Radio Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

April 5, 2010: Explosions Rock the Upper Big Branch Mine

On April 5, 2010, the day after Easter, a series of explosions rocked the Upper Big Branch mine near Montcoal in Raleigh County.

Twenty-nine men died, making it West Virginia’s worst mining disaster since 78 miners were killed at Farmington in 1968.

After the Upper Big Branch explosion, an independent investigation determined that sparks from a longwall miner had ignited a pocket of methane, setting off a chain of explosions that surged more than two miles through the mine.

The panel concluded that the explosions could have been prevented and that systems designed to protect the miners had failed. The report found that the mine’s owner, Massey Energy, had operated its mines in a “profoundly reckless manner.” The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration reached similar conclusions, blaming the deaths on an “intentional and aggressive” effort by Massey to ignore safety rules.

The criticism of Massey eventually led to the resignation of company president, Don Blankenship. In 2016, Blankenship was sentenced to one year in prison for conspiring to willfully violate mine safety standards, largely in connection with the Upper Big Branch Disaster.

March 9, 1965: President Johnson Signs Bill to Create Appalachian Regional Comission

On March 9, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed a bill creating the Appalachian Regional Commission, known as the ARC. The agency’s goal was to bring impoverished areas of Appalachia into the mainstream American economy. While the ARC serves parts of 13 states, West Virginia is the only one that lies entirely within the boundaries of Appalachia.

ARC programs fall into two main categories. An area development program provides funding to generate jobs and economic growth. Most West Virginians, though, are more familiar with the second category. The ARC’s Appalachian Development Highway System has built a network of roads to connect isolated areas that were bypassed by the interstate highway system. It originally featured 23 corridors, identified alphabetically. West Virginia’s road system includes Corridors D, E, G, H, L, and Q. The Corridor L project also produced the spectacular New River Gorge Bridge on U.S. 19 in Fayette County.

In addition, the ARC is linked to West Virginia through two longtime U.S. senators. Jennings Randolph helped created the commission, and Robert C. Byrd repeatedly found money to save the ARC when critics tried to defund it.

March 8, 1963: W.Va. Legislature Adopts Blue and Gold as the Official State Colors

On March 8, 1963, the West Virginia Legislature adopted blue and “old gold” as the official state colors.

Many West Virginians think that blue and “old gold” have always been the state colors, but it didn’t occur officially until West Virginia’s Centennial celebration in 1963.

Prior to that, the state often used blue and gold in ceremonies because those were the official colors of West Virginia University. So, when the legislature adopted blue and “old gold,” it came as a surprise to many West Virginians that we didn’t already have official colors.

The next question then is, “How and when did WVU pick blue and old gold for its colors?” They were chosen by WVU upperclassmen in 1890 because the colors were featured so prominently in West Virginia’s state seal, which was adopted in 1863, just months after our state entered the Union.

And why was WVU and the legislature so adamant about specifying “old gold” as opposed to just regular gold? Well, blue and gold are the official colors of the University of Pittsburgh—which, of course, has traditionally been WVU’s arch football rival.

January 26, 1960: Burnsville Guard Danny Heater Scores 135 Points

Athlete Danny Heater, born in Braxton County, on February 27, 1942, holds the national record for most points scored in a high school basketball game. He was a resident of Burnsville, and attended Burnsville High School. He scored 135 points in a varsity basketball game against Widen on January 26, 1960.

Heater went on to receive an academic scholarship to attend the University of Richmond, where unfortunately he was never a starting player. Nevertheless, his record has stood for decades, and his feat is still a focus of community pride in the town of Burnsville.

January 15, 1890: West Virginia Legislators Convene To Choose Governor

On January 15, 1890, West Virginia legislators convened in special session to choose the state’s new governor. The most recent gubernatorial election had been deadlocked for an incredible 14 months.

After the initial election tally in November 1888, Republican Nathan Goff Jr. had held a 106-vote lead over Democrat A. B. Fleming. But Fleming challenged the count, asserting that black voters from Virginia had crossed state lines to vote illegally in McDowell and Mercer counties. Inauguration day produced an absurd scene in which both Goff and Fleming were sworn in as governor. Meanwhile, the sitting governor, E. Willis Wilson, refused to leave office until the dispute could be resolved. The state supreme court backed Wilson, who continued to serve for the next 14 months.

In January 1890, the legislature voted along straight party lines in favor of the Democrat Fleming. One of Fleming’s accomplishments as governor was to enact a uniform statewide ballot to help ensure more consistent election returns in the future.

Demonstrating how closely the electorate was divided in 1888, three of the state’s four congressional races also were contested that year.

January 6: 'Old Christmas' Celebrated Across West Virginia, Appalachia

January 6 is the day traditionally known as Old Christmas. It’s a relic of the Julian Calendar, developed 2,000 years ago. In the late 1500s, Pope Gregory XIII changed the calendar to match the solar cycle more closely. To do so, the Julian Calendar had to be reduced from 376 to 365 days, eliminating 11 full days. Some countries, though, resisted the change and kept the old Julian Calendar. It took nearly 200 years for England and Scotland to come around. Both countries adopted the Gregorian Calendar in 1752.

About this time, many of these English and Scots were emigrating to the Americas and settling in Appalachia. Some didn’t know about the change or refused to adopt the new Gregorian Calendar and kept the extra 11 days in their calendars. This meant that for them, Christmas fell on January 6 rather than December 25. Over time, most Christians in Appalachia started observing December 25 as Christmas. However, until fairly recently, Old Christmas was still celebrated in some rural areas of West Virginia. It’s recalled in various traditions such as in the fiddle tune “Old Christmas Morning.”