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Paul Stone, 90, of Vienna once again answered a patriotic call.
When Stone read in the News and Sentinel about Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices/Real Estate Center looking for volunteers to place 10,000 small American flags in locations throughout the Mid-Ohio Valley to celebrate Independence Day, he volunteered his service.
Stone picked up 200 of the flags this week and had placed more than half of them in the Vienna area by Thursday afternoon. He placed flags along 31st Street (where he lives), from Jackson Middle School to the Jackson Memorial Park swimming pool, around the Vienna Senior Citizens Center, at the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument at Spencer's Landing, at the City Building, at an old church cemetery along West Virginia 14 north of Vienna, and along the Jackson Park road near the ballfields.
Stone said he gave additional flags to Williamstown Lions Club members to place in Williamstown.
"It's a lot of fun when you get started" placing the flags attached to a wooden staff into the ground, Stone said.
Stone is a World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Air Force for 24 years. He also worked for another 24 years in federal government security.
Additional flags are available at the Berkshire Hathaway real estate center, 3700 Poplar St., Suite 100, in Parkersburg (call 304-428-7653) through July 2. The flags are to honor past and current members of the military, the company said.
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A reception in honor and celebration of Marcella Blomberg's life and work will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, July 5 at the Parkersburg Art Center.
The reception, open to the public, will be hosted by Blomberg's children, Kathleen, Eric and Greg. An exhibit of Blomberg's artwork -- a "memorial retrospective" -- will continue through July 20 at the art center.
Some of Blomberg's artwork will be for sale at the art center. Blomberg of Parkersburg died on Oct. 26, 2018, at the age of 80.
Blomberg created works of art in bronze, mosaics, textiles, origami, stained glass, woodcut and linoleum-block printing, carving, clay and all forms of painting.
"Marcella Chandler Blomberg was an incandescent light in the area art community," said Abby Hayhurst, the art center's artistic director.
"She had huge technical skills, a love of nature, and boundless creativity. This exhibit is like a scrapbook of all her many art forms … from paintings to sculptures to mosaics and textiles, she never met a medium she didn't like," Hayhurst said.
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"The Decade of Excellence Reunion," for Parkersburg High School graduates from the classes of 1976-86, will begin at 10:30 a.m. July 20 with a golf outing at Woodridge Golf Club in Mineral Wells.
That night, beginning at 7:30, graduates are invited to the Ohio Valley Rowing Club near the Memorial Bridge for food, beverages and music.
This event marks the return of the PHS multi-class reunion that took place for several years before being discontinued, said Steve Mullen, Class of 1981 and a member of the reunion committee. A previous PHS reunion at the boathouse along the Ohio River near 19th Street was successful, said Mullen, who lives in Lynchburg, Va.
Music from the Jimmy Carter-Ronald Reagan presidential years will be played. Hot dogs, baked beans, potato chips and beverages will be provided. An Egg Toss king and queen will be named. The cost to attend is $10.
A Sunday brunch will be available at J.P. Henry's.
Any proceeds after expenses will be given to the Ohio Valley Rowing Club. The Class of 1981 is hosting the reunion, with other classes welcome.
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Letters have gone out to Parkersburg High School alumni and supporters seeking donations to rebuild the east side grandstands at Stadium Field.
This is another project of the PHS Stadium Committee Inc., an all-volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated "to repairing, maintaining and rebuilding Stadium Field."
Plans call for building a 2,000-seat east side grandstand, said Pat McFarland, president of the stadium committee. The cost is expected to range between $1.5 million and $1.8 million to rebuild the grandstands and an adjacent building, with all money being raised privately from tax-deductible donations, McFarland said. The east side building could be used for a locker room, a practice facility for softball and baseball or classroom/physical education areas, he said.
McFarland said the stadium committee recently provided about $13,955, along with paying architect's fees earlier, for the new Susan Gardner Track at Stadium Field. The Wood County Board of Education provided $753,665 for the track, he said. The target date to complete the track is Aug. 2.
For more information go to phsstadium.org.
Contact Paul LaPann at plapann@newsandsentinel.com