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During a pandemic, where do you give birth?
Also, we’ll have the story of a family that cultivated an heirloom tomato in West Virginia. It took a lot of work.
And, a musical tradition brought people together — even when they couldn’t gather in person.
You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.
In This Episode:
In June of 2020, former West Virginia Public Broadcasting videographer Chuck Kleine and Pennsylvania resident Joe Buckland recorded their experiences with having children during the pandemic.
Buckland and his wife had a baby in mid-February, nearly a month before the lockdowns.
Kleine and his wife, Glynis Board, WVPB’s assistant news director at the time, had a baby in March, about a week after most staff were sent home.
One of Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adam’s friends hates tomatoes — but started growing them in 2020 because he “wanted to be part of it.” It being growing a garden, complete with a swath of heirloom tomatoes. Like a variety called Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter tomato. This heirloom breed got its start in Logan County, West Virginia.
A guy known as Radiator Charlie bred two varieties of tomato together to get a giant, juicy fruit. Word spread, and eventually so many people bought his $1 tomato plants that he was able to pay off his house. That’s how the “mortgage lifter” got its name.
But in 2020, Folkways Reporter Zack Harold brought us a story about another West Virginia tomato plant, also called “mortgage lifter.” And it’s even older.
A lot of big events were canceled in 2020 — high school proms, baseball games, and even family reunions — but some annual traditions would not be stopped. Like foraging for ramps.
People still went out to their favorite ramp patches in early spring. In 2020, we aired this story of a ramp-hunting expedition, led by Maryland park ranger Caroline Blizzard.
Photographer and filmmaker Michael Snyder tagged along to record her for “The Mountain Traditions Project.”
One of the oldest European musical traditions in Appalachia is shape note singing. It’s also called Sacred Harp singing. It’s sung acapella, often in large groups, with singers facing each other in a square.
Social distancing made shape note singing a lot harder, but a group figured out a way to continue to sing through the pandemic. Inside Appalachia Editor Kelley Libby — then a Folkways Reporter — filed this story in 2020.
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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Jeff Ellis, John Inghram, Joe Dobbs and the 1937 Flood, Mary Hott and the Cornelius Eady Trio.
Bill Lynch is our producer. Abby Neff 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 Caitlin Tan.
You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
You can find us on Instagram, Threads and X @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.
Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
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In 2020, the U.S. Navy commissioned a new aircraft carrier, CVN-81, and chose to name it after Doris "Dorie" Miller, but stories have surfaced recently of discussions about renaming it after President Donald Trump.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsMany West Virginians may not remember the name Doris “Dorie” Miller, but he served on the USS West Virginia when it was attacked at Pearl Harbor. While Miller was never trained to fight, he raced to the deck on the day of the attack and fought back - shooting down at least one enemy plane. In 2020, a new aircraft was commissioned by the U.S. Navy and named for Miller. But recent stories have surfaced with talk of renaming it after President Donald Trump. We speak with Scott Womack, the commander of American Legion Post 100 in Monroe, West Virginia, to discuss the group’s recent resolution that the Navy should retain Miller’s name on the ship.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsAppalachians have always made use of the region’s wide variety of plants. A new book, called Appalachian Plants: In the Garden, In the Yard, and In the Wild, explores some of the history and lore of regional staples. It’s written by Linda Hager Pack and illustrated by Pat Banks. Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams spoke with them.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsOn this West Virginia Week, the state signs a memorandum of understanding about nuclear energy, the Public Service Commission disputes need for a transmission line, and 9/11 is remembered.
Continue Reading Take Me to More News
