This story was published on 100 Days in Appalachia on July 30, 2019. The sound of twanging electric guitars fills the Madison Civic Center, a small gymnasium in the heart of southern West Virginia’s coalfields. It’s “Ride Stallion Ride,” the entrance music for WWE Hall…
This story originally appeared in the Spring ’19 issue of WV Living magazine. In early October 1960, Associated Press teleprinters clattered to life in smoke-filled newsrooms across the United States. The harried editors assigned to monitor the machines couldn’t have known it at the time,…
Publication: CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL Published: Monday, January 28, 2013 Page: 1A Byline: ZACK HAROLD DAILY MAIL CAPITOL REPORTER Medical school graduates in West Virginia are graduating with hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans, which could eventually lead to a shortage of physicians in…
Publication: CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL Published: Thursday, June 13, 2013 Page: 1A Byline: ZACK HAROLD DAILY MAIL CAPITOL REPORTER A report commissioned after last year’s derecho recommends state government and other entities institute backup communication methods, do a better job of communicating with the public and…
Publication: CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL Published: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 Page: 1A Byline: ZACK HAROLD DAILY MAIL CAPITOL REPORTER A national nonprofit group says West Virginia could save millions of dollars over the next five years – and avoid building a new prison – if it…
This story originally appeared on 100 Days in Appalachia on Nov. 9, 2018. It took a few weeks for Hannan High School principal Karen Oldham to realize her school might have made history. She was so busy with the day-to-day grind of running the small,…
This story originally appeared in the Charleston Daily Mail on August 27, 2014. RIPLEY — Dwayne Freeman makes his moonshine almost the same way as the old-timers. He uses big sacks of corn and a kettle connected to shiny copper lines. There are a few minor differences,…
This article originally appeared on Lapham’s Quarterly‘s Roundtable blog on March 29, 2018. Click here to read the full story. On the first pitch of that April 1931 game, Chattanooga Lookouts pitcher Clyde Barfoot gave up a double to New York Yankees outfielder Earle Combs….
This article originally appeared on Lapham’s Quarterly‘s Roundtable blog on November 29, 2017. Click here to read the full story. Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett moved to the United States to lay low. Although some have suggested they left England to avoid scandal—Margaret was both Harman’s…
This story originally appeared in the July 6, 2010 edition of the Charleston Daily Mail. In all of the obituaries written about the late Sen. Robert Byrd over the last week, there’s one detail nearly everyone made sure to include alongside his political victories and…