Coal and Politics in Ky., Civil War Baseball in Tenn., Studying History in Va. Cemeteries

In east Tennessee, modern spectators watch a Civil War era baseball game.  To history buff Mark Aubry, it’s like time travel.

In West Virginia, Charlie Massey runs the American Heritage Music Hall where people from all over the world come to dance.

And in Virginia, history students are hanging out in Richmond’s cemeteries because their professor Ryan Smith has told them to.

These are among the stories Inside Appalachia this week.

Coal’s Role in Kentucky Politics: As Kentucky’s two U.S. Senate candidates Democrat Alison Lundergan Grimes and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell joust to prove their loyalty to coal, one gubernatorial candidate has found himself in political trouble over the same issue. From Louisville, WFPL’s Erica Peterson took a look at the oversized role coal continues to play in the commonwealth’s elections.

The Role of Climate Change in Penn. Politics: Billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer said he’d spend up to $100 million dollars trying to elect green-friendly politicians in this year’s election. Some of that money has already been spent in Pennsylvania on ads targeting incumbent governor Republican Tom Corbett. The Allegheny Front’s Reid Frazier looks at what impact Steyer’s money will have, and whether climate change has become a campaign issue here.

Baseball was America’s Favorite Pastime Even in War: In fields throughout Appalachia, groups of men are dedicated to re-creating the era when baseball was king – when everything, even Civil War battles, would be put on hold for the national pastime.

History Lessons at a Va. Cemetery: This fall, plenty of professors will be sending their students to the library, but one faculty member plans to send his kids into the cemeteries of Richmond, Virginia to learn more about the city’s past.