West Virginia Encyclopedia, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

April 5, 2010: Explosions Rock the Upper Big Branch Mine

On April 5, 2010, the day after Easter, a series of explosions rocked the Upper Big Branch mine near Montcoal in Raleigh County.

Twenty-nine men died, making it West Virginia’s worst mining disaster since 78 miners were killed at Farmington in 1968.

After the Upper Big Branch explosion, an independent investigation determined that sparks from a longwall miner had ignited a pocket of methane, setting off a chain of explosions that surged more than two miles through the mine.

The panel concluded that the explosions could have been prevented and that systems designed to protect the miners had failed. The report found that the mine’s owner, Massey Energy, had operated its mines in a “profoundly reckless manner.” The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration reached similar conclusions, blaming the deaths on an “intentional and aggressive” effort by Massey to ignore safety rules.

The criticism of Massey eventually led to the resignation of company president, Don Blankenship. In 2016, Blankenship was sentenced to one year in prison for conspiring to willfully violate mine safety standards, largely in connection with the Upper Big Branch Disaster.

January 26, 1960: Burnsville Guard Danny Heater Scores 135 Points

Athlete Danny Heater, born in Braxton County, on February 27, 1942, holds the national record for most points scored in a high school basketball game. He was a resident of Burnsville, and attended Burnsville High School. He scored 135 points in a varsity basketball game against Widen on January 26, 1960.

Heater went on to receive an academic scholarship to attend the University of Richmond, where unfortunately he was never a starting player. Nevertheless, his record has stood for decades, and his feat is still a focus of community pride in the town of Burnsville.

January 15, 1890: West Virginia Legislators Convene To Choose Governor

On January 15, 1890, West Virginia legislators convened in special session to choose the state’s new governor. The most recent gubernatorial election had been deadlocked for an incredible 14 months.

After the initial election tally in November 1888, Republican Nathan Goff Jr. had held a 106-vote lead over Democrat A. B. Fleming. But Fleming challenged the count, asserting that black voters from Virginia had crossed state lines to vote illegally in McDowell and Mercer counties. Inauguration day produced an absurd scene in which both Goff and Fleming were sworn in as governor. Meanwhile, the sitting governor, E. Willis Wilson, refused to leave office until the dispute could be resolved. The state supreme court backed Wilson, who continued to serve for the next 14 months.

In January 1890, the legislature voted along straight party lines in favor of the Democrat Fleming. One of Fleming’s accomplishments as governor was to enact a uniform statewide ballot to help ensure more consistent election returns in the future.

Demonstrating how closely the electorate was divided in 1888, three of the state’s four congressional races also were contested that year.

January 6: 'Old Christmas' Celebrated Across West Virginia, Appalachia

January 6 is the day traditionally known as Old Christmas. It’s a relic of the Julian Calendar, developed 2,000 years ago. In the late 1500s, Pope Gregory XIII changed the calendar to match the solar cycle more closely. To do so, the Julian Calendar had to be reduced from 376 to 365 days, eliminating 11 full days. Some countries, though, resisted the change and kept the old Julian Calendar. It took nearly 200 years for England and Scotland to come around. Both countries adopted the Gregorian Calendar in 1752.

About this time, many of these English and Scots were emigrating to the Americas and settling in Appalachia. Some didn’t know about the change or refused to adopt the new Gregorian Calendar and kept the extra 11 days in their calendars. This meant that for them, Christmas fell on January 6 rather than December 25. Over time, most Christians in Appalachia started observing December 25 as Christmas. However, until fairly recently, Old Christmas was still celebrated in some rural areas of West Virginia. It’s recalled in various traditions such as in the fiddle tune “Old Christmas Morning.”

January 5, 1887: New Capitol Building Dedicated in Charleston

On January 5, 1887, Governor E. Willis Wilson hosted a ball and banquet to dedicate West Virginia’s new capitol building in downtown Charleston. The event marked the end of what had become a running joke in the state’s early years—the location of the capital city. In the first two decades of statehood, the capital had already been moved from Wheeling to Charleston and back to Wheeling, again.

The dedication event in Charleston marked the capital’s final journey—at least in terms of host cities.

This new Victorian Capitol was a massive stone-and-brick structure built on the site of Charleston’s first capitol. Although it wasn’t fully completed until early 1887, state employees had started moving in a year-and-a-half earlier. Its 85 rooms originally housed all state agencies. But, the size of government was growing rapidly. In 1903, a capitol annex was built across the street to accommodate some agencies, including the state archives and museum. The annex later became the Kanawha County Public Library.

In January 1921, the Victorian Capitol was completely destroyed by fire. Three years later, construction work would begin on the state’s current capitol building.

January 4, 1980: Musician John Homer Walker Dies in Princeton

Musician John Homer Walker died in Princeton on January 4, 1980, at age 81. The Mercer County native was raised in Summers County and lived much of his adult life in neighboring Glen Lyn, Virginia. He usually worked as a laborer and farmhand.

“Uncle Homer,” as he was affectionately known, learned to play clawhammer-style banjo from his mother and uncle. He picked up traditional songs, like the old spiritual, “Steal Away,” from his grandfather, who was born a slave.

“Uncle Homer” Walker was a popular performer during the folk revival of the 1960s and ’70s. He appeared regularly at the John Henry Folk Festival, the Vandalia Gathering, and the Appalachian South Folklife Center. He was featured at the Smithsonian Institution’s Festival of American Folklife and was the subject of the 1977 film Banjo Man.