Scenic Railway, Wild Mushrooms And Italian Sausage, Fall Favorites Inside Appalachia

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Hop aboard the Cass Scenic Railroad for a visit with the people who keep the steam trains running.

Also, we head to the woods and take a master class in foraging for wild mushrooms.

And, the makers of Angelo's Old World Italian Sausage still use a century-old family recipe. Customers love it.

You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

In This Episode:

Leaves Fall On Cass Scenic Railway

Two young man stand next to each other in front of a train. One is dressed in blue overalls, while the other is dressed in brown pants with suspenders. Both are wearing ball caps. — Matthew Hauser (left) and Brown Culp (right) are recruits from North Carolina working at Cass Scenic Railroad. Starting out as volunteer train enthusiasts, Hauser is now an engineer with his friend Culp as his fireman.
*Photo Credit: Lauren Griffin/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

There’s something special about autumn in the mountains. This is the most popular time of year for a lot of tourist destinations in Appalachia. In West Virginia, visitors flock to view fall foliage by taking a ride on the Cass Scenic Railroad.

In 2022, Folkways Reporter Lauren Griffin visited Pocahontas County and met some of the folks who keep the Cass steam trains running, including senior railroad employee Rex Cassell, who passed away during the making of the story.

Mushroom Hunting In Autumn

Yellow chanterelle mushrooms are cut up in a green bowl. — These chanterelles are about to be turned into a tasty treat. They were harvested the day before an unsuccessful mushroom hunt, and turned into a topper for vanilla ice cream.
*Photo Credit: Wendy Welch/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

With cooler temperatures and a little rain, mushroom hunters head into the woods during the early fall in search of wild mushrooms.

In 2023, Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch spent time with fungi enthusiasts in Virginia and West Virginia. She brought us this story.

Transforming Turkey Calls Into Art

A wooden turkey call on top of rocks. — Three-and-a-half inch diameter pot call with painted turkey breast feather.
*Photo courtesy of Brian Aliff*

Throughout central Appalachia, fall Turkey season usually starts in late September or early October, which brings out the turkey calls. Now, historically, these have been used as a hunting tool, but one West Virginia artist has taken it to the next level. Brian Aliff makes handcrafted, prize-winning decorative turkey calls.

These works of art are functional, and they’ve become collector's items. But it took a while for Aliff to think of himself as an artist.

Connie Kitts has his story.

Angelo’s Old World Italian Sausage

Packages of sausage on a grocery shelf. — Angelo’s Old-World Sausage is available in stores in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.
*Photo Credit: Zack Harold/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Most of us buy our sausage at the store, but it used to be that as part of the fall harvest, farmers would slaughter and process beef and pork to help get through the winter.

Some of that meat went into sausage. Today, some people still make their own sausage using old family recipes. A few have found ways to share that with others.

In 2023, Zack Harold met up with Sonny and Lou Argento from West Virginia. They’re the creators of Angelo’s Old World Italian Sausage.

Floyd's Friday Night Jamboree

A group of people sitting and standing on a driveway playing music. — Musicians, including children in the Handmade Music School, play music outside the Floyd Country Store at the Friday Night Jamboree. Store co-owner Heather Krantz is playing guitar (center).
*Photo Credit: Mason Adams/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

People enjoy string band music year-round. In Floyd County, Virginia, there’s just one stoplight, and it’s in the town of Floyd, which is home to about 400 year-round residents.

Host Mason Adams brings us this story.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Jeff Ellis, Joe Dobbs and the 1937 Flood, Harvey & Copeland, Ron Mullennex and Gary Milnes, musicians at Floyd’s Friday Night Jamboree and John Blissard.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Abby Neff is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. We had help this week from Folkways Editors Nicole Musgrave, Chris Julin and Jennifer Goren.

You can send us an email: [email protected].

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Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

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