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["James L. Day (July 5, 1932-April 12, 2019) was the owner of JL Day Sign Company in St. Albans, WV. He made hand-bent neon signs for nearly 60 years and was one of the last hand tube benders in the Kanawha Valley.In 2018, the West Virginia Folklife Program worked with West Virginia Public Broadcasting to produce audio and video documentaries about Day. View them at https://wvfolklife.org/2018/09/04/st-albans-artisan-has-been-making-neon-signs-by-hand-for-five-decades-a-profile-of-james-l-day/Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCe99a7ke50&feature=emb_titleAudio: https://soundcloud.com/wvpublicnews/wva-artisan-has-been-making-neon-signs-by-hand-for-five-decadesRead Days obituary here: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/saint-albans-wv/james-day-8250954"]%

13. James Day bends glass tube over an open flame to make a neon sign, 1 of 2

Identifier:
4224.JamesDay.Video.001.11.8.17
Title:
James Day bends glass tube over an open flame to make a neon sign, 1 of 2
Date:
2017-11-08
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Neon signs, Saint Albans (W. Va.), Tube bending
Location:
Saint Albans (W. Va.)
["James L. Day (July 5, 1932-April 12, 2019) was the owner of JL Day Sign Company in St. Albans, WV. He made hand-bent neon signs for nearly 60 years and was one of the last hand tube benders in the Kanawha Valley.In 2018, the West Virginia Folklife Program worked with West Virginia Public Broadcasting to produce audio and video documentaries about Day. View them at https://wvfolklife.org/2018/09/04/st-albans-artisan-has-been-making-neon-signs-by-hand-for-five-decades-a-profile-of-james-l-day/Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCe99a7ke50&feature=emb_titleAudio: https://soundcloud.com/wvpublicnews/wva-artisan-has-been-making-neon-signs-by-hand-for-five-decadesRead Days obituary here: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/saint-albans-wv/james-day-8250954"]%

14. James Day bends glass tube over an open flame to make a neon sign, 2 of 2

Identifier:
4224.JamesDay.Video.002.11.8.17
Title:
James Day bends glass tube over an open flame to make a neon sign, 2 of 2
Date:
2017-11-08
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Saint Albans (W. Va.), Neon signs, Tube bending
Location:
Saint Albans (W. Va.)
["Wheelings Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church has been hosting its annual Mahrajan Festival at Oglebay Park for over 85 years. The festival began in 1933 as a fundraiser to rebuild the church, which had been lost to fire the year prior. Activities at the Mahrajan festival include a vast spread of Lebanese food--including kibbee, tabbouli, stuffed grape leaves, hummus, saj bread, and various Lebanese cookies and desserts, a sale of handcrafted Lebanese items, live music, Lebanese dancing, and a liturgy.To learn more about Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, visit their website: http://www.ololwv.com/Also see interviews with church elders Carol Dougherty and Nick Ghaphery in the West Virginia Folklife Collection. The Dougherty interview is excerpted here: https://wvfolklife.org/2017/02/23/field-notes-carol-dougherty/"]%

15. Woman from the Maronite Catholic Church in Pittsburgh makes flatbread bread with zaatar on a saj (convex griddle) during the Mahrajan Festival at Oglebay Park, 1 of 3

Identifier:
4224.MahrajanFestival.Video.001.8.11.18
Title:
Woman from the Maronite Catholic Church in Pittsburgh makes flatbread bread with zaatar on a saj (convex griddle) during the Mahrajan Festival at Oglebay Park, 1 of 3
Date:
2018-08-11
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Wheeling, W.Va., Lebanese Americans, Festivals, Cooking, Lebanese, Food habits, Bakers, Bread, foodways, Oglebay Park (Wheeling, W. Va.)
Location:
Wheeling (W. Va.)
["Wheelings Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church has been hosting its annual Mahrajan Festival at Oglebay Park for over 85 years. The festival began in 1933 as a fundraiser to rebuild the church, which had been lost to fire the year prior. Activities at the Mahrajan festival include a vast spread of Lebanese food--including kibbee, tabbouli, stuffed grape leaves, hummus, saj bread, and various Lebanese cookies and desserts, a sale of handcrafted Lebanese items, live music, Lebanese dancing, and a liturgy.To learn more about Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, visit their website: http://www.ololwv.com/Also see interviews with church elders Carol Dougherty and Nick Ghaphery in the West Virginia Folklife Collection. The Dougherty interview is excerpted here: https://wvfolklife.org/2017/02/23/field-notes-carol-dougherty/"]%

16. Woman from the Maronite Catholic Church in Pittsburgh makes flatbread bread with zaatar on a saj (convex griddle) during the Mahrajan Festival at Oglebay Park, 2 of 3

Identifier:
4224.MahrajanFestival.Video.002.8.11.18
Title:
Woman from the Maronite Catholic Church in Pittsburgh makes flatbread bread with zaatar on a saj (convex griddle) during the Mahrajan Festival at Oglebay Park, 2 of 3
Date:
2018-08-11
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
foodways, Bakers, Bread, Cooking, Lebanese, Festivals, Food habits, Oglebay Park (Wheeling, W. Va.), Lebanese Americans, Wheeling, W.Va.
Location:
Wheeling (W. Va.)
["Wheelings Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church has been hosting its annual Mahrajan Festival at Oglebay Park for over 85 years. The festival began in 1933 as a fundraiser to rebuild the church, which had been lost to fire the year prior. Activities at the Mahrajan festival include a vast spread of Lebanese food--including kibbee, tabbouli, stuffed grape leaves, hummus, saj bread, and various Lebanese cookies and desserts, a sale of handcrafted Lebanese items, live music, Lebanese dancing, and a liturgy.To learn more about Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church, visit their website: http://www.ololwv.com/Also see interviews with church elders Carol Dougherty and Nick Ghaphery in the West Virginia Folklife Collection. The Dougherty interview is excerpted here: https://wvfolklife.org/2017/02/23/field-notes-carol-dougherty/"]%

17. Woman from the Maronite Catholic Church in Pittsburgh makes flatbread bread with zaatar on a saj (convex griddle) during the Mahrajan Festival at Oglebay Park, 3 of 3

Identifier:
4224.MahrajanFestival.Video.003.8.11.18
Title:
Woman from the Maronite Catholic Church in Pittsburgh makes flatbread bread with zaatar on a saj (convex griddle) during the Mahrajan Festival at Oglebay Park, 3 of 3
Date:
2018-08-11
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Food habits, Bread, Wheeling, W.Va., Lebanese Americans, Festivals, Cooking, Lebanese, foodways, Oglebay Park (Wheeling, W. Va.)
Location:
Wheeling (W. Va.)
["These photos of Milton, West Virginia were taken on a tour lead by Milton native Rick Wilson, of sites in the life of and that inspired stories by hometown writer Breece DJ Pancake. State folklorist Emily Hilliard wrote about the experience for the Fall 2021 issue of Oxford American, adapted from a chapter in her forthcoming book to be published by the University of North Carolina Press. Read the essay here: https://www.oxfordamerican.org/magazine/issue-114-fall-2021/something-deeply-rooted"]%

18. Photo of Breece D'J Pancake and father in display case at the Milton Public Library

Identifier:
4224.MiltonBreecePancakeTour.Photo.007.10.14.19
Title:
Photo of Breece D'J Pancake and father in display case at the Milton Public Library
Date:
2019-10-14
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Pancake, Breece D'J, 1952-1979, Milton (W. Va.), Libraries and authors
Location:
Milton (W. Va.)
["Nola Morgan (b. Ronceverte, WV) and Ron Shepherd (b. Parkersburg, WV) are avid marble collectors living in Jackson County, West Virginia. They are founding members or the West Virginia Marble Collectors Club and are particularly interested in machine-made marbles, once made at various factories in West Virginia, including Alley, Vitro, and the newer company Jabo, which is still in operation. As part of their collectors hobby, they have conducted digs at the site of the old Alley factory to excavate vintage marbles.In this interview they speak about their marble collecting hobby, the history of marble-making in West Virginia, the marble collecting community, and the varieties of marbles they collect. Emily Hilliard was introduced to Morgan and Shepherd by Janey Singleton of Sandyville, WV who sits in on the interview. Learn more about the West Virginia Marble Collectors Club: https://westvirginiamarblecollectorsclub.com/members/"]%

19. Marble collectors Nola Morgan and Ron Shepherd demonstrate the Ravenswood Novelty Company blue ox toy with Paul Bunyan marbles

Identifier:
4224.MorganNolaShepherdRon.Video.001.11.9.16
Title:
Marble collectors Nola Morgan and Ron Shepherd demonstrate the Ravenswood Novelty Company blue ox toy with Paul Bunyan marbles
Date:
2016-11-09
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Ravenswood (W. Va.), Collectors and collecting, Glass manufacture, Marbles (Game objects), Toys, Toy industry--United States
Location:
Jackson County (W. Va.)
["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."]%

20. Elaine Purkey plays her original song "Keepers of the Mountains" at Yasou Greek Restaurant

Identifier:
4224.PurkeyElaine.Video.001.7.8.17
Title:
Elaine Purkey plays her original song "Keepers of the Mountains" at Yasou Greek Restaurant
Date:
2017-07-08
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Working class--Songs and music, Purkey, Elaine
Location:
Kimball (W. Va.)
["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."]%

21. Elaine Purkey plays her original song "One Day More" at Yasou Greek Restaurant

Identifier:
4224.PurkeyElaine.Video.002.7.8.17
Title:
Elaine Purkey plays her original song "One Day More" at Yasou Greek Restaurant
Date:
2017-07-08
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Purkey, Elaine, Working class--Songs and music
Location:
Kimball (W. Va.)
["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/"]%

22. 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

Identifier:
4224.SimpsonGlenn.Video.001.5.22.18
Title:
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 mines and mining in art, Working class--Songs and music, Labor union members, Coal miners--West Virginia, Labor disputes--West Virginia, Coal mines and mining, Labor union locals
Location:
Mingo County (W. Va.)

Listen to Audio

23. Vox pop interviews with West Virginia teachers, students, state employees, and union members at the West Virginia Teachers' Strike rally at the state capitol

Identifier:
4224.WVTeachersStrike.Audio.001.2.27.18
Title:
Vox pop interviews with West Virginia teachers, students, state employees, and union members at the West Virginia Teachers' Strike rally at the state capitol
Date:
2018-02-27
Creator:
O'Neal, Jay, Kunkel, Cathy, Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
Labor disputes--West Virginia, Teachers' unions--United States, Labor union members, Strikes and lockouts--Teachers
Location:
Charleston (W. Va.)

Listen to Audio

24. Speeches of and interviews with students participating in the rally at the West Virginia State Capitol in support of striking teachers

Identifier:
4224.WVTeachersStrike.Audio.001.3.2.18
Title:
Speeches of and interviews with students participating in the rally at the West Virginia State Capitol in support of striking teachers
Date:
2018-03-02
Creator:
Hilliard, Emily
Subject:
West Virginia Capitol Complex (Charleston, W. Va.), Teachers' unions--United States, Strikes and lockouts--Teachers, Public schools--Employees, Teaching, Labor disputes--West Virginia
Location:
Wayne County (W. Va.), Fayette County (W. Va.), Charleston (W. Va.), Boone County (W. Va.), Mingo County (W. Va.), Kanawha County (W. Va.)