On Saturday, December 7th, I helped organize and uphold a unique and ancient English caroling tradition in Elkins, where we recreated this ancient English tradition at the Kump House in order to bless their apple trees, chasing out harmful spirits and waking the trees up for the coming winter so that they will have a bountiful harvest next fall. While this sounds strange, the event itself is more about bringing the wider Elkins community together in an evening of song and creating a fun tradition that will hopefully become a yearly event!
Madeline Ricks is an AmeriCorps member with AFNHA, serving as the Collections Preservation Coordinator for The Augusta Heritage center in Elkins, WV. She has begun writing a new blog series for the Augusta website. Beginning with the African origins of the banjo, Madeline will take readers on a journey through the histories and cultural impacts of the instruments played in West Virginia’s musical traditions.
There are many interesting and unique materials housed in the Upshur County Historical Society Document Repository that have never been displayed in an exhibit. Some materials have been overlooked because, while interesting, they relate to a topic that is too narrow to warrant an entire exhibit. This year’s exhibit gives space for these materials to shine.
On June 19, Pleasant Green Church in Hillsboro underwent two restoration projects in collaboration with the Forest Service, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, AFNHA AmeriCorps, and Cultural Heritage in the Forest. The Forest Service creates partnerships like these within local communities to help support efforts of preservation. This partnership is overwhelmingly meaningful to us here at the Forest and AFNHA - connecting with Black students and sharing with them our state’s history is invaluable to the future of diverse involvement, public awareness, and funding for these sites. There is no West Virginia History without Black History, and it was our honor to share with them this part of their cultural past.
This term in 2023-2024, my involvement with the 4-H History Round-Up project and my participation at 4-H Camp evolved together as the theme of this year’s camp was “A Journey Through 4-H”. The theme took campers through the past and into what may be the future of 4-H in 2115. That faraway date marked the 200-year anniversary of the world’s first 4-H Camp in 1915, “Camp Good Luck”, which took place in Randolph County! This theme gave me the role of putting all the Randolph County 4-H history I’ve learned in my service to direct use.
Recognized as the longest running race throughout the southeast, the 63rd West Virginia Governor's Cup Ski Race was presented by Alpine Festival and hosted by Timberline Mountain on March 11th-12th, 2023. This year’s race was record-breaking in its number of skiers with 222 participants! According to local ski history, this number surpasses the original record of 168 participants in 1980.
The Hardy County CVB was seeking ways to encourage responsible tourism. The catch? The position was through the AFNHA’s AmeriCorps program. AmeriCorps? Isn’t that for those young, spirited college graduates seeking experiential learning as they map out their professional paths? What business does a 57-year-old grandmother, semi-retired and still falling short of daily step goals have in applying? Wouldn’t I be taking a grand opportunity away from someone more in need of the experience?
History and memory are intertwined. For a place such as Camp Pioneer, this is certainly true. Though I came to Camp Pioneer with little knowledge of what the 4-H experience offered, I can say that of the stories I’ve come across so far, 4-H Camp is one of the most memorable parts of that experience.
When I first arrived at Camp Pioneer to start my service, I remember the stacks of 4-H Camp group photos being among the first things to greet me in my new office space. They’d been framed by the previous AmeriCorps member and awaited their return to the walls of the main building for display. They had been displayed improperly before, prompting a need for a new display. This was a project I’d become a part of very soon, but not one I yet realized I’d help complete.
Philippi is well known as the site of the first land battle of the Civil War and the home of the Philippi Mummies, but the history of Barbour County includes so much more! Watch as Marisa takes you on a short tour of the Barbour County Historical Museum and shows you some interesting things they have on display.
The new temporary exhibit at Arthurdale Heritage, Treasured: Contemporary Reflections of Arthurdale focuses on the threads which connect Arthurdale’s past to its present and future. Through rare and magnificent objects either on loan or in the archival collection, Arthurdale connects these pieces of historic significance to current and future projects. As the exhibit explains, these objects represent the stories of individuals and families who called this town home and they “now challenge us to press onward, imagining what we will achieve together.”
In our new exhibit, you can learn not only about Arthurdale’s history but also about our organizational efforts and plans for the future. Treasured will be on display until January 13 from Monday-Friday 10-3.
On a cold clear night, when the moon is dark and a north wind blows, northern saw-whet owls take wing for their fall migration. Bird banders across the US and Canada set up their nets in strategic locations and watch the weather closely for good conditions, checking their nets regularly for birds.
Learn how volunteers at Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge identify and track owls for study.
The Beverly Heritage Center is composed of four historical buildings, dating from 1808 to 1907 that showcase a range of architectural styles and original purposes. An element of exhibition design here is negotiating around this pre-existing infrastructure, such as the large windows in the Aries Hill Building (1907).
During the Civil War, several buildings in the town of Beverly were used as hospitals for both sides of the war. After the Battle of Philippi, one of the first amputations of the Civil War was performed in town by Dr. John Huff; where he used a butcher knife and a carpenter saw to treat a Confederate soldier who had been hit in the leg by a cannonball. In the First Campaign room, we display the saw used in this operation, so a depiction of this medical scene themed perfectly with the rest of the exhibit.
Adaland Mansion, previously known as the Modisett Mansion, is a Greek Revival house set at the top of the hills in Philippi, WV. Now it is a beautiful landmark that hosts a combination of historically inspired and modern events, such as weddings, tours, educational classes, private and public dinners and more! In early November the site closes to the public for a few weeks so volunteers can fill every space with glad tidings (and tinsel). Each room has a themed tree with shining ornaments to prepare for the free Holiday Open House on Saturday, December 3rd.
The Christmas cheer is here early at Adaland Mansion as the director, Jolynn Powers, excitedly opened a surprise donation.
Hello! My name is Joe Medica and my position through AFNHA is with the Green Bank Observatory serving as an Interpretive Trail Developer. I am originally from Schuylkill Haven, PA, which is in a part of Pennsylvania that is very similar to Pocahontas County. I found AFNHA when I applied through the official AmeriCorps website. I was matched with the program based on my experience in environmental work and field research. I interviewed with AFNHA staff as well as sites under AFNHA, and was paired with the GBO.
West Virginia has become a second home to me in the nine months that I have been here. I first arrived in Green Bank on Labor Day weekend, and the adjustment to the conditions here was a bit of a shock. The lack of any wireless signal took a bit of getting used to, but with plenty of Ethernet cords and some adapters, I’ve been able to maintain a little bit of connection to the outside world. It isn’t my first time moving away from home, but this is definitely the furthest I have moved, with the trek from the GBO back to my part of PA coming in at 300 miles.
Wild and wonderful West Virginia contains a wondrous and unique ecosystem of red spruce. This species of tree and the ecosystem it creates is historic to West Virginia. In the 1800s and into the 1900’s it was a highly sought-after tree for lumber. Now, it’s the focus of some of the conservation work taking place in West Virginia and the Central Appalachians. The lumbering industry took a heavy toll on this ecosystem, reducing the acreage of red spruce forests from over 500,000 to just a little under 30,000. This means the other species that rely on this ecosystem for habitats, like the endangered cheat mountain salamander and the West Virginia northern flying squirrel, also suffered. Today, conservationists are working to restore this ecosystem in order to create healthy spruce forests and bring back the biodiversity this ecosystem creates. So, how do we know the actions being taken are working? That's where indicator species come in.
On March 19th, the Green Bank Observatory and Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area hosted an event with the Deer Creek Defenders 4-H club in Green Bank to build bird boxes for the local bluebird and tree swallow population. These boxes were built to replace old boxes initially deployed by Dave Curry, the founder and main proponent of the citizen science program involving these boxes here on the Observatory grounds. The boxes that were replaced were either those deteriorated by the elements or knocked down by predators that got a little too greedy.
March is Women’s History Month. So . . . Happy Women’s History Month!! This month is built to honor and celebrate all the women in the past, present, and future. How I’m celebrating this month is by sharing the untold stories of some of our influential women in Randolph County’s history. This past month I have been spreading the word on social media to share the stories of these amazing women.
When I became the Education and Outreach Aide for the West Virginia Division of Forestry, I was looking forward to teaching others about the environment. Since my arrival in West Virginia I learned about Project Learning Tree (PLT) - a program that has helped me discover engaging teaching modules. PLT is an environmental education program made for educators to work with children from preschool to grade 12. PLT has been training teachers and educating students about the environment since the mid-1970s and is used in all 50 states. According to the PLT website, the program “reached 138 million students and trained 765,000 educators!”
What do you remember about your early school experiences? Can you recall the exact details of your classroom’s layout? What about the smells of the hallway? Do you remember all of your teacher’s names? What about significant moments in time – do you remember where you were when you found out about these life-changing events?
One of the Beverly Heritage Center’s most intriguing artifacts is an account book from the mid 19th century. It is an unassuming thing, the covers have been lost long ago and the pages darkened from their original white to a soft brown. In addition to the change in their color, the pages stiffened over time and some of the edges are prone to flaking. It sometimes feels like the book will fall apart in your hands as you flip through it.
As a lifelong West Virginian, the story I seemed to hear growing up was that we here in the Mountain State had been left behind. Before I was old enough to understand it, I learned about the “Brain Drain” and how all the people who could leave the state were going out to get better jobs in other places. From outside sources, I learned the stereotypes about West Virginia and the idea that people here were simply stuck in the past. Progress was happening somewhere in the world - but not here.
When I found myself looking to make a change but not ready to retire, I decided to hit the pause button and do something different. Signing up with the AmeriCorps program to serve a year as a Heritage Tourism specialist was my way of giving back to the community while transitioning into the phase of my life. In return, devoting time to learning about the history and culture in West Virginia and discovering historical places has become a rewarding adventure.
I’m currently serving a split position between the Seneca Rocks Discovery Center in the Cheat-Potomac ranger district, and the Greenbrier ranger district with AFNHA. West Virginia, like Virginia, has a strong sense of old-world roots and distinct cultural and geographical characteristics. It’s not a generic place. You have to be affected by her, one way or another.
When I began my first service term as an AmeriCorps with AFNHA at the West Virginia Railroad Museum, I didn’t know a lot about railroads. And now, starting my second term at the same site, I’m still no expert. But what I have learned is that engaging with this history is creative work because there are so many ways a person can start, and so many places they can end up. Read more of Emma’s story!
