Mountaineer!

Although I was born in Ohio, I have always considered myself a West Virginian. My dad used to tell me that when he graduated from high school, they handed you a diploma and a map to Ohio or Pennsylvania. When he graduated in 1958, there was little work in rural, Central WV. He moved, as two of his older sisters had done, to Pennsylvania. After working there, then serving in the Army, he made his way to Akron, Ohio to find work. That's where I was born; however, I never considered myself a "Buckeye." It probably wasn't as often as it seemed, but every chance we had, we traveled "home" to WV to visit family. Just about everyone who lived on the street I lived on was from WV. The joke was "last one going home on the weekend, turn off the lights." Home has always been WV.

West Virginians have a great deal to be proud of. From these hills, many great Americans have come - Olympic Gold Medalist, Nobel Prize winners, great musicians, actors and athletes. However, we maintain our image of a "backwoods" place with uneducated and unwashed hillbillies. Perhaps, we, as West Virginians, perpetuate this stereotype. Even within our own state, we talk about other areas. My husband is from Logan County. I remember when we first started dating. I had several people tell me to be careful going "down there." Because "those people" are just a "little different." To be honest, they're not that different at all. Like many West Virginians I know, they're a hard-working people who have learned to make the best out of what they have. They depend on each other because they know they can. They are proud to be who they are and where they are from. Positive characteristics for any people and the ones that West Virginians should be portraying to the world.