The West Virginia Division of Culture and History will have the West Virginia Theme Motorcycle on display in the Great Hall of the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex, Charleston through Wednesday, Sept. 9. The motorcycle was designed and built by Robert “Bear” Parsons, with Temple Street Choppers.
Parsons, who died in 2006, was a union craftsman by trade and had a passion for his hobby, making custom-built motorcycles. He looked on this bike as an “expression of art” and he created it to represent West Virginia and its people.
Some of the symbols and imagery he used include the capitol dome, a coal miner with a helmet that lights up, a cardinal, the New River Gorge Bridge and several state parks.
In 2006 the Shriners raffled the cycle to raise money for the Shriners Hospital for children. Gale Hershberger of Pinch bought the cycle from the raffle winner and loaned it to the Division for this special week of display.
For more information, contact Charles Morris, collections and exhibits manager for the Division, at (304) 558-0220.
The Culture Center is open Monday through Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Thursday from 8:30 a.m. - 8 p.m.; and Sunday from 12 - 5 p.m. The West Virginia State Museum is open Tuesday - Saturday from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sunday from 12 - 5 p.m. The museum is closed on Mondays.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. Its administrative offices are located at the Culture Center in the State Capitol Complex in Charleston, which also houses the state archives and state museum. The Culture Center is West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. The agency also operates a network of museums and historic sites across the state. For more information about the Division’s programs, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
- 30 -