Lore Galore
Mountain State MVPs
Symbolically Speaking
Coal Hard Facts
Play Me Some Mountain Music
You Know You're From Here If...
100
Residents of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, were terrorized by this red-eyed, winged creature in the 1960s.
Who is Mothman?
🌠The More You Know🌠The city officials in Pt. Pleasant requested that visitors to the statue refrain from putting quarters in Mothman's rear-end after this activity became a popular pastime for local teens during the beginning of the pandemic.
100
Born in Lincoln County, West Virginia, this World War II flying ace became the first person to break the sound barrier in 1947 while piloting the Bell X-1.
Who is Chuck Yeager?
100
Chosen in 1903, this delicate white or light pink flower that can often be seen blooming on hillsides, holds the title of West Virginia’s official state flower.
What is the Rhododendron?
100
Before modern gas detectors, coal miners brought this small yellow bird underground to warn them of dangerous gases like carbon monoxide.
What is a canary?
100
This popular music genre, often played with fiddles, banjos, and mandolins, has deep roots in the hills of West Virginia.
What is Bluegrass?
100
You’ve started your day with a biscuit the size of your head, wrapped in wax paper, from this local chain.
What is Tudor's? *If you said the full name, you may not be from around here...
200
In 1952, this tall, green, and glowing creature allegedly landed in Braxton County, terrifying a group of locals and earning a spot in UFO lore.
Who is the Flatwoods Monster?
200
This NASA mathematician from White Sulphur Springs helped calculate trajectories for the Mercury and Apollo missions and was portrayed in the film Hidden Figures.
Who is Katherine Johnson?
200
Known to raid a campsite or dumpster with equal enthusiasm, this powerful omnivore holds the title of "West Virginia State Animal."
What is the Black Bear?
Recent sitings of note:
-The WVU PRT station earlier this month
-Molly and Lida's backyards
200
The rates of this incurable disease caused by inhaling coal dust, has been rising steadily again in WV since a decline in the 90s.
What is Black Lung?
Further Context: This rise is largely due to funding cuts for miners' health and safety, profit driven changes to mining practices, and inadequate coal mine safety regulations.
200
This Glen Dale native and country music star has performed at the Grand Ole Opry and is known for hits like “Mud on the Tires" and "Whiskey Lullaby."
Who is Brad Paisley?
200
You spent a lot of time carefully pulling apart these flowers, even though you only got a very small drop of their nectar.
What is a honeysuckle?
300
Now abandoned, this Mercer County amusement park was built on a Native American burial ground and is said to be one of the most haunted places in the U.S.
What is Lake Shawnee Amusement Park?
300
This abolitionist led a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in 1859 in an attempt to ignite a slave liberation movement.
Who is John Brown?
300
This broader type of tail shaking reptile is typically associated with Texas, but our Appalachian native was named West Virginia’s official state reptile in 2008.
What is the Timber Rattlesnake?
🌠The More You Know🌠The Timber Rattlesnake and the Copperhead are the only two venomous snakes found in WV. General rule is, if it has a triangular/spade-shaped head and vertical eye slits, steer clear.
300
In 1921, over 10,000 coal miners marched to fight for union rights in this historic armed labor uprising.
What is The Battle of Blair Mountain?
🌠The More You Know🌠This was also the largest labor uprising in the U.S. and the largest armed uprising since the Civil War.
300
Broadcast from Charleston, WV since 1983, this live performance radio show has featured artists from R.E.M. to Tyler Childers, celebrating roots and Americana music on NPR stations nationwide.
What is Mountain Stage?
300
This phrase can sound sweet, and is sometimes said with sympathy, but can also be one of the nastiest insults you've ever heard.
What is "Bless your heart"?
400
The trial for the murder of this Greenbrier County woman was the "only known case in which testimony from a ghost helped convict a murderer," according to the state historical marker.
Who is Zona Heaster Shue? AKA "The Greenbrier Ghost"
400
This fiery labor organizer fought for coal miners’ rights during the early 20th century and played a major role in the Paint Creek–Cabin Creek Strike, despite the significant challenges that the UMWA had historically faced when trying to unionize workers in WV.
Who is Mary Harris Jones? AKA Mother Jones
🌠The More You Know🌠She earned the title "Most Dangerous Woman in America" in 1902 at her trial in WV, where she was facing charges for ignoring an injunction banning meetings by striking miners. She would proudly use this nickname until her death in 1930 (at the age of 93).
400
Discovered in Clay County around 1905, this sweet, yellow apple variety was declared West Virginia’s official state fruit in 1995.
What is the Golden Delicious Apple?
400
This material, a byproduct of coal mining, is often stored in massive impoundments and has been the source of environmental and safety concerns in Appalachia.
What is coal slurry?
400
Born in Slab Fork, WV, this soulful singer-songwriter gave us timeless hits like “Lean on Me” and “Lovely Day.”
Who is Bill Withers?
400
You've caught one, cupped it in your hand, and watched it glow. *Bragging rights if you somehow got more than ten in a mason jar without accidentally squishing any of them.
What are lighting bugs?
500
This spectral black dog with glowing eyes and a bone-chilling snarl haunts mountain roads in West Virginia and Maryland, with multiple reports of it vanishing into thin air after being hit by unsuspecting drivers.
What is the Snarly Yow?
500
This Pulitzer Prize-winning poet from Pocahontas County served as West Virginia's Poet Laureate for nearly 40 years and captured the spirit of Appalachia in her verse.
Who is Louise McNeill?
500
Known for its red spots, marbled back, and orange belly during spawning season, this native fish holds the title of West Virginia’s official state fish.
What is the Brook Trout?
500
Hired by coal companies for the purpose of spying on and harassing workers in order to prevent them from organizing, this "private detective agency" (aka "gunmen for capitalism") clashed violently with miners in Matewan.
What is the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency?
500
You’ll find this Hall of Fame honoring WV musical legends, including Hazel Dickens and Kathy Mattea, on Lee Street inside the Charleston Town Center.
What is the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame?
500
When playing outside, doing this was how you stayed hydrated. It may have been a little rusty, but somehow always refreshing.
What is "drinking out of the hose"?
600
This 1965 book by Ruth Ann Musick is a compilation of folklore and ghost stories exclusively from West Virginia.
What is "The Telltale Lilac Bush?"
600
Born in Institute, WV, this chemist and educator helped develop the compound used to make Kevlar and broke racial barriers in science education.
Who is Dr. Carter G. Woodson? AKA "The Father of Black History"
600
You've definitely heard "Take Me Home, Country Roads," but there are a total of four songs with the official designation of WV State Songs. Name 2 of the 3 others.
What are “West Virginia Hills,” “This is My West Virginia,” and “West Virginia, My Home Sweet Home”?
600
This 1969 federal law was passed after the Farmington disaster and was the first to require regular inspections of underground coal mines and enforce safety standards.
What is the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act?
600
Born in Charleston, WV, this genre-blending folk artist combines country, jazz, and old-time swing influences in haunting songs like "Fox Hunt" and "Jeremiah."
Who is Sierra Ferrell?
600
You know this isn’t a fashion statement, but rather the bites that your ankles are covered in after running through tall grass in the summer. (Hint: they are not mosquito bites)
What are chigger bites?
