News…

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Carter Taylor Seaton will present “The Rebel in the Red Jeep: The Life of Ken Hechler” on Thursday, Sept. 21, in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center, State Capitol Complex in Charleston. The program will begin at 6 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Seaton will discuss her latest book The Rebel in the Red Jeep: Ken Hechler’s Life in West Virginia Politics (WVU Press, 2017) chronicling the life of Ken Hechler, who passed away at the age of 102 having led a full life of service to his nation, state and community. Hechler served in the United States House of Representatives from 1959 to 1977 and was West Virginia Secretary of State from 1985 to 2001. Among his other accomplishments, he wrote The Bridge at Remagen: The Amazing Story of March 7, 1945, the Day the Rhine River Was Crossed, first published in 1957.

Along with The Rebel in the Red Jeep, Seaton is the author of two novels, Father’s Trouble$ (Mid-Atlantic Highlands Pub., 2004) and amo, amas, amat…an unconventional love story (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2011), and a nonfiction book, Hippie Homesteaders: Arts, Crafts, Music, and Living on the Land in West Virginia (WVU Press, 2014). She holds a Tamarack Foundation Fellowship Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts, and the West Virginia Library Association honored her with the 2014 WVLA Literary Merit Award. Marshall University’s College of Liberal Arts honored her with an Award of Distinction in 2015, and she received the Governor’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts in 2016.

For additional information, contact the Archives and History Library at (304) 558-0230.

Patrons may park behind the Culture Center after 5 p.m. on Sept. 21 and enter the building at the back loading dock area. The new bus turnaround is open, and handicapped spots are available there. Visitors parking there should enter at the front of the building.

The West Virginia Division of Culture and History is an agency within the Office of Secretary of Education and the Arts with Gayle Manchin, cabinet secretary. The division, led by Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith, brings together the past, present and future through programs and services focusing on archives and history, arts, historic preservation and museums. For more information about the division’s programs, events and sites, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

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