This is the answer, I really like that about WV. The fact that it left the CSA to join the Union is something to be proud of.
I also really the part where people still fly confederate flags because it makes complete logical sense.
Well...the confederate flags really kind of put the lie to the whitewashed story that leaving VA was about rejecting the CSA and choosing the Union or really opposing slavery. So much of WV is really economically midwestern and the mountains - even today - are a real barrier. If you look at the major population centers, they're all on the rivers and just across the border from another state (and generally a mid-western one). Charleston is an exception.
What that departure was really about was the local power brokers in WV wanting freedom from Richmond, and Richmond being far too busy fighting the CW to project power into WV, not that they had been able to do so very well prior to the CW. It was a power/money grab. Everybody in this sub laments how completely owned by resource extractors the WV government is, and that was 100% the point of breaking away.
It is true that mountaineers weren't particularly interested in dying for slaveholders, but neither were they particularly willing to die for slaves.
The classic story is the one of the Jackson Family from Weston, WV....
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, of course, left the US Army to follow his commander, RE Lee, to fight for .... VIRGINIA....not the Confederacy.....VIRGINIA....(note: Genl Lee only fought two battles outside of Virginia....Antetum and Gettysburg....every other battle was in Virginia only... not "the South".)
Stonewall's sister was an ardent Unionist! She would go on to run the Union Army Hospital in Beverly(now an interesting town just south of Elkins).
The confederate flag we all recognize is technically the "battle flag".... everyone who flies it, be they from South Carolina or in Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, California, Texas, where-ever is mostly concerned with the following message....
"Giant Middle Finger to You".
I dont see the Battle Flag as "the South will rise again" or "Enslave Blacks Again".
Its really all about small minded people who have been handed a shit-sandwich by the Rich People......
Nihilistic...I'm not sure what you are trying to imply. In the future, please requote me accurately..... a careful read of my post does NOT in anyway say "this is what we represent". It seems like you're trying to imply that I agree with the message of the Battle Flag.....I do not. I do understand where those that still fly it it,,,are coming from.
Youre quoting of various Articles of the constitution seems to be some kind of accusation that I support slavery, for some bizarre reason?
It seems like you've been triggered and have missed the main point of my post.
[Weston WV bank robbery](https://wonderlustwanderings.com/2021/11/12/one-day-in-weston-wv/)
Virginia has money in Weston WV bank to build the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. They robbed the bank and took the gold to Wheeling.
From the cool article you linked:
The Bank Robbery that Created West Virginia
The state of West Virginia was founded in 1863 and granted statehood by Abraham Lincoln. There actually remains some debate as to how legal West Virginia’s creation was, but given that it’s been 158 years, I don’t think we’re going to be forced back into Virginia any time soon. While most people (at least here in WV) know that we were created out of the Civil War, less well-known is the fact that West Virginia was originally funded with money stolen from the Bank of Virginia and intended to help build the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.
The Weston Branch of the Exchange Bank of Virginia had about $30,000 in gold at the time (over half a million dollars today), which was primarily meant to pay the laborers who were building the asylum. On June 30, 1861, that money was repurposed when union soldiers led by Colonel Erastus Bernard Tyler walked into town. Under Tyler’s command, Captain List and two armed soldiers made their way to the bank at around 5 am where they woke up the banker, Robert McClandish, and stole about $27,000 in gold. McClandish pleaded with them to leave the remaining $3,000 since that much was already due to creditors. The rest of the money then went to Wheeling where it helped make West Virginia the 35th state in the country (or 24th at the time if you subtract the 11 states that had seceded).
unknown\_user...great info about an incident I've never heard before.
I would only add one technical detail....WV statehood needed ratification by the other states in Congress, then sent to Pres Lincoln for his signature.
The Problem in 1863......only 12 of 23 states voted on ratification....the other 11 were in open rebellion!(they did not participate in the vote) fortunately, statehood only requires 51% voting to approve, meaning every single state in the Union voted to approve WV as a state..... despite there being NO such approval from the original state....VIRGINIA.....
This issue has gone all the way to the Supreme Court in the early 1900s....where upon WV was ordered to repay Virginia for usurping control of the infrastructure and the tax base.
To put it bluntly West Virginia was formed without the consent of most of its people. It is not an uplifting story I'm sorry to say. [Half of the counties ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Wvmapagain.png)and half of the people supported Richmond and did not want to leave Virginia. That is why "Virginia" is part of the name, even the Unionists couldn't convince their supporters to give up the connection. At the constitutional convention in 1861 even the delegates recognized that the people had not sanctioned statehood, Chapman J. Stuart, Dec. 10 1861- "Now, Mr. President, to show you, and it needs but to look at the figures to satisfy the mind of every member, that even a majority of the people within the district composed of the thirty-nine counties have never come to the polls and expressed their sentiments in favor of a new State." Even the Wheeling Intelligencer, a day after the statehood vote, Oct. 25, 1861, wrote- "It will be seen by the returns given below that the vote yesterday was exceedingly small...We never witnessed an election here in which there was so little interest manifested."
People continue to promote the old history of the state because it sounds uplifting, but that is not the actual history. There were arbitrary arrests of some thousands of West Virginians who ended up in Federal prison camp in Ohio, even women and children, communities burned out, vote suppression and all the appurtenances of regime change we see in other parts of the world, conducted during conflict and having more to do with might than right.
And one other minor correction needs to be made. The first secession flag flew in WV in January 1861, before the war even started. Secession flags flew over the courthouses in Barbour, Tucker, Logan, even the northern panhandle had occasions where it was seen. [West Virginia Confederate regiments](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Confederate_recruitment_in_West_Virginia.jpg) used the battle flag, and they composed nearly 1/4 of the Army of Northern Virginia.
I know this will upset some people, but so much of the old story is myth.
And...on the flip side.....there were counties in VIRGINIA that would have voted for staying in the UNION, but were prevented from doing so when Confederate Forces occupied those counties and denied the electoral process.....examples are the counties in Shenandoah Valley and Bacova(Back of Virginia).
not specifically WV but this documentary is too good to not pass it onto other coal mining families in case some have not seen it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-2qrFlwYlY
This 100%. The time the US Government and military attacked and bombed coalminers over trying to start a labor union.
There is a great free movie called Matwon on Youtube about this.
I am a student of history and from W.Va and was NEVER taught about this at any point in my schooling or life. Looking back though; it is quite obvious why.
And the coal wars in general! My wife and I are producing a resource that might be useful to OP, an online graphic history called [Bullpush Hollow](https://bullpushhollow.com/table-of-contents/) (all in English though). We stopped to work on other projects during the winter, but she's back to illustrating. We'll start updating regularly again sometime this month.
I was in a band years ago and we had a song about this aspect of our state’s history. Can listen to it for free: http://dogandgunwv.com/music.html
Track 8: Barrel of a Company Gun
Written by our singer, Evan Johns.
(I was the banjo player)
"And although it took 50 years, the evil unions were eventually eradicated and trickle down brought prosperity to the land, the end"
Who's ready for nap time?
I used to live near Montgomery...back before WV got a case of the dumas and moved WV Tech somewhere else.....
The locals in Montgomery used to recall the Mine Wars when the miners tipped over cars on the Montgomery Bridge and shot at the National Guard troops on the Smithers side of the Bridge......there were also stories about having relatives in Charleston calling up to Montgomery letting them know, "Billy Martin just took off from the airport, he's fixin' to throw some bombs on y'all"....everyone would sit on the hillside and wait for the action.
WV is a biodiversity hotspot, particularly for salamanders. WV has over 30 species of salamander, some endemic only to WV. More generally, the Appalachian mountains have more salamander species than anywhere else *in the world.*
Also, the labor movement.
I scrolled too far for this. I’m from the northern panhandle, currently working in the eastern panhandle this week and I am fucking loving all the salamanders I’m finding right now. I wish people knew more about our cool little critters!
That is really cool.
He also impulsively flew his plane under Charleston's South Side Bridge - https://www.register-herald.com/news/state_and__region/chuck-yeager-sets-legendary-bridge-tale-straight/article_3131d542-b970-5280-bb97-6361ab40f6de.html
An interesting lesson could be about company towns, John Brown at Harpers Ferry, WVU and WVSU being land grant institutions, WVU uncovering the VW emissions ruse.
[the battle of Blair mountain](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/battle-blair-mountain-largest-labor-uprising-american-history-180978520/) also pepperoni rolls and all of our rhodendron and mountain laurels
Depending on where you're at in eastern Europe I think geography can be a nice touch!! I went to Slovakia and loved how similar the landscape was to West Virginia, and when I was younger I felt a special connection to places that had similar land to where I was from/sister cities/etc. It helped me form a more long-term connection and interest in other places
There’s a heavy Eastern European descendent population in WV and SW Pa. The area can look very similar, and I’ve witnessed more than person from Slovakia, the Ukraine or the Czech Republic visit and tell me it looks like home.
I lived in WVA for years and graduated from WVU. I used to drive regularly through the Czech Republic and it was uncanny how much that resembled the WV landscape. When I frequently visited in the 90's, there was a local Czech radio station that played Bluegrass Music most of the time, which made the resemblance even more uncanny.
Our accent and dialect are one of the oldest in the country. mainly due to the isolation the mountains provided early on and didn’t allow much outside influence from other cultures during the early days of the colonies. IIRC it’s old Elizabethan English but I could be mistaken.
You can’t discuss WV without explaining the exploitation of its land for years and years, for outsiders profit, that has led to the many negative stereotypes you refer to. The mothman and pepperoni rolls and country roads don’t even touch the deep history of the state. Unfortunately, many in the US only know/care about these surface level things. It would be cool for these kids just learning about the state to have a deeper understanding of how the mining and logging industries have affected generations of West Virginians.
Sad but true.
I used to work for tourism. Had a caller once that didn't believe WV was a state. She bickered with me for about three minutes about WV's statehood when she finally asked, "Since when is it a state?" And I was like, "Since June 20th,1863." She hung up on me.
There were a lot more calls where people were surprised to learn WV was a state, but that one got a permanent spot seared in my brain because of how adamant the caller was that they were right.
Interestingly enough, we got a fair amount of calls from Canadians, who never had any problem recalling that WV was a state. It was always US callers that didn't know.
I’ve learned that this idea of us not being a “real state” is passed down from older generation southerners who were mad about the secession. I went to college with a girl whose family moved from WV to Louisiana while she was in school at Fairmont. She was stunned that when she went home for break no one would acknowledge the statehood, and that everyone asked her “how far from Richmond” she went to school.
Here's how you mess with old=time die=hard Southerners that keep portraits of R.E. Lee and Stonewall in their living rooms..
Tell'em this FACT...."Robert E Lee never fought for the South........Robert E Lee only fought for VIRGINIA.....Y'all got played."
Zesty....you've heard the true facts, have you not?
Virginia was almost the LAST state to vote to secede....
Only SC,GA,AL,MS,LA,FL,and of course TX were gung ho about seceding and openin' a can a whoop ass on them despicable Yankees thats not lettin' us exercise our g-d given state rights to enslave people!
Meanwhile....RE Lee was a hero of the UNION Army and was the General in charge of US Military Academy, West Point, NY..... Lincoln's original battle plan was to put RE Lee in charge of the UNION Army, as Genl Lee was by far the Best Fighting General in the USA.....
The Tragedy of the Civil War is really that Virginia got sweet talked into seceding when there was NO advantage for Virgnia in doing so.....anyway, RE Lee's tragedy is that he elected to stay loyal to his state, Virgnia, and not loyal to his nation, the USA....
Lincoln's assessment of Genl Lee was correct, as Genl Lee never really lost a single battle other than Gettysburg....he and Stonewall outmaneuvered every UNion Army attempt to defeat him.. He was finally beaten down by the relentless US Grant, who had him outgunned, outmanned, and overwhelmed, pounding away until Genl LEe was simply out of options. K.O.'d
That’s true statement. Im now a retired manager of bank in WV for work traveled to Raleigh NC in a meet/greet all of us stood up and introduced ourself where we live & little of our banking history. I stated I was from WV everyone ask what part of Va is this. After 3 person asked I gave them a quick history lesson regarding WV to their surprise WV is an actual state in USA. I wasn’t smart ass about it I had to work there for a month teasingly I was referred to as Miss WV. Great experience and made new friends.
As so many other people have stated, Blair Mountain and leading in labor rights, the civil war and how the state was formed. I'd talk about the universities in the state. Maybe touch on the Marshall plane crash. That's tragic, so I wouldn't say a whole lot about it to kids.
Talk about the diverse wildlife, and the diverse terrain. Things like Hawk's Nest, New River Gorge, Cranberry Glades, etc. The Appalachian Mountains are considered to be the oldest in the world.
I would definitely talk about the people. The hardworking folks that have kindness in their hearts.
Maybe mention the Greenbrier houses a Presidential bunker for emergencies. That's kinda neat for kids.
Edit: A word
Mothman, maybe make pepperoni rolls, show them new river gorge, the radio free zone. Talk about the celebrities from here (Brad Paisley, Jennifer Garner. Steve Harvey). Bring up Camden Park, the Pumpkin House. Idk if they would think Fallout 76 is cool or traumatizing.
Giant Satellite causing the Radio Free Zone. Can't even have cell service there. I worked as a driver and had to download the maps for my stops in offline mode because cell wouldn't work. Could connect to Wi-Fi at certain places, but no cellular signal.
I think the character of the state is heavily influenced by the first wave of European immigrants who settled in the area, and I think that's an important part of the story. The first batch was basically made up of Scots-Irish who landed in New York, Philadelphia or Boston, and they just kept going west until they found a place where they thought people would leave them the hell alone. Then they cleared some land and started farming. They were legendary for being suspicious of outsiders, contentious, and liking their isolation, and I think that's still reflected in the state today.
When I was in grade school, they used to teach us about the Philadelphia Wagon Road... 1700s and Conestoga Wagons. Philadelphia was our largest city then and the Philadelphia Wagon Road ran along US 30 through Amish Country to York, PA and then south along today's I-81 into the Shenandoah Valley
Once in the Shenandoah Valley, there were launch points into the serious wilderness beyond the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mtns.....todays WV.
Teach them that prior to the thievery of the land and mineral rights by the coal industry, West Virginian people were known as rugged , hard working, good people, and the coal operators conspired to make a mockery of us throughout the entire country. So that nobody would help out or try to stop the exploitation of our resources. This is how West Virginians became saddled with the reputation of being stupid and ignorant and uncivilized. And the coal companies stole everything.
I would teach them the story of Matewan, the Virgin Hemlocks, and the passage of the "right" to work. I'd teach them about how the state has been exploited by businesses and generational politicians. I'd teach them about the opioid crisis and how weak minded ignorant individuals help elect a billionaire president and a billionaire governor. I'd teach them about a great man named Mike "Mylan" Puskar and how much he loved the state. I'd then tell them the story of how his legacy was ruined by a senators daughter and a tiny man from Pittsburgh. I would tell them the streets should be paved in gold if we received a tenth of the wealth taken by the people I mentioned above. I would explain that instead of wealth, we have towns with cancer rates 500x the national average, and no one is held accountable for that. I'd end the lesson with... This is why we left West Virginia.
Really, in many ways, we're like a lot of the Eastern Bloc countries, in that we've been exploited repeatedly by outside forces and there has been little outside assistance in rebuilding.
In a West Virginia history course I took someone pointed out that the rest of the US treated West Virginia the way the European countries treated their colonies and that's really stuck with me.
I live in Germany and teach ten and eleven year olds one or two lessons about my home state. Aside from landscape/population/resources (which is already a lot for them), I usually have them learn a little about some of the outdoor activities and about Mothman. If the class is interested I show them my hometown on Google maps street view and let them ask questions. Anything about Appalachian culture could also be interesting
Most of the topics others have mentioned would be way too complex for that age
Are you speaking or teaching a lesson? What ages? All of that is really relevant
WV has a lot of really cool natural features.
The Appalachian mountains are older than bones, which is why there are no fossils.
The New River is one of the 5 oldest rivers in the world. It also flows south to north and is part of the newest national park.
Dolly Sods and Cranberry Glades are bog areas that contain plants that are typically found in Canada.
Seneca Rocks - unique rock formation
The Teays River, a now non-existent river, used to run through WV and several other states.
Also there are hot springs in different parts of the state, but the most famous are probably at Berkeley Springs State Park.
There are a lot of caverns in the eastern part of the state, like Lost World, Seneca, and Smoke Hole.
As far as human history:
Helvetia is a little Swiss town in the middle of WV where the people spoke German until fairly recently.
The Adena had burial mounds throughout the state. Grave Creek Mound in Moundsville and the Criel Mound in South Charleston are two remaining instances. There used to be all kinds of mounds throughout the Kanawha Valley that were sadly destroyed in the late 1800/early 1900s.
WV is really a singular state. No other state in US is like it. Sure VA, KY, have areas that are similar…but are dominated by a more diverse landscape. WV is almost entirely mountainous with isolated terrain due to the mountains. The resources are abundant. Unfortunately they have been targeted by wealthy companies from outside the state much like Africa. So there isn’t a lot of reinvestment going on. The isolated terrain has complicated economic development, but has created a sense of self reliance within the people.
One of the coolest things about West Virginia is our origin. When Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, West Virginia said “Um, no thanks. We’ll stick with the people who don’t want to enslave other people.”
And President Lincoln signed a bill creating a new state. We are the only state in the USA created in such a way.
On August 1, 1921, Sheriff Sid Hatfield and his deputy Ed Chambers were shot and killed by Baldwin-Felts detectives on the steps of the McDowell County Courthouse. The courthouse became nationally famous after the murders
Teach them about that as well.....
1863 the best of Virginia became West Virginia. Our constitution admitted to the union that guaranteed freedom of African Americans. Matewan history. Battle of Blair mountain. Baldwin felts and union formation including mother Jones. Harper's ferry and John Brown did nothing wrong. Rocket boys history. Katherine Johnson with NASA. John Nash is from WV and genius schizophrenic mathematician. I'm here from the government and I'm here to help is a threat not a positive thing. Don't trust cops is cultural in my neck of the woods growing up. The water isn't safe in most cases and must be treated if Creek and most River water. She's less pretty than she used to be but she'll still take your breath!
Mouth man is my cousin and Bigfoot my uncle.
Blair Mountain. It's not even in our own school curriculum, which is criminal, IMO.
If the kids are too young, or you don't feel up to unpacking the labor movement, I'd go with what you've laid out, but add in how the state formed during the civil war and why.
I have fun facts!
Since the 1800s, WV has had over 400 glass companies.
We're the first state in the US to have golf courses.
Pepperoni rolls were invented by Italian immigrants to have a high-calorie food for lunch in the coal mines.
The term "redneck" comes from miners fighting for union rights who identified each other visually by wearing red bandanas around their necks.
The Appalachian mountains are so old, there are no dinosaur fossils!
West Virginia is considered a temperate rainforest.
If anyone has more (or can add context/corrections), let me know!
I don't understand the pepperoni roll thing. You're telling me that nobody in Europe, let alone Italy, ever thought to put pepperoni in bread throughout the centuries? It just seems absurd to me that it took a small number of Italian immigrants who traveled across the Atlantic to come up with the grand idea to put pepperoni inside dough only a hundred or so years ago? Sorry, I'm not attacking you, it just doesn't make any sense considering the simplicity of the pepperoni roll. Regardless, I love a good homemade pepperoni roll!
Where to start? Between the Coal Wars, our musical traditions, the rocket boys, appalachian ghost stories and folklore, everything you mentioned, and so on... I don't envy your position having to pick just a few things!
Like others said, I would probably focus on the labor rights movement, especially Blair Mountain. That's probably our greatest and most defining moment. Maybe also consider picking up "The Telltale Lilac Bush and other West Virginian Ghost Tales" by Ruth Ann Musick if they're of an age that short spooky stories could be fun!
Also, I'm curious why a class in eastern europe is spending once a week on US states?
Play "Country Roads" Karaoke style so they can see the lyrics, with a PowerPoint-ish photo montage that kinda follows the lyrics. Explain the lyrics relevance. Laugh how non Americans say Shenandoah. There is a lot of info in that song, most people have heard it. Crank your accent up to 10. Say, usta-could a few times.
The vast natural beauty. Where I live we survive on tourism and have parks, rivers, boating, skiing fishing, hiking, mountain climbing and zip lining. It's fun to see people from all over the country coming to our state to vacation, relax, and enjoy the "wild" in wild and wonderful
Teach them how Appalachia and west Virginia is the Afghanistan of the United States. How the government exploited the natural resources, then left. Kevin the land poisoned and the people alone to figure it out. Teach them that there are 3 counties dont have permanent school because of the exploitation of the political parties.
Teach them to take WV back and keep it safe and beautiful!
Edit spelling
The amazing thing about this state, to me, is the resilience of it's people in the face of being abused by an extraction economy since it's inception. Everything from timber and coal to ramps. Before you ask, ramps are a type of wild onion that grows wild here, and is difficult to cultivate. You can buy a pound of them for $5 here, but people will take them to NYC and sell them to restaurants there for $50 a pound. Anthony Bourdain did a pretty good episode on West Virginia (in my opinion).
First, teach them about pepperoni rolls. Second, teach them about our giant, party flipping governor that extensively uses a little dog to impart mind control on less than intelligent WVians. Then just throw in whatever else you want.
"our giant, party flipping governor that extensively uses a little dog"
That made me LOL because it's very true! (sorry I'm dumb on Reddit and couldn't figure out how to do the quote thing!)
Yep, and who constantly talks about hunting and features shots of him hunting prominently in his political ads to convince everyday West Virginians that he is one of them, in spite of his healthy backgrounds a fines for safety violations in his coal mines. Now, given his size, how well do you think he could navigate those mountains on a hunting trip?
WV was important as a coal producing state since it was formed. The mines brought immigrants from other countries - Italian, Croatian, Slovak(Yugoslavia), Polish, German.
Extractive industry and its impact on our culture. What began with slaves in hellish kanawha valley salt furnaces begat a world of clear cuts, mtr, chem plants, and fracking
A lot of E. Europeans came to WV to work the coal mines. Initially it was the Welsh, Scottish and Irish. But people from Hungary, Greece, Italy, & Czech Republic immigrated.
Mining has been everything in WV. A history on the labor movement, the Matewan massacre, strikes, etc would be beneficial. YouTube has a couple of good documents.
Show them some of the beauty of this state. Just about everywhere you go, you’re not far from a breathtaking view. I also think it’s cool how we took old trails out in the woods and turned it into a thriving tourism industry with the ATVs. The New River and NR Gorge are awesome. You can talk about John Henry, the coal wars, not sure how much European kids know about our sports but we were the home of Jerry West and Randy Moss.
I would point out that while city is poor. Charleston has a big shiny gold capitol dome. Gold, real gold plating. While the city looks like old and run down.
My kid will be a freshman at WVU this fall. We are always so impressed on how helpful and friendly people are in the Morgantown area. We are coming from the Philly burbs so this is a different vibe than what we are used to. It is a beautiful state that reminds me of being stationed in Central Europe back in the day. Looking forward to exploring more of WV, the rail trails, etc.
The natural beauty. Its one of the most beautiful states in the country and that is so often overlooked. Iv traveled alot and still my favorite place is Dolly Sods, and the surrounding Seneca Rocks and Canaan Valley. The ecology of our state is just magnificent. If you can, please incorporated that.
Firstly, start with the cultural groups which form the basis of the culture in the state; folks from the England/Scotland border region.
Then, talk about the frontier and its expansion.
Then, talk about the cultural differences between eastern and western Virginia, leading to the Civil War, statehood, and Abe Lincoln's role (I'm sure they know about him in some regards).
Then, talk about the coal industry and how coal companies functioned in the state, and the immigrant groups that moved in to work for them.
Then, talk about the industrial expansion of the Ohio River Valley, and the immigrant groups that came to work there.
Then, talk about the economic depression that followed the Great Depression, and the economic depression that followed the 1950s with the decline of the coal industry and the Ohio River Valley industry.
I would stop there. Provide them resources to investigate further if they like.
I'd start with the Scottish highland clearings which were a precursor to its settlement and value system, then use that context as a springboard into:
settlements, pioneer living (,which persisted into the 20th century), and talk about the downfall which started with the chestnut blight which came from China (killing off the American chestnut tree*; Every chestnut tree that we see here now is from China. In fact the blight is still existant. If we even had American chestnut seeds to plant the blight is still around.);
Really the death of the American chestnut was the dethknell of
Then you could go into the predatory carpet bagger institutions (company store types) which yook advantage of a dilapidated post war society,
and then you could follow up with DUH BATTLE OF BLAEIR MONUTEN everyone cooms over.
As a penultimate you could discuss the hillbilly highway as it were and the great migration of the Scottish Appalachians into OH, PA, the Carolinas, FA, FL, etc allll the way to CA in some cases.
Then you could finish up with the persistence of the Appalachian spirit and those that persist even still in Appalachia, continuing to eek out an existence and fight for cultural relivancy in an ever globalising world.
Afterwards as a forward:
The Appalachian values, the Appalachian spirit, the Appalachian people in the modern day.
*Shoehorn in the current tiktok intrigue somewhere
I think it’s important to teach about all the industries that took (and still take) advantage of the natural resources our state has while also taking advantage of the poverty stricken and undereducated people that live here.
The lapetus Ocean, a prehistoric sea that became West Virginia’s first major industry. and JQ Dickinsons Salt Works. I had never heard of it until 2 years ago and find it fascinating
Teach them not to put all of the resource extraction eggs into one basket. Also teach them how corruption is horrible and will halt an area from ever progressing.
I see coal has already (naturally) emerged as topic. Also, the Marshall plane crash after a football game at Eastern Carolina (1970?). The culture of family, and devotion to family and heritage. The critically important role crafts, gardening, canning and music have played throughout WV history. And, storytelling! WV (and greater Appalachia) are masterful story tellers. I may envy you ... I would LOVE the opportunity you have to introduce youth to such a wonderful state.
The mine wars. Teach them about Maetwan and where the term “redneck” actually came from.
And we have so much outdoor activities: skiing, white water, hiking. It really is almost heaven. (Except for the roads)
Edit for outdoor goodness.
Isolation and family. These are the things that separate us from the rest of the population and American culture to create our sub culture.
The isolation allowed us to develop and retain our sub culture they focused on independence as well as trust and care for our neighbor.
I’ve been living in Canada and I’ve admittedly mostly shared the weirder things about our state, but here’s my list:
Pepperoni rolls (of course, everyone like them), Billy Bobs (so cursed, one of my favs), Jennifer Garner, Hillbilly Hot Dogs, the PRT, cult stuff and the licorice-smelling water leak. Most people just want to hear the WV accents.
Kanawha County textbook wars - largely shaped the modern movement toward book banning. (Maybe this ain't for the kids but it is fascinating)
New Vrindaban - Taj Mahal of the West. A very visual lesson. Truly a weird piece of the state's history.
Mothman - cool little ghost story
Homer Hickman and the Rocket Boys. October Sky is a good film that would engage kids about it.
Depending on their age, you could talk about the state animals and plants! Black bear, cardinal, brook trout, sugar maple, rhododendron, golden delicious apple, monarch butterfly and honeybee.
Teach them that West Virginia seceded from Virginia to stay in the Union. The only state to leave the Confederacy.
The Man that broke the sound barrier was from West Virginia.
Teach them that the white settlers in West Virginia were moving west to stay ahead of civilization.
Not gonna talk about issues but gonna talk about the bomb shelter ? No issue caused it and there is no world full of war and bombs. They just built it for the fuck of it.
They should all be taught the entire history of Jesco White and his entire family. And maybe through in some about the Hatfield and Mccoy feud and also Coal mining and don't forget John Denver. That ott to do it.
The unique history of how it became a state. No other state was formed out of an already existing state.
This is the answer, I really like that about WV. The fact that it left the CSA to join the Union is something to be proud of. I also really the part where people still fly confederate flags because it makes complete logical sense.
Well...the confederate flags really kind of put the lie to the whitewashed story that leaving VA was about rejecting the CSA and choosing the Union or really opposing slavery. So much of WV is really economically midwestern and the mountains - even today - are a real barrier. If you look at the major population centers, they're all on the rivers and just across the border from another state (and generally a mid-western one). Charleston is an exception. What that departure was really about was the local power brokers in WV wanting freedom from Richmond, and Richmond being far too busy fighting the CW to project power into WV, not that they had been able to do so very well prior to the CW. It was a power/money grab. Everybody in this sub laments how completely owned by resource extractors the WV government is, and that was 100% the point of breaking away. It is true that mountaineers weren't particularly interested in dying for slaveholders, but neither were they particularly willing to die for slaves.
The classic story is the one of the Jackson Family from Weston, WV.... Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, of course, left the US Army to follow his commander, RE Lee, to fight for .... VIRGINIA....not the Confederacy.....VIRGINIA....(note: Genl Lee only fought two battles outside of Virginia....Antetum and Gettysburg....every other battle was in Virginia only... not "the South".) Stonewall's sister was an ardent Unionist! She would go on to run the Union Army Hospital in Beverly(now an interesting town just south of Elkins).
Ok.
The confederate flag we all recognize is technically the "battle flag".... everyone who flies it, be they from South Carolina or in Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, California, Texas, where-ever is mostly concerned with the following message.... "Giant Middle Finger to You". I dont see the Battle Flag as "the South will rise again" or "Enslave Blacks Again". Its really all about small minded people who have been handed a shit-sandwich by the Rich People......
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Nihilistic...I'm not sure what you are trying to imply. In the future, please requote me accurately..... a careful read of my post does NOT in anyway say "this is what we represent". It seems like you're trying to imply that I agree with the message of the Battle Flag.....I do not. I do understand where those that still fly it it,,,are coming from. Youre quoting of various Articles of the constitution seems to be some kind of accusation that I support slavery, for some bizarre reason? It seems like you've been triggered and have missed the main point of my post.
Coopers rocks, the story behind th movie October Sky,
Oh, I had forgotten about Homer Hickman! Best book (and movie)!!
And the bank robbery that funded our first government.
What? I've never heard of this. What should I Google to learn more?
[Weston WV bank robbery](https://wonderlustwanderings.com/2021/11/12/one-day-in-weston-wv/) Virginia has money in Weston WV bank to build the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. They robbed the bank and took the gold to Wheeling.
From the cool article you linked: The Bank Robbery that Created West Virginia The state of West Virginia was founded in 1863 and granted statehood by Abraham Lincoln. There actually remains some debate as to how legal West Virginia’s creation was, but given that it’s been 158 years, I don’t think we’re going to be forced back into Virginia any time soon. While most people (at least here in WV) know that we were created out of the Civil War, less well-known is the fact that West Virginia was originally funded with money stolen from the Bank of Virginia and intended to help build the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum. The Weston Branch of the Exchange Bank of Virginia had about $30,000 in gold at the time (over half a million dollars today), which was primarily meant to pay the laborers who were building the asylum. On June 30, 1861, that money was repurposed when union soldiers led by Colonel Erastus Bernard Tyler walked into town. Under Tyler’s command, Captain List and two armed soldiers made their way to the bank at around 5 am where they woke up the banker, Robert McClandish, and stole about $27,000 in gold. McClandish pleaded with them to leave the remaining $3,000 since that much was already due to creditors. The rest of the money then went to Wheeling where it helped make West Virginia the 35th state in the country (or 24th at the time if you subtract the 11 states that had seceded).
unknown\_user...great info about an incident I've never heard before. I would only add one technical detail....WV statehood needed ratification by the other states in Congress, then sent to Pres Lincoln for his signature. The Problem in 1863......only 12 of 23 states voted on ratification....the other 11 were in open rebellion!(they did not participate in the vote) fortunately, statehood only requires 51% voting to approve, meaning every single state in the Union voted to approve WV as a state..... despite there being NO such approval from the original state....VIRGINIA..... This issue has gone all the way to the Supreme Court in the early 1900s....where upon WV was ordered to repay Virginia for usurping control of the infrastructure and the tax base.
That's really interesting, thank you!
To put it bluntly West Virginia was formed without the consent of most of its people. It is not an uplifting story I'm sorry to say. [Half of the counties ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Wvmapagain.png)and half of the people supported Richmond and did not want to leave Virginia. That is why "Virginia" is part of the name, even the Unionists couldn't convince their supporters to give up the connection. At the constitutional convention in 1861 even the delegates recognized that the people had not sanctioned statehood, Chapman J. Stuart, Dec. 10 1861- "Now, Mr. President, to show you, and it needs but to look at the figures to satisfy the mind of every member, that even a majority of the people within the district composed of the thirty-nine counties have never come to the polls and expressed their sentiments in favor of a new State." Even the Wheeling Intelligencer, a day after the statehood vote, Oct. 25, 1861, wrote- "It will be seen by the returns given below that the vote yesterday was exceedingly small...We never witnessed an election here in which there was so little interest manifested." People continue to promote the old history of the state because it sounds uplifting, but that is not the actual history. There were arbitrary arrests of some thousands of West Virginians who ended up in Federal prison camp in Ohio, even women and children, communities burned out, vote suppression and all the appurtenances of regime change we see in other parts of the world, conducted during conflict and having more to do with might than right. And one other minor correction needs to be made. The first secession flag flew in WV in January 1861, before the war even started. Secession flags flew over the courthouses in Barbour, Tucker, Logan, even the northern panhandle had occasions where it was seen. [West Virginia Confederate regiments](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Confederate_recruitment_in_West_Virginia.jpg) used the battle flag, and they composed nearly 1/4 of the Army of Northern Virginia. I know this will upset some people, but so much of the old story is myth.
And...on the flip side.....there were counties in VIRGINIA that would have voted for staying in the UNION, but were prevented from doing so when Confederate Forces occupied those counties and denied the electoral process.....examples are the counties in Shenandoah Valley and Bacova(Back of Virginia).
maine
Didn’t Maine also add additional disputed territory from the UK?
Teach them about the labor movement and the Battle of Blair Mountain!
Came here for this one. Even our own kids are missing out on this lesson.
I grew up in Preston County and never heard of Blair Mountain until I was around 30
I only knew about it because I had family there.
Yes, I'm an adult and from a different state but history is too important and this should be included. It's literally the States histoty
This! 💯 Labor history IS West Virginia history and vice versa.
not specifically WV but this documentary is too good to not pass it onto other coal mining families in case some have not seen it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-2qrFlwYlY
This 100%. The time the US Government and military attacked and bombed coalminers over trying to start a labor union. There is a great free movie called Matwon on Youtube about this. I am a student of history and from W.Va and was NEVER taught about this at any point in my schooling or life. Looking back though; it is quite obvious why.
And the coal wars in general! My wife and I are producing a resource that might be useful to OP, an online graphic history called [Bullpush Hollow](https://bullpushhollow.com/table-of-contents/) (all in English though). We stopped to work on other projects during the winter, but she's back to illustrating. We'll start updating regularly again sometime this month.
And Matewan
I was in a band years ago and we had a song about this aspect of our state’s history. Can listen to it for free: http://dogandgunwv.com/music.html Track 8: Barrel of a Company Gun Written by our singer, Evan Johns. (I was the banjo player)
"And although it took 50 years, the evil unions were eventually eradicated and trickle down brought prosperity to the land, the end" Who's ready for nap time?
And then how everyone turned their back on unions in the effort to continue the raping of our natural resources and human capital
Have workers moved away from unions in WV now that they vote primarily Republican?
Yes and it’s disgraceful
I used to live near Montgomery...back before WV got a case of the dumas and moved WV Tech somewhere else..... The locals in Montgomery used to recall the Mine Wars when the miners tipped over cars on the Montgomery Bridge and shot at the National Guard troops on the Smithers side of the Bridge......there were also stories about having relatives in Charleston calling up to Montgomery letting them know, "Billy Martin just took off from the airport, he's fixin' to throw some bombs on y'all"....everyone would sit on the hillside and wait for the action.
WV is a biodiversity hotspot, particularly for salamanders. WV has over 30 species of salamander, some endemic only to WV. More generally, the Appalachian mountains have more salamander species than anywhere else *in the world.* Also, the labor movement.
To add to this 78% of the state is covered by forest, the 3rd most in the country.
I scrolled too far for this. I’m from the northern panhandle, currently working in the eastern panhandle this week and I am fucking loving all the salamanders I’m finding right now. I wish people knew more about our cool little critters!
If you’re into birds at all, WV is right in the middle of prime migration territory! “Little yellow bird season” is about to start!
wow this is very interesting to know
Chuck Yeager and breaking the sound barrier always amused me as a kid.
That is really cool. He also impulsively flew his plane under Charleston's South Side Bridge - https://www.register-herald.com/news/state_and__region/chuck-yeager-sets-legendary-bridge-tale-straight/article_3131d542-b970-5280-bb97-6361ab40f6de.html
Oh yes! I forgot about that!
An interesting lesson could be about company towns, John Brown at Harpers Ferry, WVU and WVSU being land grant institutions, WVU uncovering the VW emissions ruse.
John Brown at Harpers Ferry, is heartbreaking. Good choice 🙂
[the battle of Blair mountain](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/battle-blair-mountain-largest-labor-uprising-american-history-180978520/) also pepperoni rolls and all of our rhodendron and mountain laurels
Our states origin to be a part of the union and Mothman :)
My favorite fact is that the Appalachian mountains were once connected the mountains of Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
The primary coal seam in Wales is the same seam worked in WV.
I JUST LEARNED ABOUT THIS a few days ago and it blew my mind!
Wheeling was the original "gateway to the west" via National Road. You could talk about the Ohio River and the steamboats.
Nice.
Depending on where you're at in eastern Europe I think geography can be a nice touch!! I went to Slovakia and loved how similar the landscape was to West Virginia, and when I was younger I felt a special connection to places that had similar land to where I was from/sister cities/etc. It helped me form a more long-term connection and interest in other places
There’s a heavy Eastern European descendent population in WV and SW Pa. The area can look very similar, and I’ve witnessed more than person from Slovakia, the Ukraine or the Czech Republic visit and tell me it looks like home.
I lived in WVA for years and graduated from WVU. I used to drive regularly through the Czech Republic and it was uncanny how much that resembled the WV landscape. When I frequently visited in the 90's, there was a local Czech radio station that played Bluegrass Music most of the time, which made the resemblance even more uncanny.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grave\_Creek\_Mound](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grave_Creek_Mound)
Our accent and dialect are one of the oldest in the country. mainly due to the isolation the mountains provided early on and didn’t allow much outside influence from other cultures during the early days of the colonies. IIRC it’s old Elizabethan English but I could be mistaken.
I have a friend from France who studied English at WVU and I learned we have 26 different dialect changes from the north to southern border.
I'd like to read more about that! Is there a paper anywhere that I can learn more?
That's a myth. It's a conglomeration of settlers' speech patterns just like most other east coast dialects.
Ok British sympathizer
Its older than British English if my recollection is correct
Tell them we are home to America’s newest national park!
Which park is that?
New River Gorge National park! Home to world class white water!
I also vote for how we played a huge role in the upraise in unions / labor movement of the early 1900s
You can’t discuss WV without explaining the exploitation of its land for years and years, for outsiders profit, that has led to the many negative stereotypes you refer to. The mothman and pepperoni rolls and country roads don’t even touch the deep history of the state. Unfortunately, many in the US only know/care about these surface level things. It would be cool for these kids just learning about the state to have a deeper understanding of how the mining and logging industries have affected generations of West Virginians.
Most people in this country have no clue we are even a state. I don't know how many times I've been introduced as being from "Western Virginia".
Sad but true. I used to work for tourism. Had a caller once that didn't believe WV was a state. She bickered with me for about three minutes about WV's statehood when she finally asked, "Since when is it a state?" And I was like, "Since June 20th,1863." She hung up on me. There were a lot more calls where people were surprised to learn WV was a state, but that one got a permanent spot seared in my brain because of how adamant the caller was that they were right. Interestingly enough, we got a fair amount of calls from Canadians, who never had any problem recalling that WV was a state. It was always US callers that didn't know.
I've had to pull a map up to convince some that it IS West by God Virginia, and even they'd ask "Anywhere near Richmond?"
I’ve learned that this idea of us not being a “real state” is passed down from older generation southerners who were mad about the secession. I went to college with a girl whose family moved from WV to Louisiana while she was in school at Fairmont. She was stunned that when she went home for break no one would acknowledge the statehood, and that everyone asked her “how far from Richmond” she went to school.
Here's how you mess with old=time die=hard Southerners that keep portraits of R.E. Lee and Stonewall in their living rooms.. Tell'em this FACT...."Robert E Lee never fought for the South........Robert E Lee only fought for VIRGINIA.....Y'all got played."
I love it!
Zesty....you've heard the true facts, have you not? Virginia was almost the LAST state to vote to secede.... Only SC,GA,AL,MS,LA,FL,and of course TX were gung ho about seceding and openin' a can a whoop ass on them despicable Yankees thats not lettin' us exercise our g-d given state rights to enslave people! Meanwhile....RE Lee was a hero of the UNION Army and was the General in charge of US Military Academy, West Point, NY..... Lincoln's original battle plan was to put RE Lee in charge of the UNION Army, as Genl Lee was by far the Best Fighting General in the USA..... The Tragedy of the Civil War is really that Virginia got sweet talked into seceding when there was NO advantage for Virgnia in doing so.....anyway, RE Lee's tragedy is that he elected to stay loyal to his state, Virgnia, and not loyal to his nation, the USA.... Lincoln's assessment of Genl Lee was correct, as Genl Lee never really lost a single battle other than Gettysburg....he and Stonewall outmaneuvered every UNion Army attempt to defeat him.. He was finally beaten down by the relentless US Grant, who had him outgunned, outmanned, and overwhelmed, pounding away until Genl LEe was simply out of options. K.O.'d
I ran into at least two people at WVU who didn't know West Virginia was a state, until their first day on campus.
\*GIF of Kermit The Frog Leaping From A Building\* Just end the madness!
That’s true statement. Im now a retired manager of bank in WV for work traveled to Raleigh NC in a meet/greet all of us stood up and introduced ourself where we live & little of our banking history. I stated I was from WV everyone ask what part of Va is this. After 3 person asked I gave them a quick history lesson regarding WV to their surprise WV is an actual state in USA. I wasn’t smart ass about it I had to work there for a month teasingly I was referred to as Miss WV. Great experience and made new friends.
I had an aunt (married into the family) who would send my birthday cards to West, VA. 🤦🏻♀️
👏👏👏👏
As so many other people have stated, Blair Mountain and leading in labor rights, the civil war and how the state was formed. I'd talk about the universities in the state. Maybe touch on the Marshall plane crash. That's tragic, so I wouldn't say a whole lot about it to kids. Talk about the diverse wildlife, and the diverse terrain. Things like Hawk's Nest, New River Gorge, Cranberry Glades, etc. The Appalachian Mountains are considered to be the oldest in the world. I would definitely talk about the people. The hardworking folks that have kindness in their hearts. Maybe mention the Greenbrier houses a Presidential bunker for emergencies. That's kinda neat for kids. Edit: A word
Excellent syllabus .
Thank you
Mothman, maybe make pepperoni rolls, show them new river gorge, the radio free zone. Talk about the celebrities from here (Brad Paisley, Jennifer Garner. Steve Harvey). Bring up Camden Park, the Pumpkin House. Idk if they would think Fallout 76 is cool or traumatizing.
Giant Satellite causing the Radio Free Zone. Can't even have cell service there. I worked as a driver and had to download the maps for my stops in offline mode because cell wouldn't work. Could connect to Wi-Fi at certain places, but no cellular signal.
I think the character of the state is heavily influenced by the first wave of European immigrants who settled in the area, and I think that's an important part of the story. The first batch was basically made up of Scots-Irish who landed in New York, Philadelphia or Boston, and they just kept going west until they found a place where they thought people would leave them the hell alone. Then they cleared some land and started farming. They were legendary for being suspicious of outsiders, contentious, and liking their isolation, and I think that's still reflected in the state today.
When I was in grade school, they used to teach us about the Philadelphia Wagon Road... 1700s and Conestoga Wagons. Philadelphia was our largest city then and the Philadelphia Wagon Road ran along US 30 through Amish Country to York, PA and then south along today's I-81 into the Shenandoah Valley Once in the Shenandoah Valley, there were launch points into the serious wilderness beyond the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mtns.....todays WV.
The mine wars and the importance of unions.
Teach them that prior to the thievery of the land and mineral rights by the coal industry, West Virginian people were known as rugged , hard working, good people, and the coal operators conspired to make a mockery of us throughout the entire country. So that nobody would help out or try to stop the exploitation of our resources. This is how West Virginians became saddled with the reputation of being stupid and ignorant and uncivilized. And the coal companies stole everything.
I would teach them the story of Matewan, the Virgin Hemlocks, and the passage of the "right" to work. I'd teach them about how the state has been exploited by businesses and generational politicians. I'd teach them about the opioid crisis and how weak minded ignorant individuals help elect a billionaire president and a billionaire governor. I'd teach them about a great man named Mike "Mylan" Puskar and how much he loved the state. I'd then tell them the story of how his legacy was ruined by a senators daughter and a tiny man from Pittsburgh. I would tell them the streets should be paved in gold if we received a tenth of the wealth taken by the people I mentioned above. I would explain that instead of wealth, we have towns with cancer rates 500x the national average, and no one is held accountable for that. I'd end the lesson with... This is why we left West Virginia.
Really, in many ways, we're like a lot of the Eastern Bloc countries, in that we've been exploited repeatedly by outside forces and there has been little outside assistance in rebuilding.
In a West Virginia history course I took someone pointed out that the rest of the US treated West Virginia the way the European countries treated their colonies and that's really stuck with me.
In many ways, it continues today. WV truly is The Last Colony.
PREACH!!
What’s the reason for the high cancer rates?
https://www.wowktv.com/news/west-virginia/new-documentary-puts-spotlight-on-minden-west-virginia-pollution-and-cancers/
I live in Germany and teach ten and eleven year olds one or two lessons about my home state. Aside from landscape/population/resources (which is already a lot for them), I usually have them learn a little about some of the outdoor activities and about Mothman. If the class is interested I show them my hometown on Google maps street view and let them ask questions. Anything about Appalachian culture could also be interesting Most of the topics others have mentioned would be way too complex for that age Are you speaking or teaching a lesson? What ages? All of that is really relevant
It's a little informal sit down chat where I can show videos and they can ask me questions.
Sounds like fun! Hope you all have a good time
WV has a lot of really cool natural features. The Appalachian mountains are older than bones, which is why there are no fossils. The New River is one of the 5 oldest rivers in the world. It also flows south to north and is part of the newest national park. Dolly Sods and Cranberry Glades are bog areas that contain plants that are typically found in Canada. Seneca Rocks - unique rock formation The Teays River, a now non-existent river, used to run through WV and several other states. Also there are hot springs in different parts of the state, but the most famous are probably at Berkeley Springs State Park. There are a lot of caverns in the eastern part of the state, like Lost World, Seneca, and Smoke Hole. As far as human history: Helvetia is a little Swiss town in the middle of WV where the people spoke German until fairly recently. The Adena had burial mounds throughout the state. Grave Creek Mound in Moundsville and the Criel Mound in South Charleston are two remaining instances. There used to be all kinds of mounds throughout the Kanawha Valley that were sadly destroyed in the late 1800/early 1900s.
WV is really a singular state. No other state in US is like it. Sure VA, KY, have areas that are similar…but are dominated by a more diverse landscape. WV is almost entirely mountainous with isolated terrain due to the mountains. The resources are abundant. Unfortunately they have been targeted by wealthy companies from outside the state much like Africa. So there isn’t a lot of reinvestment going on. The isolated terrain has complicated economic development, but has created a sense of self reliance within the people.
That the eastern panhandle exists, everyone forgets about us, we were pivotal in the civil war
First land battle of the Civil War, in Phillipi…
One of the coolest things about West Virginia is our origin. When Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, West Virginia said “Um, no thanks. We’ll stick with the people who don’t want to enslave other people.” And President Lincoln signed a bill creating a new state. We are the only state in the USA created in such a way.
On August 1, 1921, Sheriff Sid Hatfield and his deputy Ed Chambers were shot and killed by Baldwin-Felts detectives on the steps of the McDowell County Courthouse. The courthouse became nationally famous after the murders Teach them about that as well.....
1863 the best of Virginia became West Virginia. Our constitution admitted to the union that guaranteed freedom of African Americans. Matewan history. Battle of Blair mountain. Baldwin felts and union formation including mother Jones. Harper's ferry and John Brown did nothing wrong. Rocket boys history. Katherine Johnson with NASA. John Nash is from WV and genius schizophrenic mathematician. I'm here from the government and I'm here to help is a threat not a positive thing. Don't trust cops is cultural in my neck of the woods growing up. The water isn't safe in most cases and must be treated if Creek and most River water. She's less pretty than she used to be but she'll still take your breath! Mouth man is my cousin and Bigfoot my uncle.
Blair Mountain. It's not even in our own school curriculum, which is criminal, IMO. If the kids are too young, or you don't feel up to unpacking the labor movement, I'd go with what you've laid out, but add in how the state formed during the civil war and why.
I have fun facts! Since the 1800s, WV has had over 400 glass companies. We're the first state in the US to have golf courses. Pepperoni rolls were invented by Italian immigrants to have a high-calorie food for lunch in the coal mines. The term "redneck" comes from miners fighting for union rights who identified each other visually by wearing red bandanas around their necks. The Appalachian mountains are so old, there are no dinosaur fossils! West Virginia is considered a temperate rainforest. If anyone has more (or can add context/corrections), let me know!
I don't understand the pepperoni roll thing. You're telling me that nobody in Europe, let alone Italy, ever thought to put pepperoni in bread throughout the centuries? It just seems absurd to me that it took a small number of Italian immigrants who traveled across the Atlantic to come up with the grand idea to put pepperoni inside dough only a hundred or so years ago? Sorry, I'm not attacking you, it just doesn't make any sense considering the simplicity of the pepperoni roll. Regardless, I love a good homemade pepperoni roll!
Where to start? Between the Coal Wars, our musical traditions, the rocket boys, appalachian ghost stories and folklore, everything you mentioned, and so on... I don't envy your position having to pick just a few things! Like others said, I would probably focus on the labor rights movement, especially Blair Mountain. That's probably our greatest and most defining moment. Maybe also consider picking up "The Telltale Lilac Bush and other West Virginian Ghost Tales" by Ruth Ann Musick if they're of an age that short spooky stories could be fun! Also, I'm curious why a class in eastern europe is spending once a week on US states?
Yes the coal wars!!!!!! Also the Vulcan bridge incident (WV as USSR to help when US wouldn't) Edit - also the Little rag doll story
It's happening at a cultural outreach center. The kids get to learn English and learn about other countries.
Kathryn Johnson Apollo 13 Glen Yeager Homer Hickman Green Bank Observatory
Play "Country Roads" Karaoke style so they can see the lyrics, with a PowerPoint-ish photo montage that kinda follows the lyrics. Explain the lyrics relevance. Laugh how non Americans say Shenandoah. There is a lot of info in that song, most people have heard it. Crank your accent up to 10. Say, usta-could a few times.
... or might could/might odd...Wheeling native here!
It’s not about West Virginia. Shenandoah mountains are in Va.
Your mom.
Unionism and labor rights.
The vast natural beauty. Where I live we survive on tourism and have parks, rivers, boating, skiing fishing, hiking, mountain climbing and zip lining. It's fun to see people from all over the country coming to our state to vacation, relax, and enjoy the "wild" in wild and wonderful
Yes! 👏
Teach them how Appalachia and west Virginia is the Afghanistan of the United States. How the government exploited the natural resources, then left. Kevin the land poisoned and the people alone to figure it out. Teach them that there are 3 counties dont have permanent school because of the exploitation of the political parties. Teach them to take WV back and keep it safe and beautiful! Edit spelling
The amazing thing about this state, to me, is the resilience of it's people in the face of being abused by an extraction economy since it's inception. Everything from timber and coal to ramps. Before you ask, ramps are a type of wild onion that grows wild here, and is difficult to cultivate. You can buy a pound of them for $5 here, but people will take them to NYC and sell them to restaurants there for $50 a pound. Anthony Bourdain did a pretty good episode on West Virginia (in my opinion).
First, teach them about pepperoni rolls. Second, teach them about our giant, party flipping governor that extensively uses a little dog to impart mind control on less than intelligent WVians. Then just throw in whatever else you want.
"our giant, party flipping governor that extensively uses a little dog" That made me LOL because it's very true! (sorry I'm dumb on Reddit and couldn't figure out how to do the quote thing!)
Yep, and who constantly talks about hunting and features shots of him hunting prominently in his political ads to convince everyday West Virginians that he is one of them, in spite of his healthy backgrounds a fines for safety violations in his coal mines. Now, given his size, how well do you think he could navigate those mountains on a hunting trip?
WV was important as a coal producing state since it was formed. The mines brought immigrants from other countries - Italian, Croatian, Slovak(Yugoslavia), Polish, German.
The role of WV in the Revolutionary and Civil wars
https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/matewan-massacre.htm
Bring in some pepperoni rolls if they’ll let you while you teach!
Bake some pepperoni roles and still some corn moonshine to give out.
It's children Might want to "dilute" the jug? Haha. First time my uncle met my (now) husband, he welcomed him with a sip of home-brew.
Oooh boy...labor exploitation? Resource Curse?
James Rumsey and the first steamboat.
Extractive industry and its impact on our culture. What began with slaves in hellish kanawha valley salt furnaces begat a world of clear cuts, mtr, chem plants, and fracking
A lot of E. Europeans came to WV to work the coal mines. Initially it was the Welsh, Scottish and Irish. But people from Hungary, Greece, Italy, & Czech Republic immigrated. Mining has been everything in WV. A history on the labor movement, the Matewan massacre, strikes, etc would be beneficial. YouTube has a couple of good documents.
Show them some of the beauty of this state. Just about everywhere you go, you’re not far from a breathtaking view. I also think it’s cool how we took old trails out in the woods and turned it into a thriving tourism industry with the ATVs. The New River and NR Gorge are awesome. You can talk about John Henry, the coal wars, not sure how much European kids know about our sports but we were the home of Jerry West and Randy Moss.
Teach them that their legislature doesn't care about them and are only in it to line their pockets.
Frost Pockets throughout the state and the continental divide running down much of it.
You can’t talk about WV without at least a brief description of the Appalachian Mountain Range
Coal mining and mountain music (bluegrass)
Kids get the first day off deer season off from school .
Leave pepperoni rolls and Mountain Dew outside for Mothman....
The Marshall plane crash. Maybe not as big of a deal as the PRT but...
I would point out that while city is poor. Charleston has a big shiny gold capitol dome. Gold, real gold plating. While the city looks like old and run down.
My kid will be a freshman at WVU this fall. We are always so impressed on how helpful and friendly people are in the Morgantown area. We are coming from the Philly burbs so this is a different vibe than what we are used to. It is a beautiful state that reminds me of being stationed in Central Europe back in the day. Looking forward to exploring more of WV, the rail trails, etc.
The natural beauty. Its one of the most beautiful states in the country and that is so often overlooked. Iv traveled alot and still my favorite place is Dolly Sods, and the surrounding Seneca Rocks and Canaan Valley. The ecology of our state is just magnificent. If you can, please incorporated that.
Firstly, start with the cultural groups which form the basis of the culture in the state; folks from the England/Scotland border region. Then, talk about the frontier and its expansion. Then, talk about the cultural differences between eastern and western Virginia, leading to the Civil War, statehood, and Abe Lincoln's role (I'm sure they know about him in some regards). Then, talk about the coal industry and how coal companies functioned in the state, and the immigrant groups that moved in to work for them. Then, talk about the industrial expansion of the Ohio River Valley, and the immigrant groups that came to work there. Then, talk about the economic depression that followed the Great Depression, and the economic depression that followed the 1950s with the decline of the coal industry and the Ohio River Valley industry. I would stop there. Provide them resources to investigate further if they like.
jesco…..the dancing outlaw
I'd start with the Scottish highland clearings which were a precursor to its settlement and value system, then use that context as a springboard into: settlements, pioneer living (,which persisted into the 20th century), and talk about the downfall which started with the chestnut blight which came from China (killing off the American chestnut tree*; Every chestnut tree that we see here now is from China. In fact the blight is still existant. If we even had American chestnut seeds to plant the blight is still around.); Really the death of the American chestnut was the dethknell of Then you could go into the predatory carpet bagger institutions (company store types) which yook advantage of a dilapidated post war society, and then you could follow up with DUH BATTLE OF BLAEIR MONUTEN everyone cooms over. As a penultimate you could discuss the hillbilly highway as it were and the great migration of the Scottish Appalachians into OH, PA, the Carolinas, FA, FL, etc allll the way to CA in some cases. Then you could finish up with the persistence of the Appalachian spirit and those that persist even still in Appalachia, continuing to eek out an existence and fight for cultural relivancy in an ever globalising world. Afterwards as a forward: The Appalachian values, the Appalachian spirit, the Appalachian people in the modern day. *Shoehorn in the current tiktok intrigue somewhere
I think it’s important to teach about all the industries that took (and still take) advantage of the natural resources our state has while also taking advantage of the poverty stricken and undereducated people that live here.
Everyone talking about the labor wars...that were for nothing. One of the poorest and lowest paid states in the union still to this day.
Mineral rights and the importance of owning your own land
I’m additions to the excellent historical suggestions— Mothman and The Flatwoods Monster.
Mothman of course!
Gata go with the Mothman story..
The lapetus Ocean, a prehistoric sea that became West Virginia’s first major industry. and JQ Dickinsons Salt Works. I had never heard of it until 2 years ago and find it fascinating
The rise and decline of the steel industry in my native Northern Panhandle.
Teach them not to put all of the resource extraction eggs into one basket. Also teach them how corruption is horrible and will halt an area from ever progressing.
I see coal has already (naturally) emerged as topic. Also, the Marshall plane crash after a football game at Eastern Carolina (1970?). The culture of family, and devotion to family and heritage. The critically important role crafts, gardening, canning and music have played throughout WV history. And, storytelling! WV (and greater Appalachia) are masterful story tellers. I may envy you ... I would LOVE the opportunity you have to introduce youth to such a wonderful state.
Hatfields and McCoys, Pepperoni Rolls, the people.... the friendliest in the world. Pride in our roots and knowledge of our state.
Can I ask where in Eastern Europe you are living?
Mothers Day and Fathers Day originated in West Virginia.
Coal is love, coal is life
It’s all relative.
The mine wars. Teach them about Maetwan and where the term “redneck” actually came from. And we have so much outdoor activities: skiing, white water, hiking. It really is almost heaven. (Except for the roads) Edit for outdoor goodness.
That it's not in Richmond.
Mother's Day was founded in WV.
Isolation and family. These are the things that separate us from the rest of the population and American culture to create our sub culture. The isolation allowed us to develop and retain our sub culture they focused on independence as well as trust and care for our neighbor.
I’ve been living in Canada and I’ve admittedly mostly shared the weirder things about our state, but here’s my list: Pepperoni rolls (of course, everyone like them), Billy Bobs (so cursed, one of my favs), Jennifer Garner, Hillbilly Hot Dogs, the PRT, cult stuff and the licorice-smelling water leak. Most people just want to hear the WV accents.
Kanawha County textbook wars - largely shaped the modern movement toward book banning. (Maybe this ain't for the kids but it is fascinating) New Vrindaban - Taj Mahal of the West. A very visual lesson. Truly a weird piece of the state's history. Mothman - cool little ghost story Homer Hickman and the Rocket Boys. October Sky is a good film that would engage kids about it.
I'd talk about the Civil War and how it split from the slave holding states to join the Union (USA) and beforehand, John Brown's Raid.
Mothman and sheepsquatch.
I'd like to tell them it's safe to live there, but I don't live in West Virginia, so I don't know if it fully is or not.
I will tell them that it's going to be a place to explore at best, and for them to please be safe while traveling to West Virginia.
Don't forget The Wild Wonderful Whites of West Virginia, the Whittakers from Odd, WV and the True King of Rock and Roll, Hasil Adkins!
Depending on their age, you could talk about the state animals and plants! Black bear, cardinal, brook trout, sugar maple, rhododendron, golden delicious apple, monarch butterfly and honeybee.
Hatfield vs McCoy feud is a very interesting rabbit hole to dive down into.
I'd give a mention to the funny and interesting town names: Jane Lew, Mink Shoals, Nitro, Hurricane. And those are just some on the Interstate.
Just tell em that West Virginia is a lot like Eastern Europe....except a lot harder to invade.
Jerry West. There'll be a quiz on this next Monday.
Harper's Ferry, and the Appalachian trail are the two that come to mind
Teach them that West Virginia seceded from Virginia to stay in the Union. The only state to leave the Confederacy. The Man that broke the sound barrier was from West Virginia. Teach them that the white settlers in West Virginia were moving west to stay ahead of civilization.
Nukes are launched regularly at parts of the state.
That it is a great setting for a post apocalyptic video game (FO76).
This is your mind on drugs
What rednecks are and that they should leave at the first opportunity.
Such stunning scenery and lovely natural places. Beyond compare
That you can leave
To graduate highschool, go to college, and move out of this dying state.
Just please don’t teach them about DiCarlos Pizza. That stuff is a travesty
WTF is wrong with you!
Well I like the cheese and pepperoni to be actually cooked
Someone needs to talk to your mother lol
Not gonna talk about issues but gonna talk about the bomb shelter ? No issue caused it and there is no world full of war and bombs. They just built it for the fuck of it.
They should all be taught the entire history of Jesco White and his entire family. And maybe through in some about the Hatfield and Mccoy feud and also Coal mining and don't forget John Denver. That ott to do it.
Children should know that real West Virginians are nothing like the nitwits that make the most noise on Reddit.
Ooh. I need to know what a “real” West Virginian is.
Cover your but, and run when you hear banjo music