Mountains and Mining

Frank Newsome is an Old Regular Baptist preacher, singer of lined-out hymnody, and former coal miner in Appalachia. Virginia’s State Folklorist Jon Lohman (Virginia Humanities) describes Newsome’s musical tradition and its influence on bluegrass, gospel, and oldtime music. Travel to the Carpathian Mountains in Romania and you’ll find a place that’s not unlike southwest Virginia and Kentucky. Theresa Burris (Radford University) says the parallels of these two regions are striking. Later in the show: Wally Smith (UVA Wise) recently found a type of green salamander that lives in this habitat of vertical cliffs, bluffs, and rock crevices. Plus: James Vance (UVA Wise) hopes to find ways to help animals avoid crossing a particularly high-traffic area.