“Most viewed on msnbc.com - MSNBC” plus 4 more

Most viewed on msnbc.com - MSNBC
The man behind the Pack - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Home-schooling in rural West Virginia - Charleston Gazette
From 'Popeye' to 'Family Guy,' 2009 a milestone year for cartoons - Seattle Times
State Museum Shop tops $100,000 in sales - Charleston Gazette

NFL free agent

Murphy grew up in Buffalo, Houston and New Jersey and played football all the way up through college at Colgate. Much like Thompson, he came into the NFL unheralded - a non-drafted free agent.

But in his eight years with the Redskins from 1977-'84, he won two Super Bowls, made the Pro Bowl and led the NFL in interceptions in 1983.

"Mark struggled to break 5 (seconds) flat (in the 40-yard dash). But he wasn't smart - he was brilliant," former Redskins assistant Larry Peccatiello said in "The Ultimate Super Bowl Book."

Murphy earned his MBA in finance from American University while he played for the Redskins. He also served on the players' bargaining committee during the 1982 players' strike.

When he was cut from the Redskins on his 30th birthday, he joined the NFL Players Association as assistant executive director. While there, he worked on a law degree from Georgetown University. He was a trial attorney for four years in the U.S. Department of Justice, working on some big cases that included the State of Montana suing the U.S. Census Bureau, challenging the apportionment formula.

After that, he served as athletic director at Colgate and Northwestern for a total of 16 years.

Goodell appointed Murphy to the 10-member Management Council Executive Committee, the bargaining team that represents the owners in the league's negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. The current agreement expires after the 2010 season, but that season will operate without a salary cap unless the sides extend the agreement by March.

"I can see things from both sides," Murphy said. "I think it's been helpful in some of the sessions. I can certainly relate to what the players' concerns are. But I also have seen it from an owner's perspective as well, or a management perspective."

It doesn't hurt that the art of compromise runs in the Murphy family bloodlines.

Mark's father, Hugh Murphy, could iron out differences with anyone. As the director of labor relations for Roblin Steel in Buffalo, he made a living making compromises in the never-ending battle of collective bargaining and labor relations. If Hugh Murphy wasn't commuting between the two steel plants 60 miles apart, he was pulling an all-nighter at the negotiation table.

Years later, "Big Murph" served for 15 years as a court-appointed mediator in Florida.

"He just loved it. And the judges loved him," Mark Murphy said. "He would settle cases. The judges would refer most of their cases to him because they knew he could settle."

To this day, Murphy draws on his background as a former player and union representative, and his days as a trial attorney, to help him as Packers president.

"Being an advocate for a position really helped me in terms of my speaking," Murphy said. "The other thing I think my current position, especially in bargaining, you deal with lawyers all of the time. That's pretty invaluable."

Murphy has relied on friendships with Jerry Richardson, the co-chair of the bargaining committee; New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft; New York Giants owner John Mara; the front office of the Chicago Bears; as well as Tagliabue to navigate his way through his first two years of presidency.

When Murphy was chosen by the Packers in December 2007 after a lengthy search, it came as a bit of a surprise. While Murphy's educational credentials were not in question, many wondered how a college athletics director could handle running a professional sports franchise. And not just any franchise. This one was publicly owned by fans who feel they have a special bond with the team.

"He came with a lot of credibility," Weyers said. "He was a player and a representative of the players. He also had a good understanding of the industry."

Platten said Murphy has developed strong relationships with the Executive Committee and key members of the organization.

"The business side of the pros is very big these days because it ultimately drives the performance on the field," Platten said. "He has done a great job with that."

Murphy also talks to Harlan, the Packers president from 1989 to 2008, about issues of importance to the Packers and the NFL.

"We went out to dinner a couple of times when he first got to town," Harlan said. "He asked how we had done things and so forth. He will call me at home and we'll talk. We talk maybe a couple of times a month."

Harlan is quick to say, however, that he never calls Murphy. If Murphy wants to talk, it's his call, not Harlan's.

"If I have issues that I am dealing with, I will contact him," Murphy said. "The way I look at it, it's such a unique position. There's nothing like it in the NFL. You are not an owner; you are not like the other presidents. But Bob, having been in the in position as long as he was, has really been willing and gracious in terms of providing advice."

When numerous players returned to Green Bay after a couple of fan tours with Murphy, they reported back to teammates that he was a likable guy, that they had passed around his playing cards and studied his 1982 Super Bowl ring.

"A guy who is extremely excited about being with the Packers, you can tell that anytime you're with him at an event," guard Daryn Colledge said. "Certain people have a certain energy about their job. Some people just come to work and they're excited about what they're doing. He just has that."

Many players don't know where he's from or how good he was in the NFL, but they like the effort he makes to get to know them and represent them as the leader of the organization.

"Great guy," cornerback Al Harris said. "When I hurt my spleen (in 2008), he was the only person that called me and said, 'Hey Al, sorry that that happened' and 'everything will be all right.'

"I like Mark Murphy. That really, really meant a lot to me that he took the time out to call me and show his concern."

Can he pull plug?

The one unknown about Murphy that matters so much to Packers fans is this: Could he pull the plug if the Packers were losing and how long would he wait until he acts?

Murphy is Thompson's boss. After the disappointing and wrenching loss to lowly Tampa Bay on Nov. 8, the team fell to 4-4. Throw in two losses to former Packers quarterback Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings, and fans were calling for a change at the top.

Since then, the Packers have gone 6-1 and qualified for the playoffs - and fans are back onboard. But questions remain about whether Murphy will have to act decisively someday and how he will do it.

Murphy said he has fired unsuccessful coaches before - in his time at Colgate: Michael Foley and Ed Sweeney, both football coaches. At Northwestern, his biggest test was the sudden death of football coach Randy Walker in June 2006.

"Not only did we lose Randy, but Mark had to decide what direction to go," said Patrick Ryan, then chairman of Northwestern's Board of Trustees and an influential backer of the program. "He saw something in Pat Fitzgerald. He felt that Pat had attributes other than experience that Mark felt we should take the risk. Mark was right. It was a courageous decision."

Fitzgerald has a 27-22 record and nearly led the Wildcats to their first bowl victory in 61 years on New Year's Day.

For his part, Murphy said he has tried to learn something at every stage of his business life.

"My philosophy of management is that you don't micromanage; you hire good people and allow them to do their jobs," Murphy said. "You also hold them accountable to success. If we're not having success, then it's my job to look at a situation and determine what changes are needed to allow us to be successful."

Though collegiate athletics departments don't come close to the standards and level of scrutiny Murphy faces in leading a team with the tradition and fan base of the Packers, he believes he has been adequately prepared to use his authority to dismiss underperforming members of his staff, including the general manager.

"That's the reality of the position I've been in," Murphy said.

"Those are always hard. What I always felt, especially when you hire people, you want to give them a chance to be successful and you support them. But at the end of the day, you also have to look out for - whether it's the organization or the university - you have to make the decision that is the best interest of the organization for the long term.

"The concept is you are managing people, working with them, trying to help them improve. And at the end of the day, if you feel change is needed, you have to act. What I have learned, sometimes you do need to make changes. That's necessary to move forward."

'Big picture'

However, it might take a lot for Murphy to cut ties with Thompson and coach Mike McCarthy, which might be why he pointed out his "big picture" approach.

"You do need to keep things in perspective," Murphy said. "Having been in the NFL and around it, you know there are a lot of ups and downs in a season. You have to have a longer-range perspective, especially in my position.

"My attitude in everything I've done - playing for the Redskins, as a trial attorney - is I'm going to be prepared, do the best job I can, and at the end of the day, as long as you've done everything you can to be successful, that's all you can ask of yourself."

Murphy, Thompson and McCarthy were thrown together in one of the toughest crises in franchise history: the Favre trade.

Harlan stayed on a month in January 2008 to groom Murphy for his new role, but nothing could have prepared him for what was to come.

First, after off-seasons full of uncertainty about his future, Favre finally announced his retirement in March 2008.

Then, after Thompson had committed to Aaron Rodgers and what he felt was best for the team, Favre un-retired in July, and the chasm between the two men grew with every passing day. Murphy's attempt to offer an endorsement deal to Favre in the range of $20 million was a complete public relations disaster.

Complicating emotions for Murphy, his father died on July 20, 2008, while the Favre and Thompson fiasco was reaching its high point.

But as Murphy's outside world crumbled over the incredible day-to-day saga, he, Thompson and McCarthy huddled close and worked together on what to do with Favre.

"As difficult as it was for the organization, the whole situation with Brett Favre, and to have it early in my tenure - I'm trying to find the one positive," Murphy said. "It really allowed me to work very closely with both Ted and Mike. The result was that it probably sped up the process in terms of establishing good working relationships with both of them."

Murphy ultimately threw his support behind Thompson and McCarthy and consented to cutting ties with the face of the franchise. Without that support, Thompson might never have been able to trade Favre to the New York Jets.

"It was very rewarding obviously for me to have that support," Thompson said. "As an organization, it kind of shows you how we go about doing business - we don't interact all the time, but when there are items that important to the organization, there was obviously a lot of meeting time.

"We had extensive conversations about that and a lot of other people within the organization were involved in some of those talks. None of that was done in the back room. We all kind of worked our way through it."

In the background, of course, is the team's Executive Committee. The Packers' business culture, at least publicly, calls for Murphy to keep committee members informed of major decisions and developments. Both Platten and Weyers said Murphy stays in touch with the committee about as much as Harlan did. The committee is supposed to provide oversight, but Murphy makes the calls.

"Mark is the CEO," Platten said. "So he has ultimate responsibility for what happens with the Packers."

Dealings with GM, coach

Even though the Favre situation warranted extensive meetings, that's not how Murphy manages Thompson and McCarthy now in day-to-day operations. Murphy and Thompson often discuss how labor talks are progressing after Murphy returns from frequent meetings in New York and Washington. He also keeps in contact with McCarthy, though it is usually through Thompson.

"What I am trying to do is give them the support they need and the resources they need to be successful," Murphy said.

But Murphy never tells Thompson which free agents he should re-sign or dictates any personnel moves.

"I get a lot more suggestions and advice at the airport than I do here at the office," Thompson said. "I think he likes the structure and has an appreciation for the way the organization works in that regard. Each of us, the three of us - Mark, myself and Mike - all have jobs that demand our time and a lot of focus and attention.

"I don't really have the time or the inclination to involve myself in their particular stuff, and I think it's the same way with Mark. I mean, I'm not going to go down and work on the red zone something with Coach McCarthy because that's what he's focusing on. That's not what I am focusing on.

"I am focusing on other things. And Mark is going to be very busy with his stuff."

Murphy gives a lot of credit to his wife, Laurie, for raising their four children - Kate, Emily, Brian and Anna - with the youngest just starting college. Even as empty-nesters, there isn't a lot of down time. He likes to jog, bike or golf, especially when faced with stress.

"I try to work out regularly. I talk to some current players - the workout hung over your head," Murphy said. "Then when you get into a position like I'm in now, it's a highlight of my day, a way to think things through and relieve some of the stress.

"It's very good at taking your mind off of a lot of different things that you might be struggling with."

Besides ensuring the Packers remain successful on the football field, Murphy will need to chart the course of the franchise. There is talk of expanding the Packers' footprint in the Lambeau Field neighborhood. The Packers own land west of the stadium, and Murphy and the franchise are talking about a master plan for the community to consider.

Ryan, who worked with Murphy at Northwestern and was the chairman of the City of Chicago's unsuccessful bid to land the 2016 Olympics, said he has no doubt Murphy will succeed in Green Bay.

"I like leaders who are under control," Ryan said. "His calmness blends with his skills."

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Home-schooling in rural West Virginia - Charleston Gazette

Posted: 02 Jan 2010 08:48 PM PST

This is the sixth in a series of multimedia projects from the West Virginia Uncovered project at West Virginia University.

Click here for more stories from West Virginia Uncovered.

Click here for a photo slideshow for this story.

By Katie Griffith and Katie Lusso

For the Sunday Gazette-Mail

CHLOE, W.Va. -- When Shelly and Gerald Stehman began home-schooling their son Briar two years ago, they marched head-first into the world of home education without a firm direction.

The Stehmans always knew they wanted to home-school their two children, giving them an alternative and, in their minds, a more complete education than the public school systems offer. The family is among a number of West Virginia families choosing to home-school, and according to officials, the trend continues to grow.

The most recent study by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, which was released in 2004, showed an increase in the number of home-schooled children from 850,000 in 1999 to 1.1 million in 2003.

In West Virginia alone, the number of home-schoolers increased by 30 percent, from 3,820 in 1999 to 5,100 in 2004, according to the state Department of Education.

Unimpressed with the available public school system and their own public school experiences, Shelly and Gerald knew before Briar and his sister Jacy were born that they wanted to home-school, though neither parent is college educated.

A self-employed electrician by trade, Gerald wanted something different for his children than a monotonous 40-hour workweek. "We wanted to teach our kids that life doesn't have to be a daily grind," Gerald said. "You can be free to live the way human beings are supposed to live."

Rather than waiting on the Calhoun County school buses each morning, Briar, who is officially in first grade, begins his day around 9 a.m., but his day-to-day learning schedule often varies. Depending upon his mood or that of his parents, Briar's learning on any given day could involve anything from nature walks and archery to home economics and bookwork.

"When we started doing this, we didn't know what we were doing. We just kind of started winging it," Shelly said.

The family decided to start by using books from the school to give them a guideline.

"You've got to beat the basics into them. He has to learn math and reading," Gerald said. But the family has admitted that sitting down to bookwork can be hard for Briar. "He reads beyond his age, he's articulate beyond his age, but when he takes to not wanting to do it, it is a fight, then, too," Gerald said.

After borrowing a book on learning styles from a friend, Shelly came up with the idea to do a unit study, which encompasses all aspects of one subject, from literature to math and science. Fascinated by marine life and prehistoric creatures, Briar will begin his unit studies with sea life next semester.

"He specifically needs something like that to guide him," Shelly said. "Like I said, the sitting down doing bookwork on a daily basis just doesn't get it for him. At 6 years old, the last thing I want to do is turn him off reading."

Feeling that she wasn't being encouraged or allowed to learn as she wanted to learn, Shelly left school at the beginning of her junior year and got her GED as soon as she was able.

"I didn't have the most positive public school experience myself, not being allowed to learn the things I wanted to learn, just being told, 'You have to do better, you have to do better,' but never being helped do better," Shelly said.

Though she later took a few college classes trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life, ultimately Shelly gave up her dream of being a veterinarian.

"My children deserve to have a better learning environment than what I've experienced with public schools," she said.

One of the biggest worries for Shelly is that Briar isn't getting enough social interaction. Without neighbors around to play with, sometimes it can be days before the family sees other faces.

"You can tell when he needs to get out," Gerald said. "His behavior starts to wane and you can pretty much tell, 'OK, We have to get these kids out of here, we've got to do something.'"

In order to broaden that environment, the Stehmans drive two hours round trip every Saturday during the fall semester to Heartwood In The Hills, where Briar is exposed to dance, music and art.

Shelly believes it is important for Briar to find a creative outlet, and he loves to dance.

"Heartwood has been very good for him," she said. "It's been a very nice place to go spend a day, give him some interaction, some other perspectives."

Gerald says Briar doesn't have problems making friends.

"He's very outspoken, very outgoing; he's not shy in the least," he said.

At Heartwood, children twirl around a wide-open dance floor, impersonating bubbles, or march along to the beat of music, as the parents sit down to chat. Many of the other parents are involved in home schooling as well, so Heartwood serves as a support area for families to discuss their experiences with home education.

"I'm sure we're feeling the same apprehensions everyone else is." Gerald said. "You're not born knowing how to home-school a kid."

Although home schooling is often intimidating for first-time educators, social support for and acceptance of home schooling has increased in the past 20 years, said Brian Ray, founder of the National Home Education Research Institute. Parents across the country are home-schooling their children for a variety of reasons that Ray says haven't "changed a lot in the past 25 years."

These reasons, which he cites on the NHERI Web site, include the desire for a customized learning environment, a safer environment, guided social interaction and the desire to teach a particular set of values or beliefs, among others.

"It is not surprising that home-schooled children do so well," Ray said. "They're getting a customized education without distractions. On average, their success academically is attracting more people."

According to several studies, on average home-schooled students outperform their peers and are just as successful later in life. The home-educated typically score 15 to 30 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests, Ray said in a report.

"On average they're doing well in any way that's measured. Every study says they do at least as well or better than other college students," Ray said. "Most parents say it is extremely fulfilling, it's worth it, they're glad they're home-educating and it is work."

Ray says home schooling no longer has the stigma it once did, but the battle isn't over.

"Even though home schooling has become more acceptable, the culture tells everybody you have to be a professional to do anything; a degree to do anything from teach children to glue two tubes together."

Ray said one the most difficult times for home-schoolers is when they start.

"It is a little overwhelming at first for people. The first year they have to just realize they'll be learning as they go -- how they learn and how their children learn."

In the beginning stages of Briar's education, the Stehmans had to deal with the some issues.

"Some parents say 'Wow, that's great, I could never do it.' And other parents look at you like you've got two heads, like you're crazy and your kids are going to grow up to be social recluses and paranoids," Gerald said.

"It's going to take him longer to learn some of the harder lessons in life," Gerald said. "He's going to learn them, eventually he will, he just might learn them when he's 18 instead of when he's 12."

In addition to the social support benefits of Heartwood, Shelly has started a support group for home-schoolers closer to home that is to meet every Wednesday. "I have high hopes that it will continue to pan out into something more elaborate," Shelly said. The group, which began with eight moms and 15 kids, has met several times already to do activities such as origami crafts and cookie swaps.

In a few years, the Stehmans will be home-schooling two kids, when Jacy, now 2, begins kindergarten. Jacy already learns along with her brother at home, always being around during lessons, but the Stehmans say that if she or Briar want to go to public school at any point, they will be allowed.

"We'll leave it up to them," Gerald said. "We're wanting to let them bloom to be their own people."

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

From 'Popeye' to 'Family Guy,' 2009 a milestone year for cartoons - Seattle Times

Posted: 02 Jan 2010 07:29 PM PST

You could say this was the Year of the Cartoon. Some of the biggest names ever to be animated celebrated milestone birthdays in 2009, even though they may not look their age.

Popeye is 80. Scooby-Doo is 40. The Simpsons are 20. And that's not the half of it.

Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are 60. Rocky and Bullwinkle are 50. Coincidence? Who cares. Connect the dots among these cartoon hall-of-famers and you've got an extraordinary window on the evolution of the art form.

Start way back with Felix the Cat. Nine decades ago, when cartoon shorts more closely resembled flip books of comic-strip panels than modern movies, Felix was born into the silent-film era and became hugely popular. A simply designed character with a plucky spirit, he was Mickey Mouse before there was Mickey Mouse, clearing a path for the cheery rodent to follow.

"I don't think the Disney empire happens without him," said Andrew Farago, curator of the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco.

Synchronized-sound cartoons, ushered in by Mickey with 1928's "Steamboat Willie," changed everything. Suddenly animators weren't limited to word bubbles and pantomime. While Felix had trouble adapting, others such as Popeye — introduced in a comic 80 years ago and a hit on the big screen — took full advantage. They used voices and sound effects to add humor and more.

"The one thing about sound was they were able to have more distinctive and defined personalities," said Jeff Lenburg, author of The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons, Third Edition. "It really became personality animation."

That opened up all kinds of opportunities for animators and new characters, among them Betty Boop and Donald Duck, who celebrated his 75th birthday this year. Mel Blanc made a career out of using his voice to add personality to everyone from Porky Pig to Bugs Bunny over the years.

Many of these characters took part in formulaic but popular plot lines.

"A lot of them followed the same basic story. It's something following something else," explained Charles Coletta, instructor of popular culture at Bowling Green State University.

There are infinite variations to the "chase" theme. Anyone who has seen a Tom and Jerry cartoon knows this. Some of the purest examples were the Warner Bros. cartoons featuring the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, who debuted 60 years ago in 1949. They entertained viewers as the coyote always tried (and failed) to catch his prey using innumerable gadgets and tricks.

In the industry's early years, cartoons were shown mostly as shorts prior to full-length features at the theater, where all ages were exposed to them. They became less profitable after a Supreme Court ruling that changed booking practices. Studios started to cut back and adopted a more limited style of animation that used fewer cels to animate characters and sequences, Lenburg said.

While Disney stuck around as the dominant player in full-length, theatrical animation releases, many cartoon studios moved to television, where they used this more limited style. (Disney did expand to TV as well.) The result can be seen in the many Hanna-Barbera creations (Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound) and the unsophisticated style of Rocky and Bullwinkle, who turned 50 this year. It's a far cry from the majesty of the lush drawings of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." What the cartoon moose and flying squirrel lacked in artistic value, however, they made up for with more sophisticated humor.

"They have what looks like a very simple, funny animal cartoon, but they actually used it to comment on political figures and American society, and managed to do it under the radar because it has the appearance of a simple kids cartoon," Farago said.

By bringing cartoons into the home, television allowed animators new possibilities and audiences. Specifically targeting children, who were home on Saturday mornings or after school, was what made a show like 1969's "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" so successful.

"Scooby-Doo really didn't strive for anything beyond creating a program that will be entertaining for kids," Farago said of the show about a dog and a crew of teenage mystery-solvers. "They really don't care about reaching the adult audience because the kid audience is constantly replenishing itself. ... 'Scooby-Doo' in 1969 appealed to 5-to 10-year-olds. In 2009, it still appeals to 5- to 10-year-olds."

Contrast that with "The Simpsons," a much more mature show whose first season about a dysfunctional family started in 1989, even though the characters had been introduced earlier. With its anti-establishment mentality and "eat my shorts" catchphrase, the show got adults' attention right away. Schools banned T-shirts featuring it; parents prevented their kids from watching.

Yet it had something for everyone, including some of the best writing on television. College students, especially, were drawn to it, and the show proved again that cartoons could make a splash in prime time, reminiscent of "The Flintstones' " run in the 1960s.

It also led to a proliferation of cartoons pushing the envelope — society's and the censors' — even further. Think "South Park" and programs on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. The most popular cartoon among Coletta's students currently is "Family Guy," which joins the more tot-friendly "SpongeBob SquarePants" in celebrating the 10th anniversary of its debut this year.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

State Museum Shop tops $100,000 in sales - Charleston Gazette

Posted: 02 Jan 2010 08:41 PM PST

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Elaine Harris could have battled traffic and gone to the Charleston Town Center Mall or Corridor G stores for her last-minute Christmas shopping.

She chose the West Virginia State Museum Shop instead.

"I like to buy local," said Harris, who purchased an old-time music CD for her fiddle-playing husband. "I like to connect with what I'm buying, to know there's a face behind it. Wal-Mart drives me up the wall."

Harris isn't the only one who has discovered the 1,700-square-foot museum shop, which features a selection of West Virginia artisan products from Tamarack, as well as souvenirs and collectibles.

Last month, the store topped $100,000 in retail sales. The shop opened in August.

Sales have far exceeded expectations, said Zan George, retail director for Tamarack. The store, tucked into the Culture Center at the Capitol Complex, frequently has to be restocked.

"The holiday season was exceptional," George said. "The business is showing steady improvement."

From Tamarack, the shop features gourmet food products, books, music, prints, note cards, toys, games, dolls, glass, jewelry, pottery, textiles, wood and basketry.

State Museum souvenirs and collectibles include T-shirts, mugs, coal figurines, magnets, postcards and Civil War-related items.

As expected, school groups have helped bolster the museum shop's sales, George said.

But customers also are stopping by the store to buy "corporate gifts, business gifts and things of that nature," he said.

"The shop is isolated. It's not in the mall," George said. "Word is slowly developing about this shop. We try to present the shop as a museum shop."

About 99 percent of the store's products are made in the U.S.

"It's West Virginia, local, made in the U.S.A.," said Harris, who works for the Communications Workers of America union. "I like to help the local artists."

The shop has Blenko and Fenton Glass, as well as pieces by Ron Hinkle. The souvenir section includes T-shirts emblazoned with The Dressed Fleas, which are part of the State Museum's famous dressed flea exhibit. There also are marbles made by Marble King in Paden City.

Next year, George said the shop plans to sell "interactive items" that visitors can use during museum tours.

"It's an exciting little shop," George said. "People have fallen in love with this shop."

The museum shop is open 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. It's closed on Mondays. The shop coordinates with the state Division of Culture and History to have extended hours during special events.

For information, call 304-205-7911.

Reach Eric Eyre at erice...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-4869.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Cultural

Saturday, January 2, 2010