Weekend Wanderings: Wild, Wonderful WV

I grew up in Mountaineer country. It's a place where family is usually down the road, music has roots in the 1700s and people care about preserving their heritage. For the past 49 years on 4th of July weekend,  the Mountain State Art & Craft Fair is held at Cedar Lakes in Ripley, WV.

Some of my earliest memories of my childhood are from this show - Mama first did the show when I was 3 years old. I remember the tractor that powered the mill that ground corn. I remember Dick Schnacke's handmade toys and finger puppets (that I begged Mama to buy me). I remember sleeping under the table on top of a dry cleaning bag (on the damp ground) covered with a blanket to keep me cool. And I remember the kindness of the many crafters who were kind to a 3 year old girl with eyes huge from what she was seeing.

Mama, Daddy, Hubby and I went back to visit the Fair last weekend. The tractor was still there grinding corn meal. Although Dick Schnacke died last year, some neighbors of his bought his business - the Mountain Craft Shop Co. - so that his historical folk toys and finger puppets were still there.  And the wonderful, kind artists were still there too - happy to listen to us reminisce about the fair when it was in it's infancy nearly 40 years ago.

Next year the Fair will celebrate it's 50th anniversary. I don't know if I'll be able to be there to celebrate, but if you're in the area and love heritage crafts go visit the wonderful artists of the Mountain State Art & Craft Fair.