NEWS

TOP STORIES | CURRENT ISSUE | ARTS & CULTURE | PUZZLES | ARCHIVE

Local Feature Niamh Coomey Local Feature Niamh Coomey

Vendor Spotlight – Maureen Mitchell

Independent thinker, cat lover, poet and aspiring motivational speaker are all words Maureen Mitchell would use to describe herself. And, as a writer, words are everything to Maureen. A Mustard Seed Mountain vendor and contributor, Maureen is passionate about sharing her story and uplifting those who struggle with mental illness.  

Maureen’s journey hasn’t been an easy one. She began experiencing severe symptoms of Bipolar Disorder when she reached college, and spent time in and out of psychiatric institutions. It took her several years to truly accept her diagnosis, Maureen said. For her, writing has become a way to manage her illness and learn to love herself.

Read More
Local Feature Natalie Triveri Local Feature Natalie Triveri

The Love of Labor: The Story of the Reuther Family

I was visiting The Mother Jones Center for Resilient Community when a conversation came up about how all people are people, deserving dignity and respect. This led to the mention of Walter Reuther, some of the incredible things that he did in his lifetime, and that he grew up right here in Wheeling, West Virginia. I did not know much about him, but I love to learn, especially about history.  I asked if I could write a piece about this Walter Reuther for Mustard Seed Mountain. This endeavor became so fascinating that it has turned into a multi-part series.

Read More
Local Feature, Opinion Ashlie Howard Local Feature, Opinion Ashlie Howard

Actually, Asking for Help is a Skill

One of the biggest misconceptions I've ever believed was that asking for help should come naturally.

I thought people either did it well or they didn't. I assumed the people who reached out when they were struggling were simply wired differently than I was. Stronger, maybe. More open. More comfortable being vulnerable.

Actually, I think asking for help is a skill.

Read More
Local Feature Niamh Coomey Local Feature Niamh Coomey

Mountain Mover: Sarah Williams

As a registered nurse at a behavioral health center, Sarah Williams has devoted her adult life to treating people struggling with addiction. She has a fierce drive to help others heal.

But just over a decade ago, Sarah sat squarely on the opposite side of the provider-patient relationship.

Read More
Local Feature Niamh Coomey Local Feature Niamh Coomey

Get your fresh, nutritious foods at the Public Market, and make it SNAPPY!

Hey you! Did you know that you can get 50% off your produce and grocery items when you pay with SNAP at the Public Market, Wheeling’s premier nonprofit grocery store downtown? 

The Public Market, a project of Grow Ohio Valley, partners with local and regional farmers to bring fresh produce, eggs, meat, and dairy products to Wheeling. The Market receives funding through the WV Food and Farm Coalition as well as a private donor for their SNAP Stretch program, which allows them to offer extensive discounts for SNAP/EBT customers on a wide variety of grocery items and produce. 

Read More
Local Feature Niamh Coomey Local Feature Niamh Coomey

Vendor Spotlight – Mike and Devin

Wheeling natives Mike and Devin are lifelong best friends who can often be spotted around Wheeling “horseplaying around,” as Devin likes to say. They are also two of Mustard Seed Mountain’s hardworking vendors, who sell the paper on the street and at several locations around town.

Mike and Devin’s moms were childhood best friends, so the pair met when they were in diapers and spent much of their time growing up together. Now, both in the latter half of their thirties, Mike and Devin say they’re still more like brothers than friends.

Read More
Local Feature Polly Barks Local Feature Polly Barks

Feel helpless? Think smaller. (Smaller.)

When I first moved to Warwood, no one knocked on my door.

That's not an indictment of Warwood. I've lived in many places in my adult life, and there's rarely been more than a wave from our porches, a smile in passing, and a quick retreat to our own private lives. But I moved to Wheeling for a sense of community, so I’d be damned if I didn’t cultivate that in my own little piece of the city.

Read More
Local Feature, Opinion Ashlie Howard Local Feature, Opinion Ashlie Howard

Actually Ashlie: Actually, Rock Bottom Isn’t the Same for Everyone

People talk about “rock bottom” like it’s a specific address.

Like if you follow someone’s story long enough, you’ll eventually arrive at the same place. A dramatic collapse. A moment where everything falls apart so completely that change becomes the only option left. It’s the version of the story we see in movies and headlines. The job lost. The relationships shattered. The public unraveling that makes the turning point obvious to everyone watching.

But actually, rock bottom isn’t a place. It’s a moment.

Read More
Local Feature Ashlie Howard Local Feature Ashlie Howard

Quenton “Q” Northcraft: The Quiet Mountain Mover

Some people make an impression the moment you meet them. They carry themselves with a quiet confidence, possess a seemingly endless well of knowledge, and have an uncanny ability to solve problems that leave everyone else scratching their heads. More importantly, they use those gifts not for recognition, but to make life better for the people around them. Quenton “Q” Northcraft is one of those rare people.

Read More
Local Feature The Market Crew Local Feature The Market Crew

Getting Free at the Really Really Free Market

Last October, seeing a need in our community, a group of local friends decided to create a temporary space where people could access resources they needed without paying money or asking the state for help. By starting the Really Really Free Market (RRFM) in Wheeling, we were carrying on a modern-day anarchist tradition that many diverse communities have engaged in over the past twenty years. 

Read More
Local Feature Staff Local Feature Staff

Setting the Stage for Wheeling’s Homeless Taskforce

In June, Mayor Denny Magruder announced the formation of a new taskforce to address the issue of homelessness in Wheeling. Magruder said the taskforce will be “guided by local clerics” and is intended to “balance compassion with accountability.” At the time of publication, the council has released little information about the makeup and specifics of the group aside from its chair – Rabbi Joshua Lief of Temple Shalom. As Wheeling’s ‘Homeless Taskforce’ takes shape, Mustard Seed Mountain reflects on the last decade of advocacy for our homeless neighbors.

Read More
Local Feature Niamh Coomey Local Feature Niamh Coomey

A Wheeling Street Doctor Takes L.A.

Wheeling Street Doctor William Mercer teamed up with a big-city street medicine team during a visit to Los Angeles. The trip taught him some new techniques, while affirming the groundbreaking street medicine work that Wheeling is already doing at home. 

Read More
Local Feature Vincent DeGeorge Local Feature Vincent DeGeorge

The First Handwritten Bible in 500 Years Visits Wheeling

I cried when I first saw and spent time with the Saint John’s Bible. It was the resurrection illumination (the pictures that accompany the biblical text) with Jesus telling Mary Magdalene, and all of us, “don’t hold on to me...”

I’ve always heard crying at art was a thing. My mother and sister, both artists, could regularly get a few tears going on  family trips to the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh. I’m more of a crier at things like “Les Miserables,” church, and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” always “It’s a Wonderful Life.” But never art. While I like opportunities to evoke an emotional experience,  I always wondered, what were they seeing in Monet, or Van Gogh that I was just missing? 

So when tears started at the hand painted illumination in the Saint John’s Bible, it finally  registered for me.

Read More
Local Feature Oceanna Smith Local Feature Oceanna Smith

Know Your Rights with ICE

West Virginia is no stranger to pulling the shortest straw. 

Since its inception, this state and its people have been subject to ruthless natural resource extraction, harmful legal systems, and widespread social and political manipulation. Although the state has found itself in the grip of the so-called Make America Great Again movement, there are many here who empathize with their immigrant neighbors and are working hard behind the scenes to support them. 

Read More
Local Feature Betsy Steinfeld Jividen Local Feature Betsy Steinfeld Jividen

Finding Common Ground

Ryan was a 31-year-old convicted felon who ran the streets of Wood County as a kid, abandoned by a father he never knew and weighed down by a legacy of family addictions and dysfunction, along with the racism he endured as one of the only kids of color in his community.

He says he never really felt like he “had a place in the world” and that he was somehow “less than” the people and the world around him. Nothing in his life made him believe that he had any potential worth or value, and he found his “safety in hiding from the world.” 

Read More
Browse by author
Browse by column
Browse by topic
Browse by date