Bob Powell, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Honey in the Rock Debuts at Cliffside: June 27, 1961

On June 27, 1961, the play Honey in the Rock debuted at the newly constructed Cliffside Amphitheater at Grandview in Raleigh County. The play, written by Kermit Hunter, tells of West Virginia’s founding through the experiences of a fictitious family, with some historical figures like “Stonewall” Jackson and the state’s first governor, Arthur Boreman.

The play’s alumni include Academy Award nominee Chris Sarandon and actor, director, and playwright David Selby.

Honey in the Rock was produced by the West Virginia Historical Drama Association, with support from the Women’s Club of Beckley. The association included many Beckley leaders—among them former governor Okey Patteson and future governor Hulett Smith. In 1970, the group added the play Hatfields & McCoys to the lineup and in the mid-70s changed its name to Theatre West Virginia, a repertory company that performed each summer at Grandview and toured schools and rural communities of West Virginia and surrounding states in the off season.

Honey in the Rock was performed annually at Grandview until 2013, when Theatre West Virginia was dissolved. Supporters have since revived Theatre West Virginia, which plans a busy season this year.

Childrens Author Cynthia Rylant Born: June 6, 1954

Children’s author Cynthia Rylant was born June 6, 1954, in Hopewell, West Virginia.

She was raised in Raleigh County and earned degrees from Morris Harvey College—which is now the University of Charleston—and Marshall and Kent State universities.

She credits her youthful experiences in West Virginia as the wellspring of her writing, including the children’s books When I Was Young in the Mountains and The Relatives Came, both of which received the prestigious Caldecott Honor for children’s literature. Her first book of poetry, Waiting to Waltz, draws upon the decade she lived in the town of Beaver.

Rylant has also published picture books, short stories, poetry collections, nonfiction, and novels. And her popular Henry and Mudge series for young readers features more than 20 books.

Rylant’s work has won every major award in the field of children’s literature. A Fine White Dust received a Newbery Honor. Appalachia: The Voices of Sleeping Birds won the 1991 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for nonfiction, and her book Missing May received the same award for children’s fiction in addition to the Newbery Medal.

Today, Cynthia Rylant lives and writes in Oregon.

Quick Earns MOH for Actions at Guantanamo Bay: June 14, 1898

For his actions on June 14, 1898, Charles Town native John Henry Quick earned the Medal of Honor. His heroism occurred during a joint American-Cuban attack on the Spanish garrison at Guantanamo Bay during the Spanish-American War.

On June 14, Quick’s Marine battalion and about 50 Cuban soldiers were trying to capture the well that supplied water to the Spanish. An American gunboat, the Dolphin, was providing cover for the mission, but due to visibility problems, the boat started shelling American Marines by accident.

Sergeant John Henry Quick ran forward, placed himself in clear sight of the gunboat, and used a blue polka-dot neckerchief as a signal flag. While Quick got the Dolphin to redirect its shelling, he also attracted intense gunfire from the Spanish garrison. Author Stephen Crane, who was working as a war correspondent, witnessed the entire event and wrote of Quick, “He was the very embodiment of tranquility in occupation.” Thanks to Quick, the Spanish were defeated that day. During his 26-year Marine career, Quick also fought in the Philippine-American War, at Veracruz in 1914, and in several key battles of World War I.

April 23, 1857: Spanish-American War Hero Andrew Rowan Born in Monroe County

Andrew Rowan, made famous as the subject of a patriotic essay, was born in Monroe County on April 23, 1857. In 1898, the United States was on the verge of war with Spain over the island of Cuba. President William McKinley needed military intelligence from Cuban General Calixto Garcia. The Army chose Lieutenant Andrew Rowan to deliver the message.

He sailed in a small fishing boat from Jamaica across 100 miles of open sea. His men then hacked their way through a dense Cuban jungle to avoid Spanish patrols. After finding and delivering the message to Garcia, Rowan made a perilous trip back to the U.S. He was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Rowan would become one of the Spanish-American War’s most famous heroes because of a surprisingly popular essay. The year after the war, writer Elbert Hubbard detailed Rowan’s heroic act in a small pamphlet entitled Message to Garcia. Hubbard lauded Rowan as an example to young men who needed ‘‘a stiffening of the vertebrae.’’

Andrew Rowan died in 1943 at age 85 and was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.

Nov. 28 1891 WVU Plays First Football Game

On November 28, 1891, West Virginia University played its first football game ever. The contest didn’t go as hoped. About 250 fans showed up at a field south of Morgantown to watch Washington and Jefferson shut out WVU 72 to 0. While the outcome was disappointing, it was an accomplishment just getting a team together. To raise funds for uniforms, WVU’s players first had to stage a production of Shakespeare’s Richard III.

Nov. 27 1933 WVU President Daniel Purinton Dies

Daniel B. Purinton died in Morgantown on November 27, 1933. A native of Preston County, he was one of West Virginia University’s early graduates. He earned a bachelor of arts from the school in 1873 and a master of arts in 1876. He later received a doctorate from the University of Nashville. He was a professor at WVU for 16 years, beginning in the Preparatory Department.