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I am proud to say that this month marks five years of History in the Hills columns for our newspaper. It is hard to believe it has been that long, actually.
I have enjoyed each and every one that I have written, and by my count, I have 131 separate works to my credit. Writing these articles has made it possible to explore our area's history in a way that I wouldn't have otherwise.
There are so many interesting stories I have been able to investigate and that is what I love about our area. All in all, the story of our past will never be fully written completely, though, because of the magnitude of the task.
Often people ask if I will run out of topics for this column but really my endurance will run out before the topics ever will. Some of my most favorite articles started out from anecdotes that turned into full-blown stories. Take, for instance, the article that appeared in the May 3, 2020, edition of the paper. That article recounted the story of Weirton's lost treasure. The treasure in question was the payroll of the Weirton Steel Co. that was stolen in November 1920, amounting to $93,000 in cash.
The money was sent by registered mail from the Farmers Deposit National Bank in Pittsburgh to the Bank of Weirton by railroad. Somewhere between hither and yon, the money disappeared, and when the bank of Weirton opened the mail to fulfill payroll, there was nothing in the bags, but bill-sized newspapers.
The money was never found, although there was a full-blown investigation into the theft. Federal agents actually infiltrated the Weirton community, going as far as posing as business owners to get information about the heist, but to no success.
The money was never recovered despite an investigation that spanned the globe. No arrests were made, and as far as I am concerned, the cash is still out there. That's what I would like to believe anyway.
That story started out, by the way, when my son, Paulie, asked if Weirton had any buried treasure.
Another one of my favorite articles dealt with the Hub department store in Steubenville.
I was working at Historic Fort Steuben at that time and colleagues and I spent one lunch break trading stories about the store and what it meant to all of them. They were able to describe the store in detail from top to bottom and what was sold where.
Certainly, the Tea Room was a big topic of conversation, and it was generally agreed that the restaurant was doubly good because one could sit on the mezzanine, eat and watch the shoppers go about their day.
I never remembered the Hub in my time as it was gone before I came up, but I remember some of my Christmas gifts coming in reused Hub boxes -- some gifts today still appear in Lazarus, Stone and Thomas, Hornes and Kaufmann's boxes. As a historian, I appreciate the boxes, even if I have to give them back for use next year.
After I wrote this article, I had many folks tell me that they enjoyed it. Even my son asked if we could go and visit the store one day and I was disappointed to tell him that it has been gone for more than 40 years.
In October, I have historically written about spooky stories from our valley, and I always try to find a few that folks have not heard before. One particular story in that genre I enjoyed the most, was when I explored the history of Judge John Reddick and his historic ride with the devil.
Reddick was a true historical figure who fought in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, was a proud abolitionist and a judge. What he is remembered most for, however, is his interest in racehorses. He owned many and would race them against those of his neighbors. He was so successful in his racing that he made the statement that the devil himself could not beat him at a race.
Naturally, his boast made it to the devil's ears, and not too long after that, the race was on. I won't spoil the ending for those who don't know the story, but the odds were against Judge Reddick in his race.
In closing, our history is valuable. During the past five years, I have come to realize that fact and won't let it go for less than it's worth. I have sought to make us proud of the history of our area and I plan on keeping it up as long as I have the drive and opportunity to share these stories with all of you.
And above all, thanks for reading.
(Zuros is a historian and Ohio Valley native)