Alert (March 11, 2026): Our TV translator in Flatwoods is experiencing technical issues. Our engineers are troubleshooting the problem. Thank you for your patience.
The hillbilly stereotype is frequently used to shame mountain people, but there are gentler versions, like Snuffy Smith, the long-running comic strip character. Snuffy Smith originally started out as a supporting character in his comic strip, which first launched in 1919 when Billy DeBeck created Barney Google. Artist Fred Lasswell was brought in during the ‘30s to create Snuffy Smith and his friends. And now the strip is written and drawn by John Rose, who lives in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.
There are two communities in northern Kanawha County that, when said together like they often are, sound more like something your grandmother used to do when you were being naughty.
The towns Pinch and Quick are nestled along the banks of the Elk River. They’re only about 13 miles away from Charleston, but they have their own identity, even if the origin of the names isn’t as interesting as it sounds like it should be.
Credit My West Virginia Home
/
My West Virginia Home
The original Big Chimney.
Pinch is named for the Pinch Creek and Quick is named for the Quick family, according to Ellie Teaford, the of the Elk Valley Branch Library. Teaford said the Pinch name came about during a particularly difficult time in the early settler’s history.
“There was a lack of food in the area for the pioneers. So they were literally feeling a pinch in their gut and named the creek after it,” she said. It was originally Pinch Gut Creek.
Without that historical context, it can be kind of funny that two towns named Pinch and Quick are right next to each other. It’s actually led to a lot of jokes over the years. For Kaitlin Jordan, who attended Pinch Elementary School, just saying the school name was a hazard.
“All I know is that I would get pinched if I said it in elementary school,” she said. “The kids would say ‘Hey, what’s the name of our elementary school? I can’t remember,” and then when you said it, you would get pinched.”
A third community in the area has an unusual name, but for a completely different reason. Big Chimney is named for a big chimney that used to be part of a salt production facility along the Elk River.
While it may sound utilitarian, the chimney itself was a local landmark. It even inspired a poem. The verse was discovered on the back of an old photo.
The Big Chimney
Marred and stained by the rush of time
It stood by the riverside
A landmark to all nigh sublime
Who lived round the countryside
Twas the chapel slaves that molded each block
From the plantation just over the way
And quickly, with chisel, fashioned each rock
In the base and coping gray.
The corner was torn by the lightning’s flash
That the vines strove ever hide
And down the face a ragged gash
The years rove wider and wider
Sixty feet it lifted its towering crest
From foundation laid in lime and clay,
A silent sentinel barring expressed 100 years today.
Evan Dockeridge is gone, and plans are forgotten
And the salt making industry is dead
For the ravages of war invaded the spot
And left defeat in thread.
The poem is attributed to William W. Wertz, the mayor of Charleston from 1923 to 1931. A news article from the Charleston Daily Mail in 1928 details the day the chimney collapsed, brought down by high winds.
Add WVPB as a preferred source on Google to see more from our team
The hillbilly stereotype is frequently used to shame mountain people, but there are gentler versions, like Snuffy Smith, the long-running comic strip character. Snuffy Smith originally started out as a supporting character in his comic strip, which first launched in 1919 when Billy DeBeck created Barney Google. Artist Fred Lasswell was brought in during the ‘30s to create Snuffy Smith and his friends. And now the strip is written and drawn by John Rose, who lives in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.
"Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire" is a young adult novel set in Appalachia. Written by West Virginia native Don Martin, the book follows the story of a witch-in-training who uses her magic to help a forgotten mountain coal town. It was an instant New York Times bestseller after it was released last year. Inside Appalachia Producer Bill Lynch spoke with Martin about the book and his podcast "Head on Fire."
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. Inside Appalachia host Mason Adams spoke to Rose about drawing the famous hillbilly.
