We are thrilled to introduce the Fred Barkey Education Fund, a new permanent initiative in partnership with the West Virginia Labor History Association. This fund is dedicated to advancing labor history education throughout the Mountain State, honoring the remarkable legacy of Dr. Fred Barkey.

William Trent Pancoast has worked as a construction laborer, gas station attendant, railroad section hand and brakeman, factory laborer, commercial laundry foreman, and machinist. He’s been an English teacher and a journeyman die maker. This past weekend we welcomed him back to Matewan for the first time in over 40 years. Bill joined us in the museum community center this past Saturday to talk about his novel, The Road To Matewan.

Earlier this summer, we put out a call looking for educators throughout central Appalachia to apply to the panel. The response was astounding, and making a short list of the applications we received was a challenge. The applicant pool was truly the most qualified group of educators we could have hoped for.

The Redneck Army planned to free their compatriots from jail, help win the Mingo strike, and unionize the southern counties. First, they would have to go through Logan County where Sheriff Don Chafin, whose salary was paid by coal operators, had assembled an army of three thousand deputies and mine guards. Chafin’s “Logan Defenders,” armed with machine guns, took defensive positions along Blair Mountain’s 15-mile ridgeline.

In partnership with the Matewan Public Library, we’ve planned a special outing for our coalfield kids and families. Following a book reading from Cora’s Faces Behind the Dust, kids will participate in a special craft led by our town librarian, Kathi Sherrill. We’re also planning a show-and-tell of Mine Wars era artifacts as well as a scavenger hunt throughout the Museum. We’ll be providing lunch, too!

Each year on the date closest to the anniversary of the May 19 Battle of Matewan, the Town of Matewan hosts its annual Heritage Day, which features the live re-enactment of the shootout! This year, the Museum pitched in with some events of our own! All of our events were held inside the Museum’s very own community center, which will grow into a new shared resource in the coming years! In case you missed it, we’re recapping some special moments from this weekend’s events. 

Bring your stories, your treasures, and your appetite! The West Virginia Mine Wars Museum is thrilled to announce a series of Community Archiving Days designed to preserve and share the rich tapestry of the coalfields. Whether it's a quilt passed down through generations, photos capturing moments in time, or articles that tell the tales of struggle and triumph, we want to document it for posterity.

This June, Thomas and I had the pleasure of visiting the Buffalo Creek Memorial Library in Man, West Virginia. It was an inspirational trip, and it solidified the intricate and powerful connection between libraries and museums in our communities.

These bandanas gave rise to the slang term “rednecks”, referring to the multiracial, multiethnic collective that rose up in solidarity with each other to fight for their right to unionize.

It’s hard for me to believe that I’ve already been a part of the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum team for just over a year. It seems like yesterday that I came up to the Museum for my orientation. This has been one of the busiest, most productive years of my life and career, and I wanted to give folks some insight into what I’ve been doing this past year with the Museum.