Happy West Virginia Day!
Today we celebrate the day West Virginia became a state on June 20, 1863. As most of you know, I grew up in West Virginia--a fact that I'm very proud of. West Virginia is not large in either size or population, so not many people know much about it. Or they only "know" what they've seen on TV or in the movies. Let me see if I can give a brief summary of what West Virginia is like.
Also, like most other places, there are rich people and there are poor people. There are well educated people and there are poorly educated people. There are people who like grits and ramps, and others who don't like them at all (that would be me). But I'd say that almost everyone likes biscuits.
Besides biscuits, there are other things that bind the state together. People here have a connection to the land. This is where they hunt and fish and where they grow their vegetables and graze their cows or goats. They also appreciate the beauty around them. Everywhere you turn there is a feast for your eyes. Whether it is hilly terrain of hills and hollows (hollers), or long mountain ridges with long stream valleys, it's all very scenic. They are also a very resilient group of people. Life has not always been easy for many people here, but they find a way to keep going.
But the thing that strikes me the most about West Virginia is the friendliness of the people. I have found friendly people everywhere I lived, but not always the comfortable friendliness that I have experienced with the people of West Virginia. I hadn't realized this until a young Theo asked me a question one day as we were traveling back to visit his grandparents. He said, "What makes everyone so friendly where Granddad and Grandma live? It's different from where we live." I started to notice, that he was correct.
So there you have it. I have just summarized 24,230 square miles of land, 1.85 million people, and over 150 years of history of West Virginia. Maybe another time, I'll tell you more.
Do any of your sisters still live in West Virginia? Do you and Ward ever entertain ideas of retiring there?
ReplyDeleteFrom what you've said, it sounds like a very pleasant place.
None of my sisters live there any more, but my mother and lots of cousins and aunts and uncles are still there. Ward and I have discussed retiring there for many reasons, one of which is that it would be a lower cost of living that where we are now. But who knows where we will end up?
DeleteI remember reading this--I had to look up what "ramps" are. Thanks for running it again! I agree, it's very hard to make generalities about a state the size of WV. I enjoy your "personal" touch--very different than what the state tourist site would give me, I think!
ReplyDeleteI read your comment about the WV activities for your mom's nursing home--how clever of you and your sisters!
When I first wrote that I think I wanted people to look beyond the stereo type for West Virginia and point out that while there can generalities about a place, you can't lump everything together. There are some other points and features I didn't mention, but I thought it was a good start.
DeleteAnd since we can't be at the nursing home very often, we're trying to make a presence and be helpful to all just not my mother. We have tried to provide materials for other things, but this was the first themed set of programs we have done. We toying with the next one being about the Flintstones. Of course, we have to run all of this through the activities director.
This post makes me want to visit West Virginia even more! With all the genealogy research that I did about it, I've almost come to feel that part of my own family was from there, lol. Also, I'd like to see if people are as nice as in Maine. A couple of years ago I helped a friend move to Maine and I just could not believe how nice and friendly everyone was up there. It was surreal.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that it was a lovely thing to do for your mom and friends at the retirement home and they seemed to have loved it! How very resourceful of you.
You obviously love your home state and it shows! Thanks for re-sharing the post with us.
My sister lives in Maine and yes they are definitely friendly there too. A factor that I think is very important in how others interact with each other is population density. WV and Maine don't have any really big cities and most of the people live in small towns or rural areas which lends itself to a easier friendliness.
DeleteOnce again, I have found friendly people everywhere I've been. Sometimes it is expressed with different styles, however.
What a great post - how did I miss it first time around?
ReplyDeleteWest Virginia is in one of those blank areas on the map for me. Not sure I could name most of the surrounding stats - well, Pennsylvania, but the rest are a blur.
Curiously though, what I think of for that whole region is that it's the center of Appalachian music, which is one of the building blocks of traditional American folk music, so it's something that I have a musical appreciation for. My picture is that everyone in the state must play the banjo or autoharp - like one giant Carter Family jam session. Did you ever experience any of that growing up?
My immediate family didn't play the fiddle or the banjo, but bluegrass/ hill music was present at every gathering, fair, etc. around. It is very much something that I identify with the state.
DeleteWell, now that I think of it, auto harp was part of my grade school curriculum. My older sisters played the guitar and we sang a lot, but we mostly sang folk songs. It was the 60's you know.
Thank you for writing about WV! I have lived here in Kanawha County all of my life, currently in Tornado. I wasn't affected by the recent floods, as the Coal River didn't rise much. It is amazing that they happened so nearby though. Those affected have a very long way to go towards 'normal' and will continue to need help for quite some time. Yvonne in WV
ReplyDeleteHi, Yvonne. It's always good to hear from a fellow WV person. I haven't lived there since I graduated college, but WV will always be a part of me. Besides, many of my relatives still live there including my mother.
DeleteIt means a lot to me that what I wrote was okay with you. As I have lived in various places I have either had people not know anything about WV (in fact the other day someone called it VA) or make fun of it from the stereotypes they have seen in the movies. With this very short piece, I was hoping that it might make someone think for just a minute about WV as a real place with all kinds of people living there.
I don't go into many specifics on this blog for security reasons, but lets just say that I grew up in the same part of the state you did. I'm glad that you didn't have flood damage, but the northern part of your county did. I know several people whose houses are gone.
Please come by and visit again.
Did you read/hear the story on NPR yesterday about West Virginia using Mennonite technology to rebuild the bridges? http://www.npr.org/2016/07/17/486391400/to-rebuild-bridges-west-virginia-turns-to-mennonite-technology
ReplyDeleteI had not heard that story. It's very interesting and I'd like to learn more about it. Thanks for the heads up. I really appreciate it.
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