We primeval forests felling,We the rivers stemming, vexing we, and piercing deep the mines within;We the surface broad surveying, we the virgin soil upheaving, Pioneers! O pioneers! – Stanza 7 from Pioneers! O Pioneers by Walt Whitman When we hear the word “pioneer” – especially in the Appalachian context – […]
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Appalachia, in the popular imagination, stubbornly remains poor and white. Open a dictionary and you’ll see Appalachian described as a “native or inhabitant of Appalachia, especially one of predominantly Scotch-Irish, English, or German ancestry.” Read J.D. Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy” and you’ll enter a world that’s white, poor and uncultured, with […]
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Their small-town neighbors aren’t familiar with the faith. Their urban counterparts barely know they exist. As the only Jew in his elementary school other than his brother, Eli Baldwin had his mom visit class to teach his peers about Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. From a young age, Marisa […]
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Ona, West Virginia, is a town with two stoplights, but it’s also a place where legends are made. Greg Sigler has been racing at Ona Speedway for nearly two decades. But today, he’s coaching his 15-year-old son, Cole, from the sidelines, using a headset that lets them talk back and […]
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The Melungeon people of east Tennessee were isolated and discriminated against throughout much of their history. They began to be “othered” in the 1800s for being mixed-race Appalachians. Melungeons are considered a tri-racial isolate, meaning they are a combination of traits from multiple ethnic backgrounds, thus, creating their own unique […]
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West Virginia’s Mountaineer Heritage Hunting season began January 9, two weeks after most hunting seasons have closed. It is the second year since its conception, and most notably, it is limited to primitive weapons – like flintlock muzzle loader rifles. The season is meant to memorialize the state’s settlers, using […]
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