Zack Harold
Zack Harold of Ashford, West Virginia, is a southern West Virginia native, the grandson of two coal miners, the son of a Pentecostal preacher, a former staff writer with the Charleston Daily Mail, and former managing editor of WV Living and Wonderful West Virginia magazines. He currently works with the WVU Extension Service Family Nutrition Program. He enjoys playing music with his band The Sycomores.
Person Page
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The nearly forgotten Estler Mortgage Lifter is available again to the public, thanks to a passionate family member. -
The process of making Kentucky pull candy is long and difficult, but the payoff is worth it. The candy is buttery and melt-in-your-mouth. Folkways reporter Zack Harold caught up with a man who's a confectionary master to see how it's made.
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If you live in West Virginia and care about food, you probably know about DiCarlo’s in Wheeling, where they serve pizzas topped with cold cheese. You’ve probably heard — or even been to — the big springtime ramp feed in Richwood. And you probably know that, when it comes to hotdogs joints, Yann’s Hotdogs in Fairmont is on a level all its own.
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Have you ever heard of the Marmet Slaw Dog? The secret recipe for the was thought to be lost, but in recent years, has been rediscovered.
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There is a story about a special type of heirloom tomato, called the Mortgage Lifter. These tomatoes are big, pink and sweet, that were so popular in southern West Virginia, they helped their creator pay off his mortgage. Except, that’s not the end of the story. There is another “mortgage lifter” tomato.
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Climbers have identified around 100 racist and otherwise offensive route names and hope to have them changed before a new guidebook goes to print this fall.
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In Appalachia, we’re all too familiar with black lung disease, and how it takes the breath away from coal miners. For a time, it seemed black lung was going away, thanks to tougher mine safety regulations. Now it's seeing a resurgence.There is another problem that doesn’t seem to have gone away, either, and that is racism. It shows itself in places you never would have thought of, including in the names given to rock climbing routes in West Virginia’s New River Gorge.
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I knew I would be a father someday. I just assumed it would happen the normal way. My wife Whitney had other ideas. She suggested that, instead of going…
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When I was a kid, the thing that intrigued me most about Santa wasn’t the beard, or the flying reindeer, or the repeated breaking and entering. No — I was…
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There’s a place in southern West Virginia that many consider holy ground. For nearly 70 years, gospel music fans have gathered on this mountaintop just…
