Local boy’s love of marbles inspires visit from last remaining manufacturer

WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) — Nowadays, many kids spend a lot of their free time on electronics, but one young boy from Wheeling prefers a game that has been around for quite some time.

It all started when Cooper Warren was out with his mom and then came home with a bag of marbles.

His dad, Mike Warren, says he could immediately tell that Cooper had found something new to appreciate but wasn’t exactly sure how he could use them.

“He was interested in them, kind of admiring them, not sure exactly how to play the game. So, we tried inside, took it outside and it was quite clear day and he got to enjoy it. He has a lot of trouble focusing sometimes and it was nice for him to have something simple.”

Mike Warren – Father of Cooper

Cooper says he was so excited about the marbles that he and his brother began playing the game with help from their dad.

“I was laying in the grass and I was playing marbles with my dad. I have solid ones and clear ones and I was getting the solid ones and I had like 20 and my brother and my dad had like ten.”

Cooper Warren – Marbles Enthusiast

As the game went on, his dad took a photo of Cooper to post on social media.

After his dad made the post, Beri Fox, the President and CEO of Marble King in Paden City, West Virginia, found out about Cooper’s newfound love and decided to pay him a visit.

“When I was contacted. I said, Let’s just do this, we’ll make a day of it. We wanted to bring some things for the children, and being the only marble manufacturer left in the United States makes it extremely special to see kids, especially in West Virginia, take this game seriously.”

Beri Fox – CEO and President, Marble King

Fox says as the popularity of the game diminished due to electronics and gaming systems it was a sense of renewed hope for what is a historic game.

“Even with the surgent of all video games and those kind of things, it’s really nice to see that kids can actually get down and play a game that has a very long history and isn’t high tech and doesn’t require anything but a little bit of skill.”

Beri Fox – President and CEO, Marble King

Marble King is currently the only remaining marble producer in the country, and Fox says she was grateful to share this experience with Cooper and his family.

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