In 1943 - 1945 prisoners from the Moundsville State Penitentiary were brought to this area. They built a picturesque wall on the airport hill (Girtys Point,) road. They pounded, shaped, and laid the stones in the wall. The prisoners were transported daily by prison bus. They were watched over by guards with sawed-off shotguns (no balls or chains). They brought with them rings ranging in price from $1 to $3. Almost everyone along the creek bought one or two of these rings. Each prisoner was paid 10 cents per hour. This was added to his personal account. Local legend has it that the prisoners shaped 4 rocks like a spade, club, heart, and diamond. These were laid in the wall at various places. Unfortunately this wall has been hit by cars and stones have been knocked out, Several portions of the wall have been damaged and removed over the years due to accidents and slides. There is one of those decorative four rocks left in the wall. It can be found at the above posted coordinates. That is stage one. When you find the special rock, (it is the only painted rock in the wall,) assign it the following number. If it is a Spade=9, a Heart=7, a Diamond=5, or a Club=3. For the final, insert that # into the following coordinates:N 40 10.900 W 080 38._6_. These new coordinates will bring you to the front door of the airport terminal building.
The original name of this great airport was "Stifel Field" and was dedicated on November 1, 1946. It still has the feel and ambiance from that era. The museum is one of the best kept secrets in our area. The terminal lobby is now a mini-museum of sorts. The exhibits focus on the local area and aviation related subjects such as the Fokker Tri-Motor Airplane factory that was in nearby Glendale, WV which later was converted to the Louis Marx Toy Company Factory. There are many exhibits pertaining to the rich commercial airline business that occurred here from 1946 to 1970 when Allegheny airlines stopped their scheduled flights because it became so easy to drive to the bustling Pittsburgh airport with the new highway system. There were four airlines with scheduled flights out of this Wheeling airport including PCA/Capital, All American/Allegheny, Lake Central, and TWA. Several of the most interesting exhibits are the chairs Jackie and John F Kennedy sat in while waiting for their limo to show up back in 1960 during a political visit, pictures of President Eisenhower who met Richard Nixon here at the airport on September 24, 1952 for a meeting about Nixon becoming his running mate, a propeller off of a Constellation, and much, much more. Lots of early airline memorabilia. There is a beautiful 14 foot long picture of "Inbound To Wheeling" flying over the city. Don't forget to check out the restrooms!! You read that right. the "Johns" are straight out of the 1940's.
To receive credit for this Virtual you must email me within 10 days of your smiley the number which is on the brass padlock on the 1940's cast iron mailbox on the wall that is used every day by the local mailman. It is easy to find to the right of the huge light beacon in the middle of the floor. Please post a picture of yourself beside the mailbox and any other pics you wish. Airport hours are 7 - 7 Monday through Friday and 8 - 8 on Saturday and Sunday.
Permission has been graciously granted by the airport manager Russell W. Escue.
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between August 24, 2017 and August 24, 2018. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards on the Geocaching Blog.
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