Arts & Culture

On this West Virginia Morning, it’s back to school time, which also means a return to the cliques and social pecking order of high school.

Producer Trey Kay remembers how that dynamic played out among “hillers” and “creekers” at George Washington High School, in Charleston. He speaks with West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Scott Finn about his latest episode of our podcast, “Us & Them.”

On this West Virginia Morning, we hear the next part of our ongoing series, The Struggle to stay. For the past few months, we’ve met four West Virginians who are struggling to find a way to earn a living -- and debating whether the struggle is worth staying in Appalachia. Most recently, we’ve been hearing the story of Crystal Snyder, a mother of two who's working a new job with a program called Refresh Appalachia, which is helping her learn how to farm. Roxy Todd has been spending the past year and a half following Crystal and helping her document her story.

On this West Virginia Morning, the shocking events in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend are yet another reminder of deep division in America. More specifically, it seems like battles that ripped our nation apart 150 years ago, continue to smolder.

On this West Virginia Morning, we pick back up with Crystal Snyder, a single mother of two, who lost her job a couple of years ago. But she didn't lose hope. Roxy Todd has more of Crystal's story in this next installment of The Struggle to Stay.

Last week on West Virginia Morning, we met Crystal Snyder, a single mother of two who says she wants to stay in West Virginia, and raise her children here. As a single mom, it’s on Crystal to provide for her family, which is hard to do without a job. A couple of years ago, she lost her job at a T-shirt factory. That’s where Roxy Todd picks back up with Crystal’s Struggle to Stay story today.

On this West Virginia Morning, President Donald Trump’s visit to West Virginia Thursday was eclipsed by a major announcement from a state official during his campaign rally in Huntington. Trump was joined on stage by Democratic Gov. Jim Justice, whose announcement that he is switching party affiliation is sending shockwaves through the state’s political circles.

On this West Virginia Morning, in Hampshire County West Virginia, there is a small mountain ridge called Ice Mountain. Historical records suggest that, years ago, ice could be found here, even in the heat of summer. Inside Appalachia producer Roxy Todd recently visited Ice Mountain to find out if ice could still be spotted, and to check out the rare plant species that have existed here since the last ice age.

Four West Virginia communities were highlighted in Washington, D.C. this week during a national summit that supports local food initiatives across the country. Local Foods, Local Places is a federal initiative meant to help communities create healthy and economically vibrant neighborhoods.

On this West Virginia Morning, compassion training is taking hold in schools across the country. The object is to improve student achievement and foster healthier communities by cultivating things like focus and empathy. Glynis Board reports the movement has inspired a school in West Virginia to take on a pilot compassion curriculum project of their own.

We also hear The Earls of Leicester perform “Salty Dog Blues” on Mountain Stage's Song of the Week.

On the West Virginia Morning, in 2016, about 15 thousand people were killed by gun violence in the U.S. About 3 thousand teenagers were either injured or killed. In Charleston, West Virginia, there were 11 murders in 2016 -- eight of them occurred on the West Side of town and many of them were teens.

It’s nothing unusual to think about leaving your hometown after you graduate high school, but sometimes it’s not an option to leave, and sometimes, as we’ve heard, leaving can be difficult and expensive, too. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

It used to be that women typically gave birth in home-like environments. Today most women head to the hospital and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that across the U.S., one in every three mothers has a cesarean delivery.  

Recently, Inside Appalachia won first place in Public Radio News Directors Inc.’s (PRNDI), Long Documentary category for an episode titled “Hippies, Home Birth and the History of Birthing Babies in Appalachia.”

The Harpers Ferry National Historical Park played host to a naturalization ceremony Tuesday morning for 19 new U.S. citizens.

This week time travel back to your own childhood summer memories with the Appalachian storytellers.      

Last week, we met Kyra Soleil-Dawe, a 20-year-old aspiring theater director and playwright who lives in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

“And this place is so beautiful," Kyra said, "how would you ever wanna leave it? And I hope that I’m not the only one that sees that, I hope that I’m not the only one that sees that there’s something really incredible happening here.”