Singer-songwriter Glen Simpson of Hardy, KY sings "Don't Shoot Him Anymore," based on the murders of Sid Hatfield and Edward Chambers during the West Virginia Mine Wars
Date:
2018-05-22
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Coal miners--West Virginia, Labor disputes--West Virginia, Working class--Songs and music, Labor union locals, Coal mines and mining, Labor union members, and Coal mines and mining in art
Clip of UMWA president Cecil Roberts' speech at a West Virginia Teachers' Strike rally & teachers chanting "55 Strong"
Date:
2018-02-26
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Strikes and lockouts--Teachers, Labor disputes--West Virginia, Teachers' unions--United States, Labor union members, United Mine Workers of America, and West Virginia Capitol Complex (Charleston, W. Va.)
Elliot Ventura, Spring Valley High School student and son of a West Virginia Spanish teacher, speaks during a student rally in support of striking teachers
Date:
2018-03-02
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Labor disputes--West Virginia, Labor union members, Teachers' unions--United States, Teaching, West Virginia Capitol Complex (Charleston, W. Va.), Strikes and lockouts--Teachers, and Public schools--Employees
Location:
Wayne County (W. Va.), Charleston (W. Va.), and Kanawha County (W. Va.)
![["Appalachian Acres in Tallmansville, West Virginia, is owned and operated by Donnie Tenney and Lorelie Nicolas-Tenney. On September 28, 2017, they gathered with family and friends, including Nicolas-Tenney's mother Liz Villegas, seedsaver and farmer Charlie Radabaugh (of Radabaugh Farm in Buckhannon, WV), and seedsaver, farmer, and chef Mike Costello (of Lost Creek Farm in Lost Creek, WV), to harvest, process and boil sorghum into syrup."]](/thumb/4224AppalachianAcresSorghumVideo00192817 "Liz Villegas feeds sorghum cane through press")
![["Appalachian Acres in Tallmansville, West Virginia, is owned and operated by Donnie Tenney and Lorelie Nicolas-Tenney. On September 28, 2017, they gathered with family and friends, including Nicolas-Tenney's mother Liz Villegas, seedsaver and farmer Charlie Radabaugh (of Radabaugh Farm in Buckhannon, WV), and seedsaver, farmer, and chef Mike Costello (of Lost Creek Farm in Lost Creek, WV), to harvest, process and boil sorghum into syrup."]](/thumb/4224AppalachianAcresSorghumVideo00292817 "Liz Villegas feeds sorghum cane through sorghum press powered by a tractor engine")
![["Vernon John Burky was born to a Swiss family in Helvetia, West Virginia in 1925. He grew up speaking Swiss on his family farm, where his parents raised animals and managed a sawmill, and his grandparents operated a cheese house. They made Helvetia cheese, a type of Swiss cheese, similar to Emental, that was made throughout the Helvetia community and a staple in the diet of residents. As a child, Burky raised chickens and tapped maple trees on his family farm. As an adult, he was an active winemaker, a common pursuit in the Helvetia community. During his working years, Burky worked as a truck driver for a saw mill and a coal company. He learned to play fiddle as a child and started playing in the Helvetia Star Band, the local dance band for generations and the namesake of one of the villages two dance halls. He still plays in the group, which performs regularly for Helvetia square dances and events. This interview is part of a series of interviews conducted with foodways practitioners in Helvetia, West Virginia, as part of the Helvetia Foodways Oral History Project in partnership with the Southern Foodways Alliance. Learn more: https://www.southernfoodways.org/oral-history/helvetia-west-virginia/"]](/thumb/4224BurkyVernonVideo00191016 "Vernon Burky and friends play the fiddle tune \"Ragtime Annie\" at the Helvetia Community Fair")
![["Maria Kayafas has been the Greek dance instructor at the St. John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church in Wheeling for 25 years. She grew up in Kent, Ohio. In this interview, she talks about her family background and heritage, her experience as a Greek dancer and dance instructor, and the community at St. John the Divine. Learn more about the Wheeling Grecian Fest: http://www.grecianfest.com/"]](/thumb/4224KayafasMariaVideo00372717 "Children's Greek dance troupe of St. John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church performs at the 2017 Wheeling Grecian Fest")
![["Maria Kayafas has been the Greek dance instructor at the St. John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church in Wheeling for 25 years. She grew up in Kent, Ohio. In this interview, she talks about her family background and heritage, her experience as a Greek dancer and dance instructor, and the community at St. John the Divine. Learn more about the Wheeling Grecian Fest: http://www.grecianfest.com/"]](/thumb/4224KayafasMariaVideo00472717 "Boy's Greek dance troupe of St. John the Divine Greek Orthodox Church performs at the 2017 Wheeling Grecian Fest")
![["Elaine (Moore) Purkey is an activist songwriter and musician from Harts Creek, West Virginia in Lincoln County. She was born on May 29, 1949, on the same piece of property where she still lives. She was raised in a family of musicians and flatfoot dancers and attributes her powerful voice to the acapella singing she learned as a member of the Church of Christ. As a teenager she played in bands with her brother, and in early adulthood she was the lead singer of a local country band. In the 1980s, she began performing regularly on the Wallace Horn Friendly Neighbors Show, a live radio program out of Logan County that has been on the air since 1967. She now hosts the show. Elaine performed a concert at Yasou Greek Restaurant in McDowell County on July 8, 2017. The concert was sponsored by the West Virginia Folklife Program at the West Virginia Humanities Council and McArts."]](/thumb/4224PurkeyElaineVideo0017817 "Elaine Purkey plays her original song \"Keepers of the Mountains\" at Yasou Greek Restaurant")
![["Elaine (Moore) Purkey is an activist songwriter and musician from Harts Creek, West Virginia in Lincoln County. She was born on May 29, 1949, on the same piece of property where she still lives. She was raised in a family of musicians and flatfoot dancers and attributes her powerful voice to the acapella singing she learned as a member of the Church of Christ. As a teenager she played in bands with her brother, and in early adulthood she was the lead singer of a local country band. In the 1980s, she began performing regularly on the Wallace Horn Friendly Neighbors Show, a live radio program out of Logan County that has been on the air since 1967. She now hosts the show. Elaine performed a concert at Yasou Greek Restaurant in McDowell County on July 8, 2017. The concert was sponsored by the West Virginia Folklife Program at the West Virginia Humanities Council and McArts."]](/thumb/4224PurkeyElaineVideo0027817 "Elaine Purkey plays her original song \"One Day More\" at Yasou Greek Restaurant")
![["Every July, the Mens Club of the Steubenville, Ohio Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Church hosts an annual picnic at their picnic grounds along Kings Creek in Weirton, West Virginia. The event serves as both a fundraiser for the Mens Club and a homecoming for Weirton and Steubenvilles Serbian Community. The event features Serbian music, dance, food, and drink. Mens Club members roast chickens and lambs on spits over open wood fires and sell them to picnic attendees. The spits were constructed out of material from Weirton Steel by Mens Club members and Weirton Steel employees in the 1960s. Other food served at the picnic includes pogacha (a type of Serbian bread), haluski or cabbage and noodles, cevaps (a pork, lamb, and beef sausage), strudel, nut rolls, beer, and Slivovitz.In 2017, state folklorist Emily Hilliard attended the Serbian picnic with Brynn Kusic, whose fathers family is part of the Weirton Serbian community. Learn more about the Annual Picnic via the Holy Resurrection Serbian Orthodox Church: https://www.hrsoc-steubenville.org/annual-picnicSee the short video and audio documentary about the Chicken Blasts, produced by the West Virginia Folklife Program and West Virginia Public Broadcasting: https://wvfolklife.org/2020/01/27/weirtons-serbian-heritage-is-a-chicken-blast/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpGF-MFUlhYhttps://soundcloud.com/wvpublicnews/weirtons-serbian-heritage-is-a-chicken-blast"]](/thumb/4224SerbianAnnualPicnicVideo00972317 "Pittsburgh Serbian band RADOST performs at the 2017 Serbian Annual Picnic in Weirton")
![["Singer-songwriter Glen Simpson of Hardy, Kentucky plays his original song \"Don't Shoot Him Anymore,\" based on the murders of Sid Hatfield and Edward Chambers during the West Virginia Mine Wars. Shot at United Mine Workers of America Local 1440 in Matewan, West Virginia as part of the George Mason Folklore Field School. Find more of Simpson's music at http://glen-simpson.com/"]](/thumb/4224SimpsonGlennVideo00152218 "Singer-songwriter Glen Simpson of Hardy, KY sings \"Don't Shoot Him Anymore,\" based on the murders of Sid Hatfield and Edward Chambers during the West Virginia Mine Wars")
![["On February 22, 2018, thousands of West Virginia public school teachers and school service employees walked out of their classrooms in what would become a nine-day statewide strike. Teachers demands included a 5% raise and affordable healthcare coverage through the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency or PEIA. These photos are part of a series of photos, videos, and interviews documenting the labor lore and expressive culture of the 2018 and 2019 West Virginia Teachers Strike.For more information on the 2018 and 2019 West Virginia Teachers Strike visit e-WV: https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2454"]](/thumb/4224WVTeachersStrikeVideo00122618 "Clip of UMWA president Cecil Roberts' speech at a West Virginia Teachers' Strike rally & teachers chanting \"55 Strong\"")
![["On February 22, 2018, thousands of West Virginia public school teachers and school service employees walked out of their classrooms in what would become a nine-day statewide strike. Teachers demands included a 5% raise and affordable healthcare coverage through the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency or PEIA. These photos are part of a series of photos, videos, and interviews documenting the labor lore and expressive culture of the 2018 and 2019 West Virginia Teachers Strike.For more information on the 2018 and 2019 West Virginia Teachers Strike visit e-WV: https://www.wvencyclopedia.org/articles/2454"]](/thumb/4224WVTeachersStrikeVideo0013218 "Elliot Ventura, Spring Valley High School student and son of a West Virginia Spanish teacher, speaks during a student rally in support of striking teachers")