Mabel's Courier Collection

These are absolutely worth folding into Mabel Hull’s Wheeling canon.

The Pittsburgh Courier Column is bigger than a side note: it shows that Mabel was not only documenting Black Wheeling for Wheeling, but also translating Black Wheeling to a regional and national Black readership.

The Pittsburgh Courier

The Pittsburgh Courier was once one of the most powerful Black newspapers in America. Founded in 1907, it grew into a nationally circulated paper under Robert Lee Vann and, by the 1930s and 1940s, stood alongside papers like the Chicago Defender and the Afro-American as one of the most widely read Black newspapers in the country.

It fought for better housing, health care, education, political power, labor rights, and truthful representation of African Americans in public life. At its height, the Courier had multiple editions across the country and became famous for major civil-rights campaigns, including the World War II “Double V” campaign for victory against fascism abroad and racism at home. PBS, “The Pittsburgh Courier”, National Park Service, “James G. Thompson”

That is what makes Mabel M. Hull’s “Breezes From Wheeling” so remarkable.

Here was a Black woman columnist from Jim Crow Wheeling being given space not only in her hometown newspaper, but also in a major Black-owned newspaper with a readership far beyond the Ohio Valley.

Her Courier columns carried Wheeling’s churches, clubs, students, veterans, musicians, athletes, travelers, and family circles into a much larger Black public square. For the Foundation, these clippings are precious because they prove that Wheeling’s Black community was not isolated, silent, or invisible.

Through Mabel’s pen, Wheeling was in conversation with Pittsburgh, Columbus, Detroit, Washington, New York, Wilberforce, Howard, Hampton, Notre Dame, West Virginia State, and the wider Black world.

While we do not have dates for when each column was published, they are preserved in her personal scrapbooks, we will simply number each clipping.

Please enjoy these summaries along with the more lengthly summaries of Mabel's columns from the Wheeling News Register

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Breezes From Wheeling: Column Summaries

Archive Clipping	Summary
Breezes 1	Mabel opens with a lively Christmas week in Wheeling, describing gift exchanges, holiday dinners, dances, open houses, and the near-zero weather that did not stop the celebrations. She places young people and adults in the same social frame: a dance at the Pythian Ballroom, Walt Harper furnishing music at Market Auditorium, teen parties at the Chapline Street club, basketball games between Lincoln High and its alumni, Blessed Martin and its alumni, a skating party at Island Roll Rink, and the Beau Brummells Club’s eighteenth annual winter formal. The column is a vivid snapshot of Black Wheeling’s holiday season in motion.
Breezes 2	This column centers on the eighteenth annual Beau Brummell Christmas Ball at the Pythian Temple, with Mabel describing the grand march led by Mr. and Mrs. Herman Newman Jr., the new hall, Bob Schmidt’s orchestra, elegant gowns, and an overflowing roll call of guests. She names dozens of Wheeling, Martins Ferry, Bellaire, college, military, and out-of-town attendees, showing the Beau Brummell affair as both social highlight and regional network. She also notes Lucy Bernice Johnson of Bellaire, a Howard University student and dramatic soprano, who was to sing at President Truman’s inauguration.
Breezes 3	Mabel moves between national culture and local talent. She writes about choosing to listen to the Louis-Walcott fight at home rather than attend Lionel Hampton’s concert, then praises Hampton as a great showman and hopes Newman and White will bring him back. The column highlights May Elizabeth Fassiz’s annual “Tot and Teens Revue” at the Capitol Theatre, naming young dancers Wilbur Newsome, Garry Hull, Constance Stephany, Gwendolyn Campbell, Lee Stewart, Mildred Stewart, Kathryn Huff, Gloria Dennis, and Dorothy Jackson. She also notes Blue Triangle YWCA activity, social clubs, travel, and Post 660 of the American Legion in Bridgeport.
Breezes 4A	One clipping celebrates Santa Claus arriving in Wheeling by helicopter and praises the Lincoln High School Band for its strong showing in a huge industrial parade before an audience reported at 125,000 people. Mabel’s pride is unmistakable: Lincoln’s band had a public stage, fine uniforms, and a chance to be seen as part of the city’s civic life. The column also notes college students returning for Thanksgiving, Dr. James H. White entertaining with John Westray’s orchestra, and the “Grooveneers” drawing attention at Club Rendezvous.
Breezes 4B	Another fragment announces the return of Roland Hayes, one of the world’s great vocalists, to Wheeling under the Thursday Music Club. Mabel also records a gathering of the Lampado and Pyramid Clubs, directed by Miss June Gwynn and Joe Saunders, welcoming “big brothers and sisters,” Omegas and Deltas, with chaperones including Miss Ann Marbury, Mrs. Blackburn, and Mr. McKinzie. This clipping is another strong example of Mabel connecting elite Black culture, Greek-letter life, music, and Wheeling social space.
Breezes 4C	In a third clipping, Mabel dedicates the column to mothers and National Music Week. She riffs on the national radio craze “Stop the Music,” mentions Cab Calloway, and then turns to local church and music life. She notes a mother and five children from Whitaker, Pennsylvania, who formed a quintet and were scheduled to appear at Wayman AME Church. She also records the funeral rites for Robert B. Jenkins Jr., identifying his education, World War I service, marriage to Emma D. Mitchell, and associations with Wayman AME and local lodges.
Breesez 5	This winter column opens with a “grande promenade” on the Avenue during spring-like weather, then pivots to the March of Dimes and the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. Mabel notes Mabel Campbell of Moundsville and Launbural Springs visiting Arthur Graves in Pittsburgh after a drunk-driving accident, the Macedonia Baptist senior choir’s Christmas party at Flossie Gordon’s home, and Dr. Reed Miller, former minister of the United Presbyterian Church at Fourteenth Street and president of Knoxville College, visiting Simpson Memorial Methodist Church.
Breezes 6	This column is heavily church-centered. Mabel reports Children’s Day at Simpson M.E. Church, with Anna Bush in a leading role, the Brown brothers playing a clarinet duet, Gertrude Dickson as Sunday School superintendent, and Rev. Richard Clifford as pastor. Macedonia Baptist observed Father’s Day, Rev. Cox spoke on “A Father’s Failure,” and Wayman AME’s Usher Board gave a special program. She also records a Daily Vacation Bible School opening at Macedonia Baptist, illnesses and deaths in the community, Women’s Day at Macedonia, and a Bethany College summer Y-Teen conference involving Lillian Gordon, Marian Newman, Mrs. O. T. Shannon, and Rev. Cox.
Breezes 7	Mabel opens with anxiety over strikes, the Russian atom bomb, and the coal strike’s effect on families dependent on the mines. She then turns to Lincoln pride: the Lincoln Boosters Association had raised nearly $1,800 for new athletic equipment, and the Panthers defeated Weirton-Dunbar 52-6 at Island Stadium while the Weirton-Dunbar band entertained the crowd. She also urges motorists to slow down near schools, writes about Wheeling Downs, jokes about learning Canasta, comments on women resisting shorter skirt lengths, praises singer Annabelle Williams, and records Loretta White’s twelfth birthday party and several visitors.
Breezes 8	This column preserves several civic institutions at once. Mabel reports that American Legion Post 89 was so popular it had to hold a general opening, with Mr. and Mrs. Richard McCoy and daughter Phyllis as guests. She notes the organization of the Lincoln Alumni Club with Oliver Shannon as president, Mrs. Amy Law as vice president, Mrs. Catherine Harris as secretary, and Mrs. James Pryor as treasurer. Lincoln P-TA hosted Gilbert Bachman, who spoke on Fire Prevention Week, and Philip Reed addressed the conservation of youth. She also mentions pianist Hazel Harrison’s recital in Steubenville and the disappointment over the cancellation of “Harlem-on-Ice.”
Breezes 9	This is one of the richest civil-rights columns in the set. Mabel writes about the Beta Theta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha hosting national president Soror Edna Over Gray. She names Geraldine Newman and Martha Brown as hosts, describes a midnight supper, lists sorors and guests, and notes a public tea at Macedonia Baptist Church. Most importantly, she reports that Mrs. Gray praised Mabel’s earlier column on segregation in Wheeling, which had stirred public interest and prompted letters demanding that Black residents be admitted to theaters. The column also mentions Marian Newman, Mrs. Eugene Jones of Moundsville, Ruth Cornwell of West Virginia State, visitors from New York, and NAACP activity, including Phyllis Wheatley, Babe Hamlin, and others.
Breezes 10	This graduation-season column is a treasure for Lincoln and Blessed Martin history. Mabel reports that Lincoln High School commencement would feature Roland Hayes as guest orator at Wheeling High School, with Reginald Boardman accompanying him. Nineteen graduates were to receive diplomas, with Philip N. Reed as principal. She notes Lincoln prom activities, George Hughes chairing the Junior-Senior Prom, Rev. James E. Vox preaching the baccalaureate sermon at Macedonia Baptist, and the Girls Glee Club singing “The Lord’s Prayer.” She also highlights Lillian Gordon’s honor in the West Virginia History test and Blessed Martin P-TA officers Raymond Francis, Emma Dennis, Gwendolyn Hunter, and Jane Campbell.
Breezes 11	This clipping captures family celebration and regional social ties. Mabel reports a joint anniversary party for Mr. and Mrs. James Woods of Lind Street and the James Wallaces of Twelfth Street, with Bert Scott also honored for his birthday. Guests included Lawrence Hunter, Norman Briggs, Henry Law, Bert Scott, William Dennis, James Wallace, and Naomi Wright. She also welcomes Chester Daniels of Bellaire and Oregon home after receiving a Hamilton wristwatch from the Cotton Bowl, notes the birth of Linda Lou Full in Smithfield, Ohio, reports Mrs. Virgis Bell’s return from Martins Ferry Hospital, and mentions visitors from Pittsburgh, Detroit, Cleveland, and a musical by the Robert Cooper group at St. Paul’s AME Church.

Sources And Notes

• These summaries are based on the physical clipping scans containing undated Pittsburgh Courier columns titled “Breezes From Wheeling” by Mabel M. Hull.

• For Courier background: PBS, “The Pittsburgh Courier”; National Park Service, “James G. Thompson: Originator of the Double V Campaign.”

• Mabel M. Hull scrapbooks, Archives and Special Collections, Ohio County Public Library, Wheeling, WV.