526 Seventh Street: 1982 vs. 2015

In 1981, I was a young, inexperienced high school graduate looking for my first job. There are not many job opportunities in my small hometown, so I applied for jobs at Reynolds Memorial Hospital and all of the banks in Moundsville.  I did not receive any job offers for a few months, but in early 1982 I received a call from my former high school business teacher who informed me that attorney G. Charles Hughes was looking for a good typist.  He told me that he had given me a good recommendation and that I would probably be hearing from Mr. Hughes.  True to his word, I received a call from Mr. Hughes one cold, snowy, January day in 1982, and I was asked to go to his office in Moundsville and take a typing test.   That same week, I received a job offer as a bank teller from United Bank where a friend was working.  Following my typing test, I did receive a job offer from Mr. Hughes as well, and I soon found myself faced with a decision--bank teller or legal secretary?  I can’t believe that it was actually a hard decision for me to make, but I was young and naïve.  I started my job as a legal secretary in February 1982 at G. Charles Hughes, L.C., 526 Seventh St., Moundsville, W. Va.  This is, of course, now the Moundsville office of Bordas & Bordas.  I have always had a love of antiques and all things “old” so the moment I very shyly and fearfully stepped inside the old “bank building” for my first day of work in 1982, I immediately loved the place.  At that time, the building actually housed two law offices—G. Charles Hughes, L.C., facing Seventh Street, and Madden & Whorton, in the rear of the building facing Court Avenue.  Madden & Whorton at that time consisted of attorneys John T. Madden, Mark A. Karl, and B. Michael Whorton.  As many of you know, John T. “Jack” Madden and Mark A. Karl went on to become Judges of the Second Judicial Circuit.

I stayed with Mr. Hughes, or as we called him “Charlie” for a couple of years, took time off to start my family and returned to work for Charlie a second time before I moved on to other offices and a legal career that has now spanned 34 years.  In 2015, after taking a break from the legal field for a year and a half, I had the opportunity to jump back in.  The opening was with Bordas & Bordas and it was in the old bank building at 526 Seventh Street where I first got started all of those years ago.  When I stepped into the old bank building again all I could think was “wow”.  Still the same old bank building with the original bank vaults and teller windows, but also a much improved, beautifully and thoughtfully restored old building.   There are a lot of changes that have taken place in the building, but there are so many things that are the same and that bring back memories.  The old mural proclaiming the building as “The Merchants Bank of Glory,” which was painted for the movie Fools’ Parade that was filmed in Moundsville in 1971 is still here.   The original bank vaults are still here, and we still use the old vaults for file storage, just like we did in the 80s.  The spiral stairs were installed by Charlie to gain access to the “mezzanine,” which was his work room, and they are still here for access to the second floor.  What we use as a conference room now, was actually Charlie’s “good office” where he would meet with clients.  I could be wrong, but it looks like the original flooring is still in that office.  The area outside our conference room is where our photocopier stood in 1982 when we finally got one.  Believe it or not, copiers have not always been around and I remember using carbon paper between 2 sheets of paper to make a copy of a letter, which I would type on a typewriter instead of a computer.  Walking down the back hallway is the library area of our office and it is much the same as it was clear back in the early 80s because it was also our library area then, and one of the downstairs restrooms is still located where it used to be.  The part of this old building that is actually new to me is the upstairs, because most of that was occupied by Madden & Whorton.  We now have several roomy offices upstairs for attorneys and staff, so the building is very spacious.

Being in this old, historic building brings back a lot of memories and I am so proud to be working here again.  I enjoy showing the building to clients and friends when they ask to see it and giving them a history lesson as we walk through.  It will always be special to me because it’s where a lifelong career began and where lifetime friendships were formed.  It was beautiful in 1982, and it is even more beautiful now.  I understand that it was in a state of disrepair when it was purchased by Bordas & Bordas.  I am so glad that they saw the potential and the beauty in this old place that I have always seen and decided to bring it back to its former glory.  Bordas & Bordas—you did this well.