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This week, dinos fight Civil War soldiers at a theme park throwback — Dinosaur Kingdom II in Natural Bridge, Virginia.
Also, if you’re hungry for a pepperoni roll in West Virginia, you can find one at just about any gas station. So — how did they get so popular? We’ll hear one theory.
And we check out the backstory of a bus that sits at the confluence of the New and Gauley rivers — and the man who put it there.
Hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.
In This Episode:
Every summer, Americans hit the road for vacation. The tradition of summer road tripping dates back for as long as there have been automobiles.
On these long drives, people needed breaks. So they’d stop at fruit stands, or fireworks stores, or … bizarre roadside attractions. A lot of those weird old-style attractions have disappeared, but some have managed to hang on.
In 2020, Mason Adams visited artist Mark Cline’s Dinosaur Kingdom II, in Natural Bridge, Virginia.
Pepperoni rolls have been enshrined as part of West Virginia history through their connection to coal miners. They’re absolutely a favorite and available almost everywhere, but that wasn’t always true. How pepperoni rolls became a statewide convenience store staple might have less to do with coal mining and more to do with lunch ladies in Kanawha County.
Folkways Reporter Zack Harold took a bite out of pepperoni roll lore.
If you listen to the popular podcast Death, Sex and Money, you know Anna Sale. Back in 2005, Anna was a reporter for West Virginia Public Broadcasting. She got curious about an old bus that sits on a rock at the confluence of the New and Gauley rivers, just past the town of Gauley Bridge.
So Anna traveled by boat with producer Russ Barbour to meet the man behind the mystery.
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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Sierra Ferrell, Paul McCartney, Joe Dobbs and the 1937 Flood, Blue Dot Sessions, Yonder Mountain String Band and Hot Rize.
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. We had help this week from folkways editor Chris Julin.
You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
You can find us on Instagram, Threads and Twitter @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.
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On this West Virginia Week, the unhoused population in the state declines, child well-being remains the same, and just how many abandoned gas wells are there?
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsThis week, we’re revisiting a show featuring storytellers out loud in front of audiences. Folks like five-time champion of the West Virginia Liars’ Contest, Bil Lepp. Also, musicians Anna & Elizabeth, whose storytelling used something known as a crankie. And, we’ll head to the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tennessee.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsThis week’s Inside Appalachia features storytellers from around the region, including author, television host and five-time West Virginia Liars Contest winner Bil Lepp. Here he is back in 2019, telling a story during a Mountain Stage performance at the West Virginia Culture Center.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsDaniel Johnston recorded songs in his parents' basement in rural West Virginia that would eventually inspire artists such as Kurt Cobain, Beck, Wilco, and Sonic Youth. In this award-winning episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay explores the life, art, and enduring legacy of the late singer-songwriter and visual artist whose creative genius and struggles with bipolar disorder made him one of America's most influential outsider artists.
Continue Reading Take Me to More News
