Eric is WVPB's News Director. He's a native of Kanawha County and graduated from Marshall University with a degree in journalism. He has written for newspapers and magazines throughout his career. He is also an author, writing both nonfiction and fiction, including a series of thriller novels set in locations around the world.
After a career working in the international intelligence community, realistic cold war spy novels have been Huntington author Michael Connick’s forte. His latest book, a crime novel titled “HPD” is still realistic, but it focuses on the Huntington Police Department in present day.
HPD follows the 12 year career of a Huntington police officer from when he first joined the force in 2006 through 2018. The main character, a patrolman, follows up on a murder investigation in his own time, in spite of what it costs him personally.
Credit Courtesy photo: Michael Connick
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“I like the city. I mean, it’s gone through some real struggles that are actually talked about in the book. You know, Ethan is a cop and he has to deal with the opioid crisis and so on. I like the city and I felt I wanted to make Huntington a character in the book itself,” Connick said about his choice to set a novel in Huntington.
Connick retired after a long career in the international intelligence community. The aphorism is to write what you know, so Connick’s first three books are spy novels set during the Cold War.
“The first book was ‘Trapped in a Hall of Mirrors.’ And then when I wrote my sequel to it, it turned out to be ‘Funhouse Mirrors’ because I was kind of a play on the theme. And then the last book, was called ‘Afghan Mirrors,’” Connick said.
‘Afghan Mirrors’ was set during the Soviet/Afghan war.
Connick explained that his next novel will likely be a cozy mystery similar to those written by Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. He said he has already written a short story about the mythical town of Why, West Virginia and that will be the location.
Connick’s latest book ‘HPD’ has been out for a month and has gained notable popularity, he said.
“I’ve sold more books this past month than I have ever of any of my other books,” Connick said. “So it’s obviously touching a resonance somewhere and maybe everybody in Huntington, everybody in Cabell County and everybody in the tri-state area is buying my book, but a lot of people are buying my book.”
Craft breweries are popping up all over the region. In West Virginia alone, there are 27 breweries and three quarters of them opened in the last five years.
Sam Fonda, from Weathered Ground Brewery in Raleigh County, West Virginia, has almost 3,000 gallons of soon-to-be-beer fermenting and another 1,000 gallons aging in oak barrels nearby at any given time. That may sound like a lot, but his typical batch is 220 gallons, and that gives him the chance to experiment.
In addition to the basics of water, malted grains, hops and yeast, small craft brewers all over the region are experimenting with locally sourced ingredients to give their beers a unique flavor. Today, you can find West Virginia beers that contain traces of coffee, berries — even tree branches!
Credit Janet Kunicki / WVPB
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WVPB
Sam Fonda adding malt from North Carolina into a recent batch of beer.
Weathered Ground buys malted grains from the mountains of North Carolina, as well as hops, fruit, and flavorings from local farmers. Working with his neighbors is a source of pride for Sam.
“That’s why using local is so much fun. Because you can have this personal relationship with your suppliers. It’s almost always more expensive. Sometimes double really, but that’s just kind of the price you pay for doing what you want to do. So, we’re happy to pay a little more for the flavor we’re going to, as well as supporting local,” Fonda said.
One of Fonda’s suppliers is JR Ward, a hop farmer and full-time underground coal miner who lives just 20 miles or so down the road in Fairdale. JR loves the farm he has built, with 3,000 square feet of vegetable garden and a quarter acre of hops.
Credit Eric Douglas / WVPB
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WVPB
JR Ward stands in front of his hop yard. Over the next few months, the hops will grow up the ropes behind him and will be ready for harvest.
“Years ago, I couldn’t tell you what a hop was, didn’t even know they looked like, did not like craft beer. Then what really made me going forward was a few years ago we had layoffs in the mines and the hard times and I never want to leave here because this is just a piece of heaven to me. And it’s beautiful land, I just started looking into stuff and hops caught my attention,” Ward said.
He currently supplies Weathered Ground with enough hops for 440 gallons of beer in two batches. They are: “Lost Ridge Pale Ale,” named for JR’s farm, and the second is a nod to JR’s other job. It’s called “Hop Farmin’ Miner.”
Starting next year, he plans to expand to five full acres of hop yard on his property and is working with a friend to plant an additional five acres on a nearby farm. That will make Lost Ridge Farms one of the largest hop growers in the state.
Besides hops, Weathered Ground sources local fruits and just about anything that tastes good according to Sam Fonda.
“We brewed an IPA a few weeks ago with birch branches, and then the flavor that comes from birch just unreal, so a lot of people don’t think about that kind of thing when they think about beer, but back in the day, that’s kind of what beer was, what materials do you have on hand,” Fonda said.
There is a growing movement throughout Appalachia for beverage makers to use locally sourced ingredients. It may cost more, but brewers like Sam Fonda believe in the process and so far, they’ve been successful using that business model.
This story is part of an Inside Appalachia episode exploring the alcohol culture and industry in Appalachia.
“Batter Up: Baseball in Charleston” features a total of 28 voices that were captured over the course of 25 interviews with each person sharing their memories of baseball games at the two parks.
Batter Up, Baseball in Charleston is an audio documentary based on the memories of the people who have attended, and played in, the games over the years.
The documentary is based on oral histories recorded during FestivALL 2018. Twenty eight people sat down for 25 interviews to talk about baseball at Watt Powell Park and the new Power Park. The text of a few of the oral history excerpts are included below.
Stories in the documentary include the very first bat boy at Watt Powell Park with the Charleston Senators, tales of the Charleston Charlies in the 1970s and the advent of the Toastman — where it came from and what it all means.
Batter Up: Baseball in Charleston looked at baseball over five different periods:
Early Baseball
The Charleston Charlies
The Wheelers and Alley Cats
The struggle for a new ballpark
The West Virginia Power
Early Baseball
Watt Powell Park scoreboard dedication – Gov. Okey Patteson, Mayor Carl Andrews, Charleston, West Virginia, 1949, Mrs. Dave Cleland Collection, West Virginia State Archives
Baseball really took off in 1949 when the city of Charleston built Watt Powell Park in Kanawha City. It was named for Walter “Watt” Powell, who managed the Charleston Senators in the 1930s and served on the city council. He convinced the city to build the park, but died shortly before it opened 70 years ago.
The opening game when the senators baseball came back to Charleston, and my dad and the whole family went to the opening game. Hoby Landreth hit a homerun and someone else hit one. Joe Biggs was the manager, Hobie Landrith was only 19 and a great prospect for the Cincinnati Reds. He did make the majors later on. But it was an exciting night. And it was a full house. I mean, we used to draw throngs of people here full stadiums all the time and maybe average 4000 or 5000 people a game. It was it was just great to see the color of the grass. To hear the horse hide meet the hickory and to see all the happenings of that, I fell in love. Harry Wallace
That Marlins team I was speaking of which was a triple A team for the Cardinals. That was like 61 I think and in 64 they won the World Series over the Yankees and several of the guys on that team had been on that Charleston team. Probably the most famous for not only playing but broadcasting was Tim McCarver he was like 19 years old and the catcher for Charleston and he ended up with the Cardinals long for major league career and announcing career and there was a pitcher named Ray Washburn, which was one of their top pitchers for Cardinals for years. And they had a couple infielders named Dal Maxvill and Julián Javier who played for years with the Cardinals. They were all on that Charleston team. Jeff Dent
The Marlins only lasted one year. The owners moved them back to Miami. In 1962, Charleston fielded a new team known as the Charleston Indians. They played for three seasons until Charleston was left without a baseball team in 1964.
The Charleston Charlies
After nearly a decade without a baseball team, baseball returned to Charleston, West Virginia in 1971. The Charleston Charlies were a Triple A affiliate of several teams, but started out with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
I spent the year getting an autographed baseball of the Charleston Charlie's team — Bruce Kison, Richie Zisk, Charlie Howard, Renny Stinnett. There's a lot of players on here that played up and down in the major leagues; Gary Kolb. This is all from the 1971 year, yeah, you can see the different color of pens used. May 24 1971, Charleston Charlies versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. You got Hoylman Huffman advertising on it, official scorecard $0.25 cents. And you got the regular programs. There's all kinds of they're interesting to look at from regular season. There's all kinds of ads in there. And there's actually a couple businesses that are still in business, you know, but most of them are long gone. Terry Hess
Dave Parker was playing with the Charlies and they took someone up. And it might have been Al Oliver. I don't know. I don't remember that. But they took somebody big leagues and he got mad and went home. And so when the big shots in Pittsburgh called him and told him to get back down there he said he wasn’t coming. If he played any more ball he was going to play in the big leagues. They said, "Alright. We'll take ya," and he never came back. He played 15 maybe 18 years. Cal Bailey
The Wheelers and Alley Cats
Next-to-last Charleston Alley Cats baseball game at Watt Powell Park, Photograph by Summers, Charleston, West Virginia, August 2003, Dan Summers Collection, West Virginia State Archives
The Charleston Charlies moved to Maine following the 1983 season. After again going without baseball for three years, a new team arrived in Charleston in 1987. Named for the historic riverboats that plied the rivers, the Wheelers were a Single A team. In 1995, the team changed its name to the Alley Cats and continued playing in Watt Powell Park until 2004.
The 90 team, and remember, Dan Wilson was a catcher and probably the most highly touted player, one of the first games he threw someone out at second from his knees. And I said, this guy might work out okay. The 90 season was a lot of fun although I believe that was also the first season of toast man. So not everything great happens in the same year. Phil Kabler
Speaking of the Toastman, he explained the origin story.
So somebody said you are toast. I thought, that’ll cheer because it’s, "You. Are. Toast." And so we just started saying it. And I made a little signs so people would join in. And that was 1991. And by 1992, we were doing it all the time and that's what 1992 is when we're heading back to the playoffs again. In '91 we made the playoffs, '90 we won the championship, swept through the championship started counting down the outs at nine more outs for every game that we had a league we started doing nine more outs all the way down to one. And at one point, the hitting coach from the other team asked the Bat Boy Jason Caufield to come over and get a piece of toast. So I actually handed him around the corner and then went back to my business. Later I said, "What was that all about?" Well, he took it and he threw it in the lap of some guy who had been struggling and said, “Do you want to keep hearing about this. Or are you going to work on your swing?” Rod Blackstone
The Fight for the New Park and Power Park
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Watt Powell Park during the Alley Cats period.
In 2003, after more than five decades of baseball, Watt Powell Park was to close its doors for good. The owners of the team wanted to build a new ballpark in Charleston. But not everyone felt the same way. Many had fond memories from the last season and last night at Watt Powell. Others dealt with the fight over the new park.
So I was, I guess, kind of the leader of a vocal group that was advocating for keeping the park where it is. Now, in hindsight, I still in my heart believe that with less money that the old park could have been rehabbed and it could have become a kind of interesting mix of history and new updated facility, you know. But given that, I'm really glad that the new park ended up where it is, you know, in midtown. Because there were some discussions about other locations that would have put it further west. I just can't imagine myself going to ball games driving from Charleston out there to go to a ball game. So I'm glad it ended up where it is, and it is a nice facility. Russ Young
When it came time to play the first game in the new park, some minds were changed.
We were totally against closing down the ballpark. Totally, totally, totally against it until I stepped in to Power Park for the first time. In less than 30 seconds I went, “I was wrong. This is awesome.” You know, things change, you know I missed the nostalgia of Watt Powell of course, but there are so many more pluses now because of Power Park. Danny Boyd
In 2005, safely at home in the new ballpark, the team changed its name to the West Virginia Power. They hoped to represent the entire state, not just the city of Charleston.
For many fans, baseball is the basis for lifelong memories, remembering time with family or friends, special moments watching the game.
Baseball is about the players and the friends you make. I just love the game, the way it's played. I love batting, I love fielding and I love everything about the game. I would rather watch it live than I would on TV because you get the atmosphere of the ballpark and everything. Gene Barker
Batter Up, Baseball in Charleston includes 25 interviews with 28 different people. They took time out of their own schedules to record their interviews. They are (listed in the order the interviews took place):
Alan Fleishman
Terry Haas
Jim Strawn
Phil Kabler
Rod Blackstone
Danny Boyd
Terry O’Fiesh
Mike Shock Jr.
Charles Morris
Russ Young
Danny Jones
Charles Houck
Jeff Dent
Jim Berner
Cal Bailey
Mike Shock Sr.
Robin and Jason Black
Lyle Sattes
Harry A Wallace III
Jim Workman
Gary Kolb/Lisa Hughes
Gene Barker and Karl Priest
Dick Noel
Andy Richardson
Jason Caufield
Each of these complete recordings are housed at the West Virginia Archives and History Library, West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History for public access, along with the other oral histories recorded as part of FestivALL. This project was made possible with support from FestivALL, a city becomes a work of art; The West Virginia Archives and History Library, West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History; Ray, Winton and Kelley PLLC; and West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
Organ music courtesy of Matt Jackfert. Baseball crowd sounds were recorded at Power Park in Charleston, West Virginia. Roxy Todd edited the script and Patrick Stephens mixed the sound.
The book “Appalachia North” by Matthew Ferrence takes a look at what it means to be from Appalachia and not realize it. He grew up in a part of Pennsylvania that’s part of Appalachia according to the Appalachian Regional Commission, but no one there acknowledged that fact.
Matthew Ferrence describes “Appalachia North” as a geological, cultural and as a personal journey. It’s a memoir.
In the book, he talks about how it wasn’t until when he was a graduate student at West Virginia University that he realized he was Appalachian. His book explores why his family and friends never identified with the region. Ferrence also describes his diagnosis with a brain tumor, which becomes an analogy for the exploration into his roots.
Dan D’Antoni never got far from his roots, even though basketball took him away from his home in Mullens, West Virginia for nearly 50 years. He continued to be a proud son of the Mountain State while teaching the world about the unique style of basketball that he says came from the courts he grew up on.
He calls that style of play West Virginia basketball or more famously “Hillbilly Ball.” It is the fast break style of play that dominated West Virginia in the 1950s and 60s under famous coaches and players like Jerry West, Hal Greer, Willie Akers and Leo Bird and is now taking over the NBA, much to the credit of Dan’s younger brother Mike D’Antoni — the head coach of the Houston Rockets.
Credit Courtesy / Marshall University
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Marshall University
“I always said you had to shoot real fast because first of all the courts were uneven and you might lose your dribble and if you shot it and missed it would go down the side of a hill. So you learned to go real fast, shoot quick and make it because if not you would have to chase it,” he said.
The term “hillbilly” may have negative connotations for some, but D’Antoni said he didn’t buy that.
“This is what Hillbillies look like. We put a team out there that’s efficient. They are clean cut young men who carry themselves well, who represent the basketball program both academically and on the court. This is really what a hillbilly stands for, hardworking, creative, able to accomplish things,” D’Antoni explained.
Dan D’Antoni grew up in Mullens while his dad, the late Lewis D’Antoni, lead the Mullens Runnin Rebels to a state title in 1955.
“As a young kid, Mullens was the Hoosiers before the movie. They won a state title from a very small school, when there were no classifications. They were runners up, they were champions and they were semifinalists the last one being beaten by (Jerry) West. Those were right in my formative years. It was great, the feeling I had and the passion that it gave me to play basketball and all my life I’ve been chasing to repeat the experience,” he said.
Lewis D’Antoni pushed young kids to get out and play basketball in one of the five outdoor courts. He even helped to construct some of the community courts when they were built. The courts became a gathering place for young people and almost a sort of training ground for players that helped Mullens earn seven state titles.
The D’Antoni family contributed to a foundation that’s working to restore the Mullens basketball courts of the D’Antoni’s youth. The West Mullens playground will be dedicated to Lewis D’Antoni, later this year.
West Virginia is home to numerous beverage companies that brew beer, distill spirits and syrups and press cider. The state also boasts farmers who produce fruits and grains those bottlers could use.
The problem is the two groups are often disconnected.
The “Craft: Farm to Bottle Summit” in South Charleston earlier week this aimed to address that gap, bringing the two groups together and helping each understand the other’s needs. The Robert C. Byrd Institute (RCBI) in Huntington organized the summit. More than 100 people attended.
Changes to state laws in recent years have made it easier for bottlers and manufacturers to open new businesses, according to Bill Woodrum, the Director of Entrepreneurship for RCBI.
“The next step we see for that is helping those local bottlers whether it’s anything from kombucha to soft drinks to beer, wine, spirits, to be able to identify local sources for their product,” Woodrum explained.
Alex Duran, assistant operations manager from Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company was excited about the possibilities coming out of the summit.
“For us it’s very important that you use West Virginia first. Not to outcast anybody from the other states, but from our perspective this way it highlights some of the smaller communities in our area,” he said.
Both groups are small and face unique economic restrictions and challenges. They need to simultaneously grow product demand and produce production. It’s tricky and takes coordination. An example from the conference was a farmer just can’t just show up with a ton of strawberries. Brewers need to know weeks in advance when the fruit will be ready so they can plan their production schedule.
Charles Bockway, a reporter who covers the West Virginia beverage industry, said the economic landscape is shifting and becoming more hospitable to small manufacturers and local farmers. The agricultural sector has never thought of bottlers as a potential market, but they are coming to realize the possibilities.
Many at the conference looked to keynote speaker Todd Boera from the Fonta Flora Brewery in Morganton, North Carolina for guidance. His brewery has more than doubled in size in the last six years and obtains 97 percent of its supplies from the Appalachian region.
“It’s the hard road, but every time we do something that we just put a whole lot of work into, whether it’s sourcing the ingredient to begin with and then processing that, or maybe it’s some brewing technique — whenever we have, whenever we taste the final product it’s 100 percent worth it because this isn’t a gimmick , it truly creates a better product and it just happens to tell a really cool story at the same time,” Boera explained.
