Eyes and 'Eers We go one on one with Tony Caridi.
Cheating Fate After years of exploitation, the Cheat River is thriving.
Tall Timber
See inside Dana Holgorsen's cross-laminated timber house.
The BEST hospital is right here in Morgantown.
#1 Ranked
in West Virginia committed to excellence in everything we do.
U.S. News & World Report has rated WVU Hospitals | Ruby Memorial Hospital the #1 Hospital in West Virginia for the 3rd year in a row. In addition to the state ranking, WVU Hospitals was recognized as
A high-performer in 12 specialties: • cancer • diabetes and endocrinology • gastroenterology and GI surgery • gynecology • neurology and neurosurgery • pulmonology
• cardiology and heart surgery • ear, nose, and throat • geriatrics • nephrology • orthopaedics • urology
The U.S. News rankings recognize hospitals that excel in caring for patients who need the highest levels of care. Rankings are based on objective data measures, such as patient safety, nurse staffing levels, and other information.
Ruby Memorial Hospital
wvuhealthcare.com
2013
CO SPONSORED BY
WVU Hospitals is a member of the West Virginia United Health System.
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4
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
We learn by listening. West Virginia University listened to the need to preserve one of our nation’s great treasures – the Green Bank telescope. And we partnered so that discoveries by WVU researchers could be made. So that West Virginia jobs could be saved. So that extraordinary science nestled among extraordinary mountains could continue.
Photo credit: Jiuguang Wang via Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike.
research.wvu.edu
morgantownmag.Com
5
editor’s note
Letters to the Editor College Mail My daughter gets college mail every day. Most gets tossed. Not this. @MorgantownMag @WVUAdmissions #cool Pat Shaffer, via Twitter CLOCKWISE: Elizabeth Roth helps Jack Baronner with his game face. Bekah Call and Sarah Shaffer model tees. Katie Griffith tries on a few new hats on assignments. Jack makes his cover debut.
W
e get r e a l ly exci t ed
around here about the “Back to School” issue. For this issue we concocted elaborate quizzes and scavenger hunts (see “What Band Section Are You In?” on page 61 and “Mountaineer Miscellany” on page 59). We set up photo shoots at our favorite party store, Everyday’s a Party. Our interns donned crazy hats and wigs, while our writers shot pool or sat at Mountain State Brewing Co. (page 24)—all in the name of great photos. We even called in the Mountaineer. After countless brainstorming sessions for our “Surviving Game Day” cover story, we realized one thing was certain— we’re better as a team. The best inspiration, the best story ideas, the best design concepts, and even the best “At least my day wasn’t as bad as yours” realizations always seem to arise when we’re together, supposedly taking a break but always thinking about work. While one writer was assigned to write “Morgantown’s Unofficial Game Day Survival Guide” every staff member got involved—graphic designer Becky Moore even brought in her snare drum and photographer Elizabeth Roth sketched maps and taught us the “First Down Cheer.” While we consider ourselves experts on all things Morgantown, we’ve learned new things and experienced the unexpected even in the last couple of months. In this issue writer Katie Griffith conquered her fear of three-wheeled cars (page 20) one day, and
6
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
marveled over how nice famed local radio announcer Tony Caridi is the next—“He did an impromptu play-by-play using our names!” Writer Mikenna Pierotti got to work from Crockett’s Lodge (page 32) and started another day off right with breakfast at Real Juice Bar & Café (page 14). We all learned a little bit more about the beautiful comeback of the Cheat River in Assistant Editor Pam Kasey’s feature, and I discovered words I never knew existed while writing about Dana Holgorsen’s cross-laminated timber house. Long story short, we’ve learned a lot, but we’ve also had a ton of fun. We think this August/September issue is full of colorful personalities and reasons to laugh and cheer. We hope you’ll enjoy it as much as we did.
Downtown History I just read the wonderful article about the Historic Downtown Morgantown Audio Walking Tour in the June/July edition of Morgantown magazine, and I wanted to thank you for helping to promote the tour and downtown’s history. The article covered the topic beautifully, and we greatly appreciate your help in getting this information out to the public. Sami Rose, Main Street Morgantown, via email
don’t be shy
WRITE US! lau r a w ilcox Rote,
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Follow us at . . . facebook.com/ morgantownmagazine twitter.com/morgantownmag instagram.com/morgantownmag
We’d love to hear from you, so send your comments to 709 Beechurst Avenue, 14A, Morgantown, WV 26505 or email us at morgantown@ newsouthmediainc.com.
The Nearby Getaway That Feels Oh-So-Far-Away! Start your weekend with a leaf-peeping ride on Greater Morgantown’s breathtaking 48-mile rail trail system or beautiful back country roads. Add a wine tasting at the Forks-of-Cheat Winery and an alfresco dinner–several outstanding choices offer magnificent views along the mighty Monongahela River.
Fall Getaway Weekend:
Appalachian Art, WV Wine, Buckwheat Cakes . . . And All That Jazz! Buckwheat Festival Sept. 25-28 Arts Walk | Art Is Food Sept. 26 Wine & Jazz Festival Sept. 27-28
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Real Service. Real Value. Real Results.
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Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
aug/sept 2014
elizabeth roth
In This Issue
Cheating Fate
Surviving Game Day
Tall Timber
Long blighted by acid mine drainage, the Cheat River is making a big comeback—and Morgantown benefits.
Discover a new favorite game watching spot, fill up on Mountaineer-themed eats, and even try out our game day scavenger hunt.
WVU Head Football Coach Dana Holgorsen’s cross-laminated timber house is unlike anything else in the country.
48
62
42
morgantownmag.Com
9
August/September 2014
In This Issue This Matters
Departments
30
14 Eat This Try the Avocado Smash at Real Juice Bar & Café.
6 Editor’s Note 32 Dish It Out Crockett’s Lodge is a local favorite with a long, colorful history.
14 What’s This Students are not exempt from the Affordable Care Act.
36 Scoreboard Color Me Rad brings thousands of people to the finish line—and turns them into human rainbows.
16 Know This Check out the greenhouse gas emissions report for Morgantown.
38 The U Adventure WV takes WVU students and others on life-changing international trips.
17 Shop This Transform your backyard with tools from Mountain State Stone.
36
18 Who’s This Tony Caridi brings the story of football to life. 20 Love This Morgan Motor Company brings three-wheeled thrills to Morgantown.
24
38
0 Road Rage 7 The price of parking downtown is increasing, but it may be necessary.
22 Do This The Met Pool Hall has a history worth exploring.
71 Across County Lines Prickett’s Fort State Park in Fairmont is a living history museum and more.
24 Wear This Showing your West Virginia pride just got cooler. 8 Hear This 2 The members of the Hillbilly Gypsies are pickin’ and grinnin’ more than 10 years later.
40 Healthy Living The new WELLWVU student center opens this fall.
74 The Scene 76 Calendar
71
30 This Matters To . . . Kevin Langue is part college student, part award-winning filmmaker.
28
80 Then & Now We look at how the Sunnyside neighborhood continues to evolve.
32
On the Cover Intern Jack Baronner wears a festive wig from Everyday’s a Party and sports his best game face in preparation for an unforgettable football season. Photo by Elizabeth Roth.
10
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
20 40
Just scan it or visit 3502 Cardinal Circle - $ 595,000 Greystone-on-the-cheat, Morgantown WV our website to beautiful home on cul-de-sac and golf course with in-ground find out more! heated pool & cabana, large rooms, solid wood doors and trim, large eat in kitchen with island, full basement with walkout. hobby room/workshop off of finished garage. two fireplaces-one gas, one wood burning. mlS# 10097680
3715 Swallowtail Drive - $ 679,000
rESort likE back yard, 5 bedroom home in Greystone with inlaw quarters with private entrance. Formal dining and living room. large kitchen with breakfast nook and granite counter tops. Family room with French doors leading to waterfalls, fireplace hot tub and built in gas grill. landscaping is state of the art. a must see!
139 Thistledown Lane $ 370,000
imPrESSiVE and PriStinE, describes this lovely split entry home. beautifully landscaped for care free lawn maintenance. Fabulous views, gives you gorgeous sunrises and sunsets. Enjoy life on the private rear covered porch and rear yard which master’s natures best. Spacious oversized 2 car garage is great for storage, a workshop and good extra space. mlS# 10097230
496 Kiwanis Avenue $ 475,000
Quality and charm abound in this custom built all brick colonial home situated on 2+/- lots in Suncrest. built in 1954, this 2 story, 4 bedroom home with a screened in patio has over 3,500 sq. ft. of living space. lower level is partially finished, this home is ready for your changes. mlS# 10094819
504 Lakeview Estates $ 259,900
Barbara Alexander McKinney ABR, ABRM, GRI, Christies Specialist, Broker Owner
1-800-MOVE2WV 304-594-0115
MorgantownRealEstate.com 2800 Cranberry Square, Morgantown, WV 26508
Commercial & Residential Land: 2101 Halleck Road $1,632,400 241 Greenbag Rd. $1,300,000 986 Chestnut Ridge Rd. $1,400,000 1037 Valley View Ave. $ 799,000 1650 Mike Street $ 650,000 123 Wilson Woods Way $ 575,000 2024 A Hill Country Rd $ 388,500 5 Mt. Zion Road $ 350,000 100 Selby Road $ 298,000 1244 Dorsey Ave $ 250,000 Lot 58 Lakeside Estates $ 199,900 Lots 7-15 Willey Street $ 90,000 Elm Crest Court starting at $ 35,000
townhouSE at lakEViEw EStatES - morgantown 2/3 bedroom, 3.5 bath with outdoor living space galore. Soaring ceilings in the living room, fully finished basement, and office nook just off the kitchen add to the charm. Privacy abounds mlS# 10097188
3 Briarpatch Lane $ 265,000
4br , 3 ba contEmPorary liVinG cheat lake Great house for entertaining with private back yard. walking distance to stadium and hospital. new carpet and paint, hot tub and large 2 car finished garage. warm family room with wood beams and barn wood blanks. mlS# 10097860
3961 Eastlake Drive $760,000
ElEGant liVinG on 2.68+/-acrES - cheat lake Greystone on The cheat, over 4,100 sf., master suite on the main, 4 br on the 2nd floor, butler’s pantry, 3 car garage, mature landscaping, screened in back porch, zoned hVac and more! mlS# 10094222
593 Preston Road $1,850,000
5br SEcluSion - morgantown This elegant custom stone home is a private sanctuary hidden in the city limits of morgantown and is convenient to downtown and 705. Great room, family room, game room, theater room, 4 car garage and many more features and amenities. mlS# 10093496
12
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
Eat / Love / Wear / Shop / Watch / know / Hear / read / Do / Who / what
How Well Do You Know WVU? Name:
Date:
1. How many people have traveled on
4. Which of these notable people did
WVU’s Personal Rapid Transit since 1975?
not attend WVU?
a) 83 million b) 56 million c) 12 million
5. Which building on campus has been said to be haunted?
a) E. Moore Hall b) Stewart Hall c) Eisland Hall
3. How much was tuition for WVU’s first students in 1867 for a 13-week term?
a) $8 b) $80 c) $18
6. How many colleges/schools does WVU have? a) 10 b) 30 c) 15
August 2014
Answers: 1. a, 2. b, 3. a, 4. d, 5. b, 6. c
Hats OFF?!
Happy Bacon Day!
Mark your calendar for this delicious holiday. August 30, 2014. We recommend the BLT Salad with bacon and fried green tomatoes from Atomic Grill.
Did you know? The first football ever used was round.
istock
As recently as 1965, all freshmen were required to wear a beanie. Those caught without a beanie had to sing a WVU song or Frosh do a cheer.
Feed this direction
sources: wvu.edu; Professional Football researchers association
2. What was the nation’s first state 4-H camp? a) Camp Muffly b) WVU Jackson’s Mill c) Camp Chippewa
a) Billy Mays b) Chris Sarandon c) Stephen Coonts d) Tyler Perry e) Cheryl Hines
morgantownmag.Com
13
THIS MATTERS
Coverage in College
EATThis
Get Smashed
Students are not exempt from the Affordable Care Act.
Per the new health care regulations under the Affordable Care Act, college students must be covered by health insurance or face penalty fines. “There are no special exemptions for college students under the ACA,” says Allison Adler, spokesperson for the state Department of Health and Human Resources. Many students will retain coverage under a parent’s policy to the age of 26, she adds. “Other students may be eligible for exemptions as a result of low income.” Exemptions available to all Americans are outlined at healthcare.gov/exemptions. In West Virginia there are several insurance options available to students, in addition to plans offered through the ACA:
»» Students under 30 have special availability of a catastrophic plan, which is less costly but also provides less coverage. »» West Virginia is among states expanding their Medicaid programs in 2014. The state Medicaid program will cover individuals making approximately $15,800 per year or less.
»» Students can sign up for school health plans, which sometimes can be covered through loans. Both Marshall University and West Virginia University offer student health insurance.
14
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
➼ Who doesn’t love avocados? Sliced on a sandwich, mixed into sauce, or whipped into guacamole, this humble fruit is making its way into every meal of the day. And after having the Avocado Smash at Real Juice Bar and Café on Pleasant Street, you’ll have no choice but to add it to your routine, too. This creamy yet heart-healthy avocado masterpiece comes smashed on a homemade bagel or flatbread and topped with a savory blend of spices and extra-virgin olive oil. Pair it with one of Real’s organic, GMO-free smoothies or juices for a delectable yet guilt-free start to your day. Try Hello Sunshine, a mixture of fresh orange, grapefruit, pineapple, lemon, and lime juices. Open since March 2014, Real is a newcomer to Morgantown’s gastronomic scene, but with its prime location beside live music mecca 123 Pleasant Street, it
already has a Real Juice Bar loyal following of and Café juicers, foodies, 119 Pleasant Street and hungry 304.212.5213 realjuicebarandcafe.com patrons lined up along the bar from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The Real Juice maxim: Healthy, organic food doesn’t have to be bland and boring. Just ask owner Ruth Haas’ repeat customers, some of whom weren’t totally sold on the idea until they tasted one of Ruth’s delectable concoctions. “We had a gentleman come in looking very uncomfortable,” Ruth says. “He told us his doctor had said he needed to eat healthier. But he had no idea where to start or what would taste good to him. In fact, he told us he didn’t even like fruits and vegetables.” So Ruth started him on one of her sweet smoothies—infused with kale for a healthy kick. “He’s been back every day since,” she says. The Real team is already making waves, reaching out to places like Garcia’s Latin Market and New Day Bakery to bring new culinary creations— look for Fish Taco Tuesdays— to Morgantown’s voracious crowds. Ruth says this is just good business sense. “We’re part of the community. It’s important for us to support locals as much as possible.”
BuyThis
Golden Gear Don’t be sloppy. Dress up your tailgate with blue and gold gear from The Elegant Alley Cat. These napkins ($10.75 / 24-pack) are made exclusively for the Morgantown store with phrases like “No place like Morgantown,” and “Country Roads, Take Me Home.” Serve snacks from beautiful pewter wares like this platter ($86) and mug ($32.50). And stay comfortable with Flying WV pillows made with sun resistant fabric ($30). The Elegant Alley Cat, 358 High Street, 304.292.4433, elegantalleycat.com
elizabeth roth; Carla witt Ford
WHAT’SThis
Jarrett R. Hall, Broker 304.292.3900 Each Office Independently Owned and Operated Licensed in WV and PA
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THIS MATTERS
Filling Fewer Hindenburgs
Morgantown’s greenhouse gas emissions have been calculated. Now what? ➼ Morgantown emitted a little more than 800,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases in 2012. How much is that? It’s enough to fill six Hindenburg airships every day. But the point of this first inventory of the city’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions isn’t to admire them—it’s to reduce them, says Jeff Simcoe, Energy Program manager at Morgantown consultancy Downstream Strategies and lead author on the June 2014 emissions inventory report. To make their estimate, Jeff and his co-authors considered the five emissionsgenerating activities called for in a GHG inventory by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI): use of electricity within city boundaries; use of fuel in stationary combustion equipment—for example, commercial boilers and residential furnaces; use of energy to treat and distribute water and wastewater; 16
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
use of energy to collect, transport, and dispose of solid waste; and passenger and freight motor vehicle travel. They collected city-specific data from local utilities, primarily, and where necessary extrapolated from county-, state-, or national-level data. Here’s what they found: More than 40 percent of Morgantown’s 2012 GHG emissions came from the use of electricity. Another 40-plus percent came from cars and trucks. The remaining 14 percent was due almost entirely to the fuel that fired boilers and furnaces, with just 2 percent attributed to energy used in the management of water, wastewater, and solid waste. The next step, Phase II of Downstream Strategies’ work, is to use that information to recommend a program of energy and emissions reductions. The city already has energy-reduction programs in place
written by pam kasey
Sustainable Morgantown 2007: Created volunteer Green Team to advise city manager and city council on matters related to energy and the environment and also signed on to the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. 2009: Contracted for energy-saving upgrades in 2009 that saved more than $500,000 through 2012. 2013: Achieved green certification for its newest fire station and installed solar panels and an electric car charging station at its farmers’ market pavilion.
elizabeth roth
KNOW This
for its buildings and activities, as does WVU, and both are also taking steps to increase walking and biking and decrease vehicle miles traveled. The next lowesthanging fruit is the use of electricity and other fuel at homes and small businesses, Jeff says. “We know from past work doing energy audits that there are opportunities in, for example, lighting upgrades, where savings can be realized for relatively small investment and short payback periods.” The Phase II recommendations are due out in May 2015. Both reports are funded by the Appalachian Stewardship Foundation. One more thing. If you’re wondering how that estimate of 800,000 metric tons compares with other cities’ emissions, unfortunately, it’s a little too early to tell. Although GHG inventories have been done for dozens, maybe hundreds, of cities, there’s no one established system yet for doing it. That may change soon. “We see now in California the governor is recommending all their cities use this ICLEI Community Protocol for Accounting and Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions,” Jeff says. “Having cities use the same protocol would make it possible to aggregate areas together to get more regional numbers, and also would allow for comparison across cities.” We may one day soon see some friendly competition in the reduction of GHGs.
THIS MATTERS
ShopThis
Your Dream Backyard A new business at Pierpont Landing offers the building blocks to create an outdoor oasis. ➼ Imagine a backyard oasis. Patterned stones pave a walkway leading to a covered patio, polished but casual and slightly rustic. On the patio, padded wicker seats surround the warmth of an outdoor fireplace where friends and family sit chatting about the latest triumph of the Mountaineers. Mugs clink with the heavy pour of hot cider as laughter rings through the cool autumn air. The vision is simple but common to many homeowners and house hunters. It’s the perfect setting, the perfect afternoon spent in a cozy, classy, and comfy outdoor space. When manager Chad Hefner and owner Marty Elek opened Mountain State Stone, those spaces are exactly what they had in mind. “People are wanting to bring the indoors out—wanting to create their backyard oases and places where they can entertain,” Chad says. “We’re trying to take outdoor living areas to the next level.” Mountain State Stone, a newly opened showroom in Pierpont Landing in Morgantown, provides the building blocks for those paradise dreams with paving stones. “In Morgantown and West Virginia nearly every property has some type of hill
or grade challenge,” Chad says. “More people want to entertain outside and they need the pavers to create that atmosphere and a retaining wall to level out their ground.” The product he offers, called Techo-Bloc, is created from a mixture of granite and concrete, different from the more typical limestone and concrete blend found in pavers. Unlike limestone, the granite is resistant to the type of erosion we often find in West Virginia—de-icing salt damage. The Techo-Bloc manufacturer is based in Canada where snowy winters can be particularly hard. When developing the concept for Mountain State Stone, Chad was immediately drawn to Techo-Bloc for both its durability—Canada-tough with a lifetime warranty—and its versatile look. “People have a hard time visualizing what they’re getting,” Chad says. “With this showroom we want to have things visualized so people can come in to touch and feel the product and get an idea of what their backyards can look like.” Chad moved to Morgantown six years ago following a coaching career at Alderson Broaddus University where, on the baseball field, he discovered a passion
for land design. Mountain State Stone For 10 years he 5011 Mid-Atlantic Road maintained a 304.650.2710 word-of-mouth mtnstatestone.com business doing hardscapes and softscapes by referral. “Landscaping, particularly hardscapes, is one of the most rewarding jobs you can do,” Chad says. “When you’re finished with a project you see the look on customers’ faces, having taken nothing and turned it into a piece of art.” It’s architectural art, to be more precise. Visitors flipping through the Mountain State Stone catalogs in the showroom will find examples of elegant lakeside patios perched at the edge of the water or grand stone fireplaces stacked under awnings. “People come in wanting a basic wall, and people come in wanting more extravagant products. There have been people coming in to inquire about pools,” Chad says. “There are color choices galore, and everything from a $3 per square foot paver to a $10 per square foot paver.” If a customer comes in without a contractor, Mountain State Stone can refer specific contractors in the area. Though the drier summer weather is better suited to landscaping projects, backyard renovations can begin as late as fall, as long as the ground isn’t frozen. written by katie griffith photographed by elizabeth roth morgantownmag.Com
17
THIS MATTERS
WHO’SThis
Eyes and ’Eers
Tony Caridi uses his unmistakable storytelling skills to tell the tale of Mountaineers on and off the field. ➼ He might be the eyes of Mountaineer fans across the state, but Tony Caridi is quick to correct you on any other assumed title. “I’m not the Voice of the Mountaineers,” he says. 18
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
Though many emcees and reporters are happy to label him as such, he won’t let us get away with it. “Jack Fleming was the Voice of the Mountaineers and held the position for well over 40 years. He was
a legend,” Tony says. “They retired the ‘Voice of the Mountaineers’ title to him. I’m just a play-by-play announcer.” But “just a play-by-play announcer” isn’t quite right either for this adopted West Virginian who’s taller than you’d think. He unfolds from his chair like a paper lantern to offer food and drink to guests at his office. He’s a tightly wound person; affable, all smiles and laughter, but still self-diagnosed ADHD. An award-winning broadcaster himself, Tony’s interest in sports and play-by-play announcing began as a child working
courtesy of tony caridi
at his family’s grocery store in western New York. His father emigrated from Italy in 1957 without knowing a word of English and bought the store where Tony and his siblings would work after school. “I played basketball, baseball, soccer a little bit. I was OK,” he says. “I just liked sports and would go to bed listening to play-by-play guys.” Buffalo teams created his early interest but, where most kids dream of playing themselves, Tony’s aspirations were different. “I always knew I wanted to do play-by-play from a very early age. I would listen to those games and think, ‘That would be so awesome to do.’ And it actually happened.” With his parents’ encouragement he pursued communications in college, landing a number of internships that would eventually take him to West Virginia in 1984 to work for Hoppy Kercheval and WAJR at West Virginia Radio Corporation. Tony says he never planned to stay as long as he has. The West Virginia stint was just supposed to last a few months, but he always found a reason to stay. The network grew. He went from news guy to sports guy to sports director. Jack Fleming took him under wing. Since transitioning in as the Mountaineer Sports Network play-byplay announcer in 1996, Tony has been recounting WVU football and basketball games to West Virginia’s radio listeners season after season, game after game, for almost 20 years. It may not be the 40-year career of the storied Jack Fleming, but Tony’s voice is now the one radio listeners tune in to every week in the car. His quote—It’s a great day to be a Mountaineer, wherever you may be—is repeated by fans statewide. “As you go along and mature as an announcer, you do become yourself,” he says. The lessons he learned from Jack form the basis of Tony’s play-by-play style, but the flair and the voice are all his. “I’m more about digging in and getting facts and storylines about players to incorporate into the broadcast,” he says. “Football is now played at a much faster speed than it used to be. It’s almost basketball on grass. You have less of a chance to get that information into a broadcast, but I still do not move away from my preparation and charts with all these little story angles in case it’s needed.” Announcing, you might imagine, requires intense concentration. It needs the ability to lock on a game and let the words pour from your mouth. “I jump all over the place on a daily basis, but a game
THIS MATTERS
is the one thing I can totally fixate on,” Tony says. “It’s the ultimate challenge to have 22 football players colliding with one another, helmets on, while you’re way up in the air, and to describe exactly what’s happening to the point that you are someone’s eyes and ears.” For football he has a team assisting him. Statisticians, spotters, an analyst, a producer, and a sideline reporter regularly feed him information about the teams and plays that he spits back out as a coherent story. He has a couple of metaphors to describe the situation. “They’re my team. It’s an orchestra. You’re flying an airplane.” Despite the excitement innate to a bunch of dudes colliding with one another on a field, the flight crew remains calm. “When all heck is breaking loose on a field, the ball gets knocked away, or there are penalty flags, you take a breath and set the scene,” he says. “Sometimes it’s developing as you go. You literally describe. Officials are coming together and they’re at the 30-yard line. Dana Holgorsen is obviously very upset; he’s walked out. On the far side the coach has called two officials over. You’re painting a picture for a person driving down the road.” When he’s not painting the scene of a WVU game, Tony’s telling stories of a different sort. Eleven years ago he added
Tony Caridi is more than just a playby-play announcer. He is also a banjo enthusiast, a family man, an animal lover, and a foodie.
business executive and cofounder of the Morgantown-based Pikewood Creative to his resume. The digital marketing agency now employs eight people to produce longform videos and commercials, fullscale animation, motion graphics, web development and design, and graphic design. “I’m an announcer, I’m a businessman, and an entrepreneur,” he says. In his off time he’s also a familyman, a foodie, a dog-lover, and a banjo enthusiast. “I can’t limit myself to one thing. I like growing stuff. We put a team together at Pikewood like you put a college sports team together. When it comes time for the Mountaineers I get excited—I’m getting the bug. Once that starts, ’til April, it just doesn’t stop.” Tony says about 80 percent of his time is spent at Pikewood. After work he’ll drive to Sabraton to the radio studio for his talk shows. When the Mountaineers play he’s on the road right alongside them doing his play-by-plays and coaches’ shows. “I’m doing everything I’ve always wanted to do.” written by katie griffith photographed by elizabeth roth morgantownmag.Com
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A ThreeWheeled Thrill
Morgan Motor Company brings the Morgan 3 Wheeler to town. ➼ We flew around another bend on Dorsey Avenue, top down, wind fierce, when I remembered there wasn’t a top to begin with. Should we roll, my helmet would provide only a small barrier between a coma and certain death. My fingers were clenched to the door of the three-wheeled vehicle—half car, half motorcycle—beside Daron Wooding, sales manager in charge of the Morgan Motor Company franchise in Morgantown. “If I haven’t flipped one yet, then I don’t think anyone can, truthfully,” he said before peeling out of the University Motors lot where Morgan of Morgantown hangs its keys. If anyone would know about flipping one of the vehicles, I guessed it would be him. “Morgan warns about it, but I think it would have to be a pretty extreme case,” he said. “I’ve taken pothole hits well into 20
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highway speeds and still had complete control of the car.” That’s cool. We were going 70 in a 30 mph zone. He asked if I was scared. It didn’t feel like we would flip, but my smile of encouragement was weak. “They’re incredible,” he said. “This is the only car I’ve driven in 30 years where people actually tried to get into it while it was moving. Not one person can see this car without taking a second look.” No one tried to jump in on our journey, praise be, but everyone stared. Our local Morgan 3 Wheeler, a vintage oddity, is low to the ground and drives fast, easily making hairpin turns on two front wheels and one in the back. Got hills? No problem. “The vehicle weighs 1,100 pounds and has 118 horsepower,” Daron says. “When you take off in this thing it feels like a rocket ship.” The U.K.-
based Morgan Morgan of Motor Company Morgantown estimates a zero 60 Don Knotts Boulevard to 60 mph time 304.296.4401 morganofmorgantown.com of about 4.5 seconds, if you don’t squeal the tires, which is about what a Corvette boasts. Morgan produced the 3 Wheeler through 1953 before stopping to focus on cars of the four-wheeled variety. In 2011 the company began producing the 3 Wheeler again as a heritage promotion and sales took off. The hand-made vehicles were strange in the 1950s and are even stranger now with their wooden frames and rudimentary mechanics—no power steering, no power breaks, no traction control, no stability control, and no ABS system. “It’s as close to an actual vintage race car as you can get in modern day,” Daron says. “Even race cars now have safety measures in place. With Morgan’s, there is no computer regulating anything. You are one with the vehicle. When you drive this thing and you pull on the wheel, it’s an instant response. You feel everything.” In the United States Morgan 3 Wheelers are billed as motorcycles because they have fewer than four wheels, no top,
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no doors, and they carry a motorcycle engine. Their fourwheeled cousins, also wooden-framed and rudimentary, aren’t imported into the U.S. due to safety laws, but motorcycles are restricted less heavily. There are only 13 Morgan dealerships in the U.S., yet somehow one ended up in Morgantown, a place with enough nasty winters and potholes to restrict the vehicle’s driving season to summer months. “The guys in England said, ‘Morgan? In Morgantown? Go for it,’” Daron says. “So they built us two cars and shipped them to us within three months.” A three-month turnaround is pretty fast for Morgan Motor Company, a company that employs fewer than 200 people. Usually customers need the patience to wait for a year while their vehicle is made in the U.K. and shipped stateside. They also need $60,000. “It’s a special class of people who are going to buy these,” Daron says. “There’s no logical, reasonable reason to have this car. It’s an extravagant, expensive toy.” The Morgan of Morgantown franchise opened just over a year ago and has sold a handful of cars. But the people with a wallet sizeable enough to make the purchase are in for a treat. The 3 Wheelers are totally customizable. We saw a vintage bomber shark in the showroom and drove around in a WVU Mountaineer-themed car. “The factory didn’t have West Virginia blue and gold and so we called them and sent in a Flying WV logo and they matched the colors. It’s our demo car.” Daron gave me a gold helmet to wear on our drive, and after my nerves calmed down following a 60 mph burst past a couple of cop cars, I cracked a stronger smile. And then a bug flew into my teeth. written by katie griffith photographed by elizabeth roth
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In the Pocket
Beneath High Street, the Metropolitan Billiard Parlor has seen nearly 90 years of play. ➼ The Metropolitan Theatre, on High Street, is marked with flashing lights and a glowing marquee—you can’t miss it. But just to the left of the theater’s front doors is another sign. It’s tiny, and easier to miss; most people do. In faded paint it reads: Metropolitan Billiard Parlor. An arrow points down on the diagonal, signaling that to reach the business’ front door from the street, you have to descend a flight of cement steps. Step through the glass doors at the bottom and you’re inside the Metropolitan Billiard Parlor—regulars call it the Met Pool Hall. It’s dimly lit and smells a little like a basement, but not in an unpleasant way—it’s like the basement your favorite grandfather uses as a den. There are pool tables—nine total—everywhere, making 22
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a sea of rich green felt. Across from the Met Pool Hall entrance, mounted 371 High Street on a cement pillar, there’s a sign: “Must be 18 years old to drink. If 18 show draft card.” “That’s from World War II,” says Bill Bonfili, the pool hall’s owner. The pool hall has been operating continuously for 89 years, and Bill’s been running it since 1985, when his father bought the place. They ran it together for years, and when the elder Bonfili died nine years ago, Bill kept it going on his own. He’s the ninth owner in a line of stewards who have kept the pool hall up and running over the many decades, all without doing much to modernize the place. “The only change I’ve made is
I’ve added two more Owner Bill Bonfili has been running the tables and painted 90-year-old pool hall the walls, otherwise since 1985. it hasn’t changed at all,” Bill says. “I couldn’t do that—the fact that I haven’t changed anything is what keeps people coming back.” Indeed, the Met Pool Hall feels old in a uniquely appealing way. It’s not an old place that has been painstakingly restored to look like it did years ago when it was brand new. And it isn’t an old place that has been neglected and fallen into disrepair. The Met Pool Hall is worn and faded, but it’s been used and loved throughout its long life. It’s like an old penny whose face is wearing away after decades of purchases, or a child’s beloved stuffed animal with frayed ears and nose—it’s not new, but it’s far from decaying. The cash register is a big, regal-looking metal thing from the 1930s, but it’s not a prop; Bill still uses it when people pay him for beer, soda, cigarettes, or to play pool—$6 per hour of play. The two arcade games there—Tetris and a pinball machine—are decades old, but they work
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You’ll find more than 50 varieties of beer as well as snacks like pepperoni rolls and chips behind the bar at the nine-table pool hall beneath The Metropolitan Theatre.
and Bill says people play them often. The drink coolers are marked with the CocaCola logo that has surely been redesigned half a dozen times since it was emblazoned on these appliances, which are still being used to store and chill soda and beer—Bill keeps more than 50 varieties in stock. “If someone says they like a certain kind of beer, I try to get it,” he says. The clientele is split between locals, college kids, and serious billiards players, some local, some visiting—there aren’t many establishments dedicated to billiards these days, and people who are serious
about the game tend to seek them out. Nick Varner, a professional pool player with a slew of championship titles under his belt, has played there, as have a handful of other professionals. “I have a lot of people who are really serious about playing pool,” Bill says. “They come in and they take it very seriously. They’re very competitive.” He doesn’t begrudge the patronage of a less earnest breed of pool player, though—Bill also enjoys the company of college kids who barely know the rules of billiards. He thinks the pool hall should be, above all, a pleasant place to kick back and unwind.
If you’ve been living in Morgantown long, you’ve probably heard a rumor about the Met Pool Hall; and you’ve probably been waiting the entire length of this article for us to get around to addressing the question: Is there or isn’t there a tunnel between the pool hall and Gibbie’s Pub & Eatery across the street? “That’s a rumor that has been going around for years and years and years,” Bill says. “During Prohibition days supposedly there was a tunnel that went from my pool hall across the street, and that was how they smuggled the liquor.” Yes, but is it true? “I don’t know if it’s true or not,” he says. Really? “I’m really not sure,” he insists. If he does know about a century-old illicit tunnel in his pool hall, Bill’s not telling. He’ll direct people instead to the pool hall’s other Prohibition memorabilia—like an Anheuser Busch ad, a poster covered in images of cavalry and, originally, the beer company’s logo. The pool hall kept the painting, but ditched the line of advertising in the 1930s—it’s covered in white paint. “They had to paint over it because you weren’t allowed to advertise alcohol,” Bill says. It’s displayed next to a Coca-Cola ad from the 1940s and a campaign poster left from when Bill’s dad campaigned for Monongalia County Sheriff in the 1950s. If there is something to the secret tunnel rumor, it may be a secret that leaves the establishment when Bill does—a day that may not be so far off. Bill’s 62 now, and thinking about retiring when he turns 66. That means he’ll be selling the Metropolitan Billiards Parlor. He hopes the new owner will give as much credence to the past as he has. “A lot of customers tell me they like it here because it’s so old school,” he says. “That’s why this place is so popular. If you change anything you ruin that.” written by shay maunz photographed by elizabeth roth
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WearThis
Wear Pride on Your Sleeve A better-dressed future is on the horizon thanks to the inventive designs of Made in WV. ➼ You know the struggle. Finding a West Virginia shirt that isn’t derogatory or tacky—but that also doesn’t have the word university on it— is nearly impossible. Amid the jumble of Deliverance jokes and hillbilly puns there’s hardly an article of clothing out there that also doesn’t have a little shame bursting at the seams. Enter Made in WV. Brian Pickens, the man behind the company, 24
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is a proud West Virginian who also happens to be a talented designer. Three years ago he made a cool West Virginia T-shirt to essentially prove a point—there simply aren’t enough such shirts. People loved it. Brian started making more shirts with what he calls a “crappy” heat press machine— don’t worry, the process is better now—and selling them out of his backpack at WVU tailgates, dubbing the venture Made in WV.
Three years later, Made in WV shirts look great at Mountain Made in WV has State Brewing Co. its own web site showcasing seven popular designs printed on T-shirts and stickers, and Brian is shipping across the country and even the world. “It’s weird and kind of dumb to think of T-shirts as an art medium or whatever, but I do,” he says. Drawing inspiration from Shepard Fairey’s OBEY campaign and Mike Giant’s REBEL8 line, Brian set out to make the Made in WV designs more than just the shirt or sticker on which they appear. They symbolize an undercurrent of West Virginia culture— the young, offbeat brand of natives and newcomers alike who share an intense pride and appreciation for the state. From the beginning Brian wanted to live up to the Made in WV name, but he was having trouble finding affordable
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It’s more about the dedication, and how dedicated we are as a people to the land that we live on.” Brian Pickens
products that fit his standards. “I was really bummed about how much ‘Made in America’ stuff cost because it was made-in-west-virginia. like double as much as what I was myshopify.com going to pay for a regular shirt,” he says. So when Brian heard about Morgantown-based clothing company SustainU, he knew it was the perfect fit. “They’re 100-percent recycled, they’re made in the USA, they’re based in Morgantown—I went in and talked to them and I’ve been using them exclusively ever since,” Brian says. “If I’m going to call my company Made in WV, I want to be as close to that as humanly possible.” With the SustainU mission of eco-friendly, affordable, American clothing, Brian extended the Made in WV name beyond the design and into the product itself. From pepperoni rolls to moonshine, it’s the cultural phenomena of the Mountain State that are catalysts for Made in WV’s edgy designs. The first of the collection, the West Virginia crest shirt that started it all, incorporates a cardinal, rhododendron, and mining pick into a crest that resembles that of the United States. Upon its debut, the shirt was so popular Brian was able to begin working on additional designs almost immediately. Now the collection includes designs like the Mountain Mama, which depicts a woman “at home on a front porch or a mountaintop as she is in evening wear and heels,” and the Friends of Coal MINERS shirt that mindfully pays tribute to the worker—not the industry. Made in WV’s designs have become so well known that popular live radio show Mountain Stage commissioned Brian to design a shirt celebrating its 30th anniversary. Arguably, the best embodiment of the Made in WV attitude is the Bury Me in West Virginia design: a skull incorporated into an image of the state, surrounded by rhododendrons and the words “Bury me in West Virginia.” “So many of my friends who left and live in North Carolina now, or live in Florida, or whatever, they’re like, ‘Dude, you bury me in West Virginia.’ I took that idea and ran with it,” Brian says. “But it’s more about dedication, and how dedicated we are as a people to the land that we live on. I think it’s more intense here than anywhere else.” It’s that quintessential mountaineer attitude combined with a little rock-and-roll flair that is at the core of everything Brian creates. “There will always be a few older ladies who will be like, ‘I don’t like this skull. What’s this skull about?’ I’m kind of fine with that,” Brian says. “I want to showcase the unknown West Virginia.”
katie griffith
Made in West Virginia
written and photographed by elizabeth roth
The Best in Tees American-made, eco-friendly, affordable—it sounds too good to be true. It is however, the mission—successful mission—of Morgantown-based clothing company SustainU. The company recently celebrated five years of making 100-percent recycled clothing right here in the United States. Chris Yura and Patrick Adrian founded SustainU in 2009 with the idea to revitalize the American apparel industry in a way that would be sustainable both economically and environmentally. Since then they’ve grown exponentially and have created clothing for national companies like Ben & Jerry’s and Ford Motor Company, as well as local favorites Apothecary Ale House & Café and The Grind WV. “In 1998 we made 40 percent of clothing in the U.S.—now it’s less than 2 percent,” Chris says. Cheap shipping and labor overseas were the death of entire towns in the south, once built around the textile industry. The struggling industry was in desperate need of a new direction when Chris and Patrick toured factories in the Carolinas in preparation for launching SustainU. After months of searching for the right blend of recycled fibers and learning the nitty-gritty of textiles, the pair returned to Morgantown and began making products that are good for the environment and actually feel better to wear than those made overseas. Chris and Patrick are doing everything they can to keep West Virginia’s creative capital here in the state while they continue to grow SustainU. Their recent expansion to a 9,000-square-foot facility in the Morgantown Industrial Park has allowed the company to do in-house screen printing and better their distribution process. “I believe West Virginia is a place where opportunities exist and ideas like this can flourish because we have hard-working people here and people that like to take on challenges,” Chris says. “We can gain a lot from our location in the country.” sustainuclothing.com
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Helping Hands Scott’s Run Settlement House is a beacon of hope in Osage in Monongalia County. ➼ It’s 88 degrees outside, and the late summer sun is reaching its apex. But at the Scott’s Run Settlement House—a nonprofit charity operating out of a no-frills red brick building less than 10 minutes from downtown Morgantown— the air conditioner is broken. “It’s about 197,000 degrees upstairs,” says Executive Director Julie Harris as she welcomes visitors and volunteers up the steps and into the narrow lobby with an apologetic laugh and a firm handshake. “We’re all wilting a little today.” Despite the heat, Julie and her small staff show no signs of slowing down, if anything, they’re energized. A delivery of food has just arrived and bags must be packed and delivered. “When you know every item you pull off a shelf will go to feeding 26
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someone’s child or Scott's Run loved one—it’s an Settlement House emotional thing,” 41 Ladybug Drive, Osage she says. 304.599.5020 The settlement srsh.org house itself was built by members of the Women’s Home Missionary Society in 1927 and has been at the heart of Monongalia County’s charity network for close to 90 years. Currently the organization offers services like a food pantry, baby basics pantry, educational classes, and food programs for elementary schoolchildren. The pantry alone serves close to 7,000 Monongalia County residents a year. And the number of those they help each year is growing— up 43 percent over two years ago. Still, Julie says the biggest hurdle the
organization has to overcome is the stigma of poverty. “One thing people always ask me is, ‘Who do you serve?’ My standard answer—and not to be cheeky— is everyone. One in five Monongalia County residents lives at or below the poverty line. At any point in time anyone can find themselves in need of the services we provide. The reality is, the average American is less than two months away from having to come here,” she says. Even so, less than one percent of her clients take advantage of the food pantry as often as they could. Most only come once or twice a year just to get by. “More than a third of our clients are employed. The idea of welfare queens and living on the dole just doesn’t work. These folks are constantly put in a position where they have to justify why they can’t feed their families. It’s something that we as a society don’t talk about in a bigger sense— how demoralizing living in poverty is.” Scott’s Run Settlement House is widely known for its food pantry—one of the busiest in the county—and it’s gaining ground with its backpack feeding
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The client waiting room has tables, computers, and a play area. The food pantry is stocked with items like peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, and pancake mix.
programs, now providing weekly meals for children in seven local schools, Julie says as she ushers her staff into the main room beyond the lobby. Outside, young volunteers are unloading a van full of food. In the main room, bags of garlic and fresh green beans—products of a partnership with WVU Extension Service and the Morgantown Farmers’ Market—sit on tables, waiting to be packed for the summer backpack program. Two workstudy students from WVU—Kathryn Rehberg and Jaclyn Carenbauer, enrolled in the social work program—file into the room and join what Julie calls their regular Wednesday packing party. “When I saw the job posting, I thought it would be a great place to make a difference and help people. They have a lot more than just a food pantry,” Kathryn says. Jaclyn agrees. This is the second time she’s worked at the settlement house, and even
though she’s a senior, she plans to come back to volunteer after she graduates. She says, unlike many organizations, Scott’s Run offers a reliable way for anyone in Monongalia County to find other support networks they need. “That’s why they’re able to help so many people in the community,” Jaclyn says. For Julie, that’s the point. She says the settlement house’s main goal is to act as a hub for residents in need—a conduit for the many disparate charities, nonprofits, and churches in the area with a desire to help. “It’s hard enough for people who can advocate for themselves, it’s nigh impossible for people who’ve already been beaten down, lost their jobs, are living in stress.” The food pantry itself is tucked away in the basement. It seems small for the sheer number of people it must serve, but the shelves are stocked with everything from bags of rice and beans to instant macaroni and cheese, and the freezers
in the back are full of bread and meat. Some of the items are donated from local businesses, some come on pallets from the USDA, other items the pantry buys to distribute. The organization often gets deliveries of 5,000 to 6,000 pounds of food at a time—all of which has to be carried by hand into the basement and back out when clients come. Julie’s dream is to move into a bigger facility. She’d like to set up something closer to a market, where clients could pick out their own items. “I think it’s empowering to be able to pick what you want instead of taking what is given to you.” Separate from the pantry is the client waiting room. It has round tables, computers, and a corner full of donated toys and books overlooking a trim little garden. “Every client meets with Apryl Lee, our case manager,” Julie says. “We have a great case management process to make sure clients are connected with other agencies and services they qualify for. We can’t solve everyone’s needs, but we can try to connect them with resources and educate them about other services.” Julie stresses the need for donations and volunteers, but she also hopes more people will simply stop by and check it out. “I grew up in Morgantown. And like a lot of people, Scott’s Run Settlement House was a name I’d heard but wasn’t quite sure what it meant.” After taking over as executive director, she quickly learned how special it was. “One of the things that’s most important about what happens here isn’t so much the food we provide. It’s that every single person who walks through these doors—whether it’s a client seeking service, a family signing up for a program, or a board member— everyone is treated exactly the same with kindness, dignity, respect, and concern.” written by mikenna pierotti and shawnee moran photographed by elizabeth roth morgantownmag.Com
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The Gypsy Life More than a decade after forming, The Hillbilly Gyspies are busier than ever, touring, recording, living, and, of course, pickin’ and grinnin’. ➼ On a recent Friday night in July, the streets of downtown Morgantown were expectedly sleepy, the summer having stolen WVU students away from the city, sending them back to their hometowns. But inside 123 Pleasant Street, one of Morgantown’s most eclectic music venues, you’d not have known it. The Hillbilly Gypsies were performing, and the place was packed with folks of all ages, ready to dance to some good old-fashioned bluegrass funkiness and 28
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the band’s original tunes. And dance everybody did—until the wee hours of the morning. The Hillbilly Gypsies, a revered West Virginia bluegrass band known for its lively, high-energy performances and a great faithfulness to old-fashioned style— the five-player ensemble performs around a single vintage ribbon microphone—has been dazzling audiences for more than a decade. Guitarist and frontman Trae Buckner describes the band’s barn-party
music as a mix The Hillbilly of “good timin’ Gypsies string band with August 30 hard-driving Chestnut Ridge Mountain mountain music,” Music Concert Series thehillbillygypsies.com adding that the group’s sound owes much to the musical stylings of some of the earliest bluegrass greats like Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, and Lester Flatt, to name a few. “A lot of old-timers say we sound a lot like the way they remember bluegrass when it first started,” Trae says. With an incredibly in-demand touring schedule, a new studio-produced album a hair’s breadth from completion, and more momentum than ever, The Hillbilly Gypsies show no sign of slowing down. The band—currently comprised of husband-and-wife vocalists Trae and Jamie-Lynn Buckner, Dave Asti on banjo
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and mandolin, Ty Jaquay on fiddle, and Ryan Cramer on upright bass—formed in 2001 after a fortuitous meeting at a Wednesday-night jam session with Keith McManus at the West Virginia Brewing Company, now Morgantown Brewing Company. The weekly event, which has been going on for 20 years, is a frenzy of local fiddlers, guitarists, mandolinists, banjoists, and so on—a veritable bluegrass free-for-all. “The jam just got so big that it was really hard to hear what was going on,” Trae says. So, in the midst of the Brew Pub’s frenetic fiddling world, the group came together. “Something just clicked and it set a little something in motion.” That was 13 years ago and that “little something” has led to numerous self- and studio-produced albums, an ever-expanding and faithful fan base, and an incredible momentum that now
keeps The Hillbilly Gypsies on the road performing 100 to 150 shows per year. The band performs at bluegrass and folk festivals across the country, an assortment of charity fundraisers, and every kind of private event, from wedding receptions to small party performances to pig roasts. In addition, Trae performs some 75 shows a year solo, with Jamie-Lynn, or with Gary Antol of The Weedrags, another Appalachia-based bluegrass band. Tracing the group’s travels in one summer month alone displays a dizzying route covering more than 1,500 miles across the Mid-Atlantic region. But that’s hardly indicative of the Gypsies’ reach. The band is already a household name among regional bluegrass lovers, but over the years has consistently expanded its sphere of influence. “We’ve gone all through the Mid-Atlantic, the South, the Midwest,
everywhere really—except the West Coast. That’s gotta be next,” Trae says. In addition to covering the continental U.S, the band is bringing its bluegrass overseas. Several of the band members have already performed in parts of Europe representing The Hillbilly Gypsies. The next goal is Japan. And this November Trae and Jamie-Lynn plan to return to Barcelona to continue spreading the bluegrass love in Spain. But despite the cross-country traveling and the group’s ambitions to continue breaking new ground abroad, Trae says The Hillbilly Gypsies remain committed as ever to their West Virginia roots. The group’s upcoming album attests to the fact. The album’s title track, an original song written by Trae, is called “West Virginia Line,” and it’s all about the state’s people, its beauty, and “just that unmistakable feeling of coming home. No matter which way we cross into the state, I’m home,” Trae says. The album, which will be The Hillbilly Gypsies’ third studio-produced record, was in its final mixing stages in mid-summer. When asked about the origins of the band’s name, which Trae calls a “double pejorative that turned out to be magical,” he says it was bequeathed upon them by an unknown man a year prior to the band’s formation. Trae and Jamie-Lynn were at the very last Morgantown Music Festival at Rich Farms in 2000 when a weary nearby partier began swaggering about. Just before collapsing in afterparty exhaustion, the man scanned the crowd and stopped on the pair, saying, “Y’all ain’t nothin’ but a bunch of hillbilly gypsies.” Trae grinned at Jamie-Lynn and said, “That’s pretty much the best thing I’ve ever heard.” The name stuck. As for future plans, Trae hopes to keep up the demanding touring schedule across the U.S. and abroad with plans to conquer the West Coast soon. “Things seem to be working for us. So we’ll just keep on keepin’ on, as the saying goes,” Trae says. The Hillbilly Gypsies will perform at the Chestnut Ridge Park Mountain Music Concert Series, some 10 miles east of Morgantown, on August 30, 2014, as well as the Poppy Mountain Bluegrass Festival in Morehead, Kentucky, the weekend of September 19. Trae says the recipe for enjoying a festival is simple: “Just bring your coolers and come hang out in the fields with us.” written by morgan grice photographed by nikki bowman morgantownmag.Com
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ThisMATTERS TO
Kevin Langue ➼ Kevin Langue knows how to tell a tale. Listening to his stories involves a lot of laughter and perhaps a little incredulity, but make no mistake—this guy is for real. Kevin is a senior marketing student at WVU, but to really get to know him, you’d have to watch the videos on his YouTube channel. Kevin is at his best when he’s in front of the camera, whether in a spoof of MTV Cribs as part of a reality show/sitcom parody called 45 Jones or starring in The B Team, the short film that set him on a whirlwind journey from Morgantown, to Cannes, to Hollywood. In fall 2013 Kevin entered the Campus MovieFest competition on a whim. His film, The B Team, ended up winning Best Picture. It was also chosen to be screened at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, perhaps the biggest film festival in the world. From meeting directors, actors, and writers to sneaking into exclusive parties, Kevin took the opportunity to make connections in the film world. After he graduates in spring 2015, he’ll move to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. written and photographed by elizabeth roth
On how he started making movies It was kind of by luck because a friend of mine in high school asked me to make a video for extra credit for his algebra class. We made one and it was really funny, and all the teachers said, “If you make one like that for our class, too, we’ll give you extra credit.” So we started making these really corny— extremely corny—K² Entertainment videos.
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Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
On his true passion I’ve always wanted to be an actor, but now I’m writing and producing a lot of stuff, and I think I’m doing pretty good. So it’s kind of a toss-up. The answer I always give is that at the end of the road, if I’m successful in any of those, I want to be remembered as an actor who also produced and wrote. But I think acting is what I want to stick to.
On why he likes making short films A friend used to come up to me and say, “You know, Kevin, whenever I’m doing homework, I just take a break and watch all your videos over and over again.” Or people will say, “When I’m down I just watch your videos and they make me laugh.” I was like, “That’s what I want to do.” I want to make videos that are short, quick, maybe two or three minutes. People can watch them, have a good laugh, forget about their day-to-day stuff, and then go back to whatever they’re doing.
On getting what you want You have to be pushy, like me trying to just walk into parties (at Cannes). You have to have that edge, because people tend to be shy and laid-back, which is fine, but you know you’re not going to find out if it’s a yes or no until you ask. Just walk in. See what happens. They might say, “No, you can’t come in.” So you keep walking. But you might just walk in, meet Barack Obama, he’s going to fly you out to the White House to have dinner with Michelle and the kids. Who knows? You never know what could happen.
On the Campus MovieFest competition It was crazy because all the other schools have film schools, so they have a guy that’s doing cinematography, a guy who’s producing, a guy who wrote it, a guy who’s directing, a guy who’s acting—they have a whole studio. I had me, a marketing major; my roommate, Derek, a pre-med going to med school; my friend, Jeff, who’s a biometrics engineering guy. We don’t have any strong background in any of that. I think what saved us was the comedy.
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Dish it out
The Rest is History
This Star City watering hole has a story to tell—one that spans more than 30 years.
T
he legend begins with an ad in the paper. “It was my late business partner, Charlie, who started it all. He was from Cape May, New Jersey. I think it was the beach bar scene there that inspired him,” says Chip Malone, co-owner of Crockett’s Lodge, one of the best-loved pub-style eateries and neighborhood bars in Morgantown. Charlie Kosten loved the warmth and familiarity of his hometown taverns but, after attending WVU, Morgantown got under his skin and he never left. “He always wanted to go into the bar business. So he put an ad in the paper saying, basically, that he had a lot of good ideas but needed financial backing. I was a banker at the time, working in a loan office,” Chip says. Chip’s business savvy and Charlie’s dream met on University Avenue in Star City, inside a little neighborhood establishment then called The Cottage. The location was on the market and, for Chip, it seemed like a good investment. “It had always been a busy little bar, so we arranged a business meeting there,” Chip says. The two soon shook hands, and the deal was done. Although he opened the bar in 1983 and renamed it Crockett’s Lodge, Charlie managed to keep the location’s loyal patronage even as he gutted the interior and injected his own flavor into everything—from décor to menu. “He started with no money, so he filled it with a lot of things from his hunting collection,” says Linda Kosten, Charlie’s ex-wife and co-owner of the lodge. She points out the bearskin rug on one wall—his father shot it in the 1970s. “And the surfboards were his from his beach days,” she says. “Everything on the walls has a meaning.” Linda and Charlie met while attending WVU. She was a student 32
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
in the business program and Charlie was getting a graduate degree in wildlife management. “He used to say his degree came in handy. Wildlife management is exactly what you do when you run a bar,” she laughs. Linda was putting herself through college selling vending machines. She tried to sell one to Charlie, and six months later they were married. Charlie worked hard to upgrade the place, even adding a handmade 40-foot oak bar and tables from a local craftsman. Linda says he wanted the interior to be welcoming to anyone who walked in the door. So he designed secluded booths along the walls for couples and families, added high tables for groups of friends, and kept the bar high so singles could still interact with the crowd. In the 1990s he and Chip also added on a game room and a spacious deck. It wasn’t long before they had lines out the door every weekend and Crockett’s became the place to be for a good time. Legend has it, many of the more infamous local bar competitions— bar surfing, froth blowing, and the incredibly frustrating ring-on-a-stringgame—became favorites under Crockett’s roof. “Charlie was here every night until close—even up until 2010 when he passed away. He kept an eye on the place. He loved it,” Chip says. Charlie and his staff treated every customer like family and, no matter how the lodge has changed, that remains true, Chip says. That’s why
so many customers have felt compelled to make their mark on this little bar over the years, adding to the décor, signing the walls, or posing for photo collages. Crockett’s is a veritable time capsule. Walking into the dimly lit space today, surrounded by dark wood and walls bristling with the most disparate assortment of paraphernalia imaginable— oars, license plates, a bear head donning a beer helmet—it’s impossible not to imagine the stories. “It has personality,” says Kristin Johnson, a manager at the lodge and three-year veteran employee. She says that’s part of what makes
Crockett’s such a neighborhood Crockett's Lodge favorite—one Monday to Sunday that WVU 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. 3395 University Avenue alumni, old 304.598.2337, facebook. employees, com/crockettslodge and former Morgantown residents return to long after they’ve moved on. “Crockett’s is different because its authentic and fun, but still laid-back.” She says some of the best times are when alumni return to Crockett’s during football season and share their stories with the staff and fellow patrons. If you ask her
for one really good story, she’ll point to a chunk of cylindrical metal hanging over the bar. It’s a piece of goal post, a remnant from WVU’s epic 1984 game against Penn State, and a prime example of the lodge’s special place in Morgantown’s heart. The story goes that when WVU won—17 to 14—fans rushed the field, tore down the goal post, and carried a piece of it here, to their favorite bar. “It really is a big family here. I know almost everyone who walks through the door. I’m friends with the servers, the bartenders, and the customers,” Kristin says. Employee Chad Fisher, also a WVU
Crockett’s Lodge is grad, agrees. “I one of the oldest started in 2011 as a continuously running door guy slash bus bars in Morgantown. boy slash everything It opened in 1983 and is still a local favorite. else,” he says. Now he’s a manager. Crockett’s allows him to work evening hours while he expands his non-GMO farm. Linda says that was always their philosophy when it came to the many young people who’ve cycled through their roster over the years. “We wanted this to be a stepping stone for them. We wanted them to take away something great from their experience here.” morgantownmag.Com
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Dish it out Crockett’s new menu features classic pub fare with a twist. Try the Jeffy Burger, a bacon cheeseburger with pepper jack and grilled jalapeños.
Chef Chad Kosten dishes it out
Cajun Wing Sauce
A Buffalo chef crafted Crockett’s original wing recipe. Customers can mix two flavors—like garlic butter and medium hot sauce. 1 quart Frank’s RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce ¼ cup dry Cajun seasoning ¼ cup Caribbean jerk seasoning 1–2 ounces chardonnay 1. Combine all ingredients. 2. Refrigerate at least one hour. 3. Toss with classic deep-fried or baked chicken wings. Yield: Sauce for 28 to 36 wings
Crockett’s young employees run the day-to-day. And they keep the menu fresh while drawing in customers with food and drink specials and karaoke on Thursdays. Patrons flock to this Star City establishment for Monday wing night, tacos on Tuesdays, burgers on Wednesdays, fishbowl margaritas on Fridays, and free pool on Sundays. Their biggest sellers are typical pub fare, but with a quirky twist like a burger with jalapeños or garlic butter wings tossed in medium hot sauce. “Our menu is pretty flexible. If we have it, we’ll make it. Almost everything is customizable,” Kristin says. Many of these experiments end up as part of the Crockett’s menu. Take the Jeffy Burger—a bacon cheeseburger with pepper jack cheese and grilled jalapeños—inspired by a regular customer who orders it every Wednesday. Crockett’s also prepares its famous wings and other menu items for special events or tailgates, and 34
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
you can rent the space for private get-togethers, birthdays, or reunions. Loyal customers and newcomers alike will tell you Crockett’s is an intimate respite from the relative anonymity of the downtown scene. You’re just as likely to see a group of local firefighters around a high table as you are a family of four in a booth or a couple of WVU athletes at the bar. “Everyone feels comfortable here,” Linda says. She’s still amazed at how many people she runs into from all across the country and all walks of life who cherish their memories of Crockett’s and the friends they made there. “I think that’s why we’ve stuck around this long. Downtown bars come and go, but this place is sentimental.” written by mikenna pierotti photographed by elizabeth roth
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Instead of stopwatches and starting blocks, this race deals in colored cornstarch and gleeful adrenaline for a good cause. ➼
W
hat’s blue and orange—and pink and yellow and purple—all over? Well, you are, at the finish line of the Color Me Rad 5K. That’s because in addition to that layer of sweat you’re inevitably sporting after any run, at the end of this race you’re also covered in a fine layer of cornstarch. Yes, cornstarch. And it’s not just any cornstarch-this cornstarch is dyed a slew of bright colors, loaded into cannons— that’s right, cannons—and launched
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Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
onto the racecourse. When runners cross the finish line of a Color Me Rad race, they’re a color-soaked mess, practically dripping in neon. “The goal is to be a rainbow at the end,” says Vicki Antione Nelson, who helped bring Color Me Rad to Morgantown. This is the second year Morgantown will host a Color Me Rad race. At the first one, in 2013, more than 8,900 people showed up; Vicki says the event is on track to have as many or more at this year’s race in September. Color Me Rad holds races all over the world, partnering
Color Me Rad
Colorful Contribution
with local charities to help them raise money. Morgantown’s race benefits the Rosenbaum Family House, which provides housing to patients being treated at WVU Healthcare and their families. Color races like the ones produced by Color Me Rad are huge hits in cities across the country, but the local 2013 race was the first one in West Virginia. When Vicki first heard about color races in 2013 she thought one would be a perfect fit for Morgantown— and she saw an opportunity to make money for the Rosenbaum Family House, where she sits on the board of directors. “I couldn’t understand why we didn’t have one already,” she says. “There are young families here, there’s a college—we really thought this event would be well accepted in this area and that it could be a really good, fun activity that everyone could enjoy. I knew it would be big.” What is it? Here’s how it works: Runners come out on race day wearing their brightest white shirts and, often, something silly—tutus are popular for some reason. They’re given bright
Scoreboard
The goal is to be a rainbow at the end.”
Color Me Rad
Vicki Antione, race organizer
sunglasses, temporary tattoos that say “RAD,” and other swag when they check in. And then the event kicks off with some music and a Zumba warmup. “It’s basically a festival or a concert atmosphere,” Vicki says. “It really gets everybody pumped up.” Runners line up and start the race in groups of around 1,000. As they run the course, groups of volunteers man a handful of stations and spray runners with a different color at each station as they pass by. “People on the side of the road are cheering you on and they blast color on you, and you keep running until you come up on the blue station, or whatever is next. You get layered in color,” Vicki says. There’s no rush to get to the finish line—the race isn’t even timed. “I think that’s what’s so great about this run,” Vicki says. “For people who are intimidated by a timed race or can’t necessarily run, this might give them some incentive to come out to be with their group of friends or to start an exercise program. It’s about motivating people.” The course
winds 3.1 miles on Mylan Park Road. It’s a little hilly—“You can’t get around that in Morgantown,” Vicki says—but not difficult and mainly paved. It’s appropriate for children as well as adults who may not have run a race in years, and parents pushing strollers are welcome, too. Last year a hospital volunteer came out in a wheelchair. “It’s not intimidating,” Vicki says. “It’s just fun.” At the finish line, there’s more music and more color cannons. The fun goes on well after the race is over. Most 5Ks wind down in a couple hours, this one starts at 9 a.m. and doesn’t wrap up until well into the afternoon—clearly speed is not the point. “It really is what life’s all about— it’s about enjoying your friends and family and it’s definitely a way to make colorful memories.” What is it for? The Rosenbaum Family House was founded 15 years ago in Morgantown to provide low-cost accommodations to adult patients being treated at WVU Healthcare and their families. Visitors are asked to pay $20 for
a night’s visit, but Color Me Rad 5K no one is turned September 13 away if they can’t 500 Mylan Park Lane colormerad.com/ afford to pay. race/morgantown-wv Patients can stay for as little as one night but as long as they need, as long as the patient is undergoing treatment at the hospital. Some families have stayed for as long as two years. The house gets some funding from WVU but mainly relies on volunteers and its own fundraising efforts. Events like this are a huge boon to the little nonprofit. “It helps immensely,” says Pam Shriver, the public relations specialist for the house. “A lot of people in Morgantown don’t even know we’re here because they’re not the ones who utilize us. An event like this really gets us out into the community and gets our name out there. Just in the last year since the first Color Me Rad run the number of folks who are involved with us has increased greatly.” written by shay maunz morgantownmag.Com
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Adventure Outside West Virginia
are all academic, credit-based, short-term study abroad.” That’s where those visions of snowcapped mountains and crystal clear mountain water come in. Each of the three international trips—Patagonia, Fiji, and New Zealand—spans two to three weeks, meriting six academic credits, and each is unique in its opportunities, Marcedes says. ➼ The Fiji trip is primarily organized by Kelly Bricker, a former WVU faculty community service. But since the program’s member and a leading expert in sustainable tourism. The program looks at how Fiji inaugural trip in 2004, it has expanded is creating a tourism destination while to include much more than pre-freshman year trips into West Virginia’s wilderness— protecting culture, heritage, and landscape from exhaustive exploitation, and the Adventure WV is international. students also get to do fun activities like “I always encourage people to think scuba diving, kayaking, and snorkeling. of our program as a big umbrella. Under The decision to create the New Zealand that are three separate components,” says trip was a simple matter of travel envy. Marcedes Minana, program manager of “New Zealand is one of the most coveted Adventure WV’s orientation trips and adventure places in the world,” Marcedes international trips. The first of these says. “Our staff members went a few years components are the orientation trips. ago to scout the trip and built it from the A second includes the leadership and ground up.” Students spend three weeks team-building programs with the zip line backpacking, climbing glaciers, and canopy tour and the challenge course in kayaking through one of the world’s most the WVU Research Forest. “Then we stunning landscapes—just ask Frodo— have the international programs, which
A well-known WVU program introduces students to the sights of more than just the Mountain State.
R
ather than rolling hills, think towering mountains. Instead of tree-lined summits, these mountains are capped with snow. West Virginia’s pastoral streams give way to a different scene of rushing glacial rivers, clear and cold. Adventure WV is commonly known for its trips around West Virginia and through its handsome but relatively mellow landscapes. The group offers incoming freshmen and transfer students the opportunity to form friendships and connections while introducing them to WVU and the Mountaineers via camping trips, hiking, backpacking, white water rafting, and even
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Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
The U
I was looking for an opportunity to see the world and to immerse myself in one of the most beautiful natural places in the world.” Birdie Hawkins, WVU Sophomore
while learning backwoods survival skills and leadership development. The Patagonia trip is the oldest of the three. Students and staff work with a husband and wife team with personal and professional ties to both WVU and Chile and who formed an eco-tourism travel service called Geo Sur Expeditions. “Similar to New Zealand, Patagonia, Chile, is one of those coveted places,” Marcedes says. “Its natural environment and landscape lends to excellent outdoor activities such as backpacking and kayaking.” The programs aren’t limited to WVU students. “If you decide in your late twenties that you want to go to Patagonia, you can become a non-degree seeking WVU student for the duration of that course. It’s open to everyone.” Everyone 18 and older, that is. Even a mom in her mid-forties went on a tour three years ago. Trips range from $4,000 to $6,000
depending on airfare and the number of students signed up. While the New Zealand and Fiji trips are offered during the summer, Patagonia takes place over WVU’s winter break and includes travel time over Christmas and New Year’s. “For some people it becomes one of the most significant and special holidays just because of the uniqueness of it. It became a lot more about meaningful experiences,” Marcedes says. Birdie Hawkins ventured out on the Patagonia trip last year as a sophomore at WVU. “The entire landscape was breathtakingly gorgeous,” she says. “Mountains, lakes, deciduous forest, coniferous forest, rock, everything that Mother Nature has, I think I found in Patagonia.” The group went kayaking on Lago Azul, a large lake of cobalt blue waters in near pristine condition. “Lakes so clear you could dip a water bottle in
to refill it. We camped right next to a waterfall and then on our five-day trek we hiked up to glaciers. Imagine a huge roaring river surrounded by beautiful peaks of snow, just a few miles down there’s another glacial lake.” As striking as the Patagonian landscape is, Birdie says she was just as taken aback by the experience of the holidays somewhere new. Gift giving season in the United States can feel overwhelming at times by the sheer amount of gifts placed under a tree. Gift giving in Chile, Birdie says, is a little more subtle and a little more intimate. After a long, very physical trip, it was a little more humbling, too. “It was Christmastime and the New Year and I wanted to shake up my life a little bit,” she says. “I was looking for an opportunity to see the world and to immerse myself in one of the most beautiful natural places in the world.” Former WVU student Andrew Sealy says he skipped his graduation ceremony for the latest New Zealand trip. He expected the trip to have a lot of independent hiking time but was pleasantly surprised by how quickly he and his fellow adventurers bonded. The three-week trek of ice-climbing glaciers, kayaking with seals, and forming fast friendships quickly created some of his best memories. “Something that really sticks out in my mind is how beautiful the stars were,” he says. “We would lie on the beach, listening to the waves and penguins cooing on the rocks, and just look up at the Milky Way for hours together.” written by katie griffith photographed by greg corio
morgantownmag.Com
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healthy living
Wellness Institutionalized WVU is creating a healthy living culture all in one location at its new Student Health and Education Building on the Evansdale campus. ➼
C
aring for college students— Morgantown boasts more than 20,000—is a unique challenge. Substance abuse, depression, anxiety, developmental issues, eating disorders, ADHD, suicide, PTSD—students dealing with these concerns, as well as the more typical and atypical medical needs, funnel through WVU’s award-winning health care programs every day. It isn’t an easy job to say the least, even for the state’s largest university. “In a time when critical health issues face the college-age population, an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to care, combining medical, psychological, psychiatric, health education, and psychopharmacological treatments, has been essential,” says 40
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
Cathy Yura, assistant vice president of WELLWVU. The university’s answer to the question of how best to meet the needs of a diverse and growing population of students came in 2009 in the form of an initiative called WELLWVU. The program took the disparate medical, psychiatric, and health education silos and broke them down. A student seeking counseling or medical care could now find the help he or she needed without getting lost in an administrative tangle. But, Cathy says, WELLWVU’s programs and services were still spread out. “Previously we were in four locations on the Evansdale and downtown campuses, which was inconvenient for students,” she says. Students often had to locate and travel to
various offices—sometimes miles apart— to get the full gamut of available services. Fortunately WVU had a plan to rectify that and, in October 2012, broke ground on the Health and Education Building, which would house the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (CPASS) and the Student Health and Wellness Center on the Evansdale campus. The education and research-focused CPASS facility includes 73,000 square feet of classrooms, a fitness room, and space for athletic training, while the 50,800-squarefoot Student Health and Wellness Center houses everything from acute medicine to the Carruth Center for Psychological and Psychiatric Services. It has 23 exam rooms, a pharmacy, a spacious waiting area, and a café (slated to open as early as fall 2014), among other features. These side-by-side, multimillion dollar facilities—connected on the ground floor— were meant to concentrate WVU’s diverse health programs into one easy-to-access, high-tech focal point. “We see this building as truly enhancing our ability to help our students and the community,” Cathy says. “We want it to really become a destination.” Stepping into the lobby of the new center, you can’t help but feel the energy— maybe it’s the light streaming in from floor-to-ceiling windows or the view of students practicing on the athletic fields.
healthy living
We take a macroto-micro public health approach where we try to create an environment and culture conducive to a healthy life.”
Colleen Harshbarger, Office of Wellness & Health Promotion Director
Or maybe it’s the palpable excitement of the students, faculty, and staff The center is part of a spilling out of $250 million plan on the offices and chatting Evansdale campus. over mugs of coffee in the halls. People Cathy Yura hopes the new facilities will be a here are passionate model for community about what they health care. do, and now they This therapy dog is the can channel that mascot of WVU’s Suicide passion collectively. Prevention Program. Colleen Harshbarger, director of the Office of Wellness & Health Promotion now housed in the Student Health and Wellness Center, says the new facilities will help her team not only connect students with the many wellness programs WVU provides but also connect them to each other and the community. “We take a macro-to-micro public health approach where we try to create an environment and culture conducive to a healthy life,” she says. “Everything from the big policy initiatives all the way down to creating coalitions and communities of people who can help advocate for institutionalizing well-being. We developed the program in 2009 with the formation of WELLWVU, and we’ve been evolving ever since. I don’t think Colleen Harshbarger demonstrates the HeartMath program to regulate stress levels.
students really knew there was an office of wellness before.” With the new building, she’s hoping that will change. The new facilities are also near the Student Recreation Center, allowing students, faculty, and health care professionals to communicate daily. Cathy says one of the goals of creating an interconnected space was to allow the staff to treat each person who comes through the doors more holistically. “It’s all about the integration of services. With this new facility, when students come for medical and mental health services, other lifestyle habits—things like diet and exercise—will be explored. We want students to know we offer yoga and nutrition and other programs. We’re trying really hard to look at how people are taking care of themselves.” Layne Kehl, a behavioral health therapist, is excited about the possibilities, especially for students with learning difficulties. “We want to be a hub for students.” She says if students aren’t sure why they’re struggling in class, they can go there. “We can direct them to the right people quickly.” At the new facility experts like Layne can provide services like MindFit, a program offering screening for learning disabilities and a clinic where students learn study and time management skills as well as other non-medication based
treatment for their symptoms. This interconnected approach to care has implications for the greater community, as well. Along with Student Health Services—a program managed and operated by WVU Healthcare that offers students diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions—the building will also house urgent care and travel and occupational medical services. “Students and community members can walk in anytime for treatment of minor illness or injury and both can utilize the travel clinic to prepare for trips abroad,” says Carmen Burrell, vice chair of ambulatory operations with the WVU Department of Emergency Medicine and medical director for the Student Health and Urgent Care clinics. The facilities are part of a $250 million plan to remake the Evansdale campus. Cathy says one of the most important outcomes she hopes to see is an improved image of health care overall. “When we first started this facility, we wanted to make sure students didn’t feel stigmatized—whether they were here for psychological reasons or even medical,” she says. “The building was not to be one of illness, but of health.” written by mikenna pierotti photographed by elizabeth roth morgantownmag.Com
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Cheating Fate With a little help from its friends—OK, a lot of help— the once-dead Cheat River is now very much alive. Written by Pam Kasey Photographed by Elizabeth Roth
I
n the spring of 1994, a hill in Preston County exploded. Millions of gallons of bright orange mine drainage overwhelmed Muddy Creek, then surged into the Cheat River at Albright. There was so much pollution, and it was so acidic, it killed fish 15 miles downriver. Any recovery that took place in the year that followed was wiped out by a second blowout in ’95. “There were no fish in the river at all,” says longtime resident, fisherman, and paddler Ron Cunningham. “The blowouts killed all the aquatic life.” The recreation, too. The Cheat Canyon had been one of the most popular commercial white water rafting destinations in the country. Rafting trips declined by half. Twenty years later, ask people in Morgantown about the Cheat River and you could get answers ranging from “I took my kids tubing there last weekend” to “amazing white water” to, yes, “great fishing.” The Cheat is back from the dead. “We’re having a revival,” says Amanda Pitzer, executive director of Friends of the Cheat, the organization working to preserve the river. “The water quality is better than it’s been in 50 years, and more people are coming to the river. It’s a comeback story.”
To fully appreciate the lush, hale beauty of today’s Cheat River, you have to understand the exploitation in its past. Like most of the state’s forested highlands, the watershed was logged in the 20th century. Clearcutting in the upper reaches led to wildfires, soil erosion, and sedimentation and warming of the cool mountain streams. While the lower watershed was timbered, it was even more heavily mined for coal—from seams that, unfortunately for water quality, produce acidic, metals-contaminated drainage when exposed to air and water. The blowouts were, in one sense, a gift: the impossible-to-ignore extreme of an acid mine drainage problem the river had suffered for decades. By the turn of the 21st century, agencies had cataloged more than 60 abandoned mine sites discharging acid drainage into the Cheat’s streams. Trees grow back. Today, mostly by virtue of time having passed, the watershed is more than 80 percent forested. Overcoming the legacy of mining, on the other hand, requires fundraising and grant writing, property deals, expert design and engineering, and long-term maintenance. Outraged locals formed Friends of the Cheat (FOC) in 1994 to do just that. The organization and its partners have installed 15 treatment systems at a cost of more than $9 million and have two more planned for 2015. Through the organization’s famously collaborative work, fish have returned to all of the Cheat mainstem and even to some mine drainage44
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
Cheat as Playground The Cheat watershed now offers hundreds of miles of thriving streams and riparian landscapes for paddling, fishing, hiking, camping, and even winter recreation. The river and its tributaries lavish us with every kind of Appalachian stream experience. In the upper watershed, Blackwater Falls inundates the senses, while Shavers Fork’s remote pools and riffles hold some of the best trout fishing anywhere around. Where the forks meet at Parsons, the mainstem starts out calm and gentle; below Rowlesburg it shimmers almost surreal, with giant boulders strewn across the wide, shallow riverbed for miles. Farther downstream, some of the Cheat’s most dramatic landscapes are right in Morgantown’s backyard. The river squeezes from hundreds of feet across to just 10 in some places, as it rollicks and roars through Cheat Canyon from Albright to Jenkinsburg Bridge. The view from Coopers Rock State Forest
Nikki bowman
Overcoming the Past
damaged tributaries. And with the fish, other wildlife are returning, too. “Now we’ve got eagles,” Ron says. “And bears.” Soon, a 27-mile stretch of the river, from Pringle Run below Rowlesburg all the way to Cheat Lake, is expected to come off the state’s list of impaired waters. “That means the pH is healthy enough to sustain fish the whole way through the river,” Amanda crows. “I would say a lot of old-timers around here never thought that could happen.”
The water quality is better than it’s been in 50 years, and more people are coming to the river. It’s a comeback story.” Amanda Pitzer, executive director, Friends of the Cheat
overlook takes your breath away. And downriver, the wildness gives way to relaxing flatwater on the 13-mile-long Cheat Lake reservoir before entering the Monongahela River just over the Pennsylvania border. It’s the paddling in particular that earned the Cheat River wide renown, seen in FOC’s roster of dues-paying members from as far away as California, Saskatchewan, and New Zealand. Above a low-head dam at Albright, the Cheat is said to be the longest stretch of undammed river east of the Mississippi—meaning long paddling trips are possible on a river that flows freely, in its natural state. Class I to III rapids in the Narrows make for good family fun, while Class III to IV and, at highest water, V, rapids in the wild Canyon thrill even the most experienced paddlers. and nowhere else. “The canyon is the Fishermen can access the river at many points in Preston background for the beautiful overlook County. at Coopers Rock and the canyon’s Wildlife like this salamander is water quality affects that at Cheat an increasingly common sight Lake, so it’s a critical place.” along the Cheat. After several failed attempts An even longer conservationist effort paid off this past spring. over the decades, The Nature Before the Cheat Canyon was killed by acid mine drainage The banks of the Cheat offer views at every bend. Conservancy and The Conservation in the ’90s, before it drew thousands of paddlers from states Fund succeeded in April 2014 in away to its white water in the ’80s, the canyon was already a purchasing nearly 4,000 acres from timberland investment target for conservationists who wanted to protect it from any organization The Forestland Group. The purchase represents more timbering. “Folks have always talked about the Cheat almost every part of the canyon, rim to rim, that wasn’t already Canyon as a unique wild place with rare animals, endangered protected in some other way. and threatened species, and a rugged landscape that should be “Everybody who’s guided down there has sort of had this protected,” Amanda says. She refers especially to the federally threatened flat-spired three-toothed snail that lives in the canyon dream that that place would be protected,” says Adam Webster.
adam webster
A Recent Success
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at R
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West Virginia 43 Cheat Lake
Star City
Pennsylvania
Coopers Rock State Forest
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Bruceton Mills
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Morgantown Brookhaven
Cheat Canyon class III - IV, and sometimes V
7 Cheat Canyon
Masontown
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79 7
Albright
Reedsville Kingwood
7 26 The Cheat Narrows class II and III rapids
Proposed Cheat River Trail
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219 Rowlesburg
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Upper Cheat River Water Trail access point Cheat River Festival grounds 219
Coopers Rock State Forest overlook White water rapids
Parsons 219
Hendricks
Adam describes himself as “kind of a Cheat weirdo—and not the only one.” He guided rafting trips down the canyon from after the second blowout in ’95 through about 2003 and guesses he’s been down the river maybe 100 times, and he sees the improvement in the water quality and the return of insects, fish, and other wildlife. He’s also hiked, hunted, and photographed the canyon. “There’s something very wild about the Cheat Canyon,” he says. “It used to be this weird juxtaposition of this absolutely stunning, eye-catching river cutting through the canyon, but so polluted. It’s a very remote place so, to really understand what the significance of the river’s recovery is, you have to go down in there and experience it.” That will soon be easier than ever. The new land purchase will be managed by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources and will be open to the public. FOC looks forward to seeing the Allegheny Trail re-routed back through the canyon and to creation of a mid-canyon access point for boating that would allow for shorter trips.
adam webster
The Cheat’s Future While the Cheat is cleaner than it’s been in decades, not all of the sources of acid drainage are being treated yet. What’s left is more expensive than what’s been treated in the past, at a time when federal and state resources for treatment are dwindling. And the remaining sites are more complicated, too, sometimes calling for controversial and outside-the-box thinking. “Ficky Run is so bad, we’re never going to restore that stream. We’re really looking at in-stream dosing— releasing lime slurry directly into the stream to see benefits downstream in Muddy Creek and the mainstem,” Amanda says. “That would require collaboration across the board and a lot of money but, until we can tackle Fickey Run, which is a quarter of the entire pollution load on Muddy Creek, we can only get so far.” But with the river revived from the dead, FOC has also been able to focus on new ways to enjoy the watershed. The organization launched an Upper Cheat River Water Trail of family-friendly flatwater from Hendricks to Rowlesburg in 2013, now with nine access points and more in development. And the long-anticipated Cheat River and KingwoodTunnelton rail-trails, in the works for more than a decade, could come to fruition at any time. “In the last year and a half we’ve leveraged a half-million dollars for the KingwoodTunnelton project, a lot as a result of the Northern Railroad water tower getting on Preservation Alliance’s list of endangered properties in 2012,” Amanda says. “We’re totally funded to purchase both trails now and we have the support of the community. If we can work it out with CSX and get the documents signed soon, we could have small sections of hikeable-bikeable trail by the fall of 2015.” The best hope for the Cheat’s future is for people to get out on the river and learn what makes it special, Amanda says. The designation of Cheat River rafting as “WildEST Outdoor Activity” in the Greater Morgantown Convention and Visitors’ Bureau’s 2014 ESTY Awards will help—but the recovering river remains a largely undiscovered playground. Amanda encourages people to get out and do anything on the Cheat. “Come and visit the wilder side of Morgantown.”
How to Enjoy the Cheat Sun worshipper? Grab a beach towel and find a big rock along the river on State Route 72—the Cheat River Byway— south of Kingwood. Like to watch? During low flow periods, go to the part of the Cheat Narrows called “Fascination Alley” and watch the squirt boaters paddle the currents under the surface of the water. Or take in the view of the Cheat Canyon from Coopers Rock overlook. Want to learn? Padlz at Bruceton Mills, right off Exit 23 of I-68, gives paddling lessons. Make a night of it: Thursday nights there’s free music at the dam, and you can get some pizza and ice cream in town. Got your own equipment? Check out the Upper Cheat Water Trail. You can tube it in low water, or take your own canoe or inflatable kayak when it’s higher. Prefer to fish? The Water Trail section, above Rowlesburg, is also great for smallmouth bass. The area is stocked with rainbow and brown trout, too. Need a rush? Among West Virginia outfitters, Blackwater Outdoor Adventures offers family-friendly trips on the Narrows and Cheat River Outfitters guides paddlers through the canyon. Join the celebration. Supporters celebrate the year’s successes with a day of music, food, and river fun at Cheat River Festival every May near Albright.
Driving times from Morgantown Blackwater Falls State Park, 1 hour 45 minutes Stuart Recreation Area on Shavers Fork, 1 hour 45 minutes
Hendricks, head of the Upper Cheat River Water Trail, 1 hour 35 minutes Cheat River Festival site north of Albright, 45 minutes Coopers Rock State Forest overlook, 20 minutes Cheat Lake Park, 30 minutes
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Ph
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Everything you need to know to survive and thrive during football season in the University City.
Featuring Hot Spots to Watch Battle of the Mascots Best Bites Names to Know 48
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
The leaves are turning. The air feels crisp. Tailgaters are grilling. It isn’t autumn in the University City until Morgantown’s parking lots are littered with Solo cups and the WVU football stadium rings with the cheers of Mountaineer fans. But you’re not a fan unless you’ve got your perfect seats, your pre-game eats, your quick stats, and your fun facts down. For football fanatics and sour game-day grapes alike, we have everything you need to know entering football season. Good luck. It’s tough out there.
Stripe the Stadium
Sept. 20 vs Oklahoma
Stripe the Stadium was a blue and gold success during WVU’s Big 12 Conference game against Texas in 2013. Fans sitting in even-numbered sections, as well as the Touchdown Terrace, and WVU students in the upper level student sections are asked to wear gold to the game. Fans sitting in odd-numbered sections and WVU students in the lower level student sections are asked to wear blue to the game.
Fan Favorites Gold Rush, Oct. 4
Fans rush the stadium in Mountaineer gold for the University of Kansas game at Mountaineer field. This seventh annual event suports the United Way.
Allison Toffle / WVU University Relations
’stache the Stadium, TBD
We all like our fun days, and ’Stache the Stadium, while unofficial, was definitely big in 2013. WVU junior punter Nick O’Toole’s facial fuzz was the envy of WVU last year during the Mountaineers’ game against Georgia State. In support of our favorite mustachioed punter, everyone grew mustaches for the game—or just drew them on. Last season was weird. Last year’s unofficial organizer, Joshua Scott, says he’s thinking of getting the ’staches out again.
2014
WVU Football Schedule Aug 30 vs. Alabama
Oct 18 vs. Baylor*
Sept 6 vs. Towson
Oct 25 at Oklahoma State*
Sept 13 at Maryland
Nov 1 vs. TCU*
Sept 20 vs. Oklahoma*
Nov 8 at Texas*
Oct 4 vs. Kansas*
Nov 20 vs. Kansas State*
Oct 11 at Texas Tech*
Nov 29 at Iowa State* *Big 12 Conference Game
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Best Seat In The House Where to
Watch So you don’t have a ticket to the big game. Check out these local options to catch the action and feel like part of the team as you’re surrounded by big screens, screaming fans, and great game day specials.
Student section
$ = Free for some. $10,000,000 for others Distance from action Who cares? Have a mini spring roll. Proximity to food and drink Very close. You may as well be fed from silver plates. Comfort level = 9/10
$ = Free. But does tuition count? Distance from action Nosebleed or end zone Proximity to food and drink How’s that hidden CamelBak working out? Comfort level = 3/10, unless, well, how many hours did you spend tailgating?
Note: Some schmoozing may be in order.
Bars and restaurants
the Sweet seats (AKA 50 yard line, Touchdown Terrace Club, etc.)
$ = More than is in this writer’s bank account but less than $10,000,000. Pretty much season ticket holders only. Distance from action If anyone is going to get hit with a football, it’s you. Proximity to food and drink There will be stairs. Lots of stairs. Comfort level = 7/10, although this may depend on whether you’re sitting in the sun or shade.
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Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
$ = Your food and drink bill Distance from action Likely one to five miles Proximity to food and drink Second only to president’s box Comfort level = 7/10. Sometimes you miss the live action, but TVs, a Beanwich, and a comfy seat make up for it.
Your house $ = Price of desired refreshments Distance from action Far. Worth it if TV is a 60-incher. Proximity to food and drink Better than season ticket holders, worse than president’s box. Comfort level = 10/10
383 Patteson Drive; 321 High Street; 3062 Point Marion Road bostonbeanery.com
Gibbie’s Pub & Eatery
368 High Street, gibbies.com
Kegler’s Sports Bar & Lounge 735 Chestnut Ridge Road, keglerssportsbar.com
The Varsity Club 910 Willowdale Road, thevarsityclubwv.com
Tropics Restaurant & Bar 2500 Cranberry Square, tropicswv.com
wvu athletic communications; elizabeth roth
President’s box
Boston Beanery Restaurant & Tavern
Where Should You Spend Game Day? Do you like football? Really? Or are you pretending?
Do you like parties?
NO
Yes
Lets Go! MountAineers!
Pretending
Stay at home with buffalo dip.
No Do you like crowds?
Are you Gordon Gee?
Sometimes
Yes Yes
NO
DUH
Try one of the top spots on pg. 50.
NO How much money do you have?
Will you donate it to research?
Yes
NO
Lots
Some
None
Lower section end zone or upper section (any)
Are you a student?
Yes
President's box. Can we come?
50 yard line
Radio at tailgate
Student section. Bring binoculars.
NO
Why are you even reading this?
A tree outside the stadium. Hope you're adventurous. morgantownmag.Com
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Game Day Jargon say the opposite instead. Buying tickets from these individuals is often more expensive than regular ticket prices.
KanJam: Mountaineer Maniacs: The largest student organization at WVU, formed to cheer on the Gold and Blue. You’ll know these sports fans by their gold maniacs shirts, painted faces, and loud cheers. Membership starts at $25 for the year and offers students things like watch party invites and discounts on away game trips.
The Pride of West Virginia: When you hear people talking about “The Pride” in the stands of football games and in bars around town, they’re talking about the award-winning WVU marching band.
Simple Gifts: WVU’s second unofficial fight song (the first is “Take Me Home, Country Roads”). This 19th century song was first made popular in 1963 by the ballet, “Appalachian Spring.” Ten years later The Pride of West Virginia took up the hymn for halftime shows at football games and the song has graced the field ever since.
Also known as “Trashcan Frisbee.” Team members take turns trying to score points by tossing their Frisbee into a can as an opposing player tries to deflect the Frisbee with one of their own.
Cornhole: Cornhole, tailgate, beanbags, whatever you call it, chances are you’ve played. If you haven’t played cornhole, you will at a WVU tailgate. In this lawn game players toss bean-filled bags at the opposing team’s platform, a wooden box with a hole cut out, attempting to get the beanbag in the hole. It’s riveting.
A House Divided:
I need tickets: Also “I want tickets,” or “Do you have tickets?” A confusing statement made by scalpers attempting to sell some of the many tickets already in their hands. It’s illegal to advertise that they “have tickets” so they 52
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
A term of particular importance during the American Civil War, this famous phrase now reflects the unfortunately tense family situation wherein one child studies at WVU and another at Marshall. Or Pitt. Or some other WVU rival.
Meet the Mountaineer Michael Garcia loves his new job. He walks into the room confidently, and everywhere he goes, people want their photos taken with him. No matter where he is, he seems genuinely happy to be there. He’s WVU’s newest Mountaineer. The Fairmont native’s gig began on April 12, 2014, with the Gold-Blue spring football game. “I don’t remember what life was like before,” he says in July, looking back over months of an already busy schedule. “I went right into it. I had four events that first day.” The senior political science major will make hundreds of appearances across the U.S. during his tenure as mascot. It’s clear Michael takes his job seriously. He jumps at the chance to assume the position—rifle overhead, all smiles. He’s a pro. He talks about the importance of university relations and the school’s image. But he brings a little bit of himself to the role, too. While the mascot’s rifle and powderhorn are passed down from Mountaineer to Mountaineer, Michael also wears a special belt buckle from his father and a leather bag made by his cousin and personalized with “Garcia.” —Laura Wilcox Rote
Mascot Matchup r si ive
ty of T e
s xa
Un
Fans often wonder just who would win in a battle between the Big 12 mascots. Well we—and the Mountaineer—are here to tell you: it's the year of the ’eer! “Obviously I’m going to win,” laughs Michael Garcia, the newest Mountaineer mascot.
Longhorn Strength: Stampede ability Weakness: He weighs a ton. The Mountaineer says: I can hook him by the horns.”
Jayhawk Strength: Size, and he has a sidekick, Baby Jay. Weakness: He’s a fake bird. The Mountaineer says: Jayhawk is a big guy so obviously I’m going to go in for a little uppercut, right?”
Kansas
y
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Universit
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Cy The Cardinal
I
Strength: Flight, formidable beak Weakness: Conflicting loyalty as WV’s state bird Prediction: Cy chirps, Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
tian Univer ris
Horned Frog
y sit
Texas Ch
a State Un ow
rsit ive
Strength: Camouflage ability Weakness: Size The Mountaineer says: He moves pretty quick, but he can only jump side to side so much. I’ll wait for him to
come at me and make my move.” iversity of
Ok
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oma Sta t
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Ok
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Texa s ch Univers Te
it y
S as
Kan s
tate Un iv
ity Baylor
er s
iversity Un
Boomer And Sooner Strength: Big enough to pull a wagon Weakness: Tire easily from pulling aforementioned wagon. Prediction: The Sooner Schooner will soon have a new driver.
Pistol Pete Strengths: Quick on the draw Weakness: Vision The Mountaineer says: You’ve got a 40-pound head! How are you going to move quickly? I can run away, search for higher ground.”
The Masked Rider Strength: He’s on a horse. Weakness: Finger gun Prediction: Rider gets carpal tunnel.
Wildcat Strength: Sharp teeth, ferocity Weakness: Fleas Prediction: Mountaineer gets a new pet.
Bear Strength: It’s a bear. Weakness: Honey Prediction: Put differences aside to become best friends.
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Zul's Frozen Lemonade
best Themed Eats
This sweet, sweet drink is homegrown. Mmmm, lemonade. Sweet, frozen lemonade. Since 1995 Robert Zuliani has been serving batches of Zul’s Frozen Lemonade, and it seems he was a success from the start. He sold his first cup at Mountaineer Field on September 2, 1995. WVU lost that day, but Zul’s was well on its way with its softfrozen, sorbet-like product. Now you can find Zul’s not just at WVU football games, but also at the WVU Coliseum, Charleston Civic Center, Appalachian Power Park, Marshall University football and basketball games, and the state fair. zulswv.com
Mountaineer Martini The Vintage Room Smirnoff Citrus Vodka, Island Blue Pucker, sours, and Sprite, bwvintageroom.com
Is it Worth It? The Opportunity Cost Of Stadium Food $4
Yum!
Mountaineer Roll Volcano Japanese Restaurant Sushi with lobster salad, avocado, eel, shrimp, crab meat, and green tobiko, crazyvolcano.com $7.50
$4.50
$4
$5
20%
$4 $4
Blah
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$
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
Gold & Blue-Berry The Cupcakerie Moist vanilla cake with whole blueberries, topped with lemon cream cheese frosting, and dusted with blue edible pearls, thecupcakerie.com
$$$
When WVU began selling beer at Milan Puskar Stadium in the 2011-2012 season game day crime and incidents decreased by about 20 percent, according to WVU police. The decrease is likely a result of refusing re-entry after halftime and higher than average drink prices.
Black Bear Burritos offers up enough house fried tortilla chips to feed a whole table of fans. We love the 16-inch pizza pan covered with chips, red pepper queso, red and black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and topped wtih salsa. You can even add more supersized toppings. blackbearburritos.com
House fried tortilla chips Red and black beans
Queso
Salsa
Sprouts
Fresh veggies
Prime Time For those who would rather clean baseboards than attend a college football game, game day is prime time for you, too! With the whole town conveniently massed at the stadium for a good four hours, there’s no traffic, no lines, and plenty you can do with your time:
Work out. The WVU Student Rec Center is empty on game day. With all the treadmills and free weights to yourself, not to mention personal control over the TVs, game day is a great day to get your workout on. Take the dog for a walk. Work in your vegetable garden. Grab a quiet beer . Try Apothecary Ale House. Eat out. Eat in with chips and dip. Football not necessary. Stock up. The usually crowded University Town Centre is practically deserted on game day. Trip time getting there is cut in half. Target is all yours. Just remember to get home before the game is over or the traffic reroutes leading cars out of downtown will make your life a living hell. Get a haircut. Watch cartoons.
Mind Your Manners! “We had a bad reputation as a fan base,” WVU Athletic Director Oliver Luck says. From fans burning couches to throwing things and cursing at opposing teams, being a fan of something other than WVU wasn’t a pleasant experience in the University City during the final years of WVU’s time in the Big East conference. When the Mountaineers made the switch to the Big 12 two years ago, the athletic department and the university decided it was time for a change. For such a beautiful city, the antics of the Mountaineer fan base left an ugly smear on visitors’ memories. “We want people to come to Morgantown,” Oliver says. “You want people not only to come for a football game, but you want them to say, ‘Wow. It was beautiful in mid-October in Morgantown. I want to go back.’” In an effort to change the ’Eers’ reputation, Oliver says the university promoted its rules of conduct and put up yard signs around the stadium area saying things like be a Mountaineer; be respectful, or be a Mountaineer; be friendly. “Our fan base by and large really responded. I’m really proud of that,” Oliver says. “But it’s one of those things where we can’t let up. It’s not cool to throw a four-word expletive at an old lady with a Kansas T-shirt on.”
WVU’s Rules of the Game 1. No excessive drinking – intoxicated fans are not allowed inside or outside the stadium. 3. No smoking in the seating or concourse areas. 4. No throwing anything onto the field. DID YOU KNOW? WVU’s Personal Rapid Transit System, the PRT, runs on extended hours for WVU football and basketball game days and service is free.
5. No ignoring the instructions of event/security personnel.
west virginia university; istock
2. No foul or abusive language.
Names To Know Favorite Mountaineers of teams past and present.
56
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
Jeff Hostetler
This WVU quarterback played from 1982 to 1984 and, later, became a twotime Super Bowl champ.
Major Harris
This WVU quarterback played from 1987 to 1989, taking WVU to the national championships. He's regarded as one of the best quarterbacks in Mountaineer history.
Steve Slaton
A celebrated running back at WVU from 2005 through 2007. He earned many honors, including most rushing touchdowns and most total touchdowns in WVU history.
Pat White
This WVU quarterback played from 2005 through 2008. He holds an NCAA record with four straight bowl wins. He’s also a pretty great baseball player. Even the Yankees tried to draft him.
Wait Out the Traffic Get a bit of exercise and escape the traffic at any of these nearby local spots. You can get into your car and safely hit the road about an hour after the game is over. 1. Varsity Club Celebrate with fellow fans. The game might be over, but the fun never ends at Varsity Club.
3. Boston Beanery Hang out with friends and family over drinks and snacks after the game. Curly fries for everyone!
2. Los Mariachis Win or lose, chips and booze.
4. The Wine Bar Relax away from the crowds with a glass of wine in this low-light atmosphere.
5. Kegler’s Sports Bar & Lounge Big TVs, beer, and lots of people. You’re a mile away, but it’s like you never left the stadium.
Co llin err
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Milan Puskar Stadium
kla Oa
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Geno Smith
This WVU star quarterback played for the Mountaineers from 2009 through 2012. He currently plays for the New York Jets.
Don Nehlen
This beloved coach served WVU for more than 20 years and led the team through 17 winning seasons. He retired in 2001.
Rich Rod(riguez) He is perhaps the most infamous coach in WVU history. Beloved while he was here, fans were outraged when he left for the University of Michigan in 2008.
Oliver Luck
Current WVU athletic director and also the team’s star quarterback from 1978 through 1981.
Dana Holgorsen
C’mon, you guys. He’s the head football coach—right now. He's starting his fourth season with WVU. Wispy hair look familiar?
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The First Down Cheer A practical guide.
Step 1
Step 2 Raise your arms up and lower them down three times while chanting “W-V-U.”
Wait until a first down.
Step 3
Step 4
Clap your hands one time.
point your arm in the direction of WVU's end zone and shout “First down.”
fun Follows
The Ticket Lowdown
For sports, sports, sports:
For news:
Dana Holgorsen, @Holgorsendana
Tony Caridi, @TonyCaridi
For laughs:
WVU Football, @WVUfootball
Not Dana Holgorsen, @FauxCoachHolgs
To feel connected:
For the numbers:
Geoff Coyle (WV Illustrated reporter), @GFCoyle
WVU_Stats, @WVU_Stats 58
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
So you never actually made it to wvugame.com to order your tickets. And now you’ve decided that you reeeeeally want to go to Saturday’s game, as it’s supposed to be a beautiful day and the team’s playing well. Here's the thing. It’s risky, but if you wait until after kick-off, you can get tickets much cheaper from scalpers.
Mountaineer Miscellany
Two Cheerleader Babies
Be the first of your friends to find the items and score points.
15 Points Band members marching out of step or tripping.
First Down Cheer
The Fancy Fan
Blue and gold argyle suits, anyone?
10 Points
1 Point
25 Points
Hot Dog Down
Sad. someone dropped a hot dog.
25 Points
Coach Throws His Headset
Two Point Conversion 15 Points
The Mountaineer
10 Points
Fan of opposing team surrounded by WVU fans.
1 Point
Bodysuit People
Possibly aliens in disguise. No one is sure.
25 Points
10 Points
Parent in the student section!
Puking Man
25 Points
Mullet or Rat Tail 25 Points Recognition of other teams on field at halftime.
15 Points
Hail Mary
Someone getting arrested.
5 Points
5 Points
Fan Interference
Streaker
10 Points
50 Points
Paper Airplanes
10 Points
It is WVU tradition to see if a fan's paper airplane can make it all the way to the field from the student section.
15 Points
Missed Field Goal 15 Points
Blimp 15 Points
Mountaineer Look-alikes
That might be a nice beard and great coonskin hat, but we won't be fooled.
15 Points
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Let's GoOOOO! Shopping! Everyday's a Party is a one-stop shop for all of your WVU game day tailgate or watch party needs, with everything from Bloody Mary supplies to chip platters to blue and gold apparel and pennants. We especially love these Gameday Bibs for adults and kids, $29.99 and up. 3119 University Avenue, everydaysapartysuperstore.com
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Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
What band section are you in?
1. What’s your morning drink of choice?
3. What was/is your favorite college class?
a. Non-fat chai latte b. Black coffee c. Americano d. Protein shake e. Flavored water f. Beer g. Green tea
a. Macroeconomics b. Human Sexuality c. CAD d. Adventure WV e. Jazz Dance or Fashion Merchandising f. Vines to Wines (the wine-tasting class) g. A Study of Byron
2. Where’s your Friday night watering hole?
4. Post-college dreams?
a. The CAC practice rooms (library for non-band people) b. 123 Pleasant Street c. Greek party-planning committee d. Student Rec Center e. Bent Willey’s f. Somewhere on Grant Street g. Home listening to music and writing in your diary
a. Peace Corps b. TV host c. Fortune 500 d. Running the family business e. NYC dance studio f. What do you mean “post-college?” g. Literature professor
Results
Mostly Ds: Tuba Strong and fearless. You’re not afraid of what people think. You know you’re the backbone of the band, and you’re happy to toot the baseline.
Mostly As: Clarinet Competitive, ambitious, and a little ruthless. You were the uptight, all-As student in high school. Where most band members think of band camp as a place to have fun in the sun, you’re there to work. Mostly Bs: Trumpet A little silly, a lot loud, and the life of the party. The trumpet section is the one everyone pretends to find annoying but secretly wants to join. Mostly Cs: Drum major A natural leader, relaxed and fun, but able to take charge. You’re usually barking at someone—probably the trumpet section. No one actually pays attention to your conducting, but we all love you anyway.
Mostly Es: Baton Twirler You sparkle on the field with your sequined leotard and backflips. We’re all rooting for you when you send that baton 50 feet in the air, though we’re also a little bit nervous. You love to be the center of attention. The clarinets can’t stand you. Mostly Fs: Drum line You know you’re cool. You even found a way to get college credit by going to parties and making loud noises. Halftime is game time. Mostly Gs: Piccolo A little weird, a little sensitive, and, though no one will say it to your face, a little weak. Let’s face it—your instrument can fit in your pocket.
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The home of WVU’s Dana Holgorsen is the first luxury residence in the U.S. to be built completely of cross-laminated timber. Written by Laura Wilcox Rote Photographed by Carla Witt Ford
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lenty of houses in Cheat Lake are big and beautiful, but none are as bold as WVU Head Football Coach Dana Holgorsen’s. Modern, forward thinking, and environmentally conscious, the 8,000-square-foot residence is a marvel set in the woods in the Falling Water development. Dana has been living in the house—the first all-inclusive cross-laminated timber (CLT) structure in the U.S.—since Thanksgiving 2013. The masterpiece is the product of LignaTerra—the company of Nick and Steve Holgorsen (Dana’s brother and father, respectively) and third business partner and Germany native Ralf Meier. Dana may often be on the road, but when he’s home, he’s pleased. “I’m so happy with the quality, the efficiency, and performance of the house, and the design 64
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functionality for when it comes time to entertain friends and family, alumni and boosters,” he says. The architecture itself puts you in mind of a modern-day version of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. The exterior of the house is done in larch wood and stone, and Steve says the wood is five-quarters of an inch thick, when most lap siding in the U.S is three-quarters thick. Inside and out you’ll find German products and inspiration, from the doors to the automatic shades on the outside of the house, but you’ll also find local touches in every room—including the beautiful birdseye maple cabinetry and the dining room table made by Hardwood Interiors out of Morgantown. Hardwood Interiors also created the open staircase just off of the entryway, which takes you upstairs to Dana’s kids’ living area and bedrooms or down to the
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: All of the cabinets were created by Hardwood Interiors out of Morgantown, as were the basement bar, entertainment centers, and the wood and granite countertops. The floors on the main floor and in the basement were done using an epoxy finish— lots of coats and two colors. No two areas look alike, as you never know how the coating will react. It’s unique and durable, Steve says. Dana occupies the home with his kids in the summer. The master bath includes a shower that generates electricity as water runs through the light fixture, turning on the LED ring light.
entertainment wonderland in the basement—everyone’s favorite space. “The lower level is my favorite place to go. We can easily have 300 people there and on the back patio without it ever feeling crowded,” Dana says. Being a CLT structure makes the home energy-efficient, even despite its size and seemingly extravagant features like the nearly 20-foot-high sloping ceiling on the main floor. “Utility bills have been less for this home than the one I owned in Houston, which was one-fourth the size, due to the efficiency of the structure and the systems we implemented,” Dana says. Nick describes the CLT method as laying a bunch of timber in the same direction, coming across it with adhesion, then coming back across with more of the same material at a 90-degree angle, repeating the process layer after layer. The morgantownmag.Com
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The lower level is my favorite place to go. We can easily have 300 people there and on the back patio without it ever feeling crowded.” Dana Holgorsen
product is sent to a big machine press, and another machine cuts out parts as needed. “They built this house in the factory in about two days,” Nick says, adding that the process creates an energy-efficient envelope. The large wood panels for Dana’s house were shipped from Austria in a dozen 40-foot containers, and the house was under roof in 15 days. “Because most of this process is done in a 66
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factory, it’s very precise. There is zero tolerance in the wood elements. You can pre-order all of your windows and doors, your cabinetry, and all of that can be done at the same time. When you ship to the site and you piece it together, it’s exact,” Nick says. “It’s like Legos for adults.” Nick says most of the people working on the house were local, too, with the exception of one German who came to assist with assembling the panels. “It’s quite simple,” he says. “If you can follow directions, you can put one of these together.” While the house is spacious, you simply can’t deny its comparatively low costs. “The operating costs and the utility costs are on par with a conventionally built structure of around 2,500 square feet,” Nick says. “It’s highly efficient, depending on the operator. Dana has been known to have parties with 20 TVs going at the same time, so there are instances when the bill might get jacked up a little bit,” he laughs. Steve adds, “But then there’s times he’s hardly here.” The shades on the outside of the house are one of many energy efficient components. When shades are inside, heat still comes through and enters the home, which can change the room condition. “Europeans put them on the outside to keep all that heat on the outside,” Nick says. He says the system can be programmed so that when there’s enough solar gain the shades automatically flip shut. Steve says 12-inch thick walls add to the structure’s efficiency
CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE: A large piece of bubinga, an imported live wood from Africa, runs along the back bar top and was made by Hardwood Interiors. The Morgantown company also created the main mahogany basement bar top. Fireplaces in the house use stacked ledgestone. That is real stone, not imitation,” Nick says. We like natural resources that come from the earth because of their green attributes.” Dana’s home office is an escape from his hectic on-campus workspace with comfortable seating, natural light, and even a rooftap patio overhead.
and a high R-value, meaning resistance to heat flow. The higher the R-value, the greater the insulating power, while U-values measure how effective a material is an insulator in buildings. “We get an R-value in excess of R-30, where if you look at a house with 2-by-4 walls, you’ve probably got R-13 and multiple thermal bridging points. It’s more important for us to focus on the U-value, which takes the walls and roofs as a system.” Many of the windows in the house tilt out—both for ventilation and easy cleaning—and all are European. The high-efficiency toilets in the house are all European-style, too. “We’re trying to save energy and resources everywhere we can,” Steve says. Dana’s house is the first all-inclusive CLT structure in the U.S., according to Nick. The way the timber is layered creates an airtight envelope. “As long as you use good windows and doors, you can create a very controlled envelope,” he says. “Some people would come in and say, ‘Well, you can make a house too tight and start getting mold and have circulation issues.’” In this house, there are two heat recovery air exchange units. “They take the stale air in the house, run it through the units, capture the heat from it, and exchange it with clean, fresh air, Nick says. “Even though we are airtight, we maintain a very healthy air quality.” Heating and cooling also run through the floor so, in the winter, that smooth, shiny, epoxy-finished floor you see on the main floor and in the basement is warm; in summer it’s cool. “The forced air system is kind of like a honeycomb channel
underneath the concrete,” Nick says. The house itself is just plain smart. Shades can be controlled using wall switches, an iPad, or iPhone, just as Dana can control all of the audio/video, security cameras, and lighting of the house. “Dana can access the network when he’s recruiting in Houston or wherever he is, and he can check the cameras or turn the temperatures down,” Nick says. Behind Dana’s house is a smaller guest suite of the same style that went up in just one day. Similar to the main house, it’s decorated in browns, grays, and blues, a masculine design that is warm and contemporary with big windows letting in lots of natural light. Essentially a one-bedroom villa set back in the forest, it has a large shower—also with automatic shades outside its floor-to-ceiling windows—and a small kitchen. Most of the year Dana lives in the main house alone, but come June, young kids seem to be everywhere. “Dana’s kids are here for the summer,” Steve says, adding that Nick’s children were in town this summer, too. Often Dana’s colleagues’ kids also come over to hang out. “We get all these kids in here and they just destroy the place,” Steve laughs. Of course it’s not just school-age children who love the house—the college kids do, too. The basement is like heaven for many of them. “The one request Dana had was, he said, ‘I want three TVs on my back bar, and I don’t want them any smaller than 55-inch,’” Steve recalls. There are six TVs total in the morgantownmag.Com
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CLOCKWISE FROM OPPOSITE: The shades outside of the house are one of many energy efficient components. The one-bedroom guest suite behind the house lets in lots of natural light. The lower level patio with fire pit is a favorite hangout during recruitment and alumni events at the house.
basement, not including one over the bathroom urinal and the projector in the home theater. “We can put a different football game on every TV,” Steve says, miming the players turning their heads back and forth from game to game. “They absolutely love it. On one of the last big recruiting trips (last year) just prior to signing day, some of them we got to commit said the highlight of the weekend was being able to go to Coach’s house.” If the TVs aren’t enough to keep guests busy, there’s also a pool table, poker table, basketball arcade game, and Golden Tee game. Of all of the four bedrooms, three baths, two half-baths, and other living space, Dana’s other favorite space—aside from the basement—is his home office. “He was really glad when we got this done,” Steve says, standing in the office. “When the furniture finally came in he said, ‘Now I have two rooms to go to.’ He comes in here and turns the music on and does his thing. If he’s in his office at work someone is always bugging him, so when he gets home he can just sit down and pay bills or whatever and not be interrupted.” Off of his office is a “tilt and turn” window that turns into a door and leads out to stairs and a small rooftop patio. It’s another oasis, with perhaps a different purpose than the main outdoor space Steve calls “the party deck,” where hundreds can gather for special events. The house was still getting some finishing touches over the summer—a waterfall was still to come outside as well as more shrubbery, and some furniture was still being ordered for the main floor. Dana was thinking of adding a putting green out back, too. Even so, the space is remarkable. “The completed house has exceeded my expectations,” Dana says. “It’s overall an amazing place in an amazing West Virginia setting.” morgantownmag.Com
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Road Rage
associated with these machines above what we had with meters. It’s $100,000 more a year to provide parking with these new meters. This is the first rate increase we’ve had in these lots for 12 years. Which parking spaces would these rate changes affect? All of the paid off-street lots. Will the cost of parking citations also increase? There’s been no discussion of increasing citations. We started the multi-space stations with two test lots last year and we found that we have 40 percent fewer citations written in these lots. It’s easier to comply with parking rates. People aren’t just taking whatever change they have in their pocket to pay the meter. They have a better handle on choosing the time they want to stay. It’s less of a gamble.
Twenty-five Cents!? Parking costs are rising in the downtown off-street lots for the first time in 12 years. ➼
Tom Arnold, executive director of the Morgantown Parking Authority, talks about the rate increase. What plans are there to increase parking rates in downtown Morgantown? The parking rates are going from 50 cents an hour to 75 cents an hour in our paid off-street lots downtown. The change is purely to accommodate the installation of the new machines and the annual cost of doing business with the machines. It will take place after August 1 when the machines are delivered and installed. We didn’t get approval for rate changes on our streets. The change is for both day and night parking. But note that two lots in town—behind The Book Exchange and Massullo’s Cleaners— have night parking (6 p.m. to 6 a.m.) listed at $1.25 per hour. Why is this increase needed? We’re changing from the old meter system to the new metered pay stations so people can use their credit cards. It’s a leading request because no one wants to carry cash or coins anymore. While it’s a convenience, there’s a cost associated with that convenience. With the old meters we had a $4,000 per year maintenance agreement, but with the new machines the cost has significantly increased. There are a lot of software issues and maintenance issues 70
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Are there any plans to increase parking options downtown? Yes. We are looking at another parking garage of 500 spaces. We’re looking at somewhere closer to the new Monongalia County Justice Center at the Harley O. Staggers Federal Building on High Street (the former Morgantown Post Office), and the potential of new commerce in that area. We’re trying to figure out all the needs in that geographical area—retail, government, students, event parking, all of those things. We’re also looking at Morgantown High School football and basketball and providing more parking across the Pleasant Street Bridge by the high school. If you don’t know Morgantown and you don’t know where to park, those neighborhoods can be a problem. How many spots are currently available? Are any of the current parking areas underutilized? Right now we have about 2,000 spaces downtown. We do have some underutilized areas in the south end of town. When you get into the 100 block of High Street where the hotel is, and the next block down, there is less utilization. But as soon as the business dynamic changes with the new justice center, there won’t be enough parking. We’re going to have up to 100 employees and visitors and lawyers coming to the center. We’re trying to understand the needs and meet them before they arrive. That’s why we’re looking at a new 500-space garage. How about plans to increase credit card meters? Right now we have five in operation and we will be installing eight more for a total of 13 in all downtown lots. Credit card is not required—you can still use coins if you prefer— but you can now easily park, take note of the numbered space, and enter the number and select your time at the pay station. Can public parking be paid via the barter system? How much time would a bag of turnips get me? To whom should I deliver my parking produce? Unfortunately we have two outstanding bonds—loans— and the covenant of those bonds requires revenue to pay them. Unless I can convert those turnips into cash, I can’t use them. We have ordinances against free parking. Oh. interviewed by katie griffith photographed by elizabeth roth
Across County Lines
Refuge of History
visitors. “They Prickett’s Fort used packhorses State Park and two-wheel carts. Fairmont The pioneers who 304.363.3030 came out here had to prickettsfort.org know what they were ➼ getting into.” This living history museum and state at the time,” she says. Judy says settlers park just north of Fairmont has been would have faced old growth forests allowing tourists to safely step back in so dense accounts describe them as “a time for nearly 40 years. The park spans continuity of woods without end,” just 22 acres and includes a visitors’ center, as dark under the canopy at midday as it gift shop, research library, orientation was at midnight. These pioneers would gallery with displays of antiques and have been traveling with very little, no artifacts, the log fort itself, a blacksmith Hollywood-style wagon trains for early shop, boat launch, and the 19th century western Virginians. They followed Native Job Prickett House. From spring to fall American trails, carried supplies on their (April 21 to October 31 in 2014), the fort backs, and faced real predators—big cats, is open to visitors, who may purchase wolves, and humans who had already tickets to tour the grounds, interact with laid claim to this land. “Just because historical interpreters, and attend regular you’re a pioneer doesn’t mean you have events like theatrical performances, a nice covered wagon,” Judy reminds live music, and hands-on craft
Visitors to Prickett’s Fort State Park in Fairmont get a glimpse of early American life.
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arly colonization of western Virginia was not for the faint of heart. Settlers traveling by boat down the Monongahela River or hacking their way through virgin hemlock groves and thickets of rhododendrons acted mostly on blind faith. They risked their lives for a piece of land and the autonomy to do what they wanted with it, what Prickett’s Fort State Park historical interpreter Judy Wilson calls the original American dream. “A bit of land and to be their own boss, that was what they couldn’t find in England
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Across County Lines Prickett’s Fort State Park in Fairmont is a short drive from Morgantown and offers plenty of opportunity for long walks and exploring. History comes to life inside the fort as reenactors practice old crafts like basket-making.
These are interactive history lessons. They’re hands-on and family-friendly.” Greg Bray, executive director
demonstrations. A number of weddings and other gatherings are also held here each year. Judy, a 24-year veteran interpreter, self-taught spinner and weaver, and retired fifth grade teacher, is one of a small group of volunteers, seasonal workers, and staff who help interpret 18th century life here. The fort itself is a recreated civilian-built refuge—one of at least 100 that existed in the Monongahela Valley. According to historical accounts, Captain Jacob Prickett and other area leaders designed and built the fort in 1774 at the mouth of presentday Prickett’s Creek to protect their families from Native American attack. “These were not military forts, they never were. They were put up by the men folk to use as safe havens for their families to run to,” Judy says. Visitors to the fort begin at the ominous palisade wall, where a gate opens to reveal cabins, planted herbs and flowers, and livestock like sheep and chickens. You’ll find Judy in what she calls “the women’s department,” a long, rectangular cabin in the center of the fort known as the Meeting House. As guests file in, she explains everything she does in fine detail—from harvesting vegetables to spinning. But this isn’t a lecture. The interpreters at Prickett’s Fort encourage hands-on learning. Strike the flint, touch the wool, crush the herbs between your fingers. “This is living history,” Judy says. Interpreters are expected to act as both laborers and artisans while they 72
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demonstrate frontier life. Judy tends the garden, spins wool, and weaves while visitors watch. The staff is also adamant that nearly everything in the fort stay true to the era, down to the spectacles perched on Judy’s nose. She points to the smoking hearth on the far wall. “There is no gas jet under those logs. When we’re cooking down there, it’s real food. That loom over there that we’re making a blanket on was built less than two miles from here in 1774. The wool on the shuttle that’s being woven into the blanket comes from our two sheep outside.” She says the whole compound is a composite of what little information organizers have about civilian-built refuge forts. “What we do have is a collection of partial descriptions. We thought this would give our visitors a broad view of what one
of these forts might have looked like.” Wreathed in wood smoke, interpreters throughout the fort demonstrate rifling, woodworking, tinsmithing, pottery, and trading at different times throughout the week. Just outside the fort, visitors can view a recreated Native American wiki-up, a pole-frame structure traditionally covered in bark, reed, or fur. According to the park’s executive director, Greg Bray, the fort was rebuilt in 1976 based on a written account by Stephen Morgan, nephew of Morgantown founder Zackquill Morgan. “There are a lot of descriptions of the fort, but this is the one we go by and try to talk about,” he says. Prickett’s Fort is pristine in its recreation. Nearly everything at the fort was handcrafted using traditional methods—
Across County Lines
Visitors to Prickett’s Fort step back into an authentic 18th and 19th century past, complete with interpreters dressed in period attire and a reconstructed civilian refuge fort. Farm animals were a critical part of American pioneer life and many would have been been brought into the fort during threats. Historical interpreters demonstrate essential aspects of American frontier life, from weaving to 18th century firearms.
from the iron hinges on the doors to the antler buttons on the clothes—and many of the craftspeople responsible also teach workshops at the park. Take Greg, he’s a master blacksmith and juried Tamarack artisan who teaches classes on blacksmithing, knife forging, and tomahawk-making on site. He started out at Prickett’s
Fort as a volunteer 30 years ago and lives to share his passion for the trade. He also helped construct many of the buildings on the site—from the 400-seat outdoor amphitheater to the blacksmith shop. Interpreter Gene Conley calls him “the distilled essence of do-
it-yourself,” but if you ask him why he’s spent so much of his life and effort at the fort, he’ll quietly—and humbly—explain how important he thinks the park is to the public. It isn’t just for tourists, Greg says. It’s a way of preserving essential skills like smithing and it’s a resource, especially to locals, who often come to use the site’s Thomas Library—located in the visitor’s center—for genealogical research. “But there’s a lot going on here that people don’t see and don’t really know about,” he says. In addition to touring the fort, gallery, and blacksmith shop, visitors are encouraged to take a guided tour of the Job Prickett House next door—open three times a day during the season—and mark their calendars for ongoing special events like the Traditional Music Day, Harvest Festival, and the new Native American Weekend, slated for October 24 to 26, 2014. “These are interactive history lessons. They’re hands-on and familyfriendly,” Greg says. Events held offseason, like this year’s Survival Weekend with Dave Canterbury, November 1 to 2,
aren’t necessarily history-focused but offer visitors other unique learning experiences. The fort also holds a special lecture series for history buffs, while aspiring craftspeople can sign up for a workshop on anything from basket weaving to flyfishing throughout the year. Interpreter Gene, who specializes in bladesmithing, says these workshops are a rare find. They offer small class sizes and access to some of the best artisans in their respective fields. “It’s a chance for someone who has an interest to pursue it, get their feet wet, and learn from a teacher with great skills,” he says. “The fort is a tremendous educational resource, and people need to know about it.” To reach the park, take Exit 139 toward East Fairmont/Prickett’s Creek Road, turn right on Bunner Ridge Road, turn left on Meadowdale Road, and take first right on Prickett’s Fort Road. Destination is on right. written by mikenna pierotti photographed by carla witt ford morgantownmag.Com
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out & about in the mountain city
July 4 • FairView
The Fairview Fourth
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In neighboring Marion County, an old-fashioned Independence Day celebration in Fairview brings people out to celebrate from all across the county for a parade, community band concert, cakewalk, and, of course, fireworks. The annual festivities have been taking place in Fairview since 1976, when a group of volunteers decided to start their own celebration. fairview4th.org
1 Players on the Fairview Little League Team participate in the parade on a float. 2 Chris Nielsen is one of the many attendees at the Fairview Fourth of July event. 3 The U-8 soccer girls are all smiles in the parade. 4 Kids of all ages love waiting for candy to be thrown out. 5 The Fairview Community Band marched in the parade and also performed in a concert during the many festivities. 6 The Grant Town Volunteer Fire Department fire truck is a crowd favorite. 7 Miss Teen West Virginia All Star Michaela Chisler waves to the crowd.
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july 13 • Arts Monongahela
Visitors’ Center Ribbon Cutting Officials gathered at Arts Monongahela to unveil the Greater Morgantown Convention and Visitors Bureau’s new center at 201 High Street, inside the Arts Mon gallery. It provides brochures and a help desk for visitors. Projects from a local fourth grade class showcased some of the state’s premier tourist destinations. The Greater Morgantown Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) awarded funds to local organizations like Arts Mon, Main Street Morgantown, and the Don Knotts Statue Fund.
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1 Morgantown Mayor Jenny Selin, West Virginia Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Tourism Amy Shuler Goodwin, GMCVB President and CEO Peggy Myers-Smith, and Tara Curtis, of the GMCVB Board of Directors, cut the ribbon. 2 Ginna Royce of Blaine Turner Advertising and Beth Fuller and Nicholas Austin, of Your Community Foundation. 3 Kelly Palmer of the State Tourism Commission, Leisha Elliot, executive director of the Marion County Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Terri Cutright of Main Street Morgantown and GMCVB. 4 Star City Mayor Allen Sharp presents a check to President of the Arts Mon Board of Directors Charlie Sims. 5 Amy Shuler Goodwin discusses the importance of tourism for the state’s economy. 6 House of Delegates Representative Charlene Marshall. 7 Karla Culp of Eurosuites and Gene Nicholsen, Autumn Scott, and Heather Mayne, of Springhill Suites. morgantownmag.Com
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Your local guide to life, art, culture, & more Aug/Sept 2014
August 16 10K For 10K Hazel Ruby McQuain Amphitheatre, Sat., 7:30 a.m. 304.657.7997, meganpitrolo@gmail.com eventbrite.com Christian Help, Inc. (CHI) hosts its inaugural fundraiser with a goal to raise $10,000 for the Career Closet Program at CHI. Fee includes T-shirt, race packet, and refreshments. $33 Black Dahlia Murder 123 Pleasant Street, Sat., 9 p.m. 123pleasantstreet.com This Michigan metal band is all set to rock with an intense live show at one of Morgantown’s favorite live music venues downtown. Reanimator and Disillusion Effect will also play. $15 in advance, $18 day of show
courtesy of wvu arts & entertainment
August 17
August 18 Students celebrate the start of the 2014 fall semester at WVU’s 20th annual FallFest with concerts by bands announced closer to the date. Mountainlair Plaza, Downtown Campus, Mon.
August August 9 Motown Mac ’n’ Cheese Cookoff Marketplace Pavilion, Spruce Street, Sat., 2–5 p.m. 304.296.7525, motownmacncheese.com Ever wonder whether your mac ’n’ cheese was the best in town? Or wondered which establishment reigns supreme? Find out at the inaugural Motown Mac ’n’ Cheese Cookoff. Free August 10 Concerts in the Loft Wesley United Methodist Church 503 North High Street, Sun., 6 p.m. 304.292.9485 Don't miss bluegrass artist Rachel Eddy as she performs as part of Concerts in the Loft.
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August 13 Open Mic Night Blue Moose Cafe, 248 Walnut Street 304.292.8999, Weds., 8 p.m. thebluemoosecafe.com Don’t miss your chance to sign up for the popular open mic event, hosted by Cracker Stackwell. Get your name on the list beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the The Blue Moose Cafe. August 15 The Lego Movie Paul Preserve, 7 p.m., 304.296.8356 boparc.org Gather the family and celebrate summer BOPARC style with an evening of fun family activities. It all starts with the Family Fun Festival, scheduled to feature the BOPARC Art Cart and WVU Healthcare Bounce House from 7 to 9 p.m. and the movie on the jumbo screen starting at dusk.
Jazz in the Park Hazel Ruby McQuain Park, Sun., 4–7 p.m. Bring the blankets and lawn chairs and enjoy a relaxing summer evening listening to great local music on the riverfront. Free August 18 NEARBY 24th Annual Delynn/Mon General Foundation Golf Classic Pete Dye Golf Club, 801 Aaron Smith Drive Bridgeport, Mon., 12:30 p.m., 304.598.1337 mongeneral.com All proceeds from the annual DeLynn/Mon General Golf Classic benefit patient care at Mon General Hospital. Price includes lunch, gift bag, food, and beverages on the course, dinner, and awards ceremony. $350 per player
The Masons Black Bear Burritos, 132 Pleasant Street Sunday, 6:30 p.m., 304.296.8696 blackbearburritos.com Enjoy the folksy sounds of this great acoustic duo at Black Bear’s downtown location. August 18 to 22 Artistry House Open House Registration 135 Greenbag Road, 304.435.8090 artistryhouse.com Artistry House opens in August 2014, serving age 2 through adults. Classes include pre-ballet, ballet, pointe, jazz, musical theater, tap, and Pilates mat. Artistry House features two outstanding programs for young children: Happy Tappers and Leap ‘N Learn. First day of classes is August 25.
August 21 Karen Krajacic Black Bear Burritos, 132 Pleasant Street Thurs., 6:30 p.m., 304.296.8696 blackbearburritos.com This singer-songwriter comes all the way from Vermont to bring sweet sounds to dinnertime. Morgantown Poets Monongalia Arts Center, 107 High Street , Thurs. 7 p.m., 304.292.3325, monartscenter.com Morgantown Poets, in association with Raw Dog Screaming Press, will feature authors K. Ceres Wright and Albert Wendland at the MAC. An open mic will follow immediately thereafter. Free
Santee Delta 1390½ University Avenue, Thurs.–Sat., 8 p.m. 304.284.0049, mtpocketstheatre.com Watch as this play by Donald C. Fidler and Travis Teffner comes to life, directed by Sean Marko. It tells the story of Lunsford Planck, who escaped the Santee Delta area of coastal South Carolina, determined to become an international photographer. $10 and up August 22 TarabRaqs Middle Eastern Music & Dance Ensemble Lebanese Bistro, 156 Clay Street, Fri. 6 & 9 p.m., tarabraqs.com This dance ensemble will perform two shows at 6 and 9 p.m. at the riverfront restaurant. The group will perform traditional and contemporary music of the Mediterranean region on acoustic instruments accompanied by belly dance. Sam Lamont Black Bear Burritos, 132 Pleasant Street, Fri. 6:30 p.m., 304.296.8696, blackbearburritos. com, samlamont.com One of Morgantown’s favorite singersongwriters returns to the stage at Black Bear’s downtown location. David Lee Murphy Schmitt’s Saloon & Davisson Brothers Music Hall, 245 Cheat Road, Fri., 7 to 11 p.m. schmittssaloon.com, eventbrite.com Country music star David Lee Murphy will play for a packed crowd at Schmitt’s Saloon. $25, $30 day of show August 23 Wildflower Walk West Virginia Botanic Garden, 1061 Tyrone Road Sat., 9:30 a.m., wvbg.org Ellen Hrabovsky leads visitors on a walk around the reservoir basin to explore wildflowers. Volleyball Gold-Blue Scrimmage WVU Coliseum, Sat., TBA Cheer on the volleyball team as players compete in the annual Gold-Blue Scrimmage.
courtesy of WVU athletic communications
August 21–23
August 31 The WVU Women's Soccer team takes on Elon.
Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, Monongahela Boulevard, Sun., 1 p.m.
August 23 & 24 Pop Con Expo Mylan Park Expo Center, 500 Mylan Park Lane Sat. & Sun., 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. wvpop.com Don’t miss the West Virginia Popular Culture Convention, a convention spanning many popular entertainment elements. Visit the exhibits and see the latest in comics, movies, anime, games, and more. $10 August 23 Dusty Hays Table 9, 40 Donley Street, 304.554.2050 Sat., 7–10 p.m., dinetable9.com Dusty Hays, known for his work with local band ’85 Flood, brings live music to Table 9. With a setlist that includes everything from Johnny Cash to Weezer, you’re sure to enjoy yourself. August 29 WVU Women’s Soccer Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, Monongahela Boulevard, Fri., 7:30 p.m. The women’s soccer team takes on Duke. Hackensaw Boys 123 Pleasant Street, Fri., 9 p.m. 304.292.0800, 123pleasantstreet.com Hackensaw Boys return to Morgantown with an energetic live show, featuring an eclectic mix of
sounds on string instruments. Americana, oldtime, alternative, and country music converge for this performance for music lovers ages 18 and older. Tickets can be purchased for $15 online at showclix.com. August 30 Hillbilly Gypsies Chestnut Ridge Park and Campground 346 Chestnut Ridge Camp Road, Bruceton Mills, Sat., 6–8:30 p.m., 304.594.1773 chestnutridgepark.com The Hillbilly Gypsies close out the 10th Annual Mountain Music Concert Series with a highenergy bluegrass performance. Bring your own blankets and chairs for lawn seating. Adults $5, children 12 and under are free
September September 2 U.S. Marine Band Concert WVU Creative Arts Center, 300 Patteson Drive Tues., 7:30–9:30 p.m., 304.293.7469 www.marineband.marines.mil The United States Marine Band, “The President’s Own,” from Washington, D.C., will present a free concert at the Creative Arts Center. Free
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September 4 Visiting Artist Lecture: Dennis Ichiyama WVU Creative Arts Center, Thurs., 5 p.m. theatre.wvu.edu Dennis Ichiyama’s works are on view in the Laura Mesaros Gallery. The opening reception for the exhibition will follow the lecture at 6 p.m. An awardwinning artist, Dennis is a designer, professor, and former administrator at Purdue University. His current work is with historic wood type, letterpress printing, bookbinding, and book arts. Free WVU Men’s Soccer Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, Thurs., 7 p.m. wvusports.com Support the men as they take on Virginia Tech at home. September 5
courtesy of WVU arts & Entertainment
NEARBY Wine Tasting, Dinner and Music Heston Farm, 1602 Tulip Lane, Fairmont, Fri. 5:30–11 p.m., 304.598.1337, harnd@ monhealthsys.org, hestonfarm.com Heston Farm hosts a special wine tasting and buffet, plus music from the Soul Miners, to benefit patient care at Mon General through the Mon General Foundation. Cash bar. $60
September 6 WVU Football Mountaineer Field, Sat., 7:30 p.m., wvusports.com Watch as the Mountaineers take on Towson. Scott Alexander Table 9, 40 Donley Street, 304.554.2050 Sat., 7--10 p.m., dinetable9.com Indulge in great food and music at Table 9 with this performance by Scott Alexander. Scott has been playing guitar and writing music since 1995 and loves playing a wide variety of covers. September 7 WVU Men’s Soccer Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, Sun.., 3 p.m. wvusports.com Watch as the men’s soccer team battles St. Francis. September 9 Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce Fall Golf Classic Lakeview Golf Resort, 1 Lakeview Drive 11 a.m., Tues., 304.292.3311 Raise money and awareness for the Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce. Registration begins at 11 and lunch is 12:30 p.m. Shotgun start. September 10 Irving Goodman Aging Lecture Series Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Mountaineer Mall, Wed., 1:30 p.m. 304.293.1793 Former executive director of Staying Put in New Canaan in Connecticut, Jane Nyce, will host a lecture about the nonprofit dedicated 78
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September 9 & 10 The world-renowned Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy will be brought to life by an international cast
of aerialists, contortionists, acrobats, jugglers and musicians. $28 and up WVU Creative Arts Center, 7:30 p.m., Tues. & Weds., events.wvu.edu to providing senior citizens in New Canaan the practical means and social support to live their lives to the fullest. September 12 WVU Women’s Soccer Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, Monongahela Boulevard, Fri., 7 p.m. Support the WVU women’s soccer team as players take on Georgetown at home. Don Williams The Metropolitan Theatre, 369 High Street Fri., 8 p.m., 800.745.3000 morgantownmet.com All ages are welcome for this performance by famed country singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame. Purchase tickets by calling, visiting the website, or going to Fawley Music. $44.50 and up September 12–13 & 18–20 The Year of Magical Thinking 1390½ University Avenue, Thurs.–Sat. 8 p.m., 304.284.0049, mtpocketstheatre.com
Adapted from Joan Didion’s best-selling 2005 memoir, the play explores the author’s shock, denial, and ultimate acceptance fter her husband’s heart attack and the serious illness of her daughter. Directed by David Beach and starring Chris Adducchio. $10 and up September 13 Color Me Rad 5K Mylan Park, 500 Mylan Park Lane, Sat. 9 a.m., colormerad.com/race/morgantown-wv Run five kilometers and turn yourself into a rainbow in the process. This colorful race benefits Morgantown’s Rosenbaum Family House—an organization providing space for adult patients and families to stay while receiving medical care at WVU. Registration required. Pre-registration is $40. NEARBY Mud Bog Reedsville VFD Arena Sat., 7 p.m., reedsvillevfd.com Get in on the fun of a good, ol’ fashioned mud bog. General admission gates open at 5 p.m. Mudding starts at 7 p.m.
September 13 & 14 Rock, Gem, and Fossil Show Mylan Park Expo Center, 500 Mylan Park Lane Sat. & Sun., 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; 11 a.m.–5 p.m. See high-quality minerals, rocks, gems, jewelry, beads, fossils, artifacts, and more as well as science shows and a chance to shop. $1 September 14 WVU Women’s Soccer Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, Monongahela Boulevard, Sun., 1 p.m. Watch as the women’s soccer team plays Duquesne.
NEARBY ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships Wisp Resort, 250 Adventure Sports Way Wed.–Thurs., All day, 301.387.3700 deepcreek2014.com The Adventure Sports Central International is the prestigious venue for the event and is the only mountaintop re-circulating white water course in the world. Watch as Olympic-level athletes from more than 35 countries compete for gold. $5 and up
Carla Witt Ford
September 17–21
September 25–28 The 73rd Annual Preston County Buckwheat Festival takes over nearby Kingwood with a
carnival, arts and crafts, pageants, parades, music, and, of course, buckwheat cakes. Kingwood, buckwheatfest.com
September 19 WVU Women’s Soccer Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, Monongahela Boulevard, Fri., 7 p.m., wvusports.com The WVU women’s soccer team plays La Salle. September 20 WVU Football Mountaineer Field, Sat., TBA, wvugame.com Stripe the Stadium! Fans sitting in evennumbered sections, Touchdown Terrace, and WVU students seated in the upper level student sections are encouraged to wear gold to the game. Fans in odd-numbered sections and WVU students in the lower level student sections are encouraged to wear blue. The Mountaineers take on Oklahoma in this Big 12 match-up.
Arts Walk Downtown Morgantown, Fri., 6–9 p.m. 304.292.0168, downtownmorgantown.com Stroll through more than 40 downtown businesses to see artwork from local artists. Free September 27 Dog & Gun 123 Pleasant Street, Sat. 123pleasantstreet.com, dogandgunwv.com Don’t miss this West Virginia folk group— complete with mandolin and fiddle—as its members take the stage of local music venue 123 in late September. September 27 & 28
September 25–28 NEARBY 2014 Preston County Buckwheat Festival 115 Brown Avenue, Kingwood, Thurs.–Sun., All day 304.379.2203, buckwheatfest.com The Preston County Buckwheat Festival has everything you could want in a festival: live music, arts and crafts, parades, pageants, and more. Free
September 26 Art is Food Morgantown Market Place, Spruce Street, Fri., 5–7 p.m., 304.292.0168, downtownmorgantown.com Main Street Morgantown and WVU Mountaineer Parents Club host “Art is Food” at the Morgantown Marketplace in conjunction. Cost includes samples from local restaurants. $15
West Virginia Wine & Jazz Festival Camp Muffly, Sat. & Sun., wvwineandjazz.com Bring a blanket and some friends and spend the day stretched out on the lawn of Camp Muffly. Live music and refreshments from local vendors are plentiful. Saturday hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday hours are noon to 6 p.m. Admission includes wine glass and tasting for individuals 21 and older. $20 September 28 Walk to End Alzheimer’s WVU Coliseum, Monongahela Boulevard, Sun. 1–4 p.m., 304.599.1159 This special walk takes place on a two-mile loop at the WVU Coliseum. Registration for the event is at 1 p.m., and the race starts at 2 p.m.
Upcoming October 4 NEARBY Alpine Lake 5K Fun Run/Walk Alpine Lake, Terra Alta, Sat., 10 a.m.–noon fstiles@frontiernet.net Mon General Hospital and Preston Memorial Hospital host this 5K at beautiful Alpine Lake Resort. Registration will take place in the Alpine Lodge from 9 to 9:45 a.m. The Fun Run/Walk begins at 10 a.m. Must register by September 4 to be guaranteed a T-shirt. Price includes a $5 complimentary coupon for lunch or dinner at the resort. $15
WVU Football Mountaineer Field, Sat., TBA The ‘Eers take on Kansas in this Big 12 game. Fans are asked to wear gold for the “Gold Rush.” October 5 West Virginia Botanic Garden Fall Children’s Festival West Virginia Botanic Garden, 1061 Tyrone Road, Sun., 1–4 p.m., 304.216.8704, wvbg.org This popular event returns for its sixth year. Bring the family and enjoy fairy house building, pumpkin painting, crafts, and seasonal refreshments. Free
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Then & Now
Sunnyside today
Sunnyside 1890s
For more photos
of Morgantown’s past, check out wvhistoryonview.org
Sunnyside before it became a notorious student enclave , Sunnyside was a blue-collar neighborhood that many of Morgantown’s glass factory employees called home. Starting in the 1950s and ’60s, families began to move out as WVU students moved in. Opportunistic buyers snatched up cheap houses and turned them into multi-unit apartments. Soon Sunnyside developed a rowdy reputation fueled by its student population. Now Sunnyside is undergoing yet another change. Old homes that were once beautiful and functional “essentially became trash,” says Frank Scafella, executive director of Sunnyside Up. They’re being torn down and replaced with safer, more practical housing for WVU’s growing student body. Although some lament that the colorful character of Sunnyside
has been lost, there are signs that its spirit lingers. Recently, for example, the beloved student bar Mutt’s reopened on Beechurst Avenue after the old location was torn down to make way for new development. Although it’s still mainly a student neighborhood, WVU and civic groups like Sunnyside Up are investing in revitalization. Those teetering, unkempt homes of Morgantown’s past are being replaced with mega-developments like University Place and Beech View Place. “It’s a very positive development for the university, the city, for the county, for the state,” Frank says. Plus, “You can’t get any couches out of there to burn.” Then & Now is published in partnership with WVU Libraries’ West Virginia & Regional History Center. wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu
written and photographed by elizabeth roth 80
Morgantown • Aug/Sept 2014
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