Society Dinner Meetings
Regular Fall 2022 Dinner Meetings Have Been Cancelled
A fall meeting for 2022 will be held at 7 P.M., October 11 at Drumond Chapel of the Suncrest United Methodist Church. This meeting will replace the normal fall dinner programs as described below, and is being held as COVID cases recede. It is hoped that the dinners can be restarted in 2023. The meeting will provide complimentary coffee and desserts. See the announcement to the right for program information. Reservations are required, and may be made by calling Janet DeVault at 304-599-5261. Please do not call after 9 PM. Reservations should be made by October 6. Dinner Programs are Being Reorganized; The Following Lists Past Arrangements: The Society holds four dinner meetings each year on the third Fridays of March, May, September, and November where a program of historical interest is included. The public and guests are welcome; bring a friend or colleague. Those wishing to join the Society may do so at or after the meeting. Persons wishing to only attend the free program that follows the dinner are welcome. Dinner reservations are required, and may be made by calling Janet DeVault at 304-599-5261. Please do not call after 9 PM. Reservations should be made no later than the Tuesday before the meeting. Payment for dinners can be made at the meeting. The Society must guarantee paying for reservations made, so attendance of those making reservations is greatly appreciated. |
Forest Jackson "Jack" Bowman to Speak
at the October 11 Meeting. Jack Bowman, Jackson & Kelly Professor of Law Emeritus at West Virginia University, will describe how he used his knowledge of and interest in history to write two novels. The first novel, All Our Yesterdays, is a story set in the period 1896-1906 in a small town similar to Jack’s hometown of Petersburg. In this book a much-wronged orphan boy gets a surprising revenge on two brothers who have tormented him all his life. This past spring this book received the bronze medal in the Psychological Thriller category from Global Book Awards. The second novel, The Secret of the 48th Foot, is an action-filled, treasure-hunting tale about the search for the chest of gold and silver coins that disappeared following General Edward Braddock’s defeat by the French & their Indian allies in 1755.
Interestingly, while the author knew something about each period, having decided to write these books, he needed to dig a lot deeper to come up with what made the book to actually "work." He found that if you aren't comfortable with history and don't enjoy the "digging" required, you can't write a book set in the past. Jack grew up in Petersburg, West Virginia, and is a graduate of West Virginia University, where he served as President of the Student Body. A Professor of Law at WVU for twenty-three years, he was named “Professor of the Year” by seven graduating classes. He also received many University awards for his teaching and in 1988 was named "Professor of the Year" for all of higher education in West Virginia. A former President of The West Virginia Bar Association, he served for 40 years as a member of the Advisory Board of The Salvation Army of Morgantown. A United States Army veteran, Professor Bowman was awarded the Army Commendation Medal and served as Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for the state of West Virginia. An avid student of history, he was the founder and first president of the Mason-Dixon Civil War Round Table in Morgantown. He is especially interested in the American Civil War, having ancestors who served on both sides of that struggle. |