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Harpers Ferry is a historic West Virginia city and international tourist hub. But four years ago the national park and surrounding town were devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Finding Resilience Through Song, Faith, And Storytelling
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In this episode of Inside Appalachia, we hear how religious leaders are adapting to change and finding ways to continue helping people find solace and peace during the pandemic.
We also hear a series of stories from high schoolers who were challenged to work outdoors, in snow and ice and didn’t complain. Quite the opposite. Their teachers say they appeared to be more engaged in learning.
The students reported on topics like sheep farming and ice hockey, as part of a project that’s meant to help students build resilience through storytelling and outdoor education.
Shape-note singing has deep roots in Appalachia and the American south. Popular first in 18th and 19th-century New England, shape-note singing is a tradition that relies on group participation. But what happens when groups can’t get together and sing? In a special report exploring folkways traditions, as part of the Inside Appalachia Folkways Project, Kelley Libby spoke with singers in Virginia and Kentucky.
Keeping The Faith
Faith leaders have been forced to change the way they do things during the pandemic. Some religious leaders are streaming their services online while others have tried drive-up services, where people can listen to a sermon from their cars.
Last month, as the economy began to open back up, and small businesses began opening their doors, many churches, synagogues and mosques reopened too. This brought new challenges like how to enforce mask wearing and how to make sure people remain six feet apart.
Emily Allen spoke with several religious leaders in West Virginia about the work they’re doing to create safe spaces to meet in person.
Note: Since Emily originally reported that story in June, some of the faith leaders she spoke with have gone back to in-person services, or are considering opening back up later this month.
Jewish High Holidays
September marks two important holidays for people of the Jewish faith: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. But neither of the two synagogues in southern West Virginia have a full-time rabbi. They depend on traveling rabbis for these holidays.
Now, they are facing the possibility of not having a rabbi who can come to them.
“It would be disappointing, because we’ve conducted high holiday services at Temple Beth-El since as long as I can remember,” said Tom Sopher, the president of Temple Beth-El in Beckley. “And if it gets missed, I mean, yes, it is somewhat heartbreaking in one aspect, but, you know, it’s a different situation right now.”
Social media and technology are helping worshipers stay connected. Doris Sue Kantor, co-president of Ahavath Sholom, in Bluefield, said her synagogue may have to stream pre-recorded services from Temple Israel in Charleston.
“We’ve always had someone here for holidays,” she said. “But, of course, we’ve never had a pandemic like this before either. But hopefully, is something it wouldn’t be the same. Let’s put it that way. But if we could zoom and have services, it would be better than nothing at all.”
Ramadan
Muslims had to adapt their traditions during this year’s Ramadan, their holy month. But not even the physical changes and all of the new normals could hinder their faith. Back in May, reporter Kyle Vass went to one mosque in Huntington, West Virginia, and has more.
Tell Us Your Story
If you’re Jewish, Christian, or Muslim — or another religion — how have you adjusted to social distancing during the pandemic? Has your church or house of worship reopened? Are you concerned about safety at these gatherings?
Or if you don’t go to church, tell us what you miss about gathering with people. It could be your favorite yoga class, music show, or the theatre. How are you finding ways to connect virtually, safely? Or, are you just fed up with the pandemic, and wish everything would go back to normal? Email us at insideappalachia@wvpublic.org or record yourself using a smartphone recorder app and send us your 1-2 min message. We may use it in an upcoming episode.
Youth Storytelling
At West Virginia Public Broadcasting we know the value of storytelling. And we aren’t the only ones. Researchers have found that deeply rooted in the human species is a need to connect, empathize, and understand each other, and that narratives are powerful and important tools which can either manipulate or harness human potential.
For the past couple of years, a group of high schoolers in northern West Virginia have spent one day a week, outside, during some of the colder months of the year. It was part of a project called Operation YURT, an acronym for Youth Resilience Training. The program prioritized the outdoors, mindfulness, food farming and storytelling.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting Assistant News Director Glynis Board, along with other educators, helped the students share these stories.
Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Dinosaur Burps, and Marisa Anderson.
Roxy Todd is our producer. Eric Douglas is our associate producer. Andrea Billups is our executive producer. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Zander Aloi also helped produce this episode.
On this West Virginia Morning, tourists from around the world visit Harpers Ferry each year to immerse themselves in U.S. history. But the number of visitors fell in 2020, as public health restrictions ramped up nationwide. Jack Walker visited the town to learn how things have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Across the nation, there are more and more local news deserts; communities with no local newspaper, television or radio station to cover what’s going on. When a small town paper like The Welch News in McDowell County, WV, can’t compete and shuts down, losing those local eyes and ears can affect accountability. No one is there to watch over things. Local news also provides a sense of cohesion and identity for a community. What happens when it’s gone? This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center.
On this West Virginia Morning, it has been a year since allegations of illicit recordings of cadets and other women at the West Virginia State Police barracks launched federal and state investigations into the law enforcement department. We speak with the superintendent of state police for an update.
On this West Virginia Morning, political analysts say the two Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate in the upcoming May primary election give voters some particular, and troubling, food for thought. The candidates themselves say voters need to focus on the positives, not the negatives.