Bill Lynch, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Award Winning Stories From 2023, Inside Appalachia

In March, broadcast journalists from Virginia and West Virginia were recognized when the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters met to present awards for notable stories produced in 2023. This week, we listen back to some of our award-winning stories.

In March, broadcast journalists from Virginia and West Virginia were recognized when the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters met to present awards for notable stories produced in 2023.

This week, we listen back to some of our award-winning stories.

In This Episode:

How Angelo’s Old World Italian Sausage Gets Made

Angelo’s Old World Sausage is available in stores in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.

*Photo Credit: Zack Harold/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Zack Harold is the unofficial foodie for Folkways. Last summer, he took us to see how the sausage gets made with Angelo’s Old World Italian Sausage. The recipe originated in the Calabria region of Italy, but it’s made in West Virginia.

Make Way For The Mushroom Hunters

These chanterelles are about to be turned into a tasty treat. They were harvested the day before an unsuccessful mushroom hunt, and turned into a topper for vanilla ice cream.

*Photo Credit: Wendy Welch/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Gathering foods like ramps, sassafras or blackberries from the forest has always been a part of Appalachian culture. In recent years, mushroom hunting has been having a moment.

Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch spent time with mushroom hunters in Virginia and West Virginia and brought us the story.

Winter Wassailing In Asheville

Wassailers sing outside a home in Asheville, North Carolina. Traditionally, wassailers not only sang for their neighbors, but also sang in apple orchards to ensure a good harvest for the coming year.

*Photo Credit: Rebecca Williams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Not many folks are thinking about winter holiday traditions this time of year. But back before Christmas, Folkways Reporter Rebecca Williams explored the old English tradition of wassailing in Asheville, North Carolina. A group of friends there got into this old singing tradition as a way to connect to their roots. Williams reported.

Season Of The Witch

H. Byron Ballard at home.

*Photo Credit: Llewellyn Worldwide*

In Appalachia, witchcraft goes way back. Wise women still practice herbology or trace the patterns of the moon. H. Byron Ballard is a practicing witch in Asheville, North Carolina. She’s also the author of several books, including Small Magics: Practical Secrets from an Appalachian Village Witch. Last fall, she spoke with producer Bill Lynch about her way of life – and quizzed Bill on cryptids.

We also want to congratulate WVPB reporters and Inside Appalachia contributors Emily Rice and Breana Heaney, news director Eric Douglas and Us & Them host Trey Kay. Each of them won awards from the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting brought home 12 awards Saturday, March 23, 2024 from the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters Awards Luncheon at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Pictured (left to right) is Inside Appalachia Producer Bill Lynch, Inside Appalachia Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch, Us & Them Host and Producer Trey Kay, Southern West Virginia Reporter Briana Heaney and WVPB News Director Eric Douglas.

*Photo Credit: Eric Douglas/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Christian Lopez, Dave and Tim Bing, John Inghram, Marissa Anderson, Frank George and Hank Williams Jr.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. We had help this week from Folkways editors Chris Julin and Nicole Musgrave.

You can send us an email at InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

You can find us on Instagram, Threads and Twitter @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.

Sign-up for the Inside Appalachia Newsletter!

Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

A Tale Of Treenware And A NASCAR Legend, Inside Appalachia

This week on Inside Appalachia, a pair of former miners found love shoveling coal and shaped a life making wooden spoons. We learn about treenware. Also, NASCAR Hall of Famer Leonard Wood shares stories, and a bit of advice. And, group bike rides are a way to socialize and get outside. But here in Appalachia, newcomers are met with steep hills.

This week, a pair of former miners found love shoveling coal and shaped a life making wooden spoons. We learn about treenware.

Also, NASCAR Hall of Famer Leonard Wood shares stories, and a bit of advice.

And, group bike rides are a way to socialize and get outside. But here in Appalachia, newcomers are met with steep hills.

In This Episode:

Two For Treenware
Hanging Out With NASCAR Legend Leonard Wood
Exploring Morgantown On The Back Of A Bicycle
Sovereignty At The Museum Of The Cherokee People

Two For Treenware

Stan and Sue Jennings turned a conversation about a passion into a business.

*Photo Credit: Zack Gray/Allegheny Treenware*

For 30 years, Sue and Stan Jennings have run Allegheny Treenware, a West Virginia company that makes wooden kitchen utensils. But they started off as a couple of coal miners. And when they weren’t underground, they talked about what else they could be doing.

Folkways Reporter Capri Cafaro visited the Jennings.

Hanging Out With NASCAR Legend Leonard Wood

Straight from the source at The Wood Brothers Racing Museum.

*Photo Credit: Mason Adams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Stock car racing’s roots run deep in Appalachia. Some of NASCAR’s early stars came straight from the lawless moonshine runners of the 1920s and 1930s, but NASCAR’s oldest continuous racing team had nothing to do with moonshine.

Mason Adams visited with Leonard Wood at The Wood Brothers Racing Museum in Virginia for stories and wisdom.

Exploring Morgantown On The Back Of A Bicycle

The ad-hoc Morgantown Social Rides aim to get cyclists onto the streets to explore the city in a new way.

*Photo Credit: Chris Schulz/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

With spring, lots of folks are heading out to the woods or the rivers, but one group in Morgantown, West Virginia is taking to the streets – on their bicycles.

WVPB’s Chris Schulz grabbed his helmet and tagged along to explore his city in a new way.

Sovereignty At The Museum Of The Cherokee People

BPR’s Lilly Knoepp (left) spoke with Museum of the Cherokee People Director of Education Dakota Brown and Director of Collections Evan Mathis at the Appalachian Studies Conference on Friday March 8, 2024 at Western Carolina University.

*Photo Credit: BPR*

In western North Carolina, a new exhibit called “Sovereignty” recently opened at the Museum of the Cherokee People. The exhibit focuses on the autonomy of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Director of Education Dakota Brown is co-curator of the exhibit.

BPR Senior Regional Reporter Lilly Knoepp spoke with Brown as part of a panel at the Appalachian Studies Association conference in March and sent us an excerpt.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by The Dirty River Boys, Charlie McCoy, John Blissard, Sierra Ferrell, and John Inghram.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

You can find us on Instagram, Threads and Twitter @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.

Sign-up for the Inside Appalachia Newsletter!

Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

The Herbal Magic Of Violets And A Book Ban In Virginia, Inside Appalachia

This week on Inside Appalachia, spring wildflowers are in bloom, and some of the most common species play an important role in herbal medicine. This week, we learn about some of the ways people use violets. Also, what’s your favorite style of egg roll? An acclaimed, out-of-the-way restaurant in Pounding Mill, VA bends culinary genres and uses an unexpected ingredient. And, more and more school boards are pulling books from library shelves. We’ll speak with a reporter in a Virginia county where 57 titles were yanked.

Spring wildflowers are in bloom, and some of the most common species play an important role in herbal medicine. This week, we learn about some of the ways people use violets.

What’s your favorite style of egg roll? An acclaimed, out-of-the-way restaurant in Pounding Mill, Virginia bends culinary genres and uses an unexpected ingredient.

And, more and more school boards are pulling books from library shelves. We’ll speak with a reporter in a Virginia county where 57 titles were yanked.

In This Episode:

Violet Tendencies

Violets will grow almost anywhere. They are one of the first flowers to grow in Appalachia come spring.

*Photo Credit: Brandon Tester*

Every April, violets bloom across Appalachia, adding purple, white and yellow to the deepening green of the hills. But violets do a lot more than add natural flair. These flowers have long been a key ingredient in herbal remedies.

People use them to fight cancer and the common cold. And they make a pretty tasty snack.

Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch brings us the story.

Taking A Bite Out Of Cuz’s Uptown Barbeque

Yvonne Thompson owns Cuz’s Uptown Barbecue in Pounding Mill, Virginia. A place that mixes cultures, flavors and fun.

*Photo Credit:* *Connie Bailey Kitts/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

In the South, people love to argue over which barbecue sauce is most authentic — vinegar, tomato or mustard. But Cuz’s Uptown Barbeque in Tazewell County, Virginia, is distinguished by something entirely different. For starters, its food is inspired by Asian cuisine and local mountain specialities.

You can find dishes on its menu like Morel mushrooms, cheesy egg rolls, and country ham caprese.

Back in 2022, Folkways Reporter Connie Bailey Kitts and her family stopped in at Cuz’s for supper.

A Book Ban In Rockingham, Virginia

Members of the Rockingham County School Board, which recently voted to remove 57 books from school libraries.

*Photo Credit: Ashlyn Campbell*

Book bans are nothing new. But we’re seeing a new spike in book removals across Appalachia, including in North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

Sometimes, debates that lead to book bans happen in state legislatures. But they’re just as likely to play out on the local level, in public schools.

In January, the school board in Rockingham County, Virginia voted to remove 57 books from school libraries, prompting an outcry.

Ashlyn Campbell has been covering the story for the Daily News-Record. Mason Adams spoke with Cambell to learn more.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Sean Watkins, John Inghram, John Blissard, Amythyst Kiah, Dinosaur Burps, Doc Watson and Frank Hutchinson.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

You can find us on Instagram, Threads and Twitter @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.

Sign-up for the Inside Appalachia Newsletter!

Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

ENCORE: True Stories Behind Folk Heroes, Runaway Trains And Murder Ballads

This week on Inside Appalachia, we’re talking about traditional ballads – how they tell stories and connect us to the past. These old tunes can mean so much. They can tap into difficult emotions and give feelings space to be heard. Some songs may even be too uncomfortable to sing.

This week on Inside Appalachia, we’re talking about traditional ballads – how they tell stories and connect us to the past.

These old tunes can mean so much. They can tap into difficult emotions and give feelings space to be heard. Some songs may even be too uncomfortable to sing.

In this special episode with guest co-host, ballad singer Saro Lynch-Thomason, we explore songs about lawbreaking folk heroes, runaway trains and murder ballads.

All the stories in this episode are produced as part of our Folkways Reporting Project, a partnership with West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Inside Appalachia and the Folklife Program of the West Virginia Humanities Council.

We’ve recorded more than 150 stories for this project, and you can find them all here.

In This Episode:

The Ballad Of ‘John Henry’ Elicits Varied Feelings For Some Black Appalachian Residents

The ballad of “John Henry” tells the story of a railroad worker who competes against a steam drill to see who can drill a hole through a mountain fastest and farthest. With his immense strength and skill, John Henry wins, but dies from his efforts. There is great debate about the historical facts, but most accounts describe Henry as an African American man from West Virginia or Virginia, working for the C&O Railroad. For some who grew up in Black communities in Appalachia, the song elicits a variety of feelings. Folkways Reporter Nicole Musgrave has more.

If learning about John Henry piqued your interest, be sure to check out the recent Black in Appalachia podcast episode about John Henry. They dive into some important topics, including a current-day link between health and working conditions, especially for Black workers.

Ballads About Train Wrecks Holds Lessons For Modern Life

Starting in the late 19th century, trains were everywhere in southern Appalachia, and so were songs about them. Scott Huffard, an associate professor of History at Lees-McCrae College, says these ballads weren’t just about trains, they were emulating trains using special techniques with common instruments. Reporter Laura Harbert Allen has that story and tells us what we can learn from ballads about trains.

Traditional Murder Ballads Reveal A Dark Truth About “True Crime” Media

There are many murder ballads from Appalachia – and most of them are about men killing women. Folkways Reporter Zack Harold is a musician himself. In fact, you can hear him playing guitar and banjo on a song called “Little Sadie” that appears in this week’s episode.

“Little Sadie” is a ballad about a man killing his sweetheart – exactly the kind of song Zack sought to understand in his reporting about murder ballads. What can they tell us about history? And what is “true crime” the modern-day equivalent?

Real-Life Outlaw Otto Wood Went Viral In The Thirties

As Zack explored in his story, people in the past and the present love viral “true crime” stories. In the early 1930s, the way for a story to go “viral” was by being sung about in a ballad. That’s what happened to Otto Wood, a real-life outlaw who grew up around Wilkesboro, North Carolina. He spent time with the Hatfields of southern West Virginia, became a famous moonshiner, and died in a shootout with police in 1930. Less than one year later, his story was told in the ballad “Otto Wood The Bandit,” recorded by Walker Kid and the Carolina Buddies.

Our host Mason Adams reported on that song.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Wes Swing, Dinosaur Burps, and The Chamber Brothers. Roxy Todd produced this episode. Bill Lynch is our producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Alex Runyon was our associate producer. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Zander Aloi also helped produce this episode.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

You can find us on Instagram, Threads and Twitter @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.

Sign-up for the Inside Appalachia Newsletter!

Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Chair Caning And A Housing Fight, Inside Appalachia

This week, we visit the Seeing Hand Association. They bring together people who are visually impaired to learn the craft of chair caning. Also, corporate greed has been gobbling up newspapers for years. Now, some of those same companies are taking a bite out of mobile home parks. They’re raising rents and letting repairs slide. And, as the Mountain Valley Pipeline nears completion, people who live near it say government officials are ignoring their concerns about pollution.

This week, we visit the Seeing Hand Association. They bring together people who are visually impaired to learn the craft of chair caning.

Corporate greed has been gobbling up newspapers for years. Now, some of those same companies are taking a bite out of mobile home parks. They’re raising rents and letting repairs slide.

And, as the Mountain Valley Pipeline nears completion, people who live near it say government officials are ignoring their concerns about pollution.

You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

In This Episode:

Seeing Hand Fixes More Than Chairs

Employees restore caned chairs at the Seeing Hand workshop in Wheeling, West Virginia.

*Photo Credit: Clara Haizlett/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

A lot of folks in Appalachia grew up with caned chairs in the house. Maybe your parents or grandparents had a set in the kitchen, but you don’t see the old caned chairs as much as you used to. Cane breaks down and needs to be replaced. Few people know where to go to fix their chairs. So, a lot of them are discarded or thrown away. But they don’t have to be.

At a workshop in Wheeling, WV, a community of skilled workers repair old chairs and show that not everything that looks broken has to be thrown out. Folkways reporter Clara Haizlett brought us the story.

Quilting In The New, Traditional Way

Shane Foster pictured with a quilt made by his great-grandmother.

*Photo Credit: Liz Pahl/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Passing on traditional knowledge happens in different ways. Shane Foster is an optometrist in Ohio and an avid quilter. Quilting had been in his family for generations, but to learn this traditional craft, Foster chose a way that’s a little less traditional.

From 2022, Folkways Reporter Liz Pahl has this story.

David Vs. Goliath At A Mobile Home Park

After a new owner took control of a mobile home park in Mercer County, West Virginia, the rents went up, and it seemed like less was done to take care of problems. One resident started looking into exactly who this new owner was.

Mason Adams brought us the story.

West Virginia Flood Concerns

The floods of 2016 devastated several counties and it has taken seven years for them to be mostly returned to normal.

*Photo Credit: Kara Lofton/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Flooding has always been a threat in Appalachia, but over the past few decades, severe floods have become more frequent.

Curtis Tate spoke with Nicolas Zegre, an associate professor of forest hydrology at West Virginia University, about why West Virginia is so prone to flooding.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by John Blissard, John Inghram, Tim Bing, Gerry Milnes, Mary Hott, and Tyler Childers.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

You can find us on Instagram, Threads and Twitter @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.

Sign-up for the Inside Appalachia Newsletter!

Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Remembering And Revisiting Resistance To The Mountain Valley Pipeline, Inside Appalachia

Red Terry’s property in Bent Mountain, Virginia, is in the path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. She says the place was beautiful, but she’s worried about the dangers of the pipeline not far from her home. Plus, almost everybody has a favorite cup or coffee mug, but how far would you go to replace it? One woman would go pretty far. And… we explore an effort in western Virginia to make old-time music more available to Black musicians.

Plus, almost everybody has a favorite cup or coffee mug, but how far would you go to replace it? One woman would go pretty far.

And… we explore an effort in western Virginia to make old-time music more available to Black musicians.

You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

In This Episode:

Back On Bent Mountain With Red And Coles Terry

Coles and Red Terry at their home in Virginia in 2024.

*Photo Credit: Mason Adams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

People have been fighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline since it was first announced. The project runs through West Virginia and Virginia, connecting natural gas terminals with a 303-mile pipeline stretching across some of Appalachia’s most rugged terrain. Almost immediately after construction began, protestors tried to block it by setting up platforms in trees along the route and living in them.

In 2018, host Mason Adams interviewed activist and tree sitter Theresa “Red” Terry, as she protested against the pipeline on her own property.

Six years later, with the pipeline nearly finished, Adams went back to Bent Mountain to talk with Red Terry and her husband Coles to hear what’s happened since Red came down from her tree sit.

The Last Unicorn (Mug)

The magic is in the mug.

*Photo Credit: Wendy Welch/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Folkways stories come in all shapes and sizes. And sometimes, they bring a little magic – like a story about how losing a very special mug can lead to finding something greater.

Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch brings us this tale of a potter who lost her mojo and a woman who helped her get it back.

Earl White’s Old-Time Music

Earl White (right) with wife and bandmate, Adrienne Davis, in their home in Floyd County, Virginia. White and Davis are both old-time musicians, and they host a music camp on their farm called Big Indian Music Camp.

*Photo Credit: Nicole Musgrave/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Appalachian old-time music brings together traditions from man cultures: African and African American, Native American and Scots-Irish. And yet, the contributions of Black and Indigenous musicians have often been erased or overlooked. In Floyd County, Virginia, one man has spent years working to make old-time music more available to Black musicians.

Folkways Reporter Nicole Musgrave has this story.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Jeff Ellis, June Carter Cash, Joe Dobbs and the 1937 Flood, Earl White, Amethyst Kiah, Tyler Childers and Dinosaur Burps.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

You can find us on Instagram, Threads and Twitter @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.

Sign-up for the Inside Appalachia Newsletter!

Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.