Forgotten Black Poets of WWI Era Featured on New Website

The nation’s first and only building memorializing African American veterans of WWI is located in Kimball, W.Va. and Thursday evening a celebration of Black History Month will take place there that highlights the work of two previously unrecognized poets from the era.

The two poets were sisters from Beckley who at age 17 and 18 attended the West Virginia Colored Institute, which is now West Virginia State College. An 83 page hard back book featuring their poetry was published in 1919.

Discovering the Book

In the late 1970’s Jean Barnes Peters found a copy of War Poems sitting on a bookshelf in her house in Charleston, W.Va. The authors, Ada and Ethel Peters, were half-sisters to Jean’s husband, Joseph Cromwell Peters. 

“And he said I can’t tell you about this book, those young ladies would have been 20 years older than I am,” Barnes Peters said.

Joseph Cromwell Peters, who is now deceased, never met his two half-sisters and didn’t know anything about them because their mother and his father divorced before he was born.

The little book fascinated Jean Peters and she would occasionally pick it up a read some of the poetry, which she describes as long, long narratives.

The preface in the book reads:

The sole intention of the authors in writing these poems is to show the Negro’s loyalty to the stars and stripes in the war with Germany and to show the need of unity of all men in the fight for democracy.

“But eventually I started to scrutinize what they were saying and it was protest, which seemed unusual for teenage girls in 1919 in rural West Virginia to be even knowledgeable in WWI just before and just after and how badly Black soldiers were treated,” Barnes Peters said.

Sharing the Book

The fifth poem, written by Ada Peters, is called The Slacker. It was this poem that caused Jean Peters to bring the little book to the attention of Joel Beeson, West Virginia University visual journalism and new media professor, and his students.

Mrs. Peters was invited to attend an event back in 2011 at the Kimball Memorial for an exhibit the students created on World War One soldiers.

“And there was a poster that said ‘The Colored man is no slacker,’” Beeson said. “And she said there’s a poem in this book I have called The Slacker.”

Credit WVU School of Journalism
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WVU School of Journalism

The poem begins:

God forbid ere man was born To crush honor beneath his feet That the light of day should dawn Upon one, who from duty flees While on Freedom’s Bleeding Alter, His Noble Comrades have bled But he stands idle a slacker Disgraced before living and dead.

“These young women who are 17 and 18 were commenting very intelligently on their times,” Beeson said. “And the things they were saying were protest, they were asking for civil rights and this was back in 1919 before the internet, before television, before radio.”

So Beeson and his students took on a new project that includes an interactive web site called War Poems where you can page through the book, read the poetry, learn about its history, and the story of how Jean Barnes Peters found it on the bookshelf in her house.

Beeson said one goal is reaching young people through new and interactive media.

“That’s the language and that’s the medium that young people use,” he said. “So hopefully this is a site where we can get young people enthusiastic and inspired about these two young women whose voices were kind of left in the past and we’re trying to bring that to life.”

Engaging the Public

An event took place Thursday evening from 7-9 p.m. at the Kimball War Memorial that included a demonstration of the web site and presentations from Beeson, Barnes Peters and some of the students who worked on the project.

Beeson’s class is also worked with classes at Mountain View Middle and Mountain View High Schools Friday, where students learned about the War Poems site and Kimball Memorial. They also participated in a poetry contest in which they Tweeted poems from the web site.

W.Va. Senate Moves to Include Prep Teams in WVSSAC

The Senate has advanced a bill to recognize college preparatory teams as members of the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission.
 
The bill approved Wednesday allows college prep sports teams to elect to be members of the activities commission and compete against other area high schools and attend conferences and national tournaments.

However, the bill does prohibit college prep teams that are members of the WVSSAC from competing for league, regional or state championships.
 
The bill states that college prep teams must be comprised of members from the same school and must not have members who are fifth-year seniors or post-high school graduates.
 
Senate Bill 540 has been passed to the House for action.

What Is Being Done to Help Folks Without Potable Water in Wyoming Co.?

The folks in a Wyoming County community were dealing with unpotable water months before the chemical spill in Charleston.

About 170 customers, around 500 people, have been on a boil water advisory since September.

This past weekend an apparent power outage caused the pump to stop working at the Alpoca Water Works facility. The Mullens Opportunity Center is offering a place for folks to shower as needed. Reports indicate the water has since cleared up to the eye, but residents remain on a boil water advisory.   

It appears that the need for clean water in this region won’t go away anytime soon.

The Situation

The Alpoca Water Works system is old, and outdated. Alpoca is a small locally owned company with limited resources.

The owners are working to close the sale of the company and turn it over to the Eastern Wyoming County PSD, but apparently it’s not a simple sale.

The water tank sits on property owned by NASCAR driver Greg Biffle. Greg’s brother Jeff Biffle says they were not aware that the tank was on their property.

Wyoming County court officials haven’t been able to locate documents indicating Alpoca Water Works had ever leased the land, although the tank has been there for decades.

In a phone conversation, Jeff Biffle told West Virginia Public Broadcasting that they paid $30,000 in attorney’s fees to ensure they were taking care of their responsibilities.

What’s being done to fix the water?

The Logan Public Service District has worked to fix the filter, installed three flush valves, and other things to improve the quality.

The long-term fix, known as the Covel project, will bring a new water main to serve the Bud/Alpoca area. The project has nearly a $5.7 million price tag, all of which – except for $125,000 – is Abandoned Mine Land funding.

The money comes from a tax coal companies pay that’s meant to help resolve public safety issues such as hazardous highwalls, or damaged water resulting from mining before 1977. 

“We are literally a year away before that extension comes,” Sen. Mike Green said during an interview on The Legislature Today. “So our main focus now it to find a temporary water source.”

“After that we’ll look at any type of legislation or remedy … at this point we don’t have an answer for the residents of Wyoming County,” he added.

State Senators Green and Daniel Hall say they’ve reached out to several state agencies to find a fast solution like getting help from the National Guard, state Homeland Security, and the Department of Health and Human Resources.

“I’m a little disappointed in our Department of Health and Human Resources,” Green said. “Their position is that they’ve tested the water they’ve issued a boil water advisory and at that point they question whether or not they have any responsibility in that. I think they do.”

The Saddle Club out of N.C. donated 250 cases on Wed. Feb. 19, 2014. Virginia Lusk (middle) says she will continue to collect and distribute water at Herndon Consolidated School.

Green said he’s expecting an order from the state Public Service Commission that would help to remedy the situation soon.

For now, the boil water advisory continues. On Wednesday, the second donation arrived from the nonprofit organization called the Good People Fund, based in New Jersey.

Principal of Herndon Consolidated Virginia Lusk says other donations have arrived from a sorority and fraternity based at Marshall University, the UPS Foundation, and groups from North Carolina, Michigan and more.

“People from Wyoming County are very resilient and very tough and we’re taking care of ourselves,” Senator Daniel Hall said. “But it does make the community feel very good that people from outside care enough to try and send help. We are very grateful for that.” 

Lusk said the school will continue and distribute the water from Herndon Consolidated School.

Credit Virginia Lusk
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The Good People Fund, out of New Jersey, has donated a total of 2,000 gallons of water.

Listen: A West Virginia Superintendent Sings to Announce Closings, Delays

Winter weather has shut down government offices, shopping malls and, of course, public schools. School was in session for President’s Day in some schools…

Winter weather has shut down government offices, shopping malls and, of course, public schools. School was in session for President’s Day in some schools systems in order to make up for snow days.

There’s no doubt that children look forward to the automated calls from school administrators canceling or delaying school days. But some working parents dread those calls since another snow day means another day to find child care or even miss work.

Fayette County Superintendent Keith Butcher is hoping to ease the tension by adding a melody to the message.

"This is the phone call kids love to hear, So gather around let me be clear. Ice and snow has come our way, And so I announce this two-hour delay. Please don't cry and please don't complain, You'll get a chance to wake up your brain. Two more hours of sleep and then it's back to the school again."

On Friday of last week, Butcher announced schools in Fayette County would be closed. Central office staff didn’t have to report to work but, custodians, maintenance, and transportation staff were called into work. At least he broke the news to everyone with an adaptation of “Let It Snow.”

0214FayetteCoClosing.mp3
Fayette County Superintendent of Schools Keith Butcher announces a Code B Closing on Friday, February 14 through an automated voice message.

"Oh, the snow outside is still falling. That's the reason that I'm calling. Since traveling is not cool, There's no school, there's no school, there's no school."

DEP Orders Fayette County Waste Pit Shutdown, Renews Well Permit

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has renewed a permit for an underground injection well in Fayette County that accepts fracking water and other waste.

A public hearing in 2013 brought concerned residents and former workers of Danny Webb Construction, the owner of the site. Residents have been concerned about the site for years.

The DEP renewed the permit on February 6 for a class two UIC, or underground injection control disposal well owned by Danny Webb Construction. The permit allows the company to accept fluids from oil and gas exploration, development drilling, and production fluids for another five years, although during the renewal process, the company could accept the waste anyway.

The permit was granted with the condition that the company close a waste pit and no longer use it. The pit is located near the underground well and was used to help remove sediments from the waste before injecting underground.

The DEP ordered the pit closed after the operator failed to submit a plan to bring the pit up to code. Although the DEP did not find the pit to be leaking, officials say it needed to be upgraded.

Underground Injection Control Permit Reviewer for the DEP Office of Oil and Natural Gas James Peterson says the pit needs a leak detection system and a new liner.

DEP is asking DWC to submit an engineered plan to properly close the pit.

The renewal comes despite opposition letters from several national and local environmental groups.

This pit and the well have received waste from Pennsylvania, Virginia and other parts of West Virginia.

The DEP says there are 54 non-commercial and 17 commercial disposal wells in the state as of late last year.

Shutdowns, Shoveling, and Sleighriding: A W.Va. Winter Story

Several public school systems across the state remained closed Friday. It was the same story at several universities and colleges. Some West Virginians are still digging out of a deep snow that fell over Wednesday and Thursday.

Preliminary totals from the National Weather Service include more than a foot  in the Eastern Panhandle and Southern West Virginia. American Electric Power’s website showed minor outages during the storm. Governor Tomblin urged residents to stay home unless absolutely necessary. Still, the deep snow created slick conditions treacherous for driving and a workout to shovel but perfect for sleigh riding. 

Students at Concord University enjoyed a day off as did Mercer County public schools, so residents quickly flocked to campus to enjoy a Concord tradition. Listen to the audio file above to hear West Virginians shovels, plow and even slide through the snow day.

Jessica Lilly can be reached at 304.384.5981, or by email jlilly@wvpublic.org. You can also follow her on twitter: @WVJessicaYLilly.

For updates from West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s statewide news team, follow @wvpubnews.

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