WV Living Fall 2019

FALL 19

SCREECH OWL BREWING | FORGE ON | MAYOR GOODWIN

ER D N O W N E M O W

From 2 019 E W R B S o t t o S B K &B O s BO

class of»

Fall is in the Wings÷

VOLUME 12

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ISSUE 3

Fall 2019 features

ZACK HAROLD

86

94

In Living Color

West Virginia’s Wonder Women

Amy Goodwin is working to make Charleston vibrant again.

Building a better state by bringing the mountain spirit to everything they do— meet our 2019 Wonder Women.

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VOLUME 12

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ISSUE 3

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53 discover 14 Artist Jewelry designer Teresa Young crafts wearable art.

15 Event Park thanks patrons with end-of- season festival.

16 Made in WV West Virginia’s only

brick manufacturer is still standing strong after 100 years.

18 Book A WVU professor’s latest book covers

the Bundy family’s challenge to the government and the rise of the Patriot movement.

19 Sounds Music lovers seek to make north- central West Virginia a hotspot for jazz.

20 Something New The West Virginia

Small Business Development Center helps businesses grow.

21 Good News The historic Bluefield Inn becomes a respite for women who are caregivers of children with special needs.

23 Shop Lewisburg’s independent bookstore is turning the page on the popularity of big-box online retail establishments.

26 Shop The perfectly preserved company store at Cass provides more than just a history lesson.

28 Mom and Pop Stops Broadway

Sandwich Shop in Parkersburg is a local favorite.

30 Power Partners Gene and

Maura Kistler, co-founders of Water Stone Outdoors.

6 wvl • fall 2019

44

32 32 Country Roads Miller’s Nightmare

live

38 Events This fall, celebrate West Virginia at

65 Away This bed and breakfast near Cass

taste

67 Thrills Escape rooms have exploded in

Haunted Farm brings out the macabre. one of its unique outdoor events.

Scenic Railroad is a great base for exploring the area’s attractions.

40 Makers Freefolk Brewery makes a

popularity across the region.

44 Libations Mario’s Fishbowl has been

students a unique and meaningful thrill.

monumental investment in Fayetteville.

72 Out Loud Marching on the field gives WVU

filling Morgantown’s glasses for more than half a century.

75 Creatively These artisans forge

45 Restaurant In just four years, Screech

81 History As West Virginia’s first capital city

Owl Brewing in Preston County has gone from a couple’s hopeful, all-in risk to a thriving local hangout and international craft beer destination.

utilitarian works of art.

marks its semiquincentennial, we’re taking a look at five places in the city that have shaped its past and its future.

50 Restaurant Martinsburg’s Brix 27 spotlights both food and wine.

53 This Area bed and breakfasts share their favorite breakfast recipes.

60 Vittles Bologna sandwiches are making a comeback! We are giving a high five to these favorites.

62 Memorable Meals Our editor eats her way through West Virginia.

ON THE COVER Local hangouts, like Mario’s Fishbowl, are important community builders.

Photo by Katie Hanlon

editor’s letter Wheeling is celebrating 250 years! Add a Wheeling flag to your collection. I purchased mine at the Wheeling Artisan Center.

in Cuzzart. You’ll Join us at find Screech Owl the Brewing (page 45). It’s like Duck WONDER WO ME N Dynasty meets LUNCHEON Cheers. This Preston County family is brewing up some seriously good beers and some delicious comfort food in an atmosphere that makes you feel like everyone knows your name.

And then there’s Freefolk in Fayetteville (page 40). This artful new craft brewery is the brainchild of sculptor Jamie Lester and his Vandalia Bronze partner Jeff Edwards and has quickly become a local favorite. If wine is more to your liking, then head to Martinsburg’s Brix 27 (page 50). This wine bar and restaurant is something straight out of Napa Valley.

And if that weren’t enough places to fuel your fall cravings, we visit local institutions like Mario’s Fishbowl in Morgantown (page 44), the Cass Company Store in Cass (page 26), and Broadway Sandwich Shop in Parkersburg (page 28). We even share our five favorite bologna sandwiches (page 60).

If you haven’t worked up an appetite by the time you get through this magazine, then something is wrong with you.

Putting all fun and games aside, food is vital to our survival. Sadly, we have people in our state who are hungry and who do not have access to healthy foods—many of whom are children. While working on an article for the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition on page 42, I was moved to tears.

A new program called SNAP Stretch has been introduced around the state in an effort to get more fruits and vegetables into the hands and tummies of SNAP recipients. This is a fantastic program that not only provides West Virginians with healthier food options, but also supports our local farmers. Please read this article and help spread the word.

2019

Ready to feel wonderful? Delve into this

issue, and I guarantee you’ll have the warm fuzzies. We bring you our sixth annual class of West Virginia Wonder Women (page 94).

I’m always inspired by our Wonder Women’s drive, dedication, and compassion.

I was thrilled to learn about two women in particular who are honored in this issue. One, I spent many junior high slumber parties stretched out on her bedroom floor listening to Prince’s Purple Rain cassette play over and over in her boom box. Yes, a cassette. And yes, a boom box.

I’m talking about you, Tricia Clendenen Kingery.

Her mother was my seventh and ninth grade English teacher, and to this day I can still rattle off all the prepositions and prepositional phrases in a sing-songy way that would make even Prince proud. And today, her sunshine soul is evident in everything she does—from her consulting firm Kingery & Company to The Retreat.

And when I saw Julie Tawney Warden’s name as one of our chosen few, I immediately exclaimed, “Julie Baby!” I babysat this red-headed sprite from her infant days to toddlerhood, always calling her “Julie Baby.” She probably doesn’t remember this, but when I would rock her to sleep, I’d sing—you guessed it—Prince. I’m proud of all of the women in this issue, but particularly these two dynamos because I remember them when ...

Speaking of inspiring women, we go behind the scenes with Charleston’s Mayor Amy Goodwin—also a 2014 West Virginia Wonder Woman (page 86). Her energy is electrifying. I hope her story inspires more women to step into leadership positions.

Does fall make you hungry or thirsty?

We’ve got some awesome places for you to visit. You must go to Chicken Lips Farm

8 wvl • fall 2019

ITEMS PURCHASED

IN THE MAKING OF THIS ISSUE Chocolate. No magazine is ever completed without a healthy dose of chocolate. This Chocolate West Virginia Sucker is made by Candies by Linda in Buckhannon. $2.50 304.472.0898

Every writer needs a plate like this one, handcrafted by Full Circle Ceramic in Huntington. $56 fullcircleceramic.com Have you ever eaten pawpaws? They taste a bit like mangoes.

This Pawpaw Butter

by In a Jam! makes me want to plant pawpaw trees. $5 inajamwv.com

I’m a sucker for stickers.

Love this one from Lost River Trading Post in Wardensville. $2 lostrivertradingpost.com

Be wonderful!

NIKKI BOWMAN MILLS, Editor Follow us on

,

,

, and

.

facebook.com/wvliving twitter.com/wvliving pinterest.com/wvliving instagram @wvliving #wvliving

And in case I get lost while chopping onions, this West Virginia–shaped bamboo board from Bella The Corner Gourmet will help me find home. $29.99 bellathecornergourmet.com

letters to the editor

A Plentiful Harvest

Our Summer ’19 issue featured “Harvesting Hope” about Fruits of Labor, a business that uses the power of food to help those recovering from addiction.

I love everything they offer! I visit the Alderson Community Market every Tuesday to buy their goods.

YUM! sojourn smitten, via Facebook

Paint the Town

We also showcased a beautiful Charles Town mural (“Mural by the Masses,” Summer ’19) made by a Philadelphia artist and local volunteers.

If we all only hired local artists, the jobs for artists would run out fast. I like that an artist with a fresh perspective came in and did this artwork, plus it’s beautiful and well-crafted. margaret bruning, via Facebook

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Take the Scenic Route

The revitalized Lovers Lane boardwalk (Summer ’19, “Reconstructing the Past, Building the Future”) is making strides in Webster Springs.

Great job! Love walking on the Lovers Lane boardwalk. sammie gillespie allman, via Facebook Good WV Living magazine read about an Applachian community coming together and embracing local assets! appalachian regional commission, via Facebook

Power to the Partners

Summer power partners Paul Yandura and Donald Hitchcock—co-founders of Lost River Trading Post, Wardensville Garden Market, and more—got a lot of love from readers.

H

letters to the editor

“And, our farm

is now certified organic! Y’all come visit.” wardensville garden market, via Facebook

H

Very good farm produce and bakery. I always stop by on my way to the cabin and on my way back to D.C. maria strylowski, via Facebook Best scones ever! Stop every time I am headed through. Love the story and the market. amie harper labrozzi, via Facebook

Well said. You all have brought a lot to this little town. The learning for the students and area locals has been great.

Thank you. cheryl d. anderson, via Facebook Love shopping at your store and market.

Great article! diane collis, via Facebook

Let us hear from you. We want to know what you think about the magazine, and we’d love to hear your suggestions.

Email: info@newsouthmediainc.com Call: 304.413.0104 Mail: 709 Beechurst Avenue, Suite 14A, Morgantown, WV 26505 Take WV Living with you:

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VOLUME 12, ISSUE 3 Published by

New South Media, Inc. 709 Beechurst Ave., Suite 14A Morgantown, WV 26505

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EDITOR

Nikki Bowman Mills, nikki@newsouthmediainc.com

ART DIRECTOR

MANAGING EDITOR

Zack Harold, zack@newsouthmediainc.com

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Pam Kasey, pam@newsouthmediainc.com

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Jess Walker, jess@newsouthmediainc.com

OPERATIONS MANAGER

WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

STRATEGIST CONTRIBUTORS

Carla Witt Ford, carla@newsouthmediainc.com

Holly Thubron, holly@newsouthmediainc.com Savannah Carr, savannah@newsouthmediainc.com Buddy Butler, buddy@newsouthmediainc.com Brenda Kissko, Kate Mishkin, Josephine Moore, Emilie Shumway

Carla Witt Ford, Zack Harold, Katie Hanlon, Nikki Bowman Mills, Lydia Reed

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INTERNS

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Frequency: Quarterly. Copyright: New South Media, Inc. Reproduction in part or whole is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of the publisher. © 2019 New South Media, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

12 wvl • fall 2019

Discover WEST VIRGINIA IS A PL ACE OF BOUNDLESS DISCOVERY. HERE’S YOUR GUIDE.

Fall into the Season

LYDIA REED

From Clarksburg to Martinsburg to Lewisburg, discover old stories getting new chapters at these great stops across the state.

PICTURED: MILLER’S NIGHTMARE HAUNTED FARM, PAGE 32.

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discover ››

AR T I S T

A True Gem teresa young’s career path starts with a necklace. And it wasn’t one that she made or wore. About a decade ago, she saw a young woman making a necklace, and was completely taken with it. She thought, “I can do that.”

“I had my aha moment,” she says. So she ran out and bought supplies: some beads to make necklaces. She took to YouTube and started teaching herself to make jewelry. The next project: a slab of sterling silver she spent $400 on. “I thought, I have to do something with this now,” she says.

She’s gotten good at it. Really good.

Now, she makes jewelry as a full-time career from her home in Culloden, which allows her to take care of her 30-year-old son, Matthew, who has Down syndrome. She’s a Tamarack artist whose work is sold at the 14 wvl • fall 2019

Putnam County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Huntington Museum of Art, festivals around the state, and on her website. She also maintains Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages under her business name, Teresa Gail Designs. This fall, she has events at Etsy West Virginia and J.Q. Dickinson Salt-Works.

When she started making jewelry, Young was pretty much only making jewelry for special occasions, like proms and weddings. Her client base has grown, as have her designs and materials. She uses sterling silver, copper, bronze, and brass and incorporates polished gemstones. From sterling silver dogwood flowers etched with exquisite detail to vibrant copper enamel earrings to sterling silver and pearl necklaces with uniquely designed pendants, her designs are wearable art.

Asked to describe her style, she takes a second to think, before laughing. “I have a vast array of styles,” she said. “I love rustic, contemporary, modern. I do it all.”

The hardest part of life as a jewelry artist?

She says, “Balancing the time between making, selling, and taking care of Matthew.”

The best part? The customers.

This summer, Young was selling at Symphony Sunday in Charleston when a woman walked up to her and said, “I love everything here.” The customer couldn’t decide which piece to buy. “It just confirms yeah, I’m doing the right thing,” Young says. teresagaildesigns.com

written by kate

mishkin

KELLI DAILEY

Jewelry designer Teresa Young crafts wearable art.

‹‹ discover

EVENT

A Great Fest

JOEY HERRON

Park thanks patrons with end-of-season festival. as the season for tailgates and football games morphs into a time for skiing and cozying up by the fire, employees at Beech Fork State Park are preparing to once again end the season on a high note with their annual Heron Festival.

Named for the Great Blue Heron, the park’s unofficial mascot, Heron Fest will take place Saturday, October 12 and feature live entertainment, crafts, free pontoon boat rides, food, games, and more.

“It’s really the traditional end of the season,” says Beech Fork Assistant Superintendent David Pruitt.

“It’s our celebration for having a good season, and it’s our way of giving back to the folks that support us all year long.”

He added that the weather typically tends to turn south in the days following the festival, making the day even more special for those looking to stretch their legs before retreating back to their homes to hibernate for the winter.

The event regularly attracts upwards of 2,500 people each year from across the Tri-State.

Pruitt says everyone comes to the park looking for something different.

“In the modern-day society when everybody’s staring at a screen, it gives you a chance to get out, enjoy nature, enjoy all that we have, and experience new things or reexperience things that folks haven’t seen since their childhood,” he says.

Beech Fork State Park is located in the southwestern section of West Virginia, near Barboursville and Huntington, and is easily accessible from Interstate 64. 304.528.5794, beechforksp.com written by josephine

moore

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M A DE IN W V

Brick and Mortar

West Virginia’s only brick manufacturer is still standing strong after 100 years. if you were looking to build a house in the 1830s, you had a few options.

You could use limestone, the gravelly, sedimentary rock. Or you could use big American chestnut trees. But both were challenging. Limestone was heavy and hard to cut, and human activity and disease were taking a toll on the number of chestnut trees available.

Enter brick, a lighter material that was easier to make and easier to transport. Nearly 200 years later, brick remains just as popular, says Jeff Hollis. He would know. He’s worked at West Virginia’s only brick manufacturer, Continental Brick Company in 16 wvl • fall 2019

Martinsburg, for 46 years as an office clerk, dispatcher, and general employee—he says the company doesn’t care much for titles, and that he’s “jack of all trades, master of none.” A century after its founding, Continental Brick is the last brick manufacturer in the Mountain State.

The company’s roots trace back to 1917, when a local lawyer and newspaper editor named F. Vernon Aler opened the company a little east of Martinsburg on WV Route 9. The company has changed hands and gone through bankruptcy twice—once in the 1920s and once in the 1980s. And the process of making brick has also evolved, from beehive kilns to coal to natural gas.

But the company is still going strong.

Today, Continental makes bricks by grinding shale into a fine material and mixing it with water. The mixture is formed into a long column, sliced into brick-sized chunks, and lifted onto kiln cars that take the brick through a 1900-degree Farenheit kiln. After it cools, the brick is packaged and shipped off. The entire process can take between a week and 10 days.

The company sells to distributors, which then sell the brick from New York to Ontario and as far west as Minnesota and Texas.

“There’s still a good market out there, because there’s a lot less brickyards,” Hollis says.

But it’s competitive. Continental Brick isn’t competing only with other brick companies—

it’s competing with other materials, too, like stucco and fake stone. Hollis says the company has done well because it’s maintained its flexibility. If a client wants a special kind of brick, the company can experiment with colors and shapes and provide that product. He attributes the company’s success to its variety of colors and bricks that can withstand harsh weather.

Continental’s brick clads public and private buildings throughout West Virginia. Many structures on West Virginia University’s Morgantown campus, including the Erickson Alumni Center, as well as Shepherd University’s newer buildings, incorporate this Martinsburgmade product.

One of the company’s recent innovations, Thin Brick—a thinner and less bulky brick—has become extremely popular and is especially useful in smaller places that can’t handle the weight of a full brick, like a smaller interior wall.

Hollis added that the bricks work especially well indoors and are easier to place into walls.

If Hollis were building a house, he’d follow the example of the three little pigs. He wouldn’t use straw, and he wouldn’t use sticks.

He says, “I’d opt for brick—a reliable, sturdy material that’s a good investment.” Brick from Continental Brick, of course. written by kate

mishkin

MICHAEL MILLS

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e r o l p x e

SPONSORED CONTENT

Back in Time

See Wood County’s story unfold before your eyes at these history-rich events.

Volcano Days SEPTEMBER 27–29

The town of Volcano went boom when oil was discovered in 1860. This tiny town, situated on the border of Ritchie and Wood counties, soon was home to the state’s first regular-gauge railroad and its first pipeline—not to mention an opera house and Wood County’s first bathtub, installed at the mansion of Volcano oil tycoon William Cooper Stiles, Jr. Eventually, the boom went bust. The town of Volcano burned to the ground in 1879, never to be rebuilt. Fourteen years later, former residents started holding a yearly reunion—which has now become Volcano Days.

Held each September at Mountwood Park, the event features craft vendors, fair food, live entertainment, and, in a nod to the ghost town’s industrial past, an antique steam and gas engine show.

Guests can also enjoy tractor rides to the site of the Stiles Mansion and the county’s first bathtub. The house is now in ruins, but the history remains. mountwoodpark.org/volcano_ days.html

Mansion by Candlelight OCTOBER 11–12

The Blennerhassetts really didn’t spend much time in West Virginia—only about 10 years—but the mark they left on state history captivates visitors to this day. This is especially true during Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park’s annual Mansion by Candlelight event, which gives moderns a chance to experience one of the island’s opulent early 18th century parties.

The event begins in Belpre, Ohio, where guests board the Island Belle sternwheeler to ferry them across the Ohio River. When they arrive on the island, they walk up a candle-lined path to the mansion—where they are met by docents dressed as Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett, welcoming visitors to their home.

Inside, the mansion is lit by hundreds more candles and populated by ladies in bright silks and tapestries and gentlemen in top hats, long tails, and white gloves. Dancers swirl in the main room of the first floor, accompanied by a musician playing the harpsichord.

Upstairs, guests can eavesdrop on a card game and

peek in on a servant tending a baby in one of the bedchambers.

On their way out of the party, visitors pass the home’s summer kitchen, where servants are cooking and a pair of “salty dogs”—river men spending the night at Blennerhassett Island on their way downstream—are belting out tavern songs.

One of Mansion by Candlelight’s most popular attractions happens a little ways farther down the path.

There, guests find the Blennerhassetts’ servants around bonfire. There’s storytelling, clogging, rowdy folk tunes, and even a couple fortune tellers. You might see a ghostly visage wander past: Each year, a docent portrays Margaret Blennerhassett’s ghost.

The event also features horse-drawn wagon rides and an optional harvest dinner at the island’s picnic shelter.

Spend long enough at the island and you might forget which century you are in.

Tickets are $35 for adults and $25 for children ages 3 to 12. The optional harvest dinner costs $15 per person. wvstateparks.com/park/ blennerhassettislandstatepark.com

Julia-Ann Square Christmas Home Tours DECEMBER 7–8 Coming the first weekend in December, Parkersburg’s JuliaAnn Square Historic District will host its 20th Annual Holiday Tours—providing visitors a peek inside a few of the Queen Anne, Second Empire, and Colonial Revival homes that dot this picturesque neighborhood. The homes will have their halls decked

GREATERPARKERSBURG.COM

for the Christmas season, and homeowners will be on hand to tell about the histories of their abodes.

Self-guided tours are available but, for a truly immersive experience, opt for a tour led by a guide dressed in period-appropriate apparel.

These culminate in a Victorian tea party—though figgy pudding is not included. juliannsquare.org

BO OK

War on the Range A WVU professor’s latest book covers the Bundy family’s challenge to the government and the rise of the Patriot movement. dust swirled across the Nevada desert as the showdown began. On one side, cattle ranchers and the informal militia who had assembled in aid of their fellow citizens bristled. On the other, the government—local sheriffs and federal agents. Both sides heavily armed. This scene isn’t from the wild, wild West. It’s April 2014 and, with their arms, the militia carry cell phones to document the conflict.

18 wvl • fall 2019

Investigative journalist and West Virginia University journalism professor John Temple explores the standoff in his new book, Up in Arms: How the Bundy Family Hijacked Public Lands, Outfoxed the Federal Government, and Ignited America’s Patriot Militia Movement.

Temple’s narrative details the political, social, and economic underpinnings of the confrontation and the Patriot movement that followed, crafting a multi-perspective understanding of the highly publicized event.

In 1993, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) dedicated hundreds of thousands of acres to conservation—acres Bundy family cattle had grazed since the family’s Mormon predecessors settled in the region in the 1800s.

Cliven Bundy declined to pay the resulting fees and fines. To him, the feds were infringing on his Constitutional rights. Twenty-one years later, the BLM decided to seize his herd.

That’s when the Bundys sent out the rallying cry that united strangers from across America.

At the time of the 2014 standoff, Temple was working on a television pilot script set in a fictional world of a militia movement. The reallife Bundys and the Patriot movement came to fascinate him. Cliven Bundy’s son Ammon was transformed by the situation from a successful businessman to a leader of the Patriot movement. And as the presidential campaigns of 2016 increasingly divided the nation, Temple saw that the Bundys checked the two boxes that, for him, point to a good story: a character who takes an interesting journey and is changed by it, and a situation that sheds light on larger issues. He started reporting for Up in Arms in the fall of 2016. “The tendency is to say those people are crazy. That’s reductive,” Temple says.

“It’s way more interesting to talk to people.”

Temple’s half-dozen trips out West ranged

from a few nights to a few weeks—on-theground reporting that animates the book’s vivid descriptions. He slept in a tent at a protesters’ camp outside the jail where Ammon Bundy awaited trial. He interviewed many Bundys and key militia members. Some, unsurprisingly, suspected he worked for the federal government. Others enjoyed chatting about their beliefs. “I never go on a reporting trip without feeling worried about how it’s going to go, and I never come back from a trip without feeling exhilarated,” Temple says.

The resulting book interweaves multiple perspectives so that no group is labeled hero or villain. Readers witness Ammon Bundy’s growing passion for bringing attention to issues he saw as government-inflicted injustices. They plumb the mindsets of BLM workers and sheriffs whose job it was to enforce the law.

Participants come off neither as exaggerated caricatures nor as one-dimensional characters.

They’re simply human. That lesson is crucial for today’s polarized society. “The more we know about each other and the more empathy we can garner for each other, the better off we are,” Temple says.

In an epilogue, Temple recounts his interview with Cliven Bundy. “I’ve been a journalist for more than 25 years, and I’ve never had anything quite like that interview,” Temple says. Bundy asked the questions and led the conversation. “It was really on his terms.” That exemplifies the man. As Temple’s first chapter reads: “For decades, when Cliven Bundy was asked what he would do if the feds came for his cattle, the rancher gave the same answer: Whatever it takes. The phrase was pure Cliven—vaguely challenging, maddeningly ambiguous. Cliven liked to test people.”

Before penning Up In Arms, Temple had already published several nonfiction books.

Extensive research was familiar to him, but the Patriot movement proved unique.

Militia members had created their own media bubble consisting of cell phone videos and online postings. Temple’s book, in part, became a study of what happens when people disengage from mainstream media and rely on information from each other.

Whether readers followed the protests and trials as they happened or this is the first time they’ve heard of the Bundys, Up In Arms is an enthralling story. Every reader will benefit from Temple’s ability to present the complexities of a modern showdown that shocked the nation. written by jess

walker

COURTESY OF JOHN TEMPLE

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‹‹ discover S OU ND S

Giant Steps Music lovers seek to make north-central West Virginia a hotspot for jazz.

COURTESY OF THE WV JAZZ SOCIETY

eric spelsberg and his jazz-loving friends used to complain about having to drive to big cities to hear the artists they loved. Then they changed their tune.

The group—which organized as the West Virginia Jazz Society in 2008—realized all the jazz cities they loved had something in common. New York City, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C., are all within easy driving distance of north-central West Virginia. “The road goes both ways,” says Spelsberg, the society’s president.

Each of those scenes have different sounds.

Atlanta is known for soul jazz, a genre influenced by R&B. New York is known for its hard bop, a more aggressive, free-flowing sound.

That, in the mind of Spelsberg and his friends, gives north-central West Virginia an advantage. By meeting in the middle, jazz fans can hear it all in one place.

The society began hosting concerts around the area and then, a few years later, introduced a different kind of event to Clarksburg. At the inaugural Uptown Jazz Stroll, held in June 2013, the society scattered jazz bands at several venues around town.

That way, instead of having to sit in one theater or club and wait to hear the act they wanted, music lovers could personalize their

experience and hear the artists they wanted for as long as they wanted. It proved so popular, the society started similar events in Elkins, Morgantown, and Weston.

Last October, the group founded Pink Ribbon Concerts to promote breast cancer awareness and support Mon Health’s Neediest Cases Fund, which covers extra expenses such as childcare and lodging for women undergoing treatment for breast cancer. “Having breast cancer is tough enough. To have to have these other struggles doesn’t help your prognosis,” Spelsberg says.

The concert series will return for a second year in 2019. On October 7, The Jakobs Ferry Stragglers with Libby Eddy at Thyme Bistro in Weston. The Pennsylvania-based band plays traditional bluegrass—which isn’t jazz, of course, but isn’t far off. “Jazz and bluegrass share a spirit of improvisation,” Spelsberg says.

On October 11, the society will bring internationally recognized jazz vocalist Sharon Clark to the recently renovated Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center in Clarksburg for a tribute to Nat King Cole.

“The stage is actually bigger than many of the venues we regularly book, so we’re going to have a show on the stage,” Spelsberg says. The audience will be seated at cocktail tables and on risers in the orchestra pit. “It’s gonna be a lot like Austin City Limits, where the artists are in close proximity,” Spelsberg says.

And, like Austin City Limits, the concert will be filmed for later broadcast.

“The more opportunity we provide for people to be exposed to jazz, the better it goes.”

- eric spelsberg

On October 15, El Gran Sabor in Elkins will host The Boss Ladies, an R&B trio led

by Rachael Franks and, on October 18, the Preston County Arts Center in Kingwood will host The Gracie Metheny Band. Metheny is a 15-year-old country singer and guitar player from Elkins who has been performing since she was 5.

The society will also host its annual Holiday Jazz Stroll in Clarksburg on December 3. But this year, instead of taking place only downtown, the musical acts will be scattered across the whole city. And, coming in March 2020, the group is putting together a statewide tour for Dr. Monica Herzig and the SHE-roes, a New York jazz band featuring “some of the absolute top women jazz players anywhere,” Spelsberg says.

The West Virginia Jazz Society’s hope to make the north-central part of the state a jazz hotspot is coming true. “We’re almost to the point where, in this region, if you want to go out and hear good jazz any night of the week, you can do it,” Spelsberg says. “The more opportunity we provide for people to be exposed to jazz, the better it goes.”

But Spelsberg demurs when asked to predict where it will go from here. “When guys sit down to play a jazz song, they call a tune like ‘My Funny Valentine.’ They know that song, but they don’t know where it’s going to end up. Same with us.

“I believe in making the path by walking.” wvjazzsociety.com, “WV Jazz Society” on Facebook written by zack

harold

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S OME T HING NE W

Online Business Coaching The West Virginia Small Business Development Center helps businesses grow.

when it comes to starting a business, often the hardest part is just that: starting. While budding entrepreneurs may have a strong vision of what they’d like to accomplish, bringing that vision to life can be challenging and quite defeating. Luckily, in West Virginia, there is an organization devoted to making the daunting process of beginning a new business just a bit easier—the West Virginia Small Business Development Center (WVSBDC).

The WVSBDC has made its Business Fundamentals classes, which have been offered since 2010 in numerous locations across the state, available for free online. By adding the online class, Debra Miller, WVSBDC’s director, says the center is hoping to extend its reach and make the class more convenient for business owners.

“Even though we try to do the in-person version lots of different places and at different times of the day, it’s still not always possible for someone to get to an in-person class. This allows people to take the class at their convenience any time day or night, as long as they have a computer and internet service,” she says.

Another benefit of the online course, which is comprised of several four-to-five-minute videos, is that it can be broken up into chunks and completed over the course of a day or even a week.

Broken into two sections, the course focuses on two main topics— planning and funding—which Deputy Director Steve Johnson says are the two main areas that can make or break a business. “Most businesses that do fail fail early on, within the first year, and the majority of those fail due to lack of planning or lack of capital,” he says. “This introductory course covers the importance of both of those two items.”

Once the course is complete, the next step for small business owners is to meet with one of the center’s business coaches to help shepherd them through their growth phase. If the course is done online, Miller says the process of being assigned a coach is streamlined and allows individuals to hand pick their own coaches from a list of bios. Since offering the online course, the center has seen an increase in the number of people taking the course. For the current fiscal year, which began October 1, 2018, Johnson says 750 people have taken the course and of those individuals, 400 have done so online.

To sign up for the Business Fundamentals, class go to wvsbdc. com and click on the Training tab. A list of in-person sessions as well as a link to the online course can then be found by clicking on the Training Calendar button. written by josephine

20 wvl • fall 2019

moore

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GO O D NE WS

A Mother’s Rest

The historic Bluefield Inn becomes a respite for women who are caregivers of children with special needs. about 15 years ago, kitt mccarthy and her husband left California. McCarthy’s husband accepted a position as an orthopedic surgeon at Bluefield Regional Medical Center. They fell in love with the sense of community in Bluefield. Now, they are welcoming others into the community by hosting visitors at their elegant and historic Bluefield Inn, which they bought and are operating as a premier select registry property. This inn is not your grandmother’s bed and breakfast. McCarthy says, “Bluefield Inn is more like a private mansion with a chef and butler.”

This November, McCarthy will share some of that warmth and hospitality with a group of parents who come for A Mother’s Rest, a nationwide program that provides parents and caregivers who raise children with special needs with a three-day respite. It’s a chance for parents to connect with one another in person and “change the way parental respite is viewed and valued in the disability community as

a whole,” among other things, according to the nonprofit’s website.

This will be McCarthy’s third A Mother’s Rest retreat. She offers the rooms at discounted rates. “It’s a nice way to give back,” she says. The retreat will take place November 8–11, and the inn has five private rooms, plus one shared room available. The cost is $160 plus transportation and food. Breakfast is provided daily.

McCarthy considers herself a caretaker, so she often interacts with the women and hears about their lives. She wants to pamper them as much as she can, she says.

“Getting to know these women, they’re amazing,” she says. “They’re just so strong.”

Register at amothersrest.org/events/the-bluefield-inn-2.

2109 Jefferson Street, Bluefield, bluefieldinn.com written by kate

mishkin

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22 wvl • fall 2019

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SHOP

A New Chapter Lewisburg’s independent bookstore is turning the page on the popularity of big-box online retail establishments.

discover ››

In a way, his bookstore is another chapter— when he was getting ready to open so to speak—in Craddock’s life. He was born A New Chapter, David Craddock started in Tennessee, but moved when his father went hearing the same expression: A town is to work for NASA in Huntsville, Alabama. not a town unless it has a bookstore. That He studied law at the University of Alabama was a little before Memorial Day 2018, and later at Emory when Craddock opened University in Atlanta. the doors to his new He made a living doing bookstore in downtown corporate law, married Lewisburg. “We made it another attorney, and to the second year, so we moved to Tennessee. must be doing something When Craddock good,” Craddock says. retired, he knew he didn’t Now, A New Chapter - david craddock want to be done working is doing pretty well, for good. He fell in love Craddock said. The with reading as a kid at the public library and business has been bolstered by local support has always been an avid reader. “I always had and lots of young people looking to read. it in my mind I wanted to open a bookstore,” “I didn’t think young people read anymore. he says.

Turns out, they do,” Craddock says.

“We made it to the second year, so we must be doing something good.”

24 wvl • fall 2019

He started thinking about towns where he’d want to live and where he could also open a shop.

That’s how he stumbled on Lewisburg. He and his wife had a house in Snowshoe, and Craddock visited the area a few summers ago. The quaint and hip Greenbrier County town seemed like a good fit. So, he found a 2,000-square-foot space across from the Visitors Center to move the bookstore into and a 150-year-old house to move into. Both needed some fixing up.

He started visiting other independent bookstores in big cities, trying to figure out what kind of look and feel he wanted for his own. Many, he found, were too cramped for his taste. He felt claustrophobic and overwhelmed. His shop now has lots of room to browse and hang out. The store has 25-foot-ceilings and a coffee bar. A wine bar is in the works.

Craddock says he has learned quite a few lessons about small business ownership. First lesson: It’s really hard to get a loan to open a small business. “That was a hard lesson to learn,” he says.

He’s also found independent bookstores like his are doing just fine despite the looming presence of online giants like Amazon. Craddock makes sure to talk to his customers and recommend books they might like. If someone’s looking for a book he doesn’t have, he’ll order it.

A New Chapter has become a destination. “It’s all about the personal service,” he says. The importance of personal service became evident the first Saturday the store was open, when the internet went out across the town.

Craddock couldn’t take credit or debit cards. He told people to just take the book and pay him later. Most people came back to pay—and then bought more. “It’s a rewarding thing to do,” Craddock says.

A New Chapter is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Hours shorten slightly in January and February.

922 Washington Street West, Lewisburg, newchapterbookswv.com written by katie

mishkin bowman mills

photographed by nikki

discover ›› SHOP

In Good Company

The perfectly preserved company store at Cass provides more than just a history lesson. long before the days of Walmart Supercenters and the ability to order everything from food to furniture with the click of a button, those in the town of Cass traveled to one place to fill their homes with all the essentials—the Cass Company Store.

Formerly the Pocahontas Supply Company, the Cass Company Store was established in the early 1900s and supplied all the necessities to the hundreds of families who lived and worked in the surrounding town and lumber mill.

While the company store no longer serves the purpose it once did—the town and surrounding land were purchased by the state park system in 1961 and converted into what is now Cass Scenic Railroad State Park—it is still an integral part of the community.

On the surface, the Cass Company Store and the Last Run Restaurant might appear to be a simple tourist attraction and souvenir shop, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.

While the store does have typical souvenir items such as t-shirts, mugs, and magnets displaying the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park logo, it also sells a wide variety of West Virginia-made products—from maple syrup to jellies to musical instruments. You’ll find an array of train-related toys, old-fashioned candy, and shelves filled with handcrafted items from local artists such as stoneware, blankets, and wood carvings.

“When you come to Cass, you get this immersion into the history and the feel of what it was like to be in a company town—and then you see a 118-year-old railroad engine come rolling in,” says park Superintendent Marshall Markley.

He says an important part of that immersion is being able to offer products that some folks either have never seen or haven’t seen since childhood.

“Even though we offer items that are modern, we want to offer those old-timey 26 wvl • fall 2019

‹‹ discover things. That’s what a lot of people come here to do—to remember what Grandma or Grandpa used to do or used to have,” he says. “As folks go through the store, we want them to have that experience that they’re not only shopping, but they’re getting a little bit of history as they go along.”

Markley says that history isn’t just present in the items they sell, it’s present in everything in the store, from the walls to the floors. “When you look above all the shelving, we have a lot of artifacts that are pretty much all original to the park,” he says, “One item most don’t recognize is a carriage jack, which was used to help put on a new wheel for a carriage.”

In the back of the store there are some holes in the floor, artifacts of historical everyday use or misuse. “I can’t prove this,” Markley says, “but I’ve been told that when the wood hicks would come down from the mountain to shop, they were supposed to wear protective coverings over the spikes in their boots when they entered the store—and the holes are from those who didn’t do that.” For visitors hoping to hear more of these juicy tidbits of daily life, Markley recommends people take part in the company store tour, which the park has recently started to offer.

Of course, no trip to the Cass Company Store would be complete without cozying up to the counter at the old original soda fountain or having a meal at the Last Run Restaurant, which has been operated by the Botkin sisters for the past 18 years. Jenny Botkin, the youngest of the three sisters, says the restaurant features a number of family recipes including a highly soughtafter hotdog chili, homemade pulled pork and barbecue sauce, and a dish known as the Big Bob’s Bell Buster, which is an 8-ounce cod fillet. “We learned to cook from our grandma, who also had a restaurant, and most of our food that we cook is family recipes,” Botkin says. “We’ve had our ups and downs at the restaurant over the years, but we enjoy the food service here and the people that we meet,” she says. “We have a lot of repeat customers, and most of them have become like family to us.” wvstateparks. com/park/cass-scenic-railroad-state-park written by josephine

moore

photographed by nikki

bowman mills newsouthmedia.com 27

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MOM AND P O P S TO P S

No Fries for You

Broadway Sandwich Shop in Parkersburg is a local favorite. located on the south side of parkersburg on Broadway Avenue, you might drive right by the Broadway Sandwich Shop if it wasn’t for all the cars in the parking lot and the steady stream of people going in and out. This rather plain, nondescript corner building has been home to a local favorite for quick and inexpensive burgers and hot dogs for years.

Don’t come expecting to be made a fuss over or poo-poo’d and pampered. This is straight up quick, cheap and tasty burgers and dogs with a bag of chips and a coke. And don’t bring your credit card the Broadway is cash-only. Get lunch to go or sit down in one of the booths that looks the same as it did 50 years ago, and enjoy your burger and dog hot off the grill that is literally right behind the cash register.

And did I say it was cheap? I took my wife for her very first Broadway experience (slightly different Broadway experience than she had in mind) and we had three burgers, two bags 28 wvl • fall 2019

of chips and two Cokes and I got change back from my $10. And the chips? Mister Bees, of course. Made right there in Parkersburg.

Did I mention the plates?

Of course not, because you don’t get one. A tray with paper is as fancy as you are going to get.

For $1.19 a burger, what do you expect? The burgers are hot and delicious. Get the regular cheeseburger with everything, which means cheese, mustard, ketchup, onions, and pickle.

Or the double. Or the triple for that matter. The hot dogs feature a delicious homemade sauce and onions and are fantastic.

If you want a no-nonsense lunch at an unbelievable price, you must stop by the Broadway the next time you are in Parkersburg—but don’t ask for fries!

600 Broadway Avenue, Parkersburg written and photographed by buddy

butler

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P OW E R PAR TN E R S

Gene and Maura Kistler

Co-founders of Water Stone Outdoors written and photographed by zack

harold

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gene and maura kistler were just young rootless rock climbers when they first came to the New River Gorge in the mid-1980s. But the place, with its seemingly endless supply of crags and down-to-earth lifestyle, grabbed hold of them and hasn’t let go. They founded the store now known as Water Stone Outdoors with business partner Kenny Parker in 1994. The store isn’t just a place to buy gear—it’s become the carabiner clip that holds Fayetteville’s climbing scene together. We talked to the Kistlers about how they got here, why they stay here, and what they hope the future will hold for their adopted hometown.

Why did you choose to move to West Virginia?

GENE KISTLER: I started climbing when I was a teenager. I started going to Seneca Rocks. These guys from the New River Gorge area came up and had this photo album of the cliffs here. I was like, “Whoa.”

The fall of 1985 was the first time I came here to climb. Ended up here in the spring of ’91 to build a house for a friend. She trained on the river that summer and started teaching school in the fall, and we never left.

was boarded up. There was a whole lot of twiddling thumbs and hanging out. That went on for years. But we established our hours. We’re open 362 days a year for going on 30 years. We committed to that early and we have honored it like a boss ever since. That was our commitment to our area.

That’s the key to being a business person in southern West Virginia. I think you’ve got to commit for the long haul and pace yourself and find a way to just have fun.

MAURA KISTLER: I think we came here for the climbing, but we stayed for the more nebulous things: the down-to-earth lifestyle, the world-class, convenient outdoor resources, the kindness of the people.

How did your business finally turn the corner, and how did you go about integrating your shop into the local climbing culture?

GK: The reason we were able to launch this store is because it was supported for the first seven years by the two Virginia stores. We would get inventory here that would end up getting sold in Virginia—but we could make this store look loaded. I think that got people’s attention.

How did Water Stone get started?

GK: Some buddies of mine in Virginia ran two shops called Blue Ridge Outdoors.

And back in the early ’90s, we bought that business, but we were already living here. So we always had the idea of opening a third location. We opened the store in ’94.

MK: Mountain State Canoe and Kayak was downstairs for a little bit.

GK: Then at the end of that first season, they moved out and we spent the winter remodeling the whole building. A lot of people in town thought we were over here destroying the place.

MK: Fayetteville was dead. You couldn’t get so much as a cup of coffee. This town

GK: We started doing this thing called the New River Rendezvous, a big event that Maura made world-famous.

MK: It was an annual fundraiser for the New River Alliance of Climbers, which is our nonprofit climber advocacy group. We cooked up a really neat event that grew to be about four or five days and peaked at 1,200 people and developed a reputation as the best climbing event in the country.

GK: That’s where you start to build community.

How are things going now? What challenges have you faced during your time here?

MK: I think our best year was 2012, in terms of gross sales at the shop. It’s been up and down since then. The internet hurts. The Elk River spill hurt. West Virginia’s refusal to embrace tourism as a legitimate industry is really hurting all of us. And if they would get behind it, it would be great.

GK: They’re going to have to. I think we're going to have to actually plan some economic development and diversify. And that is what really we’re trying to do here.

Climbing has brought a lot of people here.

Good folks who’ve made the conscious decision to come here and want to take care of the place. Hopefully it’s the future.

MK: You use tourism as your calling card and you convert a certain small percentage of those people to residents and local entrepreneurs. It’s happening here. Look at all our local restaurants. They’re all coming out of the outdoor recreation community.

Kim Shingledecker moved here as a kayaker and a raft guide—she opened Cathedral Cafe, then she opened Pies & Pints. Lewis Rhinehart (owner of The Grove WV and Secret Sandwich Society) came out of mountain biking. It’s working. And it’s a good model for the rest of the state.

What advice would you give to anyone looking to build a business and a life in this area?

GK: There’s no perfect place, but I’ll tell you what’s perfect about this place—you leave this building right now, and we could be climbing in 15 minutes. We could go outside and get on a bike and just be ripping in five minutes.

MK: I’m still, almost 30 years later, fascinated by the fact that this place grabbed me so hard. That it was my place. I’ve never lost that feeling. It’s just added up to almost 30 years of really being psyched to be here. newsouthmedia.com 31

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C OU N T RY ROA D S

A Freakish Farm

Miller’s Nightmare Haunted Farm brings out the macabre. written by nikki

bowman mills and josephine moore photographed by lydia reed

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looking for a ghoulishly good time? Miller’s Nightmare Haunted Farm, located outside of Lewisburg, has been scaring the pants off visitors for six years. The Miller family has carved out 10 acres from their 75-acre farm for a freakish fall destination that includes a haunted 4,000-square-foot manor, a creepy corn maze, and a spine-chilling supernatural forest.

“About 15 years ago, our family had a corn maze that we did for kids and whoever wanted to do it around Halloween. I was in high school at the time and I would have friends over, and we’d scare people in the corn for Halloween,” says Berkley Miller, the owner and creative director for all things spooky at Miller’s Nightmare Haunted Farm. “I always enjoyed that, so I wanted to bring it back.”

The haunted house, dubbed the Miller Manor, is a new addition to the haunted farm, and it takes 30 to 45 minutes to make your way through the dark hallways and past the even darker figures. If you escape the manor, you’ll have to muster

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the courage to weave your way through the “Infected Crop,” or corn maze, before overcoming the creepy cast of characters in the “Demented Forest.” And don’t leave without experiencing the ghastly Toxic Bus Escape Room.

Your courage will be rewarded with even more whiteknuckled games and bloodcurdling grub. “I think we’ve got a little something for everyone who enjoys a good scare,” Miller says.

Miller’s Nightmare Haunted Farm will be open every Friday and Saturday during the month of October, with gates opening at 6:30 p.m.

General admission tickets are $15. Guests who wish to skip the line can purchase fast passes for $25. Tickets can be purchased onsite or online. 1605 Carroll Hill Road, Lewisburg, millersnightmare.com 34 wvl • fall 2019

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e r o l p ex

ADVERTISEMENT

In the Center of it All and Growing Centrally located in the heart of West Virginia, Bridgeport is a hub for meetings, conferences, youth sports, shopping, and dining.

With easy access from Interstate 79 and West Virginia Route 50, Bridgeport is a convenient drive from almost any location in West Virginia.

The name “Bridgeport” was born out of a cartographer’s mistake.

Settled in the mid-1700s by early fur traders who came west over the Allegheny Mountains, Bridgeport was originally named Bridge Fort in reference to a bridge over Simpson Creek that connected local forts. However, due to the mapmaker’s misspelling, the town became Bridgeport.

Much of the new development in Bridgeport over the last several years has taken place at Charles Pointe. Charles Pointe is a state-ofthe-art mixed-use community spanning more than 1,700 acres along the I-79 High-Tech Corridor. It offers a combination of commercial, residential, and recreational opportunities. With the Bridgeport Conference Center at its cornerstone, the area features hotels, restaurants, retail, office space, and recreation venues all in close proximity to each other.

The Place to Meet and Play Bridgeport is a popular choice for corporate meetings and events. From affordable accommodations to a variety of space types, Bridgeport stands out as a great destination for groups. The Bridgeport Conference Center at Charles Pointe offers over 16,000 square feet of flexible, upscale meeting, wedding, and banquet space. It is also a very popular spot for local events and celebrations. Bridgeport is home to 11 comfortable and convenient hotels all near meeting locations.

house six volleyball courts, six basketball courts, an indoor turf field, a running track, and a fitness center. In addition, the center will include a natatorium with a competition swimming pool and community swimming pool.

Bridgeport is also a huge player in the youth sports market. The premier sports facility in the region is the Bridgeport Recreation Complex, which features four state-of-theart baseball/softball fields, soccer, lacrosse and basketball courts. The new Bridgeport Indoor Recreation Complex project is underway and when complete in fall 2020 will make Bridgeport a sports destination for all seasons. The $50 million, multi-use facility is planned for a site near the city’s current recreation complex. The complex will

GREATER-BRIDGEPORT.COM

Make sure you bring your clubs for after your meeting. Several golf courses are located in the area, including the awardwinning Pete Dye Golf Club. This stunning par-72 course on a former coal mine is ranked a 2019-20 America’s 100 Greatest Golf Course by Golf Digest.

ADVERTISEMENT

3 Cool Things About Bridgeport Food

Bridgeport is a foodies’ paradise with a delicious selection of local cuisine.

Experience West Virginia’s only coal−fired pizzeria at Mia Margherita at Charles Pointe or sample a brew at Mountain State Brewing Company, a new location for one of West Virginia’s oldest distributing microbreweries. Oliverio’s is known statewide as a premier Italian dining experience, or try Provence Market Cafe with a menu offering a wide variety of options, mostly inspired by dishes served in the south of France.

Meagher’s Irish Pub at Charles Pointe is a popular spot, or check out Cody’s in White Oaks. To satisfy your sweet tooth, the carrot cake at Almost Heaven Desserts & Coffee Bar is not to be missed. Also

try handmade pies, cakes, biscotti, and their world famous cannoli. For even more sweet temptations, visit Bonnie Belle’s Pastries at its newest location in White Oaks.

Flights

It is easy to drive to Bridgeport, but that is not the only way to get here. The North Central West Virginia Airport (CKB) is located in Bridgeport. The airport is currently served by two commercial airlines: Allegiant and United Express. Allegiant offers service to Orlando, Florida, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, while United Express offers global connectivity through its hubs of Chicago O’Hare and Washington Dulles.

Fresh

If you love fresh fruit and vegetables, the Bridgeport Farmers Market is open every Sunday from mid-May thru mid-October, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The market is open rain or shine. The market is located in the Charles Pointe development off I-79 at exit 124. The Winter Market is open the second Sunday of each month from November to April, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., inside the Bridgeport Conference Center.

A Shopping Destination WHAT’S IN STORE

GET HOOKED

Bridgeport offers a rare combination of shopping opportunities. There really is something for everyone. Looking for the big-name stores great for back-to-school and holiday gift shopping? Be sure to visit the Meadowbrook Mall. The mall features national brands like Dick’s Sporting Goods, American Eagle, Old Navy, Victoria’s Secret, and Target. For more of a local flair, antiques, unique gifts, and specialty West Virginia−made items are popular at many local shops and boutiques.

If you are an outdoorsman, you must start your West Virginia outdoor adventure at McFly Outfitters. This unique shopping destination is committed to getting you ready for a world-class experience in the Mountain State. They believe there is nothing quite like breathing in the fresh mountain air, catching your first trout, enjoying gorgeous mountain views, watching a child on their first hunt, or accomplishing a serene late season hike in the mountains of West Virginia. McFly’s has everything you need for any West Virginia adventure.

For more information about visiting Bridgeport, contact the Greater Bridgeport Convention & Visitors Bureau at 304.848.7200 or visit greater-bridgeport.com GREATER-BRIDGEPORT.COM

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EVENTS

Five Family-Friendly Fairs and Festivals This fall, celebrate West Virginia at one of its unique outdoor events. wills

1. Buckwheat Festival, Kingwood The 78th annual buckwheat festival takes place this September 26–29, 2019. Enjoy parades, arts and crafts, carnival fun, vendors, and, of course, lots of buckwheat cakes and sausage served all weekend long! kvfdwv.wixsite.com/ buckwheatfest 38 wvl • fall 2019

2. Forest Festival in Elkins is one of the largest and oldest festivals in West Virginia, celebrating the beauty of the Mountain State.

There is something for everyone including live music, forestry exhibits, amusement rides, and even a lumberjack contest! (September 28–October 6, 2019) forestfestival.com

3. The Mothman Festival in Point Pleasant is a hub for paranormal fun. People travel from all over the world to attend the festival, and several events take place throughout the weekend.

Visit the Mothman Museum & Research Center or take a bus ride through areas of Mothman sightings. You might also enjoy the vendor exhibits, guest speakers, hayride, and pancake eating contest. (September 21–22, 2019) mothmanfestival.com

4. Apple Harvest Festival This two-day event takes place in Burlington. The festival features arts and crafts, entertainment, flea markets, games, and amusement rides.

You can even make your own old-fashioned apple butter and take it home to enjoy later. Yum. (October 5–6, 2019) www.bumfs.org/ahf.html

5. Bridge Day, Fayetteville Each year on the third Saturday of October, the New River Gorge Bridge is closed to traffic and transformed into an epic festival celebrating this landmark. Thousands of spectators watch as rappelling teams and BASE jumpers launch from the bridge. Shuttles are offered from area establishments.

Check website for more information. (October 19, 2019) officialbridgeday.com

NIKKI BOWMAN MILLS

written by nicole

NO MEAL IS COMPLE TE WITHOUT A GOOD STORY

Taste

B&Bs

Bottles, brews, breakfasts, and B&Bs: what’s wetting our whistles and tempting our palates right now.

CARLA WITT FORD

PICTURED: LOST RIVER GUESTHOUSE B&B RECIPE, PAGE 54.

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taste ›› makers

makers ‹‹ taste

First Bronze, Now Brews Freefolk Brewery makes a monumental investment in Fayetteville. interviewed and photographed by zack

harold

if you’ve spent any time in morgantown, chances are you’ve seen the work of Vandalia Bronze: Jerry West and Hot Rod Hundley statues in front of the Coliseum, the Don Knotts bronze sitting along High Street, the noble likeness of Morgantown founder Zackquill Morgan outside the police department headquarters on Spruce Street. Now the team that created these monuments—sculptor Jamie Lester and logistical magician Jeff Edwards—are looking to make their mark at a watering hole near you. This summer, the duo opened The Freefolk Brewery in Fayetteville.

Lester’s talents are on display in the restaurant’s artwork, furniture, light fixtures, and merchandise. But it is Edwards, a Fayetteville native, who is coming up with the business’s flagship beers. We talked with him about that creative journey. 1690 Court Street, Fayetteville, 304.900.5238, freefolkbrew.com, @folkbrew on Facebook It’s good to be back here and feel like I’m contributing something. Breweries tend to be the cultural center of communities.

We bought the building in 2015 as an investment. We went there as kids, when it was Sedona Grill. I always had a fond attachment to it. We knew we had the technical skills to make a good spot. It was just a matter of getting some good food and beer.

I had a plum tree and all the plums ripened at the same time. I thought “I’ll make wine.” I bought a winemaking kit and made plum wine for several years.

Then I bought a homebrewing kit. It’s like any other hobby—you tend to go down a wormhole of what the possibilities are.

The beers are getting better as I learn the equipment and process. I’m still learning.

By no stretch am I a master brewer, but I definitely am a student of brewing. Just trying to get better at what we do.

We were just going to be a pure brewery, and then it evolved into “We’ve gotta have food.” But we didn’t want to just put out a bunch of crappy boxed food. We had some help with it, too, because we didn’t have a lot of restaurant experience. We called up Jeffrey Toth at the Wood Iron Eatery. He designed the menu, trained our employees, trained us. He was a big-time help.

You put yourself out there for criticism.

I’m OK with it. That’s like the art business.

As soon as that veil comes off, everybody’s

there to criticize it. And you want that. I want to be challenged.

Both businesses are based on creativity. You’re pushing those limits of what people perceive as art and what people perceive as good beer. Both businesses are only limited by our imaginations.

We talk about that all the time—how is our imagination being limited right now?

We are distributing on a small scale. The goal is to be in Charleston, Beckley, Fairmont, Morgantown. We feel like those are the people that are going to come to Fayetteville.

Charleston people are going to come over for the day, Morgantown and Fairmont people are going to come over for the weekend, Beckley people are going to come over for the night.

We’re going to have cans for sale at the brewery. We’re planning to do 4-packs down the road. Right now we do individual cans.

We love the opportunity that Freefolk represents. It’s an opportunity to create something bigger than ourselves. We make craft beer. We made the art. We made the tables. We made the lighting. West Virginia people are very hands-on. We are a people that make things. We wanted to show off that and have people walk away and say “That’s what Appalachia is about.” That’s our ultimate goal, to be a beacon of Appalachian culture.

SPONSORED CONTENT

STrETCHing is a SNAP

SNAP Stretch encourages healthy eating choices and supports local farms.

Who doesn’t like to stretch their dollar?

Now, West Virginians who benefit from the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can double or triple their food dollars at participating farmers markets, roadside stands, and CSAs, thanks to the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition, West Virginia Farmers Market Association, and WVU Extension Family Nutrition, which is funded in part by USDA SNAP. “It’s a win win win,” says West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition Food Equity Director Laura Dice Hill. “SNAP recipients, through this dollar-for-dollar match, have the ability to choose more healthy options of fresh produce while at the same time putting money back into the economy by supporting our local farms.”

How It Works

West Virginians with a SNAP card use the card to pay for everyday food items at participating farmers markets. SNAP Stretch automatically matches what is spent, doubling the amount of money that can be used on fresh fruit and vegetables. And if a SNAP household brings a child to the market, SNAP Stretch will match the money for fruits and vegetables again, tripling the value of the SNAP dollars. Hill says, “If a lowincome family uses their SNAP card for $20 at a local farmers market, they receive $20 in product plus an extra $20 through SNAP Stretch to spend on fruits and vegetables—and if they have a child with them, the child gets another $20.”

Each farmers market can choose to implement SNAP Stretch in a way that works best for their community. Some traditional weekly outdoor farmers markets swipe the SNAP card at a central location and SNAP Stretch tokens or “market bucks” are given in return. Another method is for a farmer or mobile market to visit a senior housing facility, school, child care center, or housing development and sell on-site. A third model is for a brick and mortar farmers market, like The Wild Ramp in Huntington, to offer a year-round option for customers.

The Response

Thanks to a grant originally written by an area doctor, Mark Cucuzzella, the Charles Town Farmers Market introduced its own version of doubling SNAP benefits as early as 2015. So now with SNAP Stretch, those receiving SNAP benefits can actually quadruple the amount of money they spend on fruits and vegetables.

Fiona Harrison, the market manager of the Charles Town Farmers Market, says that since they’ve added SNAP Stretch this spring, they’ve seen incredible participation. “Within a couple of weeks, we had to print a couple of thousand more of our currency,” she says.

“There are so many success stories. One woman who was recently divorced said to me, ‘You have no idea how much this helps me and my family.’

Her kids divvy up their SNAP Stretch money and put it in their own envelopes. She’s teaching them math, wise giving, healthy choices, and the value of money—and they actually eat the food, because they buy food they want to eat.

There’s nothing but good things happening in the community because of SNAP Stretch.”

The fruit and vegetable vendors at the Charles Town Farmers Market have been very receptive. “It has been a glowing success,” says Harrison. “The vendors love seeing the children getting involved in picking fresh produce.” And it’s been good for the local economy. “During our best week this summer, $1,500 to $2,000 went into the market from SNAP Stretch.”

Sherrie Taylor of Thankful Valley Farms and Hatchery also can’t praise the program enough. But she has a different approach. She takes locally grown produce aggregated from 19 farms to low-income families in pop-up farmers markets in five counties—serving them where they live and where the need is greatest.

“I see about 2,000 people a week across five counties—Kanawha, Fayette, Cabell, Mason, and Putnam,” Taylor says. “I go to low-income housing developments, senior living facilities, schools, and clinics. A lot of these areas are

food deserts. Most of the people I see don’t have transportation. Some have health issues. Some aren’t mobile. Some are disabled. Some can’t afford a bus ride. I often just give a lot of food away. I can’t stand to see a person go hungry.”

Last year Taylor put 58,000 miles on her truck, pulling a 16-foot-trailer. “Some days I cry all the way home. You can’t understand the hunger I see,” she says. “They can’t afford to eat healthy. They get lectured by doctors for not eating healthy. They want choices, but they don’t have choices. They’d choose to eat healthier if they could, but they often don’t have transportation, they don’t have a means to cook, they don’t have money, and then they get depressed. It’s a vicious cycle. No one should be without food. SNAP Stretch is helping, but there’s such a staggering need. I can’t do it all by myself.”

Just the Facts

There are 342,000 West Virginians who receive SNAP benefits—benefits amounting to $1.20 per person per meal. Of that number, 137,000 are children. SNAP is instrumental in ensuring that children get the food they need each day—and when children eat better food, they feel better, learn more, and grow up healthier.

By incentivizing low-income families to make healthier food choices, SNAP Stretch aims to break the cycle of hunger and poor nutrition and at the same time be a positive influence on our local economy. According to the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition, in 2017, $453 million SNAP dollars were pumped into the economy.

Of that, only 0.01 percent went to farmers—and more than 85 percent were redeemed in big box grocery and superstores. SNAP Stretch wants to change that statistic.

How can you help?

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Get the word out. Encourage those receiving SNAP benefits to take advantage of SNAP Stretch.

%

Encourage your local farmers markets to participate in SNAP Stretch.

%

Make a donation to your local market or the WV Food & Farm Coalition so that programs like SNAP Stretch continue to receive funding.

SNAP Stretch Markets % Alderson Community Market % Barbour County Community Garden Market - Heart and Hand % Berkeley Springs Farmers Market % Bridgeport Farmers Market Association % Charles Town Farmers Market % Courthouse Farmers Market % Doddridge County Farmers Market % Fayette County Farmers Market - Oak Hill % Fayette County Farmers Market - Court Street % Grantsville Farmers Market % Grow Ohio Valley

% Lewisburg Farmers Market Off the Beetin’ Trail % MarketFest % Martinsburg Farmers Market % Morgantown Farmers Market % Public Market % Rt. 18 Farm Market % Shepherdstown Farmers Market % Sunset Berry Farm and Produce % Thankful Valley Farms & Hatchery % The Wild Ramp % Turnrow Appalachian Farm Collective

% Turnrow at Capitol Market % Wardensville Garden Market % Warwood Farmers Market % Wayne County Farmers Co-op % Wayne County Farmers Market % Western Greenbrier Farmers Market % Wetzel County Farmers Market % White Sulphur Springs Farmers Market % Williamson Farmers Market

For more information, contact Laura Dice Hill at the West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition by email ldicehill@wvfoodandfarm.org or visit wvfoodandfarm.org

newsouthmedia.com 43

Drink Like a Fish Mario’s Fishbowl has been filling Morgantown’s glasses for more than half a century. written by jess

walker

If

patrons of Morgantown’s neighborhood bar Mario’s Fishbowl had visited the block building in the 1950s, they would have found Tom and Anna Torch selling groceries and scooping ice cream at the Richwood Avenue Confectionary. But they’d recognize one treat—beer. The alcohol then took center stage when Mario and Rose Spina turned the business into a bar in 1963. Christened “fishbowls,” frosty beer goblets created by Morgantown Glass Works were forever memorialized as the hangout’s namesake.

In 1997, Mario’s Fishbowl changed hands to yet another duo: Mark and Karen Furfari.

It remained a bar, but the new owners added their own flavors. While Mario served

44 wvl • fall 2019

hot dogs and meatball subs, the Furfaris concocted baked Italian hoagies and cheddar cheese steak sandwiches to satisfy the hungriest of WVU game-day appetites.

No bar would be complete without chicken wings. Mario’s Fishbowl dressed theirs with homemade sauces: mild and honey BBQ for conservative wing-eaters or sweet chile habanero and hot garlic for the more daring.

In 2012, the other side of Morgantown also got a taste when a second location opened in the Suncrest neighborhood.

The Furfaris retired two years ago and passed on the business to five of their longtime employees. Together, the group has more than 60 years of experience at Mario’s Fishbowl. “One of the best parts of us all being here as partners for so long is that we

have an appreciation of Mario’s Fishbowl and its tradition,” says Kim Zweibaum, one of the co-owners.

The original Richwood Avenue building speaks of its storied past. Sit down to grab one of the 16 beers on tap—a mix of nationwide and West Virginia–brewed brands—or a house-made sangria, and you’ll still get it in an ice-cold fishbowl. What should you expect of your inaugural fishbowl experience? “It’s kind of like your first trip to Disney World,” Zweibaum laughs. “It’s the best feeling in the world to see how happy people get.”

But the Mario’s experience is more than just the frosty fishbowls—the ambience wraps its arms around you like a long lost friend.

The eclectic decor of scribbled napkins, autographed walls, and assorted papers started with Mario, says fellow co-owner Greg Craddock. Mario would invent a daily riddle, hang it, and award the first correct guesser with a free beer. Original menu signs continue to advertise 25 cent meatball subs and 35 cent meat and cheese platters.

Customers soon added their own memorabilia, some of which announce strange eating and drinking competitions.

Some document contests where groups of friends try to see who can collectively polish off the most fishbowls. Others, who can suck up a fishbowl through a rolled dollar bill.

Or—in one of the more stomach-turning competitions—who could drink a fishbowl filled with wing sauce. These make up just a few of the odd love letters written to the neighborhood hangout that’s served the city for over half a century.

And Mario’s Fishbowl casts a wide net. “I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere that I’ve had a Fishbowl shirt on and not had someone approach me during the day and say, ‘Oh, I know Mario’s Fishbowl,” Craddock says.

Whether serving blue-and-gold–clad alumni, new-to-town college students, or a local family of five, the current group of owners continues to write a chapter in the community’s history. “Although some roads have changed and there’s new hotels or new businesses,” Craddock says, “people know that when they roll into Morgantown, Mario’s Fishbowl is going to be there.” 704 Richwood Avenue, 304.292.2511; 3117 University Avenue, 304.599.4309; mariosfishbowl.com

KATIE HANLON

taste ›› libations

Screech Owl Brewing ‹‹ taste

Owl the Rage In just four years, Screech Owl Brewing in Preston County has gone from a couple’s hopeful, all-in risk to a thriving local hangout and international craft beer destination. written by pam

kasey photographed by nikki bowman mills

taste ›› Screech Owl Brewing

T

he first thing you’ll notice when you stop in at Screech Owl Brewing is the warm, full-throated welcome—well, after you have a chuckle at the “Chicken Lips Farm” sign beside the driveway, the second thing you’ll notice is the welcome. If it’s a busy night, you might be seated with some strangers. Don’t be shy; they’re just as friendly as you are. One of the owners will likely make their way to your table for a chat while you’re there and, by the time you leave, people will wave their goodbyes like you’re a regular.

The owners—the Johnsons—have a way of making everybody feel like family. Since it’s obvious they’re perfectly cut out for hospitality, you might be surprised to learn it’s only recently that they’ve come to it.

It was just about 10 years ago that Roger Johnson got a gift of a homebrewing kit from his wife, Crista, for Christmas. He turned out to like brewing, and his friends liked the beer he made. Not too many years later, tired of the long-haul trucking life after two decades, the couple thought maybe they could turn his hobby into an income that would let them spend more time together.

They had to test their wings all by themselves. “Nobody wanted to lend us any money,” Johnson says. You can’t blame banks 46 wvl • fall 2019

turning down a couple in their 60s with just a few years’ experience brewing beer in 5-gallon batches when they asked to finance a commercial brewery—and wanted to put it on their Preston County farm some countryroad miles from any town or highway.

Winging it

So the Johnsons liquidated everything but their 70 acres and their retirement accounts.

They borrowed against their life insurance and, in 2015, they outfitted themselves to brew fledgling little 12.5-gallon batches— two batches a day, seven days a week, an unconventional and labor-intensive way to build a beer brand.

Craft breweries you’re familiar with likely started out as taprooms or brewpubs and eventually worked their way around to distribution. But Screech Owl had an inside understanding of distribution from the start: The Johnsons’ son Jameson worked for local Anheuser-Busch distributor Mona Supply.

So Screech Owl beers appeared early on in bars and restaurants across Monongalia and Preston counties.

Maybe it was the distribution-first model that got them growing so fast, plus of course the fact that people really did like their beers, but they haven’t been able to sit still since.

They expanded their brewing capacity in

2016 to 3.5 barrels, letting them do batches more than eight times the size of what they’d been able to do before. They brought Jameson Johnson’s wife, Kristen, and some others in to help with the brewing.

And, in 2018, in response to overwhelming customer interest, they added on a bar and restaurant with a big, relaxing wraparound deck. The Spent Grain Cafe serves eight fresh Screech Owl beers on tap, from their lightest and most-popular Bold Blonde Ale through refreshing wheat and strawberry ales to, at the darker end of the spectrum, a couple of hoppy IPAs and a Buckwheat Honey Porter—buckwheat is a historically important crop in Preston County. The restaurant’s full menu includes local favorites like pepperoni rolls and fried bologna sandwiches. Johnson makes the dough for breads, pretzels, and pizzas fresh daily with the grains left behind by brewing, and Jameson Johnson smokes chickens and pork loin and ribs on-site.

Now there’s a flock of Johnsons running the place. Although Johnson is the head brewer, the family likes to point out that Screech Owl is a woman-owned operation: Crista Johnson owns 51 percent of the business. Kristen Johnson is assistant brewer—”the only female brewer in West Virginia, as far as we know,” Johnson says, and Jameson Johnson oversees the kitchen.

Screech Owl Brewing ‹‹ taste

Turning heads

Customers signing the guest book at this four-year-old brewery far from anything at all have come from around the world: drinkers from beer-loving countries like England and Germany on craft beer tours in the U.S. as well as world travelers from places as exotic as Paraguay, the Philippines, and Madagascar.

How do they hear about it? It’s hard to say, but Screech Owl has already gotten all kinds of recognition. In the spring of 2018, the U.S. Small Business Administration named the Johnsons West Virginia’s Encore Entrepreneurs of the Year, a category for those who start ventures after age 55—the SBA had eventually loaned them $50,000. Soon after, they were featured in Forbes magazine.

Locally, Screech Owl was voted People’s Choice Brewery at the Cabin Fever Craft Beer Festival in Morgantown for the past two years and, more recently, the Johnsons were honored in July 2019 as Hometown Heroes at a West Virginia Black Bears baseball game.

Johnson thinks some of the brewery’s quick success is due to his careful quality control.

“I make a traditional, premium beer, and we don’t change our recipes and our beers every week,” he says. “We put a lot of emphasis not so much on volume, but on consistency—I want the beer to be the same every time—and on quality. People like to come in and get the beer they’re used to drinking.”

But the Johnsons credit a lot of the business’s success to their employees, and it’s not just a line. It takes 12 people to run the bar and restaurant on a typical Saturday evening, and the family brags in generous and good-humored detail on the charms and quirks of each of their front- and back-of-thehouse staff with the pride most of us reserve for family: how this one has risen to the challenges of her job, how you know when to stay out of that one’s way, how another turns out to be so organized she could run a Fortune 500 company. The family’s natural kind regard spreads out from the Johnsons to each of the staff and from them to the customers and results in an evening out that feels like a big, tasty hug.

Great vision

The goodwill the Johnsons naturally generate—not to mention the good beer—has meant Screech Owl had more demand from the beginning than it has ever yet been able to meet. When Jameson Johnson left his job with Anheuser-Busch in the summer of 2019 to oversee the kitchen operation full-time, Screech Owl beers were served at “everything that has a tap in Preston County,” Johnson says, and many venues in Morgantown and across Monongalia County. And it’s still growing: The family was in discussions with distributors in Marion County and Oakland, Maryland, to distribute there by the end of this year, too.

In August 2019, the brewery was completing its second capacity upgrade, to a 10.5-barrel system, three times what they’ve recently been able to produce. With that, Johnson looks forward to maybe for the first time catching up. “I’ve got probably 30 other recipes,” he says with a glint in his eye. “It’s all been ales so far, but we’ll start making an oktoberfest and some lagers.” Jameson Johnson says his dad makes a lager that’ll put Anheuser-Busch on its heels. “Instead of just producing the beers that are in high demand,” Johnson says, “we’ll be able to play a little bit.”

Johnson confesses to having felt a little over his head early on. “But now that it has become successful, people that didn’t loan money to people like us started coming back and saying, ‘Hey, we’d like to help you out.’

Well, you’re five years too late,” he snickers.

It’s hard to begrudge him that bit of good-natured crowing. “I’m glad now that we did it. We wanted a place that was welcoming to everybody, that was family-friendly, and there was no place like that. This is what we envisioned.” 2323 Ralph Livengood Road, Bruceton Mills, 304.379.4777, screechowlbrewing.com, “Screech Owl Brewing” on Facebook newsouthmedia.com 47

taste ›› Brix 27

Tasteful Synergies

Martinsburg’s Brix 27 spotlights both food and wine. written by emilie

shumway photographed by nikki bowman mills

newsouthmedia.com 50

W

hen Brix 27 co-owners Drew and Amber Johnson decided to open a restaurant in downtown Martinsburg, it wasn’t a meeting with a chef or a visit to a local farm that most influenced the direction of the establishment—it was a trip to California’s Napa Valley. When the two returned, they brought back the passion and care they’d witnessed for each wine’s uniqueness, deciding to open a combination restaurant/bar that focused equally on both.

“We’re not a restaurant that has good wine, we’re a wine bar that has really good food,” says assistant general manager Erin Miller, referencing a favorite quote around Brix 27 (“brix” refers to a wine’s sugar content).

Every step in managing the wine is treated thoughtfully. When a distributor stops by to put on a tasting, it’s all hands on deck. Miller is part of the process, along with Brix 27’s behind-bar sommelier, Daniele Guiducci, and the head chef, Christian Evans.

“It’s easy to just grab a wine and say, ‘This tastes great.’ But it’s really important to us that not only does it taste great, it also has a strong pairing with something that’s on our menu,” Miller says. As they sample each wine, the three discuss whether the flavor would complement an existing menu item or even whether a future dish might be inspired by it.

If it passes muster, the wine might earn a place in one of Brix 27’s six wine machines, which keep a rotating selection of 48 wines on tap—32 reds and 16 whites. Temperaturecontrolled and portion-controlled—diners can select a one-ounce, half-glass, or full-glass pour—the machines also help keep the wine fresh after opening. An additional 20 wines are

available for hand-pouring. Among the singlepour selections are Paul Hobbs and Silver Oaks, Napa names that are rarely available without buying the full bottle.

While the wine is hand-selected and carefully deliberated over, the cuisine at Brix 27 is hardly an afterthought. Chef Evans, a Vermont native, has a broad resume with two decades of experience in big-city and smaller-town kitchens. Food is sourced locally whenever possible; Brix 27’s microgreens, for example, come from Cedar Springs Farm in nearby Shepherdstown.

Chef Evans maintains a menu that is simultaneously unfussy and sophisticated, gravitating toward a kind of grown-up comfort food: crab mac and cheese with an herb cracker crumble; veal meatloaf with tomato jam and fried shallots; candied bacon drizzled in aged balsamic dressing. Dishes are served family-style and come out as they’re prepared, though the larger portion sizes stop Miller short of describing them as tapas. The kitchen is open-air, allowing diners to watch the chef prepare their meal as they sample the wines.

Partly because it has drawn a crowd of regulars and partly because of its overall ethos, Brix 27 places a premium on experimentation and change.

Diners are encouraged to share dishes, trying a variety of selections. The menu shifts seasonally, and a different market fish and flatbread style is available weekly. Most importantly, with the multiple portion options, diners can also

try a wide variety of wine options, giving them a kind of flavor education.

Miller recommends a wine flight, especially for customers who really want to hone in on what they like. “If you have a chardonnay flight that has three different types of chardonnays, you can taste the difference between a stainless steel aged unoaked chardonnay, an oaked chardonnay, and a buttery oaked chardonnay,” she says. “So you can find what you like and don’t like or what your favorite is.”

Wines also taste different depending on the food pairing. “Maybe you didn’t like this type of wine until you paired it with this type of food, and suddenly you love it,” Miller says, describing something of a gustatory alchemy. “It allows you to experience how wine can change food and how food can change wine and how they can support each other to make the taste even better.” Ideally, diners leave with light heads, full stomachs, and greater understanding of their own palates.

For diners that experience a wine revelation, Brix 27 has an attached wine shop, the Downtown Winedown. Every wine available in the bar is also sold in the shop—and then some. Brix 27 also offers a private dining room for events, accommodating up to a few dozen people for showers, rehearsal dinners, weddings, corporate parties, and more. Mostly, though, the center of the action is the combined dining room/ wine bar.

“It’s something different to bring people downtown,” Miller says.

“Martinsburg has a lot of chains and things like that. For us, we felt like it had to be something special.” 131 North Queen Street, Martinsburg, 304.616.1628, brix.com, @brix27wv on Facebook newsouthmedia.com 51

SPONSORED CONTENT

The Hills are Calling This fall, play and stay in West Virginia’s lush and historic easternmost counties.

4. Morning Glory Inn With our close proximity to Snowshoe, the Morning Glory Inn offers easy access to skiing, snowboarding, golfing, Cass and Durbin railroads, mountain biking, hiking, hunting, fishing, and all of the many other scenic possibilities that Pocahontas County offers. 71 Spring Road, Slatyfork​, 304.572.5000

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5. Breath of Heaven B&B

6

5

7

4

A​ djacent to the Monongahela National Forest and surrounded by the Appalachians in the Allegheny Mountain region nestles this popular bed and breakfast, your alternative to conventional accommodations. ​215 Dawn Lane, Petersburg, 304.257.4971

1. Sundogs Bed and Breakfast is an animal-friendly, eco-friendly country retreat situated on 46 secluded acres. This peaceful destination awaits you in the beautiful Potomac River Valley in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia, just 4 miles north of historic Shepherdstown. 255 Silver Spring Road, Shepherdstown, 703.581.9805

6. North Fork Mountain Inn Once described as “an outpost of luxury in the wilderness,” North Fork Mountain Inn strives to make your visit the best possible experience. We are a luxury bed and breakfast that offers both casual and fine dining. 235 Canyon View Lane, Cabins, 304.257.1108

Eastern Panhandle

Nestled in the beautiful lower Shenandoah Valley along the Potomac River, Shepherdstown is a place where life slows down long enough for you to enjoy it. 300 West German Street, Shepherdstown, 304.876.9715

3. The Manor Inn Spend a time of quiet retreat in one of our well-decorated and comfortable rooms. Or stay while you explore the natural beauty of Berkeley Springs—its spas and surrounding countryside with hiking in the mountains, canoeing or kayaking on the river, horseback trails, and nearby bike paths. 234 Fairfax Street, Berkeley Springs, 304.258.1552

Events

SHEPHERDSTOWN Oktoberfest Celebration September 15 Step into Bavaria with this annual outdoor favorite at The Bavarian Inn, complete with Edelweiss German band and dancers and German food, beer, and wine.

BERKELEY SPRINGS Apple Butter Festival October 12–13 This traditional harvest festival in Berkeley Springs is kicked off by a nostalgic hometown parade on Saturday morning followed by two days of apple butter making, craft and food vendors, contests, and music.

7. The Inn at Lost River A Farmhouse B&B

Potomac Highlands

2. Thomas Shepherd Inn

This charming 1870s white clapboard farmhouse offers three immaculate guest rooms and two cheerful cottages that were once a springhouse and smokehouse. You can grab a quick bite to eat at the adjacent country store, peruse American handcrafts and local art, or enjoy craft beer or a bottle of wine. 7015 State Road 259, Lost River, 304.897.7000

HARDY COUNTY 2019 Hardy County Heritage Weekend September 27–29

ELKINS Mountain State Forest Festival September 28–October 6

HILLSBORO Battle of Droop Mountain Re-enactment October 11–13

There is something for everybody to enjoy at the 66th annual Hardy County Heritage Weekend, from historic home tours to craft and food vendors to vintage tractors and automobiles.

A fall tradition that everyone should experience. You’ll find more than fall’s favorite flavors— there are amusement rides, craft vendors, entertainment, and beautiful pagentry.

The 1864 Battle of Droop Mountain was a pivotal point in the Civil War. Enjoy as re-enactors showcase what life was like at Droop Mountain during the skirmish.

wvbedandbreakfasts.com

this ‹‹ taste

Bed, Breakfast, and Beyond There’s nothing wrong with a plate of bacon and eggs from a greasy spoon. Just like there’s nothing wrong with a biscuit sandwich from a West

Virginia-owned fast food chain. But there is no better place to have the most important meal of the day than a bed and breakfast. I mean, it’s right there in the name.

We’ve collected recipes from some of our favorite B&Bs around the state. Start your day the homemade way. It’s not as good as being there, of course, but it’ll have to do until you book your reservation.

written by zack

harold and jess walker food styled and photographed by carla witt ford

taste ›› this

Smoked Salmon Skillet Eggs

8 large eggs ¾ cup heavy cream ⅛ cup unsalted butter 12 ounces smoked salmon, sliced ¼ cup capers ¼ cup chopped flat leaf parsley 2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped 1. Using an immersion blender on high, combine eggs and heavy cream until smooth, then set aside.

2. Roughly chop half of the smoked salmon into pieces, then set aside.

Using the remaining smoked salmon, roll each slice lengthwise with uneven edge exposed, forming rosette shapes, set aside.

Guesthouse Lost River

Guesthouse Lost River in Hardy County has provided a peaceful oasis for nearby Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, city dwellers since 1982, and current innkeepers Gary and Jesse Halper-Robinson have only enhanced its charm. Spend the night in one of the 18 guest rooms, melt your cares away in the indoor steam sauna, or feast on freshfrom-scratch Americana cuisine in the Guesthouse Kitchen & Bar. 288 Settlers Valley Way, Lost River, 304.897.5707, guesthouselostriver.com

3. Melt butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and add eggs, stirring constantly and lifting off the bottom to avoid browning. When the eggs are about three-quarters cooked, turn off the heat—the residual heat in the pan will finish cooking the eggs—and fold in the chopped salmon and chives until eggs are slightly wet but cooked through.

4. Transfer contents of skillet to serving dish and top with smoked salmon rosettes, capers, and parsley. Serve immediately. yield: 4–6 servings

54 wvl • fall 2019

this ‹‹ taste

Blueberry-Filled French Toast Casseroles 4 tablespoons butter 8 tablespoons light brown sugar 4 teaspoons white corn syrup 8 slices French bread, ½ inch thick with crusts removed 1 can blueberry pie filling 4 large eggs 1⅓ cups milk 2 teaspoons vanilla Cinnamon-sugar to sprinkle on top Maple-flavored sausages for serving 1. The night before serving, in the bottom of four 5-inch refrigerator-to-oven casserole dishes, place one tablespoon butter, 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, and one teaspoon white corn syrup.

2. Place casseroles in microwave and heat until butter melts. Stir together butter and sugars. Place one slice of bread on top of mixture. In the center of each slice of bread, spoon 2 tablespoons of

Log House Homestead B&B

Log House Homestead B&B is fit for a pioneer. Owners Martha and Dick Hartley built the log house with their land’s timber and decorated it with period furniture. Guests can unplug—pioneers didn’t have Wi-Fi after all—while playing cards around the fireplace.

Modern amenities are only steps away, as the cellar features a microwave and Jacuzzi bath. Each morning, a hearty breakfast comes delivered to the door in baskets. 647 Homestead Cove Lane, Cairo, 304.628.3249, loghousehomestead.com

blueberry pie filling. Place a second slice of bread on top of the pie filling.

3. In a medium bowl, beat together 4 eggs, 1⅓ cups milk, and 2 teaspoons vanilla.

4. Pour egg mixture over bread, dividing equally between casseroles. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar. Cover casseroles and refrigerate overnight.

5. The next day, preheat oven to 350°, uncover casseroles, and bake for 35 minutes until light brown and airy. Serve immediately accompanied by maple-flavored sausages. note: To make this recipe in a 10" x 10" refrigerator-to-oven casserole dish, increase the baking time to approximately 40–45 minutes.

yield: Four 5-inch casseroles

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taste ›› this

Tim’s Famous Cranberry and Golden Raisin Scones 2½ cups all-purpose flour ¼ cup sugar 2 tablespoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt 1 stick unsalted butter ½ cup golden raisins ½ cup dried cranberries ¾ cup buttermilk 2 eggs Cinnamon and sugar for topping scones 1. Preheat oven to 400°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a food processor, add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well.

3. Cut butter into small chunks and add to flour mixture. Mix until dough is coarse, resembling cornmeal, and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

4. Add dried fruit to flour mixture, combine until fruit is coated with flour.

5. Add buttermilk and eggs to flour mix to create a moist but not sticky dough. Dust with extra flour to create a biscuit-like flaky texture. Folding the dough into layers with a dusting of flour in between the layers will give the finished scone a flaky texture.

6. Form dough into a ball and cut in half. Flatten each half into a ¾-inch thick circle. Cut each circle into 6-8 wedges.

7. Place wedges on parchment-lined baking sheet, sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

8. Bake 12–15 minutes or until tops of scones are golden brown. yield: 12 scones

Cafe Cimino Country Inn

Husband-and-wife duo Tim and Melody Urbanic have been cooking up Italian family recipes since they opened Cafe Cimino in 1999. As the restaurant’s popularity rose, they renovated a nearby estate into an elegant inn. Cafe Cimino Country Inn features 10 rooms, all nestled throughout the main house, carriage house, and cottage house. Guests can soak in the great outdoors with canoeing, kayaking, and fishing on the Elk River. 616 Main Street, Sutton, 304.765.2913, cafeciminocountryinn.com

56 wvl • fall 2019

this ‹‹ taste

BananaDream French Toast 3 large eggs ½ cup half-and-half 4 teaspoon brown sugar ½ teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon vanilla 4 slices thick-cut potato bread 1 cup quick oats 1 banana, sliced 2 tablespoon butter Maple syrup 1. Combine eggs, half-and-half, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Whisk lightly.

2. Dip bread slices into batter, then into oats to coat completely.

3. Heat butter in a nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Fry bread slices in butter until golden brown.

4. Top with sliced bananas and serve with maple syrup. yield: 2 servings

Bright Morning Inn

Once a lumberjack boarding house, the Bright Morning Inn is now a rustic yet modern lodge in historic downtown Davis. Mountain bike through Blackwater Falls State Park or ski at Canaan Valley, then rest your weary head in one of the eight bedrooms. In the morning, fuel up for your next quest with crisp bacon, fluffy pancakes, or the dreamy French toast smothered in maple syrup. 454 William Avenue, Davis, 304.259.5119, brightmorninginn.com

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taste ›› this

Chatman’s SugarCream Berry Pie

One 9-inch pie crust, homemade or store bought ½ cup maple or brown sugar, plus extra for sprinkling ½ cup white sugar ½ cup all-purpose flour 1 cup heavy whipping cream 1 cup buttermilk 1 large egg, room temperature ¼ cup sorghum Dash of vanilla extract Blueberries, raspberries, peaches—or what is in season 1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Mix all dry ingredients together with a whisk. Add the cream, buttermilk, egg, sorghum, and vanilla, and stir until mixed. Do not over-mix.

3. Carefully fold berries into batter until evenly distributed.

4. Pour batter into pie crust. Sprinkle extra brown sugar over top of batter.

Bake about one hour.

5. Let cool for at least one hour before serving. Top with fresh whipped cream or vanilla yogurt and sprinkle with berries.

Barn With Inn

Rise with the roosters—and goats and dogs—at Harry Sanford and Chatman Neely’s Barn with Inn, located at Highland Springs Farm. Watch the sunrise while eating on the breakfast porch.

Tuck in for the night at the main house’s guest bedroom, or hit the hay with either of the barn’s two homey suites. For townies, the sister operation, Sarah Miller House in downtown Wellsburg, also boasts comfortable accommodations. 4859 Bealls Ridge Road, Wellsburg, 304.737.0647, barnwithinn.com 58 wvl • fall 2019

EAT + DRINK + BE LO CA L |

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taste ›› vittles

It’s Not Bologna!

Bologna sandwiches are making a comeback! We are giving a high five to these favorites. written by savannah

carr

1. Tudor’s Biscuit World. This West Virginia staple sticks with simple and homemade, and can be found in almost any corner of West Virginia. Try the classic take on this sandwich with tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and bologna on a fresh bun.

2. Bourbon Prime in Morgantown. Executive Chef David Ryba dug deep into his recollections of his favorite lunch to create a great bologna sandwich (pictured above). Made with Kunzler Lebanon Bologna, a fried egg, arugula, and crispy onions stacked on a sweet roll, Bourbon Prime’s gourmet take on the bologna sandwich is a crowd pleaser.

3. Jerry’s Restaurant in Grafton. Enjoy a bologna sandwich the old-school way at Jerry’s.

This Grafton-based restaurant pays homage to the classic by keeping it simple and tasty with fried garlic bologna, monterey jack cheese, sweet pickles, and onions, all served up on a toasted bun.

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5. Screech Owl Brewing in Bruceton Mills.

Revel in true Appalachian spirit while enjoying an old-fashioned bologna sandwich like Grandma used to make at this cafe and microbrewery. Wash it down with a hand-crafted beer made in the mountains of Preston County.

NIKKI BOWMAN MILLS

4. Gonzoburger in Charleston. At Gonzoburger, you’ll find a new twist on the old classic. The mouth-watering Fried Bologna Burger is fried, thick-sliced bologna, tomato, green leaf lettuce, and American cheese stacked high.

AUTUMN DAYS make

Happy Memories VisitBuckhannon.org

taste ›› towns

# Memorable Meals written, photographed, and eaten by

nikki bowman mills

I

clock thousands of miles each month traversing the state, and one of my favorite parts about hitting the road is discovering new restaurants that are dishing out delicious meals, revisiting tried and true favorites, and tantalizing my tastebuds with mind-blowing treats. I’ve found that going out to eat is a great way to experience and connect with a community.

Here are my Insta-worthy meals from recent road trips. If you follow in my footsteps, take a picture of your food and post it with the hashtags #ThisIsWVLiving and #MemorableMeals. You’ll be entered to win a free meal at one of the restaurants mentioned.

Sarah's on Main, Wheeling I was first introduced to Sarah at a dinner at Sandscrest in Wheeling—and I’ve never forgotten that meal. So when I learned that she had opened up her own restaurant at the former location of the Lebanese Bakery, I couldn’t wait to take a trip to Wheeling. And I was not disappointed. Freshly baked croissants and pastries paired with drip coffee or a cappuccino will make you a fan, too. For lunch try the creamy quiche Lorraine or one of the ever-changing unique salads topped with homemade dressing. Tuesday—Saturday, 6:30 a.m.— 2 p.m. W 2122 Main Street, Wheeling, sarahsonmain.com

The Humble Tomato, Lewisburg Lewisburg’s newest restaurant, The Humble Tomato, located in one of the town’s oldest buildings, is dishing out gourmet pizzas. Looking for something unique? The Blue Sulphur is made with shaved Brussels sprouts, prosciutto, Gorgonzola, and hot honey. Another popular choice is Newton’s Law, a garlic oil-based pizza with dried figs, shaved prosciutto, grilled apple, and goat cheese, topped with a balsamic glaze. The House-Made Gnocchi and the Pan Seared House Mozzarella are great shareables, and if you aren’t in the mood for pizza, try one of the sandwiches or salads or indulge in a plate of pasta. W 855 Washington Street West, Lewisburg, thehumbletomato.net

Grandma’s Country Kitchen, Westover Selfishly, I almost don’t want to tell you about this hidden gem. Ever wonder where acclaimed Morgantown chefs or the editor of this magazine go for down-home cooking? Grandma’s Country Kitchen in Westover. There—I said it. I will never speak of this again. This small diner, complete with mismatched tables and chairs, is always busy. Massive omelets, tall stacks of pancakes, and country breakfasts bring early patrons, and specials like Chicken Fried Steak, Hot Roast Beef Sandwich, or Meatloaf served with mashed potatoes bring the mid-day crowds. Monday— Friday, 7 a.m.—3 p.m., Saturday until 2 p.m.

W 451 Dunkard Avenue, Westover 62 wvl • fall 2019

Live

E XPLORING THIS E X TRAORDINARY PL ACE WE CALL HOME

CARLA WITT FORD

Forge On

It’s time to hit the road and discover beautiful homes, hidden history, and wellsprings of creativity.

Josh’s own creation

PICTURED: KNIVES MADE BY CROOKED RIVER FORGE, PAGE 75.

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G IV E TH E

Perfect Gift WV LIVING is the premier lifestyle and travel magazine that celebrates contemporary life in West Virginia. The award-winning publication showcases uplifting stories, travel destinations, beautiful photography, unique shops and restaurants, and much more.

1 YEAR $20 | 2 YEARS $35 Visit wvliving.com or call 304.413.0104 to subscribe.

64 wvl • fall 2019

away ‹‹ live

A Glorious Morning This bed and breakfast near Cass Scenic Railroad is a great base for exploring the area’s attractions.

D

COURTESY OF THE MORNING GLORY INN

written by brenda

kissko

rive out to the mountains of Pocahontas County past blooming wildflowers, beneath shade trees, through one of the most biologically diverse national forests, to a place where the waterfalls are high, the telescopes giant, and the trains ancient.

Tucked away on 13 acres in Slaty Fork, between Marlinton and Snowshoe, you’ll find The Morning Glory Inn bed and breakfast.

Located just off U.S. 219 behind the Big Spring Fork stream with tranquil porches and

lush vegetation, this inn is a popular choice for travelers looking for a peaceful retreat close to some of the state’s top attractions—like Cass Scenic Railroad State Park, Green Bank Observatory, Snowshoe Mountain Resort, and the Greenbrier River Trail. Husband and wife team Rod Molidor and Karin Anderson own and operate this inn that they built from the ground up using cedar and pine wood they bought in West Virginia. It opened on New Year’s Day in 1998.

The Morning Glory Inn is one of the top traveler-ranked accommodations in

the entire state on TripAdvisor. It has received their Certificate of Excellence every year for the last five years, earning its spot on TripAdvisor’s Hall of Fame in 2019. Certificates of Excellence are only given to around 10 percent of all businesses on the travel review website and recognize accommodations that maintain an average of at least a four-star rating. Guests from all over the world that stay here rave about their experience, and they often come back time and time again.

Bob Fielder lives in Blacksburg, Virginia, and first discovered The Morning Glory Inn in 2010 on one of his regular trips to Snowshoe. Since then, he only stays here when he’s in the area, which is typically five to six weekends each ski season. Fielder says he’s stayed at the inn around 40 weekends in all.

“The Morning Glory Inn is the most well-run B&B I’ve stayed at,” says Fielder. newsouthmedia.com 65

“It feels like our wintertime home away from home. As you walk into the foyer, you instantly feel welcomed and you know you’re on vacation.

The MGI is always very clean and nicely decorated and so you really feel comfortable and at home. The hot breakfast is fantastic.”

Molidor and Anderson grew up in northern Illinois, where their first date in high school was at a local drive-in movie theater—though neither could remember what film was playing. These high school sweethearts recently celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary. Once their children left the nest, they set out to see the country and take seasonal resort jobs where they could put their backgrounds in food and beverage management to use. They first came to West Virginia in the early 1990s to work at Snowshoe Mountain Resort for a winter. They returned the following year and accepted year-round positions at the resort, where they stayed for five years before opening their own inn.

“We want our guests to be comfortable, like they are at home,” Molidor says.

“We’re not a big hotel or a condo where you check in and then never see anybody again,” adds Anderson. “Our personal service is what sets us apart.”

The Morning Glory Inn’s name was inspired by Molidor’s fond memories of the abundance of heavenly blue morning glories trailing up just about any structure they could wrap their tendrils around on his Grandpa Nick’s farm in Illinois. The name fits, as breakfast is the highlight of your experience here, ensuring your day starts off in a glorious way.

Let the buttery sun streaming in the skylight overhead wake you. Follow the scent of strong coffee down to the common dining room, where your morning feast awaits. Fill up your plate with a smorgasbord of fruits, cereals, yogurts, and homemade breads topped with Anderson’s from-scratch blueberry or apple pie jam. Order your farmfresh eggs scrambled plain or cheesy with various add-ins like thick-chopped ham or sausage. Anderson’s handmade granola comes in three flavors and you can order a bag to take home or give as gifts.

Breakfast here is as much about the company as it is about the food. You may meet couples from neighboring Ohio or North Carolina on their annual ski vacation or a family from France here to ride one of the trains at Cass. Take your coffee out to the plush chairs on the porch to listen to birds sing and watch hummingbirds feed. The back 66 wvl • fall 2019

patio is perfect for an evening conversation and stargazing to a chorus of croaking frogs.

On cold days, guests gather around the fireplace and pluck books and board games off the shelf to enjoy. Stained glass and large canvases painted with mountain scenes set the tone at this retreat. The sign above the door says it all: “Enter as strangers; leave as friends.”

All eight guest rooms are quite large with airconditioning, satellite TV, small refrigerators, coffee and tea service, hypoallergenic beyonddown pillows, remote-controlled LED candles, and private bathrooms with deep tubs and plush towels. The Morning Glory Inn also offers a pet-friendly room.

In your room, you’ll find a list of local events to check out while you’re in the area, like the Wild Edibles Festival at Watoga State Park or Appalachian Heritage Day at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. Molidor and Anderson

have also included menus from area restaurants to help plan your meals. Consider them your personal concierge—here to make dinner reservations or reserve a golf tee time for you.

Pack a paper map or print your driving directions before heading this way. Cell phone service is spotty or nonexistent in much of the area, making this a destination for a real vacation from emails and to-do lists. If you must connect, there is Wi-Fi at the inn.

When asked what her favorite thing about running a bed-and-breakfast is, Anderson says, “meeting new people and hearing their stories. Everybody has a story.”

71 Spring Road, Slaty Fork, 304.572.5000, morninggloryinn.com

COURTESY OF THE MORNING GLORY INN

live ›› away

thrills ‚‚ live

NIKKI BOWMAN MILLS

Escaping the Doldrums

Partly inspired by video games, escape rooms have exploded in popularity across the country over the past few years. Step away from the screen, grab some friends, and get puzzled in real life at one of these local spots. written by emilie

shumway newsouthmedia.com 67

live ›› thrills

Escape the Pen (pictured on page 63) MOUNDSVILLE

Arguably the most authentic escape room in the state, Escape the Pen places you inside this infamous prison, where criminal “Lefty Lafferty” is scheduled for the electric chair. Nothing is what it seems. You must purchase a minimum of four tickets to open a game. Once there are four players secured for the game, tickets may be purchased individually, up to a maximum of eight. All tickets must be purchased online and ticket sales end at 8 a.m. three days prior.

818 Jefferson Avenue, Moundsville, 304.845.6200, wvpentours.com/ events/escape-the-pen

The Lost HUNTINGTON

68 wvl • fall 2019

Xscape

MORGANTOWN The 60-minute games at Xscape are thematically different but also engage a unique sets of skills. For “Bank Job,” in which players are hostages of bank robbers and are attempting to outrace a bomb, some basic math and logic are needed.

“Taken,” which is also a hostage scenario, divides participants into teams and requires an extra level of teamwork. The third and final game, “The Estate,” compels players to solve the mystery of where a recently dead relative has hidden her sizable inheritance, and players with trivia knowledge get an upper hand. The games range in difficulty from 7 to 8 out of 10, with record-holders solving the puzzles in between 30 and 35 minutes. Groups with fewer than six players can elect to be paired with other participants if others are booked, or can play with additional clues. 63 Wharf Street, Morgantown, 304.680.2665, escape.cool

COURTESY OF THE LOST, COURTESY OF XSCAPE

The Lost immerses participants in one of three storylines: “Tell No One,” which asks puzzlers to solve the mystery of one woman’s sudden disappearance; “The Outbreak,” which requires participants to discover the cure for a deadly viral outbreak; and “Break a Leg,” which casts players as struggling actors and features more of a comedic bent.

All must be solved in 60 minutes or less. The difficulty level is high—fewer than a third of teams successfully complete the hardest puzzle, and just slightly over half complete the easiest. The Lost keeps track of their “top escape artists” on its website for those that win in record time—most hover in the 35- to 45-minute range. For well-energized players who want to experience all three rooms, The Lost offers a late-night lockin option for Friday and Saturday nights starting at 10 p.m., with snacks and drinks provided. The Lost accommodates groups of two to six players. 300 8th Street, Huntington, 304.972.4070, lostescaperoom.com

thrills ‹‹ live

Epic Escape Game FAYETTEVILLE For those who want a greater chance at escaping, Epic may be the way to go.

These 60-minute games have a higher rate of completion than most others, with “The Secret Bunker”—in which participants must find and make operational a hidden bunker in the wake of missile strikes—offering groups an 80 percent success rate. For cryptid fans, Epic features a Mothmanthemed game that forces players to find their way out of the creature’s cave before it returns. The hardest game, with only a 40 percent success rate, is “Revenge of the Misfit Toys,” which requires players to lift the curse on a tragedy-laden toy factory. Each game accommodates up to eight players, though individuals or small groups may sign up alone and be grouped with strangers—or book a private game for a small group at a premium. 151 North Court Street, Fayetteville, 304.574.0137, @epicescapegamenrg on Facebook

Outta Time CHARLESTON

Outta Time provides more than your standard set of puzzles. With an elaborate backstory, the escape room brings participants into a whole other dimension: one in which a third world war broke out in 1997, time travel was discovered in 2015, and players—AKA “time travel cadets”—are sent into different timelines and tasked with “clean-up missions.” While the owners of Outta Time ensure there are no “jump scares or boogeymen” involved, the escape room does have some suspenseful puzzles for the low-level thrill-seeker. Currently, the escape room offers four missions, including one that sends travelers back to 1849 to retrieve Edgar Allan Poe’s unpublished manuscript, hidden somewhere in his writing den—difficulty 9/10. Outta Time offers a swag bag of goodies for cadets who complete all four missions and become “time travel officers.” The 90-minute adventure is designed for groups of six to eight, though smaller groups can be paired with strangers.

1422 Washington Street East, Charleston, 681.265.3714, outtatimeexcaperooms.com

CARLA WITT FORD, COURTESY OF OUTTA TIME, COURTESY OF ESCAPEWORKS

EscapeWorks WEIRTON

EscapeWorks offers just one game—“The Horseshoe Club,” which transports players to a 1929 speakeasy, where participants cope with feuding mobsters and must find and retrieve a payoff left by the owner, Bugsy Marlowe. EscapeWorks demonstrates a love of detail—it designed and built the game in-house and requires a password to even get into the speakeasy, which players can find by solving a puzzle on their Facebook page. Difficulty is moderate, with players looking at about 50 percent chance of success. Despite the limited offerings, EscapeWorks has racked up more than 100 5-star reviews on Facebook. Each group can reserve a private game with only four players at no additional charge, though five to six players are recommended. 3350 Pennsylvania Avenue, Weirton, 304.639.8985, escapeworks-ov.com

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home marketplace

70 wvl • fall 2019

Mountaineer Pride Marching on the field gives WVU students a unique and meaningful thrill. written by kayse

ellis

ROGER SEALEY / WVU BAND

live ›› out loud

ROGER SEALEY, ZAC RANSON, ROGER SEALEY, CHRIS SOUTHARD WVU BAND

out loud ‹‹ live

ANNE ROTH

JOSHUA SHEPPARD

MADISON EIS

Hometown: Annandale, VA Major: Elementary education Minor: Spanish Year: Senior Instrument: Alto Saxophone

Hometown: Havre de Grace, MD Major: Music education Year: Sophomore Instrument: Tuba

Hometown: Amherst, OH Major: Elementary Education Year: Senior Instrument: Feature Twirler

Joshua Sheppard was attracted to WVU for the size of the band and knew being a part of the Big 12 meant travel opportunity.

“My high school band wasn’t small, but I’m a tuba player. Usually in high school you’re the only one or there’s two of you. And then I saw videos of the WVU band and there’s over 20. I thought, ‘That’s kind of cool! I want to play with that many people.’”

His first college football game came as a pleasant surprise, as the Mountaineer fans always turn up for The Pride of West Virginia. “I look forward to it each time we have a game. It’s one of the things I look forward to because most bands don’t get that type of exposure to people—most times they’re more worried about, ‘Here comes the football team,’ and they’re just here for a football game. You’re not really used to people caring about the band—and that holds over when we’re not even at football games. That’s something you can’t take for granted, because most bands don’t get that.

It’s really amazing.”

Madison Eis’ twirling performances on the field and in competition exude confidence, but that wasn’t always the case. “When I was in kindergarten, I was a very shy child. I wasn’t playing with a lot of kids in my class. I would always play by myself. My kindergarten teacher suggested to my mom that I join an after school program or program during the summer to break me out of my shell. My mom found a group called The Elyria Deputies.”

Although she had won a number of national competitions, her first performance at Milan Puskar Stadium was unlike any other. “My first game of the season I was scared. I was so nervous, but in a good way. We moved so fast I just kept thinking, ‘Left, right, left, right.

Do not trip. Run fast and just go.’ The first moment of that pregame that I really fully took in was in Simple Gifts. When Simple Gifts started, I looked up for the first time and I saw the fans and I was like, ‘Wow this is incredible!

I’ve never twirled in front of this many people before!’ I was so excited I was crying.”

The alto saxophones’ shiny keys have sparkled in Anne Roth’s eyes since she was 9 years old. “My high school band director explained to me that the Pride of West Virginia wasn’t just a typical university marching band. It was more than that. It was more of an organization that gives back to the state of West Virginia and positively influences the community. And that was really something I was looking for. For it to be more than football games, you know?”

The marching band has brought Roth not only musical fulfillment, but lifelong friends and a sense of community. “Yeah, it’s more than a marching band. It’s entertainment, compassion, it’s friendliness. ’Cause I haven’t been somewhere in West Virginia with the marching band where I haven’t been welcomed. I haven’t been anywhere where I have felt not wanted, so that was important.

The marching band at West Virginia, they really do do so many things for the state and the people of West Virginia and I really wanted that sense of giving back.”

newsouthmedia.com 73

ANNIE PETTITO

NICHOLAS DeLANCEY

TREVOR HILTZ

Hometown: West Milford Major: Elementary and special education Year: Senior Instrument: Clarinet

Hometown: Weirton Major: Music Education Year: Junior Instrument: Percussionist; Drum line

Hometown: Eldersburg, MD Major: Multidisciplinary Studies Year: Senior Instrument: Drum Major; Tuba

Being from a small West Virginia town, Annie Pettito was overwhelmed with emotion to be accepted into WVU’s marching band. “I grew up in a small town in West Virginia with a great love for the state, and being in the marching band was a way to give back to the state that’s given so much to me.” Opening her acceptance letter is among her favorite memories. “I remember opening the letter at 5 a.m., and my life changed right then and there.

I wasn’t sure I was going to WVU before I got the acceptance. But once that piece of paper said that I was in the band, I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m not going to do it.’”

In high school, sports had been Nicholas DeLancey’s preferred extracurricular activity, but having a friend in band persuaded him to keep participating.

“I started band in fifth grade. I did sports more than anything else. But my friend decided to play the trumpet, so I picked trumpet, too. I played it for a couple years, but I wanted to be in percussion. So I asked to switch, and my band director told me no.

I actually quit band for a year.”

DeLancey loves the community The Pride has given him, but admits it’s hard work. “It’s just a lot of time, especially in college. We have four rehearsals a week.

The drumline has their own rehearsal on Wednesday after the band rehearsal. A game on Saturday, parades in between, and demo shows. There’s just a lot of stuff to do and focus on while you’re in college.”

Trevor Hiltz’s musical journey started with the tuba, but he always wanted to lead the band onto the field as a drum major. “I wasn’t able to audition in high school because I played the tuba, and my band director wanted me to continue to play the tuba since there weren’t many of us. Then, in college, I decided, ‘I’m going to take the opportunity to try out for the drum major position, and even if I don’t get it, I can say I auditioned.’”

One could only imagine the first time stepping out onto the football field and feeling the 120,000 eyes anticipating the pregame performance. Hiltz admits it’s difficult to recall. “The first time I can say I don’t really remember much of it because it was so surreal.

I was just taking it all in. It was something I had never experienced before. Even now, in my most recent performances, there are parts that I don’t really remember because I’m having so much fun with it.”

74 wvl • fall 2019

ZAC RANSON, CHRIS SOUTHARD / WVU BAND

live ›› out loud

creatively ‹‹ live

Cutting Edge

Whether you’re a home chef or an avid hunter, having a proper knife is essential. This everyday tool seems simple, but crafting one whose form is as sharp as its function takes a true master. Meet the West Virginians who are forging ahead in the ancient art of bladesmithing. written by

Chef Marion Ohlinger holds a cleaver created by Crooked River Forge.

jess walker

photographed by

carla witt ford

live ›› creatively

Derr Knives In the early ’90s, Herb Derr took a class on making damascus knives. Within a year, he sold his previous business and committed to forging. “Being an artist, you’re always looking for that one thing where you can make a living and not get burnt out,” he says. Nearly three decades later, Derr’s passion for damascus is still burning strong.

The metals for damascus steel are repeatedly layered and fused to give the blade an appearance of rippling water.

Derr adds nickel for a bright sheen and twists the metal or drills holes to create a bird’s-eye pattern. His blades are sole authorship from point to handle, and he inlays the sheaths with exotic leather—the pictured one features cane toad.

Derr travels to three knife shows annually and sells through a handful of dealers. He doesn’t have a website himself, so how does a knife enthusiast find out more? “Google Herb Derr.”

76 wvl • fall 2019

creatively ‹‹ live

Life’s Forge Books plunged Bennett Life into the worlds of blade and blacksmithing. Inspired by the Foxfire series—a collection of stories about Appalachian culture—the then-14 year old built a forge and kept his nose to the grindstone. “I wanted to be able to handle every area of bladesmithing and blacksmithing that I could,” Life says.

What started as a self-taught hobby turned into a full-blown business called Life’s Forge. Life spends eight hours a day crafting anything from fireplace pokers to medieval daggers to table legs. For the knife he sent WV Living, he welded together ball bearings and two other kinds of steel in a can to create the metal. Most of his knives demand 10 to 20 hours of labor, but Life once spent 100 hours on a 3-foot-tall tree statue complete with dangling leaves and snaking roots. He sells his masterpieces and provides coal forge demonstrations at local art shows. lifesforgewv.com, @lifesforge on Facebook

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live ›› creatively

crooked river forge When Tommy Matthews’ sales job in the steel industry quenched out, he sharpened up his bladesmithing skills. Chef ’s, hunting, and everyday carry knives from Crooked River Forge are made with steels Matthews knows well, such as 1095 high carbon steel, to ensure dependability during heat treating.

He leaves hammering dimples visible both for aesthetics and to prevent food from sticking— an important factor since chefs country-wide wield the blades. An avid outdoorsman, he says, “I wanted to make knives I could use, whether that’s from skinning a deer and processing it to cooking and eating it.”

What thrust Crooked River Forge into the limelight was Matthews winning the “Steel Takedown Bow” episode from season 5 of the History channel’s competition series Forged in Fire. He’s since moved from Cleveland, Ohio to his hometown of Chester. “I don’t think a day goes by where people don’t stop in to catch up.” crookedriverforge.com, @crookedriverforge on Facebook

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creatively ‹‹ live

house of steel: The Legacy of Little John The Big Bad Wolf demolished the three little pigs’ straw and stick houses. So Luci McDonald Vanilar told her late husband Little John McDonald to name their blacksmithing business House of Steel because “you can huff and puff, and you’ll never blow it down.” House of Steel’s artisans use a primitive coal forge and hand-hammer blades, rarely running machines beyond small power tools. All are trained blacksmiths: Jimi Miljko continues McDonald’s bladesmithing style, McDonald Vanilar crafts handles and sheaths, and her son and daughter-in-law etch glass and carve horns.

House of Steel has traded blades for everything from antlers to sausages. And just how tough are they? When a Viking reenactor passed, his wife received permission for a traditional Viking cremation with his knife collection. House of Steel’s blade withstood the fire, and they repurposed it for her. The knives have a lifetime warranty but, McDonald Vanilar says, “We have what I jokingly call an afterlife warranty.” @houseofsteelblacksmiths on Facebook newsouthmedia.com 79

live ›› creatively

bray’s Knifeworks Greg Bray and his father were both knife collectors so, after Bray observed a local craftsman, he tested his own metal—er, mettle. The first knife he made in 1990 looked a tad crude, but he honed his talent throughout the years and ventured into blacksmithing. Bray currently works as executive director of Pricketts Fort Memorial Foundation, so much of what he crafts at his home forge on evenings and weekends are historical 18th or 19th century designs of axes, knives, and tomahawks. “Even though they were simpler knives back then, there was still beauty in them,” he says. The one pictured is a 19th century pistol grip made from files with a crosshatched bone handle.

Bray used to travel to craft shows, and his knives have found homes throughout the United States and Europe. He sells through word of mouth now, but teaches a blacksmithing class at Prickett’s Fort State Park annually. 304.825.1288

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history ‹‹ live

Wheeling Celebrates the Big 2-5-0 As West Virginia’s first capital city marks its semiquincentennial, we’re taking a look at five places in the city that have shaped its past and its future. written by

zack harold newsouthmedia.com 81

live ›› history

This Italian Renaissance Revival-style landmark in downtown Wheeling began its life as a federal customs house for the Western District of Virginia. But just two years after its completion in 1859, it took on a very different role, becoming the birthplace of West Virginia.

It was here that the Second Wheeling Convention declared Virginia’s secession from the United States illegal, organized the Union-loyal Reorganized Government of Virginia, and elected Francis Harrison Pierpont governor of the “new” Virginia. A later session here authorized the creation of the State of Kanawha, later re-named West Virginia, and adopted the state constitution.

After its starring role in the Civil War, the building lived a few different lives as a post office and headquarters for an insurance company. For a time, there was even a nightclub inside. But in 1964, the state purchased the building. It is now a museum dedicated to the Civil War and the birth of West Virginia. 1528 Market Street

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REBECCA KIGER FOTOGRAFIA, NIKKI BOWMAN MILLS

Independence Hall

history ‹‹ live

Oglebay

In 1926, banker and industrialist Earl W. Oglebay left his 1,700-acre estate to the city of Wheeling. The land became Oglebay Park and, for nearly a century now, has been a hotspot for family fun in the Friendly City. Along with its sister property, Wheeling Park, Oglebay offers golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools, ski and snow tubing slopes, horseback riding stables, hiking trails, and more.

Oglebay’s Good Zoo features 30 acres of animal exhibits as well as a planetarium. The Mansion Museum—once Colonel Oglebay’s summer estate—now takes visitors through the history of the Oglebay family and the city of Wheeling via an impressive collection of antiques. The Glass Museum offers a look into the region’s glassmaking industry and also houses the largest piece of cut glass in the world. Once you’re exhausted from a busy day outdoors, crash at the 271-room Wilson Lodge. The hotel features a 5,000-square-foot spa, fine dining, an indoor and outdoor pool, a Jacuzzi, and a sauna. The resort also has 54 cottages available to rent. 465 Lodge Drive

CARLA WITT FORD, NIKKI BOWMAN MILLS

Market District

The Market District in the 19th century was a gathering place for the neighborhood’s largely German citizenry—roughly 20 percent of Wheeling’s population was German at the time.

Many lived in the market district, and thus many of the stalls at the Centre Market were operated by Germans.

The upper section of the Centre Market was built in 1853 and was originally an open-air market, framed in neoclassical columns made from cast iron forged by Wheeling’s own Hamilton and Rogers Foundry. The lower market house was added in 1890 and was also originally an openair design, though built in brick in the neo-Romanesque style. Later, when the city closed the market in, the cinder block walls were built around the columns so they would be visible from outside.

The market is still a bustling culinary destination. Stop

by Michael’s Beef House for a roast beef sandwich, Oliver’s Pies for a slice of homemade of coconut cream pie, a few pounds of Amish cheese from Valley Cheese Co., or a fish sandwich from Coleman’s Fish Market. 2200 Market Street newsouthmedia.com 83

live ›› history

Located along Wheeling’s picturesque riverfront, the Capitol Theatre opened on Thanksgiving in 1928. Construction cost a staggering $1 million—nearly $15 million in today’s money. The building featured a copper marquee, a large neon sign, a stateof-the-art sprinkler system, two box offices, two balconies, seating for 3,000 on downy cushioned seats, and three movie projectors— one for silent films, one for the “talkies,” and the third for an emergency backup.

In the 1960s, the theatre became the permanent home for The Wheeling Jamboree, a country music showcase that was once one of the nation’s top music programs. The Jamboree broadcast from the theater until December 2005, when a group of local nonprofits and other organizations bought the Capitol Theatre. The building changed hands again in 2009, when the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau purchased the theater and began a series of renovations.

The theatre still regularly hosts nationally recognized music acts and comedians, touring Broadway productions, and performances by the Wheeling Symphony. 123 Summers Street 84 wvl • fall 2019

Wheeling Suspension Bridge

While driving across the Wheeling Suspension Bridge might just seem like a convenient way to cross the Ohio River, it’s actually a piece of living history. The bridge was the first suspension bridge of its kind in the world and, until the completion of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883, was the longest bridge in the country. It remains the oldest vehicular suspension bridge still in use.

The bridge actually replaced an earlier span that was destroyed by a windstorm in 1854. The new bridge became the subject of a U.S. Supreme Court battle between Virginia, who wanted the bridge to increase traffic and commerce on the National Road, and Pittsburgh, which feared the structure would hinder river traffic. Virginia won the battle, and the new bridge was completed in 1856.

It has undergone some changes during its lifespan. In 1956, workers rebuilt the deck using open steel grating to lighten the bridge’s weight and reduce wind resistance. The bridge was named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1969, a National Historic Landmark in 1975, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Virginia Street

REBECCA KIGER FOTOGRAFIA, STEVE SHALUTA PHOTOGRAPHY

Capitol Theatre

written and photographed by

Zack Harold

IN LIVING COLOR

Amy Goodwin is working to make Charleston vibrant again.

A

Amy Shuler Goodwin’s days are divided into colored blocks.

As mayor of West Virginia’s capital city, she seldom has a moment to waste. So her longtime assistant Tina Stinson devised a color-coding system on Goodwin’s computer schedule to keep everything straight.

Any event appearing in a kelly green–colored box is on Goodwin’s schedule, and she’s committed to making it happen. Maroon means the event is still pending. Gray means someone from her administration will attend in the mayor’s stead. Yellow boxes are things pertaining to her two teenage sons. “’Cause they’re bananas,” Goodwin explains.

Pink boxes are “Amy time.” Watching Goodwin scroll through her week, there aren’t many of these boxes on the schedule. When they do appear, it’s usually in the hour before sunrise. That’s when she and her husband, Booth, work out at Orangetheory Fitness.

Goodwin has already been to the gym when WV Living catches up with her on a midsummer Monday morning.

She starts her day at City Hall by taking in a City Council Finance Committee meeting, where council members and her administration’s legal team are working on a new policy meant to increase the number of Charleston-based bidders on city contracts. The meeting runs longer than expected, so Goodwin ducks out and heads to her office. The next greencolored box is beckoning.

She needs to catch up on emails and phone calls. Goodwin knocked on 11,000 doors during her campaign, handing out her personal cell phone number at each one. A lot of people seem to have kept it. She does take a moment to make a personal phone call. She phones her doctor’s office to cancel an upcoming appointment, since it conflicts with an important press conference. That’s one pink box fewer on the schedule.

Now Goodwin steps into the office’s small kitchenette, where she sits across a small table from her chief of staff, Matthew Sutton. He has a sheaf of papers, all stamped at the top with a red “ASG,” that they need to sort through.

There’s a letter from the organizers of the Charleston Distance Run, who want her to fire the starting gun at this year’s race. There are notes from a few aspiring true crime

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writers seeking files on separate long-forgotten murder cases. There are reminders to call the new superintendent of Spring Hill Cemetery and appoint a new member to the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center Board.

Then there’s a letter from someone who received a ticket for speeding through a work zone, which came with a fine of several hundred dollars. Goodwin has a firm policy on this kind of thing. Whether it’s a speeding ticket, a parking citation, or a littering offense, her office does not make things go away. “I’m not in the business of fixing things like that,” she says.

There are plenty of other things that need fixing. *** The unrelenting schedule is nothing new for Goodwin. She comes from a family that knows what it means to work hard.

In addition to their individual teaching careers, her mother and father opened the Wheeling sporting goods shop Hole ’n Run when Goodwin was 8 years old. She still bears long, thin white scars on her left arm, the result of several careless swipes with a razor blade while regripping golf clubs.

Her parents’ busy schedules meant Goodwin and her sister Karen spent lots of time with their father’s mother, Thais Blatnik. In addition to spending nights in the converted schoolhouse her grandparents called home, Goodwin would often accompany her “Mimi” to Charleston—where she represented Ohio County in the House of Delegates.

At the time, the trips to the Capitol just seemed like a fun time. “We loved being with her because we got to stay at the Marriott and swim in the pool. You’d get room service—big cheeseburgers.” But Goodwin was also receiving a political education as she sat on the padded benches in House

Finance Committee and wandered the Capitol’s marble halls to find Blatnik a can of Tab. Goodwin also watched her white-haired grandmother stand up to her male colleagues for issues she believed in. She was particularly passionate about women’s rights.

Blatnik helped push through a bill that finally allowed police to arrest men for abusing their wives.

“She was only 4-foot-11—and a half—but she acted like she was 7 feet tall, ” Goodwin says.

Goodwin got her own chance to take a stand as a student at West Virginia University. She can vividly recall sitting with her Alpha Xi Delta sisters in the green shag– carpeted TV room of their sorority house, fuming over the direction of campus politics.

It was 1992, Goodwin’s senior year at West Virginia University. She and her sorority sisters watched as less-involved students—young women, especially—fell through the societal cracks. Sexual assaults were a growing problem on campus. And yet, year after year, student government seemed to be run by the same disinterested candidates.

“We were all angry,” she says. “We said, We need to get somebody who’s engaged. We need a female who’s involved with women’s groups,” Goodwin says.

One of the sisters suggested Goodwin, who was the sorority’s president and vice-president of the campus women’s equality movement, put her name on the ballot.

“I said ‘No, no, no. I’m good at being the campaign manager. I can run somebody’s campaign.’”

The next day her friend and WVU football player Steve Redd called the house’s pay phone. “He said ‘I heard you wanted to run.’ I said, ‘That’s not what you heard.’” But Red convinced Goodwin to be his running partner.

She was vice president of the student body. It was the last time her name would appear on a ballot for 25 years. *** Goodwin came to Charleston to work in TV news, first behind the scenes and then on camera. That’s how she found herself in the office of Charleston Mayor G. Kemp Melton. She doesn’t remember what she was interviewing the mayor about, but at the end Melton mentioned his administration was in need of a communications director.

He encouraged her to apply. She doesn’t remember much about the job interview, except that she wore a powder blue suit—and she got the job.

Although the position had Goodwin pitching stories to news outlets, answering questions from reporters, and writing speeches, the part she enjoyed most was interacting with the city’s residents. It was a year before she

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married Booth Goodwin. “We would get home and start talking, ‘How was your day dear?’ I’d say “I got somebody’s sewer line fixed today!’ And Booth would say ‘Oh. I just worked on some tax law.’”

She next went to work on Capitol Hill as communications director for then-Congressman Bob Wise. She aided Wise’s successful gubernatorial campaign, then ran his administration’s communications office before leaving to work for John Kerry’s 2004 presidential bid. When he lost, she took a few months off to spend time with her kids and then started doing contract communications work.

It wasn’t long before she was back under the big gold dome, though. She joined Governor Earl Ray Tomblin’s administration as his communications director. Then Tomblin named her deputy commerce commissioner and handed her the reins of the state’s tourism department. She shook up the stagnated agency, launching a national ad campaign and even renaming the entire agency “Almost Heaven.” *** Goodwin and Sutton spin through City Hall’s Goodwin takes photos with her phone and makes revolving front door, descend the steps onto Virginia notes in her black binder. She tells Sutton that police Street, and head east. They find Deno Stanley, owner are going to have to start writing warnings, then issuing of Adelphia Sports Bar & Grille, waiting for them at tickets. By now Ellen Beal, owner of Ellen’s, has joined the corner of Virginia and Capitol streets.

Goodwin and Stanley on the sidewalk. She’s just in time Stanley had called Goodwin’s office earlier in the to hear Goodwin unspool her dream for Capitol Street— morning wanting to talk about low-hanging trees to close it to traffic completely. She knows some people obscuring downtown traffic lights. Goodwin makes note will freak out, but thinks it would ultimately be good for of it, but she has something else on her mind. Traffic on business. Both business owners agree.

Capitol Street, home of Stanley’s restaurant and other “You’re trying to institute change,” Beal says. “Change popular downtown destinations, is becoming a problem. is hard.”

For years, delivery trucks have made a habit of *** stopping in the middle of the busy, pedestrian-heavy The year 2016 was a rough one in the Goodwin street to drop their loads, sometimes during the lunch household. That May, Booth Goodwin was bested in the rush. Cars do it, too, as drivers switch on their hazard state Democratic primary by a billionaire coal magnate lights and run inside to pick up their to-go orders. But who had no political experience. Once the primary was things are getting out of hand as drivers working for over, Goodwin declared no more running for office in food delivery services like DoorDash and GrubHub clog their household. “I said ‘Never again.’” Then Jim Justice the street. One recent traffic jam almost turned deadly won the governor’s race, and she knew her time at as a disgruntled motorist whipped around one of the Almost Heaven was coming to an end. stopped cars—and nearly struck two children who were She was right back in that Morgantown sorority house. legally traversing the brick crosswalk between Taylor She wasn’t just upset about the outcome of the election; she Books and Ellen’s Homemade Ice Cream. was angry about the ineptitude of her own party, up and Stanley says he’s noticed down the ballot. “I felt like we were the back-up, too. In fact, as running the same people, the same “If we really want to change the he and Goodwin are talking, ideas, the same energy.” a man in a red pickup stops She knew she needed to do state, if we really want to change in front of Graziano’s Pizza, something and, this time, she the country, it starts at city hall.” needed no encouragement from a puts on his flashers, and runs inside. Then a delivery sorority sister or football star. She truck pulls up outside Pies & signed up to run in Charleston’s Pints to unload some boxes of food. Then a champagneupcoming mayoral election. colored Hyundai SUV parks directly in the middle of the Goodwin felt like a gray fog had descended on the crosswalk. The driver runs to get coffee at Taylor’s. Then, capital city. She felt like the city’s leadership had lost not long after the delivery truck has gone, a white Ford its vision, and its people had lost hope. And she felt she SUV stops in the exact same spot. could do something about it.

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But why not run for higher office? Couldn’t she make more of a difference? Well, that’s the thing. Goodwin believes this way of thinking is one reason our national politics are the way they are. There’s not enough focus on “down ballot” races, so neither party has new blood waiting in the wings. “The governors of tomorrow are the city councilwomen of today,” she says.

Plus, if every candidate is trying to get to the governor’s mansion, or Congress, or the White House right away, they lose touch with the issues that are really affecting their communities. Mayors, meanwhile, are perfectly positioned to make a real impact on the people they serve. “If we really want to change the state, if we really want to change the country, it starts at City Hall.”

Goodwin is already making changes. As soon as she came into office, she was faced with a budget deficit of $3 million. She and her team managed to close that gap without increasing taxes or using one-time funds, by cutting travel expenses, reducing the number of city employees, ending some contracts, and nixing the free trash bag distribution program that cost the city $400,000 a year. And Goodwin still managed to increase the paving budget and funding for the police and fire departments.

In August, she rolled out an aggressive new campaign to address the city’s vacant and abandoned properties by increasing fines and creating a land bank to acquire blighted real estate.

She’s proud of her administration’s less visible successes, too, like building the youngest and most diverse administration in city history—an aggressive, passionate group Goodwin says is “up before dawn and here long after the street lights have come on.” In other words, people just like her.

“

The governors of tomorrow are the city councilwomen of today.

*** On the day of Goodwin’s inauguration, a staffer from outgoing mayor Danny Jones’ administration called and said they needed a 16-by-20-inch portrait to hang in the mayor’s office suite.

Goodwin, busy with more pressing matters, called her husband and asked him to have a photo printed. Then she promptly forgot all about it.

That evening, she recited her oath of office in the dark, wood-paneled council chambers on the third floor of city hall.

Her husband and sons stood by her side as her father-in-law, U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin, performed the ceremony.

Then, after delivering a hopeful speech on the future of Charleston and officially appointing key members of her administration, Goodwin retreated with her family, friends, and supporters to the mayor’s conference room on the second floor for punch and cookies.

That’s when she saw the photo Booth Goodwin supplied.

“My heart stopped.”

Having received no direction from his wife, Booth Goodwin did not choose a traditional headshot. Instead, he picked a photo of her leaning against a Charly Jupiter Hamilton mural on the city’s West Side. “If you know anything about the artist, his pieces are colorful and dynamic and big.”

Now, in the middle of a room decorated with row after row of old men, each in shades of gray, hangs a photo of a woman.

And not just any woman, but Amy Goodwin. And not just any photo, but one printed in full, vibrant, living color. newsouthmedia.com 91

Our sixth annual unveiling of the most wondrous women in West Virginia sheds light on the movers and shakers, the makers, the can-doers and glass ceiling–breakers. These Appalachian women bring the mountain spirit to everything they do—from founding businesses and advancing the arts to upholding the law and lending a helping hand—and they do so without a golden lasso of truth or bulletproof bracelets. No matter where they are from or what they do, together they are building a better state. written by SAVANNAH CARR, JENNY CORONA, KAYSE ELLIS, ZACK HAROLD, PAM KASEY, AND JESS WALKER

PAM FARRIS

Leading the Pack Pam Farris first got a taste of what Leadership West Virginia was all about as a member of the group’s 1998 class. Now she is able to support others as Leadership West Virginia’s executive director. She says she gets to be a mentor and a cheerleader to others who go through the leadership program she once did.

Farris’s favorite part of her job? “Seeing the results within the people and the growth and passion that ensue,” she says without hesitation.

“What we are doing is of great value to the program participants and to our state.”

Farris is a member of the board of directors of the Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council, the Charleston Vandalia Rotary Club, and the West Virginia Society of Association Executives. She also serves on the steering committee for Women for Economic Leadership Development and most recently joined the advisory council for Communities in Schools. - SC

REBEKAH (PERRY) FRANKS

Creatures, Conservation, and Children In the fifth grade, Rebekah Franks received National Geographic Kids magazine at school. She read about endangered frogs and started her own frog rescue group.

After receiving her bachelor’s degree in zoo and conservation science, she became the director of wildlife education and assistant manager at Heritage Farms in Huntington.

When it comes to getting more involved with wildlife conservation, Franks challenges everyone to “spend one more hour outside each week than you normally would. You’re not going to take effort or care about the environment unless you indulge your curiosity in the great outdoors.”

The Appalachian backyard is incredibly diverse, she notes, which is why she is working to develop natural history programming and a nature center at Heritage Farms that focuses on native wildlife and its habitats.

Franks wants everyone to recognize that the planet is not only ours—we share it with many other species. She says if we don’t strive to keep West Virginia wild, we’re going to lose what we have. - JC

MARIA BELCHER

Lady Behind the Scenes Advocating for the arts and her community has always been in Maria Belcher’s blood. Now, as the executive director of FestivALL in Charleston, she gets to be a part of the team that turns the city that she loves into “A Work of Art.” Belcher has always enjoyed volunteering for local events, but she doesn’t want to just be involved on the day an event happens—she wants to be behind the scenes during its creation. “FestivALL is all about collaboration, which is what I love about this organization,” she says. Each year, FestivALL partners with more than 90 arts and community organizations to create vibrant events and experiences for residents and visitors alike.

“We are creating events that people love and enjoy going to. Through the arts, we are strengthening the connection to our community and each other.” - SC 96 wvl • fall 2019

BETH “BUFFY” HAMMERS

Making Marshall Marvelous Beth “Buffy” Hammers entered Marshall University’s graduate program for business administration in 1991 uncertain how she would apply her degree. A graduate assistant position for Marshall University's Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine proved pivotal in charting her career path. Hammers has since donned many hats at Marshall Health, the medical school’s faculty practice plan, from director of Compliance and Risk Management to chief operating officer to her current position as chief executive officer. She enjoys seeing Marshall’s progress over the years. “There’s always something new on your plate, and you can see your labor coming to fruition within the community,” she says.

Hammers’ workdays mean collaborating with everyone from patients and physicians to attorneys and architects.

The mother of two keeps busy on local community boards including as vice president of the Cabell Huntington Hospital Board of Directors; president of the Provider Response Organization for Addiction Care & Treatment (PROACT); and with the Marshall University Research Corporation and TEAM for WV Children. Hammers encourages others to push past their comfort zones, practicing what she preaches. This year, she turned 50 and set a personal goal of doing 50 new things―like finding different ways to give back to her community and sending her first child off to college. - JW

CATHY BURNS

The Jewel City’s Champion Cathy Burns has devoted her life to Huntington. She was an intern for then–city manager Steve Williams before becoming an ombudsman, helping the public get their questions answered by city government. She then became director of the city’s development department, managing all development funds flowing into the city. Then Huntington became a federal Empowerment Zone, and Burns left to become director of that initiative. She spent some time as president and CEO of the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce—growing its membership and stabilizing its finances—but the city came calling again.

Williams, now mayor, needed a city manager. Burns couldn’t say no. Among her many accomplishments during her three years at the job, she was able to get city departments to work more cooperatively and instituted policies to ensure that emergency first responders, run ragged by the city’s opioid epidemic, take care of their own mental and physical health.

In June, Burns accepted her latest post, as executive director of the Huntington Municipal Development Authority. She hopes to spur development downtown and see more housing construction in the city. “I don’t care where you live, your community is only as good as you invest in it,” she says. - ZH

KAREN EVANS

Securing the U.S. Energy Supply Confirmed in 2018 as assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, Karen S. Evans brings extraordinary experience to the job of protecting the nation’s energy sector against all threats and hazards.

Having served as administrator of the Office of E-Government and Information Technology at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and as director of Information Resources Management at the U.S. Department of Justice, she helped strengthen the U.S. cybersecurity workforce as director of the U.S. Cyber Challenge.

A FedScoop Cybersecurity Leader of the Year, Constellation Research Business Transformation 150 Leader, and March of Dimes Heroine, Evans credits her West Virginia roots for sharpening the leadership qualities she needed to succeed. With bachelor’s and MBA degrees from West Virginia University, she is a WVU School of Business and Economics Distinguished Alumna, has two grown children, and lives in Martinsburg with her husband. - PK newsouthmedia.com 97

PEGGY McKOWEN

Storytelling Through Design Sometimes telling a story is the best way to stimulate a discussion. Peggy McKowen uses costume design to tell stories and has been able to share her work all across the U.S. as well as in London and Rome and as far away as China.

McKowen’s family was always involved in the arts. Her mother was an art teacher and in theater, so performing arts became an important part of McKowen’s life early on. Although she has worked in many facets of theater, she gravitated toward costume design—she liked the hands-on role and the contact it gave her with the whole production.

Today McKowen is associate producing director at the world-renowned Contemporary American Theater Festival. Based in Shepherdstown, the CATF produces six new plays in rotating repertory every summer and uses those plays to generate thoughtful discussions among theatergoers.

McKowen has taught in college settings including West Virginia University and Shepherd University, but these days she mostly mentors interns. She says she learns from them in the sense that, “it’s almost seeing what I do in the theater and the world from the current perspective of someone who is doing it for the first time. Through new eyes.” - JC

ANNE PERELLA

From Serving to Sewing Anne Perella can fly four types of helicopters, but her perseverance is also sky-high. At 17 years old, she enlisted in the Army. She spent the next four years on active duty, then attended WVU for a bachelor’s degree in multidisciplinary studies and a master’s degree in elementary education. Shortly after graduation she headed out again, this time for flight school at Fort Rucker with the West Virginia Army National Guard.

“You’re a true citizen-soldier,” Perella says of the National Guard. “We have a lot of opportunities to help folks around the state.” For her, these opportunities included serving with a medical evacuation unit, with a security and support company, and as commander of the 772nd Aviation Troop Command.

Now Perella is taking the same passion she has for her military family to her quilting family. She recently transformed her hobby into a small business and opened A&J Sewing Studio in Morgantown, where she services customers’ sewing machines and sells Bernina-brand machines. - JW

ARRIA HINES

Small Business Cheerleader Growing up, Arria Hines didn’t always know she would become an entrepreneur, adviser, and mentor. She now proudly plays those roles and many more. She is also the co-founder and CEO of Allegheny Science & Technology, an awardwinning, woman-owned technology and energy firm headquartered in Bridgeport, with offices in the D.C. Metro area; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Charlotte, North Carolina; Idaho Falls, Idaho; and Denver, Colorado.

“This is my third business. It started from my passion of wanting to help small businesses grow,” Hines says. She guides and mentors young women and start-up companies with tips on how to succeed. “There is no secret sauce,” she says. “Build a support system and a network—because no one can do it alone.

Ultimately, success has no place for perfection. There is no way to check all the boxes and move forward. People get frozen on making sure they do everything right. Focus on what you can do right now to keep things moving forward and most importantly—believe in yourself!”

Hines actively encourages young girls and women to pursue STEM careers. She is involved with the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative (WVPEC) K-12 Speakers Bureau, which connects business professionals with educators. She has also presented at a series of camps at Pierpont Community & Technical College (PC&TC), creating awareness and excitement in STEM. - SC 98 wvl • fall 2019

WOMANSONG CHORALE OF WEST VIRGINIA

Singing in Sisterhood

Women of all ages and backgrounds are represented in this all-female choir based out of Charleston. WomanSong Chorale of West Virginia was created in 1997 by Joann Cordell to diversify the choral scene in West Virginia with strictly all-woman participation.

WomanSong hires female guest artists and performs music by female composers as often as possible to educate its audiences to the artistic abilities of women past and present. Although it can be challenging to perform without male voices, the choir is known for its range of musical genres, from classical to jazz, as well as its history of travel out of state and overseas. It’s been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City next spring.

Another important theme for this all-female choir is community. Whether it’s collaborating with its youth mentorship choir, Lyra, collecting non-perishable foods for local food banks, or singing for folks at Hubbard Hospice House, womanSong is more than just the music. For people who are newer to the area or those who want to connect with the community through music, says President Karen Klein, womanSong is just that. “For those people, that’s what womanSong is about—finding a new community. It’s a true sisterhood.” - KE

GINGER DANZ

NESHA SANGHAVI

Ginger Danz, an artist based in Fayetteville, considers her art “bright and in the abstract impressionist style,” and is inspired by the natural beauty she finds outside her own back door. “I like to make pieces that are sophisticated in structure and color, but exhibit joy.” Her art can be found in several galleries across the state.

When Danz is not painting and creating, she can be found teaching art classes and volunteering for arts organizations, her daughter's school, and other local causes. “I consider myself a cheerleader for others in my community. People here roll up their sleeves and work together to make things happen,” says Danz, who is also very passionate about helping other women find their own voices.

The Indiana native moved to West Virginia in 1998, and she’s never looked back. “I really appreciate the warm welcome as a non-native,” she says. “There is such a tight-knit community here.

I feel so supported. I feel like this is home.” - SC

Growing up, Nesha Sanghavi, a Charleston native, always knew she wanted to become a business owner. “I was always doing entrepreneurial things as a child.” Now she owns two businesses.

Her business UG Apparel was born when Sanghavi saw an opening in the market for fashionable and size-inclusive collegiate wear for alumni women. More recently she has gained chicka-d, a collegiate apparel company for the fashionable college student.

Service is important to Sanghavi, who established the Nesha A. Sanghavi Endowed Scholarship and the Nesha A. Sanghavi Endowed Student Enrichment Fund in 2017. “I am fortunate to be able to establish scholarships sooner than I expected,” she says.

Sanghavi is proud to be from West Virginia. “The way I look and talk is sometimes surprising—I like to show that West Virginia is culturally diverse and that I am an Indian woman from West Virginia,” she says. “I am able to change the stigma and stereotypes that surround West Virginia.” - SC

Arts Champion

Collegiate Wear for the Win

TARA CURTIS

Communicating for Her Community As director of communications and marketing at WVU Extension Service, Tara Curtis does anything from writing press releases to shooting videos at a STEM summer camp. The job provides a perfect marriage between the meaningfulness she found working as director of communications and marketing for the WVU School of Nursing and the outreach she enjoyed during her 11-year position with the WVU Alumni Association.

Curtis may tell the stories of do-gooders in her home state, but she’s also one herself. She serves on the advisory board of the Rosenbaum Family House and as a member of Women United, which focuses on children’s educational programming. The WVU alumna bleeds blue and gold, too. She catches Mountaineer games and mentors students at the Reed College of Media. She encourages them to try new adventures, even if it means failure. “One of the things I always tell students is, don’t wake up tomorrow saying, ‘What if?’” - JW newsouthmedia.com 99

LIZ STOUT

Nature’s Advocate Elkins native Liz Stout finds ways to showcase West Virginia in all aspects of her life. As a U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist, photographer, business owner, ski patroller, and horseback rider, Stout loves to spotlight all the best the state has to offer.

“I’m an avid outdoors person, and I find it very hard to sit still.”

Stout grew up outdoors and found a love and desire to want to conserve nature from a young age. In the work she does with the Fish and Wildlife Service, she gets to work with endangered species such as bats and freshwater mussels. She has been able to work closely with several federal and state administrations to minimize negative impacts on endangered species and their habitats.

She also uses her background in biology to advance her photography skills. Her photographs often highlight both the beauty of nature and the beauty of the people she is photographing. “I like being a representative of our wonderful state by getting my photography out.” - SC

TINA TURNER

JULIE TAWNEY WARDEN

DEBRA HART

Tina Turner grew up in Preston County, but it wasn’t until she married her husband and moved back that she realized how much her home has to offer: local eateries, scenic trails, and supportive communities.

Now, she encourages others to be as “Preston County Proud” as she is. “I don’t want anyone to say they’re embarrassed to be from Preston County,” she says. “I want people to come back and look at it with a fresh perspective.”

Turner has done her part to improve her community. She served as chief financial officer at Preston County Senior Citizens, Inc. and president of the Preston County Chamber of Commerce. Her advocacy also helped pass the county’s school levy. Although she now works in construction accounting in Morgantown, the commute has only deepened her appreciation of Preston. “I love working in Morgantown, but when I cross that county line, it’s like coming home.” - JW

At a time when women’s reproductive rights are highly politicized, Julie Tawney Warden works as chief operating officer for WV Free, a nonprofit organization that advocates for social justice, to increase access to birth control, and to educate West Virginians about their rights to health care. After her first conversation with CEO Margaret Chapman Pomponio, Warden says, something clicked. “To know I’ve found something I’m passionate about and an organization that has the same values as I do—I’m fortunate to have found that at 33 years,” she says.

Taking an intersectional approach to fight for LGBTQ, environmental, and social justice, WV Free works to enable the people to make decisions about their health and well-being— not the Legislature. “No matter if it’s fighting for rights in the Legislature or educating people, it’s empowering for me to be able to work and support women and people in West Virginia,” says this feisty WVU graduate. - KE

When deciding what area of interest she would pursue in college, Debra Hart says, “I wanted to identify a career that would allow me to help people to help themselves.” Hart earned a bachelor’s degree in social work and a master’s in human resources. She served as the director of Equal Employment Opportunity for the State of West Virginia and as director of Affirmative Action for Allegheny Energy in Fairmont, where she worked to eliminate discrimination and harassment. Hart also hosted the first “Women of Color” event in Marion County, and she’s continued her work to eliminate gender-based violence and discrimination.

Now, as director of Equity Programs/ Title IX coordinator at Marshall University, Hart address equity concerns and oversees the Title IX program for faculty, staff, and students. Her extracurricular life doesn’t waver from her devotion to aiding others.

She serves on various boards, including First Family Foundation which assists local youth in their personal growth and development. - JW

Preston County Proud

100 wvl • fall 2019

Power to the People

An Agent of Change

PRESHA NEIDERMEYER

Give Her Credit A graduation convocation challenged Presha Neidermeyer to consider how an accounting professor could help transform communities impacted by the global HIV pandemic. Afterward, she began traveling to African countries―both with and without students―to assist with entrepreneurial training and various financial reporting aspects for notfor-profit entities. This past spring, she gave seminars in Malawi to micro-entrepreneurs, many of whom had received prior training and were running successful small businesses that positively impact their communities.

Neidermeyer is celebrating 12 years as an accounting professor at WVU, where her father also had taught for 42 years. The WVU Council for Women’s Concerns honored her with the 2018 Mary Catherine Buswell Award for her work with international development and as director of the Women’s Leadership Initiative. She also received the 2019 John Chambers College of Business & Economics Beta Gamma Sigma Outstanding Professor Award. “My path was blazed by a lot of dedicated, talented women and men,” she says.

“I’m honored to continue forward on the path that has been set.” - JW

OLIVIA LITMAN

Marketing for Progress Some say Wheeling’s heyday is in the past but, despite its declining population, many are working to make Wheeling a better place. Olivia Litman, marketing director for Visit Wheeling, WV, has worked at this for the past 11 years.

Litman was born in Charleston and has migrated around the state a few times, but has mostly lived in Wheeling.

After earning a degree in speech and language pathology from Marshall University, she found that she had a talent for sales, but soon burned out selling what she calls “intangible products.” She moved back to Wheeling and says working for the Wheeling CVB and for the very tangible goals of Executive Director Frank O’Brien has changed her life.

There is always room for change, in Litman’s mind, and she especially likes to see support for small steps forward rather than waiting for something “bigger.” She sees that the passionate people around her who are working for Wheeling’s future are bringing about a new energy. She loves the work that’s being done to preserve Wheeling’s history and the common goal of the many partnerships she works with to focus on the future for the next generation. - JC

newsouthmedia.com 101

CHERI SATTERFIELD JENNIFER “TOOTIE” JONES

Swift Success

Jennifer “Tootie” Jones doesn’t just advocate for the positive impact agriculture and food production can have in West Virginia―she acts. In the ’90s, she revitalized her grandparents’ property in Greenbrier County into Swift Level Farm. She brought back the cattle that once roamed the hills and raised them to produce grass-finished beef. In 2017, she opened Swift Level Fine Meats to retail local meats and prepared foods.

In the years since, the shop has expanded its team, added fresh seafood, and increased its offerings of cured and smoked meats. Every day Jones looks forward to conversations with customers, some of whom travel from two hours away. But nothing beats the mornings when she wakes up on the farm, close to the homes where her children and grandchildren live. Her recipe for success? “When times get challenging, remember the strongest thing we can do in the world is to give and be generous.” - JW

ANDREA PENDLETON

Hard Work Conquers Hard Times

Andrea Pendleton, known to her neighbors as Andy, grew up learning to respect and accommodate people when she worked in her family’s discount stores across Rainelle. Through volunteer work, Pendleton saw a need for more leadership in town and decided to jump into politics—something she had never intended. After being unanimously selected by her community, Mayor Pendleton became the town’s first female mayor in 2011.

Becoming mayor of a quaint town came with serious challenges.

Rainelle was hit hard by the derecho in 2012 and severe flooding in 2016. But Pendleton’s hard-working charisma embodied Rainelle’s motto: “A town built to carry on.” She was out of the office for days cleaning up debris and helping her constituents get back to life as they knew it. “Just do it, and get it done. That’s all I’ve ever known,” says Pendleton.

After working with Appalachia Service Project for new housing and cleaning up the town’s signage, Mayor Pendleton decided it’s time for her to get back to her family. “My pride is my people,” she says. “It will be a real bittersweet moment, I won’t lie.” In July of this year, Governor Jim Justice named her a Distinguished West Virginian. - KE 102 wvl • fall 2019

Bred to be in Business

Cheri Satterfield was born to be in business.

Through working at her parents’ convenience stores, Satterfield learned at an early age how to understand a customer’s wants and how to be a good business person— skills she’s carried with her to build her own business empire.

As the combined video rental and tanning craze of the ’80s began to fade out, Satterfield transitioned her shop into an overall health and beauty salon known as Tuscan Sun Spa in 2004. “It was something we needed,” Satterfield says. “It was bumps and bruises, but it ended up being a success.”

Satterfield stays busy operating three Tuscan Sun Spa locations plus Highgate Carriage House and LearningLand Daycare & Preschool in Fairmont as well as several Glo-hair salons in Charleston. Yet she still makes it a priority to nurture her 200-plus employees, knowing that her success depends on her hard-working staff. “Not only do I work hard but my teams work hard, and that’s the key.” - KE

JENNIFER WILLIAMS

Getting Girls on the Farm Growing up on her family’s farm in Hardy County, Jennifer Ours Williams was given an appreciation for West Virginia and the earth beyond her borders.

Years later, Williams shows her love and dedication for the land and farming through the work she does as an associate dean for programs and partnerships of the West Virginia University Extension Service.

Williams is passionate about engaging women in farming. She works with programs such as Women in Agriculture and Annie’s Project to promote networking and learning within the agriculture industry.

She is also passionate about connecting with younger generations to instill a love of agriculture through the WVU Extension Service and 4H. “As West Virginia’s agricultural community ages, we hope to empower future generations, including women, to start successful farming operations. I am honored to work with people around the state who share that same vision.” - SC

PENNY HARMAN

Cabins, Sweet Cabins Penny Harman was born March 31, 1945, in a cabin in Cabins, West Virginia, at her parents’ North Fork Cabins vacation rental business at the northern edge of the Monongahela National Forest. Today that former family home is known as Cabin 1 and—due largely Harman’s efforts—the small rental company her parents created is now a beloved destination of 21 one- to four-bedroom luxury log cabins.

As a single mother and business owner, Harman often faced adversity, from banks that wouldn’t loan her money to the devastating flood of 1985. The raging waters took everything from her property but two lone cabins. The family business was rebuilt by determination and hard work, and it also helped rebuild the community she loves. Born in Penny was that great West Virginia spirit of fighting adversity.

God and family are what Harman has relied on in difficult times. “In life there are a lot of hard things, but trust in the Lord and you will get through,” she says. - SC

STACY RAFFO

Revitalizating with a Restaurant The Richwood of the past few decades is not the Richwood of today, says Stacy Raffo. Following years of decline in the timber industry and the disastrous flood of 2016, this small Nicholas County town is on the verge of a major turnaround.

Raffo has seen new businesses popping up so, when she and her husband found a historic storefront available, they felt the time was right to start a restaurant.

Whistle Punk Grill & Taphouse marries Raffo’s creativity and passion for Richwood and her husband’s coastal Maryland culinary experience. The name is a tribute to the lumberjack pioneers of their town—a whistle punk is a lumberjack who operates a whistle to signal mealtime. Raffo uses “we” to describe every effort, crediting the staff with much of the restaurant’s success. “Our staff goes out of their way to exceed the expectations of every guest,” she says. “The kitchen puts a lot of love into their cooking and wants to please everybody.”

Raffo has always been involved with 4-H and has run for office in Nicholas County. She wants to “be the spark and highlight the other businesses that are already there.” - JC

ADRIENNE BIESEMEYER

Teaching the Physicians When apartheid ended in South Africa in 1994, Lewisburg-based pediatric counselor Adrienne Biesemeyer began visiting there. She had made a few trips by the time the country’s AIDS epidemic became worldwide news—yet she realized that her activities as an American traveling in the country had insulated her from that news. She determined to learn more about Africa and help others gain awareness too, so she and her daughter Rachel founded the Anir Foundation in 1997.

The group organizes trips to give travelers greater cultural understanding of African nations while participating in Habitat for Humanity builds and other volunteer work programs that give direct, personal experience to the communities they visit. When Biesemeyer left private practice to join the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in 2008, it wasn’t long before she became director of International Studies—tasked with giving medical students the same kinds of experiences she provides through the Anir Foundation. She created a program giving third- and fourth-year students one-month rotations in Sierra Leone, South Africa, and Tanzania, as well as another program allowing rising second-year students to work with doctors in the country.

Biesemeyer retired from the osteopathic school in May 2019 and is now focused on Anir full time, providing similar programs to other colleges, medical schools, private organizations, and individuals. - ZH newsouthmedia.com 103

TRICIA KINGERY

Her Passion is to Help Yours Losing someone you love changes you. When Tricia Kingery lost her father to cancer, she was reminded how precious life is and put a promise she made to him into action. With a master’s in counseling from Marshall University and an MBA from WVU, Kingery had the tools and experience to open Kingery & Company: a consulting firm that helps nonprofit organizations. Kingery & Company offers a multitude of services that give nonprofits the resources they need to succeed—like strategic planning, training, and marketing.

For the company’s 10-year anniversary, Kingery created an innovative space dubbed The Retreat. Here, nonprofits and corporations rent rooms for meetings, trainings, and events and enjoy the scenic views from NorthGate Business Park in Charleston. “I remember the first time walking into the building,” says Kingery.

“This is, in two words, West Virginia.”

Kingery says starting her own company has given her control of her destiny, something her father always wanted for her. Following his mantra, “Treat Everybody Like Somebody,” Kingery has become the successful businesswoman her father knew she would be. The mother to a beautiful daughter, Alexandra, and wife to her supportive husband, Alex, Kingery has built a gem of community support in the mountains of West Virginia. - KE

SUE SERGI

KAYLA McKINNEY

A Firm Foundation As commissioner of the West Virginia Bureau for Children and Families, Sue Sergi knew social work.

What she didn’t know was where to contribute her skills next. That’s when she heard about plans to create the Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences of West Virginia. Sergi helped organize and fundraise for construction before stepping in as president. “I’ve been in a lot of roles at the Clay Center, from staff to president,” she says, “but the most fun role is as a grandmother, taking my granddaughter there and seeing it through her eyes.”

Sergi may be retired, but she hasn’t stopped working. She heads the Charles and Mary Fayne Glotfelty Foundation, which serves the arts, education, and human services. She also serves on the board of directors for Philanthropy West Virginia and FestivALL Charleston and is a member of the Kanawha Valley Council of Philanthropy. With all of her nonprofit ventures, family and friends remain the personal foundation that keeps her going strong. - JW

SHEILIA COMBS

A Monumental Effort After the Upper Big Branch disaster of 2010, Sheila Combs couldn’t shake a thought from her head. “I kept having the thought: Somebody needs to do something,” she says. That somebody, Combs decided, was her.

She formed the Upper Big Branch Mining Memorial Group to build a memorial to the 29 fallen miners. The nonprofit became official in February 2011. By the fall of that year, the group had raised all the necessary funds, thanks to donations Combs was able to solicit from the mining industry. “Most of the time when you take on a project like that, it’s years.”

Even after the memorial was completed in 2012, the nonprofit stayed together to work on other projects around Whitesville, like rehabilitating old buildings, sprucing up a riverside park, and hosting a trout rodeo in the Big Coal River. - ZH 104 wvl • fall 2019

Fighting Bullies One Song at a Time A friend of Kayla McKinney’s committed suicide when they were 12 years old after being bullied by peers in their class. Struggling to cope with his death, she wrote a poem that she turned into a song with the help of her mother. When it gained a lot of attention on the internet, “it was the first time I realized how music could make an impact,” she says.

Now, at 19, McKinney has traveled the East Coast promoting messages of kindness and empowerment through song with The One Voice Project. An organization founded by McKinney’s mother to give kids and teens opportunities in music performance and training, The One Voice Project takes its Anti-Bullying Tour to schools and concert halls to share personal stories that let today’s youth know they’re not alone.

McKinney hopes that The One Voice Project can spread across the nation to help as many kids as possible deal with bullying. “I don’t have advice for every situation, but what I hear from one in West Virginia may help someone I meet in North Carolina,” she says. - KE

ROSEMARY KETCHUM

KIM PAULEY

Speaking for the Vulnerable

More than Just Dance

Rosemary Ketchum was homeschooled from fourth grade onward—a way for her mother to protect her young transgender daughter. So Ketchum found community through volunteering at local nonprofits.

A first-generation college student, Ketchum enrolled at Wheeling University—then Wheeling Jesuit University—with the help of a kindly neighbor, and she majored in clinical psychology.

Now, at age 25, Ketchum serves on the boards of YWCA Wheeling and the West Virginia Women’s Commission and is the president of ACLU-WV’s Northern Panhandle Chapter. She is also associate director at the Wheeling chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, where she serves as associate director of the group’s Marian House Drop In Center that provides case management, support groups, and other mental health services.

Ketchum was named to Wheeling’s Human Rights Commission in January 2019, a position that allows her to both advocate for civil rights and help those whose rights have been infringed upon. In July of this year, she announced she’s running for Wheeling City Council. “Advocacy is important, but we need folks on both sides.

We need folks who understand the obstacles making the rules.” - ZH

As a quiet girl growing up in Charleston, Kim Pauley didn’t know what she was getting herself into when she agreed to join a ballet class to comfort a neighborhood friend. But she enjoyed the challenge of being active yet graceful and soon realized there was nothing she would rather do.

Pauley went on to study at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. She danced many leading roles for the Charleston Ballet and had several original works created for her by Miguel Campaneria and Andre Van Damme, Charleston Ballet’s founder.

As Van Damme’s protégé, Pauley assumed the role of director and choreographer after his sudden passing in 1989. After 30 years of leadership, Pauley’s influence on her students reaches far beyond the studio. “I really like the purpose of what we do, because it’s much bigger than just dance,” she says. “I’m really focused on trying to develop strong women.” - KE

MARTHA CARTER

Quality Care Everywhere Martha Carter’s career started as a certified nurse-midwife. She then founded FamilyCare Health Center, a federally qualified health center, which has not only provided care to West Virginians since 1989 but has also been a significant employer in its community. With 250 employees and 14 locations in and near Charleston, FamilyCare provides accessible and affordable care.

“I wanted to create an organization that would offer health care that was respectful and affordable for anybody in the community. I had no idea that the organization would eventually provide such a wide range of services and serve so many people,” says Carter. As she describes her journey from midwife in a birthing center to leading the organization that was originally WomenCare, Carter says saw the needs of pregnant women expanding from themselves to their children and beyond and knew care for the whole family was needed.

Although Carter has recently retired from her position as CEO of FamilyCare, she isn’t finished ensuring quality care for people. She currently serves as a Commissioner on MACPAC, the federal Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, which advises Congress and the states on Medicaid and CHIP policy. She also contracts to provide technical assistance to Community Health Centers across the country. - KE

JUDY RULE

She’s the Librarian With the Fayette County Library over a 30-minute drive away, Judy Rule didn’t have access to libraries as a child—but she remembers enjoying the county’s bookmobile a lot. She found her real passion for books as a teen when she began volunteering at the library at Gauley Bridge High. “I enjoyed reading and recommending books,” she says.

Rule was hired in Huntington as a full-time librarian just 10 days after completing her master’s degree at Indiana University. She became the director of Cabell County Public Library in 1983 and continues to not only manage her library, but assist libraries in Lincoln, Logan, Mason, Mingo, Putnam, and Wayne counties. Rule is also overseeing the construction of the new public library in Barboursville, which she intends to supervise until its completion.

Whether it’s been giving her town accessible internet, providing notary services, helping with a resume, or inspiring others to become librarians, the impact she’s able to have on people’s lives is the reason she has worked for over 50 years. “My job is to walk down the street and people say, ‘There goes the librarian.’” - KE newsouthmedia.com 105

JOHANNA MURRAY

Bringing out the Artist in All Johanna Murray is encouraging her neighbors in Capon Bridge to get creative to bring their small town closer together. As executive director of The River House, a nonprofit that promotes the arts, Murray organizes crafts events, music, volunteers, and the organization’s cafe to keep this haven running.

Through her mother’s work in a costume shop, children’s choir, and high school theater, Murray enjoyed an artistic upbringing that brought her closer to her Nebraskan community. She wanted to share that with her new home in West Virginia.

“Because art has so much to do with who I am, it’s great to introduce kids, even adults, to it,” says Murray. “People feel motivated to participate and be creative. I’m really proud of that.”

When Murray isn’t running around The River House, she’s singing in it. She often performs with her husband, Mike Everson, in their duet as Mike & Jo for Saturday night concerts. - KE

PATTI DUNCAN

Woman of the Allegheny Mountains Patti Duncan’s 18-year journey with Snowshoe Mountain has been an uphill climb: from director of Retail, Rental, Outdoor Adventure, and Spa to vice president and now as the first female president and COO of the resort. With a record year already under her belt, she says it’s been teamwork, community, and realizing her potential that made it all possible.

For Duncan, it isn’t just about the financials—first impressions matter. She is focused on guiding the resort toward the top-quality service that its guests pay for by improving the culture and the guest experience through more targeted programs and events.

While pleasing tourists is important, Duncan recognizes that the permanent residents are important, too. “They’re a part of us, and we are a part of them,” she says. Her goal for 2020 is to have the resort fully operational during the summer for full-time employment opportunities.

It’s an exciting time for women at Snowshoe and its parent company, Alterra Mountain Company, Duncan says. “It’s fantastic, of course, for women because it’s definitely a maledominated industry,” she says of becoming one of two women holding an executive position at Alterra. She hopes that she inspires women in West Virginia to take on leadership roles. - KE

MELODI HAWLEY

Helping the Least of These Melodi Hawley knew little of West Virginia’s drug crisis when she and her husband moved to Mount Hope to start I Heart Church in 2012. Then she got pregnant with the couple’s fourth child, the first that would be born in West Virginia, and went to the doctor. “They start drug testing me. And I’m like, ‘Is this normal?’”

It was then she realized the severity of the drug crisis. So in 2017, under Hawley’s guidance, I Heart Church created The Safe Haven Campaign. The church hosts judgement-free banquets for mothers struggling with substance abuse disorder—offering dinner, massages, clothing, opportunities to enroll in counseling and life skills classes, and lots of prayer. There’s also a support program for foster families, with a closet to help parents cover childrens’ needs when they enter their homes, support groups, and free “yard sales” with car seats, clothing, play yards, and more.

Safe Haven also includes a prevention and awareness social media program called #NotUs that shares real stories to warn and inspire elementary and middle school students of the dangers of drug addiction. “The local church is meant to bring practical hope to hurting communities, and that’s what we are here to do.” Hawley says. - ZH 106 wvl • fall 2019

CHERYL LAWS

Doing What Feels Right After completing her master’s degree at Appalachian State University, where she wrote a thesis on reintegrating addicts into society, Cheryl Laws returned to her native South Charleston and started her nonprofit, Pollen8.

Not long afterward, one of Pollen8’s partners—St. Paul’s United Methodist Church—mentioned it had a vacant church in South Charleston. Laws could have it, for free, if she wanted.

With some grants, Laws turned it into Cafe Appalachia, a restaurant offering a daily lunch buffet of locally raised vegetables and meat. It’s a larger program to help women suffering from substance abuse disorder. They begin with 30 days at a detox center, then transition to Pollen8’s farm, which raises produce for the cafe. The women earn work skills in a catering kitchen, the cafe, and the Cafe Appalachia food truck. All the while, they live at a sober living facility and take classes on parenting, finance, nutrition, and effective communication.

Laws hopes to produce a how-to guide so others can replicate her model across West Virginia and in other states. “It’s selfish, what I’m doing. It makes me feel good,” she says. - ZH

DANIELLE STEWART

Becoming the Hero She Needed In her last years with the U.S. Army, her retirement looming, Danielle Stewart aggressively paid off her debts. She had not yet begun to transition but, as a transgender person, she knew it was very possible she would face employment or housing discrimination.

But Stewart was fortunate. When she came out to her employer, the Piney Creek Watershed Association, she expected to submit a resignation.

“Instead they stood beside me,” she says. “I recognize that’s a huge privilege. So many of my friends had such a terrible time.” So Stewart began looking for ways to help her friends and others in the LGBT community.

When Beckley Mayor Robert Rappold brought an LGBT non-discrimination ordinance before the city council in November 2018, Stewart and girlfriend Christina Baisden started rallying community support. They built email and social media campaigns. They helped members of their community rehearse the speeches they would give before city council. And Stewart went to meet with business owners, some of whom had never met a transgender person, to dispel fears they had about the ordinance. “I spent three hours one day with a business owner. At the end he was like, ‘I had no idea all this was going on. I’m sorry I was such a hardhead.’”

Largely thanks to Stewart and Baisden’s work, the ordinance passed on a 4–2 vote in January 2019. Stewart says she has already noticed a change. “Beckley has become a place where people feel comfortable being themselves.”

Now she’s running for mayor. She wants to make the city a better place for minorities and young people. She also wants to be the role model she never had. “I want to put myself out there so kids growing up can say, ‘Hey, I can have a good life. I can be myself.’” - ZH

JENNIFER ORLIKOFF

Moving Forward Jennifer Orlikoff calls her journey to West Virginia a “circuitous path.”

That’s an understatement. Her story includes stops in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Switzerland, New Jersey, and Tennessee before she finally arrived in Morgantown, where she taught French at WVU. She then became director of WVU’s Center for Women's and Gender Studies, where she increased the number of majors, minors, and faculty. Her success there led to her next appointment. In 2016, she became campus president of West Virginia University―Potomac State College in Keyser. Under her leadership, the college’s enrollment is increasing and it is adding new majors. She says she’s learned that the key to success is asking difficult questions—like “How can we improve?” and “How do we move things forward?” Clearly, moving forward is something Orlikoff is very good at. - ZH newsouthmedia.com 107

ROYA MAHER

For the Girls In a predominantly male industry, Roya Maher finds ways to encourage girls to pursue STEM careers.

She promotes girls in STEM by working closely with programs such as Girls on the Run, First Lego League, and Cyber Robotics Coding Competitions. “If I can make a difference to motivate just one girl, that would make me happy.”

Maher owns A3L Federal Works, a small business that provides engineering, technology, management, and training services for government and commercial clients. “As a business owner, something that is very important to me is equal pay for equal work,” Maher says.

Maher and her family immigrated from Iran to the United States when she was just 13 years old, but she now calls the mountains of West Virginia home.

“I came to West Virginia 28 years ago, but I now consider myself a West Virginian,” she says. “I love helping provide jobs for the people of West Virginia so they don't have to leave.” - SC

BETSY JIVIDEN

Improving Corrections

Betsy Jividen has a long career of accomplishments. She was the first woman to be sworn in as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of West Virginia.

She has worked as a federal prosecutor for more than 30 years. She has been a civil chief and first assistant U.S. attorney, and she served two terms as acting and interim U.S. attorney. And in January 2018, she added commissioner of the state Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation to her resume.

Jividen also oversees programs that help inmates better their lives in several ways—among them, reentry programs that educate community members about the challenges, previously incarcerated people face on re-entry and the public safety interest in seeing that they become gainfully employed productive citizens upon their return. “I work with wonderful, committed, and hardworking people throughout the entire division, who want to see the people in our care and custody be the best they can be,” says Jividen.

As a woman in a previously male-dominated field, Jividen says, “I believe the corrections community considers a person’s qualifications, experience, and knowledge instead of gender. Seeing women take on all roles in corrections is very rewarding, and I am truly honored to be part of such an outstanding group of men and women.” - SC 108 wvl • fall 2019

MAJORIE McDIAMID

Counseling the Counsel Growing up near Washington, D.C., Marjorie McDiarmid found law fascinating. She graduated law school in 1970 and practiced in fields including administrative, civil, and criminal work. McDiarmid obtained her Master of Laws degree in 1974 with the ambition of teaching but spent another 12 years in the professional world before joining WVU’s College of Law faculty. That expertise helps her guide students to become responsible lawyers who treat clients well.

McDiarmid serves on boards for Legal Aid of West Virginia, the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction, and the Rape and Domestic Violence Information Center. In 2016, she received the state’s Distinguished Pro Bono Service Award in recognition of her work and her students’ legal assistance for people in domestic violence cases. “Wherever you think society as a whole needs to go,” she says, “finding a place where you can contribute toward making that happen is important for long-term happiness in law.” - JW

MARI-LYNN EVANS

Telling Our Story Mari-Lynn Evans was 17 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took her grandfather’s farm to create Burnsville Lake. She was hysterical as the family drove away. It was then that her grandmother told her something she’s never forgotten. “She said ‘In this life, you’re going to lose everyone and everything, so you have to find something bigger than self to care about,’” Evans remembers. “I swear to God, I never understood what that meant until 17 years ago to make The Appalachians."

After a career in health care, time as a brand consultant for Proctor and Gamble, and work in television production, she decided someone needed to make a documentary about the history of the Appalachian Mountains and the region’s people. No one was interested, so Evans did it herself. The 2005 four-part documentary was a hit on public broadcasting, where it still runs today.

An interview Evans did with Raleigh County native Judy Bonds for The Appalachians led to her to her next project: 2009’s Coal Country, about mountaintop removal mining. “I knew the pain she was talking about. I knew what it was like to have everything and everybody you ever loved being taken from you.” Making that documentary led to yet another change in Evans’ career path. “I wasn’t just a documentary filmmaker any more. I was an activist.”

Next she released Blood on the Mountain in 2016, a history of the bloody fight for unionization on Blair Mountain and the landmark’s controversial removal from the National Register of Historic Places. Netflix bought the film, it earned an Emmy nomination, and, best of all, Blair Mountain was put back on the register in June 2018.

Evans is now working with Columbia University, the West Virginia High Technology Foundation, and others on a “social justice entrepreneurial initiative” aimed at extracting rare elements from coal slurry impoundments and addressing the threat caused to coal country communities by those impoundments. The project will be accompanied, of course, by a multipart television series.

Thanks to her success, Evans has been able to buy back the last 20 acres of her grandfather’s land that isn’t under water. Being there, she says she isn’t angry for what is lost—but hopeful for what remains. “I swear to God, it smells and sounds just like it did when I was a kid.” - ZH

ERIKKA STORCH

A Delegate Balance “I hate politics,” says Erikka Storch. That’s not something you expect to hear from someone who has served in the West Virginia House of Delegates since 2010. But politics isn’t why Storch ran for office.

When the opportunity to run for the Legislature arose, “I thought, ‘What a great opportunity to broaden my community service,’” says Storch, who previously was CFO and then president of Ohio Valley Steel Company and now is president of the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce.

Storch is a member of Wheeling Rotary Club and the Junior League of Wheeling, but the Legislature gave her a new platform to help her community. “The constituent service side of things, that’s awesome. I enjoy connecting people to the resources that they need.” She’s used her position in the House of Delegates to help business owners in her district get information and have a voice in the massive overhaul of Interstate 70. “You have to know your district. You have to know your constituents. You have to know how much these things impact them.” - ZH

IRENE BERGER

Judge of Character When Irene Berger was growing up in McDowell County, her junior high school teachers inspired her to pursue teaching. That dream changed, but her desire to help people led her toward law. She went to law school at WVU, then got a job working for Legal Aid in Charleston. But she wanted to be a trial lawyer, so she joined the Kanawha County Prosecutor’s Office in 1982.

She remained there for a dozen years before going to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for about 10 weeks—after which Governor Gaston Caperton appointed her to the Kanawha Circuit Court, making her the first black woman to serve as a circuit judge. She stayed until 2009, when President Barack Obama appointed her to the U.S. District Court—making her the first black person on West Virginia’s federal bench.

Berger says it’s a challenging job, being a judge. “You’re making decisions based on the law and the facts. That’s part of following your oath,” she says. “Many times I’ve issued rulings I wish could have gone the other way.” And while she says she might not always get it right—“none of us do”— she works very hard to be fair to everyone in her courtroom. “That makes me think I’m where I’m supposed to be.” - ZH

LISA DeFRANK-COLE

Follow the Leader Lisa DeFrank-Cole’s mother encouraged her to pursue higher education, and pursue she did. The first-generation college graduate earned a doctorate, penning her dissertation about differences in female and male self-perceptions of presidential leadership styles at colleges and universities. “Men and women don’t lead all that differently. What’s different is society’s perceptions of how they lead,” she says.

DeFrank-Cole is now director of WVU’s Leadership Studies Program. She encourages students to see value in both leadership and followership. “Leadership is a process, not a position,” she says.

In 2012, the Fulbright Specialist Program awarded her a grant to teach a leadership course at the Royal University for Women in the Kingdom of Bahrain. She also received the 2017 Mary Catherine Buswell Award for outstanding service to WVU women. This academic year, DeFrank-Cole begins a Harriet E. Lyon professorship for interdisciplinary work with the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies and continues co-authoring a textbook on women and leadership. - JW newsouthmedia.com 109

SANDY CALL

Small Restaurants, Big Impacts When Sandy Call was in high school, she worked at the independently owned restaurant Riversedge. She went to college to study law, but she realized she’d be happier in food service and began earning more money serving and bartending than she might’ve made in law.

In the years after college, Call found herself on the corporate side of restaurants, working for Outback Steakhouse, O’Charley’s, Red Bull, and Anheuser-Busch. But she missed the camaraderie of smaller restaurant teams. She took a position as general manager of Bridge Road Bistro in Charleston in 2011 and, in 2018, bought the popular farm-to-table restaurant.

Call spreads positivity with her restaurant. “Our staff eats together, prays together,” she says. “Our employees are never hungry. We love supporting causes we’re involved in.” She wants it to be known that you don’t have to order a big meal, you can just “come in, have a bite to eat, and enjoy the band.”

Call is one of the lead chairs of the Charleston YWCA’s Girls Night Out, which raises money for domestic violence survivors and their children. She’s also president of the West Virginia Symphony League.

As this issue goes to print, Call is readying to open a new culinary venture, Sunset Grill. She’s looking forward to serving quality meals to Huntington and showcasing live local entertainment. - JC

JEN GIOVANNITTI

Champion of the Underdogs

CONGRATULATIONS to the

CLASS OF 2019

WEST VIRGINIA WONDER WOMEN

110 wvl • fall 2019

When Jen Giovannitti’s husband got a job with the West Virginia Rivers Coalition in Elkins, she gave him a short time limit. “I said to him, I could see us living there for a year.” Little did the Pennsylvania native know she would soon fall in love with her new home. Mountain Partners in Development had received a grant from the Claude Benedum Foundation to renovate Elkins’ historic CSX depot.

Giovannitti, who had worked for some engineering firms in Pittsburgh, was put in charge of the project. From there, she became executive director of the Randolph County Development Authority, then took a job with the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond—they wanted someone who knew firsthand what it’s like to work in West Virginia.

In October 2018, Giovannitti took a position with the organization that got her to West Virginia in the first place. Now, as president of the Benedum Foundation, she gets to continue making West Virginia’s communities better places to live. “I’m just a fan of the underdog. In rural places, it’s harder to build things. I found that challenge just so empowering and magical.” - ZH

MELANIE SEILER

Get Moving West Virginia Growing up, Melanie Seiler knew the family business—Songer Whitewater—would be hers one day. Then came 2008’s recession, which forced her parents to sell out. Seiler went to work for another outfitter and built a reputation as a stand-up paddleboarding evangelist. But she hadn’t found the right path. She spent a year as a bank teller. Then she heard about a new nonprofit aimed at encouraging healthy living.

She left messages for weeks, saying she wanted to run the new organization. Persistence paid off. In February 2015, she was named executive director of Active SWV. The group now has thousands of people across southern West Virginia up and moving.

It also encourages city governments to make their streets friendlier for pedestrians and bikers and employers to adopt health programs as part of the workday and hosts events like the Bridge Day 5K Run. Seiler still keeps her toes in the water as a member of Sweets of the East, a female rafting team that competed in the 2018 National Rafting Championship. The Sweets hope to return to the water in 2020. - ZH

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