Wheeling: The Transportation City

The history of Wheeling, West Virginia is rooted in transportation. For a time it was the terminus and then a major destination or way station along National Road, the historic (and oldest standing) suspension bridge served as a gateway to the west, for better or worse as the National Road carried on to Vandalia, Illinois (which was the state capitol at the time of construction). But, tucked up in the hills above Wheeling is another transportation gem: the Wheeling – Ohio County Airport. The Wheeling – Ohio County Airport no longer sees commercial aviation, likely due to the proximity to the much larger and central Pittsburgh International Airport, but general and military aviation thrive. The terminal’s art deco interior is pristinely preserved to give guests (and all are welcome) to get a feel for what aviation was in it’s heyday—before flights became glorified Greyhound buses crisscrossing the world.

The airport welcomed its first commercial passenger flights in 1947, served by TWA and Capital DC-3s. Cities serving Wheeling included Pittsburgh (from its original location off of Lebanon Road, much closer to the city center), Clarksburg, WV, and Washington, PA. In 1980 commercial aviation was permanently terminated, likely due to the fact that the Pittsburgh International Airport is a mere 45 minute drive from Wheeling. Since 1980, the terminal has been restored and maintained in peak 1940s style. Guests, non-aviators, are welcome to tour the terminal and take in the unique architecture of a small but grand shrine to flight.

October 2021 Reads

Autumn, my favorite season, has arrived. For as much as I can really hate living in West Virginia, it really is almost heaven come autumn. Everywhere you look, the leaves are changing, people are pulling out their hoodies, buckwheat cake dinners are for sale at every volunteer fire department (and you should go out and support them!), and, more often than not, I have a belly full of hot apple cider and chili. Further memorializing my love for this season in this place, is the wedding of one of my very best friends at the recently restored Hotel Morgan.

Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman

I had a hard time getting into this book. The pace at which the story moved was so variable that it often left me with a chaotic feeling after I stopped listening. I suppose that is probably intentional given the teenage yearnings so central to the book. The love story is evergreen, a swift, intense summer love affair and the residual effects of that experience on a lifetime. Some of the more erotic moments left me cringing—apologies to everyone on Lebanon Church Road who might have thought I was making a face at them in traffic when I was really just shocked with what my car was reciting back to me without emotion. This book is not going to be for everyone, and I do not think it was for me. However, I have such a hard time putting anything down once I get started.

How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith

Clint Smith takes readers around the United States and to Senegal to understand the history and consequences of slavery in the United States with this text. The book spends a lot of time at locations in Louisiana, an area that I had known to be a slave state, but not hold the same implications as locations like Monticello in Virginia (also visited). Smith’s tour and description of the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana was especially moving to me. Though I think I also found it to be very American that there would be tours of an active state penitentiary (at least the Colorado Prison Museum was merely next to an active prison) and that it would have inmate rodeos! The book also makes stops at the Slave House off of the shore of Senegal and the Whitney Plantation in Louisiana, among several others. The writing is engaging, just as is his work for the Atlantic.

The Birds of Opulence by Crystal Wilkinson

I read a lot of non-fiction in October and this was a lovely break from the non-fiction slog. In fact, I read most of the book on one of the last pleasant afternoons I had between teaching classes at Chatham University. I had wanted to read this book for some time as it is a work of fiction from Kentucky’s Poet Laureate and an example of Black excellence in Appalachia. The histories and voices of African Americans in Appalachia are often overshadowed by white poverty, but they are in Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, and etc. and their stories are equally compelling (sometimes more so, because they faced all of the challenges of the poor white folks with the added layer of race on top). Anyhow, the book follows families, especially the women of, Opulence, Kentucky. It seems like the town is somewhere southeast of Lexington, edging in on the coalfields but also not too far from the classic bluegrass. The families take various shapes and forms and each shadowed by its own mythology. Some women accept it and live with it, while others fight the mythology and attempt to leave, only left to try and reconcile their past with their dreams for the present.

A Crack in the Edge of the World: America & the Great California Earthquake of 1906 by Simon Winchester

The most interesting discovery I made in this book came early on in the text, which made the rest of the rambling wreck somewhat disappointing. That discovery? The level of scientific documentation of the Great California (or San Francisco) Earthquake of 1906 was the first time that earthquakes were considered to be from a scientific or geologic cause as opposed to God’s unhindered wrath. That was less than 120 years ago! Many individuals have grandparents (deceased) who grew up thinking that earthquakes were acts of god rather than measurable scientific events. Anyhow, that nugget comes early and before much of the book is spent diverging from the titular topic before abruptly returning to the topic at hand seemingly moments before the moment the earth shook and the resulting fires occurred. Though I also did find it interesting in the end how deaths were and were not associated with the quake and resulting fires, meaning we will never know now the true devastation wrought by this disasaster.

October 2021 Pick of the Month

I did not finish very many books this month, but the leader of them all was certainly How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America. This tour across sites defining slavery in the United States is written in an engaging manner and should inspire folks to find out how and where slavery has shaped where they live and the lives they lead today. It is remarkable how much history has been erased due to white embarrassment, shame, and the knowledge that holding others in bondage has never really been OK, even when it was an acceptable practice.

A Day of Double Importance

On Veteran’s Day/Remembrance Day 2021, I read the following to my classes:

Today is Veteran’s Day. That it occurs on 11/11 is no coincidence. Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. Around the world at the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month people take a moment of silence to reflect on the human toll of war. Many of those called to battle did not go by choice, whether by draft or as a socioeconomic mechanism. On this day we reflect on their efforts, sacrifice, and the battle scars both visible and invisible. A poem I recited nearly every November growing up in Canada as we celebrated Remembrance Day was In Flanders Fields, by Canadian poet John McRae. McRae did not survive the war, but his words will live forever.

                 In Flanders Fields
    In Flanders Fields, the poppies blow
         Between the crosses, row on row,
       That mark our place; and in the sky
       The larks, still bravely singing, fly
    Scarce heard amid the guns below.

    We are the dead. Short days ago
    We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
       Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
                              In Flanders fields.

    Take up our quarrel with the foe:
    To you from failing hands we throw
       The torch; be yours to hold it high.
       If ye break faith with us who die
    We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
                                In Flanders fields.

The day after World War I ended, my paternal grandmother was born. The poppy is a symbol from the war for supporting the troops and many suggested to her mother, Mary, that they should name her daughter Poppy. Mary instead went with Marian. Marian died one year ago in Coquitlam, British Columbia, one day before her 102nd birthday. She was born on the frontier in rural Saskatchewan as the wild west was closing up shop, married a serviceman and lived in Europe and across Canada, educated, hundreds, if not thousands, of children in her career as a schoolteacher, and raised a child who would raise me with many of the same characteristics as Marian. She never failed to impress upon me the importance of this day and now it is doubly important to me. You do not need to be pro-war to be pro-veteran.

From L to R: Doug Fraser, Marian Fraser, Alan Stodolka, Baby Bates (I can’t remember which one), Lorraine Bates, and Bing Bates. D. Fraser is in front of Marian.

September 2021 Reads

School is in full swing and I absolutely love my students at Chatham University and West Virginia University. The month kicked off with a bachelorette party in Laurel Highlands for my best friend, who is getting married next month. There is no place on earth like the Laurel Highlands, the National Road is the main street through some of the most historical sites of early America, geological wonders like the Youghiogheny River at Ohiopyle, and architectural gems like Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. My Chatham University students rounded out the month of September by completing their midterms for me. Do not worry too much about them, they are a bright and engaged group of students, bound to master the material.

Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iyimide

I really enjoy reading young adult fiction when I need a break between weightier subjects in life or literature. I read Ace of Spades as an audiobook and the format kept me engaged as it felt like it, largely, felt like two books in one until close to the end, where the threads tie together. The structure and organization of the book masterfully build suspense, ultimately reminding me of a high-school rendition of Jordan Peele’s Get Out. Though the conclusion, while not entirely satisfying from a sociological approach, was satisfying for the protagonists and, ultimately, satisfying for the reader. Also, since when did YA address such lofty subjects as sex tapes?! This is not Sweet Valley High.

Dreamland by Sam Quinones

I was excited to read this book because I was sure it referred to the Dreamland Pool in Kenova, West Virginia. Rather, Dreamland, as referenced in the book, is about 45 minutes further north on U.S. Route 23 in Portsmouth, Ohio. I am unsure what it says about the Ohio Valley when there are multiple Dreamlands that could title a book on the rise and fall of pill mills, cheap heroin, and ultimately Appalachian lives. However, unlike the Dreamland in Kenova, Dreamland in Portsmouth was paved over some time ago. The site boasts an Advanced Auto Parts and a few other businesses that I undoubtedly patronized once or twice while making the pilgrimage to Columbus to visit my best friend while she was in law school at Ohio State and I was earning my M.S. at Marshall University. I was naïve to the drug crisis in the area for the most part. I can say with certainty that I never knew you could call for a heroin delivery as you would Monty’s Pizza once all (most?) of the pill mills were run out of the region. It was at times difficult to see this perspective of places I was so familiar with and, daresay, love (Southern California, Huntington, Portland, etc.).

While folks from my current neck of the woods in Appalachia are often eager to point out the mess in the backyards of others, Quinones isn’t from around here and was a fairly balanced reporter of the crises in a cross section of cities and cultural groups. While I would never question a tornado of heroin in a remote Ohio or West Virginia trailer park anymore, it was illuminating to read about it in the Russian Orthodox community in Oregon. It was also promising to see how each of these communities is battling back. With the benefit of a few years since publication, I am optimistic that the needle (no pun intended) is moving in favor of the sober.

Push by Sapphire

Sapphire must have lived through hell to write a novel like Push. I could recall the advertisements for the movie Precious from a few years ago and knew it was related to this book. I figured anything that could be converted into a major motion picture would be readable. I cannot explain if it was the gritty tone of the protagonist, the unending abuse (and PTSD from the abuse), the two children of incest, or even the mother who blamed her child daughter for stealing her man but I spent most of the book trying not to vomit.

There’s an NPR story that helped me better digest and understand the world that Push takes place in, and how Sapphire believed these were stories that had to be told—no one else would.

When confronted with difficult material, never shy away, just seek more information to help boost your understanding. This approach has enabled me to navigate more books on race than I think I could on my own. It is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of a desire to expand one’s horizons and understanding.

Meanwhile, I have to decide if this is even appropriate to put in a Little Free Library. Small problems.

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It by Chris Voss

I think this was the most useful book I read in September. While Voss does spend some time out-rightly bragging about his importance and prowess as an FBI negotiator, he does not walk away without a bit of self-deprecation and a lot of strategies that can be tried in a range of different situations for different ends. I think this is at the very least a must-read for anyone planning to earn a graduate degree in a business discipline, especially an MBA.

The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks about Race edited by Jesmyn Ward

I was uncertain how this collection of essays planned to expand upon James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, a seminal work on race published in 1963. Based on other books I’ve read recently, I feel like a lot of well-meaning white folks decided we were done with race after the passage of the Civil Rights Act and, in the meantime, nothing’s changed. In fact, as one of the essays pointed out, law enforcement seems to be killing people of color faster and more effectively than lynchings did at their peak. That hit hard.

I was surprised that I could relate to some of the essays, or at least understand them on the surface. One of the essays describes one man’s mission to keep walking. Growing up on the crime-ridden streets of Kingston, Jamaica he initially thought he would be safer on the streets of cities like New Orleans and New York City. Yet, he faced more brutality and distrust on the streets of the United States, and often at the hands of those sworn to serve and protect. How confusing is that?

There were repetitive themes throughout the essays that very effectively underscored the trauma of contemporary blackness. I have heard too many white folks say that African Americans need to “get over it”—but what are they getting over? Their brothers and sisters are still slain in the streets and treated as worth less than their white contemporaries; that is like telling someone who is actively being beaten to get over it. It is kind of hard to get over something that’s still actively occurring.

I am also in awe of and have the utmost respect for every grandmamma that has to out-fresh everyone: at the slaughterhouse, at church, and among family.

The Mis-Education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson

Originally published in 1933, Woodson passionately argues that African Americans were being indoctrinated, rather than educated, in American schools. Like Dreamland this month, the Mis-Education of the Negro hits home because Woodson’s West Virginia roots run deep. Even if he was born southeast of Charlottesville, Virginia, he spent much of his youth in Fayette County, West Virginia. Indeed, Woodson earned the money to attend Douglass High School in Huntington, West Virginia by spending six years in the mines himself, notably at Kaymoor and Nuttallburg, which are both components of the New River Gorge National Park (most folks don’t expect to learn about race in the United States in the heart of West Virginia!). After earning his high school diploma and bachelor’s degree, he even temporarily returned to the area to teach in Winona. I say this not just to relate Woodson to West Virginia, but to emphasize his qualifications to discuss this topic. If anyone could see through the charade of African American education in most scenarios, Carter G. Woodson had the perspective.

Pick of the Month September 2021

There were many great choices this month, but I think Never Split the Difference takes the cake this month. Not only was it an interesting and engaging read, it shared information and skills that could immediately be implemented into the day-to-day life of anyone. While the examples are not as foolproof as sometimes marketed in the book, the fundamentals of different approaches to negotiation are all here!

August 2021 Reads

Still recovering from a relapse of Guillain-Barre Syndrome, one of the best pain relievers was curling up with a good (or sometimes trashy) book in my recliner and reading until forgetting how much my the nerves in my legs caused burning and cramping pain. Never one to let my physical condition let me down, August also featured two mini vacations. First, we did a road trip to central Pennsylvania and down to Charlottesville, Virginia to kayak the Susquehanna River near Harrisburg, ride and do the shop tour of the Strasburg Railroad, visit Monticello, and meet with former interns and students of mine. Next, we visited Huntington, West Virginia to see family and celebrate my relatively quick rebound from paralysis. By the end of the month, the school year started again and in addition to teaching at West Virginia University, I also picked up two classes at Chatham University, my alma mater.

The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

On the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, James Baldwin wrote two letters of tough love, one to the American people and one to his nephew. Despite first publication in 1963, the short book felt like it came off the press yesterday. I found the letter to the American people sobering and thoughtful, the stronger of the two letters in the book. Though I noticed that I had to remind myself repeatedly that this is not a new book; it is more than 50 years old! The book is aging well and, unfortunately, is quite telling about how much further we need to come in terms of race relations in the United States.

What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Dr. Elizabeth Catte

Dr. Elizabeth Catte is a vital voice for contemporary Appalachia. Holding nothing back about the past, she does not mince words when describing contemporary Appalachia. While always a profoundly misunderstood region of the United States, even currently (thanks, J.D. Vance), Appalachia has changed at least as much as any other region of the United States. If folks who have not been to Appalachia lately claim understanding, that understanding is already out of date. This book is a good place to start.

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (a.k.a. J. K. Rowling)

Looking for something easy to digest but engaging, I found this book. While I find J. K. Rowling’s politics to be a bit abhorrent, the pseudonym threw me off until I was well into reading the book. Cormoran Strike is a gritty detective with a rough-and-tumble backstory, made evident by his artificial leg and calling his office his home, but also smart and quick-witted. The only thing that seemed a little remarkable is his luck and finding a temp worker as equally smart and quick-witted (even if her boyfriend, fiancée, whatever, was a bit of a dolt). The book is an engaging ride, perfect for an afternoon on the porch.

J is for Judgement by Sue Grafton

My best friend brought me a $1 used paperback to help me pass the time in the hospital. She knows me better than just about anyone, my dad and husband are the only potential exceptions, so she knew this kind of pulp would be right up my alley. It is a blast from the past to think about sleuthing in the days before internet and cell phones, but the story was engaging and moved quickly. It reminded me of why my mom used to read books like this while commuting to work on Vancouver’s SkyTrain. I always admired how much she read, even if it was not high literature.

Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo is a study in perseverance. Raised in difficult circumstances, growing up quickly at the Institute of American Indian Arts (a high school at the time, now a four-year post-secondary institution), and raising two children on her own, while never failing to improve herself and speak for the generations silenced by centuries of brutality at the hands of European and American rule of Native lands. Installed as United States Poet Laureate in 2019, it is remarkable how much her voice reflects and represents the broader us. I digress. Crazy Brave is about the early years. I can’t wait to read her other memoir, Poet Warrior, to fill in the gap between her time at the University of New Mexico as an undergraduate, single mother and the force she developed into. Joy Harjo is a living treasure.

Call Me American: A Memoir by Abdi Nor Iftin

Abdi Iftin is a Somalian who dreamed of life in America from a very young age and maintained his optimism despite living through hellacious conditions first in Mogadishu and then in Nairobi. Eventually he won the U.S. Green Card Lottery and became one of the one-in-three “winners” successfully navigating the process to immigrate to the United States. While his story up to immigration is very engaging, what surprised me most occurred in the final 50-or-so pages, after he moved to Maine. Stories of individuals caught between cultures are so engaging to me, and this is a great example of a person who realizes he’s both American and Somalian and that can sometimes make life complicated.

Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby

Samantha Irby is my kind of woman, she does what she wants despite having GI issues that would send most normal people running to the trashcan to vomit and a life story tragic enough that most wouldn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Diarrhea? Rectal Bleeding? Family drama? Sounds like an average Tuesday. Many of the essays come across as stream of consciousness word salads and it works in some cases, but gets frustrating in others. Irby is also one of the writers for the Hulu series Shrill, which I would also recommend to anyone else who is fat and just living life.

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

I love a good underdog story and I think the young adult fiction genre does an outstanding job of telling them, touching our most basic desires to be seen, accepted, and receive our dues. Leah Johnson does this masterfully by crafting a dynamic protagonist with a challenging back story who really has a modest need—but to accomplish that modest need must counter the ingrained ideas and traditions of rural Indiana. Not a long or arduous read, but one that will leave a smile on your face.

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Knowing about my love of reading, one of my colleagues at West Virginia University advised that I get into audiobooks to make the 90-minute, each way (best situation) commute to Pittsburgh two days a week fly by. Using OverDrive through my local library I looked through my recommended reads on Goodreads and started plugging in titles, looking for audiobooks. They were not as plentiful as ebooks, but I found the Silent Patient and was not disappointed. While the book was somewhat formulaic and the twist was not too hard to see, it was easy to find myself immersed in the story when suddenly it was time for gas and a smoothie. If you are looking to try out an audiobook, this might be a good place to start. I have since moved on to others, but the Silent Patient set the bar.

Big Black: Stand at Attica by Frank “Big Black” Smith

When I borrowed this book from the library, I did not realize that it was a graphic novel, I was expecting a more traditional memoir. The visual storytelling is compelling in this scenario due to the physicality of the conflict at Attica. While I see the events from the perspective of the narrator and the story was engaging, I think I need to look to other sources to learn more about the context and events at Attica.

Pick of the Month: August 2021

I read several incredible books in August and found myself really torn between What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia and Crazy Brave. Both are bold stories about how “others” are surviving in a relatively contemporary world. Neither Native Americans nor Appalachians are frozen in time and those century-plus old stereotypes. Both groups still have their struggles, but require folks to pay enough attention to notice that things change and things have changed a lot over the past two hundred years. The help needed then does not match the help and support needed now. My conclusion? Read them both!

The Greenbrier River Trail in Marlinton

The Greenbrier River Trail is a 78-mile-long rail trail following the Greenbrier River and the path of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway’s Greenbrier Division from Cass to Caldwell, West Virginia. Sections north of Cass are still in stages of operation as part of the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad. The trail crosses 35 bridges and travels through two tunnels as it meanders through some of the most remote (and peaceful and breathtaking) places in West Virginia.

Bridge over Knapp Creek, heading south out of Marlinton.

The West Virginia Encyclopedia recognizes that the Greenbrier Division differed from most other railroads in West Virginia because rather than hauling the state’s most famous export, coal, the Greenbrier Division was built and operated to support the burgeoning timber business in this remote section of West Virginia. Through the early 1920s, business thrived along the line, but the resource was almost entirely gone by the 1920s and demand from timbering interests dropped off. Traffic slowly dropped off until when in 1975 the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad requested permission to abandon the line.

Water Tower Park, heading north on the Greenbrier River Trail from downtown Marlinton.

Marlinton retains much of the character introduced by the railroad, with bridges and a watering hole for the trains, seemingly suspended in time until the next freight rolls through. Indeed, when things threaten their railway heritage, the folks in Marlinton fight for it. When destroyed by fire in 2008 the Chesapeake and Ohio Depot was replaced with a nearly perfect replica. Tourists would never know that the bright yellow depot building is not the original, but an expression of love for the community and civic pride.

The Marlinton Depot, from the Pocahontas County Chamber of Commerce

What will you discover on the other 74 miles of the Greenbrier River Trail?

 

Parade of Steam 2021

Cass Scenic Railroad State Park in remote Pocahontas County, West Virginia has some secrets. At least five of those secrets are powerful, geared, steam locomotives that worked hard time on logging railroads all over North America. In fact, several of the steam engines at Cass spent much of their service life in my home province of British Columbia, Canada! As odd as it sounds, I feel closer to home when visiting Cass and being near machines that helped tame the West.

The Parade of Steam is a relatively new tradition at Cass Scenic Railroad, launching after the Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad assumed operations of the rolling stock. There were initial concerns about turning over these operations to a for-profit business enterprise, especially with rates for rail excursions increasing substantially, but their care and attention to these historical machines and dedication to their operation has proven their honest intentions.

My husband and I arrived to Cass early on June 19, 2021, not knowing exactly what the turnout would look like for the Parade. Initially it seemed like the turnout would be modest, but within 30 minutes of the beginning of the event the parking lot was packed with cars and folks sitting in lawn chairs with their cameras and cell phones fixed on the track between the old mill and the station. The Parade of Steam featured five of the engines at Cass, the Climax #9 and Shay’s #2, #4, #5, and #11 in an array of configurations that lasted the better part of an hour!

While happy to share some stills from the event, others took some magnificent video, such as this one shared on the KensTrains YouTube channel.

My favorite, Shay #2, “Pacific Coast”

A pair of Shay’s taking off in formation

The icing on the cake was a nice excursion to Bald Knob after the Parade. The excursion was sold out and filled with guests from all around the mid-Atlantic, including a busload of elderly tourists from New Jersey who had a lot of questions about West Virginia. To them, and everyone from out of state, we welcome you and your tourism dollars. There is a lot of great stuff to see and do in West Virginia!

 

July 2021 Reads

July brought with it some medical hardships, crowned by a relapse of Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Despite not being able to walk and spending a lot of time in bed, I struggled to stay focused on reading—my mind brimming with terrified thoughts and feelings. I have come through to the other side and am feeling much better. Recovery is very painful for my legs and curling up in my recliner with a book is one of the best pain relieving tools I have in my arsenal. To the July 2021 books!

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

The human body contains multitudes of mysteries. I know that many of the things my body does are quite mysterious to me. In this memoir, Susannah Cahalan reconstructs a period of time in her life that she lost due to a difficult to diagnose, obscure medical condition. The bravery of her storytelling is moving, though the execution is uneven—likely as a byproduct of having to go back to discover her story effectively in third person. Great story about overcoming the worst and reinforces the idea that we are all one bad day (with a bad diagnosis) from losing everything we hold dear.

Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer’s Twenty-Year Battle against DuPont by Robert Bilott

Most of us subscribe to the belief of better living through chemistry, whether it is by taking prescription medications, using plastic shopping bags (reusable or single-use), eating genetically modified food, putting gasoline in the car, etc. The chemical industry is omnipresent in our lives, whether we acknowledge it or not. Here, a DuPont facility just outside of Parkersburg, West Virginia was using loopholes in the regulation of a substance that had the potential to harm to poison thousands of people. Despite working for a firm that often defended big corporate clients, Rob Bilott’s book describes his battle in the offensive for the people impacted by the DuPont C8 contamination scandal. Bilott seems like a good guy and spends a lot of time recognizing and thanking his wife and kids for supporting his years in pursuit of justice. The book slows down a lot at points, but the sum is greater than the parts and what is revealed is a blueprint for tackling corporate greed when they go so far as to contaminate the water people need to drink.

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain’s untimely death really hit me hard. Bourdain helped expand my horizons and open my mind to the wonderland that is Asia, quelling my fears of my first overseas trip to China. This is the book that shifted Bourdain from the kitchen to the television. Bourdain’s honest and candid report of life in the kitchen is a wild ride. I especially appreciated Bourdain’s advice on how to make any meal spectacular (you don’t need to know how to cook to garnish!) and his advice to those entering the culinary field is sincere and, I think, applicable to an even wider range of professions. The chapter on his trip to Tokyo was very foretelling and reminded me exactly how much I relied on Bourdain’s shows to prepare me for my first China visit. This book is like reconnecting with an old friend.

The Memory Palace by Mira Bartok

Mental illness is not for the weak. Mira Bartok’s loving ode to her mother who just was not built for this world describes the effects of mental illness on individuals, families, and communities. No one is left untouched in this life by mental illness. If you are lucky not to suffer from one, you definitely know and love someone who does suffer from some type of mental illness. Bartok had to go to great lengths to protect herself from her mother at different points in her life, but she never stopped loving her and recognizing her as a kind, talented woman. I could strongly relate to this situation and often felt like a friend was confiding in me all of the beauty inside a memory palace that may look more like a deserted Cleveland apartment building on the outside. I recommend this read to the children of parents with mental illness. It is a blueprint for self-care but also unconditional love for the afflicted.

Voices from the Rust Belt edited by Anne Trubek

Founder of Belt Magazine, which is a voice for the Rust Belt of the United States, Anne Trubek has compiled and edited a series of vignettes about life in various post-industrial, Rust Belt communities—from Pittsburgh to Chicago and down as far as the West Virginia and Kentucky border in tiny (but historic in Labor History) Matewan, West Virginia. Having lived in Pittsburgh and West Virginia for just about half of my life, I felt very comfortable stepping into the lives of this diverse group of people in different cities and felt that I shared a common thread with all of the writers, except for one. One of the vignettes talks about how Cleveland has become a place for artists from other places, but those artists get only a sliver of the experience and because they did not experience the pain of a Cleveland youth, these artists might be polite to not claim Cleveland as their own. Though this sentiment is real in many other areas, the application to art in Cleveland was illuminating for me. Many of the stories are dark and grim, but there seems to be a silver lining growing over the Rust Belt and this collection of stories will serve as a testament to where we have been and where we are going.

Pick of the Month: July 2021

While I enjoyed reading all of the books in July, my pick this month is Voices from the Rust Belt. Voices is a Bible of the state of the Rust Belt and required reading for anyone who wants to understand how the Rust Belt developed into the uncomfortable, restless, and often soulless place we see today. Don’t forget to don your safety gear before entering the steel mill or vehicle assembly line!

Where in the World is Watoga?

In the ultra-rural hills of Pocahontas County, West Virginia are many unexpected gems, including the Green Bank Observatory, Buckeye Bend Books, the Highland Scenic Highway, and the Edray State Trout Hatchery. Among these hills, one may also find Watoga State Park. Originally conceived as a state forest, it was developed into a full-fledged state park by the Civilian Conservation Corps, with many of those amenities maintained and celebrated to this day. The park is an all-inclusive rustic wonderland, featuring a swimming pool, small lake (with kayak, canoe, and SUP rentals!), and miles of meandering trails.

The lake is stocked with fish and perfect for folks wanting to try their hand and some type of paddling without committing to making an intense day of it. Following the lakeshore is a rustic trail with a smattering of benches, so those who prefer to stay on land can still get much of the benefit of the lake while staying dry.

The amenities at the park include a lodge with a well-stocked gift shop (all the non-alcoholic cold drinks you will ever need) and a moving tribute to the CCC workers that left this gem in these hills. Come, get away from it all.

 

Biking Presque Isle

I think I have visited enough state parks in Pennsylvania to know that Presque Isle State Park is probably my favorite. The park provides for dramatically different experiences in each of the four seasons and includes a variety of different environments: beach, wetland, and forest. It amazes me how the thick, solid ice dunes of February, however, reveal pristine beaches in the summertime.

Just one of the perfect beaches on the unprotected Lake Erie side of Presque Isle, a few months earlier this section of beach was covered in ice dunes

The term Presque Isle is derived from the French term for an “almost” an island. So you find yourself on a peninsula surrounded by Lake Erie. The Presque Isle Multi-Purpose Trail is about 13.5 miles long and takes users on a complete loop of the peninsula: through the harbor protected by the peninsula, through wetlands and wildlife refuge, past beaches getting surprising amounts of surf from the unsheltered waters of Lake Erie, and even some cool, shaded forest. The route is a loop and it is largely level. There are some areas that follow the shoulder of the main road through the park so if you go, note that bike traffic generally moves counter-clockwise but, if you are not up for a solid 13.5 miles, there are plenty of opportunities to take shortcuts and enjoy different aspects of the park.

Our approach was to park in the first lot we found that had space and start from there, with the intention of completing the entire trail, which we did successfully. The ride was awesome, except when we were stuck behind people in rental surreys who could not quite seem to figure out how to operate the vehicles that everyone on board can help pedal. However, it is rare to encounter places in the trail where slower traffic cannot be passed in fairly short order.

Check out Presque Isle State Park and bring your bike, and do so especially if you are trying to find a way to spend more time on a bike or practice biking. Besides, the more you pedal the more you can justify eating all the junk food at the beach concession stands along the way. There may or may not have been a fully loaded foot-long hot dog near the end of my biking day.

For more information on the trail, including a detailed and printable map, I suggest checking out the listing on AllTrails, linked here.

See you on the trail soon!