Springtime fun on and off the trails

By Big Jim Charles


My trail ridin' friends, do I have some fun news for you. This spring
and summer there will be a lot of fun to go around in some of our
communities.
A lot of the riders stop by my trailhead and ask, "what other
activities can I or my family enjoy while we are in Hatfield-McCoy
Country."
The answer is -quite a lot.
And now that spring is here with summer around the corner there will
be more fun than you can shake a moonshine jug at!
Over in Logan County there is a new young peoples' childrens
theatrical troop just getting organized and they will be performing at
the Coalfield Jamboree on March 16. The talented youngsters will be
performing Suessical the Musical Junior with an all children's cast
on April 15 at 7 p.m.
When this venture takes off look for the folks at ACT to have more
public productions with adult casts and kids. They have some very
talented folks working with them, including veterans of The Aracoma
Story Inc. productions. TAS puts on three or four shows a year at
their amphitheater in Chief Logan State Park each summer.
My old buddy Aaron Stone, who is a writer, actor, director and stand
up comedian is on their board of directors and he is a very talented
and unusual young man. He is probably better known as "West Virginia's
Funniest Man" from a stand-up comedy contest he won awhile back. He is
performing as well as emceeing comedy acts at a new venture in the
friendly little town of Gilbert. Todd and Terri Hatfield's Blue Moon
Grill in Gilbert is now affiliated with the Comedy Zone, and will be
presenting comedy shows on a monthly basis there. Blue Moon began
doing the shows to entertain trail riders who come to visit
Hatfield-McCoy country
Stone will be in Gilbert on April 2 at 8 p.m. If you call him "Wee
Stone" he will know Big Jim sent you. And probably accuse you of being
a heckler!
Recently I got to enjoy the Living History reenactment of the Matewan
Massacre when it came to Logan County for St. Patrick's Day. As one of
the reenactors who gets shot down in the gunbattle said, "Boy, it sure
feels a lot easier falling on the stage than it does on the sidewalk!"
This is an interesting era of Southern West Virginia history and it
ties in with Hatfield-McCoy history due to Matewan Police Chief
"Smilin Sid" Hatfield the two gun lawman of that often lawless town
back in 1920.
In those days, "robber barons" ruled the coalfields with iron fists.
Miners were paid in company "scrip" which was basically coal mine IOU
money that was worthless outside of the coal company store. Coal mine
operators owned the stores, the towns and the houses the miners lived
in. When the miners struck, joined unions or otherwise upset the
applecart they were often confronted by "Gun Thugs" or Private
Detectives who acted as hired mercenaries for the coal barons. These
ruthless killers would evict you from the company house - if you were
lucky.
One day back in 1920, Sid Hatfield stood up to them and made history.
The Matewan Massacre reenactment will take place in the streets of
Matewan on May 14 at 11 a.m. and at 3 p.m. and again on June 11 and
September 10.
If you ever saw the movie "Matewan" or just want to learn more about
the unique history of Southern West Virginia or the colorful
characters (Like Hatfield's widow who was married to him ten days
after her former husband was gunned down in the shootout!) come on
down to Matewan West Virginia and enjoy the show.
You can find even more information about events in Matewan at
www.matewan.org. such as the Hatfield/McCoy Reunion Festival on June
10 and 11, the 62nd Annual Magnolia Fair on August 15-20 at the New
Magnolia Park and the glorious Matewan Homecoming Celebration on Sept.
10.
While in Matewan you can even visit the old Matewan National Bank
building where the shootout took place and check out those bullet
holes!