Mozier is History Hero
Jeanne Mozier was among dozens of West Virginians honored by the State Legislature as a History Hero on Wednesday, February 23 in Charleston. Mozier, a Morgan County resident for more than 30 years, was nominated for
the award by the Museum of the Berkeley Springs, which she helped start in 1984. In 2003, she led the charge to stimulate more involvement in the Museum, in order to keep its doors open.
As a Museum volunteer, Mozier has created three major exhibits about the springs – one about James Rumsey’s connection to the area, another exploring the formation of the Town of Bath and recounting
the fires of Bath, and the last tracing the various bath houses of Berkeley Springs.
Mozier has also written the Museum’s annual newsletter since 2003, and developed and maintains all the museum content for the Virtual Museum Website. She also helped raise more than $50,000 for building renovations, exhibits and operation of the website.
Mozier’s history interests extend far beyond the springs in the center of Berkeley Springs. As a board member of the Washington Heritage Trail, she has researched and developed the text and images for 10 interpretive signs for the Morgan County portion of the National Scenic Byway. She completed another 10 signs for the trail in 2005, in addition to securing funding for educational brochures and signs throughout the Eastern Panhandle.
In addition to spreading the word about local history, Mozier’s work as an author has highlighted West Virginia’s rich history to readers both inside the state’s boundaries and out. Among her many works are articles published in Goldenseal, entries in the West Virginia Encyclopedia, and articles about state attractions in many regional and national magazines.
Her travel guide Way Out in West Virginia has sold out in multiple printings, and provides a thorough picture of the wild and wonderful bits of the Mountain State. Mozier has a long list of other works based on history or Morgan County culture. They include plays, short stories, the Apple Butter Festival Memory Book, and a novel in the works.
Currently, Mozier is working with another local history champion, Betty Lou Harmison, compiling photos and historical information for Images of Berkeley Springs, forthcoming from Acadia Publishing this summer. The book will include 500 historic photographs of the area.
On the state level, Mozier has championed history through her role on the West Virginia Arts Advocacy Team and West Virginia Commission on the Arts – reviewing and awarding grants to arts and historic structures throughout the state.
In one of her few non-volunteer roles, Mozier and husband Jack Soronen run The Star Theatre in downtown Berkeley Springs, as they have done for several decades. They’ve retained the 1940’s décor of the historic movie theater, which is on the WV Historic Theater tour.
