This week, before emancipation, Appalachia provided pathways to freedom for enslaved people trying to escape bondage. A new project identifies more than two dozen previously unknown underground railroad sites. Also, the Fly Around Music & Arts Festival in North Carolina was inspired by the hard work that followed Hurricane Helene. And, a ballad about floods recorded a generation ago still provides solace for people today.
Family Recipes, Water Trouble And ‘Peerless City,’ Inside Appalachia
Sonny (left) and his father Angelo pose in front of the meat case at Angelo’s Market in Powellton Hollow. From father to son to father to son, Angelo's Old World Italian Sausage has been around in the hills of West Virginia for a while.Courtesy of the Argento Family
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This week, a Virginia Tech researcher challenges deeply held ideas about the purity of natural springs.
Also, we meetthe folks behind Angelo’s Old World Italian Sausage. They still use a family recipe that’s been handed down from generation to generation for over a century. Customers love it.
You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.
Angelo’s Old World Sausage is available in stores in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.
Credit: Zack Harold/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Angelo’s Old World Italian Sausage is from a family recipe that goes back over a century to the Calabria region in southern Italy. It’s become a grocery store favorite in West Virginia.
Folkways Reporter Zack Harold spoke with the makers of Angelo’s Old World Italian Sausage and heard a story about sausage-making spanning generations.
Water Woes And The Trouble With Spring Water
It’s an old story in Appalachia: failing water systems leaving people afraid to drink from their taps. In McDowell County, West Virginia, people have relied on bottled water and mountain springs for decades, but maybe those alternate sources aren’t so pure.
Researchers at Virginia Tech have been looking into water inequity in the region. Mason Adams spoke with professor Leigh-Anne Krometis about what she’s found.
A Picture Of Peerless City
“Peerless City” is a documentary about Portsmouth, Ohio, a city that’s been alternatively described as the place “where southern hospitality begins” and “ground zero for the opioid epidemic.”
Filmmakers Amanda Page and David Bernabo wanted to go beyond slogans, though. Bill Lynch recently spoke with them about the film, and about Portsmouth’s complexity.
Inflation Hits Eastern Kentucky Hard
Recent reports show inflation is down from what it’s been over the last two years, but people in places like Letcher County, Kentucky are still feeling the pinch.
WEKU’s John McGary has the story.
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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by The Dirty River Boys, Hot Rize, Hank Williams, Jr., Ron Mullennex, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Tim Bing and Noam Pikelny.
Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens.
You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
On this West Virginia Week, the state is under a flood watch through Sunday, the fire in Parkersburg is under investigation and a class action against the state’s foster care system will move forward.
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This week, before emancipation, Appalachia provided pathways to freedom for enslaved people trying to escape bondage. A new project identifies more than two dozen previously unknown underground railroad sites. Also, the Fly Around Music & Arts Festival in North Carolina was inspired by the hard work that followed Hurricane Helene. And, a ballad about floods recorded a generation ago still provides solace for people today.
On this West Virginia Morning, not much has been known about Appalachia’s contributions to the Underground Railroad, but a Marshall University historian is documenting that history.
On this West Virginia Morning, affordable dental care is a little-talked-about challenge low-income families face in this state, but there is an effort underway to change that.
