The influence of old-time musicians throughout these rugged mountains survives today in local musicians as they breathe new life into the Pocahontas Opera House and the Purple Fiddle. In summertime musicians and artisans gather at Allegheny Echoes in Marlinton and the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins. The work of local artisan crafters can be seen at the Penn Alps Store, the Mountain Made Gallery, the WV Market at Snowshoe, and the Pocahontas Artisans Cooperative shops in Slatyfork and Marlinton.
“For the People: New Deal Art Along Highway 219” highlights works of art created under New Deal era programs and agencies, particularly the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, that are housed in federal buildings in towns situated on U.S. Highway 219. The online exhibit examines murals housed in U.S. post offices. Dozens of small towns […]
By Gibbs Kinderman Local weekly papers are a continuing tradition in many small WV counties – almost 50 of them still survive in this era of mass media and on-line news. Monroe County is one of the most tradition-oriented in West Virginia, and its paper, the Monroe Watchman, has come out each week for over […]
Woodford Harmon “Woody” Simmons was born on Becky’s Creek, a rural community near Mill Creek in Randolph County WV, on November 13, 1911. His first instrument was a banjo made by his father in the blacksmith shop on their farm, and the first tune he learned to play was Silent Night. He was eight years […]
On a an overcast, October day a crowd of 600 people gather in the little town of Webster Springs. Twenty cooks and 20 Burgoos. Helping judge the best of these Burgoos is Tim Urbanic, chef and owner of Cafe Cimino. “You got to love Burgoo. I really love the rattlesnake. And the snapping turtle. They’re […]
In a public performance on Wednesday, Romanian artists joined the Appalachian Ensemble, a Davis & Elkins College student string band and dance group. The Romanian students are participating in a year-long project exploring the connections between Appalachian and Romanian folk music. Teacher Emanuela Tulpam says there are geographical similarities between Romania and West Virginia too. […]
Down in Greenbrier County, West Virginia the American Heritage Music Hall in Ronceverte has a devoted following. The venue started as a small informal living room jam among friends and soon grew into a non-profit organization with its own venue. Now the Music Hall hosts weekly jams and monthly concerts. Dan Schultz of Traveling 219 […]
For one week each June, Marlinton, West Virginia lights up with the sound of fiddles and banjos. The weeklong workshop, Allegheny Echoes, attracts nearly 150 students each year to the mountains of Pocahontas County to play and learn traditional West Virginia old-time music. The epicenter of Allegheny Echoes is the Marlinton Motor Inn, where classes […]
photo of the Alleycats outside the Delmonte in Elkins, by Bill King. The Tribble’s house stands out from the street because of the solar panels on the roof, and because even from outside you can hear the sound of 16-year-old Walter King warming up his fiddle. Beside him stands Nevada Tribble, with long, straight red […]
Over the next twenty years, most people who still know the art of clock repair will pass away, leaving the world millions of antique clocks in need of regular winding and repair. On Dec 12, Doyle Kisner, a clock repairman from Tucker County, will turn 90 years old. For the past two and half years, […]
The Traveling 219 Project continues its Maryland series, at a place where US route 219 becomes part of a major interstate i-68, in the northern part of Garrett County. This also happens to be where rt. 219 crosses rt. 40 the historic National Road, the first federally funded road in the country, built back in […]
Click the map to download a high-resolution copy of the Traveling 219 map, or pick up a hard copy at one of many locations along U.S. Route 219. You may also view our interactive map of Traveling 219 stories [HERE].
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