West Virginia

West Virginia state park has July 4 history, too – Dominion Post

Published

6 months ago

July 4, 2024

Press Room

West Virginia state park has July 4 history, too – Dominion Post

In Pocahontas County on this day 95 years ago, Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park was dedicated.

Which was an appropriate date, as many will say.

That’s because the intense, 1863 skirmish for which the park is named was also West Virginia’s Revolutionary War, of sorts.

Even with West Virginia entering the Union that June, the Confederacy still maintained a strong military presence within the new, squiggly borders of the only state in the U.S. born of the Civil War.

The ink was barely dry on West Virginia’s statehood papers when everything spilled over the cold morning of Nov. 6.

Some 5,000 soldiers in blue uniforms dug in at the summit of Droop Mountain against 1,700 soldiers wearing gray. The town of Lewisburg and the Virginia-Tennessee railroad line were both at stake.

The first shots were fired at 11 a.m. — and by 1:45 p.m., the enemies were staring one another dead in the face.

Brutal, hand-to-hand fighting ensued.

By 3 p.m., the Confederate troops began pulling back, reporting that were being overrun by the soldiers from the Union.

An hour later, they were in full retreat. It was over. Some 275 soldiers in gray were dead on the battlefield, according to estimates. Another 119 Union soldiers were casualties of war.

Southern forces never took a stab at the new West Virginia after that.

“Well, they were tenacious, for sure,” author and archivist Stan B. Cohen said by telephone, two days before the Fourth of July, from his home in Montana.

“I always saw that as kind of a West Virginia thing,” the longtime Missoula resident said.

It was a mostly sunny day on July 4, 1929, when Droop Mountain became the first state park in West Virginia.

According to newspaper accounts, as many as 10,000 poured into the place, to see the handiwork of it all.

There were speeches and proclamations. More poignantly, a handful of elderly Civil War veterans on both sides of the fighting were there to shake hands.

The logo — and the Last Frontier
Missoula is where Cohen, a Charleston native and WVU graduate, started making his name.

He enjoys taking in all that Big Sky and the western range of the Rockies he can regard from his window, but if you ask him – he’ll still proudly proclaim his Mountain State pedigree.

“Everybody out here knows I’m from there,” he said.

“I was talking about Jerry West with a guy at my bank just now. I tell everyone I’m a West Virginian who just happens to live in Montana.”

Cohen earned a geology degree in 1960 from WVU.

As an undergrad, he thrilled to the basketball conquests of the aforementioned West, a cool, steely counterpart to Hot Rod Hundley, who paired his own prowess in the game with glorious clowning and comedic flair.

It was a good time to be a fan of WVU’s basketball Mountaineers, he said.

People would pack the now-gone Stansbury Field House on Beechurst Avenue, where the seats went right down to the court.

Dust would rain from the rafters when fans would stomp their feet in appreciation. (So too would colorful language and creative insults, when they weren’t pleased).

Cohen was born in the Mountain State’s capital city in 1938, a son of Benjamin Franklin Cohen and Ruth Lieberman Cohen.

He worked in the oil and gas industry here briefly after WVU, before opportunities in the U.S. Forest Service took him to Montana and Alaska.

The West Virginian has been a small business owner and publishing house founder and proprietor.

His 1976 book, “A Pictorial Guide to West Virginia’s Civil War Sites,” carries the imprint of his Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., in his Charleston hometown. He later sold the business to a friend.

Out west, he’s primarily regarded as a writer and historian.

“I might be a little more known in Alaska than I am in Montana,” he said.

He’s penned more than 70 books on everything from wildlife to military history, while publishing close to 400.

He’s authored at least 15 books on America’s Last Frontier and is a recipient of the state’s Alaska History Award.

At 86, he has no plans of slowing down, as he’s currently writing a historical study of America’s monorail and alternate transportation systems — “I’m guessing the PRT is still going in Morgantown?” he asked.

Wars are just as much about real estate as they are ideologies, and the Mountain State is a revolution of place regarding both, Cohen said.

It’s home.

“I haven’t been back to West Virginia in six years. And that’s starting to bug me.”

Source link

West Virginia

Which NFL Franchise’s History Most Compares to West Virginia Football?

Published

8 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Which NFL Franchise’s History Most Compares to West Virginia Football?

West Virginia is one of the most successful programs in college football history. As a matter of fact, they are the winningest team in college football without a national championship.

Is that a good thing? Well, yes and no.

It shows that the program has consistently won and is at a high enough level to be among the best programs in the country. However, it’s certainly not a label that Mountaineers fans are exactly proud of. The 1988 and 2007 seasons are still burned into the memory bank of WVU fans and getting back to the big dance in this day and age is a tall task.

The Mountaineers entered the 1988 Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame with an unblemished record and clobbered many of their opponents on their path to the big game. Unfortunately, star dual-threat quarterback Major Harris injured his shoulder on the third play of the game and wasn’t the same player the rest of the game. The Mountaineers would fall to the Fighting Irish 34-21.

In 2007, well you all Mountaineer fans know the story. But for those who don’t, West Virginia entered the final week of the season ranked second in the country and all they needed to do was beat a 3-8 Pitt team in the Backyard Brawl, at home, to secure a spot in the national championship.

The high-powered WVU offense went stagnant as star quarterback Pat White injured his non-throwing hand early in the game. White didn’t return until late in the fourth quarter and the Panthers were able to hang on to pull off the stunning upset, defeating the Mountaineers 13-9.

That was the last time WVU has been on the doorstep of a national title.

So, which team in the NFL has shared that same level of misery yet has been a consistently winning organization? That would be the Minnesota Vikings.

They have the best winning percentage of any team in the NFL who have yet to win a Super Bowl. Only the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, and Kansas City Chiefs have a better winning percentage, but they all have Lombardi Trophies.

Now, technically, the Detroit Lions have the most wins of any NFL team without a Super Bowl win, but they have a winning percentage of .455, so it’s not exactly an accurate representation of the success West Virginia has had at the collegiate level.

West Virginia

Cover WV aims to empower West Virginians with insurance knowledge

Published

16 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Cover WV aims to empower West Virginians with insurance knowledge

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. (WBOY) — Dozens of locations across West Virginia participated in the second annual Cover WV Day on Thursday, where more than 20 organizations offered free assistance to those who need health insurance or feel they are underinsured.

According to Cover WV’s website, more than 100,000 West Virginians lack health coverage, so this event aimed to bridge the gap and answer questions. Community Care Bridgeport Case Manager Zach Morehead said that uninsured people is something that he and his team “encounter pretty regularly.”

“As we all know it can be very confusing so we’re happy to walk you through it step by step, you know, really, take the gloves off and explain everything to you as much or as little as you need,” Morehead said.

Even if you were not able to get to the locations on Thursday, places like Community Care will still be able to help you out virtually or in person until Jan. 15. Morehead recommended coming in earlier rather than later.

Source link

West Virginia

Akron CB Golden-Nelson commits to West Virginia

Published

24 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

Akron CB Golden-Nelson commits to West Virginia

West Virginia continues to remake the defensive backfield, and the coaching staff took another step there with a commitment from Akron transfer cornerback Devonte Golden-Nelson.

Golden-Nelson, 5-foot-10, 180-pounds, started his career at Memphis where he spent two seasons and appeared in four games prior to entering his name into the transfer portal and ending up at Akron.

Nelson confirmed the commitment to WVSports.com

During his time with the Zips, Golden-Nelson appeared in 29 games over the past three seasons where he has recorded 66 tackles, 10 passes defended and a pair of interceptions.

In 2024, Golden-Nelson recorded 33 tackles, and 7 passes defended.

Golden-Nelson entered the transfer portal Dec. 17 and received an offer from West Virginia Jan. 3 from new cornerbacks coach Rod West. He also was offered by Oklahoma State, Houston and UNLV.

The Memphis native has played 1,060 snaps during his time at Akron including 613 this past season where he graded out at 66.2 according to Pro Football Focus. He allowed only two touchdowns in his career.

Golden-Nelson took an official visit to West Virginia Jan. 7 and that was enough to close his recruitment giving the Mountaineers another piece in the defensive secondary.

Golden-Nelson has one year of eligibility remaining.

WVSports.com will have more with Golden-Nelson.

Source link