A local history preservation group is working to rehabilitate the battered First Zion Baptist Church, a historic Black church in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
Family Recipes, Water Trouble And ‘Peerless City,’ Inside Appalachia
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This week, a Virginia Tech researcher challenges deeply held ideas about the purity of natural springs.
Also, we meetthe folks behind Angelo’s Old World Italian Sausage. They still use a family recipe that’s been handed down from generation to generation for over a century. Customers love it.
You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.
Angelo’s Old World Italian Sausage is from a family recipe that goes back over a century to the Calabria region in southern Italy. It’s become a grocery store favorite in West Virginia.
Folkways Reporter Zack Harold spoke with the makers of Angelo’s Old World Italian Sausage and heard a story about sausage-making spanning generations.
Water Woes And The Trouble With Spring Water
It’s an old story in Appalachia: failing water systems leaving people afraid to drink from their taps. In McDowell County, West Virginia, people have relied on bottled water and mountain springs for decades, but maybe those alternate sources aren’t so pure.
Researchers at Virginia Tech have been looking into water inequity in the region. Mason Adams spoke with professor Leigh-Anne Krometis about what she’s found.
A Picture Of Peerless City
“Peerless City” is a documentary about Portsmouth, Ohio, a city that’s been alternatively described as the place “where southern hospitality begins” and “ground zero for the opioid epidemic.”
Filmmakers Amanda Page and David Bernabo wanted to go beyond slogans, though. Bill Lynch recently spoke with them about the film, and about Portsmouth’s complexity.
Inflation Hits Eastern Kentucky Hard
Recent reports show inflation is down from what it’s been over the last two years, but people in places like Letcher County, Kentucky are still feeling the pinch.
WEKU’s John McGary has the story.
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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by The Dirty River Boys, Hot Rize, Hank Williams, Jr., Ron Mullennex, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Tim Bing and Noam Pikelny.
Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens.
You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
On this West Virginia Morning, we hear from Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party, on the efforts to rebuild the party and restore Democrats to state offices ahead of this primary election. Also, we hear about preservation efforts for a historic Black church in Harpers Ferry.
Homelessness is not just an issue for big cities like San Francisco or New York City. Across America, communities large and small are struggling to provide shelter to people without housing. In Charleston, West Virginia, government and community approaches to help the unhoused have created more debate on an issue that is already divisive. Earlier this year, this episode received a second place award from the Virginias AP Broadcasters for Best Podcast.
On this West Virginia Morning, a West Virginia circuit court removed two members of the Jefferson County Commission from office, but a last-minute party change has cast confusion over who will name her successor.
Also, the construction of a pipeline in western Pennsylvania and a rupture in the Mountain Valley Pipeline has left environmentalists asking questions.
On this West Virginia Morning, as chief legal officer for West Virginia’s citizens, state office holders, agencies and boards, the attorney general’s (AG) responsibilities cover the litigation gamut. The four candidates in the upcoming primary races for AG have diverse views on how those responsibilities should be handled – and prioritized. Randy Yohe has our second story on this race.