West Virginia Stereotypes

1. There are many traditions and ways of life within West Virginia. What, if anything, ties the many "cultures" of West Virginia together?

The state, West Virginia, is filled with various types of cultures that are held within each of the 55 counties that comprises the state. Although, there are many cultures that are spread from border to border there are several key ideas that tie us together as a whole. I believe one idea that ties the state together is the Mountaineer. Every person in the state no matter whether they moved away and came back or just moved here he or she feel the pride of being a West Virginia Mountaineer and want it means to them inside and outside. You can hear the pride coming from a WVU football game or basketball game, sense the pride by hearing and telling stories between family and friends around a campfire at night in the wild and wonderful wilderness, or see the pride from visiting scenic landscapes of the hills in the state. Another idea that ties the state together is the agriculture that is grown during the early spring and summer months. A lot of West Virginians grow a garden to produce vegetables and fruit. I have witnessed that most of these farmers tend to share their produce with friends and especially family members. A third idea that ties the state together is family relationships. Families in the state tend to live closely together, meaning there is a family member in the same community or right down the same street from what I have observed. The closeness of family and the love of family brings a sense of joy living in the same state. A fourth idea that draws West Virginians together is religion. The belief of God and going to church is strong among the state and I look to that as being a good aspect of the state. A final key idea that I feel brings the state together is the safeness of the hills that lie among the people of West Virginia. The hills not only bring us beautiful wildlife, but also a sense of security. The state tends to have few natural disasters and rates of crime are very low, so I think even though there is a diverse amount of cultures that live in the hills of West Virginia, the people feel safe and secure.

2. Clyde Case laments the loss of community feeling in West Virginia. Do you agree that his feeling has been lost? What do you miss most about West Virginia of your childhood? What threatens the West Virginian way of life?

I can relate to this question, because I have lived in the same small community since I was three years old and I do not feel the community coming together at all and never really have. My community is made up of individual families that obviously communicate with each other, but the families do not interact with each other. There is a homemakers club, which my mom and me are a part of, but even the club only does so much for the community. The major part of the community is our church, which does tremendous amounts for the community and the congregation does their best at communicating with the surrounding population. I believe the communities of the state keep to themselves and the people that make up those communities do not communicate and I agree the feeling has been lost. Remembering back to my childhood, what I miss most is traveling to southern parts of the state with my family to see the scenic landscapes. We use to make trips to Seneca Rocks, Cass Railroad, the caverns, went camping in the woods with nothing except a picnic table and fireplace made of stone rocks. It is was so much fun as a child going to all those fascinating places that can be found right in the heart of our beautiful state. I think what threatens the West Virginian way of life is the land being taken away to build various buildings for commercial use. The land and hills I believe are what make the state have the nickname, 'the Mountain State' and we need to focus on the buildings we already have and make room for jobs for the people of the state so they do not have to move to another state to seek for a way of life.