An undated file photo of Firestone Lodge from the GSC archives
By Drew Moody
For the Hur Herald
For the amount of Glenville State College history the Firestone
Lodge amassed, by comparison, its end was swift.
Contractor Frank Ames, of Ames Backhoe Service in Glenville,
probably summed it up best, "Just this morning this was a building,
and now it's a pile of rubble."
Several onlookers gathered during the razing. One alumni gathered
up two bricks from the debris in honor of her memories there.
Others, relative newcomers to the college, remarked how masterfully
Ames wielded the massive backhoe as pieces of the structure fell,
raising dust clouds in its wake.
The demolition was approved in April of this year by the board
of governors. Also slated to be demolished is the Wagner Wing
of Pickens Hall.
While Firestone Lodge has a colorful history, in recent years it was
essentially abandoned and solely used for storage.
Frank Ames uses his backhoe to raze GSC's Firestone Lodge.
The entire affair took under three days. The college expects
to gain an additional 10 to 12 parking spaces at the site.
Demolition as seen looking toward College Street.
By the second day clearing the debris was all that
remained. Kevin Hern, of Kevin Hern Backhoe Service
stands by with a dump truck to haul another load.
College officials determined it would have been too costly
to undertake the necessary repairs to bring the structure up
to current building code standards.
The Distant Past
Firestone Lodge was named after George Firestone, the sole
custodian at the school during much of his 43-year tenure.
He must have been a well-known, and well-liked man. A
graduating class he sponsored in the early 1900s took his
namesake, thereafter referred to as the George Firestone
Class of Glenville State College.
Over the years the building served a variety of functions.
Before being stilled as a repository of records, Firestone
Lodge was a dorm, hosted staff and faculty offices, and
served as a bus house. For a time it also served as faculty
housing.
The Golden Years
Beginning in the late 1960s and on through the next decade
was a heady time in Glenville. The college was growing, 'hippies'
moved to Gilmer County, and everything was changing. Skirts
were short, hair was long, and parents worried about their
kids smoking pot.
While GSC was already on the map as an outstanding teacher's
college, the arts also flourished and drew students to study ceramics,
pottery, photography, drawing and painting.
Professor Charles C. Scott, a photographer and master potter,
was the initial pillar. Later, the arts were further buoyed
by professors Jim Rogers, George Harper and others.
But it was Scott who held court over the pottery program and it's
home was the lower level of Firestone Lodge. Students could be
seen there late into the night minding the kilns as they fired their
pottery.
Walls were unpainted. Heavy rains brought streams of water
shooting through the building.
Professional artist and potter, Paul Latos, of Wheeling, WV, remembers
it well. Although barren, Latos said the interior was very inviting. He has
a collection of "sayings" that Professor Scott wrote on the walls in chalk.
At the time GSC was believed to have the top pottery and ceramics
program in West Virginia.
Latos is one of several of Scott's former students who followed in his
footsteps teaching, but also earned a living with artistic skills while
achieving numerous accolades for their creative efforts.
After graduating from Glenville, Latos went on the earn an master
of fine arts degree from West Virginia University. He first established
his pottery business in Linn, WV, and has since relocated to
Wheeling. For more information about Paul Latos and Linn Pottery
Studio and Gallery go to www.linnpottery.com
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