‘Essays on a West Virginia Childhood’ Enters New Phase
Written by Jason Keeling on February 22, 2011
Last year blogger Elizabeth Gaucher originated an online writing project that encouraged others to connect by recounting their childhoods. She believes reflecting on and articulating childhood experiences can help the individual writer and reader to interpret life more clearly.
When she first conceived the idea, here were a few of her initial thoughts:
“When you Google “West Virginia childhood” or “Appalachian children,” let’s just say it’s not exactly a joy-fest. I’m interested in bringing diversity to the equation through a combination of elements: the eras of childhood, the age and gender of the children in the stories, humor and seriousness, economic circumstances, surrounding characters, setting, and theme.”
Hence, the Essays on a West Virginia Childhood collaboration was formed, and Gaucher unexpectedly began connecting with people like Anne Clinard Barnhill, a published author raised in the Mountain State. Her Winter Solstice essay drew the attention of several other professional writers to Gaucher’s blog, Esse Diem.
Interestingly, Gaucher reports all of the essays in the series were viewed and shared almost equally from a statistical perspective, and she credits the writers’ own networks for driving interest in the project. ”Networking with social media truly is a snowball,” she says. ”It takes some time to gain momentum, but when it does, stand back!”
The Power of Experiences
Essays to date have dealt with ethnic diversity, coming to grips with personal sexual orientation, mentoring by a beloved grandparent, and negotiating adolescent drama. Gaucher is already rolling into a new phase of the project, Essays on Childhood: A Sense of Place, which expands the theme beyond West Virginia experiences to connect with childhood in any place.
She writes: ”Being honest with ourselves, being vulnerable, and being real is important. As we go, not all essays will be about the beauty of childhood. I think one of the most valuable things that can happen in the project’s development is to provide a place to reflect on parts of childhood that are not easy or kind. Either way, I know the project will keep moving forward, and only grow in its mission to reveal the influence and power of our experiences as children on who we are today.”
What’s Your Story?
For those interested in writing for the project, Gaucher asks that you indicate such via comment here and she will follow up. For those who’d like to share a bit of perspective, but not submit a full essay, feel free to comment with your thoughts as well.
How has growing up in West Virginia influenced the person you are today? Or if you are raising children here, how do you think our state’s culture, environment, and people are shaping those children?
Posted in Culture, West Virginia
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February 22nd, 2011 at 11:57 am
Thank you so much for allowing space on this blog to support the Esse Diem essays projects! They would not exist if it were not for the challenge by A Better West Virginia to use the potential of online networking to make things happen.
February 22nd, 2011 at 12:29 pm
Were you surprised that there was no “joy-fest”? I might like to write something for it…doubtful that it would add to the brighter side of things, but WV has shaped me completely.
February 22nd, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Actually, no I was not completely surprised. I used to do some child advocacy and policy work in WV and between that plus things I’ve seen on my own, I was not totally shocked. But I did find it somewhat puzzling that in an Internet wide search on the key words, EVERYTHING was negative. Children have an incredible power to find beauty and good where adults cannot see it. It was encouraging to receive several essays that included very warm and positive memories of a WV childhood.
That said, I think there may be a built in bias in just asking people to write about their childhoods, because those most likely to want to do it are those most likely to be remembering good things. I like the happy stories, but I also know there is more to everyone’s past than shiny happy people. I hope people with difficult stories will feel encouraged to tell those too. If you have time maybe pop over to today’s blog post on http://www.essediemblog.com. It features a very painful memory articulated by Kentucky author Silas House.
Thanks for your interest!
February 22nd, 2011 at 12:41 pm
[...] ‘Essays on a West Virginia Childhood’ Enters New Phase | a Better West Virginia Blog - Culture |… abetterwestvirginia.com/2011/02/22/essays-on-a-west-virginia-childhood-enters-new-phase/ – view page – cached Last year blogger Elizabeth Gaucher originated an online writing project that encouraged others to connect by recounting their childhoods. She believes reflecting on and articulating childhood experiences can help the individual writer and reader to interpret life more clearly. [...]
February 22nd, 2011 at 1:25 pm
I am a born & raised West Virginian who lived out of state for a few years and then came back when he had the chance. I loved growing up in West Virginia. My love for nature, my passion for supporting local businesses in small towns, and my pride and enjoyment in Appalachian culture and art can all be attributed to my West Virginia roots. My only concern for my two daughters is the lack of cultural diversity. My wife and I loved living in the Dallas/Fort Worth area because of the rich diversity of peoples. Large pockets of Koreans, Hispanics, and African-Americans made for an eye-opening and encouragingly challenging experience. Unfortunately, West Virginia did not prepare me for this. I am afraid it will not happen for my daughters either unless they move out of state when they reach adulthood.
February 22nd, 2011 at 1:48 pm
Andy, I completely agree with your concern. We had a great essay by Amy Hamric Weintraub about growing up in Roane County and how diverse it was at the time, but now I think there is valid widespread concern that a lack of diversity is a real deficit when it comes to growing up in WV. Maybe you will be the first person to write about your children’s childhood, what you see, what you think could help, etc.
Thanks for your honesty, I think as great as the great things are, we need to be willing to assess what other elements of growing up here need to at least be acknowledged.
February 22nd, 2011 at 2:01 pm
It’s a terrific idea from Elizabeth and I appreciate ABWV helping bring attention to it. This could work for any state, but I find it especially significant for West Virginia. We have a unique perspective as West Virginians and raising children here forces you to evaluate your home, community and state. Growing up, you hear more of the negative stereotypes and shortcomings of our region, but as you grow and as you travel, I think many of us begin to recognize the beauty, spirit, the pride and the ingenuity that make WV a special place to be. I’m glad my parents moved here to start a family and I’m proud to be raising my family here. I hope my kids will find the same appreciation of nature, the hospitality, the work ethic, and spirit of independence that I grew up around.
February 22nd, 2011 at 2:10 pm
Jesse, you are, to me, an incredible example of homegrown personality, talent, and creativity. I hope you will consider writing an essay for the project, your artist’s eye plus crazy sense of humor could bring an entirely new tone to the storytelling!
February 22nd, 2011 at 11:15 pm
This sounds like such a wonderful expansion of an already great idea. I’ll look forward to reading and writing about my WV childhood in several different ways–there are so many stories to tell. Great!
February 23rd, 2011 at 11:12 am
Thank you, Anne…..your presence in this project has inspired many to try something new. I will always be grateful that A Better WV brought us together.
February 23rd, 2011 at 11:37 pm
This sounds interesting to me! How do I sign up? Thanks!
February 24th, 2011 at 10:43 am
Consider yourself signed up! The site administrator for A Better WV will pass along your email address to me and I am putting together a group to receive updates and guidelines. You can opt out any time. Thanks for connecting!
February 24th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Okay, EDG, you convinced me with the phrase, “You can opt out any time.” Send me the details and I’ll see what I can conjure.
February 25th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Your conjuring material is on the way! Thank you for considering it, I know you will have a good story to tell. We’ll take baby steps.
February 25th, 2011 at 6:53 pm
I have happy stories to tell! And they smell good, too.
March 9th, 2011 at 4:06 pm
[...] would not exist without the inspiration and support of Jason Keeling, the blogger and manager of A Better West Virginia. Many thanks to Jason for his creativity, his support, and his passion for making the world a [...]
September 12th, 2011 at 12:11 pm
A Long Walk in the Snow
In the late Fall or early Winter of 1961 when I was a Junior at Nicholas County High School, my cousin, who was a Senior, and I caught a ride from Dille to Summersville to go to a basketball game at the high school.
We went to the game where he met his girl friend and I hooked up with a girl I knew. After the game we fooled around outside the old main building for an hour or so, then the girl I was with had to leave with her parents.
It was a warm night as we walked his girl home through town. Just outside of Summersville he told me to wait while he took her home down one of the side streets.
I waited for an hour and it was getting cold, so I started walking down the road. I figured he had decided to spent the night and I guessed I could catch a ride to Birch River. I was dressed in a light weight white coat with no hat and cheap shoes but it was getting colder and starting to rain lightly so I kept walking.
About midnight I was below Muddelty where there was a sawmill and a fire was burning in some old slabs. I walked in there and built up the fire. I sat on the ground as I warmed myself for about 30 minutes and began to doze off to sleep. As the rain turned to snow, I started getting home sick, knowing my Mom would be worrying about me.
I left the warm fire and walked down the middle of the road in a gently falling snow. By the time I reached the foot of Powell’s Mountain the road was covered with snow and I was pretty much soaked. It was a slow walk up the mountain and the snow was 6 or 8 inches when I reached the top.
Cold and tired I crawled in the old bus house that someone had turned over on it’s side. I was trying to decide whether to take the dirt road across the mountain to Dille. They now call that the Henry Young Memorial Highway. It was much closer to home but I knew it was wild with very few houses on the road.
Curled up in a cold ball in the bus house I was just going to sleep when I heard a truck coming up the hill from the direction of Muddelty. This was the first vehicle I had seen all the way from Summersville to the top of Powell’s Mountain. By the time I could crawl out of my shelter the truck had reach the top and pulled off right in front of me. I walked around and knock on the window of the drivers side. The poor driver nearly jumped out of his skin when he rolled down the window and saw me standing there in my white coat with ice crusted on my hair. “Where the hell did you come from?” He finally said.
The man who picked me up was on his way to work in the mines and said he pulled off to see how bad the road was before he went down the hill to Birch River. It was a slow slippery ride but I only cared about being in the warm truck. At Birch River he let me out on the corner because I was going to Dille and he was going to Tioga, I think. I never did get his name.
Slightly warmer, I stood there for half an hour before a car came along headed my way. I stuck out my thumb and another miner picked me up and took me all the way to my house. I walked up the hill in a foot of snow and into the house which was never locked. It was 4:30 in the morning.
Mom got up as soon as she heard me come in. She saw the shape I was in and put on a pot of coffee. While she found me dry clothes I drank two cups of hot coffee. I went to bed about 5:30 that morning and didn’t get up until the following morning. I had to go buy a new pair of shoes because there wasn’t any sole left on my old pair.
I thanked the 2 coal miners who gave me rides that long night but I have often wondered what would have happened if that man hadn’t pulled off before going on down Powell’s Mountain and I had gone to sleep in that old bus house. I think my history would have ended at age 17.
Roger D. Johnson
September 12th, 2011 at 9:55 pm
I have read with great interest all of the entries this far and would be happy to contribute. My childhood and the summers were spent at Whitby WV. My last recollection was April 1979, I was the pallbarere for my grandfather and at 11, I think it left with the desire to connect with WV. By 2003, I decided to go back to Whitby WV and see if a web projefct would help me or others really. And now some 8+ years later, I have decided to preserve and promote coal town or coal campo culture. So, one day in April 2010, I started a Facebook group named I Miss West Virginia Coal towns, it had 4 members. Now, we are 1300+ strong, diverse and growing on a topic of coal camps in WV, something I have discovered is taboo to many and embraced, (THANK GOD) by so many others
September 13th, 2011 at 10:25 pm
Mark, this coming year is the PERFECT time to join the project! It will have a special focus on male writers. Drop me a note with your email address at edg@longridgeeditors.com and I’ll make sure you are kept in the loop. Thanks!
October 3rd, 2011 at 2:23 pm
Roger, I just received the email about your “comment” - what a great story! Please email me at edg@longridgeeditors.com to discuss permission to share your story on http://www.essaysonchildhood.com. Thank you!
October 8th, 2011 at 11:03 am
http://essediemblog.com/2011/10/08/a-long-walk-in-the-snow-by-roger-d-johnson/
October 8th, 2011 at 11:03 am
[...] know Roger Johnson, but he left this fascinating story as a “comment” on the blog A Better West Virginia. I am not sure it is truly an essay, but it is an interesting story that raises questions about [...]
February 14th, 2012 at 12:17 am
West Virginia has influenced everything in my life. The open hospitality, sharing, and putting others first that I witnessed has stayed with me. The music,wonderful music has led to my grandchildren forming thier own bluegrass band (5 kids between 10 and 15 years) . The love of how to do things “from scratch”…….my love of people oriented history…….The view of those lovey mist covered mountains and the drastic counterflow of those reach green valleys……..the pride in my coal miner Daddy and the spunkiest little Mom who met every challenge with strength and humor. Did WV influence me???It MADE me. Thanks for letting me vent. That felt good.