Tag: History

The Appalachian Forager And Crosswinds, Inside Appalachia

The woman behind the popular TikTok account “Appalachian Forager” makes jam from wild pawpaws … and jewelry from coyote teeth. We also talk with the hosts of a new podcast that looks at coal dust exposure beyond the mines, affecting people far downstream from Appalachia. You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

This week, the woman behind the popular TikTok account “Appalachian Forager” makes jam from wild pawpaws … and jewelry from coyote teeth.

We also talk with the hosts of a new podcast that looks at coal dust exposure beyond the mines, affecting people far downstream from Appalachia. 

And, in some places, slavery continued in different forms well after the end of the Civil War. A new marker in Western North Carolina acknowledges that history and commemorates a disaster that killed 19 Black prisoners.

You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

In This Episode:

Appalachian Forager Found In TikTok

The Appalachian Forager brings native know-how to TikTok with a side of silly.

Photo Credit: Amanda Page/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Gathering wild foods has long been a way to put food on the table in the Appalachian mountains. In recent years, the practice has gone digital, with online communities devoted to foraging in the wild, springing up like wild mushrooms after a spring rain.

One woman in eastern Kentucky is sharing what she knows (and some humor) with the TikTok generation through an account called “Appalachian Forager.”   

Folkways Reporter Amanda Page has the story.

Let’s Talking About Taxidermy

Taxidermist Amy Ritchie is sharing the love of her craft with other enthusiasts.

Photo Credit: Margaret McLeod Leef/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

A lot of folks are fascinated by the results of taxidermy. The preservation and mounting of dead animals has been around since at least the middle ages.

In 2023, Folkways Reporter Margaret McLeod Leef visited a modern practitioner in Yadkin County, North Carolina.

Downstream Dangers Of Coal Dust

The Dominion terminal and coal storage facility in Newport News, Virginia, where residents in nearby neighborhoods have complained of blowing coal dust.

Photo Credit: Adrian Wood

Appalachia plays an important part in the world economy. The region produces less coal than it used to — but it’s still a hot commodity for steel makers. That demand creates problems for people living near the terminals where coal is moved from train to ship, to then be carried overseas. Residents of Norfolk and Newport News, Virginia, say airborne coal dust from export terminals is coating their cars and houses — and getting into their lungs.

A new podcast called Crosswinds links that fight on the coast to communities in West Virginia.

Host Mason Adams spoke with spoke with Crosswinds producer Adrian Wood, and Lathaniel Kirts, a pastor and activist in one of the affected communities. 

Remembering The Continuation Of Slavery

No known photographs remain of the convict labor crew that the Cowee 19 worked on, but historians say this crew working on the Western North Carolina Railroad in the late 1800s was similar.

Photo Credit: Hunter Library Special Collections, Western Carolina University

North Carolina is unveiling a roadside historical marker that officially acknowledges the 1882 Cowee Tunnel disaster. Nineteen prisoners were drowned when their boat capsized in a river west of Asheville.

The marker also acknowledges a form of de facto slavery, used for decades following the Civil War. We heard from Jay Price at WUNC. 

The Last Of The Ramps

Toward the end of the season, ramp leaves begin to shrivel and die off.

Photo Credit: Bill Lynch/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Ramp season is winding down in central Appalachia, but before the last ramp was picked, Producer Bill Lynch followed a friend out for a late harvest at her secret ramp patch.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Tyler Childers, Sierra Ferrell, Bob Thompson, Dinosaur Burps and Tim Bing.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. We had help this week from folkways editor Jennifer Goren.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

You can find us on Instagram, Threads and Twitter @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.

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Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Harpers Ferry, Bolivar Residents Unite To Restore Black Baptist Church

A local history preservation group is working to rehabilitate the battered First Zion Baptist Church, a historic Black church in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

Harpers Ferry is a hotspot for Black history in West Virginia. The town was home to an 1859 abolitionist uprising, a 1905 conference on Black civil rights and a historically Black college that operated for nearly a century.

For many residents, a first step toward preserving Harpers Ferry’s Black history is rehabilitating and preserving sites of historic significance.

When community members noticed a traditionally Black Baptist church in town fall into disrepair, they rallied behind an effort to restore the building to its former glory.

Now, a local preservation nonprofit called the Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation has secured a $100,000 grant to rehabilitate the church.

Reporter Jack Walker spoke with the organization’s incoming chair Lynn Pechuekonis about where the project is today, and the future of First Zion Baptist Church.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

First Zion Baptist Church has been worn down by the elements and pests, according to Lynn Pechuekonis, incoming chair of the Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation.

Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Walker: To begin, could you tell me what First Zion Baptist Church is, and why it’s important to Harpers Ferry history?

Pechuekonis: Harpers Ferry harbored a very vibrant Black community between 1870 and 1970, partially because of Storer College. That brought education to Black families here. It also helped with job training. It also engendered a summer resort industry, which ended up nurturing the Hill Top Hotel, which was a Black-run hotel from 1890 to 1926. It was Black-owned. So there was a large population, comparatively, of Black people in Harpers Ferry — Black families who could own homes. They were encouraged to own homes here. And so they wanted to worship here as well. There were actually altogether four African American churches in Harpers Ferry at one time. Two of those were on West Ridge Street, and First Zion Church was built in 1894 by some of the very early Black families who came to live in our town.

Walker: I know that you and some other local community members have rallied around First Zion Baptist Church and preserving the historic building for future generations. How did that project come to be?

Pechuekonis: So, several years ago, some folks in town, both in Bolivar and Harpers Ferry, were concerned about the fact that we had two former African American churches actually on the same street, just about within three lots of each other, that had been abandoned, and were just really deteriorating quickly. And so it was part of the foundation’s mission to preserve and beautify our communities. So they chose the building that was in better shape between the two, and also one that was on the market to be sold. We were able to buy First Zion Baptist Church, and we’ve been working slowly ever since then, trying to raise money and making improvements and protecting the church where we can ever since.

The Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation is currently soliciting community feedback on what type of establishment to convert the battered First Zion Baptist Church into.

Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Walker: As this project progresses, what vision do you have for the future of the church? What function will it serve for the local community?

Pechuekonis: We’re actually holding a community charrette on May 15 to get some ideas from the community about what they feel they need, because we want this to truly be a Harpers Ferry and Bolivar community center. We have some ideas, but we want to hear what the community has to say. We would like to have some kind of display honoring the Black community that lived here, and especially the history of that church. We also see it as a community or cultural center, to provide programming, to provide community space for events that the community wants to have. We are limited by the town of Harpers Ferry because it’s in a residential neighborhood to having it as a community center or religious institution. So we don’t have a lot of freedom to do other things with it. So that’s kind of why we’re going down that avenue, but we want to shape it in a way that the community most feels the need.

Walker: Obviously this is a long-term project, but do you have a sense of how long it will take to complete the church’s rehabilitation?

Pechuekonis: I think it’s a few years out, just because it’s going to involve so much — so many resources financially. The $100,000 that’s going to help us work on the exterior is just a drop in the bucket compared to what will need to be done to the interior to make it safe and also fit modern standards for a facility that the community can best use. So I think it’s maybe at least three to five years out. That’s just a wild guess.

First Zion Baptist Church, a historic Black church in Harpers Ferry, has become run down over the years. Community members hope to change that.

Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Walker: And now that the project is underway, what are your hopes for what it can bring to the local community?

Pechuekonis: One of the things that we’re hoping is that, as a secular community center, the foundation can bring together residents from both the towns of Harpers Ferry and Bolivar to help build a more cohesive community from the fellowship and shared experiences people have in this space.

On May 15, the Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation will host a community charette to receive public input on the First Zion Baptist Church rehabilitation project. For more information on the event, visit the foundation’s website.

Residents interested in providing feedback on the project can do so through an online survey operated by the Harpers Ferry-Bolivar Historic Town Foundation.

Hundreds Of Social Studies Projects On Display At Statewide Fair

Students from across the state participated in the 2024 West Virginia Social Studies Fair Wednesday. More than 500 students, ranging from third graders to high school seniors, presented their projects at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.

Students are grouped into three divisions. Division One includes grades three through five, Division Two is for grades six through eight, and Division Three is for grades nine through 12.

Topics included anthropology, economics, political science, U.S. history, psychology and more.

Dustin Lambert, coordinator in the West Virginia Department of Education’s Office of Student Enrichment Programs, said the fair gives students an avenue to express their creativity and their joy for social studies they may not otherwise have.

“It’s really interesting to see their own interests and how that blossoms within them,” Lambert said. “I also find it fascinating that under the state and local category, we see projects related to very personal topics related to these students as it relates to their communities and even their families.”

One project that stood out to Lambert is from his home county of Pocahontas County.

“There’s this little guy that has a project on Cass Scenic Railroad and he is so incredibly proud of the research that he’s done,” he said “So much that Cass Scenic Railroad featured him on their Facebook page. As you can imagine, it just really did bolster the confidence of this young guy. He is super excited to be here.”

The projects are judged based on their oral and visual presentation – which can vary from a triboard poster to a multimedia presentation – as well as the project’s abstract.

“The abstract has certain questions that we ask of them through their research,” Lambert said. “What did you learn through your research? Where did you get your resources? How do you know those resources are credible? We’re not only allowing these students an opportunity to express themselves, but we want to make certain that they understand how to properly research and validate resources.”

Lambert said students had to first progress through school, county and regional fairs to present at Wednesday’s event.

“These students today had already been through three different rounds of judging, and this is their fourth round,” he said “As I relayed to them this morning, it’s a really big deal for these students who have made it to the states. So whether or not they place at the state level, personally, that’s kind of irrelevant to me. That they’ve made it this far as impressive enough.”

Amidst a renewed focus on English Language Arts and STEM topics in schools in recent years, Lambert said social studies remain important for students to understand the world around them.

“History is very, very important to the lives of our students, and especially in this polarized culture that we live in,” he said. “I think it’s very important that students are taught history, civics, economics, so they understand the full scope of our society, and I hope that that continues. I hope that the social studies fair promotes that it is allowed to be promoted in our counties.”

History Of Martinsburg Mural Coming To Berkeley County, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, Berkeley County in 2022 celebrated its 250th anniversary. Now, the county is looking back at its history through a public art lens. By early June, a mural will be on display in the heart of Martinsburg tracing the history and culture of Berkeley County over the years.

On this West Virginia Morning, Berkeley County in 2022 celebrated its 250th anniversary. Now, the county is looking back at its history through a public art lens. By early June, a mural will be on display in the heart of Martinsburg tracing the history and culture of Berkeley County over the years.

Jack Walker spoke with Lea Craigie, the artist behind the new mural, about her public art piece so far.

Also, in this show, we listen to the latest story from The Allegheny Front – a public radio program based in Pittsburgh that reports on environmental issues in the region. Their latest piece looks at proposals to place chemical plastic recycling centers in our region.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Emily Rice produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Harpers Ferry’s Ties To Civil Rights Movement Showcased In New Documentary

Harpers Ferry was home to the second-ever meeting of a civil rights group that gave way to the NAACP. A new documentary in part highlights the town’s connection to the movement.

The historical importance of Harpers Ferry becomes clear on any drive across the town’s cobblestone roads. Museums, Victorian homes and storefronts shelved with old-time goods line each of the town’s winding streets.

Many West Virginians know Harpers Ferry as a hub of Civil War history, serving as the site of an 1859 abolitionist uprising led by John Brown and Shields Green.

But fewer people know that the town also played a seminal role in the 20th century civil rights movement. Now, a new documentary, which can be viewed for free on PBS Passport, aims to raise awareness of an often overlooked piece of American history with direct ties to West Virginia.

Origins Of A Black-led Civil Rights Group

In 1905, a group of Black civil rights leaders came together to form the Niagara Movement. Historians describe the group as a precursor to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

The group was founded by Black Americans in Canada, just outside of Niagara Falls. It aimed to address racial injustice in the aftermath of the Civil War, advocating against things like sharecropping, racial segregation and pervasive anti-Black violence across the United States.

For its time, the Niagara Movement was viewed as radical. It was run exclusively by Black civil rights leaders like W.E.B. DuBois and William Monroe Trotter.

Curtis Freewill Baptist Church, one of the meeting places of members of the Niagara Movement, is located on Storer College Place in Harpers Ferry.

Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Plus, it offered a countercurrent to accommodationist perspectives on racial justice, which encouraged Black Americans to temporarily accept segregation, better their communities and one day push for increased civil rights.

This revolutionary mindset is what drew the group to Harpers Ferry in just its second year. Beyond its ties to abolitionist uprising, the West Virginia town was home to Storer College, a historic Black college open to discussions on racial liberation.

“They felt safe to come to a Black college,” said Scot Faulkner, who co-founded a local organization called the Friends of Harpers Ferry National Park. Faulkner’s group serves as a liaison between current town residents and the national historic park.

“They saw a link between themselves as a force, basically an aggressive force on behalf of African American rights,” he said. “They felt common ground and common philosophy with John Brown and the more radical abolitionists going back into the 1850s.”

While visiting parts of the town, Faulkner said the group’s leaders even took off their shoes because they felt that they were walking on “sacred ground.”

Faulkner said that Harpers Ferry provided a stepping stone for early civil rights leaders addressing racial injustice at the turn of the twentieth century. But not everyone who visits the town is aware of this history, which can be overshadowed by the town’s Civil War ties.

Located in downtown Harpers Ferry, the Storer College Museum contains several displays on the history of Black education, as well as the Niagara Movement’s meeting in West Virginia.

Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Shining A Light On The Niagara Movement

A new documentary titled “The Niagara Movement: the Early Battle for Civil Rights” released through Buffalo Toronto Public Media earlier this month tells the story of the Niagara Movement, from how it was founded to how it gave way to the NAACP.

Raymond Smock is a historian who serves as director emeritus of Shepherd University’s Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education. He also previously served as historian of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Smock contributed to the documentary, and hosted a screening of it on Shepherd’s campus earlier this month.

While the film doesn’t center on Harpers Ferry alone, Smock said it shows that the West Virginia town facilitated early civil rights discussions.

“This was an amazing meeting at a very historic spot where John Brown’s raid, some say, started the Civil War,” he said. “There was a great interest in holding this meeting.”

Still, Smock said that the Niagara Movement does not always get sufficient attention in contemporary historical discussions.

An exhibit on the Niagara Movement, an early civil rights organization, is located inside the Storer College Museum in Harpers Ferry.

Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

“In the immediate vicinity, if you’re in Jefferson County, West Virginia, the Harpers Ferry meeting of the Niagara Movement is pretty well-known history,” Smock said. “But it’s not well known in most other parts of the state or the nation.”

Both Faulkner and Smock said that they hope the documentary helps people learn more about the Niagara Movement and civil rights history.

Much of this history can be discovered right in West Virginia, at historic Harpers Ferry sites like the Storer College campus and the Storer College Museum. The multi-level museum has exhibits dedicated to Black history, from the Niagara Movement and beyond.

For Faulkner, the ability to discover these pieces of American history on a simple walk through town is what makes Harpers Ferry great.

Harpers Ferry “was the philosophical and emotional link between the Niagara Movement in the 20th century and the abolitionist movement, especially the more forceful aspects of the abolitionist movement, of the 19th century,” he said.

“It was a really important melding of these two threads in American history, and certainly of the African American rights movement,” Faulkner said.

House Approves Bill To Arm W.Va. School Teachers

On this episode of The Legislature Today, there was contentious third reading debate in the House of Delegates over the much talked about bill to arm teachers as concealed carry protection officers.

Updated on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024 at 10:14 a.m.

On this episode of The Legislature Today, there was contentious third reading debate in the House of Delegates over the much talked about bill to arm teachers as concealed carry protection officers. Randy Yohe has the latest on House Bill 4299.

In the Senate, the chamber had one of its busier days as official deadlines draw closer. Next Wednesday is Crossover Day, meaning that all bills have to be out of their chamber of origin to have a chance of becoming law. Briana Heaney has more.

Also, the Senate Government Organization Committee advanced a bill that would promote Randall Reid-Smith, the curator of the Department of Arts, Culture and History, to a cabinet secretary. The committee approved Senate Bill 865, which now goes to the full chamber. West Virginia Public Broadcasting is part of the Department of Arts, Culture and History.

A health facility would not need to obtain a certificate of need to operate in West Virginia if a certain House bill becomes law. Emily Rice has more.

Special education educators, students and their families gathered at the Capitol to advocate for more support in their classrooms. Chris Schulz has the story.

And, on History Day at the Capitol, the rotunda is sent back in time. It becomes a place of living history, where the lives and lessons from our state’s past become touchstones for the present and future. Randy Yohe has the story.

Finally, women’s health has been a popular topic in the Senate this year. Many bills and amendments have been introduced that focus on women’s health policy. Briana Heaney speaks with Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson, and Del. Anitra Hamilton, D-Monongalia, about women’s health in the state and legislation that affects women.

Having trouble viewing the video below? Click here to watch it on YouTube.

The Legislature Today is West Virginia’s only television/radio simulcast devoted to covering the state’s 60-day regular legislative session.

Watch or listen to new episodes Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

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