No Ordinary Task: Hidden Stories from West Virginia's History - Softcover

Ward Jr., Bryan E.; Breese, Catherine J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0692465383 ISBN 13: 9780692465387

Publisher: Alta Blue Skies Publishing, 2015

Synopsis

West Virginians are a proud lot, and keenly aware of their state’s history and culture. A love for the state’s history and the complete conviction in the motto Montani Semper Libre (mountaineers are always free) are inherent traits of West Virginians. No Ordinary Task takes on the job of adding several more stories, many of which have been rarely told in text, to the lexicon of West Virginia history. The topics in this book include the contemptuous and divisive path of West Virginia Statehood, the 1960 West Virginia Presidential Primary that made the Kennedy Presidency possible, the invention of artificial limbs during the Civil War, the birth of the petrochemical industry, the coveted Golden Horseshoe, the early salt industry and technologies that made subterranean drilling possible, the early development and use of penicillin in the state, a glass industry survivor from state’s first natural gas boom, and the New Deal projects that were built in the state. These articles tell the stories of innovators, strivers, and the compelled and compelling people who took on no ordinary tasks and accomplished them.

About this title

About the Author

Public historian Bryan Ward Jr. is a lifelong student of West Virginia history. He received degrees in history and education from West Virginia University in the 1990s. His work includes publications on Arthurdale and New Deal Communities, the 1960 West Virginia Presidential Primary, and numerous other West Virginia history-related topics. His writing and photography has appeared in Wonderful West Virginia, West Virginia Executive, the Charleston Gazette and the Radford News Journal. Several of his radio productions have aired on nationally-syndicate public radio shows. He is currently a history and government teacher in Southwestern Virginia and a regular contributor to altablueskies.com. Catherine Breese, a public school teacher for 20 years, holds a master's degree in English from James Madison University. She has taught American Literature and AP Language and Composition at the high school and college level. Her writing has appeared in Wonderful West Virginia, West Virginia Executive and altablueskies.com. Several of her essays have been broadcast on the nationally-syndicated public radio show The Fifty-one Percent. She is currently an information and technology resource teacher in Southwestern Virginia.

About this edition

• Publisher: Alta Blue Skies Publishing
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0692465383
• ISBN 13: 9780692465387
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 110