On West Virginia Morning, Glynis Board reports from Wheeling about the Women and Technology conference. She’ll talk with the first woman to walk in space.…
On West Virginia Morning, Glynis Board reports from Wheeling about the Women and Technology conference. She’ll talk with the first woman to walk in space. And Ashton Marra interviews Natalie Tennant, one of the candidates who could become the first women to represent West Virginia in the United States Senate.
In this episode, we hear from Larry Mustain, who grinds heirloom corn at his family’s mill in West Virginia.And we'll learn more about traveling along the…
In this episode, we hear from Larry Mustain, who grinds heirloom corn at his family’s mill in West Virginia.
And we’ll learn more about traveling along the Bourbon Whiskey Trail in Kentucky?
We’ll also talk with, Jordan Bridges, a coal miner in southern West Virginia who is worried as more and more mines are laying off workers.
Stone-Grinding West Virginia Cornmeal Since 1791: Roxy Todd of West Virginia Public Radio found one of the few gristmills that has been in continual operation in this country, and it grinds a local heirloom corn that has been passed down for generations.
Credit Allender Stewart
/
Bloody Butcher Corn at Reed’s Mill
Following the Kentucky Bourbon Trail: Alan Lytle of WUKY of Lexington takes us along to some of the distilleries along the trail.
Checking in with Appalachian Native and Former Astronaut Homer Hickam: Every October, author and West Virginia native, Homer Hickam, makes a trip home for the annual Rocket Boys festival in Beckley. Hickam also makes a point to stop in on his hometown of Coalwood in McDowell County during his visit. Liz McCormick with West Virginia Public Radio got the chance to sit down with Hickam and hear about his hometown, current work, and of course Appalachia.
Credit Alan D. Wilson, naturespicsonline.com
/
Yellow-rumped warbler
Yellow-rumped warbler: If someone calls you a butter-butt, that may sound like an insult…But it turns out that the butter-butt, the colloquial name for the yellow-rumped warbler, is one smart cookie. The Allegheny Front’s Aidan Place, the show’s resident teenage birder, lets us in on the strategic eating habits of this warbler.
The Climber: For years, Michael Barrick lived in a cabin near Blowing Rock, North Carolilna, which is in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Listen to hear a story about accepting a challenge, and finding the inspiration to climb a mountain thanks to a four-year-old girl.
Looking to try Pawpaws (the fruit)? We checked in with Author Andy Moore, who’s writing a books about pawpaws. He shares how to grow the fruit in your own yard. Moore also says the following nurseries carry pawpaw trees:
Jordan Bridges is a 26-year-old coal miner in Logan County, in the heart of West Virginia’s southern coal fields and the mountainous green landscape of Appalachia. Jordan and his 21-year-old wife Erica Bridges are both worried about what it would mean for them and their 2-year-old daughter if Jordan loses his job. They don’t want to move away from family and friends and the place they grew up, but they don’t see any other good jobs or industries in this area, apart from coal. Reporter, Rachel Rohr, of NPR and WBUR’s Here & Now series Alternative Routes, recently talked with Jordan about his job, and why he wants to continue working as a coal miner. Update from Jordan: “Well as of this past week I started a new job at a different surface mine for a different company so hopefully this works out so far it has. I have been looking around and talking to people and went for a job interview and got the job. More money but I work night shift now (5:30pm-4:30am).” After Coal:Students, local officials and candidates for office, community organizers, and residents from across Appalachia packed into the Appalshop theater in downtown Whitesburg, Kentucky to participate in a public forum. WMMT’s Sylvia Ryerson reports on the possibilities for economic transition in the coalfields, but looking far beyond our own mountains for inspiration and ideas.
West Virginia Students Work with NASA:As the coal industry declines, some educators are exploring how to encourage their students to pursue STEM fields, which stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Students at that very small school are wrapping up a very big science project…with help from NASA. They’re building a full scale model of a satellite. It’s something you might not expect to see at the second-smallest school in the state, but as Liz McCormick of West Virginia Public Radio reports, one teacher had the ambition and enthusiasm to make it happen.
Credit Liz McCormick / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
/
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
What’s in a Name? Pawpaw, WV Did somebody’s grandfather inspire them to name a West Virginia town Pawpaw? Listen to the show to find out.
Senate President Jeff Kessler announced the creation of SCORE, Southern Coalfields Organizing and Revitalizing their Economy, Thursday. The program will…
Senate President Jeff Kessler announced the creation of SCORE, Southern Coalfields Organizing and Revitalizing their Economy, Thursday. The program will send a group of senators to the southern part of the state to hear from citizens about what they can do to revitalize the area’s economy.
A West Virginia transplant in Doddridge County moved here to enjoy the rural area, but soon after, saw well pads being placed within sight of her home. Now, she invites scientists, students, and even reporters to come study the health affects of the activity from her home.
Henry Winkler, better known at “The Fonz,” shared his struggle with dyslexia with Jackson County students to help inspire them to work hard to achieve.
On West Virginia Morning, Ashton Marra reports on last night’s debate between Democratic incumbent Congressman Nick Rahall and Republican challenger State…
On West Virginia Morning, Ashton Marra reports on last night’s debate between Democratic incumbent Congressman Nick Rahall and Republican challenger State Senator Evan Jenkins. And we’ll visit Reed’s Mill which has been grinding corn meal since 1791.
On West Virginia Morning, we’ll take a trip to Paw Paw in Morgan County to visit a small school with a big science project. And in Milton in Cabell…
On West Virginia Morning, we’ll take a trip to Paw Paw in Morgan County to visit a small school with a big science project. And in Milton in Cabell County, a worker at Blenko Glass is worried that young people are not learning glass making skills.
A group of Romanian music students has been traveling around West Virginia this week. The four students and 3 of their teachers are learning traditional Appalachian music and teaching their own folk tunes to musicians here. Their visit kicks off a year-long project called Common Notes, which connects Romanian and West Virginia high school students. The Clay Center in Charleston is helping organize the project.
Radio Documentary about Anne Braden, a Southern Patriot: In Kentucky it is the 60th anniversary of an effort in Louisville to desegregate a neighborhood which led to a house bombing and the indictment of Anne and Carl Braden for sedition — that is, trying to overthrow the government of KY by stirring up trouble among the races according to the prosecutor at the time.
Mimi Pickering and Anne Lewis made a documentary about Anne Braden. Here’s an excerpt from that documentary, called Southern Patriot which is being shown next week in Louisville. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of this historic event, the Louisville Free Public Library is hosting an exhibit, called “Black Freedom, White Allies, and Red Scare.” The library will run the exhibit through Nov. 9 and will offer a number of related programs co-hosted by the University of Louisville’s Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research.
Frame from National Geographic Channel’s new ginseng reality TV show: Smoky Mountain Money, which pits teams against each other to see who can collect the most ginseng.
A new reality TV show that features ginseng hunting premiered this week. Smokey Mountain Money pits four teams against each other to see who can collect the most wild-ginseng. It comes in the wake of another reality show that aired in January this year, Appalachian Outlaws. Dried ginseng root sells for 400-900 dollars a pound, and these reality shows are generating a lot of new interest in the plant. As Glynis Board reports—that might be a good thing for the ginseng industry… or it might not be.
Credit Heather Niday
/
Nola Todd, a 10 year old student at Shoals Elementary school in Charleston, WV., won first prize this year in the West Virginia Biscuit Bakeoff.
Biscuit Bake-off: Nola Todd is a 5th grader with impressive baking skills. She took home first place in the West Virginia biscuit bakeoff during the Autumn Harvest Festival in Pocahontas County, West Virginia.
What’s in a Name: In Garrett County, MD, how did the town of Accident get its name? Was it named Accident because of the treacherous roads that cross over the mountains there, or because of a land surveyor’s mistake? Or was it named when an explorer got lost in the fog and lost his horse in a ravine? Listen to the podcast for the answer.
Blenko Glass Maker: Blenko Glass, in the small West Virginia town of Milton, has been in business since 1893. It used to be one of many glass-making companies in West Virginia. Now, there are only a few left.Reporter, Rachel Rohr, of NPR and WBUR’s Here & Now, recently talked with Randy Ryder, 52, a Milton native who’s been working there for 34 years. He says the business is having trouble attracting young people to learn the skill.
Rachel Rohr is on a cross-country reporting trip, called Alternate Routes.
Credit Cecelia Mason
/
Foraging the Wild Pawpaw Fruit: If you spend some time by a river in the Appalachian mountains, you may have noticed hikers eating something green. Many Appalachians know this mango-like fruit- Pawpaws.
NPR’s Allison Aubrey discovered back in 2011, more and more people outside of Appalachia are discovering this secret too. Click here to see a video of Allison’s search for Pawpaws.
Historic Salt Company is Alive Again in Malden: In 1851, salt from the Kanawha Valley was awarded the world’s best salt at the World’s Fair in London. Now, more than 160 years later, one of those old salt companies has been revived by brother and sister Nancy Bruns and Lewis Payne. Last weekend, the JQ Dickenson Salt-works celebrated their 1-year-anniversary. Roxy Todd toured the salt-works and talked with Chef April Hamilton as she prepared food for the salt soiree.
Credit Lauren Stonestreet, of Elle Effect Photography
