West Virginia is known for mines, mountains and working-class grit, but the state was born from a merchant-class revolt seeking freedom from punitive Richmond tax
National Family Anthem: Lady Gaga’s Grandpa Was a West Virginia Crooner — Manchin Grabs Gaga Selfie
Lady Gaga’s stunning national anthem performance, and gold brooch of a peace dove, at Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration drew another round of reminders that her
New Film About Portsmouth, OH Inspired by ‘Moundsville’
Dave Bernabo and I made Moundsville, now on PBS, to attempt a different kind of conversation about American industrial towns. If we could tell a
‘Night of the Hunter’: Rise and Fall of an American Con Man
In the 1955 thriller Night of the Hunter, Harry Powell, a classic American con man posing as an itinerant preacher, settles in Moundsville, WV. He
The Polish and Ohio Valley Origins of Hall of Famer Phil Niekro (1939-2020)
The obituaries for Phil Niekro, who died of cancer at age 81 on Dec. 26, focused on his legendary knuckleball. In the Ohio Valley, the
Downriver from the Moundsville Prison Graveyard: Story of a Lyric
This post has been updated to include information from an email from Mark Kozelek. When singer-songwriter Mark Kozelek was a teenager in the 1980s, he
