Tag: Mushroom Hunting

Award Winning Stories From 2023, Inside Appalachia

In March, broadcast journalists from Virginia and West Virginia were recognized when the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters met to present awards for notable stories produced in 2023. This week, we listen back to some of our award-winning stories.

In March, broadcast journalists from Virginia and West Virginia were recognized when the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters met to present awards for notable stories produced in 2023. 

This week, we listen back to some of our award-winning stories. 

In This Episode:

How Angelo’s Old World Italian Sausage Gets Made

Angelo’s Old World Sausage is available in stores in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.

Photo Credit: Zack Harold/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Zack Harold is the unofficial foodie for Folkways. Last summer, he took us to see how the sausage gets made with Angelo’s Old World Italian Sausage. The recipe originated in the Calabria region of Italy, but it’s made in West Virginia. 

Make Way For The Mushroom Hunters

These chanterelles are about to be turned into a tasty treat. They were harvested the day before an unsuccessful mushroom hunt, and turned into a topper for vanilla ice cream.

Photo Credit: Wendy Welch/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Gathering foods like ramps, sassafras or blackberries from the forest has always been a part of Appalachian culture. In recent years, mushroom hunting has been having a moment.

Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch spent time with mushroom hunters in Virginia and West Virginia and brought us the story. 

Winter Wassailing In Asheville

Wassailers sing outside a home in Asheville, North Carolina. Traditionally, wassailers not only sang for their neighbors, but also sang in apple orchards to ensure a good harvest for the coming year.

Photo Credit: Rebecca Williams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Not many folks are thinking about winter holiday traditions this time of year. But back before Christmas, Folkways Reporter Rebecca Williams explored the old English tradition of wassailing in Asheville, North Carolina. A group of friends there got into this old singing tradition as a way to connect to their roots. Williams reported.

Season Of The Witch

H. Byron Ballard at home.

Photo Credit: Llewellyn Worldwide

In Appalachia, witchcraft goes way back. Wise women still practice herbology or trace the patterns of the moon. H. Byron Ballard is a practicing witch in Asheville, North Carolina. She’s also the author of several books, including Small Magics: Practical Secrets from an Appalachian Village Witch. Last fall, she spoke with producer Bill Lynch about her way of life – and quizzed Bill on cryptids. 

We also want to congratulate WVPB reporters and Inside Appalachia contributors Emily Rice and Breana Heaney, news director Eric Douglas and Us & Them host Trey Kay. Each of them won awards from the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters. 

West Virginia Public Broadcasting brought home 12 awards Saturday, March 23, 2024 from the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters Awards Luncheon at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Pictured (left to right) is Inside Appalachia Producer Bill Lynch, Inside Appalachia Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch, Us & Them Host and Producer Trey Kay, Southern West Virginia Reporter Briana Heaney and WVPB News Director Eric Douglas.

Photo Credit: Eric Douglas/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Christian Lopez, Dave and Tim Bing, John Inghram, Marissa Anderson, Frank George and Hank Williams Jr.

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 editors Chris Julin and Nicole Musgrave.

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

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

Sign-up for the Inside Appalachia Newsletter!

Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Folkways Highlights Of 2023, Inside Appalachia

Since 2019, Inside Appalachia has brought you stories from our Folkways Reporting Project. Folkways was created to boost awareness of Appalachian folk traditions and how they’re passed between people. In 2023, we added 25 stories to our growing archive that explore diverse arts, culture, food and people of Appalachia. This week, look back at some of the past year’s Folkways highlights.

Since 2019, Inside Appalachia has brought you stories from our Folkways Reporting Project. 

Folkways was created to boost awareness of Appalachian folk traditions and how they’re passed between people. In 2023, we added 25 stories to our growing archive that explore diverse arts, culture, food and people of Appalachia. 

This week, look back at some of the past year’s Folkways highlights. 

In This Episode:

Flat Five Studios Fame And Future

Flat Five merchandise hangs in the recording studio. Flat Five Studio in Virginia made a big splash in the 1990s. Now, it’s looking to the future and a new generation.

Credit: Mason Adams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Flat Five Studio was a small recording studio in Salem, Virginia. For years, the studio thrived recording local bands and a lot of bluegrass acts. Then, the Dave Matthews Band in eastern Virginia began looking for a quiet place to record its first album.

Host Mason Adams brought us this story. 

Mushroom Hunting In VA And WV

A single, ancient chanterelle on the forest floor proved to be the only mushroom found the day of the hunt.

Credit: Wendy Welch/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Wild food foraging has been a staple of Appalachian folk culture for generations. In recent years, mushroom hunting has taken off with fungi enthusiasts heading to the woods to seek out their favorites.

Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch spent time with some of them in Virginia and West Virginia and brings us this story. 

Taxidermy In Yadkin County

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

Credit: Margaret McLeod Leef/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

A lot of people are fascinated by the results of taxidermy — whether it’s a stuffed skunk on display at a park’s visitor’s center, or a big buck on a friend’s wall. The preservation and mounting of dead animals have been around since at least the middle ages.

Folkways Reporter Margaret McLeod Leef has the story of one expert practitioner in Yadkin County, North Carolina.

A Family Connection To Face Jugs

You’ve probably seen pottery with a face on it somewhere. There are lots of examples of this type of art out there — from cheap souvenir shop knick-knacks to museum-quality pieces that can sell for millions of dollars.

Some are connected to African Face Jugs, an art that enslaved people brought with them to America.

Folkways Reporter Zack Harold traced the story of face jugs, beginning in the basement pottery studio of West Virginia artist Ed Klimek.    

African Face Jugs came to America through Slavery. Artist Jim McDowell uses the art form to speak about the African American experience.

Courtesy

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by The Dirty River Boys, Noam Pikelny, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Carpenter Ants and Allan Cathead Johnston.

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.

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

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

Sign-up for the Inside Appalachia Newsletter!

Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Mental Health Issues In Southern W.Va. And Mushroom Hunting Growing In Popularity, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginians are experiencing mental illness at rates higher than the national average. And it’s even worse in southern West Virginia.

On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginians are experiencing mental illness at rates higher than the national average. And it’s even worse in southern West Virginia. Emily Rice has more.

Also, in this show, mushroom hunting has been popular for years, but lately it seems to have really caught on. Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch spent time with foragers in Virginia and West Virginia and brought us this story.

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.

Caroline MacGregor 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

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