbara and Amy prepared and served the first Wednesday luncheon from the new kitchen this past Wednesday. The police have moved into their newly renovated space. I do not yet have photos of the interior of the new substation but should have some soon. Barbara and Amy are nicely settled into their new offices and sitting room. The lounge room is also finished, with big screen tv, books, pool table and a wonderfully inviting sitting area. Several regulars play pool weekly, and I'm told that the police officers also find it an inviting amenity. The main hallway would now be unrecognizable to anyone who remembers the old school, as you will see by the most recent photos. Work is also ongoing in the old restrooms with installation of new dividers and doors in both. I will update you on this in the next several days. Sorry about the long hiatus between my October posting and this one. Promise to do better in future. Thursday, October 10, 2007 Move-in day did not mean that all renovation and new construction has been completed. Many things are still underway, from installing the new kitchen stove with its vent hood, installing new louvered doors on the old cloak rooms in the lounge and crafts rooms (as well as the rooms upstairs), new drop ceiling, lighting, wall refinishing, wiring etc. in the library, and several other projects which we'll call to your attention as they occur. Nevertheless, many activities have picked up where they left off at the former Senior Center: weaving, for example, taking place daily in the crafts room. Overall, everyone is settling in and loving the new center, especially for its climate control heating/cooling system. So long for now. Friday, September 14, 2007 Yesterday was move-in day for the BOPARC seniors. We've all been looking forward to this moment. There are still small items that must be addressed before we secure our permanent occupancy permit. Occupancy permit issues will be addressed by the end of next week. A lot of what is being moved in today can be seen in the new lobby as it awaits placement in other rooms when our occupancy permit has been issued. Some furniture has been moved into the lounge area of the director's office; the room begins to look very inviting. We'll keep you posted as the move-in continues over the next several days. Friday, September 7, 2007 We have reached the final phase of our renovation with the laying of carpet in the lounge room and in other parts of the building, including the police substation, Barbara's and Amy's offices, and the main hallway. A new floating floor was also installed in the crafts room. Thursday, August 16, 2007 On August 2, an open house was held at the school to celebrate the near completion of the new Community Center and to thank yours truly for 16 years of service on Morgantown City Council. Photos of the event, which drew more than 150 people from across the city (including all of the teachers who were at Wiles Hill when the school was closed), will be available and posted in the near future. On August 7 National Night Out was also celebrated at the school with another 150+ people in attendance. Those photos too will be available soon. Then, on August 13, items from the old BOPARC Senior Center began to be moved in. The transition will take several weeks as new carpeting will first be laid in several rooms. Other projects, including painting, will also have to be completed. New signage has also been erected identifying the Community Center and Center for Active Aging, the lawn in front of the school has been reseeded, and the flower bed planted by neighborhood parents and children is in full bloom Tuesday, July 24, 2007 Sunday was garden party time at the school. Cathy Rosinski, Laura Kemp-Rye and Louise Shepherd (with other parents and children joining in) secured the plants and guided the children in planting them in a flower bed created last week. Further landscaping will be done over the next several months and we will welcome any contributions, especially of perennials, that visitors to the web site may want to make. We're thinking of plants that you might want to donate from your own flower gardens when it comes time to thin out the perennials. Our next flower bed may be created along the wall between the gazebo and the tot lot. We've had great response to our call for volunteers to help with various projects. This past week, Cam Hess, his wife Joyce and his carpenter friend, Blake Christopher, installed a door in the wall of an unused space under the basement stair and created a new utility closet. Joyce spent the morning painting the walls of the old kitchen. Another volunteer, Chuck Coole, has been at work installing new folding doors in the police substation, what was the principal's office, off the main hallway. The doors will be hung in place today, July 25. And Harold and Carlos, volunteers from the Kennedy Center, continue their good work in the crafts room and in the assembly room. Monday, July 16, 2007 Cleanup of the dust and debris of major construction is now underway. The basement of the school was cleaned this week by inmates from the Kennedy Center who have been working with us every weekend for the past several months. Two of them, Carlos and Harold, have been most helpful and are pictured cleaning the Assembly Room and stage. They have also done the bulk of the painting in the new lobby, along with Amy and Hobe. Moreover, as you will see, the tile has been laid in the lobby and today, July 17, the new unisex bathroom was all but completed. Three other volunteers arrived this morning to hang doors and paint in the basement. They will be back next week to hang doors in the new offices for Amy and Barbara which were substantially completed on Sunday evening. And it looks like the dropoff area in front of the new lobby will be paved on Thursday or Friday of this week. We'll keep you posted. Monday, June 18, 2007 The new lobby and kitchen areas are now close to completion. The skylight in the new lobby spreads a warm, natural light throughout the lobby and will permit an attractive planter to be placed at the center of this new space. Drywall installation is now complete, doors have been hung, and today the area in front of the lobby is being graded for new asphalt (part of the city's paving program for 2007). There is still much work to be done before we can move in, but we are getting very close to doing so. Sunday, June 3, 2007 The school has been a beehive of activity this weekend as Veritas Contracting makes a push to finish work on the lobby & Kitchen by mid-June. The kitchen is now fully painted, the drop ceiling grid in place and the steel door frames about to be painted. Work also proceeds on installation of drop ceilings in all of the other rooms, and plaster is being removed from the main wall in the director's office to expose the brick on one wall. There is still a good deal of finishing work to be done but we are confident now that we will be able to make the move from the Sabraton facility to Wiles Hill by the end of this month. Keep your fingers crossed. We want to acknowledge, too, that we have had great assistance in cleaning, painting and demolition work from inmates at the Kennedy Correctional Facility. They are permitted to leave the facility for the day on weekends for supervised work details. They welcome the chance to be out in the community and we have welcomed their presence and help. They will be assisting us right along until we make the move into the Wiles Hill Facility. Friday, May 18, 2007 Drop ceilings, including a new lighting system, have been installed in the lounge and crafts rooms. The next step will be to install carpeting in both rooms. Carpeting cannot be installed, however, until our contractor on the new Lobby and Kitchen project completes his work, which (he says) will be the end of May. We'll see. Thursday, April 12, 2007 The steel beams to support the lobby roof are being put in place today. As soon as they are in place and the roof (with pyramid skylight) is on, finishing work can begin inside the lobby itself. Monday, April 9, 2007 As you will see by the latest addition of photos on the kitchen/lobby page, the steel beams for the lobby roof arrived by truck last week. At that time, the front wall of the lobby was still under construction. It has not been finished and the beams will be put in place this coming week, once the cement in the new wall has curred sufficiently to bear the weight. In the mean time, all drywall is up in the new kitchen and finishing work is now being done on the various kitchen work stations. More photos this week. Thursday, March 29, 2007 Construction of new lobby and kitchen is well ahead of schedule and is now projected to be finished by the middle of April, about two weeks ahead of the deadline for completion. All kitchen services have been installed and drywall is up. Finishing work is now underway. In the mean time, cleanup is underway in preparation for new carpet throughout the main floor and hallway of the school. Ceramic tile will be laid in the old entryway and the front section of the main hallway. The fundraising and advisory committee is now planning an open house for April 26. Please mark the date on your calendar. It will be a good time to come and see the new Community Center, which will be open for business in the very near term. Tuesday, February 6, 2007 Gravel has been spread in preparation for pouring the concrete floor of the new lobby, once the walls have been erected. You will see too that the new doorway into the Director's office from the lobby (via a metal stairway) has been opened. The lintel brick were put in place yesterday. Also, installation of metal wall studs begin to define the various work spaces in the new kitchen. The layout will take shape in photos on this page as work proceeds. Wednesday, February 28, 2007 Construction moves forward rapidly on the new lobby & kitchen. The contractor expects to begin laying block for the new lobby walls next Monday. The floor of the kitchen will be poured this coming Friday, March 2. Monday, February 26, 2007 Work is finally underway on the final major project, construction of the new ADA access lobby and the kitchen that will serve the Wiles Hill Community and the Seniors. Those of you who attended Wiles Hill back in the old days will remember with nostalgia the old band room. It is now becoming the new kitchen. Progress on this phase of the renovation project you can follow in photos on the kitchen/lobby construction project page. The place is a veritable mess right now, but we're looking beyond the mess to what we will have by the end of April. More on all this in the days and weeks to come. Please check in often. Saturday, February 3, 2007 We are pleased to report 1) that the last of the heat pumps have been put in place. This completes installation of the heating/cooling system. All that remains is to fine tune the system and clean up the installation mess, which should be done by week after next. The Little School with the Big Heart is now cozy and warm throughout, upstairs and down, here in the dead of winter--warmer, perhaps, than it has ever been since its construction in 1908. 2) The contract with Veritas Construction to build the new ADA access entrance & lobby ($376,000) has been signed, the proceed order has been issued by our design engineers, Blackwood & Associates, and with the issuance of the building permit (most likely next week), construction will begin next week. This work will include fitting out the old band room space for the new kitchen. The contractor has 90 days to complete the work, which puts the completion date into April 2007. We'll keep you posted as construction begins and proceeds. Tuesday, January 16, 2007 This coming week, BOPARC will sign a contract with Veritas Construction of Morgantown for construction of the new ADA access entrance and lobby. The contract will be for $376,000. This will include fitting out the ground floor classroom (most recently, the band room) as a new kitchen. Veritas should begin construction before the end of January and expects to have work completed by the end of March. With completion of the new ADA entrance, lobby and kitchen, we will be left with gym, six rooms and the stage/assembly area in the old school, to renovate--drop ceilings, new lighting, carpeting, furniture, paint, air conditioning for the gym, and other odds and ends. We do not have in hand the money for this work. We hope there are some of you our there who will be willing to sponsor renovation of a room in your name, or in the name of a loved one, or the class with which you attended the school. We hope also that seniors will keep us in mind, both for support of remaining renovation work and for an endowment of the Senior-Community Center as a whole, in future gifts or in a will. Should you have any questions about any of this, please contact Frank Scafella at (304) 296-3145 or on line at fas4@verizon.net. Monday, December 4, 2006 Heat pumps, nine of them, are now being installed as the mechanical part of the new heating-cooling system nears completion. New gas boilers (providing hot water heat) have been installed and have been working now for several weeks. All of the chill and dampness of the basement of the school are gone. It is now warm and cozy throughout. The new heating system gives us climate control the year round. It has taken us a while to reach this point, but what a pleasure to go into the building now. The next step is to begin finishing the rooms in the old school while the new handicap entrance and lobby are being built. We can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel. It looks more and more likely that we will actually be in a fully renovated building by next March. Tuesday, November 7, 2006 On November 4, 2006, it was a pleasure to welcome back for a tour of the school, five members of the Class of 1975. See a photo of them on the alumni photos page. While here, Allen Sanderson donated his 1975 "Wiles Hill Bulldogs" tee shirt for the historical collection, and Grant Overbey has promised to send scans of class photos for display on the Alumni photos page. We did not miss the opportunity to challenge the Class of 1975 to sponsor renovation of a classroom to be named in their honor. Mr. Overbey indicated that he would spearhead this effort. Wednesday, November 1, 2006 Updated list of donors today. In addition to gifts listed on the donor page, we have commitments of nearly $115,000 to pay for construction of the new handicap entrance and lobby. With the city's dollar-for-dollar match, $230,000 will be available for that project. We will need more than $400,000 to complete new construction. If you are on our mailing list, you will receive a letter in late November outlining ways in which individuals and groups (perhaps a graduating class) might contribute not only to paying for the new construction, but for renovating a room in the old school and having it identified (perhaps even named) as a project made possible by those making the contribution. To make a contribution now, click here. On the Donate page you will find a link to The Greater Morgantown Community Trust where you can make a contribution on line. We welcome mailed donations as well. Tuesday, October 31, 2006 Today the new 300amp underground electrical service was connected to the main service at Center Street. The electrical cables terminate at a new transformer now located next to the school rather than on the telephone pole. The service will be in the building by tomorrow and, we hope, part of the heating system providing heat by the end of this week. See photos here. Wednesday, October 25, 2006 The main electrical service is now underground, along with tv cable and telephone lines. Gas boilers to supplement heat pumps as the main source of cooling and heating will be on line and working by the middle of next week. Click here for photo documentary. Wednesday, October 18, 2006 The heating/cooling project is now slated to be complete by mid-November. Click here for most recent photos of work underway. Tuesday, October 17, 2006 1. Thanks to the good work of Allen Sanderson and several other alumni, this week we were able to add a relatively complete list of names for the class of 1975. Thanks Allen. 2. Morgantown City Council, at its regular meeting on October 3, unanimously approved a recommendation by City Manager Dan Boroff to match, dollar for dollar, all funds that we raise to pay for new construction of the handicap entrance and lobby (see home page for schematics of new lobby & ADA Access). Our fundraising efforts include the work of the Wiles Hill School Fundraising Committee, the BOPARC Seniors, and the expert guidance and grantsmanship of Brenda Walker, Planned/Major Gifts Officer for the Community Visions Foundation of the Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce. This last week, for example, the BOPARC Seniors made $650 selling baked goods at the annual Baloon Festival. With the city match, that makes $1300. BOPARC was also recipient of a grant from Sams Club for $1750, thanks to Brenda Walker. With the city's match, that means $3500. In the near future, a letter will go out to our mailing list (800 names of alumni and friends) listing gift opportunities to help us complete renovation of the school so that the seniors and the Wiles Hill Community can take occupancy of the building in March '07. We will need to raise approximately $300,000 to ready the school for occupation. You can help by going to our Donate/Donate.htm page and making a pledge or a gift on line. Whatever you can afford will be matched by the City of Morgantown. 3. The new heating-cooling system should be completed by mid-November. Things are moving along very nicely. See the heating & cooling page for photos or work as it progresses. Monday, September 25, 2006 Removal of old duct system has been completed. The replacement system is going in very quickly. Work is about to begin on installation of new hot water boilers in the basement. Stay tuned for periodic progress reports. Wednesday, September 13, 2006 Installation of new heating-cooling system goes forward steadily. One has no appreciation of the complexity of a project like this until you see it happen. More photos as Leroy and his co-workers give the little school a new heart and lungs. Stay tuned for more photos as work continues. Sunday, September 10, 2006 Added basketball team photos for years '71-'72 and '72-'73 to alumni photos. Photos submitted by Andy Wilhelm. Please help us with several names that are unknown. Friday, September 1, 2006 Heating/cooling system, including installation of new electrical service, moving forward at a good pace. Heating/cooling unit and duct work in the Lounge Room will be completed this coming week. The drop ceiling will then be installed and refinishing of the floor, new lighting, and finishing touches can then be applied as this room is completed and ready for use. Saturday, August 19, 2006 Preparation for installation of new heating/cooling system moves forward, with removal of drop cielings in all rooms and upgrade of electrical system. Sunday, August 6, 2006 Thanks to Kim Clovis, added preliminary class list for class of 1968. Thursday, August 3, 2006 Installation of heating & cooling system gets underway. Saturday, July 29, 2006 Painting completed in boys and girls bathrooms. We will complete this project, including chairs, table and lounge area in girls bathroom, just as soon as we receive the stall dividers and vision screens. Thursday, July 20, 2006 Toilet bowls installed in boy's bathroom. Also measured and placed order through General Glass for new dividers between commodes. Tuesday, July 18, 2006 Added photo of school taken in 30s or 40s? Photo contributed by Jean Boger, consultant on National Register nomination. Monday, July 17, 2006 1. Pardon our long layoff from the Web site. We have all had projects at home to move forward and complete. But we're back. And today we're posting photos of some of the things that have been going on in between home projects. By the way, all new photos posted to Web pages will appear first; earlier photos have been moved down in the gallery. A new split rail fence has been added to the upper playground, what used to be the ball field, and a sign (temporary) identifying Wiles Hill Park now hangs on the fence. The swing set for the Tot Lot play station has also been completed. Now work has begun on both the boys and girls restrooms. We aim to have them finished and open for our annual National Night Out celebration and cookout. 2. Work has begun on the new heating & air conditioning system. This is a major project and will, it appears, take well into the fall to complete. Work is also ongoing on revision of our original design for the new handicap lobby and entrance (see photos on Home page). The new design is projected to be finished by the end of July, and documents should be ready to go to bid soon thereafter. 3. The BOPARC
seniors will have to move out of their current location in Sabraton Elementary
School by March of 2007. We will be ready to welcome them to our new
center by that time. We project the cost of completing renovation and
building the new addition to be $400,000. We will know the exact cost when
the revised plans for the new lobby & entrance are complete. Monday, June 12, 2006 Added photo of class safety patrol, Washington Trip, 1955. Thursday, June 8, 2006 Added photo of class of 1961 (taken in 1960), submitted by Rita Casteel (Nyland). Saturday, June 3, 2006 We have just received a grant of $10,000 to be used for renovation of a room or rooms in the school, thanks to the generous support of our two state senators, Senator Roman Prezioso and Senator Mike Oliverio. This matches a $10,000 grant we received from them through the legislature's Budget Digest in 2005. We thank them very much for their continuing support. Friday, May 12, 2006 1. On Monday, May 8, BOPARC accepted the low bid for installation of heating and air conditioning in the school. The low bid came in at $265,000. We have approximately $150,000 in hand. We will appreciate any contributions you can make to help us with this project. The $100,000 we will borrow so that the project can move forward. Installation will begin in the next couple of weeks and should be completed well before fall. 2. The school is now handicap accessible. Click here to see the chair lifts that have been added to the back stairwell. Monday, April 24, 2006 1. On Friday, April 21, four contractors attended a mandatory pre-bid conference on installation of a new heating and cooling system for the school. Final bids are due at the BOPARC office on May 4. We'll let you know just as soon as we have the final bids in hand. 2. Added photos from Rodney Pyles and Janet Rumble to alumni photos. Friday, April 14, 2006 Added photos of renovation of girls and boys bathrooms. Primary aim to provide handicap access. Tuesday, April 11, 2006 1. Added recently updated plans for making the basement of the school handicap accessible. 2. Added names to the list of donors. 3. Added photos of continuing work on Tot Lot Playstation. Friday, April 7, 2006 Added list of donors: donations to date include a spinet piano, an antique rocker for the Lounge Room, an antique oak table and chairs, and both restricted and unrestricted contributions to the Wiles Hill Senior-Community Center Fund. Photos of the piano and the rocker can be seen by clicking here. Tuesday, April 4, 2006 1. Added four new photos of work on Tot Lot Play Station to Playground Photos. Friday, March 31, 2006 1. With coming of Spring, work resumes on Tot Lot Play Station in Playground Photos. 2. Painting of main hallway completed 3/28/06. 3. Janet Rumble additions to alumni photos. More to come in next few days. Tuesday, March 28, 2006 Value engineering is now underway on the initial bid package for our proposed ADA Access Entrance and Lobby. We expect to re-bid the project by mid to late April and have construction underway by summer. We'll keep you posted as this project matures. Saturday, March 26, 2006 1. Added Cinderella playbill (1949) to alumni photos. Playbill submitted by Ginger (Sanders) Lorenze, Class of 1949. 2. Added class lists for 1949-50 to alumni lists. 3. Added photo, door frame refinishing, to main hallway photos. Wednesday, March 22, 2006 1. Added photo of antique rocker to lounge room photos. 2. Added photos of painting main hallway. 3. Added photo of Wiles Hill Junior Optimist club featuring Club President Sweitzer, ca. 1949-50, to alumni photos. Photo donated by Richard Herstine. Sunday, March 19, 2006 1. Added a hit counter to the Home Page. 2. Posted nine
Alumni Photos
from Mike Hough Photos are
from the 30s, 50s and 60s. "Izzie" Hough, beloved overseer of hot lunch
for many years, is featured here. Saturday, March18, 2006 1. Added class lists for 1961 and 1966 submitted by Linda and Mike Hough. 2. Added photos of ongoing renovation work in main hallway. 3. Added Alumni photo and first names of class of 1972, accompanied by a neat black & white photo of the school in 1971 when there were still four large maple trees out front. Photos submitted by June [Wishon] Morel. These photos of the Class of 1972, at June's request, will be made part of the permanent heritage collection of historical artifacts to be housed in the Museum Room upstairs in the school. Speaking of the Museum Room, just this week we received the offer of several wooden desks with folding seats and ink wells. These will help us to recreate the classroom as it was in the early decades of the twentieth century. We will let you know when the desks arrive; we will post photos of them in the Museum Room just as soon as they arrive.
Added class lists for years 1955 through 1959, submitted by Rodney A. Pyles. Also added photos on removal of asbestos tile from the floor in the Old Band Room, which will become the new kitchen for the Senior-Community Center
Handprints of the last class & teachers at Wiles Hill Elementary framed, covered by plexiglass and lighted, thanks to a historical preservation grant from the West Virginia Development Office. Friday, March 3, 2006 Wiles Hill School Web site launched.
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