Greetings. This new issue of WestVirginiaVille is jam full of good writing, significant subjects, and images worth a second glance. If you did not get e-mail notice of the new issue, stay in the loop on our offbeat takes on the life and times of West Virginia and intriguing people with links to the Mountain State by free subscribing to: WestVirginiaVille.substack.com | Peace. Douglas John Imbrogno, editor
‘Ashes, Ashes, All Fall Down’: What are you going to do when your complicated family just won’t leave you behind? And when they keep following you around, even as you may wish to let them go? A personal tale from beyond the grave by the Reverend Doug Minnerly, an Honorably Retired Minister member of the Presbytery of West Virginia — who has cigars to get to.
West Virginia Hero’s Life Screens at FestivALL 2022 : The remarkable life of Cabin Creek native Dave Evans unspools in West Virginia’s capital when the documentary “The Wake Up Call” screens at 2022 FestivALL Charleston on Thursday, June 23. Dave lost both legs below the knees in a horrendous Vietnam War ambush. It didn’t hold him back from a courageous life criss-crossing war zones, as he and his teams gave back to thousands across the world prosthetic legs, arms and hands. His own wounds and the heartbreak he witnessed also never shut him up about the disastrous politics of warmongering.
Many Fights, One Big Fight: Historian traces struggles of Appalachian healthcare union’s attempts to stay the course: John Hennen’s, “A Union For Appalachian Healthcare Workers: The Radical Roots and Hard Fights of Local 1199 chronicles the history of a small, respected union that represents the overlooked and previously unrepresented workers of Local 1199. The book conveys the human longing for fairness within an often heartless industry.
Barriers to Mental Health Care for Black West Virginians: Black West Virginians suffer from an increased rate of mental health concerns, including anxiety and depression, writes Haadiza Ogwude, in a reprint of a ‘BLACK BY GOD: The West Virginian’ article. Yet Black mental health professionals believe Black West Virginians are at a significant disadvantage when dealing with mental health issues than their white counterparts — or even Black counterparts from other states.
‘First Streets in West Virginia: A Picture/Show’: Check out this photo series and essay on how the streets of Huntington WV, have changed so much since the author first stepped onto them in 1980. back when bored, horny teenagers cruised round and round the desolation of the downtown ‘Superblock’ now occupied by Pullman Square. The streets and shops aren’t the only thing that have changed since then. | by Douglas John Imbrogno
‘A Tragedy Full of Joy’: The Complicated American Dream of West Virginia’s Jerry West: Did you know the official NBA logo is a silhouette of West Virginia native and basketball legend Jerry West? Being the most famous athlete ever from the hollers of the Mountain State and one of the NBA’s greatest ever concealed a life with more than a few traumas. John W. Miller ponders West’s life after encountering the star’s 2011 memoir “West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life” in this reprint of a Moundsville.org essay.
‘Ukraine Update: ‘Day 34 of Russia’s Cowardly Invasion of Ukraine’ | Last month, WestVirginiaVille’s newsletter reprinted Facebook posts by former West Virginia resident Michael Willard, who now lives in Florida, and one of his two daughters in Kyiv, Mia, who with her sister, Maria, have been hunkered down in the city since the start of the country’s attempted mugging by Vladimir Putin. Mike catches us up in two more posts on Putin’s folly.
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EDITORS/NOTE: December2021: December 10, 2021: Here’s what’s up in the December 2021 issue, last one for awhile as we go on hiatus with this edition until March 1, 2022.
EDITORS/NOTE: Allen Ginsberg & Bonfires | The Sky & Eternity | Manchin & Byrd and more: November 2021 Issue WestVirginiaVille.com: If this November issue were a bag of Tootsie Pops, we’d have all the different flavors, including that rare blue-raspberry-flavored purple one. Dive deep into this month’s magazine and you’ll find lots of flavors.
EDITORS/NOTE: It’s a Character Thing: October 2021 Issue of WestVirginiaVille.com: Charly Jupiter Hamilton speaks for himself in a three-part farewell to the beloved West Virginia artist that involves hippos and painted coffins. Plus, Michael and Carrie Nobel Kline on the tricky art of listening. And two famous character studies, imprisoned separately by booze and prison bars.
