During her youth, Penny lived on the floor above the bar at 118 Market Steet, the tan corner building shown above. Route 250 is the highway just to the right of the building. It is the route between Wheeling (to the west) and Fairmont (to the east). The bar was the store-front at the far right of the tan double building. In the 1970's this would become "The Pizza Crust", a restaurant operated by Penny's brother, Nader (with his Barber Shop in the rear). Nader and his wife, Pam, later operated a Funnel Cake business. Nader passed away in March, 2002. Pam continues to operate the Funnel Cake business.
Penny's father was a Lebanese immigrant to the United States, one of many in the community of Mannington. He emigrated to Mannington in 1919 at the age of 19 from Beit Meri (House of Mary), Lebanon, some six miles from Beirut. The April-September 1978 edition of Goldenseal, a magazine about West Virginia History and Culture, contains an article about the Lebanese Community in Mannington. Entitled "Two Hundred Pounds or More," it was written by a Mannington clergyman, Arthur C. Prichard. Dr. Prichard concludes his article with this tribute to the Lebanese immigrants: "The Lebanese who came to Mannington had difficulties to overcome and restricted oppoprtunities. They were in a foreign country with its strange ways and different language. Many of the newcomers did not know English nor were they highly trained. Yet the vast majority made a living, brought variety into our society, learned to communicate, became American citizens, contributed to the community, and made a place for themselves and their families. A number of them aided their children to have greater opportunities than they had. Some second and third generation northern West Virginia Lebanese have become teachers, nurses, businessmen and women, skilled artisans, lawyers, dentists, medical doctors, engineers, computer experts, and other highly trained persons. We can only be grateful to the Lebanese who have enriched our town and many other communities in our country.
In 1961, a Baltimore and Ohio railroad engine crashed through the rear of Raad's Bar, actually entering the bar area at 2:00 a.m. Fortunately, no on was injured. Penny was asleep upstairs when the incident occurred. The current owner of the bar has immortalized the incident with this mural at the site of the "break-in" and by calling his bar "Sidetracked".
Here is the picture of engine #4595 from the inside of Raad's Bar.
Penny's mother, Ann Doshen (1912-1995), a Farmington, West Virginia girl, was of Croatian descent. Her parents, Joseph (1878-1947) and Barbara (1882-1952) Doshen, migrated from Zagreb in the early 1900's, first locating in Lackawana, New York, then arriving in West Virgina somewhere around 1909.
Penny lived in Manington for 22 years, when, in 1970, she moved to New Jersey with her husband, Joe Laufer.