Ohio’s Ancient Earthworks And Ballad Singing After Hurricane Helene, Inside Appalachia

Ballads tell stories about all kinds of real-life events, but after Hurricane Helene, one group of ballad singers felt some topics were still too raw. 

Also, the author of a new book on ancient Ohio credits a former grad student with introducing him to the region’s mysterious earthworks. 

And, the legacy of Affrilachian poet Norman Jordan includes a summer camp for teens to study their heritage.

You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia. 

In This Episode:

• Ballad Singing After Hurricane Helene
• How To Protect Amphibians Against Climate Change
• Tornado Destroys Orchid Restoration In Southern Kentucky
• Traveler’s Guide To Ancient Ohio
• Abandoned Gas Wells In W.Va.
• Tennessee Town Struggles To Reopen Its Only Hospital
• The Legacy Of Norman Jordan
• Rising Temperatures Bring Armadillos To Kentucky

Ballad Singing After Hurricane Helene

When Hurricane Helene tore through western North Carolina in 2024, it took lives and upended communities. A community of ballad singers lost a place where they could share their tradition. The storm set them back, but it didn’t stop them. And what might’ve seemed lost could be restored.  

From Marshall, North Carolina, Sarah Melotte reports for the Rural Remix, a podcast from the Center for Rural Strategies.

How To Protect Amphibians Against Climate Change

Climate change has affected the seasons and made weather less predictable. And severe storms and flooding are causing damage to wildlife habitat. Kylie Frederick is a journalism student at West Virginia University (WVU), and reports that protecting amphibians, like frogs and salamanders, can start at home. 

Tornado Destroys Orchid Restoration In Southern Kentucky

Researchers have spent nearly 20 years restoring a threatened species of orchid in southern Kentucky. Those efforts were disrupted after a tornado last spring. For the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, WEKU’s Lily Burris went to Mount Victory to learn about the recovery.

Traveler’s Guide To Ancient Ohio

Thousands of years ago, Indigenous people created hundreds of earthen monuments in what is now Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. Some were burial mounds. Others were curious shapes and designs whose purposes are not entirely understood.  

John E. Hancock, a professor of architecture and design at the University of Cincinnati, has spent years studying these earthworks. Recently, he published Traveler’s Guide to Ancient Ohio. If you want to visit these ancient sites, it’s a good place to start.  

Producer Bill Lynch spoke with Hancock about the book. 

Abandoned Gas Wells In W.Va.

According to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP), there are more than 6,000 abandoned or orphaned natural gas wells in the state. But some advocates say that number is low.

WVPB’s News Director Eric Douglas visited a few.   

Tennessee Town Struggles To Reopen Its Only Hospital

As the health care industry cuts unprofitable rural hospitals, small towns across Appalachia are paying the price. 

WPLN’s Pierce Gentry takes us to Jellico, Tennessee, where the local government is struggling to reopen its only hospital.

The Legacy Of Norman Jordan

Affrilachian poet and playwright Norman Jordan was a prominent voice in the Black Arts Movement through the 1960s and 1970s. He was also one of the most published poets in the region, anthologized in at least 42 books. He died in 2015 at the age of 77. Along with his writing, Jordan left another legacy: a summer camp for teens to learn music, theater and dance.

Last summer, Folkways reporter Traci Phillips visited the Norman Jordan African American Arts and Heritage Academy in Westover, West Virginia.

Rising Temperatures Bring Armadillos To Kentucky

In 2023, we reported on the appearance of armadillos as far north as Virginia. Now, they’re being found in Kentucky, which is seen as another indicator of rising temperatures in the region. For the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, LPM’s Giselle Rhoden has more on how the species has made its way north from South America.

------

Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Blue Dot Sessions, Hello June, Paul Loomis, Jeff Ellis and John Inghram. 

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 Editor Nicole Musgrave.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

You can find us on Instagram, Threads or here on Facebook.

Sign-up for the Inside Appalachia Newsletter!

Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.