Oglebay’s Rod Haley: ‘This Park Most Definitely Belongs to Our Community’

Caddy. Assistant cook. Par 3 attendant. Golf course mower. Grill room cook and bartender. Assistant golf superintendent – and then superintendent of all golf grounds. Director of golf. And then, nine years ago, Rod Haley was named the Executive Vice President of the Wheeling Park Commission.

Goodness, talk about paying dues and climbing ladders.

Plus, Haley currently serves as board chair of the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce following his tenure as president of the local United Way’s board, and that’s because he’s out there and he cares for the same community where he was raised.

Haley began his career at Oglebay at the age of 12 to help with his family’s finances, and now, at 52, the EVP spent his week preparing for yet another Oglebayfest celebration that was designed 47 years ago as a giant-sized thank you to the residents of the Upper Ohio Valley. If Haley’s story sounds a bit cliché-ish and fairytale-like, that’s OK because the slogan “Working Hard Pays Off” literally has come true for a kid who once carried someone else’s golf clubs.

“My parents told me I was going to Caddy Camp. I really didn’t have a choice,” Haley said with a chuckle. “We didn’t come from a whole lot, so it was good thing to do in the summer and it added a little income for the family. So, when I was 12, I got dropped off at Caddy Camp every Tuesday that summer.

“The first time I went was tough because so many of the other kids were older and bigger than me. Honestly, I was scared to death and begged my parents to come get me, but once I got used to it, I started to love it and really got into the groove,” Haley recalled. “I had a lot of great experiences caddying with a lot of terrific people, and then my parents would pick me up on Sundays so I could go home for a day or so and then I’d come back to do it again and again.”

That was year number one. There’s been 39 more.

“I had no idea I would spend my life here; that me and my wife, Rhonda, would raise our family here, but here I am 40 years later, and I couldn’t be prouder of what I’ve been a part of at Oglebay and Wheeling Park,” Haley said. “Sure, I’ve received offers from other places, and I’ve had people ask me why I’ve not gone away to some big resort somewhere. I tell them it’s not about the money. It’s about our happiness. It’s about the fact my granddaughter always wants to come to work with me, and then she wants to go to Rt. 88 Burgers & Brew for a couple of burgers. Stuff like that.

“We’re lucky to have what we have around here because most communities would die to have parks, our waterfront, and our people,” he said. “We’re very proud of what we do here at Oglebay, and as far as the hospitality side of our operations is concerned, it’s very difficult to please everyone all of the time. Honestly, that’s been a tough lesson to learn, and that’s why I do what I do every day.”

A Community Thing

If an industrialist named Oglebay didn’t have an experimental farming hobby, West Virginia’s northern panhandle would not be home to a 2,000-acre municipal park that welcomes thousands, employs hundreds each year, and consistently wins the envy of the country’s hospitality industry.

Earl Oglebay, a born banker who inherited his father’s interest in the Benwood Iron Works in the late 1800s, accumulated 750 acres of land near the middle of Ohio County for his Waddington Farm. When he wasn’t directing his iron ore outfits or working with the Rockefellers, Oglebay experimented with soil and crops and raised sheep, dairy cattle, and horses.

These days, thanks to Oglebay’s generosity to the City of Wheeling in 1926, Waddington Farm became a public park two years later. Today, with swimming pools, golf courses, hiking trails, tennis courts, picnic spots and shelters, cottages, and Wilson Lodge, Oglebay Park is both a local favorite and a regional resort destination.

Add to the mix Wheeling Park, a 406-acre public property along National Road, and it’s obvious local residents have options when it comes to recreation.

“Oglebay is a playground for everyone. Oglebay has things most people don’t even think about, and there are aspects about Oglebay that people cherish. Oglebay is something different to everyone, and that’s what makes it so special,” Haley said. “We are what we are, and for the most part, our guests over the 12 months a year seem to approve.

“And you know, it’s hard for me to believe Wheeling Park is about to be 100 years old,” he said. “Just knowing we have been successful there for a century is one thing but trying to figure out what to do next there is something I’m very proud to be a part of.”

On a daily basis, Haley works closely with Oglebay Foundation Executive Director Eriks Janelsins and with Bob Peckenpaugh, president and CEO of the Wheeling Park Commission, and he’s been involved with operations under former CEOs Doug Dalby and Steve Hilliard. It’s the legendary Randy Worls, though, who taught him what he believes to be the most imperative lesson when it comes to the rolling – and manicured – hills and hollers called Oglebay.

“Randy has been one of my most important mentors, and one thing he’s always stressed to me is that this park belongs to the community. And it does, no matter what some want to say at times. This park most definitely belongs to the community,” Haley insisted. “The reason why we can do what we do for our community is all about the Oglebay Foundation and the revenues from our lodging, golf, and food and beverage.

“That’s what allows us to do the walking trails and the playgrounds and the flowers and the live entertainment,” he said. “And all of those things are free to the public, and if you want to buy lunch or dinner with a beer while you’re here, you can do that, too.”

Family Roots

Haley wanted to stay home.

He was graduated with an accounting degree from West Liberty State College in 1994, he had met and fell in love with Rhonda, and they agreed the Wheeling area would be the ideal place to raise a family. But.

But how?

The city of Wheeling’s population loss accelerated during the 1980s and 1990s because of job losses connected to manufacturing, so living-wage employment opportunities were vanishing day after day in a city once considered the metropolitan capital of the valley region.

So, how?  

“My wife and I met in high school, and when we were graduating from West Liberty, we started talking about getting married and starting a family,” Haley explained. “We wanted to find a way to stay home and raise our children here because we loved Wheeling, Oglebay, and this community. Thankfully, we found the way.

“We knew we didn’t need big salaries. As long as we had enough to put food on the table and roof over our heads, we wanted to stay home, so we’re lucky,” he said. “I was in maintenance and golf at that time, and then I was asked by my boss if I would be willing to go to school to become a professional agronomist to help run the golf courses. So, off I went to Penn State for two years for school so we could stay here at home.”

Fast forward to this weekend and the 47^th Oglebayfest, a three-day festival featuring food, artisan shows and sales, live entertainment, fireworks, and the Ohio County Fair, and Haley remains where he belongs.

“Oglebayfest is one of the best things we do here, and that’s because of what it’s intended to be – a thank you to our community like it’s always been,” Haley said. “The Ohio County Fair is always at Site 1, and there’s a lot going on throughout the park that’s absolutely free. You can enjoy the property, the entertainment, and on Saturday evening, the fireworks.

“Our cottages are sold out and so is Wilson Lodge, and there’s going to be a lot of terrific foods that will be served at a number of different locations,” he added. “And there’s always a lot of music and activity day and night at the Rathskeller where our Hess Shelter is. It’s always a great thing to see our community come together like that every year, and I love being part of it and everything else we do here at Oglebay.”