photo by: Derek Redd

Wheeling Hall of Fame Selection Committee Chair Robert DeFrancis, left, announces the 2025 induction class. With him are, center, Bishop Darrell Cummings and Philip Stahl.

WHEELING — The names of 12 individuals who have made significant inroads in the Friendly City will soon be added to the walls of WesBanco Arena as the Wheeling Hall of Fame 2025 inductees.

The inductees were announced during a ceremony held at the home of the Hall of Fame on Thursday, with Hall of Fame Board Chairman Robert DeFrancis introducing the class. The Hall of Fame Board honors the inductees as individuals who have lent their time, talent or treasure to improving the city in their lifetime.

The 12 inductees will enter the Hall of Fame in six categories — the late Dr. Harriet B. Jones and Brian E. Joseph in Business, Industry and Professions; the late Martha Clark and Robinson S. Parlin and the late Charles L. Sonneborn Sr. in Philanthropy; the late Jesse A. Bloch and the late Cliff Sligar in Public Service; Bill Cornforth and Fran Schoolcraft in Education and Religion; the late Jeanie Caldwell Dougherty in Music and Fine Arts; and Scott Davis and the late Richard P. Mehen in Sports and Athletics.

Wheeling Mayor Denny Magruder, a 2011 Hall of Fame inductee, kicked off the ceremony on Thursday. He thanked the 18-member Hall of Fame Board for their “phenomenal job” of selecting inductees for the class.

“Each member of the board does a phenomenal job, and I commend them for the work they’ve done,” Magruder said. “They conduct in-depth research to select these inductees, and that work is very important.”

DeFrancis said the new names joining the 166 individuals in the Hall of Fame each helped move the community along “throughout the decades.” He noted the diversity of the list, from individuals still living in the city today to those who passed away many years ago and left a long-lasting impact on the city.

“The Hall of Fame is a way to show people living in Wheeling and the surrounding area that there are folks they may not know about that have really helped move the community forward,” DeFrancis said. “It pretty much takes the board the entire two-year period between each Hall of Fame Class to research new inductees, particularly people who are no longer here that made significant inroads in the city of Wheeling but died 50 or even 100 years ago.”

The 2025 class will be inducted in a ceremony scheduled for Saturday, June 28, at 6 p.m. at WesBanco Arena. The catered dinner event is open to the public. Tickets are $45 and can be purchased online at WesBancoArena.com or by calling the box office at 304-233-7000, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Inductees are:

Business, Industry and Professions

– Dr. Harriet B. Jones (1856-1943) — A leader in women’s and public health, Jones was the state’s first licensed female physician and was a member of the State Medical Association, Ohio County Medical Society, and American Medical Association when there were few female physicians. She built and ran Wheeling’s first women’s hospital at 15th and Jacob streets for more than 20 years.

The first president of the Ohio County Anti-Tuberculosis League, Jones traveled the state by rail and car to educate citizens on preventing the disease. Advocating women’s suffrage, she was instrumental in getting West Virginia University to admit women. Elected in 1924, she served two terms in the West Virginia House of Delegates.

– Brian E. Joseph — Life-long curiosity and a passion for innovation and science inspired Joseph’s remarkable career of invention and serial entrepreneurship. His Ohio Valley-based

Touchstone Research Laboratory created hundreds of inventions with extraordinary success in materials development, new products, and aerospace testing. Touchstone has spun-out companies that manufacture revolutionary materials, design new manufacturing processes, and test technologies in a wide array of industries, including next-generation aircraft and rockets.

Joseph served as J.B. Chambers Foundation president, West Liberty University board chairman and as a member of the Wheeling Vintage Race Boat Regatta Committee. He is devoted to mentoring children and young adults, encouraging them to pursue science, innovation and community leadership.

Philanthropy

Martha Clark Parlin (1887-1968) and Robinson S. Parlin (1887-1982) — These unheralded Wheeling residents, she a teacher- he a federal employee, living frugally, marrying late in life, and leaving no descendants, established charitable trusts with substantial financial assets directed to promote the health and welfare of physically or mentally challenged children and the blind.

Since these trusts were created, more than $10 million has been distributed to local charities benefiting children and making Wheeling one of the smallest communities in the nation with multiple prominent benevolent organizations assisting challenged and underprivileged children.

Charles L. Sonneborn Sr. (1883-1961) — This prominent Wheeling business and civic leader had a principal role in establishing Wheeling Park and the Wheeling Park Commission. Rather than developing the property where Wheeling Park is now located, he offered the option to purchase the property to the Wheeling Chamber of Commerce and the City of Wheeling.

By December 24, 1924, the community raised the necessary funds to purchase and equip Wheeling Park, making it the first public park in Wheeling. He and his family were significant donors to improvements for Wheeling Park, including the entrance gates, Sonneborn Shelter, Frank Rock Garden, and the living plants spelling “Wheeling Park” on National Road.

Public Service

Jesse A. Bloch (1879-1951) — A successful businessman, West Virginia House and Senate member, and community leader for more than 50 years, Bloch sponsored the state’s first workers’ compensation legislation and cast the deciding vote by which the state Legislature approved the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Bloch joined Bloch Brothers Tobacco in 1900, serving as president from 1937-47, while volunteering with the Wheeling Housing Authority, Ohio Valley General Hospital, Boy Scouts, Red Cross, and the Ohio County Anti-Tuberculosis League. In 1940, family members donated their parents’ home, Elmhurst, to the Home for Aged Women, now a retirement home for men and women. He joins his grandfather Samuel and grandson Stuart in the Wheeling Hall of Fame.

Cliff Sligar (1933-2021) — A visionary public safety leader best known for his service to the Wheeling Fire Department, Sligar became a firefighter in 1955, serving as Chief for 24 years from 1971-95. He was instrumental in adding EMS service to the department and started an EMT/Paramedic program with local colleges and health care providers to enhance medical services.

Sligar also worked with NASA to develop a breathing apparatus for firefighters and created a countywide 911 center in 1988 and later the Belmont County, OH, 911 Center, serving as its first director. A Wheeling city councilman from 1996-2004, he was a firefighter who cared deeply about his city, handling high-stress safety crises with the public’s safety in mind.

Education and Religion

Bill Cornforth — A dedicated educator from 1972-2023, he served at several schools, including 43 years at Wheeling Park High School. His courses ranged from Acting to Public Speaking,

Interpersonal Communication to Debate, and Language Arts. His mission was to inspire

students to become excellent communicators.

Cornforth directed more than 60 plays and musicals for Wheeling Park High, Wheeling Jesuit University, Towngate Theatre, and the West Virginia Penitentiary. For Wheeling Park High’s Speech and Debate team, first as assistant and then as head coach, he guided numerous state and national finalists. As head coach, he led teams to 17 state championships. He regarded his career as a teacher to be a privilege and a gift.

Fran Schoolcraft — This educator, who earned her master’s degree plus 45 hours in Speech and Theater, began her career at Triadelphia High School. Beginning in 1976, she taught at Wheeling Park High School, developing the Speech and Theater program. She directed more than 100 performances and coached more than 125 first-place award-winning speech students.

After retirement, Schoolcraft was employed by the national/international Loews hotel chain, teaching public speaking and creativity. Schoolcraft amassed many educational activities and awards before her retirement in 2004; but, to her, the highlight was her speech team winning first place in the State of West Virginia speech and debate tournament for 25 consecutive years.

Music and Fine Arts

Jeanie Caldwell Dougherty (1844-1935) — Dougherty traveled the world as an independent, working artist. Widowed at 30, she devoted her life to making art and seeing the world. A classically trained artist in realism, pen and ink, portraiture, and nudes, she desired to be a well-rounded artist. Interested in politics, a global life, and an awareness of what was going on around her, she strived to find equality and surrounded herself with people who valued her as an equal.

Locally, Dougherty’s art was advocated by fellow Wheeling Hall of Fame member George Kossuth, who, in the mid-1940s, discovered her paintings hidden for half a century in his home, the former Caldwell homestead in North Wheeling.

Sports and Athletics

Scott Davis — This West Virginia Golf Hall of Fame inductee was a Triadelphia High School graduate. At Marshall University, he was the NCAA Long Drive champion in 1976. After working at Oglebay’s Speidel Golf Club, he won the 1978 West Virginia Amateur title before turning pro as a four-decade PGA of America and WV PGA Golf Professional in southern West Virginia.

Davis won the WV Open championship four times and was Low Senior four times; was a 10-time WV PGA Player of the Year, a four-time Senior WV PGA Player of the Year, Tri-State PGA titleist, Tri-State Tour champion, and Tri-State Match Play titleist; and competed in 18 national Club Professional events and six Majors’ championships.

Richard P. Mehen (1922-1968) — A high school, college, and professional basketball honoree, this Wheeling High School graduate joins his older brother Bernie in the Wheeling Hall of Fame. They were the first two high school players named all-class 1st Team All-State three times before starring at the University of Tennessee. In college, Dick was a 2nd Team All-America selection and two-time 1st Team All-Southeastern Conference.

Mehen played five seasons of pro basketball: two in the National Basketball League with the Toledo Jeeps and Waterloo Hawks plus the first three seasons of the NBA with Waterloo, Baltimore Bullets, Boston Celtics, Fort Wayne Pistons, and Milwaukee Hawks. His pro career included 2,067 points, 505 rebounds, and 480 assists.