On this week's premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage, host Kathy Mattea welcomes Jeff Tweedy, The War and Treaty, Johnnyswim, and Olivia Ellen Lloyd. Recorded live at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, WV.
95-year-old Elmer Rich, a famous old-time fiddler, died this past June 20th, West Virginia Day, at his home in Westover, West Virginia. He’ll be missed throughout these old hills.
He was born in December of 1919 and grew up just outside a coal community near Morgantown. His father was a miner; his mother was a telephone switchboard operator. Elmer was one of six kids and they all played music. It was 1936 when he and his family played for Eleanor Roosevelt out in Arthurdale.
Elmer Rich was 16 and playing the mandolin for Eleanor. He spent the next 70 years competing at various fiddle competitions, winning trophies and prizes.
A recording of the music and thoughts of Elmer Rich, recorded in August 2014 at an informal after-lunch concert during Old Time Week at the Augusta Heritage Center. He’s accompanied by Mark Crabtree on guitar and Tom Gibson on mandolin.
***Audio Courtesy of Andrew Carroll and the Augusta Heritage Center.
Credit Andrew Carroll / Augusta Heritage Center
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Augusta Heritage Center
Elmer Rich with a crowd at the Augusta Heritage Center, August 2014.
Colton Copley and Greg Williams are cousins and eighth graders at Williamson PK8 School in Mingo County. When the rain started, they were hopeful. Recalling it, they spoke overtop of each other in their excitement.
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On this West Virginia Morning, a doctor discusses how and why to keep your skin safe from summer sun, farmers struggle with mental health and Shepherdstown kicks off Pride Month.
This week, cicadas are emerging again. They’re an important food source for wildlife — and even some people. Also, morel mushrooms are a forager’s delight, but don’t shortcut cleaning them. We follow along with mushroom hunters and talk to a chef. And, sinkholes can cause a lot of damage. But they’re also fascinating.