April 29, 2010
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History hosted the first annual West Virginia History Bowl competition for eighth grade students on Tuesday, April 27, at the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston. The team from Shady Spring Middle School in Shady Spring, Raleigh County, was the winner. Students consisted of David Meadows, David Oye, Katlin Price, Joshua Rudy and alternate Cody Blackburn.
Second place honors went to the team from Moorefield Middle School, Moorefield, Hardy County. Student participants were Heather Lynn Baldwin, Jared Joseph Beard, Carlos Lee Dolby Jr. and Daryll Anne High.
The first and second place students received trophies for their efforts. In addition the first place team took home a traveling trophy to its school to display for one year until next year’s competition.
Eighteen teams from all eight RESA districts in the state took part in History Bowl 2010. Each student who participated will receive a $100 savings bond and certificate.
In addition to Moorefield Middle School and Shady Spring Middle School, the competition included Chapmanville Middle School, Chapmanville, Logan County with students Sravya Pidaparthi, Kenny Plumley, Max Spradlin and Jonathan Williamson; Charleston Catholic High School, Charleston, Kanawha County with students Sarah Brumley, Emma Hanna, Aaron Persily and John Skaggs; Duval PK-8, Griffithsville, Lincoln County with students Caitlyn Bowman, Chasity McDougal, Carissa Mullins and Cole Snyder; Enslow Middle School, Huntington, Cabell County with students Lexy Billings, Stephen Holland, Elijah McSweeney and Katie Ramey; Fayetteville Middle School, Fayetteville, Fayette County with students Kayla Dilley, Morgan Hurley, Brandi Richmond and Avina Sedlock; Jackson Middle School, Vienna, Wood County with students John Bolton, Emily Cramer, Lindsy Golden, Sean Snider and alternate Paul Fernandez; and Lyceum Preparatory Academy, Wheeling, Ohio County with students Mary Coleman, Morgan Harris and Annemarie Krall.
In addition, the Mineral County Combined Team had students from Frankfort Middle School, Ridgely, and Keyser Primary Middle School, Keyser, with students Hayley Foster, Jordan Wesley Minshall, Ian Mull and Joshua Sutphin; Notre Dame High School, Clarksburg, Harrison County with students Francesca Folio, Benjamin Goldberg, Victoria Goodman and Taylor Nicholas; Nuttall Middle School, Lookout, Fayette County with students Austin Burdette, Sally Dickerson, Wyatt Hunt and Marissa Workman; Pleasants County Middle School, Belmont, Pleasants County with students Mikaela Britton, Garrett Fur, Becca Snyder and Tre Staples; Poca Middle School, Poca, Putnam County with students Cameron Cottrill, Kenneth Lupardus, Jake Payne and Mandee Young; Romney Middle School, Romney, Hampshire County with students Katie Allen, Jonathan Coleman, Jackson Cookman and Dennis Hammons; St. Francis Central Catholic School, Morgantown, Monongalia County with students Duncan Crooks, Abby Foster, Ross Koch and Heston Smith; and Wayne Middle School (two teams), Wayne, Wayne County with students, Autumn Booten, Kyle Cassidy, Bradley Harris, Sarah Miller, Kinsey Roberts, Miranda Rowe, Kylie Rutherford and Zach Smith.
The West Virginia History Bowl competition challenged teams of students from across the state to participate in an academic bowl competition that focused on West Virginia history, literature, arts, architecture, geography and culture. Judges for the competition were staff members of the archives and history section of the Division and consisted of Joe Geiger, state archivist and director of archives, Debra Basham, Kyle Campbell, Greg Carroll, Dick Fauss, Ed Hicks, Mary Johnson, Cathy Miller and Susan Scouras.
“The Division of Culture and History, the Archives and History Library, and the State Museum are rich with information about our wonderful state,” said Commission Randall Reid-Smith of the Division. “This gives eighth grade students an opportunity to connect their classroom studies with a fun, competitive experience. The archives and history section supports the Golden Horseshoe program, offering on-line services such as daily trivia questions, quick quizzes and ‘On this Day in History.’ Now that the West Virginia State Museum is open, we have another great venue to showcase our state’s history as we do at West Virginia Independence Hall in Wheeling, Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville, Camp Washington-Carver in Clifftop and Museum in the Park in Logan,” he added.
Sponsors whose contributions help pay for the savings bonds and trophies are Bluestone Energy Partners and Meadowwood Farms of Ellenboro, The Pinnacle Group Custom Homes of White Sulphur Springs and Larry Swann of Charleston. The Friends of West Virginia Culture and History also contributed to the event.
For more information about West Virginia History Bowl 2010, contact Jacqueline Proctor, deputy commissioner for the Division, at (304) 558-0220.
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.
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