Rewriting the Narrative: Draws and Meadows' Mission to Transform West Virginia and Inner-Appalachia's Image

The Feeling of the Mountain

The intensity of emptiness and the proximity to a mountain are related with surprising intensity, exponentially even. The point there being that no greater or simpler word other than emptiness can be used. Countless souls have passed through and existed within the haven of the Appalachians, I think this is closely related to the unexplainable feeling that succumbs you in the midst of the mountains. Past lives and constant shifting of the earth within the mountains churn to create a connected ecosystem in which modern species can only exist because of the layers of lifecycle that have found their resting place. This feeling of the mountain is something I have felt only with Appalachia. It is this reason West Virginia and Appalachia are unique in their existence. It could have something to do with the fact I have generations of family that lived within that land but I'm willing to stake that the Appalachians are uniquely special for a greater reason than my own family ties.

Intro of Me

I was born in Point Pleasant, on the dairy farm my father managed. Some of the only memories I have of that time were searching for arrowheads in the tilled fields and creek beds throughout the property. According to Darla Spencer, in her book, "Early Native Americans in West Virginia: the Fort Ancient Culture", that land is a dense archeological site of native mound cultures of Appalachia. At five we moved south, to Sinks Grove in Monroe County, the home of my dad's family - we were there until I turned thirteen. After that, visits were frequent but not nearly enough to satisfy my soul. From thirteen to young adulthood the Shenandoah Valley in western Virginia was home. I was lucky to be born in West Virginia, though it may not have hit me until I had some separation from those purple mountains.

Talking about Appalachia

There are many times I have tried to convey the beauty and specialness of West Virginia in a conversation with someone. In my early school years in Virginia, I was baffled that no one in school knew what Farmer's Day was, a celebration with parade that the whole county attends yearly in Monroe County, WV. It was funny to me that people were so uneducated of the place I called home, my world. Later in years, I would go to YouTube and type in Appalachia or West Virginia... Countless videos of "Dark secrets of the Appalachian Trail", "Horror Lore of Appalachia", "The Cursed Appalachian Mining Town", "I Went to the Poorest County in America". The humor of uneducation left me and my heart would sink seeing how others were experiencing the state that I know and love so dearly, if they even tried to. Once I got to college that sinking feeling grew. Hardly any of the students at Villanova had even met someone from West Virginia, let alone knew where the state was (Villanova is in PA, a conjoining state of West Virginia). I grew up walking on the road with my .22 shooting squirrels throughout my little hundred-person town. The worlds did not seem they should be existing together. Yet, they do. How is it, that a people and place so wonderful are viewed as the opposite of progression in America and quite frankly, backwards? The birth of Draws and Meadows is my attempt at reframing the conversation around West Virginia and Appalachia. I hope to tie together inner-Appalachia's long history with its ecology and culture to connect how life in modern Appalachia exists now.

What Emerges When Skewed Conversation Continues?

Why does it matter if a region is viewed as it is or as a caricature of the stories told about it? In the case of West Virginia, a state that has been exploited, the people get forgotten in any conversation related to resource exploitation from rich veins of decayed life. Through world wars and industrial revolutions, imagine you as a people are told that you and your sacrifice is powering a country; now imagine crawling to the depths of the earth inch by inch, losing many friends along the way while your lungs are filled with fumes previously trapped for eons while your being told that same thing. An immense pride formed from this, how couldn't it? Humans are resilient and adapt to thrive in the environment they find themselves in. There are people on the other end of the production line, and they are the inhabitants of the land.

How is Draws and Meadows Going to Approach this Problem.

I started Draws and Meadows to reframe how the region is viewed. From personal experience and utilizing other Appalachians' stories and art I hope to show the world what West Virginia truly is, who the people truly are. On my site you can see a trip to Monroe County, West Virginia, Sinks Grove in particular, in early May. (Can be found in "prints") Sixty couple prints are available for purchase of different landscapes and species found in Appalachia.

Beginning Blog Series of Culture, Ecology, and History

Blog posts about the culture, ecology, and history of West Virginia and Appalachia will be posted once a week to begin cementing the foundation of why modern day Appalachia exists the way it is today. I look forward to diving into this disconnected subject and hopefully bring the feeling of the mountain to everyone I can.