Bill Blizzard - Blair Mountain News
William C. Blizzard at the WV Cultural Center with photos of his parents on the left and Ma Blizzard on the right
Joe Geiger, acting director of the WV Archives, has informed me that the highway historic marker made in honor of Bill Blizzard should be placed sometime soon on Kanawha Blvd. outside the offices of the Historic UMWA District 17 headquarters in Charleston.
Also, the WV Archives and History Commission voted unanimously last Friday to send the upgraded proposal to place Blair Mountain on the Register of Historic Place back to the U.S. Park Service. The Park Service returned an earlier nomination, saying that there were changes in the geography of the site, and updated information had to be provided. Congrats to the people who did the research and to the WV Archives for finally placing the historic marker for one of WV’s most important events. For some unknown reason, only WVPBS had stories on the Blair Mountain vote.
Peter Slavin, an independent reporter for the Washington Post, has written an extensive article about Blair Mountain on the ongoing attempts to save it from being demolished by mountaintop removal coal mine companies. Hopefully the Post will publish the article now that the glitches for the nomination have been removed.
Several years ago the nomination was one of the “most endangered” in the country, causing people from the office to actually come to the WV Cultural Center, hosting a program on their own attempts at saving the site.
Real historic marker for Blair Mountain
Photoshop version of new historic marker that will be placed outside District 17 headquarters in Charleston. The text is the actual text that will be used.
The WV Legislature pass the following resolution in support of protecting Blair Mountain -
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 40
(By Delegates Caputo, DeLong, Fragale, Ellis, Rodighiero, Stemple, Varner, Longstreth, Burdiss, Argento, Azinger, Barker, Boggs, Border, Brown, Browning, Canterbury, Carmichael, Crosier, Doyle, Duke, Eldridge, Ellem, Evans, Fleischauer, Gall, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hartman, Higgins, Hrutkay, Iaquinta, Ireland, Kessler, Klempa, Long, Manchin, Marshall, Martin, Michael, Miley, C. Miller, J. Miller, Moore, Morgan, Palumbo, Paxton, Perdue, Perry, Pethtel, Pino, D. Poling, Porter, Reynolds, Romine, Schadler, Schoen, Shaver, Shook, Sobonya, Spencer, Staggers, Stalnaker, Stephens, Sumner, Swartzmiller, Talbott, Tansill, Tucker, Walters, Wells and Williams)
Supporting the unanimous decision of the West Virginia Archives and History Commission to recommend that the nomination of the Blair Mountain Battlefield as a National Historic Site be forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places for approval.
Whereas, West Virginia state history has its deepest historic roots in the struggle for basic human rights and dignity, from the days of the abolitionists and the Underground Rail Road to our tradition of sending our citizens off to serve the cause of freedom in our nation’s military; and
Whereas, In 1921, some ten thousand of our state’s citizens banded together to end repressive conditions that existed in many of our state’s mines; and
Whereas, The Armed March which culminated in the Battle of Blair Mountain was the largest civil uprising since the Civil War; and
Whereas, The March and subsequent trials had a major impact on the history of the American Labor Movement for decades to follow; and
Whereas, Until recently, the scope and importance of the Battle of Blair Mountain was little known or understood beyond our state’s borders; therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Delegates:
That it hereby supports the unanimous decision of the West Virginia Archives and History Commission to recommend that the nomination of the Blair Mountain Battlefield as a National Historic Site be forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places for approval; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates forward a certified copy of this resolution to the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places.
