Coal river. Woody Boggs's ramp patch. Southern West Virginia.
As the women cleaning ramps in the "ramp circle" on Drews Creek made clear (see ramp essay), you can start your own ramp patch from the small rootlets leftover from the cleaning process. Many domesticated ramp ... More
Musicians jamming at the Sophia Firehouse (L-R): Franklin Adkins, dob...
Throughout southern West Virginia one can find regular jam sessions, which occur in public spaces like the Sophia Fire Hall, the Coal City Barber Shop, and the Beckley Flea Market, as well as in private buildin... More
View of the valley sludge pond from the mine entrance end to the dam
Mountaintop removal and reclamation introduces several new landforms to the coal fields. One of the introduced landforms is the "wet refuse impoundment," a structure designed to store the waste from coal prepar... More
Mabel Brown, Jenny Bonds, Nancy Miller, and Sadie Miller, at their wee...
Each Tuesday morning from September through May, a number of women on Drews Creek get together to quilt. Sometimes they quilt at the Ramp House, a community center at the head of Drews Creek across from the Del... More
Aerial view of mixed mesophytic forest and topography
Event: Helicopter tour of Mountaintop Removal and Reclamation on Big Coal River watershed. "To better understand the method of mining known as "mountaintop removal and reclamation," Lyntha Eiler and I visited t... More
Randy Sprouse inspecting the ginseng he's dug
Since the 17th century, when a Jesuit priest in Canada identified ginseng (Panax quinquefolia) as a root prized in Asia and therefore exportable, ginseng has provided an annual source of cash for people living ... More
Jess Duncan, union organizer, seated in front of a union banner on the...
The Union Hall in Sundial is the meeting place for Union Local 6608 of the United Mine Workers. During the field project there was much discussion of the Massey/Pittston strikes that had occurred in the 1980s, ... More
Detail of a square from a sampler quilt made by Margie Miller
Event: Quilting Bee. "Each Tuesday morning from September through May, a number of women on Drews Creek get together to quilt. Sometimes they quilt at the Ramp House, a community center at the head of Drews Cre... More
Joe Williams displaying the ginseng he dug
Event: Ginseng Hunting. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Foreground (L-R): Judy Griffey, Shirley Tyler, and Edna Turner at the...
Event: Ramp Supper at Delbert Church. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Dave Bailey, guitar, and Homer Pettry, banjo, playing in Dave's living...
Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Christmas display in front of Syble's Bed & Barn
Public domain photograph - Merry Christmas or Happy New Year, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Ivan Jarrell showing Mary Hufford a newground, planted in winter brows...
We visited Ivan Jarrell's property at the head of Dry Creek in early spring, when the coves were coming to life with wildflowers, greening trees, and blooming dogwoods, redbuds, spicebush, and the songs of bird... More
Madonna and Child, sculpted by Connard Wolfe, located outside the Kana...
Event: Visit to the sculpture studio of Connard Wolfe. This stone sculpture has been painted brown.
Coal river. Quentin Barrett, Beckley, WV. Southern West Virginia.
Quentin Barrett is a grandson of R.E. Barrett, who first owned and operated the store at the Mouth of Dry Creek. Quentin Barrett taught in the school house on Kayford Mountain and was for years the principal of... More
Christmas light display in Myrtle and Chris Linville's yard
Public domain photograph - Merry Christmas or Happy New Year, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Mae Bongalis' front door, daffodils blooming outside
Event: Visit to Mae and Shorty Bongalis. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Coal river. Bailey/Boggess cemetery. Southern West Virginia.
Event: Trip to Montcoal Mountain. Public domain photograph - cemetery, graves, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Initials etched with carbide lamps on John Rock, Bolt Mountain
Event: Tour of rock shelters and camp rocks on Coal River drainage basin. "Archeological surveys on file at the Division of Environmental Protection make note of the "bedrock overhangs," sandstone outcroppings ... More
Exterior of log house built by Woody Boggs
The oak timbers used to make this log cabin were salvaged from the former bridge to Edwight, which spanned Coal river near the mouth of Hazy Creek for many decades. "A lot of trucks have driven over this house,... More
Coal river. Cuba Wiley, Peytona, WV. Southern West Virginia.
Cuba Wiley grew up in Honey Bottom at the mouth of Shumate's Branch and Hazy Creek, and worked in coal and timber much of his life. His CB handle, "the Trading Post," relates to his prolific trade in second han... More
Coal river. Ted Scarbrough's yard art. Southern West Virginia.
Public domain photograph - Merry Christmas or Happy New Year, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Miners and organizers waiting for the results of a vote at the United ...
Event: United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Union Vote. Bob Phalan is president of UMWA District 17.
Everett Lilly at the Stanley Heirs Reunion
Event: Stanley Heirs Reunion. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Reclamation on the Costain mountaintop removal site, White Oak
Event: ATV tour of Mountaintop Removal and Reclamation on Clear Fork.
"Field locust" planted at Costain's reclaimed mountaintop removal site...
Public domain photograph - historical image of Washington State, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Coal river. The Saxon Post Office. Southern West Virginia.
Event: Tour of Mushroom Rock and other scenic resources on Posey-Saxon Road.
Randy Sprouse at the Costain mine reclamation site, White Oak
Event: ATV tour of Mountaintop Removal and Reclamation on Clear Fork.
The Rebecca Chapel at the mouth of Rock Creek
Public domain photo of a monument, historic place, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Musicians jamming at Frazier Gills' barbershop in Coal City
Throughout southern West Virginia one can find regular jam sessions, which occur in public spaces like the Sophia Fire Hall, the Coal City Barber Shop, and the Beckley Flea Market, as well as in private buildin... More
Randy Sprouse gathering ginseng ('senging) in Tom's Hollow
Event: Ginsenging in Tom's Hollow. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Coal truck overturned below Pettus and above Montcoal, West Virginia
Event: Driving down Route 3. Public domain photograph of a train accident, railroad, trainwreck, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Homer Pettry and David McMillion picking banjos at Frazier Gills'
Throughout southern West Virginia one can find regular jam sessions, which occur in public spaces like the Sophia Fire Hall, the Coal City Barber Shop, and the Beckley Flea Market, as well as in private buildin... More
Musicians jamming at the Sophia Firehouse (L-R): Melvyn Shumate, Arli...
Throughout southern West Virginia one can find regular jam sessions, which occur in public spaces like the Sophia Fire Hall, the Coal City Barber Shop, and the Beckley Flea Market, as well as in private buildin... More
Examples of ginseng roots laid out on a table in the purchase room at ...
People who harvest wild botanicals from the woods can sell their wares to local brokers like Randy Halstead, the proprietor of Randy's Recycling in Peytona, West Virginia. Halstead annually brokers hundreds of ... More
Sadie Miller in her kitchen canning beets from her garden using the ho...
Big vegetable gardens are a distinctive feature of the landscape on Coal River and throughout the southern West Virginia coalfields. Gardens, together with produce from the woods, have been linked historically ... More
Aerial view of Battle Ridge Coal Pit, in Orgas
To better understand the method of mining known as "mountaintop removal and reclamation," Lyntha Eiler and I visited the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection. There we interviewed Roger Hall, the ... More
Howard Miller telling a story about his 'coon hounds
In the mountains and elsewhere, hounds have long been used for hunting a variety of game, including fox, raccoon, squirrel, rabbit, and bear. Several well-known American breeds have developed in the mountains, ... More
Garden behind the Rock Creek Post Office
Betty Jarrell tends this garden. Her daughter, Paula Morris, lives in the house behind the post office.
Graves moved from Shumate's Branch, now the site of a sludge pond. Da...
Event: Memorial Day (or Decoration Day) Weekend at Pineview Cemetery. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
The Coffee Pot, once a favorite gathering place in Edwight, on the eve...
Picryl description: Public domain image of an industrial building, warehouse, depot, train station, 19th-20th century, free to use, no copyright restrictions.
Coal river. Ivan Jarrell, Rock Creek, WV. Southern West Virginia.
We visited Ivan Jarrell's property at the head of Dry Creek in early spring, when the coves were coming to life with wildflowers, greening trees, and blooming dogwoods, redbuds, spicebush, and the songs of bird... More
Coal river. Leather Britches (dried beans). Southern West Virginia.
Event: Visit to Syble's Bed and Barn. Public domain photograph of leather object, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Headstones inscribed with "Unknown" marking remains moved from the Cla...
Event: Memorial Day (or Decoration Day) Weekend at African American cemetery on Performance Coal Company property.
Roadside mailbox, at a home near Marfork Mine, decorated to look like ...
Public domain photograph of mountains, winter, snow, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Coal river. Vivian Jarrell canning string beans. Southern West Virgini...
Event: Visit to the Jarrell's. The propane stove Vivian is using is located in the back yard. She only uses this outdoor stove when canning in the heat of summer.
Johnny Howerton, coal miner, eating breakfast at Syble's Bed & Barn, f...
At 22 years of age, Johnny Howerton is the youngest mine boss in this area. Event: Breakfast at Syble's Bed & Barn.
Dorothy Gunnoe picking kale in her garden
Picryl description: Public domain photograph of farming, farmer, agriculture, 20th-century, free to use, no copyright restrictions.
Three large buckets of black walnuts gathered by Dave Bailey and John ...
Event: Black walnut harvesting with Dave Bailey and John Russell. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
James Dickens and Reverend Larry Brown prepare to baptize Vicky Jarrel...
The deeper holes of the Coal River have long supported the ritual of baptism by immersion in living waters. At the Crane Hole in Arnett, the bank slopes gently enough to allow wading into deep water. Here the c... More
Front step of George Asbury's house, near the Asbury Cemetery on Baile...
Event: Trip to Montcoal Mountain. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Glenna Bailey (Right) serving a slice of her black walnut cake to Mary...
Event: Visit to Dave and Glenna Bailey's home. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Marie Pettry and Laura Wilson flatfooting (dancing) at the Stanley Hei...
Event: Stanley Heirs Reunion. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Exterior of log house built by Woody Boggs
The oak timbers used to make this log cabin were salvaged from the former bridge to Edwight, which spanned Coal river near the mouth of Hazy Creek for many decades. "A lot of trucks have driven over this house,... More
The John Rock, named for John Hunter, near the microwave tower on Bolt...
Event: Tour of rock shelters and camp rocks on Coal River drainage basin. "Archeological surveys on file at the Division of Environmental Protection make note of the "bedrock overhangs," sandstone outcroppings ... More
Menu board at the Back Porch Restaurant featuring shoe string beans or...
Event: Visit to Syble's Bed and Barn. Public domain photograph of leather object, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Group of diners at the Pine Knob Ramp Supper on Drews Creek (L-R): Br...
Event: Annual Pine Knob Ramp Supper on Drews Creek. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Joe, age 11, picking morel mushrooms
Event: Molly mooching with Kay Miller and Joe. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Mark Lilly signing Amanda Lilly Delaware's T-shirt
Event: Stanley Heirs Reunion. Public domain photograph - historical image of Delaware, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Close-up of "field" locust on reclaimed mountaintop removal site, Whit...
Event: ATV tour of Mountaintop Removal and Reclamation on Clear Fork.
Icon David Mays, Horse Creek, public domain photograph
Event: Visit to the Sundial Tavern. Public domain photograph - Portrait, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Unloading the car after Misty and Wesley Scarbrough's wedding
Event: Misty and Wesley Scarbrough's wedding. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Maple tree in full autumnal regalia
Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Aerial view of dust swirling around reclaimed mountaintop removal site
Event: Aerial tour of mountaintop removal and reclamation. Public domain photograph of mountain crater, caldera, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Ginseng plant leaves turn a distinctive pale yellow in the fall
Since the 17th century, when a Jesuit priest in Canada identified ginseng (Panax quinquefolia) as a root prized in Asia and therefore exportable, ginseng has provided an annual source of cash for people living ... More
Aerial view of Catenary Coal's Samples Mine, a Mountaintop Removal pro...
Event: Helicopter tour of Coal River and Mountaintop Removal Sites. In the 1990s, mountaintop removal and reclamation became the mining method of choice for coal operators in central Appalachia. Mountaintop rem... More
Sadie Miller in her kitchen canning beets from her garden using the ho...
Big vegetable gardens are a distinctive feature of the landscape on Coal River and throughout the southern West Virginia coalfields. Gardens, together with produce from the woods, have been linked historically ... More
Sadie Miller in her kitchen canning beets from her garden using the ho...
Big vegetable gardens are a distinctive feature of the landscape on Coal River and throughout the southern West Virginia coalfields. Gardens, together with produce from the woods, have been linked historically ... More
Sadie Miller pictured with her special edition collectible Christmas B...
Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Coal cleaning plant as viewed from the sludge dam. The pond is filled...
Mountaintop removal and reclamation introduces several new landforms to the coal fields. One of the introduced landforms is the "wet refuse impoundment," a structure designed to store the waste from coal prepar... More
Bernice Springston, of B&T Logging Contractors, in Canterbury Hollow ...
The extraction of coal and timber has for the past century formed a "boom and bust" economy for people living in the mountains. Conversations with residents and foresters reveal a contrast between two modes of ... More
Hutch in the dining room of the Dickens' home. This hutch was made by...
Dennis Dickens lives on Williams' Branch of Peachtree Creek. Williams' Branch is named for Dennis Dickens' grandfather. William was the son of John Dickens, who was the son of Thomas Dickens, who obtained a dee... More
Juddy Allen with Mary Hufford and Lyntha Eiler reflected in his glasse...
Event: Trip to Upper Big Branch Mine. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Variety of foods canned by Vivian Jarrell including sweet pickles, tom...
Event: Visit to the Jarrell's. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Ben Burnside's hoes: the center hoe was made by Ben's father to be us...
Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Woody Boggs' gasoline-powered wood splitter
Event: Visit to Pettry Bottom. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Woody Boggs splitting wood at Gail Ballard's house
Event: Visit to Pettry Bottom. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Coal river. Asbury cemetery on Montcoal Mountain. Southern West Virgin...
Event: Trip to Montcoal Mountain. The Asbury Cemetery is one of several located on Montcoal Mountain. Jewel Rorrer, of Naoma, recalled that another cemetery which had been used by the immigrant community, was e... More
Coal river. Quentin and Anne Barrett. Southern West Virginia.
Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Mae Bongalis strings beans for drying. The dried beans are known as l...
The beans Mae Bongalis is stringing came from Ben Burnside's garden on Rock Creek. The beans are called "Bill Dickens Beans" after Dennis Dickens' grandfather, William, on Peachtree Creek. Event: Visit to the h... More
Coal river. American Folklife Center: Ben Burnside. Southern West Virg...
Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Fence and gate at the home of Ben Burnside
Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
The Turner Family of Drews Creek singing at the University of Charlest...
Event: Musical Tribute and Testimonial to John Flynn and the mixed mesophytic forest.
Kennebeck Maine seed potatoes from Ivan Jarrell's garden
Event: Visit to Ivan Jarrell's garden. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Coal river. John Bowman, of Arnett, WV. Southern West Virginia.
John Bowman no longer makes moonshine, but he assembled an old family still in order to talk with John Flynn, Lyntha Eiler, and I about the history of moonshining on Coal River. John Bowman learned from his bro... More
Bloodroot, known locally as redroot or red puccoon, at the head of Dry...
We visited Ivan Jarrell's property at the head of Dry Creek in early spring, when the coves were coming to life with wildflowers, greening trees, and blooming dogwoods, redbuds, spicebush, and the songs of bird... More
Coal river. Seng (ginseng) hoes. Southern West Virginia.
Event: Three generations of ginseng hunters. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
"Sneaky Pete," a coal truck parked outside the United Mine Workers of ...
The driver of the truck stopped to patronize the hot dog sale next door to the Union Hall at the Assembly Church of God. Note the name of the truck.
Half a modular home being transported up Peach Tree Road
The hauler had problems negotiating the turns and crossing the narrow bridge on Peachtree Road.
Ben Burnside harvesting tomatoes in his garden
Event: Visit to Ben Burnside's garden. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Field locust growing on reclaimed mountaintop removal site, White Oak
Event: ATV tour of Mountaintop Removal and Reclamation on Clear Fork.
Coal river. The reclamation of White Oak. Southern West Virginia.
Event: ATV tour of Mountaintop Removal and Reclamation on Clear Fork.
Jane Atanat Embrey making pins using stamps, glass, copper foil, ribbo...
Event: Visit to Tamarack Arts and Crafts Center. Public domain photograph of stamp object, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Pins made by Jane Atanat Embrey from Huntington, West Virginia
Event: Visit to Tamarack Arts and Crafts Center. Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Alta Scarbrough's yard creations displayed in the yard of her daughter...
Picryl description: Public domain image of an ornamental print, pattern design, mannerism, baroque, free to use, no copyright restrictions.
The Rebecca Chapel at the mouth of Rock Creek
Public domain photograph - historic landmark, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Coal river. American Folklife Center: Donna Wills. Southern West Virgi...
Picryl description: Public domain vintage artistic portrait photograph, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.
Ted Farley renovating a log cabin he found inside of a white farm hous...
Public domain photograph - historical image of West Virginia, United States, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Exposed seam of coal, Samples mountaintop removal site on Cabin Creek
Event: Aerial tour of mountaintop removal and reclamation. Though permit applications for mountaintop removal projects routinely attest to the absence of prime farmland in such sites, articles in 19th century i... More
Ginseng plant with berries in fall
Event: Ginseng Hunting. Ginseng is protected under the Fish and Wildlife Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). According to the law, state ginseng programs set seasons for ginseng dig... More