Local Haunts

So apparently Morgantown is pretty haunted. Regardless of whether or not you actually believe in ghosts or paranormal activity or whatever else you want to call it, you’re going to have to admit there are quite a few “sightings” in Morgantown. These so-called reports of activity vary from headless hitchhikers, to haunted library desks, and WWII GI’s, all within a fifty mile radius. Who knew our town had so many ghosts, haha? But how many of these are actually based on a viable story, rather than just a few urban legends passed on by some drunken college students with an active imagination? In my project, I will attempt to find data that serves as a basis for these myths, to see if there are actually facts behind the stories. This won’t be a full-blown Ghost Adeventures-esque project, but I will be attempting to find some truth behind the stories, even if it’s only a little bit.

-Re

Appalachian Plays Have Character

So last time I did a blog, there were dissenting opinions about the subject matter. My standpoint was that Shenkkan’s characters were stereotypical and one dimensional. Others disagreed and claimed that it didn’t matter that the characters were all negative traits with no real attempt to show their better sides, because it was in the name of entertainment. In response, I proposed a project to investigate if Appalachian playwrights perpetuated stereotypes and constructed shallow characters for the sake of keeping it entertaining, or if they cast aside the tired old stock characters and showed the better side of the Appalachian culture. Interestingly enough, I have found a mix of results. And—gasp!—the non-stereotype-perpetuating pieces were just as good if not better.

I found a treasure trove of plays by Appalachian playwrights (although most were from West Virginia) in the Folklife Center in Fairmont. Amongst them were Jean Battlo’s The Little Theater’s Production of “Hamlet”, Julia Davis’s Possessions, Clyde Ware’s one-act Best in Town, and eight plays by VictorDepta (of which I have read three and part and now have personal copies that I may read at my leisure [Thank you very much, Victor Depta and Phyllis Moore]).

Most of the plays I read did their best to combat the stereotypes surrounding Appalachia and its people. While still fraught with dialects and colloquialisms, they presented a sweeter side of Appalachians. Hard-working, caring, friendly. Battlo’s play even involved a New York director being sent to Kimball, WV to direct a community play and dreading every second of it. And the longer she stayed, the more she realized the people weren’t just hicks and hillbillies content to sit around with their shotguns and sip moonshine—these were real people with hopes and dreams and goals in life. People who were kind enough to welcome her whole-heartedly into their lives even when she was resistant to working with them and downright mean on occasion.

Victor Depta’s Egg of the World brought a very interesting perspective to my project. Similar in basic premise to Battlo’s play, Egg of the World involved a director and stage-manager from Ohio and New York respectively coming to a small town in WV to direct a play showing good things about the state. What they got were a sibling set of three who were so stereotypical that all you could do is slam your head against the table. They were poor, uneducated, religious, orphans (dad died in a slate fall, mom ran off with another man), and there was an entire section about their incest. I loved this play because at the end of it, the siblings had been so horribly stereotypical of Appalachians that the director and stage-manager looked at each other and wondered if the kids were messing with them.

Possessionsby Julia Davis was the only one that I could really compare to Schenkkan’s The Kentucky Cycle. As suggested by the name, the play was about greed. The greedy coal mine operator and a woman who would do anything to maintain the lifestyle to which she had become accustomed. But even in this play, the characters showed depth—not everything is black and white and it certainly wasn’t completely black like The Kentucky Cycle. Even though this play had a somewhat negative view of Appalachians, I include it, because, unlike Schenkkan, Davis showed an evolution of the characters and their greed. They were not greedy just because the author said they were. There was a logical progression of and explanation for their desires. The characters were not one dimensional.

-J

It's Traditional

A lot of what families in Appalachia do is based on tradition. We do it that way because that is how it was done in the old country, or that is how grandma’s people did it, or that it how we’ve always done it. How many of these traditions came from the Old World? And where exactly did they come from? How many were created right here in these mountains?

-M

Mining Project

 Each semester our class does projects on topics of our choice revolving around Appalachia. The only requirements are to get our idea approved and tie in a piece of writing to it. This semester I chose to create my project on mining. We already learned about how coal mines worked years ago, but we have not gotten into coal mining today. I have been researching equipment, mine accidents in recent years, and how the industry differs throughout the United States. I am also preparing to speak to some retired miners and state representatives in order to get their opinions about how the industry has changed throughout the years, as well as the pros and cons of it. Coal mining is a huge part of Appalachia’s, particularly West Virginia’s, economy. I feel that I have lived here all of my life and still have yet to understand a lot about it. My hope is for this project to teach me something I have not yet learned about the lives of many in my home region.                   

-R

Appalachian Woodland Skills

In my Appalachian Literature class we are doing a semester project. My project is going to be skills from the woods and how they were helpful in the American Revolution, Civil War, and in the Appalachian mountains. I'm going to make a PowerPoint with nothing put pictures of what shills you would need/they had, and I’m going to explain each skill and its use. Then I have a video that I made that has a bunch of different movie scenes that show each skill and how it was used in war and in the mountains. Sounds pretty cool, right?

-E

Ghosts and Folklore

For the past few days I have been reading ghost stories from various anthologies in an attempt to get a better understanding of folklore in the Appalachian area. It seems like the old phrase “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” originated in our hills, because let me tell you, there are some crazy, vengeful lady ghosts... Jealousy in general is a very common theme in these stories. Other reoccurring themes include Civil War tales and, of course, miner ghosts. Folklore is one of the best ways to better understand a group of people because it shows their superstitions and their fears. What people fear is a very telling thing; it helps you get a better idea of who they are. Yet often pride acts as a veil keeping that side of them from sight; folklore lets us peak behind the veil…see the skeletons in their closet.

-C

Mothman

For my project I am researching the Mothman and its sightings, events surrounding it (such as the collapse of the Silver Bridge), and the truth as to whether Mothman was an actual supernatural being or just a hoax. I’m using the book The Mothman Prophecies as the basis for my research, but I am searching for another book to use as another source. The Mothman is a very complex being, and only one book doesn’t give the being justice. Another aspect of the legend I am researching is the numerous extraterrestrial and Men in Black sightings loosely associated with Mothman.  Although these types of sightings may not have anything to do with Mothman, they will help explain why Point Pleasant was the site of all these supernatural occurrences and is still investigated to uncover if Mothman is still around today.

-C

Local Restaurants

For my semester project in Appalachian Literatureover the course of April, I’ll be studying how local restaurants support and contribute to the community of Appalachia. To present my project, I’ll be making a video filmed from my iPhone to give a relaxed and casual feel. I’m planning on filming interviews with local restaurant owners asking questions that put local restaurants in a positive light. My friend Lucas is helping me film approximately five interviews from five different restaurants. Hopefully, since I work at a restaurant, I will be able to show how little chain restaurants affect the Appalachian culture as well. To apply the actual literature aspect, I’m looking into articles or blog posts online to help guide me and prove my point.

-M

Spring Time

Finally! The time of year we’ve all been waiting for: spring.  The weather’s warming up to the mid-60’s, low 70’s, the blossoms on the trees and ground are starting to peek through, and you can even hear the frogs at my grandma’s house.  There’s something about spring that makes me instantly happier.  April is the month that’s pushing the end of the school year, and when we can say that we’re nearing our due dates for second semester projects (presenting them the first week in May so by then we only have about three weeks left of school), we get very excited.  After thinking long and hard about ideas for my second semester project (with no success), it finally hit me: Movies!  Everybody loves movies (me especially) and if you don’t, you’re crazy.  It got me thinking again.  Why do people make so many movies about Appalachia?  What is it about Appalachia that is so interesting that it needs to be such a big topic of entertainment?  Why did they recently make a TV series about the infamous Hatfields and McCoys? Why make the Beverly Hillbillies back in the 60’s? Yeah, it’s not necessarily Appalachian, but it’s partially what started the redneck and hillbilly stereotypes people from Appalachia have to deal with today.  I want to find these answers for myself, so we’ll see what happens!

-K