This week, ballads tell stories about all kinds of real-life events, but after Hurricane Helene, one group of ballad singers felt some topics were still too raw. Also, the author of a new book on ancient Ohio credits a former grad student with introducing him to the region’s mysterious earthworks. And, the legacy of Affrilachian poet Norman Jordan includes a summer camp for teens to study their heritage.
Harpers Ferry Mayor Gregory Vaughn says an early morning fire has devastated the historic town’s commercial area.
Vaughn says the fire destroyed seven to eight businesses housed in one building. An adjacent restaurant sustained substantial damage. No one was injured.
Credit Liz McCormick / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Crews were still on scene Thursday morning.
The buildings were constructed in the 1800s. The commercial area is adjacent to Harpers Ferry National Historic Park.
Vaughn says he was notified of the fire around 4:30 a.m. Thursday. The cause hasn’t been determined, but emergency officials say it began around 3 in the morning.
Vaughn says he is grief stricken for the community and for the shop and property owners affected by the fire.
Credit Liz McCormick / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Damage from a fire in downtown Harpers Ferry.
“It’s a personal, of course loss, huge loss, but the loss for our town is devastating. This is such a beautiful town, and people come here literally from all over the world,” said Cindi Dunn, whose shop, the Vintage Lady, was caught in the blaze.
Many shop owners are trying to salvage what they can, reaching through burned window frames. Local emergency officials say there were no injuries.
Harpers Ferry was the site of a failed raid on a federal arsenal in 1858 by abolitionist John Brown. During the Civil War, Harpers Ferry changed hands eight times between 1861 and 1865.
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This week, ballads tell stories about all kinds of real-life events, but after Hurricane Helene, one group of ballad singers felt some topics were still too raw. Also, the author of a new book on ancient Ohio credits a former grad student with introducing him to the region’s mysterious earthworks. And, the legacy of Affrilachian poet Norman Jordan includes a summer camp for teens to study their heritage.
When Marion County attorney Scott Summers realized Grant Town was planning to tear down an historic building, he decided to see what he could do to stop it.
Indigenous people created hundreds of earthen monuments in what is now Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. John E. Hancock, a professor of architecture and design at the University of Cincinnati, spent years studying these earthworks. He published a guidebook for visiting them. Inside Appalachia’s Bill Lynch spoke with Hancock about the book.
