Published: October 10, 2008 11:38 am      

Inspiration lies in hills and hollers of West Virginia

More and more, it seems that the ideas for my weekly columns are being brought on by the happenings that I am seeing around me, right here in southern West Virginia. I think that's because there is much more inspiration hidden in these hills and hollers that surround us than we sometimes notice. That is exactly the point that was driven home to me this past weekend, when I spent my Saturday at two separate events that, in their own way, each celebrated the significance of our home.

The first event took place in the tiny historic town of Bramwell. Since I moved to Mercer County, I have been intrigued by the town where elegant homes and quaint city streets still attest to the millionaire lifestyles once lived within the city's limits. To this day, it seems to me that Bramwell is like an island, where the outside world drifts away and it becomes easy to take a lingering step back in time. That's what occurred in the town Saturday, when the life of acclaimed poet and activist Anne Spencer, who lived in Bramwell as a child, was celebrated.

Spencer moved to Southern West Virginia with her mother in the late 1880s, where she stayed for several years before enrolling at a Lynchburg, Va., Seminary. What struck me as I watched Spencer's family and Bramwell residents memorialize the renowned poet's connection to the small town was that incredibly influential people really do come from right here within our midst, and from tiny places like ours all across this country. “When I look around this picturesque town, I see that it must have been nothing but inspiration for Anne,” noted Sonia Langhorne, who recently played Spencer in a short film. Langhorne's words resonated with me. Contrary to the belief that we can only rise to our potential if challenged by the diversity of ideas and the opportunities offered by metropolitan areas, I believe that some of our most effective lessons are taught in our nation's small rural communities, like those that make up Mercer County. I think that Spencer took from her Bramwell childhood not only poetic inspiration but also influential lessons in such small town values as determination, perseverance, loyalty and teamwork. Such values certainly had something to do with her later successes.

Those values were surely present, as well, in mid-20th century Coalwood, where I spent the latter part of Saturday participating in the October Sky Festival. Most know that the festival recognizes Coalwood native Homer Hickam, who as a teenager built a rocket that earned him a college scholarship and eventually a position with NASA. While his mission in beating all odds to construct the award-winning rocket was essentially to get out of Coalwood, Hickam often recognizes the influence that the small West Virginia town and its people had on his accomplishments. I think that, far too often, small town citizens and West Virginians in particular underestimate the value of the unique intangible resources that our rural communities provide, and the potential for greatness that lies within our midst.

The ambitious goals of both Hickam and Spencer took them away from their tiny hometowns, to larger places where they thought they could seize a wider array of opportunities and make a greater impact on the world. Certainly, in the days when coal was king in our region, chances to pursue other occupations were few and far between. But today, though populations have dwindled in coal towns like Bramwell and Coalwood, I still see opportunities for fulfillment and happiness abounding in our area. Sure, the career paths of many natives will lead them out of the region, but I don't think that success is exclusively saved for those who leave the shadows of these hills for the bright lights of the city.

It's not just the likes of Homer Hickam and Anne Spencer who have risen from Southern West Virginia childhoods to greatness. It is the teachers who prepare our students for their futures, the town council members who shape our local cites, the area activists who work for so many important causes, and everyone in between who has chosen to build an influential life right here in Mercer County. I think that, in the end, the most valuable lesson that we are taught here in this region is that it is not the size of the living that we make or the prestige of our job title that measures our success. It is the quality of the life that we build and the way that we choose to live it that truly determines what we amount to. Whether life leads us to Cape Canaveral to train NASA astronauts or right back to Mercer County, to teach our children, I believe that the values learned here at home provide us with the tools for great success. It is not where those tools come from or where they lead us, but rather how we use them that will ultimately decide who we become.

CharLy Markwart is a Princeton Times reporter. Contact her at cmarkwart@ptonline.net.