On New Year’s Eve 1952, country music legend Hank Williams was scheduled to perform at Charleston’s Municipal Auditorium as part of his comeback tour.
His life had been descending into turmoil for a long time. Various issues were to blame, including marriage troubles, back problems, prescription drug abuse, and alcoholism. In August 1952, he had been fired from the Grand Ole Opry because his notorious unreliability had finally overshadowed his incomparable talent.
But, by the end of 1952, he was trying to get his life and career back on track. He’d even released a new single entitled “I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive.” The Charleston show was expected to be an important part of his comeback. Unfortunately, an ice storm grounded his plane, and the show was canceled. He asked a family friend, Charles Carr, to drive him to his next performance in Canton, Ohio. On New Year’s Day, Carr stopped at a gas station in Oak Hill and discovered the singer dead in the back seat. Williams was only 29. Today, a plaque in Oak Hill commemorates Hank Williams’s “last stop on his last tour.”
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders attended a rally Sunday in Charleston billed as an effort to “protect our health care.” Supporters demanded that Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., vote against the latest U.S. Senate health care bill.
Credit Kara Lofton / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
“If either version passes the effects will have a crippling impact on communities all throughout our great state,” said Joshua Sword of the West Virginia American Federation of Labor. Sword, one of Sunday’s speakers, was referring to versions of the health care overhaul that have recently been passed by the House and Senate.
“Hospitals, drug treatment facilities and countless other specialized care providers will have to close their doors due to the loss of federal funding to the system,” he said.
Credit Kara Lofton / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Supporters listen to Bernie Sanders speak at Sunday’s rally.
Attendees were led through several chants pointed at Republican Senator Capito, including “lives are on the line.” Up until this point, she has said that she has “concerns” with the way the legislation is written, but hasn’t announced how she plans to vote.
Speakers covered aspects of health care that would be impacted by the proposed legislation, such as Medicaid expansion, substance abuse treatment and the ability of insurance companies to deny coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.
Sanders came on stage about an hour into the program to a wildly enthusiastic audience.
Credit Kara Lofton / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Bernie Sanders speaking at the Charleston Municipal Theater Sunday.
“The legislation that is coming before the Senate in a few days, the so called health care bill, will be the most devastating attack on the working class of this country in the modern history of the United States of America,” he said.
The Senate could vote on the proposed legislation as early as this week, before the July 4th recess. Critics say such a vote is too hasty, while supporters hope to push the bill through.
The rally was co-sponsored by 13 activist groups, including Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families Coalition and West Virginians for Affordable Health Care. About 2,000 people attended.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation, Charleston Area Medical Center and WVU Medicine.
