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 was originally published April 26, 2012 in the Charleston Daily Mail. It was co-written with Jared Hunt, and won second place in the “best written news story” category of the 2013 West Virginia Press Association Better Newspaper Contest. It was a Friday evening…
This story was originally published April 24, 2014 in the Charleston Daily Mail. On Aug. 6, 2006, Larry “Ace” Boggess walked into the McCloud Family Pharmacy in Lavalette dressed in a long black hood and cape, intending to steal some Oxycontin. He was armed with…
This story was originally published July 3, 2014 in the Charleston Daily Mail. There aren’t too many living people who can say their songs are in hymn books, but James Easter is one of them. His song “Thank You Lord For Your Blessings on Me,”…
This story was originally published Jan. 9, 2014 in the Charleston Daily Mail. It won “Best Lifestyles Feature” at the 2015 West Virginia Press Association Awards. Fists wrapped and gloves tied, tomorrow night Zac Jones, the often-troubled son of Charleston mayor Danny Jones, will duck…