Roxy Todd, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Calls From Home Connects Family Members with Their Loved Ones in Maximum Security Prisons

For many families with loved ones who are overseas in the military or in the marines, the holiday season can be a very sad time, missing those who are far away. The holidays can also be hard on families with loved ones incarcerated. This is especially true for loved ones in maximum security prisons.

A radio program called Hip Hop from the Hilltop, Calls From Home, tries to help bridge people who are incarcerated with their loved ones. The show broadcasts messages from family members into prisons that are located in Eastern KY and Southwestern VA.

For people in high and maximum security facility prisons like Red Onion State Prison in Pound, VA, inmates can not receive any incoming calls. Inmates are also only allowed 20 minute conversations- which can cost anywhere from 14-25 cents per minute. Family members are often footing the bill to pay these account balances each month.

Sylvia Ryerson is part of a team of Djs that help air the show every Monday evening- to help keep the communication between families open. Sylvia says her friend Amelia Kirby first began broadcasting messages as part of the radio program back when the show started in 2000:

“My friend Amelia had just come home from college and started her own Hip Hop show. And just started getting dozens of letters every week from men were incarcerated that listened to her show. And one night she got a phone call from a woman inside the DC area who said ‘my brother is incarcerated at red onion state prison, and I know he listens to your show every week. Would it be ok if I went on air and say hi to him with a shout out?;’ And Amelia said ‘sure, please do.’ And so that night that woman gave the first shout out. She went on live and said hi to her brother and it just snowballed from there and grew really organically.”

Sylvia points out that the expensive phone rates are just part of the reason why communication is so difficult for low-income families.

"Just to hear somebody else calling in, it's encouraging to know there are people out there who are concerned about what we are going through, there are people out there that want to see us do better. That encouragement is what helps rehabilitate."

“Travel costs to get here are really high. We’re talking about a region here in Eastern KY and Southwestern VA that there’s no public transportation, there’s no train station, there’s no bus station, there’s virtually no way to get here unless you own a private vehicle or can afford to rent one. So for a lot of families, just the cost of getting here is virtually impossible. To actually visit.”

Syliva is often taping the messages that are broadcasted in Calls From Home, and so she’s spent a lot of time listening to these calls.

“I mean I think it’s difficult, I often will answer the call and it will be a call from a kid calling for their parent, and sometimes the kid will say, ‘hey dad, I did this thing today in school,’ and there will be a pause, while they wait for their parent to respond, and then you’ll hear the mom or the grandma in the background saying, ‘oh they’re not there, it’s just a message.’”

And for spouses, the Calls from Home program has become a weekly ritual. This is true of Michelle, who leaves messages for her fiance just about every single week. Michelle, who wasn’t comfortable sharing her last name, admits that while her fiance does have a record of violence, since the two of them reconnected a few years ago and have been communicating regularly while he’s in prison, he has made enormous improvement in his behavior.

“Just to hear somebody else calling in, it’s encouraging to know there are people out there who are concerned about what we are going through, there are people out there that want to see us do better. That encouragement is what helps rehabilitate.“

Michelle adds that the costs for her fiance to call her can be exorbitant.

“Our phone calls on any given month run anywhere between $100-$300, it just depended on how often we were speaking. When they’re in segregation, they’re only allowed to make two phone calls per month.”

"You're talking about a lot of these guys who have been transferred from urban cities, some of them have even been transferred from different states. And they're placed hours away, where it's difficult for family members to come visit them."

This Christmas Eve, Michelle did get the chance to travel down to Big Stone Gap to visit William. But not everyone has someone who can afford to make the journey.

Michelle makes a point of listening to the Calls From Home show each week, hearing messages from families from all over the country, sending words of encouragement inside the prisons.

“You’re talking about a lot of these guys who have been transferred from urban cities, some of them have even been transferred from different states. And they’re placed hours away, where it’s difficult for family members to come visit them.”

The Monday before Christmas, The Calls from Home DJs opened the phone lines for messages for an additional hour, so as many families as possible could get through.

As we head towards the New Year, we wanted to play a few of the calls from this week’s program, including Michelle’s, sharing prayers for improvement and better times ahead.

Special thanks to Sylvia Ryerson, aka Sly Rye, with WMMT for providing those great audio clips from the Calls From Home radio program. The show is broadcasted live from the Appalshop studio every Monday evening from 9:00-10:00 pm. Music in this story is by The Sweetback Sisters, Run DMC, and Sam Cooke.

All Aboard the Polar Express to West Virginia's North Pole

Over the last six weeks, 15,000 people rode the Polar Express train in Randolph County. 35 other Polar Express trains exist across the country. But the…

Over the last six weeks, 15,000 people rode the Polar Express train in Randolph County. 35 other Polar Express trains exist across the country. But the one in Elkins is the only Polar Express in the Mid-Atlantic region- so it’s extremely popular. This themed train also supports dozens of local jobs- at least seasonally.

The train is inspired by the film, The Polar Express, based on the children’s book of the same title. The main character is a young boy who is questioning whether he believes in Santa Klaus. On Christmas Eve, a steam engine train stops in front of his house and the conductor invites him aboard to ride all night to the North Pole to meet Santa Klaus.

Riley Galloway said this was the first time she’s ever been on a train. “I like the song when they do the hot chocolate.”

Riley was there with her cousin Haley and her grandfather. They drove to Elkins from Pittsburgh to ride the Polar Express.

“It’s all she’s been talking about for the last 2 months, since we got our tickets, Quite an experience for them I think,” her grandfather said.

Once aboard, everyone aboard this train was served hot chocolate, and local actors did the hot chocolate dance- Riley’s favorite part of the Polar Express.

The performers on board are paid actors from the Old Brick Playhouse. But volunteers also help- by inviting Santa himself into their community to greet the train. Defying time and space, the small town of Bellington transforms each evening, with the help of dozens of community volunteers.

“The North Pole is actually a volunteer project by the Belington On Track,” said Bonnie Branciaroli, the marketing director for the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad, the railroad that operates the Polar Express.

“So when you get to the North Pole later this evening you’ll see the Belington on track folks all dressed in their elf outfits and their Mrs. Klaus, and that’s where Santa boards, and then he’ll go through the train. I know he boards there, though I don’t know where he comes from!” said Branciaroli.

When we arrived at the North Pole, Santa climbed aboard and distributed magic bells to all the riders-magic because only those who believe in Santa Claus can hear it ring.

Aboard the train, the children silently sipped their hot chocolate, as the Polar Express book is read aloud over the speakers.

We traveled through cold, dark forests where lean wolves roamed and white tailed rabbits hid from our train as it thundered through the quiet wilderness. We climbed mountains so high it seemed as if we could scrape the moon.

And aboard the West Virginia Polar Express, we too rode the train through the darkness, and the trees of the forest loomed large against the window pane. Children snuggled against their parents, and the slow motion of the train rocked many of them into a brief, but peaceful sleep.

A Panther Before Christmas

Last week, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife found a 125-pound young and healthy mountain lion in Bourbon County. Officials are still trying to determine if the large cat was someone’s pet or wild. If it’s a wild animal, it will be the first one confirmed in Kentucky since the Civil War.

In Christmas of 1955, at least six people reported seeing a beige mountain lion near Marlinton, West Virginia, according to an article by Calvin Price, who was then the editor for The Pocahontas Times. Browsing through newspaper articles that Price wrote, Roxy Todd wrote this story about the series of mountain lion sightings in Pocahontas County back in 1955:

Two children are kneeling beside the Christmas tree, holding their breath as they explore their newly wrapped presents. The smallest one, a boy, crawls beneath the tree. A bell falls from one of the branches, alerting their mother, who looks up from the crackling fire. She asks the children if it’s still snowing.

She remembers the first Christmas in this home, newly married, before electricity, just the glow of a fire, small, like this one. Smoke rises into the night, unusually bright beneath the waxing moon, the endless blankets of snow.

The children are looking out the window now, watching a shape emerge on the snow-covered lawn. A panther is creeping there at the edge of the farm. He steps into the light of the moon. He stretches his neck toward their house, to peer into the frozen window. Looking out the window at the terrifying creature, the children feel frozen too.

The panther is a dusty beige color, with white flecks of long whiskers on his face. Two dark, yellow eyes open wide, starring back at the faces of the children, suspended, unwavering. The little boy cries out. Their mother stands and sees the panther, catches her breath in fright. In defiance, fear, and awe, she locks eyes with the great cat and stares. She calls for her husband, and her voice against the glass startles the panther, who tears through soft, fresh snow and disappears in a flash.

That Christmas, at least three other people caught sight of a panther outside their home near Marlinton. And they all called Calvin Price, who was the editor of The Pocahontas Times from 1905 to 1957, and was also one of the last faithful believers in the great Pocahontas Panther.

For decades, Price wrote dozens of articles about these local panther sightings. He claimed to have seen a live panther himself once, when he was alone in the woods. He said in one interview that he whistled at it, and it growled and took off through the trees.

Why did that Pocahontas Panther come so close to town so many times during that Christmas of 1955? Was it the smell of all those Christmas hambones, tossed outside? Or the smoke from the chimneys, carrying smells of partridge, venison, and mincemeat pie?

Whatever it was, it interested the panther so much that he came back to that house with the mother and her children a few days after Christmas. This time she was reading a story to two of her children, who sat near her lap. The presents had all been unwrapped, but the Christmas tree was still up. The stockings still hung at the mantel, and a nativity scene decorated the table.

Panther sightings in the Pocahontas Times, Jan. 12, 1956.

The youngest boy was looking out the window when the panther returned. The mother turned to see the panther’s face in the window, as before. She dropped her book on the floor and called her husband to come look. She and the children rushed to the window, but the panther had already leapt away. The moon, now full, lit up their fields, shining down on the panther as he jumped the high fence into a neighboring farm and disappeared.

Close your eyes, and it’s not difficult to see his tail twitching beneath the light of the moon. Tracing his own memory in circles across the snow. Sniffing out the source of all those who still told stories of him around the fire. He let himself be seen. A kind of last farewell to one who would always believe.

New Lawsuit Aims to Settle Mystery of the Farmington Mine Disaster

Forty-six years ago today, 78 coal miners died in the Farmington Mine disaster in Marion County. Sometimes referred to as the Mannington Mine disaster, the tragedy was one of the instrumental forces that led congress to pass the 1969 Federal Mine Safety Law.

A new civil complaint was filed two weeks ago, citing new new evidence that reveals one of the mine operators, Alex Kovarbasich, disabled an alarm system for one of the mine fans before the Nov. 20th explosion. If it had been working appropriately, the alarm should have sent a signal to shut down the power in the mine whenever the fan wasn’t working. The 99 mine workers would then have been evacuated. Instead, 78 men died, and the mine was sealed after 10 days after the explosion.

The new lawsuit also accuses Consolidation Coal Company of intentionally concealing evidence about the disabled fan alarm system.

One of the widows who fought for justice against the coal company was Sarah Kasnoski, of Barrickville, West Virginia. She has since passed away, but in an archived interview that was originally recorded by Michael Kline in 1992, Mrs. Kasnoski recalled the last day she spent with her husband, who died in the Farmington Mine explosion on that fateful day November 20th, 1968.

Music in this story is by the late Hazel Dickens, “The Mannington Mine”, from her album Harlan County, USA, Songs of the Coal Miner’s Struggle

This story was produced by Michael Kline and originally aired on NPR’s All Things Considered in November, 1992. Now, 46 years after the Farmington Mine disaster, Sarah Kasnoski has passed away. The plantiffs for the new lawsuit are the surviving relatives of the 78 miners who died, and the defendants are Consolidation Coal and the estate of Alex Kovarbasich. The suit is asking for $110,000 for each of the men who lost their lives down in the No 9 Mine.

Rattlesnake and Snapping Turtle Burgoo and Fresh Apple Pie for Dessert

On a an overcast, October day a crowd of 600 people gather in the little town of Webster Springs. Twenty cooks and 20 Burgoos.

Helping judge the best of these Burgoos is Tim Urbanic, chef and owner of Cafe Cimino.

“You got to love Burgoo. I really love the rattlesnake. And the snapping turtle. They’re such heritage foods,” he said.

The crowd gets to choose a people’s choice Burgoo too. Angie Cowger and Elissa Clayton are about to vote for their favorites.

“One tasted like a skyline chili, like it had a nutmeg and some cinnamon and some different spices that you wouldn’t expect to find in a stew,” said Angie.

Snapping Turtle Burgoo:

Johnny McCourt’s snapping turtle Burgoo also has a lot of people this year talking. “It’s just a basic turtle stew. It probably cooked seven hours. It takes a long time to cook the turtle tender.We cook it till it’s falling off the bone. Then take it off there and kind of shred it.”

Johnny McCourt and his cousin don’t win the Burgoo Cook-off this year, but they say they will try again next year, and they’re going to stick with local, wild game ingredients. That approach to making Burgoo, is authentic, and it takes grit. Johnny says they caught the snapping turtle themselves. It was about fifteen pounds.

“Mrs. Burgoo:

Making a Burgoo that makes people return for seconds- that’s an art. Each cook is competing against 19 other people, and getting it right can take days of work. It also takes years to master the art of the perfect Burgoo, says Carolyn Blakemore, from Fairmont. She’s been competing at this festival for years, and many people at this festival call her “Mrs. Burgoo”.

“Every time you make it, it’s a little different. Now I like mine thick. And I have three different meats. I have beef and veal and pork and with spicy seasonings. I just make it to my taste and hope that the judges enjoy it. I like to do cooking and baking contests. So I travel when I can and enter different contests, and sometimes I win.”

88-year old Carolyn has been teaching her granddaughter, Gabrielle Anderson, to carry on the tradition. Gabrielle is competing in this year’s Burgoo cook-off. They travel together to cooking competitions throughout West Virginia.

“I think one of the best parts of the Webster Springs competition is that it really draws everybody not only from the state but the surrounding states, PA, KY, Ohio. The last three years, I’ve known pie bakers that have come from PA and Ohio, just for the apple pie part of the competition.

20 apple pies.

The steam is rolling off them in the chilly air. Carolyn Blakemore’s pie has little yellow, caramelized flecks of local Golden Delicious apples from Marion County sprinkled on the top of her pie. It’s a beautiful sight.

Betsy Morris is one of the judges for the pie contest. “The apples have to be fresh. They can be frozen, but they have to be not a canned, store-bought. And so they’re very good. They’re scrumptious, and the ones that are warm, oh my my… on this cold day they taste wonderful.”

Once judged, the pies are all auctioned off to raise money for the town of Webster Springs, which organizes this event.

The Prizes:

By mid afternoon, Carolyn Blakemore finds our that she’s won third prize for her Burgoo, and third prize as well for her apple pie. The Burgoo grand prize this year goes to Tammy Moffatt, who had a friend bring her back elk and buffalo from a hunting trip out west.

Tammy Moffatt (middle) won the grand prize for the ultimate Burgoo this year. Her daughter Chrissy (left) won the people’s choice for her’s. And next year Tammy’s mother (right) plans to compete.

This Burgoo was also a popular one:

Boy Scout Honors Friend with Community Garden Project

It’s November, and the growing season is over for most vegetables. But even with the frosts and the shorter days, not everyone has retreated indoors. 17-year-old Connor Haynes is spending two months worth of Saturdays building a shed and rain barrels in a community garden in Charleston. Connor is working on his Eagle Scout badge, and he’s also using the project to honor his friend.

This community garden is located along Washington Street East next to Dollar General- the only store in the East End neighborhood where people can buy groceries, although there isn’t really very much food available there.

Connor Haynes and his family live outside of town, but he wanted to volunteer in this garden because there are so many people hoping to see it grow.

“It’s important to have locally grown food around. It’s a nice place. It’s a good location. There’s a bunch of gardens that people rent out. And can plant whatever they want and can grow vegetable gardens.”

Gardener Scott McMillian and city councilwoman Kasey Russell. Russell has been the main orchestrator of the East End Community Garden.

The East End Community garden has about 20 garden plots that it rents for $30 a year. They have a scholarship fund to help those in need use a garden plot for free. There is also a shared community plot, where anyone can take fruits and vegetables. This garden is located along a busy arterial street, in what had previously been a vacant lot.

Connor has been weeding some of the garden plots and building a tool shed. He’s also putting four rail barrels for people to use to water their plants.

To help him, Connor recruited a few boys from his scout troop, as well as friends from school. Their work began in October and will continue until the end of November.

In the past two years, many hands have worked to develop this space into a well used garden. Not only does it provide fresh food for people, one of the plot owners Mark Wolfe says this space also provides a visual reminder that food can grow right in your own backyard.

“So many people are shocked to find that people are planting and growing right in the middle of a city. And you get so many people that are neighbors coming over and saying they remember growing tomatoes with their grandmother.”

The East End Community Garden Project is a collaboration between neighborhood volunteers and the city of Charleston. Scott McMillian is one of the many community gardeners who have grown here for for two years.

“We put teams together and in an afternoon we turned an eyesore into something special.”

And though the volunteers have put all this labor into the garden, this lot is technically owned by the Charleston Urban Renewal Authority, or CURA. Jim Edwards, with CURA, says his group purchased this lot when they were developing a new streetscape along Washington St. They needed a place to put a power generator for the new lights, but the rest of the lot was not being used.

“It’s a good interim use of the property, and it’s certainly better that an empty lot that has to be mowed,” said Jim Edwards.

He adds that a new commercial development could eventually be built here in place of this garden.

“Well I say interim because any time you have vacant property on almost an arterial road like Washington St., you want to ultimately see it developed to a more, I guess productive is the right word, use. But this is a good use until something else comes along.”

The future of the garden might be uncertain, but it has never been more popular. Mark Wolfe rents one of the plots and has been one of the main volunteers here since the beginning. “I’m always being asked ‘how do I get a plot?'”

Part of the work that Connor Haynes is doing will help Mark and the other volunteers have more access to water next year. He’s also building a covered benches and tables to give people a place to enjoy the garden or get out of the weather.

Gardeners Scott McMillian and Sarah Cowgill talk with Jim Edwards, with the Charleston Urban Redevelopment Authority

This fall, about the same time that Connor was beginning to plan this community service project, he learned that his friend and mentor Andrew O’ Neil, a fellow Boy Scout, had passed away. The death was an accident, and quite a shock to many within the Boy Scout community in West Virginia. Andrew and Connor had worked worked together at the Buckskin Boy Scout Reservation in Pocahontas County. Andrew was seven years older than Connor.

Steven Haynes helps his son Connor Haynes digging out the concrete foundation for a new shed in the East End Community Garden.

“I’m dedicating this project to my friend Andrew O’ Neil. He died recently. And he helped me a lot getting here, where I am now.”

Without his friend, Connor says he might not be spending his Saturdays at this community garden, and he might not be working towards his Eagle Scout badge. He sees the East End Garden as a community asset that can provide important community resources for years to come.

Dedicating this community service project to his friend, he says, just seemed to fit the kind of person that Andrew was. A person who would appreciate seeing more and more community gardens, like this one, continue to grow.