By Jody Brumage

​“The destruction from this storm goes beyond anything we’ve known in recent years. It will test the resources of all volunteer organizations, private sector help, and state, local, and federal governments.” President George H.W. Bush delivered these grave remarks in the White House briefing room on August 26, 1992 as the nation was realizing the horrific damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew. Florida and Louisiana were among the hardest hit areas. Two days prior to his statement to the press, President Bush toured Florida. He planned to visit Louisiana in the next few days to assess damages there too. The recovery effort that lay ahead was a daunting one as communities dealt with the loss of human lives and billions of dollars in damage.​

By Jody Brumage

Early in his senatorial career, Robert C. Byrd recognized the potential benefits of expanding the role of the U.S. Forest Service in West Virginia as both a means of supporting conservation, recreation, and the state's timber industry. While the forest service had been a presence in the state since 1915 when the first tract of land was purchased for the future Monongahela National Forest, the agency's activity in the state greatly increased in the early-1960s. In an earlier blog post, we discussed the Forest Products Marketing Laboratory built during Senator Byrd's first term in the U.S. Senate in Princeton, West Virginia. This week's blog looks at a second laboratory, built in Morgantown in 1967.

​By Jody Brumage

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives each hold large collections of portraits depicting influential and power members of each body. Among the portraits preserved by the Office of the Historian of the U.S. House of Representatives is one of West Virginia Congressman Harley O. Staggers, Sr. The protrait was commissioned in 1976 by a resolution of the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Congressman Staggers becoming chairman. Attributed to Charles J. Fox, the oil portrait measures 30 by 40 inches and portrays its subject seated at the edge of his desk, surrounded by papers with the flag of the United States in the background. On April 6, 1976, the portrait was unveiled by Congressman Staggers' wife, Mary, in a ceremony in the committee's hearing room.