Meet these pavement partiers and their Mountaineer machines.
Nothing pumps up the pre-game pride like wacky WVU wheels. We tracked down the owners of a few favorites.
Bertha
This 1973 Winnebago has had quite a few owners. Julie Zuercher bought her from a woman in West Union, and Bertha lore says some WVU Law students originally fixed her up. “People come to our tailgate every year and say, ‘I used to own Bertha!’” Zuercher says. Look for Bertha in front of Ruby Hospital. “You can recognize her by the big bow tie,” Zuercher says. “Our tailgate is open to anyone.”
Courtesy of Julie Zuercher
WV Bus
Anyone who’s tailgated in the past two decades has seen this cheery 1977 VW Transporter by the stadium’s main gate. Harry and Linda Grandon bought it in 1981, moved cross-country in it multiple times, then settled in Morgantown. After a 2001 paint job, Grandon and his daughter made the flowers from self-adhesive vinyl. How does he get his choice tailgating spot? Find him in line at 6 a.m. to ask him.
Photographed by Nikki Bowman Mills
WV 219 Bus
This decommissioned 1963 Dodge military bus did school service, then sat in a field off U.S. 219 for decades until Val Monico bought it for her husband, Pete, for $50 in 2016. He left the exterior its natural gold, blue, and rust, but inside, it’s the grooviest thing hauling Pocahontas County fans to home games—at a surprisingly good 18 mpg. The Monicos invite Light Blue Lot tailgaters to stop and have a look.
Image courtesy of Kim Young
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