Credit Liz McCormick / West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Sculptor, Aaron Treher.
A new art installation appeared in Jefferson County, Saturday: Three big, concrete bees were installed on the grounds of Craftworks at Cool Spring. Craftworks is a nature preserve and an art studio located just outside of Charles Town.
Sculptor, Aaron Treher is the brain behind the bees. He says he’s concerned about threats to native bees, like bumblebees.
Treher is the artist-in-residence at Craftworks, and has been for the last year. The organization’s mission is to bring art and nature together.
“Art and nature are very closely related,” Treher said, “I think that there’s a lot of crossovers within a lot of artists’ work cause they draw a lot of their inspiration from nature, so places like this are really important in the sense of finding inspiration, and Craftworks does a really great job of that.”
Craftworks is a place that provides a space for artists to work, and it’s also twelve acres of protected land with a marsh, trails, and wildlife. The idea for the place came from a woman named, Linda Case. She says she wanted to combine nature and art, while also providing a place for people to getaway from their daily lives.
Credit Linda Case / Craftworks at Cool Spring
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Craftworks at Cool Spring
Linda Case, owner and founder of Craftworks.
Originally, Case bought this property to live in, and then she discovered the land included a rare type of marsh.
“It had eighteen rare and very rare West Virginia plants,” Case explained, “so that was good news, and that was bad news. The good news was there was this wonderful, wonderful thing that existed on this land. The bad news was it was responsibility.”
Case wanted to preserve the marsh and share it with the community. In 2008, she made the land what it is today; the marsh, one barn – where Trehar works – and one studio building.
While one of the main things is to provide a space for artists, Craftworks also hosts summer camps for kids, aged 6 to 13.
The studio is the main building on the property, and the building was designed to be energy efficient. The walls are super insulated and so are the windows.
But the property has its struggles. It’s a non-profit, and founder, Linda Case says right now she’s the main provider to keep it going. Other funds come from the community, board members, and grants. But Case says the organization needs to find new sources of funding.
“And it’s trying to find the way to be the most useful, the most valuable, have the highest impact on the community,” Case explained.
That means having events like last weekend’s – with live music, a nature walk focused on pollinators, and the unveiling of Treher’s new work.
Treher’s bees are now mounted on the side of the studio building. They’re near the rafters and made to look like they’re nesting.
Founder, Linda Case hopes the entire property will eventually feature outdoor artwork similar to Treher’s bees.
West Virginia’s groundhogs both predicted an early spring this year. At the West Virginia Wildlife Center Monday morning, the groundhog named French Creek Freddie did not see his shadow. At Concord University, Concord Charlie also did not see his shadow. However, in Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil did see his shadow and predicts six more weeks of winter. Who is French Creek Freddie?
Back in 1978 the superintendent here, at what used to be called the French Creek Game Farm, was Bill Vanscoy. And he said a newspaper reporter called him the day before Groundhog Day, and asked him if they had a groundhog and if it had seen its shadow. Mr. Vanscoy told the reporter whatever was appropriate to the weather they were having. Then the reporter asked what the groundhog’s name was. Mr. Vanscoy said it was French Creek Freddie, and it just took off from there.
The Game Farm is now called the West Virginia Wildlife Center, where I met Kenny Hall. He’s been the handler for French Creek Freddie for over two decades. “I’ve been here for 24 years, and on February 2nd we do it just to break up the long winter that it has been. And we see the chance for an early spring.”
French Creek Freddie posing for photos.
Two years ago, Kenny also took on a new role as the official French Creek Mascot. That means that he’s the one who wears the copper toned groundhog costume. And of course he also wears a giant black top- hat. But for the real French Creek Freddie, Groundhog Day is, among other things, probably the most confusing day of the year.
“I know one year he was really lively and he took out and ran out over the pen. So we had to go get him and bring him to the camera (he was kind of camera shy). We’ve seen a lot of different activities. When you’re using a live animal, and it’s been woken up for that day, you could see just about anything.”
For Groundhog Day, the center gives out free hot chocolate and cookies to the crowd. Judy Channell also works at the West Virginia Wildlife Center, and she helps organize the public event.
“And the kids make posters, you know, ‘We Love Freddie’, and people are just showing Freddie a lot of love, so we want to provide them a good time and, you, know, let them know they came for a reason.”
What began in the 1970s as a sort of inside joke between the superintendent here and the media has turned into a major event for this small town.
The crowd at Groundhog Day 2014. Photo courtesy West Virginia Wildlife Center.
“Our attendance has gone up tremendously. Last year it was on a Sunday and we had an attendance of over 400 people. And people are really getting into it. They come wearing hats and they make posters and bring them, and they’re just really getting into French Creek Freddie. It’s really getting to be a popular event. We had some folks last year that traveled from Georgia. They had been to Punxatawney, to see Phil, and they were gonna work their way around the country to see the different groundhogs and last year was their turn to come and see French Creek Freddie,” said Judy Channel.
And it all leads me to ask this: Why do all these people travel here, in the dead of winter, to see a sleepy groundhog?
“I think it’s like Kenny said, you go through Christmas and Thanksgiving and all that, you know all that rush, and then it just kind of slows down and you’ve got two, two and a half months of winter weather to look forward to. And I think Groundhog day is just a good opportunity to get out regardless of what the weather is. And then it’s uplifting to know that if Freddie doesn’t see his shadow, we’ve got an early spring. … in six weeks you’re gonna see better weather. It’s something to look forward to,” said Judy.
And while the tradition of groundhog day might seem silly, there is a biological reason why the tradition exists- this is the natural time when groundhogs usually begin to wake from their hibernation.
“We have seen in the last week or so, a groundhog out in the wild. So these ones that we’ve got in the real consistent temperature right now, are probably still asleep. But in the next 2-3 days they’ll probably wake up,” said Kenny.
Every now and then, though, French Creek Freddie’s biological clock is a little bit late.
Two of French Creek Freddie’s biggest fans. Photo courtesy of the West Virginia Wildlife Center.
“If he is asleep, we will just pick him up. And that’s only happened twice in the 22 years that I’ve been here. But he could be hibernating this year. Cause we haven’t seen him on his own yet,” Kenny said.
French Creek Freddie and Punxsutawney Phil don’t always agree. In 2014, French Creek Freddie called for an early spring. Punxsutawney said 6 more weeks of winter. Who was right? that’s still up for debate. In 2015, both the groundhogs made the same predictions as last year.
The West Virginia Wildlife Center is open Monday-Sunday. There is a $3 admission for adults and $1.50 for children. The West Virginia State Wildlife Center is located in Upshur County in north-central West Virginia, 12 miles south of Buckhannon on State Route 20. From the north take exit 99 off Interstate 79 and follow State Route 33 east approximately 12 miles to Buckhannon and turn south on State Route 20. Coming from the south, take exit 67 off Interstate 79 at Flatwoods and follow State Routes 19 and 4 north approximately 30 miles to Rock Cave and Route 20. Follow State Route 20 North for 2 miles to the center.
Who is Concord Charlie?
Another groundhog in West Virginia also saw his shadow- Concord Charlie of Concord University. Every Groundhog Day since 1978, Concord Charlie has been making prediction and insights on the duration of winter. The President of Concord University confers briefly with the groundhog and then relays the forecast to guests at an annual breakfast.
0202ConcordCharlieSPOT.mp3
The Concord Charlie tradition was originated in 1978 by the late Professor R.T. “Tom” Hill. As chairman of both the Geography department and the Appalachian Studies program at Concord, Hill started the Groundhog Day Breakfast as a means to celebrate a bit of Appalachian heritage and highlight the program.
But there’s a different Groundhog Watcher each year. The Grand Groundhog Watcher honor is bestowed on an individual who has positively impacted life and culture in West Virginia.
This year the prestigious position is held by the University’s Head Football Coach, Garrin Justice.
The Grand Groundhog Watcher usually gives a colorful speech at the breakfast.
Justice led the Mountain Lions through an unprecedented season in 2014 that included a conference championship, region championship and an appearance in the national semifinals.
Streams and lakes across West Virginia will be stocked with about 42,000 pounds of trout during the next two weeks.
The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources began its fall trout stockings on Tuesday. Trout stockings will continue next week. Nine lakes and 25 streams will be stocked.
Wildlife resources chief Curtis Taylor says in a news release that information about trout stockings will be posted first on the DNR’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/wildlifewv , at 2:30 p.m. each day. The information will be posted on the DNR’s website, www.wvdnr.gov, and on the Fishing Hotline, 304-558-3399, an hour later.
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin named new heads for two sections of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. Sam England will be the new chief of the Parks and Recreation section of the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, and Jerry Jenkins is the chief of the Law Enforcement section.
A news release from the Governor’s office says each has more than 30 years of public service. Commerce Secretary, Keith Burdette thinks that both men have the talent, skills, and motivation to move the Division of Natural Resources to the next level.
England has a wildlife biology degree and has worked in various parks around the state including North Bend and Stonewall Jackson. Jenkins has a forestry degree and has served as a natural resources police officer.
England and Jenkins fill the positions left by the recent retirements of State Parks Chief Ken Caplinger and Col. David Murphy.
Jenkins was sworn in yesterday, and England will assume his post Friday, July 25th.
A board asked to produce a list of animals that are illegal to keep as pets in West Virginia plans to amend an earlier list after receiving public comments.
The original list developed by the Wild and Dangerous Animal Board includes chimpanzees, crocodiles, giraffes, elephants, piranha, and several types of pythons. But it also includes some types of birds, turtles, tetra fish and geckos.
The law passed this year clamps down on new animals brought into West Virginia. Residents who already own creatures on the list can keep them if they get a board permit, pay a fee and not breed or replace the animals.
