| By Bob Weaver 2024
The man was a real West Virginia philanthropist.
Historically, Wood County residents recall oil and gas millionaire W. H. Bickel (1877-1946) - "Uncle Wig" as every kids uncle, frequently giving away his assets back to the community, sharing his wealth to make people happy.
He made three fortunes in the oil and gas business, losing two of them.
A 1938 Washington Times newspaper article aptly described him:
"Wig Bickel is to Parkersburg what Andrew Carnegie and the Ringling Brothers is to America... But instead of lying down to enjoy his money, getting up at 5 a.m. and working 18 hours a day, wearing dirty old clothes and leaping from here to there like a Hollywood producer with 20 telephones ringing at once."
"He does a lot of whimsical things with his money...always showing up for every community event, never trying to run things."
Centerpiece of the W. H. Bickel Estate on the outskirts of Parkersburg, now on the National Historical Register, was built about 1928, an illustrious structure with 1,800 square feet. It had 15 French doors and a third floor dance hall.
The impressive grounds was a showplace, the 400-acre property visited by thousands of regional residents, a stone carriage house, fountains, and horse track.
Perhaps best remembered by children was the park, playgrounds, a zoo, pond, buffalo, exotic birds, a place my parents took me to after the end of World War II.
Calhoun resident Harry Holiday, a Bickel family member, came to the county to develop and manage the Bickel oil and gas interests, and about 28 years ago, his son John Holiday donated a packet of stories of the long time endeavors, used in this story.
See BICKEL PHOTOS under Photo of the Day...
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