Tips On Telling A Good Lie
Appalachian storyteller W.I. “Bill” Hairston gives advice for contestants in the popular Vandalia Gathering Liars Contest.
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From the conflicts of the Mine Wars-era, to the new fight to survive amid shifts in energy needs and deepening calls for environmental reform, West Virginians have long been searching for a way to make a life alongside — and beyond — coal.
In this series, “Coal and the Way Forward,” we talked to some of them.
Stories
Roxy Todd,Sep. 20, 2021
Lessons For W.Va. In West Germany's Transition From Coal
The Mountain State isn’t the only place to reckon with the difficulty of transitioning away from a coal economy into something different.West Germany emerged from World War II as one of the leading coal and steel producers in the world. Then, in the 1960s, oil emerged…
Eric Douglas,Sep. 17, 2021
Coal Production Drop Off Leaves Behind Unreclaimed Mine Lands
Coal has been “king” for most of the last century in West Virginia and central Appalachia, but in recent years, global market forces, governmental regulations and alternative energy sources like natural gas have reduced its dominance.That drop off has caused job los…
Curtis Tate,Sep. 16, 2021
Coal Keeps The Lights On, For Now, At The Mountaineer Power Plant
The first thing that strikes you about the Mountaineer power plant is its sheer size.Its stacks rise more than 1,000 feet over the Ohio River floodplain, almost as tall as the Empire State Building. Its massive cooling tower can hold 8.5 million gallons of water….
Trey Kay,Sep. 15, 2021
Remembering The Battle Of Blair Mountain And Its Significance To American History
We travel back in time 100 years, when West Virginia was home to our nation's most violent labor uprising — the Battle of Blair Mountain.
Dave Mistich,Sep. 14, 2021
UMWA Grapples With Coal’s Decline, An Uncertain Future
Miners at Warrior Met in Brookwood, Alabama have been on strike since the beginning of April. It’s a rare union action in the American South — especially these days when membership in the UMWA continues to decline.President Cecil Roberts, now in office for 26 years,…
Jessica Lilly,Sep. 13, 2021
Woman Underground — How One W.Va. Miner Found Family and Fatherly Connection In Coal
Anita Cecil McBride is a self-proclaimed country girl. She lives up a steep winding road, through a lush forest, and between a small field of corn and a chicken coop in the Appalachian mountains of Virginia.It’s a hot summer day when Cecil-McBride settles into a plast…
June Leffler,Sep. 10, 2021
Black Lung Movement Continues Through Clinics, Groups Across West Virginia
Cabin Creek, an unincorporated community in West Virginia, claims the legacy of the mine wars and labor struggles in the early 1900s. More than a century later, doctors, nurses, and social workers still fight for miners at the Cabin Creek Health Clinic, built in the 1970s as a…
Liz McCormick,Sep. 08, 2021
How Teaching Coal In W.Va. Schools Has Changed Over The Decades
Eighth graders in West Virginia are required to take West Virginia Studies, and coal has shaped many facets of our state’s economy and environment. But as employment in the industry continues to decline, how are teachers and students discussing coal in classrooms today?…
Catherine Venable Moore,Sep. 07, 2021
WVPB Reporters Tackle ‘Coal and the Way Forward’ in A New Radio Series
From the conflicts of the Mine Wars-era, to the new fight to survive amid shifts in energy needs and deepening calls for environmental reform, West Virginians have long been searching for a way to make a life alongside — and beyond — coal.Older residents can remember …