Person: Cynthia Germanotta
Country Singer Brad Paisley
Mother
Daughter
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Cynthia Louise (Bissett) Germanotta is the mother of Lady Gaga (Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.)
Due to my deafness, I know nothing about music and am no fan of singers, musicians, etc.
On February 9, 2016, Lady Gaga posted the first picture above on her Facebook page and wrote, “Mommy captain cheerleader at a football game for WVU years ago, so cool to see this floating around Facebook.”
The image of “WVU” forced me to find out where Mother grew up.
The result is Glen Dale, WV (pop. 1,514), adjacent to Moundville, WV (pop. 8,122.) It is 50 miles north of my father’s boyhood house near Meadville and 67 miles northwest of my current residence in Morgantown, WV.
Many WVU fans and Mountaineer diehards already knew this story, so I am telling you more.
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When the Delaware apartment manager informed me in September 2021 that the apartment building was still under construction, I sought an Airbnb room around Moundville for October. I found the one (Quaint, Quiet, and Homey. Your home away from home!) in Powhatan Point, Ohio (pop. 1,461), 10 miles southwest of Moundville over the Ohio River.
Howie’s Airbnb Review on this Room: This house is very decorated, so you will love to look around. The shared bathroom is spacious. The location is about ten minutes from Moundville, WV, with plenty of restaurants and stores. As an Airbnb veteran, I tell you, "Now, Don't need to read any other reviews. Just book it-!
From this house, I often went to Moundville for shopping and attended the Homecoming Weekend at my alma mater, Ohio University, in Athens, Ohio (100 miles away.) I got a ticket from my Gorrell relative to watch the football game between WVU and Iowa State in Morgantown, WV.
Hooray! I finally visited two major WV attractions - Riding on the Cass Scenic Railroad through fall foliage and Exploring the “Haunted House” inside the West Virginia Penitentiary.
Yeah, I drove inside Glen Dale to explore this town.
Back to Cynthia.
Born in a hospital in Wheeling, WV, Cynthia grew up in Glen Dale and graduated from John Marshall High School. She then attended West Virginia University and earned a master's degree in public administration from George Washington University.
While at West Virginia University, Cynthia was a cheerleader and a member of Chi Omega Sorority.
"I remember Cindy! We were sorority sisters. We both pledged Chi Omega back in the fall of 1972. Cindy was just this young, beautiful brunette -- everyone liked her. Lady Gaga actually looks a lot like Cindy -- only blonde,” said Becky Lofstead, then assistant vice president for university communications.
However, she is one of tens of thousands who left the northern panhandle of West Virginia in the 1970s and 1980s as factories, mines, and smelters closed and landed in New York City, where she worked for Verizon as a telecommunications executive in sales and management.
Watch the video, telling the story of the town of Moundsville, West Virginia, through the rise and fall of industry, described by residents.
Fast-forward to October 21, 2023, Cynthia was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the WVU’s Alumni Cheerleader Association. Due to a prior commitment, she didn't attend it, but she delivered a pre-recorded speech.
Now, about Lady Gaga.
She often visited her grandparents in Glen Dale till 2022, when her grandmother, Veronica Rose “Ronnie” Ferrie Bissett, died at the age of 98. (Her grandfather, Paul Douglas “Doug” Bissett, passed away in 2013.)
In November 2018, Lady Gaga and her mom visited her grandmother in Glen Dale. Then she made a reservation for a table of 14 at the Later Alligator restaurant in Wheeling (nine miles away) under the name of Stefani. Upon arrival, the hostess discovered that Stefani was actually Lady Gaga. Read this story.
"I don't think telling relatives not to talk to press would necessarily be in a publicity plan. I'm sure there are instances or some artists where it's preferred that family members not participate in interviews. My general suggestion is if they are contacted by press to direct the inquirer to me, and I'll arrange the interview," said Darlene Bieber, publicist for country star Brad Paisley.
After hitting rock bottom in 2006, Lady Gaga and her mom unexpectedly went to see her grandmother. Lady Gaga cried, “I thought my life was over, and I have no hope, and I’ve worked so hard, and I knew I was good. What would I do now?”
Grandmother’s Response: After those few hours are up, you’re gonna stop crying, you’re gonna pick yourself up, you’re gonna go back to New York, and you’re gonna kick some ass.’”
So you know the rest of Lady Gaza’s history.
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Country Singer Brad Paisley
Brad Paisley happened to live in Glen Dale and graduated from John Marshall High School in 1991.
Hall of Fame baseball player George Brett was born in Glen Dale in 1953 and grew up in Southern California.
Therefore, Cynthia Bissett, Brad Paisley, George Brett, my ex (Sue), and I are the “Ohio River Rats” (slang for people born on the Ohio River beds.)
The View from the Grand Vue Park over Moundville and Glen Dale on October 8, 2021
