Known for its distinct sour taste when it first ripens, and its creamy applesauce when it matures, an heirloom apple with Russian roots still grows in Appalachia. Generations of southwest Virginians and West Virginians have kept these trees alive for more than a century. The growing season, flavor and versatility […]
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As part of West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Inside Appalachia folkways project, Appalachia’s unique connection to Wales has been explored. Both regions have mountainous landscapes, a history of coal extraction, folktales and it turns out, music. There is a growing community of musicians from both Wales and Appalachia who share an […]
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I knew I would be a father someday. I just assumed it would happen the normal way. My wife Whitney had other ideas. She suggested that, instead of going the traditional biological route, we should become foster parents. After some long conversations, she had me onboard, too. I wrote the […]
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The Hammons Family of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, are known around the world for their distinctive old-time music that reflects the early Appalachian frontier of West Virginia. Nine members of the Hammons clan, Edden, Pete, Maggie, Sherman, Burl, Lee, Currence, Mintie and Dona, will be inducted into the West Virginia […]
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In February 1968, U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy visited eastern Kentucky to investigate the successes and the failures of the “War on Poverty.” In the new book “All This Marvelous Potential: Robert Kennedy’s 1968 Tour of Appalachia,” author Matthew Algeo examined the trip and digs into what Kennedy saw, what has […]
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On any given Friday night, a parade of customized cars and trucks cruise from north to south and back again on Williamson Road in Roanoke, Virginia. Modified with neon lights, spinning rims and streamlined spoilers, these vehicles do not necessarily scream “folk tradition”—but they are just the modern version of […]
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