The State Folklorist’s Notebook is a regular column written by state folklorist Emily Hilliard for Goldenseal magazine. This article appears in the Spring 2019 issue.

  

“We wanted to do something this fall to get the community involved,” social media manager Whitney Orsburn said. “We wanted to have something family-friendly. We haven’t done anything like this, but we’ve already gotten so much attraction.”

  

“She made West Virginia proud.” - Kris Warner, USDA Rural Development West Virginia State Director

  

We love selling our products at the Wild Ramp Consignment Farmer’s Market in Huntington, West Virginia. Here is one of our blog posts that they posted on their site.

  
Pregnant Kara Vaneck on her farm.


Smoke Camp Crafts, featured at the Public Market in Wheeling, is dedicated to sustainable and self-sufficient farming. Emphasizing permaculture and natural growth, Smoke Camp Crafts follows a no-till, pesticide-free philosophy, engaging with the community to foster an appreciation for the origins of food.

    

“The guys on the History channel’s “Mountain Men” are known for their creativity, their ability to make the most out of a little and their affinity of a free outdoor life.

Kara Vaneck doesn’t profess any desire to join the show. Even so, the 33-year-old Weston woman appears to have all that it takes to live the same kind of life as “Mountain Men” Tom Oar, Marty Meierotto, Eustace Conway, Rich Lewis, Morgan Beasley and Jason Hawk.

Vaneck wasn’t always on this path. In fact, she came to West Virginia from Cleveland, where she grew up, to work at an engineering job in Buckhannon.” - Matt Harvey, Weston Democrat