Hatfield-McCoy Week rolls in early....

A few years ago, ol Big Jim was hangin' out with his freinds at the Logan County Chamber of Commerce when he met a VERY interesting and intelligent chap. Bill Richardson had just gotten some kudos for a documentary he had been working on. Bill was working probably two or three interesting jobs at the time, but he also was heavily invested in film-making, documentaries and the preserving of local history. Needless to say the two of us became fast friends due to this interest in local history and film. Pretty soon, you too will be able to experience Bill's knowledge of our region and his articulation when he makes an appearance on the television show "How The States Got Their Shapes." Bill will be representing the WVU Extension Office in his capacities as a professor, history and tourism developer in Williamson, W.Va. Bill was told "How the States Got Their Shapes," will be aired on the History Channel this summer. The show is scheduled to shoot June 8-9 at the Hatfields and McCoys Festival. That show will air later this summer along with a new documentary about the Hatfeilds and Mccoys. But you don't have to wait till summer to get some new Hatfield-McCoy laden programming on your cable television, however. This week, you too can get to know a bit more about the area and the myths, legends and histories of the Hatfields and McCoys on television during what some have been calling Hatfield-McCoy Palooza - the debut of the long awaited Hatfield-McCoy Pocahontas trail system near Bramwell; a fantastic new dramatic mini-series with Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton and a WHOLE WEEK of tv shows set to air that will tie into Hatfield-McCoy history. "American Pickers - At 9 p.m. Monday, May 21, "American Pickers" premieres an episode called "Feudin' Pickers" that was shot in Southern West Virginia. Pickers Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe find an old general store in Mingo County that Devil Anse Hatfield was known to frequent. There are several items at the store with a Hatfield connection that the duo attempts to purchase. There are a few artifacts with the Hatfield name, but are they authentic? The pickers then bring the items they get to Hatfield McCoy expert Bill Richardson to have them authenticated and to determine their value. The authentication occurs in the famous Coal House in Williamson. "Anderson" - At 9 a.m. Thursday, May 24, Anderson Cooper's new morning talk show "Anderson" on ABC will broadcast a show that features an hour long interview with Kevin Costner in which he will discuss the upcoming miniseries "Hatfields and McCoys. " The show will also feature a Hatfield descendant from Mingo County named Linda VanMeter. "Hatfields & McCoys" - At 9 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, May 28 to 30, "Hatfields & McCoys," the first two-hour episode of the six-hour miniseries starring Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Mare Winningham and many others airs on the History Channel. "Pawn Stars:" The Hatfields & McCoys-themed, "Pawn Stars," will premiere at 8 p.m. Monday, May 28 with back-to-back episodes. In the episode they investigate a Model 1892 Winchester rifle owned by Mark Preece, whose great grandfather, Alex Booth Preece, said got the gun off of Cap Hatfield in a horse trade. Hatfield who was being pursued by the McCoys traded his old horse and the rifle for a fresh horse. "America's Greatest Feud: The Hatfields and McCoys," - At 4 p.m. Saturday, June 2, the two-hour documentary directed by Mark Cowen ("Band of Brothers") premieres (starring several regional individuals including Raamie Barker and Keith Davis); and this will kick off a complete marathon of Hatfield-McCoy related shows that day. The miniseries will run in its entirety starting at 6 p.m. June 2.