This week, having a very specific talent can lead to a dream job. It’s how cartoonist John Rose got his foot in the door to draw the comic strip Snuffy Smith. Also, there are dos and don’ts for treating poison ivy. And, a young, old-time musician wants to save her family’s lost ballads.
Get excited, ’cause West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s spring pledge drive is happening this week! Since this station is our “Mountain Mama,” we’re pulling out all the stops to show you why West Virginia Public Broadcasting is “Almost Heaven” and deserves your pledge of support! That’s why we’re playing exclusive, archived shows from 1988 and 1989 on this weekend’s Mountain Stage After Midnight.
Broadcast from 1am-5am Saturday and Sunday mornings here on West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Mountain Stage After Midnight takes the best episodes from the show’s 31 year history and shares their memories and songs with our late-night listeners.
And this weekend (April 11 & 12) is no exception. Keep your eyes (and ears) open for sets that you can’t hear anywhere else but on WV airwaves.
First up is a show from March 20, 1988, recorded at the former Capitol Plaza Theatre (now known as the West Virginia State University Capitol Center Theatre). The show features Red Clay Ramblers (their first Mountain Stage appearance, as a matter of fact), Tommy Thompson (now a West Virginia Music Hall of Fame inductee), Norman & Nancy Blake (did you hear his recent chat with NPR’s Fresh Air?) and Mick Moloney & Friends (who received the National Heritage Award, the highest official honor a traditional artist can receive in the United States).
Credit Mountain Stage
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Jesse Winchester on the Mountain Stage in 1989.
We’ll also hear an April 9, 1989 show that features such legendary acts as Grammy winner Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, David Grisman & the Bluegrass Experience featuring Del McCoury and our old friend Jesse Winchester.
It takes a whole lot of time and manpower to make Mountain Stage happen, but as the old saying goes, “Teamwork makes the dream work.” We’d love to have you as part of our community, whether that’s by connecting with us on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram), signing up for our monthly email newsletter or pledging your support for Mountain Stage.
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This week, having a very specific talent can lead to a dream job. It’s how cartoonist John Rose got his foot in the door to draw the comic strip Snuffy Smith. Also, there are dos and don’ts for treating poison ivy. And, a young, old-time musician wants to save her family’s lost ballads.
For nearly 100 years, Snuffy Smith has been a staple of newspaper comic pages, though these days, it’s easier to find him online. Snuffy Smith was brought to life by Artist Fred Lasswell in the 1930s, but now the strip is written and drawn by John Rose, who lives in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. We hear from Rose about drawing the famous hillbilly.
Virginia writer Emilee Hackney has a complicated relationship with her home. She loves the place where she’s from, in Tazewell County — her friends, family, the swimming holes and mountains and wild places — but she also felt stifled. Her new memoir "All That’s Unseen: An Appalachian Memoir" explores this tension and her experience when she did leave. Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams spoke with Hackney about the book.
The West Virginia Manufacturers Association has just launched its inaugural Coolest Thing Made In West Virginia tournament. We caught up with WVMA President Bill Bissett to find out what organizers hope will come from the competition – and what makes a really cool product.