Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

If saving mountains is a hobby of yours (and if you’re reading this blog, I imagine it is) then head out to the Whipple Company Store in Scarbro, W.Va., this weekend to support the historic Blair Mountain!

On Saturday, Sept. 4, from noon until 5 p.m., Whipple Company Store and the Friends of Blair Mountain—along with a host of other groups—will host a big Labor Day gathering to celebrate West Virginia’s Blair Mountain and promote the protection of this historic site.

Appalachian Voices is just one of the supporting sponsors of the event, which will include music, food, free tours of the Whipple store and a special display of Blair Mountain artifacts (including the baseball that saved 200 lives and the canon used by Big Coal as an early means of “collective bargaining”). A special fancy dinner party will follow in Tamarack, find out the details at the store!

To give you a little background, Blair Mountain is the location of the historic 1921 labor battle between miners seeking to unionize and coal companies attempting to prevent unionization. Read more about the battle.

Since the 1980s, a group of historians, archeologists and local residents have fought to preserve the unique history and natural beauty of Blair Mountain from the devastating effects of mountaintop removal coal mining. With a new mining permit approved, the future of this historic site is in imminent peril. Blair Mountain is now one of America’s Most Endangered Mountains.

Please come out on Saturday, Sept. 4 and show your support for Blair Mountain. If you are musically inclined, bring your instruments to help make a joyful noise!

Supporting sponsors include:
Appalachian Community Services, Appalachian Voices, MountainWhispers.com, Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition, Radford University Appalachian Regional Studies Center and Appalachian Studies Program, Sierra Club, Talking Across the Lines, UMWA Local 8843(Cannelton), UMWA Local 1440(Matewan), WV Highlands Conservancy, WV Labor History Association.

Visit the Whipple Company Store website for directions and more information, or call (304) 465-0331.

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