The Queen of Clawhammer: How “Aunt Jennie” Wilson Kept Appalachian History Alive Appalachian traditional music is defined by resilience, and few figures embody that spirit quite like Virginia Myrtle Ellis “Aunt Jennie” Wilson. Born in 1900 in Logan County, West Virginia, Aunt Jennie became one of the most celebrated master musicians of the old-time style. […]
Aunt Jennie Wilson banjo player Read More »
1957 Logan County Flood Photos If you commented on an image in this gallery and don’t see it, try clearing your browser’s cache. On Windows, a quick Ctrl + F5 hard refresh usually does the trick. Just keep in mind that image comments only appear on the image itself, not in the sidebar—we’re hoping an
By Dwight Williamson It is sometimes hard for me to believe that it has been nearly 40 years since the name of Mamie Thurman started becoming almost a household name throughout the region. Since those early days of the stories of Mamie’s gruesome murder and the details of the trial of Clarence Stephenson, the accused
A letter from Ohio reveals an unlikely success story Read More »
By Dwight Williamson A look at local history reveals that Logan County has been in the national headlines numerous times for various reasons. From the Civil War burning of the Logan County Courthouse to the Hatfield-McCoy feud of the late 1800s and throughout all of the 20th century, something of national interest has always percolated
Old newspaper articles tell of Battle of Blair Mountain Read More »
By Dwight Williamson There have been countless stories and several books written in regard to Devil Anse Hatfield and the feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys. However, perhaps the most interesting character of this entire bunch is the youngest child of the famous Hatfield leader, his 13th-born offspring, Tennis Samuel Hatfield. It was Tennis,
Tennis Hatfield’s rise and fall is a story to remember Read More »
By Dwight Williamson “Those were the good ‘ole days.” Just about everybody has heard that phrase uttered at some point in their lives. It seems that mostly older people like to reflect upon the past as “the good old days” when in fact life was usually much simpler, but not necessarily better. As for myself,
Those were the good old days of Logan Read More »
By Dwight Williamson It was 1936 in Logan County and there was much going on at the local level just as the entire nation was rebounding from what would later be termed “The Great Depression.” The Logan Banner headlines early that year were filled with gruesome murders and dastardly deeds of all kinds, as thousands
Mid-1930s were a wild time in Logan County Read More »
By Robert McCormack I grew up in Cherry Tree, the son of Clovis and Virginia McCormack, a coal miner and a schoolteacher. Although I left Logan in 1966, I will always cherish my years growing up there — especially Logan High School and my one year of teaching at Chapmanville High School. Through the years,
Love, Robb, Logan native’s book about his Army son Read More »
By Dwight Williamson You can choose just about any year in Logan County’s colorful past, especially 1910 through 1960, and there will always be two things that stand out in every era — murder and politics, which sometimes go hand-in-hand. The bottom line is: Murders can be political, and politics can be murderous. The years
1916, 1917 were especially eventful years in Logan County Read More »
By Dwight Williamson We are living in what must be the scariest time that nearly any of us have ever witnessed. My concern is mostly with the younger generation, especially the younger children, who cannot fully understand what is going on in our barely functional society. School kids, including high school and college students, are
Today’s kids don’t know the freedom we had Read More »