Category Archives: Current Projects

Jul 12 2021
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Announcements, Appalachia, coal, Current Projects, Labor History, Mine Wars, Nonfiction, Paint Creek, Print, Uncategorized, West Virginia History, Women's History

On Dark and Bloody Ground

Now for sale from West Virginia University Press! This set of oral histories from 1972 circulated for many years as an informal typescript volume, acquiring an almost legendary status among those intrigued by the subject. Key selections appear here for the first time as a published book, supplemented with introductory material, maps, educational resources, and photographs. Published to coincide with the celebration of the Blair Mountain Centennial in 2021, the book includes a preface by me and an afterword by Cecil E. Roberts of the United Mine Workers of America. All proceeds benefit the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum.

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Oct 10 2014
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Appalachia, Audio, Current Projects, Fayette County, Paint Creek

The Road That Howard Built

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Excited for the first rough cut this piece for The Paint Creek Audio History Tour–a collection of tales about a storied place called Paint Creek, WV, from the voices of people who live along its banks. The history tour will be available via a GPS-activated mobile app and a website, coming in summer of 2015. The project is supported by the WV Humanities Council and the National Coal Heritage Area Authority.

In this segment, Pax native Howard Hughes–one of the founders and leaders of the Paint Creek Scenic Trails Association–tells of the bane of his youthful existence. Howard’s great-great grandfather, a surveyor, founded Pax. Howard’s grandfather was an accomplished stone mason who built many beautiful structures still standing today. His father was a hard-working coal miner who helped fuel American industry during WWII. And Howard, well, Howard built something too.

Produced by Catherine Moore & Jessie Wright-Mendoza. Edited by Catherine Moore.

May 01 2012
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Appalachia, Audio, Current Projects

Searching for Mary Lee

The Beautiful Mary Lee Settle

When I first read prolific WV novelist Mary Lee Settle‘s memoir, Addie, I felt kind of like I felt after reading Denise Giardina’s Storming Heaven (Denise has called Mary Lee her “literary mother”): like someone had spun out in gorgeous, poetic language the answers to so many of my questions about home.

Set in Settle’s ancestral homeland of Cedar Grove, WV, the book weaves together the story of Settle’s childhood, the life of her mythic grandmother, and the waves of resource extraction that have surged through the Kanawha Valley since it was first settled by whites.

I had never read Settle before (how could I have missed her?), but thanks to Gibbs Kinderman over at Allegheny Mountain Radio, I am now embarked upon what we hope will become an hour-long audio documentary about her work.

I’m dying to talk about this with someone else who’s read Addie, so get in touch if that’s you!