CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state will welcome 227 new members to the prestigious ranks of Knights and Ladies of the Golden Horseshoe Tuesday.
Those students who just completed the 8th grade will be recognized in three separate ceremonies at the Culture Center in Charleston for excellence in their study of West Virginia history and scoring high on the annual Golden Horseshoe exam. West Virginia 8th graders are required to take West Virginia history. The best of those students can take the test in an effort to win the coveted Golden Horseshoe award.
The first state awards were handed out in 1931. However, the legacy of the Golden Horseshoe in West Virginia dates all the way back to 1716 when Governor of Virginia Colony Alexander Spotswood organized a party of men to travel west, over the rugged Allegheny Mountains, which today is West Virginia. As a token of his appreciation for their bravery in the endeavor, he awarded each member off the party a small golden horseshoe for crossing the mountains.
Three honorary Golden Horseshoes will be handed out during those ceremonies on Tuesday. The three recipients include Lori Cowger Dittman of Braxton County, Jason Gump of Jackson County and Alexis Fisher of Lewis County.
The ceremony schedules are:
Ceremony 1, 9 a.m. recognizes recipients from Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Fayette, Harrison, Jackson, Kanawha, Lewis, Lincoln, Logan, Marion, Putnam, Roane, Wayne and Wirt counties.
Ceremony 2, 11 a.m. recognizes recipients from Gilmer, Greenbrier, Mason, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Nicholas, Pleasants, Raleigh, Randolph, Ritchie, Summers, Tyler, Upshur, Webster, Wetzel, Wood, Wyoming counties and West Virginia Public Charter Schools.
Ceremony 3, 1:30 p.m. recognizes recipients from Barbour, Berkeley, Brooke, Doddridge, Grant, Hampshire, Hancock, Hardy, Jefferson, Marshall, Mineral, Monongalia, Morgan, Ohio, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Preston, Taylor, Tucker counties and the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.