Let's post some good things about West Virginia

[LynneSin]

I've been in general discussin and the poor state of West Virginia is getting crucified because of one hick girl's heinous acts in Iraq.

But then I read DUer Ripley's post about how we're crucifying an entire state because of this one girl and that there are many wonderful things about West Virginia including the fact that it is a beautiful state to visit (oddly enough it's the only state that borders my homestate of PA that I've never visited).

So let's remember some of the good things about West Virginia before we all get our panties in an uproar and demand that WV be kicked out of the union.

My first for the list: ROBERT BYRD!!! One of the greatest senators of our time even though he admits that in his early years he was a member of the klan. He's worked hard these past decades redeeming himself from that awful past.

Also - Jessica Lynch the other American Gal Soldier from Iraq. I have to give Jessica alot of credit for coming out and letting us know that the stories the media fabricated about her 'POW' status were somewhat greatly exagerated. And I like how Ms. Lynch has done her best to fade back into the woodworks instead of taking advantage of her 15 minutes of fame. I have a feeling Jessica never really wanted to be a part of that media storm created for her but you can blame the girl for making a small profit off of it with her book

What other good things can we say about West Virginia?

[flowomo]

1. Uh.... there was that nice John Denver song

[northzax]

20. but that was about the suburbs of Washington, DC

actually. sorry.

[flowomo]

23. huh? See lyrics below

[northzax]

28. it was written by Bill Denoff and Taffy Nivert

the lyrics, that is, and they wrote it while one the way to a family reunion in Maryland, about the back roads they were taking. they later changed it to reflect a friend who was always complaining about missing West Virginia. At the time, neither of them had ever been to West Virginia, they were singing a song about taking the back roads home, not about west virginia, per se.

and yes, I know the lyrics quite well, thank you.

[GOPisEvil]

2. I've seen pictures...parts of WV are beautiful.

I'd like to see for myself someday.

[BurtWorm]

3. It's not Virginia?

[NewHampshireDem]

5. LOL ... simultaneous posts ..

scary ...

[LynneSin]

6. True - we have a better shot of getting WV electorial votes

than we do of Virginia. Hopefully Kerry won't screw up that state the way Gore did in his election. I'm still baffled about how 78% of a state can vote for a democrat senator and we can't even come close to winning it for president

[BurtWorm]

It has a strong union background, for one thing.

All them miners.

[BurtWorm]

9. It has a strong union background, for one thing.

All them miners.

PS: A point so nice, I made it twice.

[NewHampshireDem]

4. Well, it's not Alabama eom

[Ripley]

25. OH FOR CRYING OUT THE ASS LOUD!

I see Lynn made an attempt to be civil here and now you have to go and attack the state I live in!

I give up...I'm quitting DU. I've had enough.

[Taverner]

33. Don't leave us

I was nice

[Taverner]

7. It looks like a BIG GUITAR

gotta love that

other than that, never been there...love to drive it someday

Oh yeah - one more thing I know. West Virginia exists because they up and left the confederacy! WV was a abolitionist state! WOO HOO for WV!

[rucky]

8. 2 excellent Democratic Senators n/t

[belladonna]

10. But I can't, I'm from Virginia and we're not allowed to say good things

about West Virginia

Oh, okay... Senator Byrd. Happy now??

[dbt]

11. There are many parts of West Virginia

where you can hear no freeway traffic, no sirens, no trains, no aircraft engines. All you get is the music of the Earth Herself.


dbt

[flowomo]

12. OK, everbody sing along:

TAKE ME HOME, COUNTRY ROADS

Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains
Shenandoah River -
Life is old there
Older than the trees
Younger than the mountains
Growin’ like a breeze

Country Roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads

All my memories gathered ‘round her
Miner’s lady, stranger to blue water
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky
Misty taste of moonshine
Teardrops in my eye

Country Roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads

I hear her voice
In the mornin’ hour she calls me
The radio reminds me of my home far away
And drivin’ down the road I get a feelin’
That I should have been home yesterday, yesterday

Country Roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads

Country Roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain momma
Take me home, country roads
Take me home, now country roads
Take me home, now country roads

[Dookus]

13. The Tooth Brush was invented in W. Va.

obviously.

Otherwise it would've been called a "teeth brush".

I kid, I kid....

[HalfManHalfBiscuit]

14. No need for Dentists in WV

Not a whole lot of teeth 'round there.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

50. Har har! Like that one hasn't been done to death.........

Dumbass.

[mr_hat]

15. It's shaped somewhat like the male sex organs.

[gpandas]

16. it's stupid to judge a whole state,anyway n/t

[Southpaw Bookworm]

17. Pepperoni rolls

the view from Spruce Knob

driving Route 50 as it follows the Potomac

fossils in the backyard

a high percentage of forested area

Homer Hickam, Jennifer Garner, John Corbett

Ice Mountain, Cranberry Glades, Lost River, and 1001 freakishly amazing natural places

New River Gorge Bridge

my grandma's chicken dumplings

[redqueen]

18. It's a beautiful state I hear

I really don't know that much about it. But I did see a documentary about a guy named Jesco White which was hilarious, touching, and disturbing all at the same time.

[MsFlorida]

19. Not a lot of money in WV - true,

but I will take WV people over Texas people anyday. WV people for the most part dislike our resident in chief and while I have no sympathy for this young woman (we all know the difference between right and wrong) they have the capacity to learn and realize that this regime has sold them a bill of goods. Now texas on the other hand that state's people have drank the kool aid in a very big way.

[ihaveaquestion]

21. Spelunking!

There's great natural caves in those hills! Or at least there used to be. Maybe they're all gone due to the coal mining now.

[greatauntoftriplets]

22. Hubert Flottz is from there!

n/t

[Bunny]

30. I'll second that!

The great state of West Virginia gave us the inimitable Hubert Flottz! What is not to love?

[Loonman]

24. Byrd?

He's WV, right?

[WildClarySage]

26. And the best thing about WV

is that I live here.

[Bonhomme Richard]

27. Best wildwater in the East..........................

Great rafting and kayaking rivers. The Cheat, the Gauley, the Tygart, and New rivers. Beautiful scenery too.

[JohnLocke]

29. It's beautiful and the people are friendly...

[tom_paine]

31. FANTASTIC Outdoor state.

The Appalachians (well, the parts not wrecked by the Coal Companies)
The New River (awesome rafting and rock climbing, not that I have the agility to do that rock climbing stuff)

[skippysmom]

32. They've had a pretty good football team

in the past. Huge rivals with Pitt I believe.

Basketball...well, let's just say it's usually a sure win for my Huskies.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

34. I'm afraid to share my favorite West Virginia destinations.

It's one of our least-densely populated states; and many of my favorite spots can be visited without encountering a huge throng of rude travellers.

[Endangered Specie]

35. Would this be a bad time to crack some of my WV jokes?

[carolinayellowdog]

36. Ranks 50th in crime

http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-toughcrime.htm

on edit: no surprise that the top two states in crime are those the Bush brothers governed

[northzax]

37. er...

nobody will look at you funny when you put your house up on blocks?

[Bonhomme Richard]

38. West Virginia is Kentucky without the marketing. n/t

[WildClarySage]

39. BTW

thank you LynneSin for this thread. In addition to the wonderful things posted here, I'd like to add:

WVU
Augusta Heritage Center
Blackwater Falls
Coopers Rock
North Bend State Park
Mail Pouch barns
Mountain Laurel
Rhododendrons
Mountains
Peaceful, unhurried
Mostly nice folks
Underground Railroad

[Bonhomme Richard]

40. Smart enough to stay with the Union. n/t

[Bonhomme Richard]

41. Oh yeah, 70 mph speed limit. n/t

[DoNotRefill]

42. The best thing about WVA....

is that they seceeded from Virginia during the Civil War. This shows that they're independent-minded, and also allows Virginia residents to escape our embarassment of living in the same state as they do.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

43. Interesting linear citys.,,,and glass.

The three West Viriginia cities that Ive visted, Wheeling, Charleston, Huntington (actually spent the night in Huntington), tho small, are actually quite urban in feel, and also have this linear urban form due to being squeezed into river valley bottoms.

Wheeling is actually built partially on an island, and has a vintage suspension bridge over the Ohio. The Customs House (a great old antebellum building) was the birthplace of WVA statehood.

Downtown Wheeling from Wheeling Island:


Huntington is similar with a collection of vintage skyscrapers,




...and this neat neotraditional urbanist Pullman Square shopping complex downtown, currently under construction:





Not too familiar with Charleston...its on the very wide Kanawha River, with a downtown with narrow streets, on angles, so the place looks probably alot more dense than it is. There is a downtown shopping mall. And some nice neighborhoods ("Loudon") on the hills overlooking the city.

[Donkeyboy75]

44. You don't have to spend too much time there when driving from

Ohio to Pennsylvania.



Oh, and my dad was born there.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

45. Jennifer Garner, Kathy Mattea, Don Knotts, Robert Byrd, Nick Rahall

for starters

[politicat]

46. Oglebay Park.

Festival of Lights there.

And the fact that my partner is from there, and his sister and brotther-in-law still live in the area....

And I found it gorgeous, charming, and not at all pretentious or rude. The weather was fabulous. (for people like me who don't like blazing heat.)
All in all, it was a nice change from the Phoenix/Mesa suburbs, where I grew up, which has none of the above qualities.

Politicat

[AspenRose]

47. Booker T. Washington lived there.

Booker T. Washington was born into slavery in Franklin County near Roanoke, Virginia in 1856, and moved with his family just after the Civil War to Malden, West Virginia, where Washington worked in the salt mines. In the selection here from his autobiography, Up From Slavery, Washington tells the story of his journey from West Virginia to Hampton Institute in Virginia's Tidewater region and then to the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

Also, "October Sky" took place there. Good book.

I LIKED Morgantown....typical college town.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

48. I'm from there!!!!!!

Okay, that may not be super-stupendous, but I like it.

[Name removed]

49. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[cedahlia]

51. Harper's Ferry!

It's a beautiful, interesting historical town. Haven't been there since I was a kid, buy Mr. Cedahlia and I plan to visit there in the fall when the leaves are changing...it really is very beautiful then.

[Failure]

52. I grew up on the Ohio side of the ohio river valley and I remember...

the time the W. Virginians got mad at us and threw dynamite across the river, and then we lit it and threw it back...


How do you compliment a girl from WV???? --Nice tooth

[Mattforclark]

53. It looks really nice from an airplane window

The mountains are nice.