OCPL Releases Schedules for Lunch with Books for November, December

This Halloween marked a century since Harry Houdini’s passing, yet his name remains synonymous with magic, mystery and impossible escapes. As a tribute, magician Darrin Race will perform “100 Years of Houdini’s Legacy,” which includes a magic show featuring comedy, mystery, and audience participation. It concludes with Race performing a Houdini-inspired straitjacket escape. According to “How Houdini Did It,” a William Lindsey Gresham article appearing in the December 1954 issue of True Magazine, Houdini performed a handcuff escape while jumping from a bridge in Wheeling. The article was accompanied by a dramatic Tom Lovell illustration depicting Houdini in the act of diving from the bridge. The story is apocryphal, but adds to the local interest for this program.Facebook EventLibrary CalendarNov. 10: Voices From the AlleyPatty Ciripompa, who grew up in East Wheeling, will discuss her two books about life in the E. Voices From the Alley includes timeless stories that will rekindle emotions and sensations that defined those who grew up in the 1950’s and 1960’s. One reader called this collection “pasta for the soul.” The second book, A Light in the Valley is another collection of stories about growing up on the grittier side of Wheeling during the same era. It’s not about poverty, but about the enduring richness of strong bonds among family and friends. As an adult, Patty was able to apply the lessons she learned in East Wheeling while working in her chosen field of social work and counseling. Note: Patty will appear via ZOOM.Facebook EventLibrary CalendarNov. 17: Maggie’s Story: the Moffets of Wheeling IslandCarole Oshavsky spent two decades traveling across the country to uncover the lives of her great-great-grandmother Maggie Moffet and her family. From New England to Oregon, she poured over microfilm in libraries, museums, and courthouses, piecing together the journeys of Maggie, her nine siblings, and many cousins. “Maggie’s Story” follows the Moffet family from Maggie’s birth in Wheeling in 1850. Through the eyes of Maggie and her siblings, readers witness the challenges and triumphs of Irish immigrants as they adapt to a changing America, offering a compelling window into the hopes, hardships, and resilience that define the immigrant experience.Facebook EventLibrary CalendarNov. 24: Wheeling Poetry Series presents Elizabeth Savage and Scott HannaElizabeth Savage is a professor of English at Fairmont State University. Since 2008, she has served as poetry editor for Kestrel: A Journal of Literature & Art. Find her website at elizabethasavage.framer.website/. W. Scott Hanna is a professor of English at West Liberty University, where he teaches creative writing and literature. His poetry and creative nonfiction have been published in Pine Mountain Sand and Gravel, Cleaver Magazine, Still: The Journal, and others. He served as the poetry editor of the Northern Appalachia Review from 2020 until 2025. Born and raised in the Upper Ohio Valley, he currently lives in St. Clairsville, Ohio. His debut collection of poetry The Only House on the Left is now available from Kelsay Books. The Wheeling Poetry Series is curated and hosted by WV Poet Laureate, Marc Harshman.Facebook EventLibrary CalendarDec. 1: The Foundations of WellsburgAuthor Ryan Weld will discuss his new book, The Foundations of Wellsburg: Bringing Our City’s History to Life – One Home At a Time. For generations, the homes of Wellsburg, WV, have stood quietly along its streets – watching on as wars begin and end, industries rise and disappear, and families celebrate triumphs and endure heartbreak, all while a small Ohio River community has redefined itself through changing times. In Foundations of Wellsburg, author Ryan Weld brings the stories of those homes to life. Through meticulously researched narratives, architectural descriptions, and historic photographs, Weld tells the story of Wellsburg in an entirely new way: one home at a time. Each chapter centers on a historically or architecturally significant home and the families who built it, raised their families within its walls, and helped shape the city around them.Facebook EventLibrary CalendarDec. 8: A Visit from Phillis WheatleyIn a program originally scheduled for July 7, LWB will welcome Founding Mother Phillis Wheatley, who has been called “the poet laureate of the American Revolution.” An enslaved person, she was also the first published African American poet and writer. After she dedicated a poem to George Washington, the general was impressed enough to visit her in Boston. Phillis died at 31 in poverty in a boarding house with little heat. The world would be less beautiful, less inspired, without Phillis Wheatley. Dr. Daisy Century, also a published author, portrays this talented poet with respect and flair (www.daisycentury.com).Facebook EventLibrary CalendarDec. 15: Floodgate: a NovelIn Floodgate, the new novel from WV author Matthew Neill Null, a former WV coal miner encounters corruption and cultural upheaval working on a dam project that will submerge his town. In the remote corner of West Virginia in the 1960s, former coal miner Lance Drennen takes a job as an overseer for the construction of an immense flood-control dam, which will drown 2,800 acres of land that have been in his and other local families for generations. When Lance witnesses a terrible accident and discovers irregularities on the site that are guaranteed to line the pockets of the company and the local government, he must decide whether or not he will become a whistle-blower.Facebook EventLibrary CalendarDec. 22: Christmas with the TroubadourBob Gaudio, aka The Troubadour, will be leading a holiday songfest at Lunch With Books at the Ohio County Public Library on Tuesday, December 22nd, from noon till 1 p.m.! As Bob has noted: “What better way to raise your voice in holiday song and spread cheer than in a climate-controlled room in Winter? Tickle your calendars.”Facebook EventLibrary CalendarDec. 29: The World of Edgar Allan PoeActor Peter Fernbaugh transforms into the celebrated short story writer, poet, and literary critic, Edgar Allan Poe for this Chautauqua-style program featuring poetry readings, Q & A, and a reading of “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Take a deep dive into the macabre world one of America’s greatest writers. Weirton native Fernbaugh is a teacher and actor. The West Liberty graduate also leads a troupe that performs the monthly Cloak & Dagger On the Air, a live production that specializes in the art of “radio drama.”Facebook EventLibrary Calendar Copyright © 2026 Ohio County Public Library. All Rights Reserved.
Unsubscribe