INNformer

INNformer INNformer is an information resource. The INNformer is a publication of The Wells Inn.
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Intended to be an information resource for the hotel and the communities we serve.

06/11/2026

Weather and Traffic
June 11, 2026 8:30 a.m.

Good Morning! Today is THURSDAY, June 11, 2026 and here in our little slice of life it’s National Corn on the Cob Day, National German Chocolate Cake Day and National Say Hi Day.

So, Hi!

Advertise! Need I say more? Probably, but I ain’t going to. Send me a message and see what deals I will cut for you!

According to calculations made by Eratosthenes, the chief librarian at the famed Library of Alexandria, on this day in 1182 B.C. the city of Troy fell and was sacked by Greeks. The Greeks, of course, were able to enter the city after soldiers hidden in the Trojan Horse opened the gates.

An interesting fact about Eratosthenes, who lived about 300 years before Jesus walked the earth, he was able to calculate the circumference of the planet with an error on the real value of between -2.4 percent and 0.8 percent. All without a calculator.

In 1742 Benjamin Franklin invented his Franklin Stove and in 1776 the Continental Congress formed the committee to drafted the Declaration of Independence.

The mere act of daring to draft the Declaration of Independence itself was considered treason against the British Crown, as the signers were declaring their desire to separate from British rule and the committee, made up of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman, knew that they were subject to death if they were captured.

The signers understood the risks involved, pledging their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor in the process.

And in 1895 Charles Duryea patented the gas powered automobile and set up a company to build them. In November of 1895 his car won the first car race held in the United States.
Weather:

Weather:
Humid today, expect some thunder and lighting, some could be very, very frieghtning, this afternoon. Highs in the upper 80s. Showers possible during the overnight with lows a miserable 73.

For tomorrow, scattered storms with highs n the upper 70s.

Traffic:
Nothing out of the ordinary so far.

Currently at our Downtown Sistersville News Command Center it is already 76 degrees under clear skies.

06/10/2026

Weather and Traffic
June 10, 2026 8:30 a.m.

Good Morning! Today is WEDNESDAY, June 10, 2026 and here in our little slice of life it’s National Ballpoint Pen Day, National Black Cow Day and it’s also Superman Week.

Want to know why the ‘man of steel’ isn’t around anymore? Clark Kent’s employer, the Daily Planet, went to a digital format and laid him off and all the phone booths were replaced by cell phones- so he had no place to change. Modern day America.

Moooo!

Advertise! Advertise with me. Advertise with them. Advertise with both!

On a serious note: support your local newspapers. Go buy a subscription. If you don’t want to bother to hunt one of ours down, we offer digital subscriptions. If you want to get it delivered through the mail, call them and get a subscription! And I am going to add this: They cover a lot of stuff I don’t, so get both.

Fair enough?

On this day, in 1692 the small Massachusetts village of Salem, where I once worked, took its first dubious steps on becoming the nasty little tourist trap and Halloween spectacular that it is today by hanging its first 'witch.'

In 1752 Benjamin Franklin flew a kite during a thunderstorm, enabling him to demonstrate the electrical nature of lightning. Not only did he invent lightning rods but he is the one who coined the phrase 'battery” as well as 'electrician.'

In 1768 John Handcock’s ship Liberty was seized by the British. The month before the ship’s crew locked a customs official in its cabin and off loaded the cargo of wine to evade paying the Townsend Act tariffs. While charges against Handcock were later dropped, the ship was never returned to him and was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Liberty.

In July of the following year, irate Rhode Islanders, angered over the seizure of two other ships for customs violation, boarded the HMS Liberty and burned her.

And in 1845, Andrew Jackson’s African Grey parrot “Poll” was removed from his funeral for swearing loudly before the sermon.

Weather:
Storms in the morning, showers in the afternoon and humid. . High in the mid 80s. For tonight, cloudy, showers, low in the mid 70s.

Tomorrow, mostly sunny and warm, high around 90.

Extended outlook for the weekend. There ain’t no racin’ at Tyler so its going to be sunny on Saturday.

Traffic:
The song remains the same. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Currently at our Downtown Sistersville News Command Center it is a 71 degrees under cloudy skies.

06/09/2026

Weather and Traffic
June 9, 2026 8:10 a.m.

Good Morning! Today is TUESDAY, June 9 in the year 2026. Here in our little slice of life it’s Donald Duck Day and National Call Your Doctor Day, but what you decide to call your doctor is up to you.

Advertise! Send me a message and see what deals I will cut for you!

On this day in AD 68, the 30 year-old Roman Emperor Nero committed su***de to avoid the Roman Senate’s decree that he be flogged to death after they declared him an enemy of the people.

Nero, who became Emperor at age 16, was a particularly and spectactularly horrible leader who, it was claimed, “fiddled while Rome burned.” While that is false, he was accused of arranging for a large section of the eternal city burned to the ground so he could build a grand palace for himself.

He was popular, until their neighborhoods burned to the ground, with the lower classes because of his construction of amphitheaters and free gladiatorial games.

As we head to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence....

On this day in 1772 one of the events that helped to trigger the Revolution occurred. The burning of the HMS Gaspee, a British customs schooner that had been enforcing the Navigation Acts, off Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay.

The Gaspee had been pursuing the American smuggling ship Hanna when she ran aground. That evening John Brown, a merchant angered by the British taxes and the heavy handed actions of the Gaspee’s captain, boarded the ship, removed the crew and burned her.

While the Navigation Acts had been on the books since the 1650s they had rarely been enforced in the colonies during a period which historians refer to as ‘benign neglect.’

The mother country didn’t really care what was happening in North America and that was fine with the colonialists, except when they were forced to fight against the French and received little help from London.

After the French were defeated in 1763, however, the Brits decided that they were no longer going to neglect what they considered an untapped source of tax revenue and their actions certainly weren’t benign in trying to squeeze money out of the colonies.

The Gaspee’s captain, William Dudingston, aggressive in his command, refused the acknowledge the authority of the colonial Governor of Rhode Island and violated that colony’s Royal Charter. All of these combined to embolden Brown when he saw the opportunity to burn the Gaspee.

And on this day, Philadelphian pharmacist Charles Hires sold his first root beer in 1869. Born in New Jersey, at age 12 Hires was sent to work as an apprentice at a drugstore, When he was 16 he moved Philidelphia where he worked and quickly saved enough money to open his own drugstore and was nineteen years old when he started selling his root beer at his store.

He was soon selling a package to housewives and other businesses where they could mix water, sugar and yeast and brew at home.

Weather:
Scattered thunderstorms today with high around 80. Showers tonight with an overnight low around 70.

For tomorrow, showers with a high in the low 80s.

Traffic:
Nothing unusual at the moment. As the storms move through watch for the slips and slides and when you are in New Martinsville, for it to be annoying.

Currently at our Downtown Sistersville News Command Center it is 70 decrees and cloudy.

06/08/2026

Weather and Traffic
May 8, 2026 8:30 a.m.

Good Morning! Today is MONDAY, June 8 and the year is 2026, here is our little slice of life, where it’s the beginning of National Little League Week, Upsy Daisy Day and Thomas Paine Day.

Paine, who died on this day in 1809, was born in England and was encouraged by Benjamin Franklin to emigrate to the colonies where he became an influential pampheletier, kind of a prehistoric version of an social media influencer. His first pamphlet was “Common Sense” which outlined to the masses why the colonies should be separate from the British Crown.

Advertise, business-owners, don’t shade your eyes! Advertise, advertise, advertise!
And message me when you are ready to. Affordable rates and your potential customers are already reading our newspaper.

On this day in 1949 George Orwell’s famous ‘how to’ manual, “1984," was published.

While originally intended to be a warning against socialism, too many of those who read it adopted viewed its warnings as how to obtain power over people.

One key point in this brilliant narrative is how the use of language, and slowly changing the meanings, can and will change the perspective and thoughts of a people. You can see these changes today in the media’s AP Style Book, by the way.

Want to know what will be the next social hot topic? AP Style directs media how they will be reporting issues in the next couple of years. From illegal aliens becoming undocumented migrants to pormoting social causes, it’s all comes through the Associated Press from their political master.

And on this date in 1789 future president James Madison introduced a series of proposed amendments to the newly ratified US Constitution. Later known as the Bill of Rights, the various state representatives agreed to pass the original constitution on the condition that guarantees against governmental overreach would be considered.

Two points that seem to have been lost in the narrative: First, its Freedom “OF” Religion, not Freedom FROM religion and 2) “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Who were the “militia?” Well, that’s you and I. During colonial times, a time when the basis of our political thought was formed, all able-bodied men were required to serve for local defense and in emergencies. These were often formed on the individual town level for their own security.

And the free “State?” That’s not a physical territory. It’s the condition of being free of oppression.

On this day in 1824, Noah Cushing, of Quebec, patented the first washing machine, and became the first Canadian to be awarded a patent in Canada and in 1869 Ives McGaffey, from Chicago, was granted a patent for the first Vacuum cleaner.

Time to check to see how many people un-follow me today.

And a reminder, this page isn’t a reflection on our newspaper. I vent my frustrations here, not in print.

Weather:
This week we aren’t expected to see any snow. Today will be mostly sunny with highs approaching 90. Chance of storms in the afternoon. Overnight lows in the mid 60s.

For tomorrow, cloudy with afternoon storms. Cooler, with highs in the low 80s.

The rest of the week- wet.

Traffic:
So far, so good. Expect delays out the shortline as the DOH is doing something.

Currently at our Downtown Sistersville News Command Center it is 65 degrees under clear skies, time for me to go do some work.

06/06/2026

Severe Thunderstorm Watch issued June 6 at 11:56AM EDT until June 6 at 6:00PM EDT by
NWS Charleston WV

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED SEVERE THUNDERSTORM IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EDT.

06/06/2026

Traffic and Weather
June 6, 2026 8:25 a.m.

Good Morning! Today is SATURDAY, June 6, 2026 here in our little slice of life where it’s World Pest Day, so feel free to go out and be a pest.

It’s also RACE DAY at the Tyler County Speedway, assuming that Mother Nature cooperates. Gates open at 3 with mini-wedge at 5:30 and racing starting at 6 p.m. We are the listed sponsor of the SCRDA 4 - Cylinder class, by the way.

We are starting to layout the next issue and have a couple of spots open if you are looking for affordable advertising.

Over in Monroe County it’s Chamber Day at the fairgrounds, so when you have had your fill of yard sales (today is the 12 mile up Friendly Hill, go on over and enjoy the day.

On this day in 1816 Mount Tambora in Indonesia exploded, killing 10,000 people initially and causing crop failures across the globe. In part of New England there was frost and snow in June and July. 1816 was “the year without a summer.”

On this day in 1944 Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy started. The operation was the largest amphibious military operation in history and opened a second European front against N**i Germany. By daybreak 18,000 British and American paratroopers were already on the ground and by the day’s end 155,000 American, Canadian and British troops had successfully overcame Hitler’s Atlantic Wall defenses and were pushing inland.

Also on this day in 1933, during the Great Depression, Richard Hollingshead opened the first drive-in theater in Camden, New Jersey. Hollingshead, a movie fan and a sales manager for an auto parts company, came up with the idea because his mother found traditional movie theater seats uncomfortable.

He experimented by mounting a Kodak projector on the hood of his car in his driveway and suspending a screen between trees in his yard. The sound was initially provided by a radio hidden behind the screen. Calling his creation Park-In Theaters, he received a patent in May 1933 and built his first location, charging 25 cents a person and 25 cents per car.

His motto was “The whole family is welcome, regardless of how noisy the children are.”

And just last year Builder.ai, a Microsoft backed startup, then valued at $1.5 billion, collapsed after it was discovered that its AI was actually hundreds of Indian software engineers.

Weather:
Today will be good garage sale weather, partly cloudy with highs in the low 80s. Later in the day, well not talk about the storms.

Tonight, rain with lows in 65.

Sunday will be partly cloudy with highs in the mid 80s.

Traffic:
Nothing much to report. If you are going to be out traveling in one of the communities having their community sales today, please slow down as some of the little old ladies will bes kipping down the road between sales. They don’t always pay attention.

Currently at our Downtown Sistersville News Command Center it is 70 degrees under cloudy skies.

06/05/2026

Weather and Traffic
June 5, 2026 9:05 a.m.

Good Morning! Today is FRIDAY, June 5 in the year 2026 and here in our little slice of life it’s National Donut Day! Rejoice! Whose got the best Donuts around? My vote is McHappy’s!

Sure, some people, who have never had a ring of McHappy’s love, will say something about a donut fortress.

I would go into who I think has the worst but then I would start complaining about their crappy service and how when they tell you at the drive-through they have what you want but when you get to the window they tell you they don’t because they don’t know what they sell.

I think they should change their motto from ‘runs on’ to ‘runs from.’ But then again, the Lord Almighty is good, they also sell k-cups. Love their coffee.

And I am uncaffinated at the moment and rather curmudgeonly, as a result.

The rest of this week’s INNformer should be out everywhere today. Barring, of course, another water leak.

Okay class. Time to tune out, just like you did in high School?

On this day in 1933 FDR took the U.S. off of the gold standard as congress voted to end payments in gold in commercial transactions.

Ready to learn some basic economic history, class?

There was a time when you could take your dollar bills to a bank and exchange them for a set amount of gold, or later, silver. The number of dollar bills in circulation was determined by how much gold the Feds had on-hand. You know, all that gold in Fort Knox.

On April 5, 1933, Roosevelt ordered that all gold coin, bullion and gold certificates held by private citizens be turned over to the Federal Reserve, compensation set by the government at $20.67 per once, or $695.31 in today’s dollars, which would have been $459.68 in 2022's dollars.

Do you follow? In just four years there was a $235 difference because the dollar lost value.

The next year, 1934, the government decided that the gold they now owned was worth $35.00 an ounce, increasing the value of the gold they held by 69 percent. They then printed more dollars to inflate the money supply. The $35 per ounce remained the value of gold until 1971 when President Nixon announced that the US would longer convert dollars to gold at a fixed value.

So, prior to 1971 the number of dollars in circulation was determined by how much gold the government had. Afterwards it was determined by the Federal Reserve, a privately owned bank, and the political whims of the time. They can print as many dollars as their presses can handle without worrying about how gold or silver they had to back it up.

Later, I may take a stab at explaining the digital economy.

I know, I know. Yawn. Easier to go pay twice as much for that can of peas then to bother to understand why.

Weather:
Today will be mostly sunny with highs in the mid 80s. Tonight will be cloudy with lows in the mid 60s.

For tomorrow- hopefully race day at the Tyler County Speedway, increasing clouds with highs in the lower 80s. As for precipitation? Lets not talk about that just yet as the forecast by the boys with the expensive ties and fancy computers keep pushing back what they expect us to have.

Currently at our Downtown Sistersville News Command Center it is 64 degrees under clear skies.

06/04/2026

Weather and Traffic
June 4, 2026 8:33 a.m.

Good Morning! Today is, I think, THURSDAY, June 4, 2026 and here in our little slice of heaven it’s Audacity to Hope Day, National Cheese Day and Hug Your Cat Day.

So go ahead, hug your cat and have the audacity to hope that it doesn’t scratch the hell out of you. I had a Siamese for somewhere around 20 years, when I hugged her she would start growling.

Fun fact, I could play her like a bagpipe and do a reasonable rendition of the Star Spangled Banner with her. For the high note, well that’s what the tail is for. She was very musical.

And no, I don’t hug our current cat, Kung Pow- Meow. (The dash is silent.) She is adopted. I didn’t want to but the wife insisted. I agreed, as long as I got to name her. She’s not the smartest and likes to stalk our huskies.

The huskies, they like to be hugged.

Cheese! Need I say more?

The latest edition of the INNformer is out for distribution. In it we have the Monroe Central Graduation as well as Tyler Consolidated's Teacher and Service Member of the Year.

Speaking of cheese, on this day in June 1422 France’s King Charles VI granted a monopoly for the cave ripening of cheese to Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, creating Roquefort Blue Cheese.

Legend has it that the a Frenchman discovered the aging technique for this ewes’ milk cheese when he forgot his lunch in a cave and rediscovered it a couple of months later. Looking at the moldy cheese, he muttered something in French and ate it anyways, discovering its tasty and tangy qualities.

In 1876 an express train arrived in San Francisco after leaving New York City 83 hours earlier. It astonished people that the entire continent could be crossed in four days.

In 1896 Henry Ford test drove his Quadricycle, the first automobile that he ever built.

And on this date in 1937 inventor, entrepreneur and grocery store owner Slyvan Goldman introduced the first shopping cart at the Humpty Dumpty supermarket in Oklahoma City. Basing his design on a wooden folding chair, his carts were slow to catch on. Men thought that they were ‘effeminate’ while some women were put off because they reminded them of a baby carriage.

Goldman had to hire models, both male and female, to push his new invention around the store and show shoppers how convenient they were and to explain their use before these carts caught on.

Weather:
Today will be mostly sunny with a high in the mid 80s. For tonight, clear with lows in the mid 50s. For tomorrow, partly cloudy with highs again in the mid-80s.

Traffic:
In looks like the slip work on Route 18 between Middlebourne and Sistersville is done, for the moment and that New Martinsville remains to be annoying.

Currently at our Downtown Sistersville News Command Center it is 60 degrees under clear skies.

06/03/2026

Weather and Traffic
June 3, 2026 8:05 a.m.

GOOD MORNING! Today is Wednesday, the third day of the sixth month of the two thousand and twenty-sixth year, Anno Domini. I think. Well, I know the year and the month is right, those days really seem to blend together here in our little slice of heaven.

Our little slice of heaven, where it’s Love Conquers All Day, National Simp Day and, if neither apply, it’s also Insect Repellent Awareness Day.

The latest issue of the INNformer will be out for distribution starting tomorrow and we are already working on the next issue. If your club or non-profit organization hasn’t antagonized me in the past and has an event coming up let us know and we will try to fit it in to our event calendar.

On this day, in 1754 Lt. Colonel George Washington, then leading a Virginia militia unit, began to build Fort Necessity to defend against the French soldiers enraged by the murder of French diplomat de Juminville by the Mingo Chief Half-Crown while he was in Washington’s custody.

On this day in 1784 the United States Army was officially formed as the successor of the Continental Army, which was formed in 1775 and were the regular army during the Revolution.

However, when the Continental Army was formed there were high hopes that Quebec would join the revolt and the army would truly be continental. That, of course, didn’t happen.

In 1851 the first baseball uniforms were worn by the New York Knickerbockers, and consisted of straw hats, white shirts and blue long trousers and 37 years later there was no joy in Mudville that night, as the Mighty Casey stuck out. It was on this date that the poem Casey at Bat was first published.

And, finally, in 1965 Edward White II opened the hatch of the Gemini 4 and became the first American to walk in space. Well, actuall, he kinda floated around, praying that his tether didn’t break.

Weather:
Sunny and pleasant today, high in the lower 80s. For tonight, clear, low around 50. For tomorrow, sun with highs in the mid 80s.

Traffic:
I was going to say that the primary roads are generally clear with icy patches while the secondaries and goat paths are covered with slush and haven’t been plowed yet but then someone would assume that I am using AI to produce this nonsense.

And remember folks, AI, like old goats, isn’t above telling a lie.

Roads are usual. Gas in Sistersville is $4.39 a gallon.

Currently at our Downtown Sistersville News Command Center it is 54 degrees under clear skies.

When news happens don’t call my cell phone for a few days. Those shatter proof screens certainly do.

06/01/2026

Weather and Traffic
June 1, 2026 9:10 a.m.

Good Morning! Today is MONDAY, the first day of June in the year 2026. And here in our little slice of life it’s Oscar the Grouch Day, World Narcissistic Abuse Awareness Day and Wear a Dress Day, which I simply won’t do. A toga? Sure. A kilt? Maybe. Dress- no. I don’t have the legs for it.

The latest issue of the INNformer will be out later this week. If you have a business and want to have an ad in the next issue please let me know ASAP. Limited space is still available.

Ever wonder why it’s June? All roads lead to Rome....

The Latin name for June is Junius. One of the more popular months for being married, a legend is that the month was named after the Roman goddess Juno, the goddess of marriage and the wife of the supreme deity Jupiter. Summer begins on June 21.

On this date in 1774 the Boston Port Act was passed in London in response to December’ 1773 Boston Tea Party. The Act, part of the set termed “Intolerable” by the colonies, closed Boston Harbor to any and all shipping traffic and moved the colony’s seat of government up to Salem, home of the witch trials, and made nearby Marblehead the port of entry.

During my misspent youth I worked as an architectural designer in Marblehead, which is the birthplace of the American navy. There isn’t any marble there, the name derives from the stubbornest and intelligence of those who lived on the spit.

The people of Boston protested that the Crown was punishing everyone in the colony for the actions of the very few who were actually involved, thus violating their rights as subjects of King George III and as Englishmen.

While the Boston Port Act was catastrophic to Boston, whose economy was based on shipping and fishing, it did cause other colonies to take notice. If London would close Boston’s Port and destroy their economy then London could do the same to them.

On this date in 1813 James Lawrence, commander of the frigate USS Chesapeake, gave the command “Don’t give up the ship, fight her till she sink ” after being mortally wounded during a battle with the HMS Shannon off the Massachusetts coast during the War of 1812.

Upon learning of Lawrence’s death, Oliver Hazard Perry ordered a large blue battle ensign, stitched with the phrase “Don’t give up the Ship” in large white letters. The Perry Flag was flying on his flagship during his victorious engagement with the British on Lake Erie in September 1813.

Weather:
Today will be mostly sunny with low humidity, high in the mid 70s. Tonight’s low in the mid- 50s. Tomorrow will be partly cloudy with highs in the mid 70s.

Traffic:
Nothing unusual this morning.

Currently at our Downtown Sistersville News Command Center it is 60 degrees under mostly sunny skies. And now its back to work...

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