Thanks to everyone who has stopped by Picture West Virginia, and especially to those of you who have contributed. This blog hasn’t quite worked out like I expected it to, so I’m going to put it on hiatus for a while. I have an idea for a version of PWV that might work out much better, and I’m going to be thinking about that for a while. In the meantime, feel free to stop by my personal blog at Reversing the Numbness.

Post by: Rebecca Burch
Town: Spencer
Website: Carpe You Some Diem!

My favorite traditions involve food — baking Christmas cookies, summer barbecues, Thanksgiving dinner, going out with my Dad to several different stores looking for the perfect Easter ham… my belly growls just thinking about it! Now that I’m an adult and I am sharing those same memories with my children, I am starting to realize that the best part of these traditions isn’t so much the food (my tastes have changed so much since then!) but the rituals of preparing the foods with the rest of the family. I remember spending weeks of evenings and Saturdays in the kitchen preparing Christmas cookies with my mom, and then freezing them until Christmas Eve, when all our hard work would be displayed on her best crystal platters at my Aunt Bonnie’s house. I remember helping my Dad prepare wild concoctions that he would marinate meat in overnight, then get up at the crack of dawn on July 4 to begin grilling, roasting, and preparing amazing foods for his yearly 4th of July cookout — the “Billy Bash,” as our family would call it. I remember all these events in my childhood that centered around food, but the process of creating something to feed our huge family is really what it was all about!

So many family problems were handled by the women in the kitchen! This is when they would all come together — to cook — but actually, to discuss family matters and how best to handle them. I think that we call it “networking” these days! One cousin going on vacation would find a caretaker for her pet, and in return, the caretaker could barter for help painting a nursery. The care of elderly family members, pregnant family members, and newborns was worked out between daughters and cousins, and people came together in a way that doesn’t happen anymore.

Now, a lot of the older generation has passed on, and the cousins have all moved away. We don’t get together in the kitchen on holidays anymore, and the “Billy Bash” has been scaled down quite a bit. It’s sad, in a lot of ways. But I’ve been keeping the tradition alive in my own family by bringing the children into the kitchen. We bake bread, make Christmas cookies, plan cookouts, make goodies to take to elderly neighbors, and rework some of the old heirloom recipes. (Apparently, my ancestors knew nothing of cholesterol.) And while in the kitchen, we discuss school bullies, grades, plan vacations, solve social problems, tell jokes, and find solutions. Our kitchen is truly the heart of our home, and those traditions are still the best times of my life — especially now that I get to share them with my children!

Keeping tradition alive

Post by: Bryan Stealey
Town: Morgantown
Website: Reversing the Numbness

I’m from Clarksburg, and one of the best-known traditions there is the annual Italian Heritage Festival. I loved this festival when I was a kid, though I must say in recent years it seems to have lost some of its luster. Still, it’s a good place to run into old friends I wouldn’t see otherwise, so I try to make it down when I can.

While I was perusing the historical-photos archive at the WVU Libraries website, I came across this photo from the first-ever Italian Heritage Festival. (I don’t want to post it here, because I don’t have the rights for it, so you’ll have to click that link.)

Tell me — does the guy in the middle remind any of you of a famous West Virginian?

Post by: MK Stover
Town: Grafton, WV
Website: MK Stover

“So we had Cheneys on both sides of the family,” said Cheney, “and we don’t even live in West Virginia.”
(Los Angeles Times, Blogs, Top of the Ticket: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/06/dick_cheney.html)

Do I even have to say anything about this?

Post by: Rebecca Burch
Town: Spencer
Website: Carpe You Some Diem!

Post by: Bryan Stealey
Town: Morgantown
Website: Reversing the Numbness

My friend and coworker Laurel called me today to let me know she was going to be a little late in getting to the office. She had found a malnourished dog walking down the middle of the road, in traffic, and being the responsible animal lover she is, she picked it up and took it to the vet. It turns out the dog is well-known at the vet’s office, and they’ve been worried about it for years because of its irresponsible owner. Laurel can’t handle a third dog, but if the owner of the poor pooch doesn’t claim it in five days (knock on wood that he doesn’t), she already has a line on an awesome home for it. Well done, Laurel.

Which brings me to my rant: What the hell is wrong with people who don’t take care of their animals? Why even get a dog if you can’t be bothered to take care of its basic needs? Why? (I know the reasons; I just don’t understand them.)

When I was growing up, I knew some people who had two hunting beagles that they kept in a little pin in the back of their yard. (And by little, I mean 3′ X 6′. For two dogs. And the floor was made of two-by-fours with space in between them so some of the poop would drop out. It was a mixed blessing, because their feet would sometimes drop out too.) These were otherwise good people, but the dog thing was crazy.

I’m reminded of this kind of stuff every day, as I have to drive by this pathetic guy on my way home from work:

Fang

How bad would that suck? I did a post about this dog, who we call Fang, a year ago on Reversing the Numbness, and he’s still in this situation 24 hours a day. A lost cause on paws. Our kids often say “poor Fang” as we drive by.

To quote my friend Josh Williams: “Chaining a sentient being to a peg for its life is just not good juju.

tswhatI’msayin.

We have one more post to go with our Spring theme, and it’s a great one. First, I’d like to thank new poster and Grafton resident MK Stover for playing along this week. Welcome, MK! Now take a minute to head over to her blog, MK Stover, to read her submission, which contains a perfect solution to keep mud from getting on your pink and girlish footwear.

Post by: Susan Chipley
Town: Morgantown
Website: Chez Mama

Spring is a nice thing here in WV … especially after one of our cold grey/brown winters. One of the first signs of spring is the robins you begin to hear chirping as the sun rises. You know spring is here (or at least just around the corner) when you wake to the sound of birds.

Every year, a mama robin seems to find her way to our front-porch light to build her nest and lay her eggs. The kids and I think it’s so cool to keep an eye on the nest for eggs, then babies. The mama usually gets so used to us that she doesn’t even fly off when we go out the door! The babies are looking really cute now, and when we’re on the front porch we hear their soft chirps.

It’s hard to get a good photo. I have to stand on a chair and hold the camera up while pointing it down into the nest. I can’t really see what I’m shooting, and that makes it tricky.

Robin eggs

Baby robins

Post by: Bryan Stealey
Town: Morgantown
Website: Reversing the Numbness

What looks crappier than an old, empty pool on a really crappy day? Not much. Case in point:

The Stealey Pool

That’s the Stealey Pool, which was my summer haunt all the years of my youth. That place was awesome. Pretty much every kid in Stealey (including us Stealey boys) were members, and it was always one of the nicest places to swim in all of Clarksburg. Not only did spring mean the end of school, but it also meant the beginning of swim season and our daily trips up the biggest hill in the neighborhood to our beloved pool.

I was recently in Clarksburg for my Grandmother Stealey’s funeral, unfortunately, and my brothers and I spent a couple of hours driving around our old stomping grounds. It’s getting pretty run down in places, sadly, and I understand Clarksburg in general is going through some pretty tough times right now. Our trip up to good ol’ Stealey pool was an eye-opener. There it was, lonely, tired looking, its age showing in its peeling paint, its cracking concrete deck, it’s rusty fence. Add to that a gloomy day, a shallow pool of dirty grey water at the bottom of the deep end, and not another soul in sight, and the place just looked terrible. It looked dead, almost.

Even though the town is facing tough times right now, and I doubt the pool’s budget has an extreme makeover in the cards, I’m sure that the coming of spring will turn it into a completely different place. The surrounding hills will be lush with vegetation, the pool will be filled with clean, blue water, and the cracks in the deck will be hidden by slowly tanning feet of every shape and size.

I just love how spring makes dead things come back to life.

Post by: Rebecca Burch
Town: Spencer
Website: Carpe You Some Diem!

I know it’s really spring when Charleston’s cherry blossoms start to open up. These fragile flowers bloom only for a week or so before the delicate petals fall from the sky like the snow we were only recently wishing to never see again. It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life and forget to stop and look for these trees to bloom each year.

Cherry Blossoms

There are a few cherry trees in Charleston, including one huge, gorgeous, weeping cherry tree at First Presbyterian Church, next door to the school where I work. As soon as February’s out of the way, I start watching that tree for little buds to start popping up and turning green. Sometimes, I think that watching for those little green signs of hope does so much to get me through the end of winter. Just when it seems like the cold, grey days will never end, the buds appear and my mental focus turns to springtime.

Weeping Cherry

Once the cherry trees bloom, I know that other flowers will follow suit. My apple tree in the back yard isn’t far behind, and then azaleas and rhododendrons, redbud trees and snowball bushes. My dreary commute is rocked by the bright pinks and purples and yellow-green saplings of springtime, and the world seems to come alive again.

Post by: Rebecca Burch
Town: Spencer
Website: Carpe You Some Diem!

This is going to sound really odd coming from a middle-aged art teacher and mother of four, probably, but I’m going to post this, anyway.

I love the sound of a hotrod engine.

I know, I know… these cars are gas hogs, unnecessary driving is bad for the environment, and they’re a nuisance driving through your neighborhood … I know. But to me, the sound of a really well-tuned muscle car is a beautiful thing.

My husband, Mike, bought a 1966 Ford Mustang as a kid — yes, before he was old enough to drive it — with money earned from working in his father’s movie theater . Since then, he’s been building and tweaking to get every last little bit of horsepower out of the thing, and now the little red Mustang is a force to be reckoned with. The sound it makes is amazing — when it idles, it has this low growl, and then as it gets ready to take off, it literally roars like some sort of mechanical dragon! It’s not the whine of a modern sportscar; it’s the sound of pure power. You can’t NOT love it. Don’t even ask me engine specs and details — I have no clue. I just love the sound it makes when it’s ready to go, and I know how much work has gone into this thing. SO many hours of tweaking and grinding and doing the math and reworking systems have gone into getting even the most minute time gain at the track.

Well, okay … there are times when I would appreciate a “mute” button on the old ‘Stang … especially when I’ve just put the baby down for a nap and the guys are all working on their cars in the driveway. And after a day at the racetrack, I do welcome the silence of the ride home. This noise does have a downside. As much as I love it, there are times that the noise can be too much. But I’ll take it. I am looking forward to the racing season that is just starting up, and I know we’ll have fun at the track this year. The weather is warm and the hotrodders are already starting to congregate at my house to compare progress made during the cold months and plan trips to the track. The kids are chomping at the bit to go see Daddy race again. And I’m looking forward to spending some time outdoors with my family watching the culmination of all the work my husband and his friends have put into these machines of pure strength and beauty. Putnam County, here we come!

Link to Kanawha Valley Motorsports Park.

WV Hotrod

Bob Coffield, who writes the Health Care Law Blog, has posted an excellent entry for the PWV topic of Sounds. Please visit his excellent blog to learn more about Charleston’s FestivALL.

Also, in response to Moneytastesbad’s previous post on Mountain Stage, Bob pointed out that podcasts for some of the Mountain Stage archives are now available at the Charleston Gazette’s entertainment website, TheGazz.com.

Post by: Moneytastesbad
Town: Morgantown
Website: The 30-Year-Old Freshman

Mountain Stage — WV’s best little secret

REM

Richard Thompson

Regina Spektor

They Might Be Giants

Billy Bragg

Ralph Stanley

Yonder Mountain String Band

I could go on, but I will stop now.

Post by: Susan Chipley
Town: Morgantown
Website: Chez Mama

I’m sure most people reading this have heard of Jesco White, the “Dancing Outlaw.” His father, D. Ray White, was a legendary mountain dancer. Jesco aspired to be the same, and he has been to some extent. Jesco has lived a difficult life, and struggled to overcome poverty and addiction. He has become reasonably famous, as he has been featured on two documentaries made for Public Television. Sometimes I think that many of the Hollywood-types have exploited Jesco and used him to perpetuate the typical West Virginia and Appalachian stereotypes–something that we West Virginians have to continue to fight to overcome.

Cousin Wildweed wrote a song about Jesco, “The Ballad of Jesco White”. Here’s a video of that song, performed by Peckerwood. I’m not sure if it is actually Jesco dancing in the video or not, as the face is a bit blurry. His moves definitely remind me of Jesco, though!

Post by: Bryan Stealey
Town: Morgantown
Website: Reversing the Numbness

I love music, as anyone who ever visits my Friday Music posts will know. (If you’re the same way, consider swinging by RtN and helping make a weekly play list. It’s an open invitation.) While I don’t make it out to see local live music like I used to, I still like thinking about some of the bands I was into in college in the early to mid-’90s. I love when I find traces of this music on the internet.

Here’s a video of the Joint Chiefs from 1995. These guys were hugely popular back in the day and just did a little three-show reunion tour in Morgantown, Charleston, and Huntington (I believe) a few weeks ago.

I was very stoked to find out that Steve Rubin, the guitar player from rock-hip-hoppers Circle 6, has posted all of Circle 6’s recordings online at Eight Track Mind. Go listen! With Steve on guitar and the incomparable Billy Resh on the mic, Circle 6 always put on an awesome show in a similar vein to Rage Against the Machine (but with a little more rap). At one point Steve and I had a big plan to get some guys together and do a show covering both albums of Pink Floyd’s The Wall, but we never did get around to it.

Eric Lewis and I did play a lot of Pink Floyd, but it was his gigs with his band Once Hush that I remember the best. He was my roommate and the guys in the band were some of my best college friends, so I probably saw this group a hundred times. I never felt like they got the credit they deserved, because they were all fantastic musicians and they wrote really good pop songs. You can hear some of their stuff on the Once Hush MySpace page. Eric and singer/guitarist Greg Riordan are still making great music.

So many other bands, I can hardly remember them all. Rasta Rafiki. Jolly Gargoyle. The Karl Shuman Band. Lester James and the White Flames. The Recipe. The Groove Tubes. The Tide (featuring Eric Hopper). Todd Burge (who’s still the pride of West Virginia) and his bands 63 Eyes and Triple Shot. Brian Porterfield (also still going strong with his band The Love Me Knots). Sandra Black.

That’s just the beginning of the massive collection of quality bands that graced Morgantown in the early to mid-’90s. Dozens — probably hundreds — of bands have come and gone through this town since, and I missed out on most of them. I think I got to see The Argument once before they broke up, and the same goes for The Emergency, though I think they’re still together. I’ve seen one-man punk band J. Marinelli a couple of times, and Billy Matheney and the Frustrations as well. I’m sure there are excellent bands in this town I don’t even know about.

I’ll end with one more Youtube video of one Morgantown’s most world-renowned bands, Karma to Burn. They’re no longer together, but their legacy of instrumental rock lives on in fans across the globe.