I can't explain it...but this 5 Fact Friday creeps up on me every time!
This week, in our Beyond Layers class, Kim had us think about travel and our favorite places. So, I want to share 5 facts about one of my favorite places because it is in my blood: my Appalachian West Virginia roots. My ancestry goes back to the mid-1700s in West Virginia...prior to that they were from Ulster, Ireland, having been transplanted from the lowlands of Scotland, given the name Scots-Irish. The Scots-Irish were the backbone of the American Revolution.
1. West Virginia is the love-child of America's Civil War.
2. Outdoor advertising had its origin in Wheeling, West Virginia, about 1908, when the Block Brothers Tobacco Company painted bridges and barns with the wording: "Treat Yourself to the Best, Chew Mail Pouch."
3. The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, built prior to the Civil War, in Weston, West Virginia, is the largest hand-cut stone building in North America, and is believed to be the second largest in the world, next to the Kremlin in Russia.
4. West Virginia is the only state that lies completely within the Mountains and valleys of the Appalachian region.
and last...but in no way the least...
5. West Virginia University's football team is ranked in the top 10 this year among NCAA college football teams. Let's Goooooooooooooooooooooooooo...Mountaineeeeeeeeeeeeeers!
I'm grateful today for the gift of West Virginia and the place it has in my heart!
Thanks for the glimpse into early West Virginia. The photos really display the beauty of the area.
ReplyDeleteAt least you get it done....Fridays are my day off. I spend every Friday with my longest standing girlfriend...
ReplyDeleteYours is lovely and the structure is very creative...
Good luck with the football season! Love your layers.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos Denise I love the music of the Appalachians you can really hear the roots of the Scots and Irish in the tunes, back in the day the BBC did a fantastic TV series called "Bringing it all Back Home " and it centred on the emigration of the Scots and Irish to the US one of the best songs were called ~ My Love Is In America - sung by Dolores Keane with Mick Hanly, it brings tears to your eyes.
ReplyDeletelove your photos of your West Virginia...beautiful country! I just got back from Asheville North Carolina and can not wait to go back to this part of our country...beauty was just everywhere!
ReplyDeleteWhat gorgeous photos - WV looks beautiful!! Thanks for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check that out. If you want to hear a mountain woman sing, check out Hazel Dickens (she actually sang in the History Channel's Hatfield & McCoy's series - may God rest her soul). She is raw mountain music.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful set of photos - it looks so peaceful . I'm fascinated by history like this. I always think about how brave people must've been all that time ago to uproot their families and head off to the unknown and what made them take the decision to do so.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and just love your images. Really like the scrapbook template you used also. Could you tell me where you got it? Thanks so much for sharing your 5 facts.
ReplyDeleteNancy ~ Appalachia is a gift to all of us! Not just the beauty of the country, but the culture, the music, and the hard-scrabble characteristics of self-reliance, hard work ethic, and incredible storytelling.
ReplyDeleteCarol - I just took a 12 x 12 document, added a paper image, chose a bunchh of photos and arranged them and added a drop shadow, and then used this font...Indifference.
ReplyDeleteHelen - After my father died, while I had spent half of my life in West Virginia, I plunged into my genealogy and the genealogical society of the area. What a gift...this new community of people...and the gift of such a rich heritage.
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ReplyDeleteOh so lovely. I have never been to West Virginia. And what a beautiful collage.
ReplyDeleteI've been through West Virginia but not lucky enough to stay long. Hope I can in the future after seeing this!
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