chronicle volume 43, issue 11

ChronicleThe

at WVU Parkersburg

April 11, 2013 Volume #43 No. 11

Inside this Issue

by Jason Ross The United States carries a long and historical reputation of fighting for intangible ide-als such as freedom, equality, and democracy. The very birth of the country was founded on the principle of freedom from oppression. Aside from the Revo-lutionary War, nothing makes this point more clear than the United State’s involvement in the Civil War (or War Between the States). Led by Abraham Lin-coln, the fight to abolish slavery was a defining moment for our young nation. West Virginia played a signifi-cant role in the war; and the war played a crucial role in the devel-opment of the state. When hostilities began on April 12, 1861, West Virginia was not yet a state. Growing frustrations from the residents of what was then known as North-western Virginia reached an all-time high. An “unfair advantage” Dr. Bernard Allen, Profes-sor Meritorious of History and Philosophy at WVU Parkersburg stated, “The northwestern part of Virginia had for some years been wanting to gain more power in the General Assembly of Virginia, but those attempts had been rebuffed basically by the Tide-Water region of Virginia (a region in which plantation slav-

ery was a p o w e r f u l force).” W h a t m a d e t h e n o r t h e r n Virginians so frustrated w a s t h e fact that the Constitution of Virginia allowed the c o u n t i n g o f s l a v e s for repre-s e n t a t i o n p u r p o s e s , even though slaves were considered p r i v a t e p r o p e r t y and could n o t v o t e . This gave the planta-tion owners an unfair advantage in the distri-bution of tax monies. Another great concern for the northwestern residents was Virginia’s secession from the Federal Union. Breaking Away “When the Civil War broke out … the northwestern counties of Virginia saw this as an op-portunity to break away from the rest of Virginia, and to support

the Union.” Allen explained that no state could break away from their mother state without the consent of that state. When the northwestern counties showed considerable support for the Union, it gave them the leverage they needed to force Virginia’s hand. In May 1861, delegates from 27 counties met at the First Wheeling Convention to discuss distancing themselves from the

West Virginia:

Out of War, a State Emerges

secession from the Union pro-posed by the rest of Virginia. Eventually, statehood was grant-ed to West Virginia on June 20, 1863. The First Land Battle The first organized land battle of the Civil War was located in Philippi, Virginia (now West Virginia). The battle was nick

Homer Hickam: page 4

5 places: pages 8 & 9

Kathy Mattea: page 6

WV Economy: page 13

Randy Moss: page 16 (continued on page 15)

The Chronicle at WVU Parkersburg April 11, 2013

by Sam Berg A a r o n C r i t e s , a s s o c i a t e professor of history at WVU Parkersburg, has a fondness for chain mail and plush “virus” toys. One of the best birthday gifts he has ever received is the crossbow that his wife gave him to fend off the shambling hordes of walking dead when the zom-bie apocalypse descends on us all. Anyone who has spent time in his class also knows that this man harbors a mad passion for his vast collection of superhero T-shirts. Crites has another passion in his life; he loves West Virginia, its people, and its history. In Oc-tober 2012, he and co-author and history department colleague, Rob Anderson publishesd a book simply titled Parkersburg; this photographic history is the fourth in a series called Images of America by Arcadia Publishing. Parkersburg began in the late 1700s as a small town called Newport that was carved by hand from the rocky wilderness. Stra-tegically situated at the juncture of the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers, Parkersburg has benefitted great-ly from the trade and industry that these rivers have provided to her. The town was renamed in honor of Alexander Parker, an early recipient from a land grant system that served as payment for Revolutionary War veterans. Parkersburg was incorporated around 1810, and was eventu-ally recognized as a city in 1863 after the city’s latest expansion was approved for incorporation by the state government. Since then, Parkersburg has grown to become the third largest city in West Virginia, and is the county seat for Wood County. Early in the creative process that would become Parkersburg, the book. Crites, a native-born son of Wood County, and Ander-son, who received his doctorate from West Virginia University,

decided that the city would not be well enough represented if their efforts culminated in just another coffee table-type effort. “When we sat down and talked it over, we decided that we want-ed it to have a specific narrative flow,” Crites explained, “and not just pictures with captions, which is basically what most of them (photographic histories) are.” Another characteristic that sets this local history apart from the usual publications of this type is in its subject matter, which prominently features the com-mon people who kept the city thriving over the decades. The authors’ intent was to not focus only on famous people and historic figures who were born in Parkersburg, lived here, or who visited the city on occasion. Early in the creative process that would become Parkersburg, the book. Crites, a native-born son of Wood County, and Ander-son, who received his doctorate from West Virginia University, decided that the city would not be well enough represented if their efforts culminated in just another coffee table-type effort. “When we sat down and talked it over, we decided that we want-ed it to have a specific narrative flow,” Crites explained, “and not just pictures with captions, which is basically what most of them (photographic histories) are.” Crites said that they also agreed not to only use photographs that “had already been seen over and over. Sometimes, of course, that can’t be avoided because the pictures have been lost to time.” One such example is the sole surviving photograph of the Camden Theater interior. The theater, built in the 1890s as an opera house, and later used to show films, was located at 725 Market Street until November 30, 1929 saw a fire that destroyed the building along with most of the west side of 700 block Mar-

ket Street. The former site of the theater is now occupied by the Parkersburg Art Center. Crites said that, instead of us-ing the same photographs again, he and Anderson branched out to use pictures that no one else would think of using, or that had never been used in a book before. “We focused on various things like U.S. presidents who have visited here when picture of them have been available,” he said. Quite a few of the photographs that were used in his book are not necessarily what the aver-age person would think of as

being truly old. These often go back only a generation or two, but people who have spoken to Crites say that these are the im-ages that mean the most to them. “The feedback I’m getting is that the people who are picking up the book see a lot of pictures of things that they knew when they were kids,” he said. “A lot of the photographs are not exactly old, old, but go back only a gen-eration or two, and people have either been part of these things or have seen these things. There’s a familiarity here for them that they can relate to.” Crites’ interest in West Virginia

history does not end at the bor-ders of Wood County. His West Virginia history class is the only state-specific course in WVU Parkersburg’s curriculum, and he teaches it because “...I just like this state’s history.” Crites said that the course was once mandated by the Depart-ment of Education as requirement for teachers, but that the require-ments in this area have eased somewhat in recent years, and that has brought about a drop in the registration for the course. Students who do take the course are now taking it out of inter-est instead of necessity, and the online version of the class has become one of the most popular offerings available on eCampus. It is easy to be fascinated by West Virginia’s history. West Virginia is the only state in the U.S. that was born from another existing state – Virginia. That birth was not without its torturous labor pains; the Civil War, which was the catalyst for the split, turned neighbor against neighbor in West Virginia. The high emotion that the war evoked even rent families asunder as cousins and brothers, and some-times even fathers and sons, came down on different sides of the states’ rights issue. The bor-der between West Virginia and Virginia is nothing less than a scar denoting the wounds inflict-ed and sustained over the course of the conflict. This unorthodox creation re-sulted in something of an identity crisis for West Virginians with-out being one within individual West Virginians. Even 150 years after the events that led to West Virginia’s formation; Crites said that almost every citizen of the state has an “Oh is that close to Richmond?” moment from an out-of-state denizen. Crites mentioned that West Virginians will usually find that kind of confusion amusing more than Crites cocreated a photographic composition of Parkersburg.

Aaron Crites and The History of West Virginia

The Chronicle at WVU ParkersburgApril 11, 2013

insulting. “I think that by-and-large we handle that kind of thing pretty well. What he, nor other West Vir-ginians, find the least bit amusing is the ongoing propagation of negative stereotypes concerning the state and her people. Crites considers this to be one of the biggest modern challenges that the state faces, and he points to television as a major source of these mistaken suppositions, but he stops short of naming names. “Well, I’m not going to pick on any one show, but the state as a whole has been shed in that light for quite a long time, and that re-ally isn’t fair,” he said. “There are certainly people who do fit that mold, but those kinds of people can be found in any rural area in every state, so it’s not necessarily true for West Virginia in a wide sense.” The most recent television program to place West Virginia in such a negative light is the recently canceled Buck Wild, but this kind of stereotyping on TV can be found all the way back to The Real McCoys (ABC; 1957-1962, CBS: 1963). As the theme song told viewers “From West Virginiee they came/to stay in sunny Cal-i-for-ni-ay”; after the death of a California uncle, the family – Grampa Amos, bungling and none-too-bright Luke, his wife, Kate, and his siblings Has-sie and Little Luke -- inherited his property and became “dirt farmers”. Even though the title characters were portrayed as the hilliest of hillbillies, threads of West Virginia family values and common sense were still woven throughout, most of which came from the country-smart Grampa Amos (Walter Brennan). It was Luke (Richard Crenna) however, who contributed to the cultural black eye that West Virginia all too often suffers at the hands of people who are not from here. This was a character that the state could have happily done without. In actuality, West Virginians are warm and friendly, but only after they accept a newcomer

into their society. Crites said that he believes that the average West Virginian is suspicious of strangers, and with good reason. “They tend to keep to them-selves for the most part,” he said. “West Virginians have an inher-ent mistrust of newcomers that goes all the way back to the in-dustrial age. So many people got taken by outside interests during that time that they learned to be suspicious of anyone who wasn’t from here, and they handed that down through the generations as a kind of legacy.” During the late 1800s, West Virginia coal drew investors from other states who then began to heavily influence the state’s politics in their own favor. For example, in 1911, John C. C. Mayo, a Kentucky coal mag-nate, and a group of his equally powerful associates “…lobbied successfully for the election of Clarence W. Watson, then presi-dent of the Consolidation Coal Company, to the United States Senate.” (West Virginia: A His-tory. 1993. The University Press of Kentucky.) The success of their efforts caused some con-sternation in the state, and one resident complained that, “It beats hell that a coal miner from Kentucky can come over here in West Virginia and elect a Mary-land citizen as senator from West Virginia.” Oil and gas has also laid claim to a long and often oppressive legacy in the state’s history since Samuel D. Karnes sank the first

commercially productive well at the mouth of Burning Springs Run in 1859. Effects of the in-dustry’s siren song that brought investors and speculators swarm-ing in from all over the United States are still evident today. The small oil and gas producer has all but been eliminated in West Virginia by the merging and consolidation of corporate interests from outside the state, and some landowners still bear a bitter grudge against those land leasing agents who tricked many into signing over their mineral rights during the boom years of the 1970s and 1980s. West Vir-ginians have every right to be suspicious of strangers. Crites said that one of the most interesting events in the his-tory of West Virginia is the era of mine wars. Unions began attempts to or-ganize mine workers as early as 1877 when the Knights of Labor created West Virginia District No. 5 in Raymond City in Putnam County. To combat the scourge of unionization that threatened their bottom line, mine owners hired individuals of questionable reputation to be mine guards and special police. These often violent men used vi-cious and brutal tactics to break strikes and intimidate workers into toeing the company line. Workers were beaten into sub-mission or shot down, endured having their homes and families fired on by these strike breakers, and were evicted without notice from their company-owned hous-es. One of the violent events of the mine wars was the Matewan Massacre of May, 1920. Dur-ing an argument at the Matewan train station, agents from the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency shot and killed the town’s mayor, Cabell Testerman. The gunfight that erupted as a result left nine others dead, including five de-tectives, the two Felts brothers (co-owners of the agency), one miner, and a young bystander who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

By the time the wars ended, West Virginia had seen the estab-lishment of military law enforced by federal troops, the suspension of habeas-corpus (which protects citizens from arbitrary imprison-ment without a hearing), and hundreds of people killed in the conflicts. Crites cited this period of West Virginia history as being notably of interest because “that’s re-ally the time that West Virginia transitioned from the old to the new.” He believes that the era as a whole could be seen as either bad or good or even a mix of the two, “…but they still had a tre-mendous impact on the state.” Crites lists several promi-n e n t n a m e s a m o n g t h o s e historical figures whom he would call exemplifications of the real West Virginia spirit, but he is unable to narrow that field down to just one. “I myself am partial to Stonewall Jackson,” he said, “but…we’ve had so many.” His examples included Sid Hatfield, who was police chief of Mate-wan in 1920, and a still-standing participant of the Matewan Mas-sacre, as well as the players in the Hatfield and McCoy feud era. The state has seen conflicts in the past, and Crites sees a new challenge to which its residents must now rise: the exploration and extraction of fossil fuels that lie in enormous quantities be-neath the enduring West Virginia hills. While not actually using the word “exploitation” when dis-cussing this aspect of our state’s na tu ra l r esource indus t ry, Crites believes that developing these resources should be done thoughtfully and with a little cau-tion. “We have a massive amount of natural gas,” he said. “We have unique challenges that other states and the federal government just don’t understand because they aren’t from here.” One of the toughest hurdles that the new oil and gas boom has to surmount is the hot-button issue of “fracking”, a process used to access natural gas that in-volves “shooting” nitroglycerine

into rock formation layers. Strong arguments and feel-ings exist on both sides of the issue; the people who are against implementing this method with-out thorough research beforehand feel that this extraction process endangers the underlying water table. A large portion of West Vir-ginia’s population call rural areas home and depend on their water wells. These are also the people who demand that thorough stud-ies be performed to ensure that their water sources will not be polluted. On the other side of the ar-gument, the new extraction processes would result in a sig-nificant benefit to West Virginia’s economy and labor force. In spite of the squabbling and the level of uncertainty in employment and job security, Crites sees West Virginia as hav-ing an excellent outlook for the future. “We’ve weathered the economic situation far better than most states,” he said. “There are more jobs through the extraction industries, and there are new in-dustries that are coming in.” He also believes that the basic self-reliant quality of West Vir-ginians will help move those who depend on government assistance programs beyond that to take ad-vantage of these new industries. “This government dependence has happened over the course of many years as things flowed through the history of the state.” He believes that, given the chance, West Virginians would far prefer to be self-reliant and independent, but he cautioned that “…it’s a slow process, but we didn’t get this way overnight, and it’ll take more than just a few years to get past it.” The immigration of industry to West Virginia has had an im-portant impact on the process of returning to self-sufficiency. “It won’t be the manufacturing industry that people have got-ten used to,” he said, “but it still means jobs, so I think there are good days ahead for West Vir-ginia.”

Aaron Crites, Associate Professor

“


by Justina Morris Their families worked for the coal companies and they would, too. That future seemed certain for the young men in Coalwood, W.Va. However, a magnificent mo-ment in history sparked a world of difference for one bright, interested young man, Homer Hickam. Hickam’s ancestors were not originally coal miners. In the mid- 1700’s both sides of the family arrived in New York, moved into the mountains and valleys of what was then western Virginia, and became yeomen farmers. “They fought in the Civil War on both sides of that great conflict and then returned to their farms,” recalled Hickam of his kin. As industrialization grew and coal mining moved to the area, many natives, including Hickam’s family, were attracted to it. “My father, grandfather, and great-grandfather of the Lav-enders and Hickams were either coal miners or worked for min-ing companies at some trade. For instance, my mother’s father was

a carpenter for a coal company,” Hickam explained. “My grand-father, Poppy, (I wrote about him in The Coalwood Way) lost both of his legs in a mine accident. My father lost the use of one eye and died of black lung. Despite the dangers of mining, our life in Coalwood was a good one. Dad rose to the level of mine superin-tendent and we were proud of his accomplishments.” During his childhood in West Virginia, Hickam was taught an abundance of state history, sparking one special moment he remembers about his child-hood. “West Virginia history was taught in the Coalwood school and placed in context to overall American history so we students of the 1950’s had a clear idea of our place in our country and world. We had a focused class on West Virginia history in the 8th grade that led to taking the Golden Horseshoe test,” Hickam recalled. “It was a great honor to be a student selected to take the test. I was selected and, although I didn’t win the award, I was later given an honorary Golden Horseshoe by Governor Under-

wood. I was thrilled.” Of all the memories Hickam made in West Virginia, the most unforgettable for him involves the moment he realized he was becoming a young adult. “I re-member the marvelous moment when I took that big step from the sidewalk onto the school bus to take my first journey across two mountains to Big Creek High School, Hickam reminisced. “I was growing up! A month later, Sputnik was launched and my life was never

the same.” After the satellite’s successful launch in October 1957, Hickam became infatuated with making and flying rockets. With the help of his friends and encouragement from a supportive teacher, Miss Riley, Hickam’s perseverance paid off when “the rocket boys” entered the 1960 National Sci-ence Fair, winning scholarships. “I first left West Virginia to go to Virginia Polytechnic Institute. It was my engineering school of choice,“ Hickam said of choos-ing where to attend college. Four years later, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Indus-trial Engineering. “Afterwards, I went into the Army and eventu-ally to the war in Vietnam, he continued. “My eye was on a career in the missile and space business so there was nothing in West Virginia to bring me back there. As time passed, Huntsville, Alabama became my home.” He was assigned there in Alabama as an engineer for the United States Army Aviation and Missile Com-mand for 7 years. Hickam served an additional 3 years in Germany for the 7th Army training Com-mand before finally finding himself exactly where he always wanted to be, with the space pro-gram. Hickam worked for NASA for 18 years, helping train astronauts and working on spacecraft design in Huntsville at Marshall Space Flight Center.

It was there in Alabama that Hickam retired in 1998 and also where he continues to lives with his wife, Linda. “I don't know if I will ever live full-time in West Virginia again,” Hickam said of returning to West Virginia. “My roots are sunk pretty deep into Huntsville and my other home in the Virgin Islands. But I will never say never. Certainly, there is much in West Virginia to at-tract me there, mostly including its wonderful people… I like the friendliness of its people.” Hickam does periodically return. “I visit West Virginia at least once a year for the an-nual Rocket Boys Festival. I also come up to see Theatre West Virginia put on its summer presentation of Rocket Boys The Musical.” he said. After returning from Vietnam, Hickam had also began writing, and today, is still a successful author of many books, dating from 1989 to current. However, he is most known for his history as one of the Rocket Boys, on which the movie “October Sky” was based. “I owe every success I’ve had to West Virginia and, especially, its teachers.” Hickam said when crediting West Virginia for its role in his success. “I have al-ways been proud to announce my West Virginia roots. We are a special people who are willing to take hardship and work through it to success,” Hickam shared. One thing remains certain for Hickam, no matter where he is, “I loved growing up in West Virginia. I would not exchange my childhood with any other person in the world. Clearly, I was blessed to be the second son of Homer and Elsie Hickam and raised in Coalwood in those old, magnificent hills.”

Rocket Boy Finds Success Following Dream

Hickam and his wife, Linda.

Hickam, in glasses, pictured with the rest of the Rocket Boys, circa 1963.

I owe every success I've had to West

Virginia and, especial-ly, its teachers.


by Jessica Thompson W h e n t h e S t a u n t o n Parkersburg Turnpike was built, now known as U.S. Route 47 and U.S. Route 250, West Virginia had yet to become a state and the land was still part of Virginia. T h e t u r n p i k e s t r e t c h e s 180 miles f rom Staunton, VA to Parkersburg and was constructed to connect the upper Shenandoah Valley to the Ohio River. It allowed access for settlement into Virginia. Designed by Virginia state engineer Claudius Crozet, the turnpike was authorized to be built in 1806 but didn’t get built until the 1840’s. The turnpike was also provided access to the B&O Railroad and played an important role in the separation from Virginia and the emergence of the state of West Virginia. Along with many Civil War sites, historical towns

and battlefields, the Staunton Parkersburg Turnpike has many fascinating places to visit and see. T h e N a t i o n a l R a d i o Astronomy Observatory, Green Bank, WV. Home to the largest radio telescope in the world. Also at the observatory is a 140 foot telescope, three 85 feet telescopes, one 40 foot telescope and much more. The Allegheny Mountains and Camp Allegheny. This is where the battle to defend the rights to the Staunton Parkersburg Turnpike started. C a m p B a r t o w, t h e f i r s t Confederate fortification and also where the Battle of Greenbrier River took place. Atop Cheat Mountain; Cheat Summit Fort, also known as Fort Milroy. From here the Union troops could see Camp Bartow and Camp Allegheny. The Upshur County Historical

Center Museum, in Buckhannon. The museum is housed in an old church, built in 1865 that provided goods to the union during the Civil War. The church was also known for being raided for its goods. Travelers Repose was once an Inn for travelers of the turnpike, a stagecoach shop, a post office and then a telephone company. Burnt House, a stop for the Underground Railroad. Legend states that a slave that was having an affair with her owner burned the hotel down, and is now said to be haunted by her ghost. Lemuel Chenoweh House. Now a museum and antique store, this was once the house of Lemuel Chenoweh. Chenoweh was responsible for constructing most of the turnpike’s bridges. Beverly Historic District. During the Civil War Beverly was a market town and a key supply post. The town is full of beautiful, pre-Civil War buildings such as a courthouse two jails and a hospital that contains writings on the walls from soldiers of the Civil War, museums and tours Tygart Valley Homestead, located between Rich and Cheat Mountains has an old homestead school that is still in use to this day. Here one can see old houses, sawmills and various other buildings from the past. Trans-Al legheny Asylum for the Insane, also known as Weston State Hospital, in Weston, WV. This was a hospital

for the mentally ill that started treating its first patients in 1864. Construction on the building began in 1858 nut was put on hold as it became a military post and battleground during the Civil War. It is said to be haunted. The structure is North America’s largest hand-cut stone masonry building. Today tours of the hospital are available. Rich Mountain Battlefield Civil War site, located on top of Rich Mountain. Located at the bottom of Rich Mountain is Camp Garnett. This is where the Federals took over the turnpike. Stonewall Jackson’s birth home, Weston, WV. The Jackson Saw Mills now house museums with artifacts from the Civil War Era. The Farnsworth House, once the home of James Farnsworth the son of the second Governor of West Virginia. On the land is a toll house for the turnpike. Also still remaining is an old tavern that was built for travelers of the

turnpike. The Weston Historic District is another area with remarkable historical sites. Even the visitors center is located in the Weston Colored School, an old one room school held eight different grades of students at one time. Also here is the Glass Museum. The Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad is a place to visit for all ages. With over five trains, train rides are available year around that take a journey and tour the beautiful mountains of West Virginia. The turnpike also has the only covered bridge to be located in the U.S. Primary Highway System. The bridge is located in Philippi, WV. Ever wonder why the road is so windy? Well there’s even a history behind that as well. When the Indians called the land home, they always found the fastest and easiest way to get from one place to another. These Indian trails in time became horse trails, the roadways to what it is now. The road was designated as a National Scenic Byway in 2005.

Traveler's Repose

The Philippi Covered Bridge, in Phillippi, WV

One of the many tollhouses once used to collect fares

Trans-Allegheny Asylum for the Insane, in Weston

West Virginia Road Winds Through Time


by Melissa Lough She describes West Virginia to people who do not know anything about the state as: “It is a very rural place with many small, close-knit communities and I would not have rather grown up anywhere else. I would also tell them about all the natural beauty we are fortunate to have in our state and how extremely peaceful it is to live there.” Miss West Virginia USA 2013 Chelsea Lynn Welch is the 5’10” green-eyed daughter of Cindy Welch of West Union, W.Va. Chelsea graduated from Brown University with a 3.9 GPA and a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology. She currently attends graduate school at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia. While there, she is working toward her Master of Natural Resources degree and is part of the Peace Corps Masters I n t e r n a t i o n a l P r o g r a m . Her ambition is to solve

our genera t ion’s grea tes t environmental challenges as the Secretary of the Interior. She describes herself as bold, genuine and vivacious. Chelsea represented West Virginia as the 2007 Miss West Virginia Teen USA and was in the top five at the 2007 Miss Teen USA Pageant. In her spare time she likes to travel, backpack, ride bikes, run, shop and eat cupcakes Chelsea was born and raised in West Virginia. “There’s no other place that feels more like home to me,” says Chelsea. She left the state right after high school to attend college in Providence, RI. Most people thought she was from Virginia and did not really know much about the wild and wonderful state of West Virginia. “The notion that people from other states make fun of West Virginians is overblown. I can not remember getting a negative reaction from anyone,” she said. “Many people commented on how lucky I was to grow up in such a beautiful place and were impressed by my successes being from such a small, rural state.” Being from West Virginia has also given her a very strong environmental ethic and definitely influenced her career path. “I basically grew up in the woods so I really value our natural resources, which is why I am studying their conservation now,” she said. If you would to see her compete for the title of Miss USA, the pageant will be June 16th, 2013, at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV, and will air live on NBC at 9 p.m.

Miss West Virginia by Jessica Thompson Do you ever find yourself tap-ping your foot or singing along to a well-known song called “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses”? Maybe you find yourself humming along to the popular song “Goin’ Gone” or “Come From the Heart”. These are just a few of many number one hits on the Billboard Charts by a well-known country and bluegrass performer, Kathy Mattea, who happens to be from here in West Virginia. Kathy Mattea, a musician, song writer, performer, activist and public speaker, was born in South Charleston on June 21, 1959, but grew up in Cross Lanes, W.Va. She graduated from Nitro High School and went on to attend West Virginia Univer-sity. While attending West Virginia University, Mattea joined a group called Pennsboro. Two years later she left college and moved to Nashville to pursue her dreams. She started off as a tour guide for the Country Music Hall of Fame. Mattea then went on to sing back-up vocals for Bobby Golds-boro. It was at this time that she was introduced to Frank Jones, who gave the singer her big break. Mattea, a two-time Grammy win-ner and recording artist, signed her first record contract in 1983 with Mercury Records. Mattea then went on to record multiple top hits and number one singles. Her first record was released in 1984, but it wasn’t until 1986 that she caught her big break. It was all uphill and smooth sailing from there for Mattea. She has had a total of 16 hits in the top ten. While pouring her heart into her music over her ailing father in the early 2000’s, Mattea chose to explore and sing with more of a folk music and Celtic folk style, therefore leading her to

sign with Narada, who allowed her to be creative and spread her wings. When Mattea made the change she said, "Sometimes it can be a little frightening leav-ing what one knows so well. But these changes are exactly what make you grow as an artist, and most importantly, as a person. Your life is a series of landmarks and I've always tried to convey the internal and spiritual lessons learned by them in my music. It's a way of connecting your past to your future." In 2008 Mattea made an album unlike any other of hers. “Coal” is an album of Appalachian Folk songs about her West Virginian heritage. Her most recent album “Calling Me Home” is also an album about her roots. Both of these albums show a different side of Mattea that we have not seen before, as if you can see and hear right through her soul.

An environmental and social activist, Mattea has traveled the country presenting Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" and speaking to crowds about the importance of fighting global warming and the environmental and physical devastation of mountain top removal coal min-ing. She is now a public speaker speaking to audiences across the world about a multitude of is-sues, thoughts and ideas. Kathy Mattea was honored as a member of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame 2011 class of inductees and also as strong advocate for HIV/AIDS cam-paigns. She has won the Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award and the Harvard AIDS Institute Lead-ership Award. To learn more about Kathy, find upcoming performances, see song lyrics or sign up for her fan club, visit www.mattea.com.

Mattea's new album about her roots in West Virginia

Famous Singer Traces HerRoots Back To West Virginia

Her Home StateMakes A Name For


by Allison Hilber West Virginia’s cemeteries hold the history of what made this state the place it is today. “Compton Cemetery out route 14 has big beautiful cemetery stones and trees that shade it,” said Bob Enoch, president of the Wood County Historical and Preservation Society. “But you would never know it’s there.” In 1863 dark red stains tainted the earth, transportation trans-formed the possibilities for future generations, new laws forever changed the landscape of America and West Virginia be-came the 35 state of the United States. After being part of Virginia at the beginning of the Civil War, the western part of Virginia broke off to form the state of West Virginia and join the Union. 150 years later Enoch and his crew of volunteers are trying to preserve what made West Virgin-ia, and Wood County, the place West Virginians call home today: its ancestors. Enoch grew up in Wood County. He worked 29 years at DuPont before retiring and working with the historical and preservation society in a non-paid position.

One of his main focuses now is not only preserving cemeteries but also finding them. The west-ern part of the state was the first area to be settled in. This means more graves are around in Wood and other surrounding counties than in other regions of the state. While larger and modern cem-eteries have been kept up with, many cemeteries from the past have been lost and or fallen into disrepair. One of the reasons th i s troubles Enoch is not only the fact that these graves hold his-tory, but they hold history of the people “who gave us what we have today.” Not only the people who fought for this land but the “farmers who cleared the land are important.” Those who did fight to protect the sanctity of their state were important as well. Today many Civil War graves are lost or un-able to read their markers. Jeffrey Smith, a volunteer with the Historical and Preservation Society, in particular researched one grave in depth. In 2009 Smith was helping clear brush from gravestones. One that he came across was a Civil War grave that was no lon-ger readable but only for a letter “k”.

In a newsletter, Smith wrote about the life of this unknown soldier explaining “no soldier should be left unknown…this was not acceptable to me.” Enoch explained that people have put a lot of self into work-ing with these cemeteries and graves. Finding them, cleaning them, helping to maintain them and researching the lives that lay there. Smith researched the grave and the area it was located in for months trying to come up with a name, not accepting the life to be lost. Part of finding the history and genealogy of these graves is by sitting down and looking at the micro filming of newspapers. Ac-cording to Enoch the technique and practice “is one of the great-est preservations our society has done.” Hard work paid off. Smith identified the man who lay so mysteriously beneath the cool interior of the earth. Private David K. Page. Born in Wood County Virginia, Page was killed in action at the age of 23 and was laid to rest at home in Wood County W. Va. Right now over 300 cemeteries

in the county and around 100 are in danger of being lost, forgotten and not cared for. Some of these cemeteries are as small as 10 graves, but it is not the amount of graves that are in each cemetery that count; it is the people who are there. This is not a new problem, but with more today it does not make sense to Enoch. The technology that is available today has made it easier than before to help lo-cate and restore old cemeteries. Finding and recording loca-tions with GPS coordinates, creating maps and posting them on sites for people to find is the easy part. Caring for these locations be-comes the difficult part. With not a large turn out from the younger generation helping care for the past, the past that has allowed the privilege to live in opportunity, history starts to become lost. “It is important to give back to the community,” said Enoch. “Our society has become depen-dent on volunteers. The Wood County has contrib-uted to shaping West Virginia. During the war local ter-rain played an important role. Located on the Ohio and Little

Kanawha Rivers, port facilities were frequently used. Railway systems were also an important contribution to the area, espe-cially when the Transcontinental Railroads were a new innovation. Four of the first 10 governors of West Virginia came from Wood County. Parkersburg was even in the running for the state capital in 1865. Today the chemical plants and rivers play a large role on the de-mographics of the Wood County area. While the landscape in the area is forever changing the peo-ple who come from it, pour their lives into bettering it and never stop being a part of it remain the same. David K. Page is a part of Wood County. After further re-search Smith found that Page’s family had never received his Civil War Medal. After 146 years Page is still making an impact on Wood County today. A new gravestone was given to Page, one that people can read. Vo l u n t e e r s a r e a l w a y s welcomed to help maintain cem-eteries. No experience is needed just a pair of hands. For those interested in giving back can contact Bob Enoch at (304) 483-9863 or Paul Bibbee, of the Rural Cemetery Associa-tion at (304) 482-1624.

Grave stones located at the Poor Farm Cemetery

Preserving West Virginia History:One Grave Stone at a Time

Grave of a past W.Va. resident

The view from Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia


by Justina Morris Spruce Knob, the highest point in West Virginia, received the first part of its name from the dense spruce forest that covers the upper area of the mountain. Spruce, a type of evergreen tree, is most commonly found in the high altitudes of the northern latitude. The second half of its name, Knob, comes from the typical Appalachian term used in referring to the highest point on a ridge. L o c a t e d i n P e n d l e t o n County at 4863 feet above sea level, Spruce Knob suffers from a harsh Appalachian climate. Average snowfall for the area is 160 inches or more each year, and strong western winds have left trees in the area windswept, deformed and one sided. The climate also leaves area roads impassable between October and April. When the weather allows the roads to be traveled, visitors/tourists can make their way through service roads and trails, encountering commonplace veg-etation in the lower area of the mountains, including birches, maples, beech and cherry trees. Once the summit is reached, visitors and tourists can enjoy a 360-degree view from the “stone and steel observation tower.”

This panoramic view provides an oversight of the magnificent for-estry and landscape of the West Virginia mountains and valleys. On a clear day at Spruce Knob, outward visibility is around 10 miles. Activities in and surrounding Spruce Knob include usage of the 25-acre lake stocked with trout by the West Virginia Divi-sion of Natural Resources, two campgrounds on the mountain and over 75 miles of hiking trails to explore. Opposite Spruce Knob, Harp-ers Ferry, a historical town located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, is the lowest point in West Vir-ginia. This town lies on a flood plain in Jefferson County, near the connection of West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia, making Harpers Ferry the easternmost town in West Virginia as well. Harpers Ferry was brought to existence largely in part by Robert Harper, who received a patent for the land in 1750 and established a ferry for settlers crossing into the Shenandoah Valley. The little town, however, is most historically known for John Brown’s raid on the armory in 1859 and the Battle of Harpers Ferry among other roles it played

in the Civil War. Additionally, Harpers Ferry is one of a few towns in which The Appalachian Trail passes through. Two historical proper-ties also border the town, the famous B&O Railroad Potomac River Crossing and St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church. The town is also on the National Reg-ister of Historic Places as well. Not to be left out is the gor-geous scenery of the area. In October 1783, Thomas Jefferson passed through Harper’s Ferry, calling the area “perhaps one of the most stupendous scenes in nature.” Today, Amtrak passenger trains service Harpers Ferry tour-ists and the town’s population of (roughly) 300 people. Attrac-tions include historical sites, ghost tours and popular outdoor activities such as tubing, canoe-ing, hiking, mountain and rock climbing, fishing, white water rafting and rock climbing.

Once boasting an apostrophe, The U.S. Board on Geographic Names stripped Harpers Ferry of its apostrophe in the 90’s, claim-ing their philosophy includes belief that United States should not show ownership as a feature. Cranberry Glades may not be the highest or lowest place in West Virginia, but it very well may be the most unique. As West Virginia’s bog, this 750- acre acidic wetland houses an exotic,

botanical ecosystem. The uncommon conditions of the bog allow for some interest-ing and unusual plant growth including Cranberries, Skunk Cabbage and Sphagnum Moss.

Rare plants such as the Buckbean, Bog Rosemary, Indian Pipe and Turtlehead ex-ist in the area as wel l , to name a f e w. T h e s e plants normally flourish in the northern region of America, be-coming part of

the wonder that is Cranberry Glades. Quite possibly the most inter-esting flora to visitors, though, are the two carnivorous plants, the sundew and the purple pitcher plant. These two plants became carnivorous due to the lack of nutrition for them in the spongy soil of the bog land. Be-cause the ground in Cranberry Glades is made of peat (partially decaying plant material) it is al-most impossible to walk on the

Places that Make West Virginia Wonderful

ground as well. What makes Cranberry Glades so special is the fact that the change in climate over 10,000 years ago facilitated the spread of unique greenery to the area. After this glacier retreat, the vegeta-tion’s migration ended and took root in the soil of Pocahontas County. Its unique foliage has made Cranberry Glades the sub-ject of scientific study for over 80 years.

John Brown, man that led the raid on Harpers Ferry

Boardwalk on Cranberry Glades


mile boardwalk was constructed through the area so visitors can enjoy the beauty of the Cranberry Glades without disturbing the ecologically sensitive life forms within. Some visitors take a much larger adventure, hiking the six mile Cowpasture Trail that traverses the area and divides it from the rest of the Cranberry Wilderness. Nearby, guests can find the Cranberry Mountain Nature Center, where programs featuring birds of prey and snakes of West Virginia take place. In addition to exotic veg-e ta t ion , v is i tors may a lso observe exotic birds such as the Hermit Thrush, Purple Finch, and Mourning Warblers or hear beavers in the evening, working on their homes. White-tail deer are often noticed in the unique foliage, and every now and then, black bears are spotted. Visi-tors often spy the West Virginia Northern Flying Squirrel as well. For another adventuresome idea, visit Beckley’s Exhibition Coal Mine in Beckley, West Vir-ginia. Here, visitors can find an enjoyable way to explore the old Phillips Sprague Mine, listed on the National Register of Histori-cal Places. The exhibition serves as a main focal point of Beck-ley’s New River Park, offering tours of the drift mine and recre-

ated coal camp between April 1 and Nov. 2. Ve t e r a n Miners serve as guides on the in-depth, unde rg round tour, making various stops t o p r o v i d e detailed infor-mation about the machinery and history en-compassing the 1500 feet of mined out area. W h i l e o v e r 3000 feet of vintage tracks exist, only half were restored for the April

2008 opening to the public. The temperature remains a chilly 58 degrees Fahrenheit in the mine year round, so jackets are recom-mended. Optional tour packages ex-ist that include the opportunity to visit establishments on the property including the old super-intendent house, coal company house, coal camp school, coal camp church, and miners shanty (a one room dwelling). The history is rich, leading back to the mines development back in 1889. It commercial-ized in 1905, shipping its first allotment of coal the following year. In 1953 the mine ceased operation and was purchased by Beckley shortly after. Nine years later the city opened Beckley’s Exhibition Coal Mine at New River Park. Other features at the park include a pool/waterslide, basketball and tennis courts, playgrounds and concessions. Campgrounds are available for rent. For a more peculiar place to visit, stop by the Anna Jarvis Home, located in Grafton, West Virginia. It was here that Anna Jarvis, the creator of Mother’s Day, lived. The story began in 1868 when Jarvis’ mother created the Moth-ers Day Work Clubs in different cities to improve health and sani-

tary conditions. The clubs also unbiasedly fed, clothed and treated wounds of both union and confederate soldiers. After the destruction of the war, Jarvis’ mother worked hard to bring families and communi-ties back together. It was later her wish to have one day each year set aside to honor all moth-ers. Anna took her mother’s desire for this holiday and helped create Mother’s Day. In 1907, Jarvis held a memo-rial for her late mother, who passed away two years earlier. It was her mother’s wish to have one day set aside each year honoring mothers everywhere, and soon Jarvis found herself embarked on a mission to make Mother’s Day a national holiday. In May 1914, after years of campaigning, Jarvis found suc-cess when Congress passed a law for the holiday and President Wilson signed the proclamation.

By the 1920’s, however, Jarvis became sour over the marketing of Mother’s Day. She and her sister spent much of their inheri-tance in the 1920’s campaigning against the commercialization and sharing their bitter feelings about the use of simple greeting cards used to fill the holiday. “A printed card means noth-ing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world. And then candy! You take a box to Mother- and then eat most of it yourself. A pretty sentiment,” Jarvis was re-corded saying. Jarvis died single, poor and with no children. Her house, however, became part of the National Register of Historical Places in 1979. An International Mothers Day Shrine was also es-tablished to commemorate Jarvis and her accomplishments- if she would even call them that today.

Since Cranberry Glades is surrounded by the high Al-legheny mountains, it becomes somewhat of a drain pool for the mountains’ cool fresh air. This also makes the area susceptible to frost almost all year round and often see heavy snow during the winter season when temperatures get as low as -26 degrees Fahrenheit. As a major tourist stop along the Highland Scenic Highway, an adventurous, half

Annn Jarvis, creator of Mother's Day

Home of Anna Jarvis

Date 4/27/2013Time 5 to 7

Fraternal Order of Owls604 24th Street

By Memorial Bridge


by Sam Berg West Virginia has been very good to me. I first visited this state when her hair and skirts were lush and green; it was August, and I had never before seen such a scenic place. As soon as I turned onto State Route 50 at Clarksburg, I was blown away by the natural beauty as the hilly miles rolled up in front of me and unfurled again after my car had passed by. It was then that West Virginia grabbed my heart, and she has never once relinquished her grip on me. She does that, you know. I once tried to move to Maryland for a district management job, but West Virginia kept calling to me until I had to return. I’ve heard the same from many other people, people who left because they had joined the military, or had found greater opportuni-ties elsewhere. There is just something about West Virginia, something a little fey that tugs on the heart strings and pulls her people back to her protective hills and hollers no matter how long they have been away. There is a kind of romance to it all. I moved here on Sunday, Janu-ary 24 – well, let’s just say it was Superbowl XVI and you can do the math. I was a young and blushing maiden when I mushed my sled team across the Canadi-an border into the United States, wide-eyed and ready to start a new life. Because it was the dead of winter, I was prepared for my emerald memories of West Virginia to be buried under leaden January skies. Much to my surprise the hills still retained their charm; apparently, in her off-season, West Virginia keeps warm with a coat made from fluffy gray dust-bunnies. Her grip on my heart tightened. I am not saying that my transi-tion from Canuck to Yank was without its challenges. First of all I had to learn a new lan-guage. During my initial year south of the border I thought that some people were being rude or dismissive to me; when I said “thank you” to store clerks, they would reply “uh-huh”. Eventual-

ly I realized that this uh-huh was a kind of catch-all colloquialism with several different meanings. It can mean “you’re welcome”, which was what the clerks were actually saying to me without my understanding their meaning. Uh-huh can also mean “yes”, or “got it”, or even “I don’t believe a word you are saying, but I’m not in the mood to argue with you.” Where I come from the fizzy, sweet soft drink that comes in bottles and cans is called “pop”. The first time I asked for a can of pop in a local restaurant I was met with a quizzical look. My mistake; West Virginia knows this drink as soda. Another term that required frequent translation was “in a little bit.” Literal Canadian that I am, I assumed that this meant a very short period of time, and it can mean just that, but it does not stop there. A little bit can be anything from three minutes to three hours or, in the case of an acquaintance’s errant husband, even three months. A little bit can also be a measure of dis-tance. There was a little joke going around Pleasants County once about how a West Virginian will give directions. If a traveler looks tired, then telling him that his intended destination is “only a little bit” down the road is con-sidered a kindness, even if that little bit is fifty miles or more. If a traveler appears fresh and eager to be on a road trip, the distance of “a little bit” is given in a dif-ferent tone of voice, and without the inclusion of “only”. As much as I was in love with West Virginia and her people’s soft-accented tones, I still under-went a period of culture shock. I am originally from the area that includes Canada’s largest city, Toronto, Ontario. I was used to a rush-rush type of atmosphere

with something new to do around every corner, and fast highways to get me there. I stepped into West Virginia and stepped into an era that was twenty years re-moved from all of that hurrying. In Toronto, everything that must be done is accomplished im-mediately, if not sooner. In this area, it was perfectly ok to get to whatever needed to be done to-morrow, or the day after that, or whenever.The southern pace of life was foreign to me at first, but it was still such a relaxing change from the blur that was my city life, so I managed. It wasn’t hard to get used to doing those necessary things tomorrow, or the day after that, or... When I arrived in the state, the latest West Virginia oil and gas boom was in full roar; it was a trade of some timberland I had in northern Ontario for some oil and gas mineral rights in Ritchie County that had pre-cipitated my coming here in the first place. The twenty years into the past portal through which I had stepped was still in clear evidence, but not necessarily in a good way. I soon came to under-stand that feminism had not yet reached St. Marys, West Virginia, and that the prevailing opinion was women had no business on a well site. That was a preconcep-tion that took long years of work to overcome. After I had owned my self-started oil and gas ser-vices company for about fifteen years, I received what was possi-bly the highest compliment ever from a taciturn Pleasants County property owner. Max introduced me to one of his relatives using

these words: “This is Sam. She runs the wells up there in my hol-ler. She’s a good girl.” It was then that I knew I had finally arrived and been accepted as one of their own. There were so many other dif-ferences between my founding country and West Virginia. On hot and humid summer days in Canada (yes, there are one or two of those every year) the tree frogs’ song rises straight up through several octaves before drizzling away into the sky. Those same days here bring with them a song from the trees that sounds almost circular, as if this particular breed of tree frogs had invented Dolby sound. In my little corner of Canada, we have winter (and snow – lots of it) for about five months out of the year. The two months just before and the two months just after the cold and snow may be officially known as autumn and spring, but we Canadians just call them “crappy weather”. The three months in between good and bad sledding are the northern version of summer, otherwise known as mosquito season. Some summers will bring the finest, prettiest, most temperate weather anyone has ever known, but other years see rain for at least one of those precious months. Those are the years when we have five months of winter, and then seven months of crappy weather. I do not miss this. One of the very first things that became normal for me was having more warm months than cold ones; my internal thermostat broke many years ago, and it re-fuses to recognize temperatures below 50°F. My sister came to visit my home in Parkersburg in early May, 2007; Sharon is a resident of Nova Scotia, and while she is extremely well-travelled, she had never been to West Virginia before. Being from the north-

east, she and her husband did not expect the early heat that we sometimes experience. On their first weekend in Parkers-burg, we took them out to my husband’s sister’s place out past Pressley Ridge on Volcano Road. Even out there in the country the mercury had risen to almost ninety degrees, and my poor Canadian relatives were visibly melting like the Wicked Witch of the West. I have become so ac-climated to the heat that I really did not realize how oppressive newbies might find it. When they left at the end of the week, I discovered that the ceiling fan in their bedroom was spinning al-most fast enough for lift-off, and the window air conditioner had been set at Antarctica. This state and her wonderful people have given me a home which is so much more than just a roof and walls. The home that I have here is one that is constructed of mutual regard and respect, and the chinks that would normally let in a cold draft have been sealed with love. I have built a life here that I would not change even if I should find a rewind button. I have been welcomed, and I have been given opportunities that I would not have found elsewhere. West Virginia gave me a good living for many years, and she is now giving me an education so that the next chapter in my life here will be even happier and more prosperous. She turns 150 years young this year, and she doesn’t look a bit of it. I was once told what the major difference between Canadians and West Virginians really is. In Canada, they begin all of their fairy tales with “Once upon a time…” In West Virginia those same fairy tales begin with “Y’all are not gonna believe the shit I’m about to tell you…” For a transplanted Canuck, I’m a pretty good redneck.

A Transplanted Canadian in the West Virginia Hills

In Canada, they begin all of their fairy tales with “Once upon a time…” In West Virginia those same fairy tales

begin with “Y’all are not gonna believe the shit I’m about to tell you…”

“This is Sam. She runs the wells up there in my holler. She’s a good girl.” It was then that I knew I had finally arrived and been accepted as one of their own.


by Alex Casto The sesquicentennial anniver-sary of the birth of West Virginia reveals much has changed about the only state in US history to be designated by presidential proc-lamation over the past 150 years. This wild and wonderful, oddly shaped territory has a history as rich and momentous as the very mountains for which it is known. West Virginia, though it was not called that at the time, has its roots in the British Virginia Colony that was settled in 1607, but really began to take its shape as the northwestern part of the state of Virginia after 1776. Due to friction created by conflicting views on taxation, representation, geographic factors, and differenc-es in ethnic backgrounds between the eastern and western portions of Virginia, what was at the time known as “western Virginia” had long been pushing for statehood, even before the outbreak of the Civil War. Our state takes its unique shape in no small part due to the efforts like that of Wood Countian and delegate to the State convention which framed the constitution of West Virginia, Peter Godwin Van Winkle. Van Winkle was a big supporter for the inclusion of two counties with Confederate lean-ings (that now form the cockeyed tip of the eastern panhandle) into

West Virginia while the boundar-ies were being decided: Berkeley and Jefferson. This is because, among the other founding fa-thers, Van Winkle wanted as much of the B&O Railroad in-side the state as possible. Following the Wheeling con-ventions, West Virginia broke away from Virginia during the heart of the Civil War, becoming the 35th state to be admitted into the Union. Borrowing a quote from the book by David L. McKain, “The Civil War and Northwestern Virginia,” “The riches from the blossoming oil boom at Burning Springs and Petroleum, just outside Parkers-burg, provided the financial fuel and incentive for this movement to be sustained. The important Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, traversing northwestern Virginia (right through both Berkeley and Jefferson) provided the incentive for the Federal Government in Washington to provide assistance and early recognition.” To get a better idea of what really put West Virginia on the map, so to speak, one need not look any further than to West Virginia University professor emeritus, author and historian, Bernard L. Allen. Allen explains that, in 1853, timber was extensively used as a driving energy source for the economy, but after the conclu-sions of the Civil War, mining coal became a much more sig-nificant source of energy for the emerging steel industry, which continued to grow and expand in the United States. With the shaft mines came a rapid increase in the population through coal industry towns emerging along-side the railroads wherever work could be found. Shortly after the war, the steel industry, particularly in the northern panhandle of West Vir-ginia, began to grow and prosper. Another industry on the rise at that time was hand-blown glass. At one time, several glass facto-ries existed in the Wood County

area, but the industry has been on a sharp decline since the 1970s. The steel industry, too, has fallen dramatically since that time, negatively effecting for example the city of Weirton, which was similarly born in the same way as the coal towns. Today, a much less peril-ous, more efficient form of coal mining, and now the pri-mary method, is mountaintop removal. Other more positive developments would include the rise of the chemical industry. Evidence to this would be the construction of chemical plants in the Kanawha and Ohio Val-leys. Wood County, in particular, benefited greatly from DuPont and GE Plastics being located in Washington Bottom. Allen also asserts that Parkers-burg played a major role in the rise of the petroleum industry, and has coauthored a book along-side David L. McKain entitled “Where It All Began.” Their book details the birth of the na-tion’s oil and gas industry, and shows the importance of Parkers-burg’s role in the development of one of the world’s most powerful industries. While booming industries such as coal, petroleum, steel, glass, and timber have served as the economic backbone of our

great state over time, tourism and the celebration of the history of West Virginia is a large focus for generating revenue today. Van Winkle’s place in history, for example, is immortalized on the side of the Oil and Gas Museum along with Arthur I. Boreman and Jacob Beeson Blair in down-town Parkersburg, and his home still stands in the historical dis-trict of Julia-Ann Square, known now as the Peter G. Van Winkle House. Parkersburg alone is a gold-mine of historical exhibits with countless other stories just waiting to be retold. A few, but by far not all, would be the Blennerhassett Museum of

Regional History, the Blenne-rhassett Island Historical State Park, Henderson Hall, the Fort Boreman Historical Park, and the Mid-Ohio Valley Veteran’s Mu-seum. The mountain state is an at-traction all on its own after all. Our winding roads and beautiful landscapes attract several thou-sand visitors a year. Interesting locales include Harpers Ferry, the New River Gorge National River, the Greenbrier and Berke-ley Springs resorts, the scenic railroad at Cass, and the historic homes of the Eastern Panhandle. Not only that, but there are plen-ty of recreational activities to do such as skiing, white water raft-ing, hiking and mountain biking, camping, rock climbing, hunting, and fishing. In a way, it is almost heaven. Interesting trivia about the geography of West Virginia: - The most southern communi-ty is further south than Richmond Virginia. - The most western community is further west than Cleveland Ohio. - The most northern communi-ty is further north than Pittsburg Pennsylvania. - Can be described as the most eastern state of the Midwest. - Can be described as the most southern state of the north. - Can be described as the most northern state of the south.

The historical Oil and Gas Museum in Parkersburg, W.Va.

West Virginia's State FlagPeter Godwin Van Winkle

Rich History Encompasses Wild, Wonderful West Virginia


by Macie Lynch When asked what she believes to be the most haunted place in Parkersburg, psychic medium and supernatural expert Susan Sheppard could not put her finger on one solitary place. “I can't tell you the most haunted place in Parkersburg because it is always changing,” Sheppard said, “Hauntings occur in cycles, a place can be haunted for a few years or even a few months, and then phase out on its own.” “Spirits don’t really stay in one spot... they travel.” One of those altering haunts that Sheppard mentions is none other than the famous historic Blennerhassett Hotel. The hotel resides in the heart of the city, located downtown at the corner of fourth and Market Streets. It has been ranked num-ber one out of all nine hotels in the area and voted by MSNBC the sixth most haunted hotel in North America. Numerous ghostly apparitions and random wafts of unexplain-able cigar smoke throughout the halls are only to name a few of the guests’ frightfully document-ed experiences. These attributes attract ghost hunting groups and curiosities from all over the na-tion. Built in 1889 by prominent Parkersburg businessman Wil-liam N. Chancellor, the hotel received unmatched recognition for its elegant styles and spot-on services. Although Chancellor, as his prosperous time has come and gone, seems to have never left his monumental legacy. As told through Sheppard’s Hauntings of Parkersburg web-site (which can be found at http://users.wirefire.com/magick/new_page_5.htm), one of the most heard of supernatural experiences within the hotel took place in 2003: “Late one night, the guest climbed into bed when a few moments later, he felt the bed weight down as if someone had just sat down at the end. When

the hotel guest opened his eyes, he made out the form of an older gentleman. The older man turned to the hotel guest and said, “I was here first” and before his very eyes, the apparition of the gentleman vanished.” As if the cigar smoke and old man entity (which is usually seen on the third floor) isn’t enough to send chills down one’s spine, the hotel has even more ghostly tales trailing through its corridors. Little children have been heard joyously playing in the guest rooms throughout the antique facility. Also, shining light on some people’s worst fears, the manifestation of a white tuxedo fellow has appeared to some in the building’s mirrors, almost like the Bloody Mary herself. If one plans on visiting or bravely staying overnight on the third floor at the acclaimed haunted (yet elegant) hotel, it is best to know that Sheppard warns the weary that the afore-

mentioned apparitions only appear to those who least expect them… The Blennerhassett Hotel is not the only place that has a lot of wicked stories to tell. Another well-known Park-ersburg haunt is Quincy Hill, also located downtown where it gives you a straight-on view of the Ohio River and a large part of the city itself. Examining the gorgeousness of the city lights and running water wasn’t exactly what the inhabitants of Quincy Hill during the Civil War cared for, though. As told by Sheppard, the Hill was a tent-city hospital and lookout point during the war for anywhere from 500 to 1,000 colored and immigrant Irish Union troops. Many of the sol-diers dealt with troubles ranging from battle wounds to diseases such as small pox and typhoid fe-ver; the grand mound was simply full of twisted woe. The hauntings that contrive

from a trivial moment in the na-tion’s history consist of the eerie echoing whistles of Irish folk songs and strolling entities of the passed sickly soldiers. Many reports have been made of these supernatural instances occurring

to this day. Some other reputable haunts in Parkersburg include the Peter Godwin Van Winkle mansion, which was erected in 1836 and located downtown at 1209 Ann Street. The home is otherwise known to the city’s inhabitants as, “The Castle,” where people claim to hear ghostly footsteps and see apparitions in the estate’s windows. Southside K-Mart and Trans-Alleghany Bookstore are also places with supernatural charac-teristics that some people may not know about; both are filled with entities joyful and despair-ing alike and of course, the local cemeteries are said to be home to ghoulish figures and weeping statues, as well. Many people, though, follow the old saying “seeing is believ-ing,” and to those that don’t have the wits to ghost hunt alone, the opportunity to visit all of the lo-cal haunts with a group in one night would be on Sheppard’s Haunted Parkersburg Ghost Tour. Ranked 8th in the nation, the tour takes approximately two hours and the walk is under two miles, but at a pace in which the atten-dants can evaluate the haunted exhibits being shown. Things to look for on the tour, or in any ghost hunting situation, are foot-steps, breaking glass, open and closed doors, and unusual odors. The walk begins at the Blenne-rhassett Hotel where paranormal activity is said to be high and the participants can feel the spirits. All are to meet at 7:30 p.m. in the lobby; cost is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students, $5 for thirteen and under (children under six are not recommended.) For questions about the Haunted Parkersburg Ghost Tours call (304) 428-7978 or email Susan Sheppard at [email protected]. “After all, Parkersburg has al-ways had exceptional tales of the supernatural… So, are you ready to explore the unique hauntings and paranormal tales?”

A picture of Blennerhassett hotel taken in 1902, which currently sits on the corner of Fourth Street and Market Street, is said to have several unexplained phenomenons.

Parkersburg Local Hauntings Remain Part of Area Folklore

Stairs to the top of Quincy Hill, where ghostly apparitions are said to be haunting the park.


by Melissa Lough West Virginia i s bes t known for it's coal industry,but its economic history is vastly diverse. The “Mountain State” has numerous natural resources from salt, lumber, oil, natural gas, stone, cement, and although coal production has declined, West Virginia is among the nation's leading producers of coal. Much of the state’s northern panhandle and north-central portion of the state have bedded salt deposits over 50 feet thick. Salt mining had been underway since the 18th century, so what salt that could be easily obtained had already been played out by the time of the Civil War, the red salt of Kanawha County was a valued commodity of first the Confederate, and later the Union forces. Newer technology has since proved that West Virginia has enough salt resources to supply the nation for an estimated 2,000 years. During recent years, production has been around 600,000 to 1,000,000 tons per year. The oil and gas industry in West Virginia actually began as an extension of the salt industry. In the early 1800’s oil and gas was considered more of a nuisance when drilling for salt. Salt manufactures diverted so much oil to the Kanawha River

it was known as “Old Greasy” by boatmen. Gas was first struck in a well drilled for salt at Charleston in 1815. The Great Kanawha Valley region became a pioneer in the discovery of petroleum by boring and in the use of oil and gas on a commercial scale, once the value was realized. By 1876, 292 wells were operating in the state, producing a total of 900 barrels daily. The oil was floated down river to Parkersburg where they were sent to other cities by rail or river, this made Parkersburg the chief oil market. T h e Vo l c a n o o i l f i e l d , located in Ritchie County, was discovered in 1860 which led to the development of West Virginia’s first oil pipeline, from Volcano to Parkersburg, in 1879. I n t h e 1 7 7 0 G e o r g e Washington described the forest that covered West Virginia while traveling on the Kanawha River. He wrote this description in his journal, “Just as we came to the hills, we met with a sycamore…of a most extraordinary size, it measuring three feet from the ground, 45 feet around, lacking two inches and not 50 yards from it was another, 31 feet round.” Oaks, walnuts, yellow poplars, sycamores and other hardwoods are native to West Virginia The state’s forest remained largely untouched for almost another century after Washington saw

them. Pioneers destroyed trees indiscriminately in clearing the land and constructing farm buildings. Early industrialist selected choice trees for American and British shipyards and made millions of barrel staves and hoop poles for Baltimore and Ohio Valley markets. In 1870, two-thirds of West Virginia was still covered by native forest. Industrialization, especially railroads changed that. Large scale timbering was possible after the railroads were built to haul the lumber to market. With the expansion of three major rai l roads, Balt imore & Ohio, Chesapeake & Ohio and Norfolk & Western, and the efforts of a small group of in-state capitalist including Johnson Newlon Camden , Henry G. Davis and Stephen B. Elkins financing smaller railroad systems to go deeper into the mountains timber operators could bring in heavy equipment to cut, transport and process the mighty trees. Vast segment of forest could be cut clean, this gave birth to technologically advanced mills opening across the state. Rainelle, had the largest lumber mill in the world in its day, the

Meadow River mill consumed about 3,000 acres of timber a year. Between 1879 and 1912, an estimated 20 billion board feet of lumber was cut in West Virginia. This was about 85 percent of the state’s forest. With most of the forest gone the railroads pulled up their tracks and left the state. The Mountain State was left open to flooding droughts and fire, due to deforestation. Today, the trees have grown back . Bu t h i s to r i ans a re wondering if the forest is timbered as enthusiastically as the first, if West Virginia will be in line for more flooding, fires and droughts due to a second deforestation. The coal industry has been important in the development of the national industrial economy as well as West Virginia’s. The state’s coal has been deemed by some as unrivaled for quality. The state’s coal has fed the boilers of the nation’s trains, factories, fleets and power plants. As coal mining and related work became a major employer in the state, considerable labor issues arose as working conditions and safety, as well as economic issues arose. The Mounta in S ta te has benefitted from the development

1956 photo of a C&O Engine

Kanawha Valley river "Old Greasy"

o f i t s m i n e r a l r e s o u r c e s . Utilizing these resources are major glass, chemical and high technology industries; mainly in the highly industrialized Ohio & Kanawha River Valleys, Huntington, Parkersburg, with Charlestown a leading center. The state is a global hub for chemicals, a national hub for biotech industries and a leader in energy, whi le having a diverse economy in aerospace, automotive, healthcare and education, metals and steels, media and telecommunications, manufacturing, hospital i ty, biometrics, forestry, and tourism. With all of the industrial growth, the people of the state recognized a need for wildlife conservation. The Wildlife and Fish Commission was created in 1921 . The commiss ion established the French Creek Game Farm in 1923. It houses many indigenous animals for the purpose of conservation repopulating or control reasons throughout the state. Today, however, it is more like an indigenous zoo many families and schools go on outings to visit the animals. Today, the zoological facility is a 338 acre modern wildlife center under the direction of the Division of Natural Resources. For more interesting facts on West Virginia go to http://www.wvencyclopedia.org

View from Hawk's Nest W. VA.

Industry A Driving Force For West Virginia Economy


by Macie Lynch Originally coming to the state of West Virginia during the late 1500s and early 1600s, Native Americans and their woodsy handy-man culture have influ-enced the state’s way of life ever since those first steps stirred up dust on the land’s soil. Seneca Rocks, Chief Logan State Park, and the hole-in-the-wall store Turquoise Spirit on Front Street, Marietta, Ohio, are a few examples of the legacy that the state’s tribes have left behind. After the Hurons (the first k n o w n s e t t l e r s o f N a t i v e American heritage in what we now call the Mid-Ohio Val-ley) were pushed out by the I roquois Confederacy, the state’s land was used primarily as hunting ground. These tribes inhabited none other than Dod-dridge, Pleasants, Ritchie, Tyler, Wetzel, Wirt, and Wood counties, making home of the places that many now claim as their own and setting up what turned out to be a time-testing stereotypical lifestyle. The outdoorsmen mentality of killing white tail deer and pick-

ing blackberries for food stems from the hunting and gathering lifestyle of the Native Americans. In this day and age, any food imaginable can be found at a gro-cery store, but West Virginians choose to stay behind the times and would rather earn their sup-pers as their keep. Just as the Native Americans would use every bit of a kill for food, clothing, etc., West Virgin-ians have recently passed a law in which no animal has to go to waste; road kill can be picked up for their hide or even for dinner, as long as the pick-up is within twelve hours of the fatality. Be-sides the fact that a majority of people find this to be degrading to the state, the law heightens the idea that West Virginia natives think every bit of the animals and their use in this world, just as the indigenous tribes that lived here first. Not only have Native Ameri-cans influenced the way that the state’s inhabitants view their food, but it has influenced a cul-ture appreciative of the abundant amount of state parks and attrac-tions available for tourists, as

Native American Culture Influences State's Inhabitants well as natives, to travel to and marvel at. Seneca Rocks, one of the most famous Indian-based West Vir-ginia monuments, is the state’s tallest peak and is said to have been at one time a camp for the Native Americans where they would follow Seneca Trail (which visitors can still hike) to trade and make war with neigh-boring tribes. Chief Logan State Park, as mentioned before, is another historical Native American at-traction near the town of Logan, West Virginia and is in the heart of the state’s coalfields. Named after the chief of the Mingo tribe, the park is 4,000 acres and one of the most visited in the state park system. By allowing people from all over to spend time in the wilder-ness throughout places such as parks and camps in what used to be occupied by none other than the indigenous, a sense of habitual gratitude toward the out-door lifestyle that those Native Americans once led is acquired. The idea of living off of the land and admiring its beauty has been

"...a sense of habitual gratitude toward the outdoor lifestyle that those Native Americans once led is

acquired."

drawn from the taught history of the Native Americans, and West Virginians stay as close to those beliefs as possible. Also left behind were hun-dreds of mounds and other structures scattered across the state. Grave Creek Mound in Moundsville, South-Charleston Dunbar mounds, the Bens Run earthworks in Tyler County, and the Mount Carbon rock walls in Fayette County are to only name a few. The appreciation and teachings of the Native Americans in West Virginia begin through school systems and the field trips that are enacted for young students. For children in the Mid Ohio Val-ley, trips are taken to places of high historical magnitude such as Campus Martius in Marietta, Ohio, and Blennerhassett Island near Parkersburg, W.Va. Both places exhibit to children the way

of life that Native Americans used to lead and their interaction with the land along with other people in the areas in which the students now call home. In this day and age, though, not many Native Americans reside in the state. No feder-ally recognized tribes inhabit it, and that is due to the fact that the indigenous people were forced to leave West Virginia during the Indian Removals in the 1800s. Many were moved to Indian reservations in Okla-homa and Kansas. The only Native Americans left in the state are descendants of the ones that escaped from the Remov-al. Even though no vast amount of Native American heirs are alive in the state, their culture has influenced the state and has thor-oughly lasted the 150 years that the state has been around.

Eastern West Virginia's Seneca Rocks and its vast horizon as it appears today.

Artifacts displayed at the Native American Artifact Show at North Bend State Park in November 2013, an event sponsored by WVU Parkersburg students.


ChronicleThe

at WVU Parkersburg

News Editor: Jeremy HarrisonNews Reporting/Photography Staff: Alex Casto Allison HilberMelissa Lough Macie Lynch

Layout Editor: Rachel TerzoLayout Staff: Jacob AdkinsJeremy Harrison Jessica ThompsonMacie LynchKimberly MaloneJustina Morris

[email protected]

and find us on Facebook & Twitter@wvupchronicle

Advisor: Torie Jackson

Alex CastoAllison HilberKristiana HuntMelissa LoughAustin WeifordKatelyn White

Jason RossJustina MorrisJessica ThompsonKatelyn White

Volume 43Produced by students of WVU Parkersburg

West Virginia University at Parkersburg’s Sesquicentennial Celebration is presented with support from the West Virginia Sesquicentennial Commission, West Virginia Humanities Council, Artsbridge, and West Virginia University at Parkersburg.

April 12 - Elderberry FloodThe History, Lore and Land of West Virginia in Verse Form by Louise McNeill7:30 p.m. | College TheatreWVU Parkersburg Communication, Music, and Theatre departments

April 16 - May 3 - Born of Rebellion West Virginia Humanities Council Exhibit

April 17 - Matewan (film)11 a.m., 2 p.m., 7 p.m. | Student Lounge Student Engagement & Activities

April 18 - WVU Parkersburg Celebrates West Virginia HistoryCollege Activities Center | 7 p.m.

Book Signing WVU Parkersburg History Faculty Authors: Robert Anderson, Bernard Allen, Aaron Crites, Gary Tucker WVU Parkersburg Barnes and Noble Bookstore

Keynote Address “Reflections on West Virginia's Birth and Years That Followed - Nearly 150 years of History: An Interactive Lecture” Dr. Bernard Allen, WVU Parkersburg Professor Emeritus

April 23 - “The Revolution that Forged a State”Dr. Ronald Lewis, West Virginia University Professor EmeritusCollege Theatre | 7 p.m.West Virginia Humanities Council

April 24 - The Mothman Prophecies (film)11 a.m., 2 p.m., 7 p.m. | Student LoungeStudent Engagement & Activities

April 26 - Johnny Staats & the Delivery Boys7 p.m. | College amphitheatreStudent Engagement and &Activities( In case of rain, the event will be moved to the College Activities Center)

April 30 - Marc HarshmanWest Virginia Poet Laureate7 p.m. | College Theatre

Join us in celebratingWest Virginia's Sesquicentennial!

“continued from page 1”named the “Battle of Philippi Races” due to the surprise attack by Union forces, causing the newly formed Confederate troop to take flight in their sleeping clothes. A Favorable Outcome “Once it had decided to support the Union in the northwestern counties, it played a significant role in the outcome of the Civil War.” Allen explains, “Most important part of that was the fact that the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) ran through northwestern Virginia , and control of that railroad was cru-cial for both sides … whoever controlled that railroad was in a position to win the war.” Parkersburg’s Role During the outbreak of the war, Parkersburg was in the beginning stages an oil boom. Parkersburg was also a vital transportation

hub which was desired by both armies. According to Allen, Parkersburg was home to two major interstates, as well as the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha Rivers. A major rail-way hub for the Northwestern Virginia Railroad was also lo-cated in what was then the center of town. May Freedom Thrive Allen stated that, “If it wasn’t for the [Civil] War, West Virginia wouldn’t likely have become its own state.” West Virginia has played an important role in se-curing freedom for many lives. West Virginians are still known for their desire to maintain free-dom, freedoms that are currently under attack- such as the “Right to Keep and Bear Arms.” As the times change, it is inevitable that West Virginians will continue to fight for equality, freedom, and justice for all.


by Jason Terrell “Now that I’m older, I do think I’m the greatest receiver to ever do it,” Randy Moss said during a recent ESPN interview. Born on February 13, 1977 in Rand, W.Va., Moss is a lifetime West Virginia native. He has electrified thousands of fans in the mountaineer state. He is quite possibly one of the most controversial superstars to ever grace the football field. From mooning the Green Bay fans during a playoff game to jumping in the sacred Cleveland Browns “Dog Pound,” Moss has shown world class athleticism during his 15-year career. Moss has compiled over 15,000 receiving yards, over 100 touchdowns and is second to only Jerry Rice in that category. Moss set the NCAA Division I-AA records for most games with a touchdown catch in a season (14), most consecutive games with a touchdown catch (13), most touchdown passes caught by a freshman in a season (28), and most receiving yards gained by a freshman in a season (1,709). Moss also helped lead Mar-shall to an undefeated season

and the Division I-AA title in the school’s last season Division I-AA. In Marshall’s first season in Division I-A, Moss helped lead the Thundering Herd to the Mid-American Conference title by achieving a record 26 touchdown receptions. Moss was also named a first-team All-American, won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the na-tion’s leading wide receiver, and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy race. Moss was drafted in 1998 to the Minnesota Vikings in the first round with the 21st selection. Those who have fol-lowed Moss know he was the most athletically gifted in that draft class and the combine num-bers show that. Moss was originally recruited to attend Florida State and never suited up for one game due to off-field issues. Moss was ex-cused from Florida State and returned to Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va. Moss took the college football scene by storm. His phenomenal catches broke the single-season receiving record as a freshman in college. Moss also led the team to an un-defeated season and a spot in the

Music City Bowl. Moss came out publicly and bashed the state in which he started his career. The media in Moss’s home state has been criti-cal about him and his off-field antics, basically shredding his image. He hasn’t helped his im-age by his actions. In an interview in 2003 on WSAZ, Moss was quoted saying, “This state has not done anything for me so why should I do any-thing for them?” This continued the strain be-tween the athlete and his home state. During an interview with his mother, she claimed that her son was in the right and was dealt some bad breaks during life as a youth and has overcome those issues. Moss has definitely over-achieved and has made his family proud. Within the past 10 years Moss has donated several hundred thousand dollars back to the state and has let the “so called beef’’ die. Moss established the ‘Links for Learning Founda-tion.’ The foundation, which takes a special interest in giving back to the communities of West Virginia, has a goal to build sev-eral learning centers in the most under-served student populations throughout the state. Last year, Moss hosted a tournament at Sleepy Hollow Golf Club in Hurricane for his fundraising efforts. Though he was trying to stay under the ra-dar, Moss still donated clothing and food at St. John’s Episcopal Church. Now, Moss has stepped up to help seriously ill children. His Foundation recently named the Starlight Children’s Founda-tion Mid-Atlantic as its latest recipient. With Moss’ donation, Starlight was able to purchase a ‘Fun Center’ for the Women and

Children’s Hospital of Charles-ton, W.Va., and a Fun Center is exactly what it sounds like - fun! It is a portable bedside video-game/DVD/TV system equipped with 22 Nintendo Wii games. Moss is currently an unsigned free agent coming off his worst season statistically, for the excep-tion of his 2010 season when he was bounced around the NFL by the Patriots, Vikings and Titans.

With 218 games played, 982 receptions, 15,292 re-ceiving yards and 156 career touchdowns, the 36-year-old Moss may have played his last game as a member of the NFL. However, the contributions he has made to Marshall University, the NFL and to his home state will allow him to be remembered as part of the state’s athletic his-tory for decades to come.

Moss making the interception for Marshall.

Moss makes a run for it during a game with West Virginia.

West Virginia Athlete Achieves Greatness

chronicle volume 43, issue 11

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