Proud to be a West Virginian Montani Semper Liberi ... Mountaineers Are Always Free These words adorn the state flag and state seal of the Great State of West Virginia. Yes, that state that continually comes in last in every statistic kept by the federal government. We're last (or next to last) in just about every failing of humankind ... obesity, tobacco use, high school graduation rate,and teen pregnancy. You name it; we're number one or number fifty, depending upon your perspective. West Virginia is one of the poorest states in America. Our median income wouldn't buy a cheeseburger, fries, and a coke in New York City. Our elected politicians are, by and large, good ole boys. We're the butts of many a joke around the country. The largest employer in the state IS the state. The largest single city in West Virginia barely has 50,000 people. We're mostly known for coal mining, yet the lion's share of dollars from mining leaves the state, and ends up in the hands of the land barons living elsewhere. No United States Presidents were born in West Virginia. I don't even believe any Vice Presidents were born here; but we are the home of Senator Robert C. Byrd. West Virginia doesn't have a professional sports team. We're not big enough. We don't have any major TV markets that would be attractive to any owners. We don't have any national monuments ... no Grand Canyon, or Mount Rushmore, or even a Disney World; no NASCAR tracks (yet), no Great Lakes, no international airports, no Opryland, no sky needles, no eight lane highways, no beaches, no Ivy League colleges. We don't have any skyscrapers, or worldfamous vacation spots, or motion picture studios, or amber waves of grain; no subways, no Emmy Awards, no Mardi Gras, and no Rose Bowl Parade. With all of the things West Virginia doesn't have, why would anyone bother living here, you ask? Well ...West Virginia has some things that a person doesn't realize they wanted until they were here. West Virginia has mountains. The Appalachian Mountains extend from New York to Georgia, but in no state are they more majestic, or part of the renown, than in West Virginia. The highest point in West Virginia is Spruce Knob, one mile above sea level. Yes, there are higher points in America, but none more beautiful. Because of our mountains, we have rivers. The oldest river in the Western Hemisphere, the New River (quite appropriately named, don't you think) endsin West Virginia. We have the Gauley river, which confluences with the New River in a magnificent cascade to form the Kanawha River, which in turn flows through the center of the state, and directly through the capital city of Charleston, the largest city in West Virginia. These rivers in addition to the Cheat, Blackwater, Tygart, Monongahela, and countless others offer tremendous recreational opportunities. The tallest building in Charleston is barely 25 floors tall, which, if you think about it, is a plus; how could you possibly build a skyscraper more beautiful than a mountain? The capital city stretches throughout the long river valley, encompassing both hill and dale. The Charleston airport, the Charleston, including the entire population of the Kanawha Valley (around 200,000), reflects that of the entire state ... the lowest in America. No more than a handful of murders are committed each year. Charleston has no subway systems, but, truth be known, you can get from one end of town to other, even in rush hour traffic, in less than ten minutes. There are threemajor interstate systems going through Charleston, the smallest city in America to make such a claim. The entire state has six different interstate systems, meaning, from Charleston, you can reach Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Louisville or Charlotte in four hours or less. Ah, but, once you leave the interstates, the drive becomes a thing of wonder. Two lane roads, winding up and down the mountains, offer amazing views and historic places ... small towns, poor in wealth but rich in history. West Virginia is the birthplace of Mother's Day, in Grafton; Father's Day, in Fairmont. We have the oldest covered bridge still in use. We have walnut festivals and strawberry festivals and apple festivals and pumpkin festivals and buckwheat festivals, and arts and crafts fairs and stern wheel regattas and ramp dinners. We have Bridge Day, on the New River Gorge bridge over 800 feet above the New River; the only standing structure in the United States that, one day a year, allows parachuting and bungee jumping. We have college basketball, and minor league baseball and hockey, and, like all of America, Friday night high school football. We have white water rafting, and skiing, and hiking, and caves, and waterfalls, and camping in every direction. We have Sundays where a leisurely drive in the car can take eight hours, and only cover 100 miles. We have bed and breakfasts, and resorts, and golf courses, and museums, and the Greenbrier Hotel. West Virginia has more natural beauty and wonder than any person could ever imagine. We have all of this, and yet ... our greatest asset is our people. West Virginians are good people. We care about each other. We talk to our neighbors over the backyard fence. We grow tomatoes for the entire neighborhood. We turn around in each other's driveways, and yell "howdy" when we do. We sit on the porch on warm summer evenings, listening to crickets, and watching kids catch fireflies. We loan a hammer, or a cup of sugar. We don't take two-hour lunches, but we do spend a few minutes each day with a cup of coffee, and our feet up on our desk, shooting the breeze. We rarely get in a hurry. We have relatives just down the street. We don't just loan someone a socket wrench, we help them fix their car. We share recipes, and gardening tips, and our last cup of coffee. We baby sit each other's kids, we house sit for each other's dogs while we're on vacation, and we loan each other our cars if we have to get to the drug store. We ask each other if we need anything as we're going to the market. We celebrate each other's accomplishments, and we cry over each other's disappointments. We are a friendly folk. We are West Virginians. Mountaineers are always free. Free to take the time to enjoy life, and hold each moment in our hearts, forever. West Virginia IS Almost Heaven!!!!! On a pleasant, short-sleeved afternoon in Morgantown, W.Va., under a brilliant, almost cloudless sky, a shaggy-haired, bespectacled John Denver ambled toward the 50-yard line to, in effect, christen the new 50,000-seat Mountaineer Field, home of West Virginia football team. It was September 6, 1980, and the university wanted to do something special to introduce both its new stadium and a young first-year WVU coach named Don Nehlen. So Denver was invited to sing one of his signature songs - "Country Roads" - during pregame festivities. Denver, who died in 1997, accepted the invitation apparently under the impression that he would perform a quick novelty gig, hop off his helicopter, take an escorted ride into the stadium, sing "Country Roads" and then bail out. But that's not exactly what happened. Denver entered the stadium and found his microphone at the center of the field, amidst the 325-member Mountaineer Band, which around him had formed an outline of the state of West Virginia. Then as he crooned the opening lyrics - "Almost heaven, West Virginia" - Denver was joined by about 50,000 backup singers. Those who were there say the crowd's collective voice swelled to a climax at the conclusion: "Country roads, take me home, to a place where I belong. West Virginia, Mountain Momma. Take me home, country roads" . Those attending also say that when Denver finished his song, he gazed in all directions - perhaps dumbfounded at the reaction. Some among the crowd wept. Most just cheered for a long time. "I'm pretty sure he had no idea what that song means to this state," said Dan Miller, an executive with the West Virginia Coal Association and an unofficial Mountaineer football historian. "I was stationed in Germany in 1971 the first time I heard 'Country Roads,' and I'm not ashamed to say that while I was listening I started crying," Miller said. "It means a lot when you come from a place that most people don't appreciate or understand. And here's someone singing about its beauty." West Virginians, you see, feel they're underdogs - almost always fighting an uphill battle. Economists tell West Virginians it's tough for their state to prosper, because the mountains are so steep and rugged that land development is a challenge. Educators used to say it was tough for many West Virginia children to get ahead, because transportation to schools was difficult and winters are harsh. In the sports realm, there annually aren't many young top-tier athletes in the state, in part because most schools are small and competition is not as daunting as in denser population areas. There are, of course, exceptions - many of them. Native West Virginia athletes include Jerry West (basketball), John Kruk (baseball) and Mary Lou Retton (gymnastics). Author Pearl Buck was a West Virginian; so was Tuskegee Institute founder Booker T. Washington. Nobel Prize winning mathematician John Nash was from West Virginia. So is country singer Brad Paisley. Actor Don Knotts is from the Mountain State, as is actress Jennifer Garner, who still speaks fondly of the "hillers" and "creekers" from her alma mater, George Washington High School in Charleston. Most have spoken of both loving life, and overcoming tough times, in West Virginia. So when Denver sang about Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah River, it doesn't matter to most West Virginians that the Blue Ridge is primarily a Virginia-North Carolina strand and the Shenandoah runs only a few miles through their state's Eastern Panhandle. To people who have lived their lives fighting uphill battles, hearing someone tell them their home is "almost heaven" was more than music to their ears. West Virginians love their state. INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA: West Virginia is the only state to be created from another state (Virginia...in 1863). Berkeley Springs, a resort town, has more massage therapists than lawyers. Berkeley Springs is the only place in the US to boast: "George Washington bathed here." West Virginia has had the nation's lowest crime rate for the past 26 years. During the Cold War, a sprawling 112,000 sq. ft. bomb shelter was built to shelter members of Congress in the event of a nuclear attack. It's located beneath the famous Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV. White Sulphur Springs has the only private residence in the US that is made out of coal. The city of Bluefield, WV bills itself as "America's Air-conditioned City." They back up their boast by serving free lemonade anytime the temperature reaches 90! degrees. St. Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton was the site of the first Mother's Day celebration in 1908. Two West Virginia men have built castles for their wives. Stephen Elkins built "Halliehurst" in 1890 for his wife Hallie Davis Elkins...the only woman in American history to be the daughter, the wife, and the mother of a US senator. In 1885, whiskey distiller Taylor Suite began building Berkeley Castle for his new bride, Rosa Pelham, who was 31 years his junior. He died in 1908, a year before the project was finished. Rosa completed the castle but went on tosquander her inheritance on extravagant living and wild parties and ended up losing the castle and living in a shack and raising chickens to make ends meet. Philippi, WV was the site of the first land battle of the Civil War. The first officer killed in the Civil War was General Robert S. Garnett (Confederate) at Corricks Ford (Near Parsons in Tucker Co). In 1921, West Virginia became the first state to have a sales tax. The mother of Abraham Lincoln, Nancy Hanks, was born near Romney, WV. The largest single shipment of matches...20 railroad cars full...was sent from Wheeling, WV to Memphis, TN in 1933. In 1947, Chuck Yeager, a native of Hamlin, WV, became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound. The Old Stone Church, in Lewisburg, was built in 1796 while George Washington was President and has been in continuous service ever since. (It is Presbyterian) At the end of the "Guilded Age" in the late 1890's, the town of Bramwell, WV had more millionaires per square mile than any other city in the US. Many of their mansions have been restored and can be visited by the public. With an average altitude of 1,500 feet, WV is the highest state east of the Mississippi. The first brick street in the world was laid in the city of Charleston in 1873. The first concrete street in the world was laid in the town of Webster Springs, WV in 1903. Indirect artillery fire (action against an unseen target) was used for the first time in military history at the Battle of Fayetteville on May 20, 1863 by a 19-year old Confederate, Sgt. Milton Humphreys. Virtually all modern artillery fire is now indirect fire. James Ramsey of Shepardstown, WV invented the first steamboat. After he died suddenly in England, while raising funds for his project, his friend, Robert Fulton, took his plans and completed the work and is now credited with the invention of the first steamboat. In 1956, Cecil Underwood (age 34) became the youngest governor in the US. In 1996, Underwood ran again and became the oldest governor in WV. He died today, November 24, 2008 at the age of 86. The hardwood flooring in the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York was manufactured by the Meadow River Lumber Co. of Rainelle, WV. West Virginia has the oddest shape of any state. This was because Union officials, during the Civil War, arranged all the pro-Union counties of Virginia into a state which then seceded from that Confederate State. Mingo County, WV, the Heart of the Billion Dollar Coal Field is home of the "Coal House", which holds the Chamber of Commerce. It is located in the county seat, Williamson and is constructed entirely of local coal cut into blocks.
Proud to be a West Virginian Montani Semper Liberi ... Mountaineers Are Always Free
These words adorn the state flag and state seal of the Great State of West Virginia. Yes, that state that continually comes in last in every statistic kept by the federal government. We're last (or next to last) in just about every failing of humankind ... obesity, tobacco use, high school graduation rate,and teen pregnancy. You name it; we're number one or number fifty, depending upon your perspective. West Virginia is one of the poorest states in America. Our median income wouldn't buy a cheeseburger, fries, and a coke in New York City. Our elected politicians are, by and large, good ole boys. We're the butts of many a joke around the country. The largest employer in the state IS the state. The largest single city in West Virginia barely has 50,000 people. We're mostly known for coal mining, yet the lion's share of dollars from mining leaves the state, and ends up in the hands of the land barons living elsewhere. No United States Presidents were born in West Virginia. I don't even believe any Vice Presidents were born here; but we are the home of Senator Robert C. Byrd. West Virginia doesn't have a professional sports team. We're not big enough. We don't have any major TV markets that would be attractive to any owners. We don't have any national monuments ... no Grand Canyon, or Mount Rushmore, or even a Disney World; no NASCAR tracks (yet), no Great Lakes, no international airports, no Opryland, no sky needles, no eight lane highways, no beaches, no Ivy League colleges. We don't have any skyscrapers, or worldfamous vacation spots, or motion picture studios, or amber waves of grain; no subways, no Emmy Awards, no Mardi Gras, and no Rose Bowl Parade. With all of the things West Virginia doesn't have, why would anyone bother living here, you ask? Well ...West Virginia has some things that a person doesn't realize they wanted until they were here. West Virginia has mountains. The Appalachian Mountains extend from New York to Georgia, but in no state are they more majestic, or part of the renown, than in West Virginia. The highest point in West Virginia is Spruce Knob, one mile above sea level. Yes, there are higher points in America, but none more beautiful. Because of our mountains, we have rivers. The oldest river in the Western Hemisphere, the New River (quite appropriately named, don't you think) endsin West Virginia. We have the Gauley river, which confluences with the New River in a magnificent cascade to form the Kanawha River, which in turn flows through the center of the state, and directly through the capital city of Charleston, the largest city in West Virginia. These rivers in addition to the Cheat, Blackwater, Tygart, Monongahela, and countless others offer tremendous recreational opportunities. The tallest building in Charleston is barely 25 floors tall, which, if you think about it, is a plus; how could you possibly build a skyscraper more beautiful than a mountain? The capital city stretches throughout the long river valley, encompassing both hill and dale. The Charleston airport, the Charleston, including the entire population of the Kanawha Valley (around 200,000), reflects that of the entire state ... the lowest in America. No more than a handful of murders are committed each year. Charleston has no subway systems, but, truth be known, you can get from one end of town to other, even in rush hour traffic, in less than ten minutes. There are threemajor interstate systems going through Charleston, the smallest city in America to make such a claim. The entire state has six different interstate systems, meaning, from Charleston, you can reach Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Louisville or Charlotte in four hours or less. Ah, but, once you leave the interstates, the drive becomes a thing of wonder. Two lane roads, winding up and down the mountains, offer amazing views and historic places ... small towns, poor in wealth but rich in history. West Virginia is the birthplace of Mother's Day, in Grafton; Father's Day, in Fairmont. We have the oldest covered bridge still in use. We have walnut festivals and strawberry festivals and apple festivals and pumpkin festivals and buckwheat festivals, and arts and crafts fairs and stern wheel regattas and ramp dinners. We have Bridge Day, on the New River Gorge bridge over 800 feet above the New River; the only standing structure in the United States that, one day a year, allows parachuting and bungee jumping.
We have college basketball, and minor league baseball and hockey, and, like all of America, Friday night high school football. We have white water rafting, and skiing, and hiking, and caves, and waterfalls, and camping in every direction. We have Sundays where a leisurely drive in the car can take eight hours, and only cover 100 miles. We have bed and breakfasts, and resorts, and golf courses, and museums, and the Greenbrier Hotel. West Virginia has more natural beauty and wonder than any person could ever imagine. We have all of this, and yet ... our greatest asset is our people. West Virginians are good people. We care about each other. We talk to our neighbors over the backyard fence. We grow tomatoes for the entire neighborhood. We turn around in each other's driveways, and yell "howdy" when we do. We sit on the porch on warm summer evenings, listening to crickets, and watching kids catch fireflies. We loan a hammer, or a cup of sugar. We don't take two-hour lunches, but we do spend a few minutes each day with a cup of coffee, and our feet up on our desk, shooting the breeze. We rarely get in a hurry. We have relatives just down the street. We don't just loan someone a socket wrench, we help them fix their car. We share recipes, and gardening tips, and our last cup of coffee. We baby sit each other's kids, we house sit for each other's dogs while we're on vacation, and we loan each other our cars if we have to get to the drug store. We ask each other if we need anything as we're going to the market. We celebrate each other's accomplishments, and we cry over each other's disappointments. We are a friendly folk. We are West Virginians. Mountaineers are always free. Free to take the time to enjoy life, and hold each moment in our hearts, forever.
West Virginia IS Almost Heaven!!!!!
On a pleasant, short-sleeved afternoon in Morgantown, W.Va., under a brilliant, almost cloudless sky, a shaggy-haired, bespectacled John Denver ambled toward the 50-yard line to, in effect, christen the new 50,000-seat Mountaineer Field, home of West Virginia football team. It was September 6, 1980, and the university wanted to do something special to introduce both its new stadium and a young first-year WVU coach named Don Nehlen. So Denver was invited to sing one of his signature songs - "Country Roads" - during pregame festivities. Denver, who died in 1997, accepted the invitation apparently under the impression that he would perform a quick novelty gig, hop off his helicopter, take an escorted ride into the stadium, sing "Country Roads" and then bail out. But that's not exactly what happened. Denver entered the stadium and found his microphone at the center of the field, amidst the 325-member Mountaineer Band, which around him had formed an outline of the state of West Virginia. Then as he crooned the opening lyrics - "Almost heaven, West Virginia" - Denver was joined by about 50,000 backup singers. Those who were there say the crowd's collective voice swelled to a climax at the conclusion: "Country roads, take me home, to a place where I belong. West Virginia, Mountain Momma. Take me home, country roads" . Those attending also say that when Denver finished his song, he gazed in all directions - perhaps dumbfounded at the reaction. Some among the crowd wept. Most just cheered for a long time. "I'm pretty sure he had no idea what that song means to this state," said Dan Miller, an executive with the West Virginia Coal Association and an unofficial Mountaineer football historian. "I was stationed in Germany in 1971 the first time I heard 'Country Roads,' and I'm not ashamed to say that while I was listening I started crying," Miller said. "It means a lot when you come from a place that most people don't appreciate or understand. And here's someone singing about its beauty." West Virginians, you see, feel they're underdogs - almost always fighting an uphill battle. Economists tell West Virginians it's tough for their state to prosper, because the mountains are so steep and rugged that land development is a challenge. Educators used to say it was tough for many West Virginia children to get ahead, because transportation to schools was difficult and winters are harsh. In the sports realm, there annually aren't many young top-tier athletes in the state, in part because most schools are small and competition is not as daunting as in denser population areas. There are, of course, exceptions - many of them. Native West Virginia athletes include Jerry West (basketball), John Kruk (baseball) and Mary Lou Retton (gymnastics). Author Pearl Buck was a West Virginian; so was Tuskegee Institute founder Booker T. Washington. Nobel Prize winning mathematician John Nash was from West Virginia. So is country singer Brad Paisley. Actor Don Knotts is from the Mountain State, as is actress Jennifer Garner, who still speaks fondly of the "hillers" and "creekers" from her alma mater, George Washington High School in Charleston. Most have spoken of both loving life, and overcoming tough times, in West Virginia. So when Denver sang about Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah River, it doesn't matter to most West Virginians that the Blue Ridge is primarily a Virginia-North Carolina strand and the Shenandoah runs only a few miles through their state's Eastern Panhandle. To people who have lived their lives fighting uphill battles, hearing someone tell them their home is "almost heaven" was more than music to their ears. West Virginians love their state.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT WEST VIRGINIA:
West Virginia is the only state to be created from another state (Virginia...in 1863). Berkeley Springs, a resort town, has more massage therapists than lawyers. Berkeley Springs is the only place in the US to boast: "George Washington bathed here." West Virginia has had the nation's lowest crime rate for the past 26 years.
During the Cold War, a sprawling 112,000 sq. ft. bomb shelter was built to shelter members of Congress in the event of a nuclear attack. It's located beneath the famous Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, WV. White Sulphur Springs has the only private residence in the US that is made out of coal. The city of Bluefield, WV bills itself as "America's Air-conditioned City." They back up their boast by serving free lemonade anytime the temperature reaches 90! degrees. St. Andrews Methodist Church in Grafton was the site of the first Mother's Day celebration in 1908. Two West Virginia men have built castles for their wives. Stephen Elkins built "Halliehurst" in 1890 for his wife Hallie Davis Elkins...the only woman in American history to be the daughter, the wife, and the mother of a US senator. In 1885, whiskey distiller Taylor Suite began building Berkeley Castle for his new bride, Rosa Pelham, who was 31 years his junior. He died in 1908, a year before the project was finished. Rosa completed the castle but went on tosquander her inheritance on extravagant living and wild parties and ended up losing the castle and living in a shack and raising chickens to make ends meet. Philippi, WV was the site of the first land battle of the Civil War. The first officer killed in the Civil War was General Robert S. Garnett (Confederate) at Corricks Ford (Near Parsons in Tucker Co). In 1921, West Virginia became the first state to have a sales tax.
The mother of Abraham Lincoln, Nancy Hanks, was born near Romney, WV. The largest single shipment of matches...20 railroad cars full...was sent from Wheeling, WV to Memphis, TN in 1933. In 1947, Chuck Yeager, a native of Hamlin, WV, became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound. The Old Stone Church, in Lewisburg, was built in 1796 while George Washington was President and has been in continuous service ever since. (It is Presbyterian) At the end of the "Guilded Age" in the late 1890's, the town of Bramwell, WV had more millionaires per square mile than any other city in the US. Many of their mansions have been restored and can be visited by the public. With an average altitude of 1,500 feet, WV is the highest state east of the Mississippi. The first brick street in the world was laid in the city of Charleston in 1873. The first concrete street in the world was laid in the town of Webster Springs, WV in 1903. Indirect artillery fire (action against an unseen target) was used for the first time in military history at the Battle of Fayetteville on May 20, 1863 by a 19-year old Confederate, Sgt. Milton Humphreys. Virtually all modern artillery fire is now indirect fire. James Ramsey of Shepardstown, WV invented the first steamboat. After he died suddenly in England, while raising funds for his project, his friend, Robert Fulton, took his plans and completed the work and is now credited with the invention of the first steamboat. In 1956, Cecil Underwood (age 34) became the youngest governor in the US. In 1996, Underwood ran again and became the oldest governor in WV. He died today, November 24, 2008 at the age of 86. The hardwood flooring in the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York was manufactured by the Meadow River Lumber Co. of Rainelle, WV. West Virginia has the oddest shape of any state. This was because Union officials, during the Civil War, arranged all the pro-Union counties of Virginia into a state which then seceded from that Confederate State. Mingo County, WV, the Heart of the Billion Dollar Coal Field is home of the "Coal House", which holds the Chamber of Commerce. It is located in the county seat, Williamson and is constructed entirely of local coal cut into blocks.