On Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May 6, 2012, the Palm Room and Greenhouses at Oglebay will celebrate May with “Dream … Discover Spring at the Hilltop.”  Marilyn Archer, Palm Room and Greenhouse/Garden Manager said all the hilltop shops are filled with new arrivals for Spring including hanging baskets, geraniums, herbs and heirloom tomatoes and perennials plus garden accessories.

 

Archer said the celebration will take place on both days from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Greenhouse staff will demonstrate designing and planting hanging baskets and containers,  deer resistant plants and chemicals, herbs, vegetable and AAS garden award-winning plants.

 

“Our annual spring flowering bulb sale including tulips, daffodils and muscari is also going on in the Palm Room,” added Archer.  “And visitors will have the chance to win a beautiful floral container.”  The drawing for the container will be held on Sunday, May 6 at 4:30 p.m. in the Palm Room.

 

The Palm Room is open daily in May from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information call 304-243-4098 or visit www.oglebay-resort.com.

The spectacular Speidel Golf Course, designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. opened in the early 1970s after five years of planning and construction.  It was the first public course undertaken by the prestigious golf course architect and he was enthusiastic about the challenge.  On one of his visits to Oglebay, Jones described the proposed layout as “a fair test of golf, with no tricks, but an easy bogey, hard par course.”

Ron Kirby was a young apprentice for Jones when the Speidel Course was being built and now Kirby has returned to Oglebay to direct the restoration of the sand bunkers.  Kirby said that Jones studied the natural topography and was challenged by the hills on the course location.  “This was Mr. Jones’ first attempt at such a hilly site,” said Kirby.  “Jones’ design included bunkers that directed play and gave the course a very distinct character.”

Over the years many of the original bunkers have been lost or altered due to wear and weather, and according to Kirby, mechanical raking.  “My goal is to make the bunkers easier and less costly to maintain while restoring the character that Jones had envisioned.”

Nick Janovich, Superintendent of the Jones Course at Oglebay, said the new bunkers will be smaller and deeper, and filled with better quality sand.  “We plan to match the sand to what is used at the newer Palmer Course at Oglebay,”  said Janovich.  “This sand not only looks good but it also drains better.”

Kirby served as an apprentice with Jones for seven years and then spent the next 15 years on his own.  In 1986 Kirby joined the Jack Nicklaus Golf Design company, overseeing the European projects.  He has designed more than 35 courses in the United States, the Caribbean, Japan, and Europe.

Although the front nine opened in 1970 and the back nine in late ’71, there would be several more years of development and landscaping at the course.  Jones said that the rolling terrain offers “natural gallery amphitheaters unsurpassed anywhere” and those natural amphitheaters provided thrills for spectators for the LPGA West Virginia Classic for 11 years.

Any area residents interested in learning more about birds, trees, wildflower identification, and all manner of other nature topics can sign up now for Master Naturalist classes beginning January 14 at the Good Zoo. Classes in introductory General Ecology and Terrestrial Habitats are offered January 14, and popular bird expert Dr Scott Shalaway teaches Birds on January 28; the four hour class discusses bird biology, identification and back-yard feeding .

 

Students can pick and choose classes at their own pace and may take up to 3 years to complete the program, but it is possible to finish in one year. Classes cost just $6 per hour of instruction. Classes are held at the zoo on Saturdays and Sundays and often involve walks in the woods and occasional field trips to a farm pasture, wetlands or streams. The curriculum was developed by the West Virginia Division of Wildlife to develop citizen scientists and naturalists across the state.

 

There are 14 required classes such as Mammals, Trees, Wildflowers, Backyard Habitat Improvement, Insects, and 10 others, and a variety of electives to choose from including Box turtles; Medicinal Plants; Nature Photography; Invasive Species, Mushrooms, Astronomy and many more. Instructors include Good Zoo staff, West Virginia Division of Wildlife biologists and area college professors. Students are all nature lovers and represent a wide range of ages and backgrounds from college students, teachers, scout leaders, farmers, fisherman, to retired folks and nature photographers. “Anyone of any age or background fits into the group, you just have to be a nature lover,” said Vickie Markey-Tekely, the zoo’s curator of education.

 

Student Daniel Caron said, “The program is a fun and interesting way to learn about nature.  I enjoy the program’s interactive, hands-on format.  The classes teach me to see something different every time I step outside.  This has helped me when working in my own backyard and everywhere I travel.”

 

“This is our ninth year, and many of our students participate in several backyard bird projects, put up bluebird boxes, survey and report frog calls, raise and tag monarch butterflies, and improve their garden and property  to attract wildlife,” said Penny Miller, zoo director. Others like to help out at state or zoo wildlife events, or pass on their knowledge to children. “I enjoy teaching my grandkids and neighbors about the monarch butterflies I rear and tag,” said certified Master Naturalist Carol Saseen.

 

Those interested in learning can visit the Master Naturalist section at  www.oglebay-resort.com/goodzoo or by calling Vickie Markey-Tekely at 304-243-4068 or Penny Miller at 304-243-4027.

 

Volunteers assist with summer camps, birthday parties, sleepovers and other education programs. Volunteers also share what they learn about wildlife by talking with visitors at zoo exhibits and even use live animals and artifacts to educate others.

 

Teen volunteers must be in the 7th grade or above.  Applications are available on the Oglebay website at www.oglebay-resort.com/goodzoo/Teen_Volunteer_Application.pdf or call the zoo education office at 304-243-4068. The Teen Volunteer Application deadline is Monday, January 9, 2012.

 

Adult volunteer training is held periodically throughout the year.  To receive an application or more information for the adult volunteer program, call 304-243-4033 or e-mail docents@oglebay-resort.com.

One of America’s largest holiday light shows, our very own Winter Festival of Lights, started its 27^th season on November 11, 2011 and will continue through January 8, 2012.  This holiday tradition began in 1985 with just five light displays and landscape lighting covering about 125 acres over a three-mile drive throughout the resort. Since then, the show has grown into one of the nation’s largest light shows, covering more than three hundred acres over a six-mile drive throughout the resort.  Seventy five larger-than-life light displays are now part of this glowing show including this year’s new displays: Ferris Wheel, Snowball Chasing Sledders and Conestoga Wagon.  Two new dinosaurs have also been added to the popular Dinosaur Dell display this year.

The Winter Festival of Lights has been featured on the Travel Channel’s “Most Extreme Christmas Celebrations” and listed in the American Bus Association’s Top 100 International Events.  Two years ago the show was named one of the top 10 best holiday light and tree shows by leading hotel search engine HotelsCombined.com, and last year the Winter Festival of Lights was listed as one of the 10 Best Christmas Light Displays in the United States according to AOL Travel.

Three years ago, the Winter Festival of Lights entered a new “green” era with the commitment to use energy-efficient LED lights in all new displays and to begin converting all existing displays to LED.  Nearly 70% of the show now utilizes LED. “LED lights use 85% less energy than traditional bulbs and last five times longer, ensuring that the Festival of Lights will continue to glow for another 27 years,” said Caren Knoyer, Marketing Director for Oglebay.

The Winter Festival of Lights is viewable Sunday through Thursday until 10:00 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday until 11:00 p.m. A per car donation is requested and is valid for the entire festival season.  Those making a $20.00 donation will receive a DVD featuring this year’s Festival of Lights video.

Boo at the Zoo, an annual fundraiser at the Oglebay Good Zoo, will be October 14 through 16, October 21 through 23 and October 28 through 30. The event is 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. each night.

“Put on your costume and join us for our 2011 annual Boo at the Zoo celebration!” said Penny Miller, director of the Good Zoo.  “Our theme this year is Fractured Fairy Tales and our staff is hard at work putting up decorations and assembling a maze with a pumpkin patch theme,” she added, “and please don’t bring candy collection bags as we will provide one for you.” All participants receive bags at the door and collect treats at nine stations scattered throughout the zoo.  Members of OVConnect will be carving pumpkins on the evenings of October 14 and 21.

“Coupons for $1.00 off the regular admission are available at all area McDonald’s,” added Miller.  These coupons are not valid with any other discounts and coupon.

Admission is $6.50 for non-members and $5.25 for members. Boo at the Zoo also features a Spooky Train Ride.  Miller promises the “Spooky Express” to be a spooktacular Halloween-themed train ride that’s only available during Boo at the Zoo.  The cost of The Spooky Train Ride is $2.00 and tickets are available at the zoo’s train station. 

New this year is a special overnight package just for Boo at the Zoo.  “Many families come in from out of town for this event so now these guests can spend the night at Wilson Lodge at Oglebay,” said Miller.  The overnight package is just $199 per night for a traditional room for 2 adults and 2 children ages 12 and under.  It includes one night at Wilson Lodge with unlimited use of the indoor pool, fitness center and Jacuzzi; breakfast; express line admission to Boo at the Zoo; 1 pizza and 4 sodas; costume party for children at Wilson Lodge; and, 10% discount in all retail shops.

For more information call 800-624-6988 or visit www.oglebay-resort.com/goodzoo. Boo at the Zoo is being supported this year by Pepsi Beverage Company and McDonald’s.

Each fall, hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies migrate from the United States and Canada to overwintering areas in Mexico and California where they wait out the winter until conditions favor a return flight in the spring. The monarch migration is truly one of the world’s greatest natural wonders, yet it is threatened by habitat loss in North America – at the overwintering sites and throughout the spring and summer breeding range as well.

The Good Zoo is helping to ensure the monarchs’ future by participating in Monarch Watch (www.monarchwatch.org). Zoo employees and zoo Master Naturalist students collect the caterpillars and rear them, and then tag the adult butterflies before releasing them. The purpose of the tagging is to associate the location of capture with the point of recovery for each butterfly and the data from these recaptures are used to determine the pathways taken by migrating monarchs, the influence of weather on the migration, the survival rate of the monarchs, and other data that is critical to the survival of the monarch butterfly and its magnificent migrations.

Penny Miller, Director of the Good Zoo, said monarchs are in our area from mid May to September. “The ones in early summer are reproductive and just live a few weeks. The monarchs here mid August-Oct are non-reproductive, they are migratory and just eat nectar, get fat and head to Mexico to hibernate.”

Miller said the monarchs tagged at the Good Zoo go clear to the cool, wet mountains of Mexico –  covering more than  50 miles per day. “After hibernating all winter in Mexico, they wake up and start to head back north, reproducing along the way. By now they are several months old, so they die. Their offspring continue to head north, it will take 3 generations to get back to West Virginia by mid May,” said Miller.

In 2010 the Good Zoo tagged a record number of 350 monarchs, bringing the grand total to 864 monarchs tagged at the zoo since 2005.

One of the reasons that Earl Oglebay chose this lush hilltop land for his summer estate was its natural beauty.  We are committed to preserving and sustaining this natural beauty through sound environment practices and green initiatives ( www.oglebay-resort.com/green_flyer.pdf ) and the golf courses are at the forefront of this commitment.

According to the United States Golf Association (USGA) more than 70 percent of most golf courses are rough and non-play areas including natural grasses, trees and shrubs. Combined with the open areas of fairways and greens, the golf course is an attractive wildlife habitat. The USGA and the Audubon Society have developed the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses ( www.usga.org/Content.aspx?id=26126 ) and one aspect of this program is the enhancement of wildlife habitat on and around golf courses. From bluebirds to wild turkey to deer, an amazing number of species call the Oglebay golf courses their home and now honeybees can be added to the list.

“We have partnered with The Tri-State Beekeepers Association ( www.tristatebeekeepers.com ) to be a host site for some honeybee hives,” said Ricky Border, Superintendent for the Palmer Golf Course at Oglebay.  “The hives are located on the Arnold Palmer Golf Course and they will be used educationally by the Beekeepers association. This indicator species will demonstrate how golf courses are genuinely stewards of the environment. Honeybees are very important pollinators for nearly every plant species that we use for food, shelter, and aesthetic beauty. ”

The mowed turf areas of the golf course also provide benefits to the environment including protecting topsoil from water and wind erosion.  Our nation’s topsoil is not a renewable resource. Wind and water may erode the topsoil into rivers, lakes and oceans and once gone, it cannot be replaced in our lifetimes. Turf controls erosion by capturing and slowing fast-flowing water from storms. Rain is an important source of clean groundwater, which supplies much of our drinking water, and golf course turf absorbs and filters runoff water during and after storms. The turf growth process also takes carbon dioxide from the air and releases the oxygen we need.

Nick Janovich, Superintendent of the Jones Course at Oglebay, says that both he and Ricky have been working towards certification by the National Audubon Society and expect to achieve certification within the year.

UPDATE: Check out the video of the bee hives at Oglebay at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgY9GvySgXE

The Glass Museum at Oglebay’s Carriage House Glass is one of the few places in our region where the beautiful art of glass making can still be observed and experienced by beginners. Guests can watch skilled glass artisans like Bob Allen at work and even try their hands at the craft through one-on-one workshops.

During West Virginia’s history, over 500 factories have manufactured glass in the Mountain State because it offers great quantities of silica sand, stone and other chemical compounds necessary to produce glass plus vast reserves of natural gas and coal for fuel. The network of rivers and railroads used to transport raw materials and finished product has made West Virginia an ideal location for all aspects of the industry.

West Virginian glass artisans traditionally created both molded glass and hand-blown glass.  With press-molded glass, glassmakers pressed molten glass into an iron mold, giving the glass both its shape and decorative pattern and eliminating the need for hand design.  After 1900, glass factories began making their own molds on site, allowing them to create patterns unique to specific companies.

Hand-blown glass allows an artisan to introduce a small amount of air through a blow pipe or blow tube into a blob of molten glass.  No molds are used in this method and that’s just how Bob Allen likes it.

“There are no definite designs,” said Allen.  “It’s different every day.”

Allen has been creating works of art with glass since 1968.  He worked at the Fostoria plant in nearby Moundsville, West Virginia, until that plant closed in 1986.  Allen moved on to other glass plants still in operation but eventually there were no more plants to work at.  Today, Allen works before a 2,100 degree oven in the basement of Carriage House Glass, melting, molding and blowing glass in front of a live audience, explaining the process and creating some of the glass pieces sold upstairs in the gift shop.

The Carriage House Glass gift shop and museum is open daily.  Call 304-242-7272 for glassblowing demonstration times and workshops.

Marc S. White, Director of Tennis at Oglebay, says tennis is a sport of a lifetime and spends his days promoting the sport to all ages.  Since coming to Oglebay in the fall of 2005, White has expanded the tennis program to include several annual tournaments, a junior tennis academy and various tennis jamborees throughout the year.

The most recent tennis jamboree in February 2011 featured former top-20 ATP tennis player Tim “Dr. Dirt” Wilkison at the indoor tennis center at nearby Wheeling Park.  “Tim and I traveled together in the past and put on clinics,” White said.  “Coaching and educating about tennis is my specialty, so I wanted to bring in a former player to add something.”  While he received the nickname Dr. Dirt from his diving volleys at Wimbledon, Wilkison’s biggest claim to fame was advancing to the quarter-finals of the U.S. Open in 1986.  “My hope was to inspire our local junior players to play a little bit like Tim,” added White.

Junior players are one of White’s main focuses. The MSW Tennis Academy develops a tennis attitude in the students by creating a fun and non-threatening environment.  “We teach our junior academy students to view tennis as a lifetime investment in themselves and their well-being,” said White.  The academy is offered for students from grade 2 through high school, from beginner level to advanced high school team players.  The academy is offered in the spring, fall and winter.  White also presents summer tennis camps.

This year’s slate of tennis tournaments at Oglebay include the Senior Tennis Tournament and Junior Classic in June, the West Virginia Open in July and the US Open Junior Doubles Tournament in September. Other special tennis events planned for this year include the USPTA Tennis Across America USTA Block Party in May and a PTR Coaches Workshop in September.

White is continuing Oglebay’s rich tennis tradition that started in 1939 when several clay courts were built.  The tennis complex was expanded and the courts converted to a Har-Tru surface in the late 1940s.  Tennis legend Arthur Ashe played in one of his first major tournaments at Oglebay – a juniors event – in 1961. 

For details on all the tennis programs and activities at Oglebay visit www.oglebay-resort.com/tennis/facilities.htm or call Marc White at 304-243-4039.