Area bed and breakfasts provide romantic getaway

CLAYSVILLE – Guests at historic Montgomery Mansion Bed & Breakfast have the luxury of relaxing their tense muscles in a shower, whose stall also doubles as a sauna. “People swear by that. They say, ‘Oh, my God,’” said Shirley Smith, who, along with her husband, Butch, owns the more than 120-year-old, High Victorian house along Route 40 in Claysville.
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A visit to the Homer Laughlin China Co., home of Fiestaware

NEWELL, W.Va. – Handpainted on a Sunflower Fiesta dinner plate perched high atop a shelf in the Homer Laughlin China Co. museum: “Jill, will you marry me? Jim” And you thought the iconic Art Deco ware was just for serving up some meat and potatoes.
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A conversation with James Sulkowski

His paintings hang on the walls of a museum in Saudi Arabia and in the home of former President George H.W. Bush, and he travels the country to teach art classes.
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Guitarist turns talents to making guitars

A customer once asked Tony Janflone Sr. where he earned his engineering degree. The luthier – or guitar-maker – replied that he has nothing of the sort.
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Specializing in art and antiques, Three Rivers Auction Co. is Washington County’s only auction house

Tripp Kline is a natural fit for the auction business, having absorbed the business from his grandmother, who ran an antique shop for three decades.
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Area wineries offer taste of something special

Mention wine country, and many people think of the lush vineyards of Napa Valley, Tuscany or Bordeaux. But Washington County residents might be surprised to know that they need to travel no farther than their backyard for good wine.
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Here we go a-wassailing

Throw in some cinnamon, perhaps some cloves, and maybe an alcoholic cider base or a key lime base. A few more ingredients and you have the recipe for the annual Zibrida family “Wassail-Off.”
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O-R readers share their favorite ways to celebrate holidays

By Karen Mansfield The holiday season is marked by tradition: enjoying Thanksgiving dinner, hanging Christmas ornaments, singing Christmas carols. What truly makes Thanksgiving and Christmas memorable are those traditions and rituals that families celebrate together.
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A conversation with ... Santa Claus

Santa is gearing up for his busiest time of the year, but the jolly old Elf graciously agreed to an exclusive 15minute interview from his headquarters at the North Pole, via Skype, with Living in Washington County.
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A visit to the Jimmy Stewart Museum in Indiana

INDIANA, Pa. – From “Murder Man” in 1935 to “An American Tail: Fievel Goes West” in 1990, Jimmy Stewart played all types: the voyeuristic, commitmentphobic photographer in “Rear Window”; the remorse-riddled outlaw in “Bend of the River,” and the blackmailed, paralyzed millionaire in the 1978 version of “The Big Sleep,” to name just three.
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