EDITOR’S NOTE:The four-member BHS Hall of Fame Class of 2016 will be recognized Sept. 17 at the Bridgeport Conference Center. Social hour will kick off the evening at 6 p.m. It will be followed dinner at 7 p.m. The cost to attend is $30 and tickets can be purchased by contacting the high school, any member of the Foundation or Darletta Stout, Foundation President, at 304-203-8300.

 

Walter L. Barth was a 1954 graduate of Shinnston High School and attended Fairmont State College. He began his career in Cleveland, OH and then worked out of Marion, Upshur and Harrison Counties in West Virginia for C&P Telephone Company. Walter retired in 1995 after 35 years of service. After retirement he was hired as the Executive Director of the Harrison County Chamber of Commerce. In recent years he worked part time with his friends at Dorsey Funeral Home and Bridgeport Country Club.

 

While working in Buckhannon he was a member of the Rotary Club, the Volunteer Fire Department, coach of the first youth football team, president of WV Wesleyan Athletic Boosters, vice president of the Jaycees, board member of the Buckhannon Country Club, president of the Strawberry Festival and was chosen Man of the Year in Upshur County.

 

As a longtime resident of Harrison County, Walter served on the Bridgeport City Council, the Bridgeport Planning Commission and the Bridgeport Development Authority. He was also appointed to the Harrison County Development Authority and was president of the Mon Valley Chamber of Commerce serving Harrison, Marion, and Monongalia Counties. He was a member of the Clarksburg Rotary Club and was president of the Clarksburg Exchange Club. He was a board member and president of the Shinnston Alumni Association. Walter was appointed by the governor of West Virginia to serve on the Adult Literacy Board for the state. He also served on the Board of Directors of United Hospital Center, the United Physicians Care of Central WV and the West Virginia University Health Systems.

 

Walter was a high school football official for 23 years. Because of his passion for the sport and Bridgeport High School, he also served as a volunteer football coach. He was chairperson for the first turf installation project at Bridgeport High and was in charge of field maintenance for several years. His hobbies included golf, antique cars, and following the WVU Mountaineers and Bridgeport High School athletics.

 

Walter's wife of 60 years, Lorraine, resides in Bridgeport. He is the father of Darletta Stout of Bridgeport and Ron Barth of Chicago, Illinois. He has five grandchildren.