Wheelhouse Blog

I started working at Smithfield Transfer while I was still in high school. I washed trucks, ran errands and did other odd jobs after school and on weekends. After graduation, Smitty (the owner of Smithfield Transfer) let me drive truck for the summer while I figured out what I wanted to do. Nothing big, just […]

I’ve worked in this business my entire adult life. The creative field for some is the easiest and most rewarding way one could make a living. For others it is the hardest. I fit into the former. This has always been easy for me. I tell stories. That’s all I do. It makes no difference […]

Walking to the office from the parking lot this morning, I thought about what a beautiful day it is…the sky is such a pretty blue, the temps are very pleasant, the birds are chirping and the Cicadas are gone! It’s hard to believe that the 4th of July is just around the corner and summer […]

This past June 4 marked the 15th anniversary of the Wheeling Feeling Chili Cook Off, and my second year as the dancing chili. Representing Wheelhouse as Mr. Chili for the second year in a row is a great honor that I take seriously. I debuted as Mr. Chili during last year’s chili cook off and […]

When the 17-year Cicadas converged on the Ohio Valley a few short weeks ago, I was rather indifferent with regard to their presence. I find them ugly and noisy, but they’re here. OK, whatever. Its’ not like they bite or sting or are spider-like. I don’t have many Cicadas around my house probably because there […]

All this modern technology is ruining us. It’s frying our brains. It’s turning us all into mindless zombies. I mean now we even have Siri to talk to us, to send texts for us, to schedule appointments for us and to record those appointments in our calendars. Are we so busy that we can’t take […]

When you think about where the Wheeling Nailers are at this point in the season, it’s fairly remarkable. They’re three wins away from playing in the team’s first Kelly Cup championship series, and have never played this late into the calendar in history. They’ve also tied a franchise record with nine playoff wins. But here […]

I don’t remember the first song I ever heard, but I’m sure I loved it. I do, however, remember the first time I realized music would become a driving force in my life. The summer of 1976 was a magical time for a 12-year-old. The country’s bicentennial celebration was in full swing and the nation, […]

One of my favorite social media apps is an app called “Timehop.” Timehop is an app that collects all of your old posts and photos from your mobile device, Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram and Foursquare and takes you back in time to when your photo was taken or post was shared. Before I get out […]