Agriculture and Forestry Hall of Fame to Induct Four New Members

Induction in the WVAFHF is reserved for those individuals, businesses, organizations, institutions and foundations that have made outstanding contributions to the establishment, development, advancement and improvement of the agricultural, forestry and family life of West Virginia. The WVAFHF Foundation was chartered in 1974. In 1976, the Board of Governors voted to include forestry professionals in the Hall of Fame.

Richard J. Glass was born March 1, 1921, in Sissonville, West Virginia. At a young age, he developed a passion for agriculture and science. After graduating high school in 1939, Richard attended Morris Harvey College for two years, majoring in biology. Glass enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1941 and served for the duration of World War II. He was honorably discharged in 1945. Following his military service, Glass enrolled at West Virginia University (WVU), and in 1947, married Elizabeth "Betsy" Ellison, also a student at WVU. They proceeded to have two children, Diane and David. Glass graduated from WVU with a B.S. in ag education in 1949 and put his degree to use as a teacher in West Virginia public schools for 23 years until his retirement in 1972. He was selected as the 1971 West Virginia Teacher of the Year. Following his retirement, Glass served as the administrator for the Preston County Educational Center for 14 years.

Ephe M. Olliver was born September 21, 1906, in Hastings, Pennsylvania. While working on a teaching degree from Indiana State College in 1927, he realized that he was meant for an outdoors life, and in 1928 enrolled in the Forestry Program at Penn State University. He completed his Forestry degree at Louisiana State University. In 1933, Olliver began working with the U.S. Forest Service on the George Washington National Forest in Virginia. While there, he married Ardee Grey in 1934 before moving to Kentucky as part of a team to purchase land that would eventually become the Cumberland National Forest. While in Kentucky, Ardee and Olliver had two sons, Ephe A. and Grey M. Olliver. Olliver worked back and forth between the Monongahela and Cumberland Nationals Forests until 1952 when he transferred back to Monongahela, where he stayed as Forest Supervisor for 17 years until his retirement in 1969.

Larry Lee May was born March 1, 1945, in Kingwood, West Virginia. Instilled with a keen interest in the outdoors, he attended and graduated from WVU, earning a degree in Forest Management in 1966. After his graduation, he served with the U.S. Army Reserves. In 1971, May married Elaine Wilson and had two children, Emily and David Scott Wilson. After marrying, May went to work with the WV Division of Forestry as a service forester providing assistance to landowners in Grant, Hardy and Pendleton counties. As a service forester, he was an early promoter of best management practices (BMPs) for timber harvesting and sustainable forest management. During his time as a service forester, May started his own company, May Tree Enterprises, LLC, and began planting Christmas trees on his farm in Grant County. He worked for the WVDOF until the mid 1970s, when he took work at Kessel Lumber Company. For the 20 years he worked at Kessel, May continued to promote sustainable forest management and grow his own Christmas tree operation.

Paul E. Nesselroad was born February 19,1924, in Sedan, Kansas. In 1938, his family moved to Ravenswood, West Virginia, where he became active in FFA and by extension agriculture. In 1941, Nesselroad enrolled at WVU to study agricultural education. After enlisting in the U.S. Army, he returned to WVU in the fall of 1945 and graduated with a B.S. degree in agriculture two years later. After his graduation in 1947, he married Joanna Strosnider and they moved to Romney, WV, where he taught vocational agriculture. He is credited with the revival of the FFA and vocational program. Nesselroad resigned from his teaching position in 1950 to begin graduate study in ag economics at WVU. After finishing his coursework, he was appointed a research assistant in farm management at WVU. He served in this capacity until 1960, and then pursued further graduate work in agricultural economics and farm management at Penn State University. Nesselroad returned to WVU in 1963 as an assistant professor in farm management. As a professor, he was a pioneer in the introduction of the computer into agricultural economics classrooms at WVU. In 1971 he was promoted to associate professor, in '76 to professor of agricultural economics, and from 1983 until in 1989 he served as the chairman of the Department of Agricultural Economics.