This story originally appeared in the Charleston Daily Mail on April 5, 2011.MONTCOAL — The Upper Big Branch mine entrance looks much diff erent than it did one year ago. There are no ambulances here now, no fire trucks or state troopers. No one’s stopping…

This story originally appeared in the July 18, 2012 edition of the Charleston Daily Mail.WHITESVILLE, W.Va. — Rob Dinsmore takes a bittersweet pride in his pet project. The landscape architect said he’s grateful for the opportunity to create a memorial for the 29 miners killed…

This story originally appeared in the July 8, 2011 edition of the Charleston Daily Mail. If all goes according to plan, the space shuttle Atlantis will leave Earth just before noon today to begin its 12-day mission at the International Space Station. The shuttle will…

This story was originally published in the July 18, 2014 edition of the Charleston Daily Mail. It was almost midnight in West Virginia when Neil Armstrong took his first steps on the moon on July 20, 1969. The next day’s Daily Mail proudly proclaimed “Astronauts’…

This story originally appeared in the November/December 2015 issue of WV Focus magazine. The butcher block in Ralph Richmond’s shop is warped from years of use. The block was already old when Ralph inherited it from the original owner 38 years ago, and years of…

This story originally appeared in the Charleston Daily Mail on November 5, 2010. No matter how much door knocking, hand shaking and stump speaking candidates do, someone has to lose on Election Day. And although some office seekers lose faith when the results don’t come…

This story was originally published in the Charleston Daily Mail on July 17, 2014. Dale Morton was 43 years old when his childhood fantasy came true. He walked through the red turbolift doors and found himself standing on the bridge of the USS Enterprise. The…

This story was originally published in the Charleston Daily Mail on July 10, 2014. CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Kayleigh Phillips is happy to live in the past. Her East End apartment is decorated with vintage furniture and lamps and a wooden cuckoo clock. Her old, metal…

This story was originally published in the Charleston Daily Mail on October 11, 2010. INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Virginia State University, which first opened its doors in March 1891, is celebrating its 120th academic year this 2010-2011 school yearThe Institute school, which now has more…

This article originally appeared on NPR Music on July 14, 2021. In 2014 Sam Beam, the singer-songwriter better known as Iron & Wine, was looking for an unconventional way to promote an unconventional new record. Archive Series Volume No. 1 is a collection of cassette demos Beam…