SAINT GEORGE – Members and officers of the St. George Academy Preservation Society, Tucker County Historical Society, and the county’s Landmark Commission gathered on August 11th at the historic St. George Academy to meet with WVU Public History Professor Melissa Bingmann.
Professor Bingmann, Director of Public History at WVU, was given a tour of the St. George Academy and its many artefacts chronicling the history of the Academy and the community of St. George. Afterward, the group discussed how to prioritize the work that needs to be done to preserve historic landmarks, like the Academy and others in the county. Also discussed were potential workshops that all in the county could participate in: for example, a workshop to learn how to re-glaze the windows of historic buildings. Grant opportunities and archiving of collections were also discussed.
The gathering led to the decision for the Tucker County groups and Professor Bingmann and others in the Public History program to work together on these goals of historic preservation, a very favorable result of an enjoyable afternoon spent talking history and re-living some key moments in St. George’s history.
In attendance were, left to right in the photo: Janice Poling, Fundraising and Events Chair, St. George Academy Preservation Society; Belva Dilly, President, Tucker County Historic Landmark Commission and Vice-President, Tucker County Historical Society; Connie Eye, Tucker County Historical Society; St. George Academy Preservation Society member, 2026 St. George Days Queen, and successful businesswoman, Priscilla Nestor Flanagan; Paul Mauzy, President, St. George Academy Preservation Society; John Phillips, member of the St. George Academy Preservation Society and the Tucker County Historical Society (also representing his mother Alice Parsons Phillips, who could not attend); Professor Melissa Bingmann of WVU; and Marvin “Bud” Parsons, former President and founding member and lifelong supporter of the St. George Academy Preservation Society. Attending but not appearing in photo: supporter Deborah Stiles, of Limestone Mountain.
