On this West Virginia Morning, the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival in Pineville, Kentucky has staged a formal dance for nearly a century that has remained the same for generations. Folkways Reporter Will Warren takes us for a visit.
Pinch, West Virginia is home to about 3,500 people and the longest running community reunion in the country. Since 1902, the reunion has brought current residents together as well as many who moved away.
The founders of the reunion hoped to raise “the civic, religious and educational standards of the community.”
This year’s event, held August 10-11, featured pageant queens, a car show, music concerts and a parade. The reunion committee also provided Science Technology Engineering and Math, or STEM, activites. The reunion finished up on Sunday with a church service.
Joe Hoover said he’s been to about 30 Pinch reunions since 1956 when he was in the first grade.
“It means people getting together that maybe you haven’t seen in a long time,” he said.
Kaitlin Jordan grew up in Pinch. She said she hates to miss a parade.
“Everyone lines up on the road in their lawn chairs and sits around and waits and enjoys the show. We love the Pinch Reunion,” she said.
In recent years, attendance at the reunion has has waned, but Hoover is optimistic about the future.
“It’s maybe lost some of its luster over the past few years, but there’s some new people coming in, and I think they’re going to do a good job of getting some things turned around,” he said.
On this West Virginia Morning, the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival in Pineville, Kentucky has staged a formal dance for nearly a century that has remained the same for generations. Folkways Reporter Will Warren takes us for a visit.
On this West Virginia Morning, the stage is now set for a two man, two party political race for governor of West Virginia. Randy Yohe gives us an initial look at what we can expect from the Republican and the Democratic nominees.
On this week's premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage, you'll hear performances from Bettye LaVette, Kim Richey, Keller Williams, The Langan Band, and Megan Jean’s Secret Family. This episode was recorded live at the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium in Athens, Ohio.
On this West Virginia Morning, the results from Tuesday’s primary election came in mostly as expected. Government Reporter Randy Yohe has covered the intense campaigning leading up to the primary and he joins us live in the studio with results and reactions.