West Virginia...Southern or Northern? (Wheeling, Weirton: university, license plates, friendly)

[r0dpe2c]

You are correct about the cultural ties in NO VA being different from Outer Banks NC (I know you were just using an example).

I will use your example. Northern Virginia's culture has changed in the last 15 to 20 years from Southern (watch the movie "Remember the Titans" which took place in the early 70's) culture to a culture that is now MIXED with northern influences from transplants and the locals who have never moved away.

The natives of the Outer Banks probably do have a culture that is different from Northern Virginia (probably always did somewhat), but they are both still southern just a different type of southern with different influences due to changing times and changing demographics.

I live in Akron, Ohio (Northeast Ohio near Cleveland) which has had over the years, a large population of people move from West Virginia and other southern states to the region due to the past manufacturing jobs available in the state, but no matter what, this region is Rust Belt, Midwest not Mid Atlantic, Southern or whatever other region the transplants are from.

Example ... If you met someone from Buffalo New York and someone from Cleveland and did not know who was from where, one might have a hard time distinguishing the two people...............Why?

Both cities from where they come from are on the shores of Lake Erie, both cities made there fortunes (now lack thereof) off of factories, no doubt both are northern, and mainly both have a Rust Belt culture that makes them similar. Now even though the two cities are very similar, no one would ever say Buffalo "NEW YORK" is in the Midwest nor should anyone say Cleveland, "OHIO" is in the East/Northeast (Traditional BIG TEN country).

My point is that yes, West Virginia has Midwest and Eastern influences but the state (yes, even Wheeling, WV and the rest of the WV panhandle) is a southern state and is not culturally, as a state, like the Midwest states Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Missouri, North & South Dakota or the Eastern States like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York etc..

Is Ohio like the upper Midwest i.e. Minnesota, Upper Penisula Michigan, Wisconsin, North/South Dakota? Not totally, but enough to where if you invited a West Virginian to the house with everyone else being from the aformentioned Midwest States, the West Virginian (by and large) would stand out.

I guess there will always be different answers and that is the fun part of this thread.

[ArizonaBear]

I lived in Arlington when the story depicted by 'Remember the Titans' actually occurred------it was a big stink with that forced desegregation of the Alexandria schools.

I did not think it was a good idea then-----and, still don't.

Banning segregation is one thing------forcing artificial 'mixing' I have a huge problem with. Let people decide where they want to live, Black or White. Back then; 'Hispanics' were counted as White and Asians were too rare to even be a factor (they tended to live in White enclaves as well).

[David Kennedy]

I see that some new demographic material is lumping Wv in the midwest...must be because we are mostly west of the Alleghenies...we are not agricultural...I would lump us with Pennsylvania and the northeast sector because of coal production and power generation...at anyrate, we don't seem to fit anywhere...I like that too...We are Us!

[WVUPharm2007]

"I suppose that if the more than one million mountains in West Virginia were leveled flat, the state would reach all the way to Texas. In any event, its boundaries extend farther north than Pittsburgh, farther south than Richmond the capital of the Old Confederacy, as far east as Buffalo, New York, and as far west as Columbus, Ohio. It is the most southern of the northern and the most northern of the southern; the most eastern of the western and the most western of the eastern. It is where the East says good morning to the West, and where Yankee Doodle and Dixie kiss each other good night! It is the state that is 'wild and wonderful' and 'almost heaven,' with its beautiful hills and its law-abiding, God-fearing, and patriotic people." - Robert C. Byrd

[BJC]

WVUPharm I LOVE that. I am going to print that in a pretty font and frame it for my Summersville Lake House!! Thanks for sharing that! pts to you from me

It would not let me give you pts, says I need to spread some reputation around before giving you more pts!!! bummer!!! you have pts from me in my heart

[Colby "The Punk" Wells]

Originally Posted by David Kennedy

I see that some new demographic material is lumping Wv in the midwest...must be because we are mostly west of the Alleghenies...we are not agricultural...I would lump us with Pennsylvania and the northeast sector because of coal production and power generation...at anyrate, we don't seem to fit anywhere...I like that too...We are Us!

That's true, I have seen it categorized a couple of times in the Midwest, due to the steel mills in the northern panhandle and the fact that most West Virginians call soda "pop", which is a Midwestern trait. Anyway, in my opinion it's not enough to make WV a Midwestern state.

Don't forget though Dave that Virginia, Kentucky and parts of Tennessee also produce coal.



Not arguing with anybody's opinions (which I respect), but I thought I would share a few maps that include West Virginia with the South/Southeast. I found all of these on Google image search, which I have saved on my Photobucket account. I also have a ton more that I haven't uploaded yet.

[WVUPharm2007]

We're just going to have to accept the fact that WV is the embodiment of a bastard child. Hated and ridiculed by all, cared about and empathized by none. Geographically is just another way in which we enjoy the trait. Are we Northern, Southern, Midwestern? None of the cardinal directions claim us, nor any of the regions. It's like we were a state born in a test tube...and if you know your history about the creation of the state...in a way, we kinda were. Honestly, we shouldn't be surprised....a state without a home. Forgotten about behind the mountains. It just seems fitting.

[Colby "The Punk" Wells]

Originally Posted by WVUPharm2007

We're just going to have to accept the fact that WV is the embodiment of a bastard child. Hated and ridiculed by all, cared about and empathized by none. Geographically is just another way in which we enjoy the trait. Are we Northern, Southern, Midwestern? None of the cardinal directions claim us, nor any of the regions. It's like we were a state born in a test tube...and if you know your history about the creation of the state...in a way, we kinda were. Honestly, we shouldn't be surprised....a state without a home. Forgotten about behind the mountains. It just seems fitting.

True. Virginia governor Henry Wise once described West Virginia as "the bastard child of a political rape (broken link)". (Hope I don't get suspended or anything for typing this.)

[Colby "The Punk" Wells]

Here, check this article out. The author makes some great points that West Virginia does indeed belong to the South, despite not knowing too much about how WV was actually created.

Oxford American.com

[David Kennedy]

I was going to say that 'no one knows who we are and where we belong' but you guys said it so well...points on the board....

checking my weather rock...it's almost time to ride...

oxford article is very good....keeps everyone confused...