ALERT (03/07/2024): Due to a lightning strike, WVPB TV will be off the air in the Bethany/Wheeling area until new parts arrive. Thank you for your patience.
Harpers Ferry is a historic West Virginia city and international tourist hub. But four years ago the national park and surrounding town were devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This episode of Inside Appalachia is about returning home. For some people, timing and circumstance force you back. It is only then that you realize how much you missed home. Others spend decades longing to return.
There are many songs about that longing. One of the most famous is “Take Me Home, County Roads,” a song that has come to represent the feeling of homesickness that many Appalachians know so well.
In this episode of Inside Appalachia, we will hear from people who recently moved to Appalachia, either as a return or for the first time. There are also stories about people learning homesteading skills that helped our great-grandparents’ generation survive the Great Depression and have sustained many Appalachians for years.
John Denver’s song “Take Me Home, County Roads,” has been a worldwide anthem since its release in April 1971. The song is one of the things people across the globe connect with West Virginia. But there’s a debate about whether the lyrics were really even written about the state.
For some people, returning home means going back to a place. For others, it means connecting to traditions or homesteading roots. With a little more time on our hands, a lot of us have turned to traditional skills and practices as one way of coping with the challenges.
Some folks in Appalachia have returned to community traditions of raising and butchering livestock at home. Folkways corps reporter Nicole Musgrave found two people in Floyd County, Kentucky who are teaching others how to process meat at home.
How About Them Apples?
Homecoming and the cool fall air may bring to mind foods like apple strudel or cider making. But apples are more than just a fall treat. Summer varieties of apples are an important ingredient for some applesauce or breakfast apple recipes.
Due to the pandemic, many people have asked themselves why they are living in cities if they can work from anywhere. That has caused an outmigration from city centers into suburbs and small towns. Kara Lofton caught up with some folks who’ve recently moved to the Mountain State.
We had help producing Inside Appalachia this week from the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Southern Coalfields Reporting Project, which is supported by a grant from the National Coal Heritage Area Authority. Special thanks to the West Virginia Folklife Program at the West Virginia Humanities Council.
Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Dinosaur Burps, John Harrod from his recording with Appalshop’s June Appal Records, the late Wade Ward and also, John Denver.
Roxy Todd is our producer. Eric Douglas is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Andrea Billups. Kelley Libby edited our show this week. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Zander Aloi also helped produce this episode.
On this West Virginia Morning, tourists from around the world visit Harpers Ferry each year to immerse themselves in U.S. history. But the number of visitors fell in 2020, as public health restrictions ramped up nationwide. Jack Walker visited the town to learn how things have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Across the nation, there are more and more local news deserts; communities with no local newspaper, television or radio station to cover what’s going on. When a small town paper like The Welch News in McDowell County, WV, can’t compete and shuts down, losing those local eyes and ears can affect accountability. No one is there to watch over things. Local news also provides a sense of cohesion and identity for a community. What happens when it’s gone? This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center.
On this West Virginia Morning, it has been a year since allegations of illicit recordings of cadets and other women at the West Virginia State Police barracks launched federal and state investigations into the law enforcement department. We speak with the superintendent of state police for an update.
On this West Virginia Morning, political analysts say the two Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate in the upcoming May primary election give voters some particular, and troubling, food for thought. The candidates themselves say voters need to focus on the positives, not the negatives.