All schools in Upshur County will close at 1 p.m. today. All B-UHS sporting events today are canceled.

Doodlebugging in Barbour County featured in winter issue of GOLDENSEAL Magazine

Goldenseal winter 2020

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The Winter 2020 issue of GOLDENSEAL is now available. It covers a wide range of stories about West Virginia history and culture from across the state. Since 1975, GOLDENSEAL has been West Virginia’s Magazine of Traditional Life.

This issue’s cover story is dedicated to dancer, artist, author and teacher Jude Binder of Calhoun County. The article, written by Douglas John Imbrogno, highlights Jude’s work with children in central West Virginia as part of Heartwood in the Hills, a school for the arts she founded in 1982. For nearly 40 years, she’s inspired young people to discover the excitement of the arts and to live out their dreams, wherever those dreams may lead them.

Other articles examine the Mountain Craft Shop, “Wetzel County’s only amusement park,” in the words of owner and chief toymaker Steve Conlon (by Zack Harold); apple butter making, a family tradition in Hampshire County (by Tina Ladd); a little house with a lot of special memories on the campus of Shepherd University (by Carl E. Feather); the fight for women’s suffrage in the Mountain State (by Christine M. Kreiser); Raleigh County’s mysterious Ferguson Rock (by Merle T. Cole and Tom Sopher); tributes to the old WVU Field House in Morgantown (by Norman Julian) and growing up listening to Mountaineer basketball on radio (by John A. Hunter Jr.); the burning of the state capitol in January 1921 (by Stan Bumgardner); the poem “The Many Mamaw Melitas Who Raised Us (by Andréa Fekete); doodlebugging in Barbour County (by David Ball); the life of teacher and farmer Jack Corder of Doddridge County (by C. Lee Corder); a virtual tour in and around the Preston County town of Aurora (by Donetta Sisler); and a visit with scrap-metal artists Ken and Joy Sinsel of Hancock County (by Carl E. Feather).

In this issue, GOLDENSEAL also honors West Virginians in the fields of history and arts who we lost in 2020. State folklorist Emily Hilliard writes a moving tribute to Lincoln County’s Elaine Purkey, a folk singer, labor songwriter and teacher who touched countless lives.

GOLDENSEAL is published quarterly by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture & History. You can order copies from GOLDENSEAL’s online store or call 304-558-0220, ext. 134. Individual copies are $5.95/issue + $1.00 shipping, or you can order subscriptions for one year ($20), two years ($36), or three years ($50).

GOLDENSEAL Magazine can be purchased at the following retail outlets:

  • Brushy Ridge Farm, Augusta, Hampshire County
  • Four Seasons Books, Shepherdstown, Jefferson County
  • State Museum Gift Shop, Culture Center, Charleston, Kanawha County
  • Taylor Books, Charleston, Kanawha County
  • West Virginia Market Place at Capitol Market, Charleston, Kanawha County
  • Appalachian Glass, Weston, Lewis County
  • Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex, Moundsville, Marshall County
    Railroad Depot, Bramwell, Mercer County
  • Book Exchange, Morgantown, Monongalia County
  • Ruby Memorial Hospital Gift Shop, Morgantown, Monongalia County
  • The Monroe Watchman Newspaper, Monroe County
  • Cacapon Resort State Park, Morgan County
  • Nicholas Chronicle Newspaper, Summersville, Nicholas County
  • Wheeling Artisan Center, Wheeling, Ohio County
  • Tamarack: The Best of West Virginia, Beckley, Raleigh County
  • Pipestem Resort State Park, Summers/Mercer County
  • Tygart Lake State Park, Taylor County
  • Blackwater Falls State Park, Tucker County
  • Hundred Farm Supply, Hundred, Wetzel County
  • Witschey’s Market, New Martinsville, Wetzel County
  • Peoples News, Parkersburg, Wood County
  • Twin Falls State Park, Wyoming County

Share this story:

Local Businesses

RECENT Stories

Senator Robbie Morris named chairman of Committee on Government Organization

Senate President Randy E. Smith has appointed Sen. Robbie Morris to chair the Senate Committee on Government Organization, citing its key role in overseeing agencies, regulations, and reforms for a more efficient, accountable state government.

Record-breaking year for labor and delivery at WVU Medicine St. Joseph’s Hospital

WVU Medicine St. Joseph’s Hospital celebrated a record-breaking 2025 in labor and delivery, welcoming 373 babies—the most in its history for the critical access hospital.

Buckhannon City Council approves record $50,000 for 2026 Strawberry Festival

Buckhannon City Council voted to appropriate $50,000 for the 2026 West Virginia Strawberry Festival — the city’s largest contribution yet. Festival leaders say the increase will help offset uncertain state funding and boost entertainment and overall event quality.

Evid Eugene Miller

Evid Eugene Miller, 92, a Korean War U.S. Army veteran, well tender, devoted outdoorsman and Methodist from Buckhannon, died January 4, 2026, and is survived by his children, brother, nieces, nephews and friends.

Ryan Lantz

Ryan Lantz, 51, of Lauderhill, Florida, who loved baseball, football, hunting and fishing, died May 26, 2025; a Celebration of Life will be held Jan. 17, 2026, at South Buckhannon Mission Church, with donations suggested to St. Jude’s or the church.

Nancy Ann Lantz

Nancy Ann Lantz, 79, of Buckhannon, formerly of Lauderhill, Fla., a retired educator and EMT instructor who served as a security officer and loved outdoor family time, died Jan. 1, 2026; a Celebration of Life will be Jan. 17.

Melvin Robert Perry Sr.

Melvin Robert Perry Sr., 88, a Buckhannon native, Army veteran and production manager, died January 4, 2026, and is survived by children, grandchildren, siblings and other relatives, with services at Poling-St. Clair Funeral Home.

Two Upshur County residents federally indicted on drug charges

Two Upshur County residents were federally indicted on methamphetamine-related charges, according to the Mountain Region Drug and Violent Crime Task Force.

City of Buckhannon calendar for the week of January 5, 2026

Buckhannon’s city calendar for the week of Jan. 5 includes curbside recycling, the Colonial Arts Center board meeting, a Mountaineer Mile ribbon cutting at the Riverwalk, and the Water Board meeting. Bulky goods collection is Friday.