On this West Virginia Morning, we speak with a teacher in the Eastern Panhandle who went viral on Twitter after writing a poem using her emails. Also, in this episode, we bring you two stories about communities coming together to help their neighbors.
During the coronavirus pandemic many people have returned to practices like baking, gardening and sewing as a way to socially distance. Producing things at home is nothing new for West Virginia farmers. The Mountain State has 23,000 farms, and most are family owned. Our Southern Coalfields reporter Caitlin Tan spoke with one farming family leaning on their skill set to provide for themselves and others during this pandemic.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed how a lot of us go about our day. But for those without housing, basic hygiene tasks like washing hands, showering and doing laundry have become even more difficult. In Wheeling, one group has installed a hygiene station under a city underpass to provide for those basic needs. Corey Knollinger recently spoke to Kate Marshall, the head of the H.O.H Share, about the hygiene station and how to keep those without housing from feeling hopeless during the pandemic.
In the midst of the pandemic, Jessica Salfia, a creative writing teacher in the Eastern Panhandle, found herself needing an artistic outlet. She wrote a poem using a unique muse – her emails. And it struck a chord, going viral on Twitter. Reporter Eric Douglas spoke with Salfia over Zoom about the unexpected inspiration for her poem.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from West Virginia University, Concord University, and Shepherd University.
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