Recently, Lynnda and I attended the Christmas Luncheon at the West Virginia Radio and TV Museum and Hall of Fame at Huntington. One of the presenters mentioned, “One of my claims to fame is, I was there and saw Chuck Yeager (the first man to break the sound barrier) fly his jet under the Southside Bridge in Charleston.” I have heard the story of Chuck Yeager flying his jet under the Southside Bridge over the Kanawha River in Charleston. It always sounded like folklore or a legend to me. Yeager confirmed in an interview, he flew an Airforce P-80 Shooting Star jet under Charleston’s Southside Bridge in 1948. Now I know an eyewitness.

After the presentations, I sought out the gentleman to learn more. He told me he was a child at the time but vividly remembers what he saw and heard. The gentleman learned later, because of Yeager’s feat breaking the sound barrier, he was invited to be in a parade in Charleston. The Air Force wouldn’t allow it, so Yeager did the next best thing. He buzzed the city dipping his wing. The man told me, “Back then jets didn’t have baffles and were very loud. I remember him flying over Charleston, then the jet turned and flew back down river towards the City. I was surprised when the jet flew under the bridge. I remember looking down on the jet before the plane pulled up heading skyward. What I remember most was the loudest noise I’d every heard and tremendous vibration.” The gentleman made Yeager’s flight real for me. It was no longer myth or legend.

On the way home, we passed a lot of new housing along I-64. Lynnda remarked, “When did they build all these?” “This is some of the housing generated by the Nucor Steel plant being built in Mason County, West Virginia.” I responded, “People want to live in Putman county because of the schools.” Nucor and other new manufacturing projects aren’t a myth. They are reality. Our doctor lives in Hurricane. His new neighbor works at Nucor.

There have been many announcements of projects coming to the Shale Crescent USA region, then silence. People ask, “Where are all the jobs?” Unfortunately, some of the announced projects never happen. Sometimes projects are announced prematurely for political purposes. We were surprised on one project where we knew leader, was suddenly announced. I called congratulating him on the project expressing surprise at the announcement. He shared, “So was I. We don’t have funding.” It still is stalled.

Economic development is a marathon not a sprint. A project can take years to develop and more years to build. We met a company from India in 2018 who was looking for a U.S. location for their project.

The project is now under construction in the Ohio Valley creating jobs and will be operational early in 2026. That is 8 years since we met them. They had been working on the project for several years before that.

Ohio and Pennsylvania have a large number of finished projects and plant openings. The biggest was the Shell Cracker near Pittsburgh. Now in full operation. Intel is under construction near Columbus. At the West Virginia Manufacturers Association (WVMA) Winter meeting this week, we learned a number of projects are under construction in West Virginia and creating jobs.

Manufacturing jobs are the hope we can give people for a better tomorrow. As usual we will see people and groups who want to prevent this. We can’t allow fear, hype, half-truths and falsehoods continue to enrich drug dealers, steal people’s hopes & dreams and continue to kill West Virginians. Like Chuck Yeager’s bridge flight, manufacturing jobs are real. This isn’t a legend or a myth. It is time to prepare for a brighter future.

Greg Kozera, gkozera@shalecrescentusa.com, is the director of marketing and sales for Shale Crescent USA, www.shalecrescentusa.com. He is a professional engineer with a master’s in environmental engineering and over 40 years’ experience in the energy industry. He is a professional speaker and author of four books and numerous published articles.