Seeing “Dark Waters” itself is a surreal experience for someone born and raised in Parkersburg, West Virginia, at least in part because I never thought I would see a story about my hometown on the big screen. “Dark Waters” is an eco-thriller produced and starred in by Mark Ruffalo. It […]
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This article was originally published by West Virginia Public Broadcasting in December 2014. The man behind the lyrics of Frosty the Snowman, Peter Cottontail, and Smokey the Bear is none other than West Virginian Jack Rollins. His song about a magical snowman coming to life and bringing holiday cheer can be heard almost everywhere […]
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Flea markets are a common feature across rural landscapes, especially in Appalachia. If you have never been, there is typically something for everyone, and one West Virginian artist is turning the unique finds into art. “Sometimes it’s the imagery. A portion of my work has an industrial aspect to it, […]
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You never really forget a hog killing once you see it. The smell of woodsmoke mingling with the smell of burning flesh as the men pour boiling water over the body to loosen the hair that would then be shaved off with a sharpened garden hoe in quick raking motions […]
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The myth that Appalachia is uniformly White lingers, but communities of “Affrilachians” were documented in the 1930s. This article was originally published by YES! Magazine in March 2018. Black folks have a gift for complicating the stories that Americans like to tell about themselves. Our presence, for instance, makes it […]
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After a $50 million investment in a fiber-to-the-home network, two Eastern Kentucky counties are starting to reap benefits, according to local leaders. To find the fastest internet in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, bypass the big cities of Louisville and Lexington and head east to McKee, the home ground of People’s […]
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