< Previous10 People & Mountains Text and Color Photos by Stan Bumgardner W est Virginia—a state of firsts: Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier, Pearl Buck becoming the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, and so many more. And in 1933, the Mountain State was home to the first of some 100 experimental New Deal communities in the nation. Eleanor Roosevelt’s New Deal Experiment in West Virginia ARTHURDALE:Fall 2025 11 For years, though, Arthurdale was left out of most textbooks—even though the undertaking marked a major shift in both American policy and the role of the nation’s first lady. Eleanor Roosevelt’s New Role Before Eleanor Roosevelt, most first ladies stayed more or less behind the scenes. But there had never been one like Eleanor Roosevelt. Five months after husband Franklin D. Roosevelt vowed that “we have nothing to fear but fear itself,” Eleanor drove herself from the White House to Scotts Run, a string of mining communities near Morgantown. She was moved by journalist and friend Lorena Hickock’s description of the poverty there, but nothing would prepare her for what she would see: mass hunger, closed mines, and families living in squalor. Due to overproduction, West Virginia’s coal economy had crashed early in the 1920s, before the Great Depression technically reached the Mountain State. When the national economy collapsed, its rippling effects were felt even harder in West Virginia’s more coal-dependent places, such as Scotts Run. Eleanor Roosevelt, who had studied social reform in England, was motivated to action, and not in the mostly symbolic efforts of her predecessors. She wanted to change everything she saw along the Run. Building Arthurdale Eleanor persuaded FDR to back an idea she’d believed in for a long time: planned communities Unidentified man escorts Eleanor Roosevelt at Arthurdale, 1938 Courtesy of WVU Libraries, West Virginia & Regional History Center12 People & Mountains in Arthurdale. Eleanor Roosevelt recognized her talents and arranged for her to be mentored by a master textile artist in northern Kentucky. Decades later, in 2000, Thompson was named a National Heritage Fellow—one of six in our state’s history—for perpetuating an important traditional craft and for having a lot of fun while doing it. She proudly remembered her teenage days in Arthurdale: “We had a beautiful, brand-new, four- bedroom house . . . and a cow who came along!” For 80 years, cherished old-time musician Elmer Rich would regale anyone who’d listen about the night he played for the first lady of the United States at a community square dance. Arthurdale may have failed as a planned community, but it succeeded in inspiring young people. Preserving the Legacy Though the businesses closed, some of the buildings endured. In 1984, Arthurdale Heritage, Inc., was formed to preserve the community’s history. Led by WVU professors and students— including another of those lifelong-learning former Arthurdale teens, Glenna Williams—they recorded oral histories, collected photos, restored buildings, and opened a museum in 1991. In 1999, they restored one of the original homes to its 1930s look and opened it to the public. that give struggling families a fresh start. The government bought a 1,200-acre farm near Reedsville, Preston County. The plan was simple but ambitious: build homes, create jobs, and give people a better life—and just as importantly, hope. Between 1934 and 1937, 165 homes were built at Arthurdale. Eleanor insisted they have electricity, indoor plumbing, and space for gardens and livestock. Families paid rent and utilities and could eventually own their places. While Eleanor wanted Arthurdale opened up to Black and immigrant families, the federal government restricted applications to White, native- born Americans—one of many bureaucratic disappointments to plague her efforts. She expressed her frustrations to Hickock over “hand pick[ing] the tenants because again I feel that it must be an experiment in ordinary life[,] and ordinary community contains people of every type and ability and character.” Arthurdale’s homesteaders worked in cooperatives—farming, furniture making, weaving, craft making. Children learned the three Rs as well as practical skills. Each year from 1935 to 1944, the first lady personally handed out the school’s high school diplomas. In 1938, she even brought along FDR—the first time a sitting president had ever given a high school graduation speech. Soon, two additional experimental towns were built in West Virginia. Red House in Putnam County was transformed into Eleanor, and the Tygart Valley Homesteads were built in Randolph County’s Dailey-Valley Bend area. Life in Arthurdale The experiment had its ups and downs. Businesses struggled to survive both Arthurdale’s isolated location and low customer demand during the Depression. Some thrived temporarily during World War II. But after the war, federal support faded. In 1947, the government sold the homes, and the experiment officially ended. For many, though, the experience was inspirational. Dorothy Mayor (Thompson) was a gifted teenage weaver whose family had escaped the Run’s abject poverty to discover modern homes and a cottage weaving industry President and First Lady Roosevelt attend the Arthurdale High School commencement, 1938 Courtesy of WVU Libraries, West Virginia & Regional History CenterFall 2025 13 Arthurdale Heritage continues today, funding its work with private money and grants, including the West Virginia Humanities Council’s support for a series of exhibits. Today, Executive Director Kenneth Kidd, Education Director Elizabeth Satterfield, and Appalachian Programs Coordinator Mary Linscheid carry on the missions of those who built the place in the 1930s and those who brought it back to life in the 1990s. Arthurdale regularly hosts concerts, craft classes, and exhibits that explore both the hopes and the hard truths of its past—including the racism and exclusion of the original plan. Why Visit Arthurdale? Arthurdale may seem remote, but it’s just a half- hour drive from Morgantown or Fairmont. Visitors often include history buffs, Eleanor Roosevelt fans, tourists lost on backroads, and families retracing their roots. For some, a tour brings emotional moments—spotting a familiar photo or piece of furniture that revives childhood memories. To support e-WV, you can donate online at bit.ly/donatewvhc or by mail at 1310 Kanawha Blvd E, Charleston, WV 25301 Learn more at wvencyclopedia.org Stan Bumgardner is the e-WV media editor for the West Virginia Humanities Council. The site offers walking and driving tours, hands-on activities, and a growing calendar of events, such as the New Deal Festival (see page 14) and Eleanor Roosevelt’s Birthday Celebration. A loom room and heritage craft shop are also part of the experience. Most importantly, Arthurdale sparks conversation. Guides often ask visitors questions such as, “Would this experiment work today?” Their answers lead to deeper discussions about housing, poverty, and the government’s role in helping people. As Satterfield says, “It’s a great place to learn something new—about history, about the country, and even about yourself.” Linscheid adds, “Arthurdale Heritage makes history relevant to today and to everyday life.” Arthurdale is more than a place—it’s a platform for understanding the past, how it applies to the present, and what its hopes and aspirations should mean for the future. Loom Room at Arthurdale Heritage An original house at Arthurdale Heritage 14 People & Mountains Text and Photos by Dr. Jennie S. Williams O n July 12, I attended the 28 th annual New Deal Festival at Arthurdale Heritage in Preston County. By the time I arrived in the early afternoon, parked cars filled the adjacent fields, and over a hundred people were gathered outside listening to live music, eating lunch from food trucks, and exploring the historic grounds of the nation’s first New Deal homestead project. Arthurdale held its first music festival on July 7, 1935, to celebrate the region’s traditional music, including a fiddle contest, with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt handing out ribbons to the winners. Now, 90 years later, the New Deal Festival featured a full schedule, with a Rich Family Memorial Old- Time Fiddle Contest named in honor of Harry Rich and his sons Elmer and Sanford, who played for Arthurdale square dances in the 1930s and 1940s. The staff at Arthurdale Heritage have been expanding their programs to include traditional art forms and creative practices from West Virginia and Appalachia. As the organization’s Appalachian Programs Coordinator, Morgantown- based musician and poet Mary Linscheid has facilitated several square dances, craft workshops, Apprenticeship Pairs at New Deal Fest 2025 WV FOLKLIFE Katie McCoy (apprentice to the late Richard Eddy) with her tools and fiddles she has repairedFall 2025 15 and author events. The West Virginia Humanities Council has supported Arthurdale Heritage in several of these wonderful programs. At the New Deal Festival, I volunteered to help with the indoor artist demonstrations. Many of the artists are participants in the West Virginia Humanities Council’s West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship program. Elkins-based white oak basket makers Judy Van Gundy and her apprentice Andrea Brandon- Hennig demonstrated how they source and prepare their materials before getting started. Judy first learned how to make white oak baskets from reading the very first Foxfire Book published in 1971. In short, the process involves splitting white oak into sections and pulling apart the wood into strips, called splits, until they are thin and flexible enough to be woven into baskets. Judy and Andrea showed this physically laborious process using nothing but their hands and a sharp knife to start the split. Some audience members gave it a try. One by one, people were impressed at the refined skills and strength needed to produce the splits. Later, Katie McCoy set up a table filled with tools, wood pieces, and broken fiddle parts to reveal how she repairs fiddles. She learned from her mentor, the late Richard Eddy, who sadly passed away the following day. Using the skills and techniques she gained from Richard, Katie captivated her audience as she stripped away a broken rib from a fiddle and then fabricated and attached a new one—all in one hour! One child was so curious he stood right up front at the table to get a closer look as Katie bent and shaped the wood. Chef Kenneth “KD” Jones showed how he makes chocolate-covered peanut butter candies. KD has been apprenticing with his aunt Nancy Nelson to learn old family candy recipes. Based in Campbells Creek in Kanawha County, his mom, aunt, and grandmother would regularly make candy for their church community for Easter and other holidays. A professional chef, KD has begun making and selling his family’s candy under his new project, Shoogerwell. KD let several children dip their own peanut butter balls into the melted chocolate. He then set their tray of candies aside so the chocolate could harden while he shared stories about his family and the confectionary creations they have made together. A few musicians from our Folklife Apprenticeship program performed at the outdoor stage, including the “Appalachian soul man” Aristotle Jones and fiddlers Mary Linscheid and Bodhi Gibbons- Guinn, who participated in the fiddle contest before joining in on the old-time music jam. This captures only a snapshot of the variety of activities the New Deal Fest offered its guests and participants. The event also included weaving and spinning in the loom room, an artisan market, a book-signing table for local authors, and blacksmithing. The event was a wonderful gathering of artists and community members celebrating traditional knowledge and creativity in West Virginia while acknowledging Arthurdale’s historic legacy and bright future. Dr. Jennie S. Williams is the state folklorist with the West Virginia Humanities Council. Judy Van Gundy (left) & Andrea Brandon-Hennig demonstrate white oak basket making To support Folklife you can donate online at bit.ly/donatewvhc or by mail at 1310 Kanawha Blvd E, Charleston, WV 25301 West Virginia Folklife is a program of the West Virginia Humanities Council. It’s supported with financial assistance from the West Virginia Department of Tourism and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval of the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.16 People & Mountains Folklife Apprenticeship Fall Showcases Please join us to celebrate the achievements of our 2024-25 West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship program participants! The West Virginia Folklife Program is hosting two fall showcases featuring demonstrations from the 10 participating pairs. Meet the artists, ask questions, and learn about traditional art forms in West Virginia. These events are free and open to the public, with refreshments provided. Saturday, November 1, 1 p.m. West Virginia Humanities Council’s historic MacFarland-Hubbard House 1310 Kanawha Blvd E, Charleston, WV 25301 Featuring: – Bill Hairston & Aristotle Jones Appalachian Storytelling – Tim Bing & Edwin McCoy Old-Time Banjo – Judy Van Gundy & Andrea Brandon-Hennig White Oak Basketry – Dural Miller & Linesha Frith Urban Farming/Gardening – Nancy Nelson & Chef KD Jones Appalachian Candy Making Sunday, November 9, 3 p.m. Arthurdale Heritage Inc. 18 Q Rd, Arthurdale, WV 26520 In memory of Richard Eddy Featuring: – Ginny Hawker & Mary Linscheid Primitive Baptist Hymn Singing – Margaret Bruning & Nevada Tribble Fiber Arts/Weaving – Katie McCoy Fiddle Repair – Ben Townsend & Bodhi Gibbons-Guinn Old-Time Fiddle – Taylor Runner & Annick Odom Square Dance Calling This program is made possible with funding support from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, Mid Atlantic Arts’ Central Appalachia Living Traditions program, and private donations. Please consider donating to the West Virginia Humanities Council to support the West Virginia Folklife Program. From Left: Judy Van Gundy & Andrea Brandon-Hennig, Aristotle Jones & Bill Hairston, and Tim Bing & Edwin McCoy Photos by Jennie S. WilliamsFall 2025 17 West Virginia Folklife Mentor Artists—In Memoriam Richard Eddy, April 14, 1943 - July 13, 2025 Susan Ray Brown, October 3, 1953 - July 18, 2025 Richard Eddy (left) was a beloved musician and teacher. He’d been teaching fiddle repair techniques to Katie McCoy (right) through our West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship program. Our deepest condolences go out to his family, his friends in the old- time music community, and his apprentice, Katie. We’re thankful to have worked with Richard and for his help in passing on his knowledge and stories. See his obituary here. Susan Ray Brown (right) was a kind and generous person who carried on the Appalachian tradition of making salt rising bread. She and Jenny Bardwell (middle) collected recipes, studied the history and science behind this unique bread, and published this research in Salt Rising Bread: Recipes and Heartfelt Stories of a Nearly Lost Appalachian Tradition (2016). She and Jenny participated in the West Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship program’s first year, passing on this traditional knowledge to Amy Dawson (left) of Lost Creek Farm. Our condolences go out to her family and friends, and to her apprentice, Amy. Read her obituary here. Taylor Runner calls a square dance at The Culture Center in Charleston, WV, during the 2025 Vandalia Gathering Photo by Jennie S. Williams18 People & Mountains By Kyle Warmack The Council is now in it its fifth year of the West Virginia National Cemeteries Project. One of the most common questions continues to be, “How do you choose the veterans the students write about?” While there is a longer, more procedural response based on the availability of information on each veteran (see April 2023 The Broad Side), the basic answer is, “If a veteran’s service qualified them for interment in a national cemetery, that’s good enough for us.” No veteran’s life and times have tested the boundaries of this statement quite so rigorously as Homer Jackson Dean, whose complicated personal history resulted in the project’s longest, most complex biography to date. Dean—and his story’s many twists and turns—posed a significant challenge to our students and research team, but he exemplifies precisely the historical acumen, critical thinking, and close examination of factual nuance to which the West Virginia National Cemeteries Project strives to adhere. It wasn’t easy to get there, though. For months, Dean’s record raised questions as to how he ended up in the West Virginia National Cemetery in the first place. You see, Homer Jackson Dean was a criminal—and at one point, a convicted murderer. Dean was born in 1910 to a respectable middle- class family. His father sold school supplies— desks, chairs, and the like—for a Huntington- Unraveling the Life of Homer Jackson Dean MURKY WATERS BROAD SIDE THEFall 2025 19 based firm he later partially owned (after the family relocated in the 1920s to the Spring Hill neighborhood of present-day South Charleston). As Homer took a similar school supply job during the early days of the Great Depression, it seemed the young man was bound to follow, quietly and clerkishly, in his father’s footsteps. Nothing could be further from the truth. Homer’s first prison stint began in 1933, when he was convicted for cashing bad checks in his father’s name. More forgery charges followed, and Dean spent most of the 1930s in Moundsville’s West Virginia State Penitentiary. In 1937, during a break in his time behind bars, the state police brought in 27-year-old Dean to be questioned concerning the murder of a known Charleston character Beauty Matthew Reese. Dean was the last person to see him alive. The evidence proved insufficient to charge Dean, but more forgery charges landed him back in Moundsville until he was paroled in January 1941. According to Dean, he was so eager to get into the action of World War II that he then moved northward and joined a medical unit of the Royal Canadian Army, which was then feeding men into the desperate fight to save Great Britain from the Nazi menace. When the United States was brought into the conflict after Pearl Harbor, however, Dean found out his American citizenship could be revoked for joining the military of a foreign nation. He quietly gave up his Canadian uniform and slipped back to West Virginia. The veracity of Dean’s Canadian service is the first of many claims that cannot be readily verified. Our researchers could not place Dean’s medical unit in the location where he purported to serve and ran out of time to make detailed inquiries with Library and Archives Canada (its National Archives). So, too, with Dean’s assertion that he subsequently tried to join the U.S. Navy but was rejected for his criminal record. This could have occurred by way of an unrecorded conversation with a recruiter—or it might not have happened at all. It’s difficult to tell with Dean, as you’ll see. The U.S. Merchant Marine (USMM), however, was willing to take men like Homer Dean. By September 1942, he was trained and aboard his first ship, the SS Fairisle. From here, Dean’s service took him on a wild ride across the Atlantic, Caribbean, Mediterranean, and even into the Pacific. Perhaps this was the life of excitement and danger for which this devil-may-care West Virginian had always yearned because he moved up the enlisted ranks and earned praise from his superiors. In late 1943, near Naples, Dean even saved the life of his captain during a German air attack on their ship, an act for which he received a recommendation to the U.S. Maritime Service Officers School. For the full account of Dean’s adventures, please read the excellent biography (via the Programs tab at wvhumanities.org). Our students and their supporting researchers, however, had to navigate a factual minefield and limit themselves primarily to what they could confirm about Dean’s Merchant Marine exploits. The man himself appears to have significantly embellished his record. In his West Virginia Department of Corrections file, Dean claimed to have been wounded during “the invasion of France.” Phrased thusly, most Next >