By Megan Greco and Morgan Young, WV Uncovered

At 10 a.m. trucks overflowing with everything from crushed cars to rusty washing machines begin the slow trek onto the industrial scale at Coffman Metals in Birch River, W.Va. Customers from all over central West Virginia come to Coffman’s to cash in on their finds at 50 cents a pound for mixed aluminum. The loud clanging of unsecured scrap is not enough to drown out idling engines and ringing phones.

“Everyday we have 100 to 150 customers,” said Tony Coffman, owner of the recycling center.

Coffman’s career path was already set in stone at 14-years-old. As a high school sophomore he began his education in the family recycling and trading business. A common love for the outdoors made a job working in his grandfather’s establishment ideal.

“Then kids mowed lawns. I worked for my grandfather,” Coffman said. “I just liked hanging out with my granddad; he was a pretty cool dude.”

In 1928, Tony’s grandfather, Guy Coffman, started trading fur and natural roots, such as ginseng,  with community locals in Nicholas County. It wasn’t until after Guy’s death in 1987 that the recycling aspect of the business took hold. A year after his high school graduation, Tony was the logical choice to carry on his grandfather’s legacy.

“I’m the only guy who showed any interest in my grandfather’s business,” he said. “That was the whole idea I think, from his point of view, someone to carry on. He had nine children, and none of them were in the business. My dad was in insurance, [he] owned an insurance agency, and my brothers they were all in insurance.”

By helping to clean up his hometown, Coffman began his own 30-year tradition. He says it wasn’t long ago that discarded bed frames and tossed beer cans were fixtures of the Birch River landscape.

“I used to walk quite a bit, and it was all over the hills,” he said. “You go for a nature walk and any where along a gravel road or a wide spot they were throwing garbage over the hill, old refrigerators and washers and dryers.”

In 2007, the state exported approximately 440,359 tons of solid waste according to the West Virginia Solid Waste Management Plan.

“In more rural areas, if people are paid to recycle it really gives them the incentive to clean up their properties,” said Laura Stiller, Recycling Coordinator for the Monongalia County Solid Waste Authority.

According to Stiller, because West Virginia is so rural, recycling can be kind of tricky. The location of recycling centers pose an obstacle for many residents, but the reward of monetary gain is great motivator.

“Recycling really helps the community develop. No one wants to put a business next to a rundown piece of property. If it takes a couple of cents to get people to clean up West Virginia then it is worth it,” said Stiller.

With the invention of the shredder, what was once useless became valuable, creating a market for resourceful customer.

“West Virginians aren’t lazy,” Coffman said. “You take your can and pitch it out along the road – someone is going to pick it up and bring it [here] because it has a value on it.”

Coffman’s pays 70 to 80 cents a pound for aluminum cans, a common sale. Approximately 50,000 pounds of cans come through the recycling center every month.

While recycling is the bulk of the business now, Coffman has not forgotten his roots in trading. Though ginseng digging and fur trading are on the decline because of government regulation, the old practices still bring in business throughout the season.

Coffman’s relationship with ginseng began where his career did, with his grandfather and the surrounding community.

As a child, Coffman was always around ginseng but it wasn’t until he and his friends saw a way to make some extra cash that he became interested in the root.

“I remember the year that [ginseng] went from $20 to $50 a pound and in the ’70s that was a lot of money,” he said. “It was always just for fun.”

In the recent economic climate, what was once “money for boys” in Coffman’s childhood is now an additional source of income for some. Last year, the recycling center paid out $13 million into the hands of West Virginia residents.

“We give a lot of people jobs and we hand a lot money out to the economy,” Coffman said. “And we cleaned the place up and I’m kind of proud of that, I wish my grandfather was there to see it.”

Photo gallery of The Family Business. 

Story & Photos by Ryan Whytsell, WV Uncovered

When it first opened its doors in 1926, The Smoot Theatre hosted everything from comedians to elephants on its stage. The theater was one of seven live theaters in downtown Parkersburg, W.Va., and its stage was filled with up to five acts daily at its peak. Now 85 years later, the theater is still hosting a variety of live entertainment in the heart of Parkersburg. The theater is operated by a group of volunteers whose time and efforts keep the doors open.

Felice Jorgeson is the director of the Smoot Theatre. Jorgeson spends 60 to 70 hours a week volunteering her time to keep the theater running. She is something of a renaissance woman for the Smoot; she does everything from directing the house band to changing the words on the marquee above the theater’s entrance. Jorgeson says dedicating her time to keep the Smoot running is worth it.

“We’ve got to keep this going,” Jorgeson said. “This is one of the only sparkles left in downtown Parkersburg.”

The band director at Parkersburg High School in the 1980s, Jorgeson  left to teach music at Ohio University. In 1989, Jorgeson was asked by a friend from Parkersburg to bring her band from Ohio and perform a benefit concert for the Smoot Theatre. The building had been closed in 1986 after it had deteriorated into a shell of its former self and was scheduled for demolition. Jorgeson was initially reluctant to bring her students to the theater to which she now dedicates so much of her life.

“At first I thought, who cares? They tear down everything else in Parkersburg, but then I thought that this would be good for the kids so we went,” Jorgeson said. “All we did was put ‘big band’ up on the marquee, and tickets flew out the door like hotcakes, and I thought this could be a gold mine.”

The initial success led to a return performance. This time, Jorgeson was introduced to a man named Jim Wakely. Wakely was the President of the Bernard McDonough Foundation, a philanthropic group dedicated to improving culture and education in the Mid-Ohio Valley.

“The next day he called me and asked me why the building was in such bad shape. I told him there was no money to make any improvements,” Jorgeson said. “The next day he gave me a check for $50,000.”

The $50,000 investment was a start, but Jorgeson realized that without consistent leadership, the theater could not be taken seriously. She decided to step up to the plate and take control of the theater’s day-to-day operations. More than 20 years later, Jorgeson still dedicates much of her time to the theater.

The theater’s restoration was finely detailed to make sure the building was as historically accurate as possible. Pictures from the Smoot’s heyday decorate the walls with images that document the history of the theater. Pictures of the flood of 1913 that covered much of downtown Parkersburg, the Smoot family who originally opened the theater, past stars who have visited the Smoot (including 1920s pop-culture icon Rudolph Valentino) all have their places and add to the historic flavor. The interior of the theater is painted in an art deco style that pops off the ceiling and walls. The dressing rooms, feature old gas burners, which actresses used to heat their curling irons.

In addition to his initial investment, Wakely continued to donate money for improvements such as mahogany doors and crystal chandeliers. Wakely’s status as a community leader put the rest of Parkersburg on alert, and soon help began to flood into the theater. A local glass company donated beveled glass mirrors, while a pipefitter and his apprentice fixed every pipe inside for free. A man in the concrete business donated a new, decorative sidewalk for the building’s entrance. The local Cadillac and Toyota dealerships began to re-upholster the theater seats for free. One of the final touches was when Wakely paid for a historically accurate, 9,000 pound marquee to be restored above the theater’s entrance.

“I’m not originally from this area, so this theater meant absolutely nothing to me,” Jorgeson said. “But what I kept hearing from people was that they formed their childhood memories here. This is where they had their first date with the wife and things like that.”

Originally a vaudeville theater, the Smoot has seen nearly every form of live entertainment on its stage. Vaudeville was a form of variety show that was popular in the early 1900s. Entertainment included comedians, jugglers, acrobats, magicians and musicians. By the 1930s, cinema overtook vaudeville as the premier form of entertainment. Movie companies began to rapidly purchase declining vaudeville theaters. Warner Brothers purchased the Smoot and transformed it into a movie theater.

Today the Smoot Theatre offers a wide variety of shows for all tastes and ages. Broadway shows, bands, choirs and other forms of entertainment are part of the schedule. In addition to what is seen on the marquee, the theater is host to a group of art education programs designed for children in the area. As a former school teacher, Jorgeson knows the need for youth arts education.

“When my husband and I left the school system in the early 1980s, arts education was going down the tubes,” Jorgeson said, “And this is in Wood County, one of the better education systems in the state. The Smoot Theatre supplements what the school system can no longer provide.”

Two of the programs the Smoot provides are Camp Vaudeville and Camp Broadway. These camps teach their attendees the art of their respective namesakes. The Kids Club is a series of shows designed for parents to attend with their children. The theater also hosts two different children’s choirs. She claims programs such as these are invaluable experiences for children looking to go into the arts.

“One young man here went to Camp Vaudeville, then Camp Broadway and went on to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design,” Jorgeson said. “He is in the animation industry now, but he got his start here because the West Virginia education system can’t offer that kind of education.”

Jorgeson said that former students now come back to teach at the camps and offer valuable experiences they’ve learned in their professions. Technology plays a huge role in the arts industries, and she says it’s something the children really enjoy.

“Combining older art forms with new technology is something a kid can really sink their teeth into,” Jorgeson said.

Jorgeson says the non-profit theater is maintained through grants, donations and ticket sales. She says the biggest misconception about the arts industry is that it doesn’t cost a lot of money. The theater recently booked America’s Got Talent winner and West Virginia native Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., and she was surprised by some of the responses.

“Someone asked me, well he’s coming for free right? Umm, no,” Jorgeson said. “People think just because he’s from West Virginia, he’s coming for free. The arts aren’t free, they are a business like everything else. It takes a lot of money to keep something like this going.”

Jorgeson said the theater reached its peak around three years ago. Much of the equipment in the theater is historical and adds to the experience, but old equipment is also in need of constant repair. Jorgeson said many repairmen are often amazed when they glimpse some of the old heating and plumbing equipment that keeps the building running.
“I’m starting to notice things that need to be redone. There are a lot of walls that need repainted and little things that constantly add up,” Jorgeson said. “It’s about time to get started fixing this place up again.”

By: Jessica Marghella and Morgan Young

Dried, mounted Muskie heads, a string of squirrel tales, and hundreds of handcrafted fishing lures are among the many things that hang along the walls of a small, paint splattered room in Bill Looney’s home in Amma, W.Va.

The 65-year-old retired pipe fitter has been making wooden fishing lures, known now by the fishing community as “Amma Bamas”, in his basement workshop for 30 years.

Looney started by making lures for Muskies, a predatory fish native to West Virginia, in 1973, because his purchased lures didn’t effectively mimick the movement of Muskie bait fish.

“For some reason [the purchased lures] weren’t working right,” he said. ‘I started making lures because of the foreign products that were inferior.” His lures are now internationally sought after.

When Looney was 10-years-old, soon after he had recovered from a diagnosis of Polio, his father, a Muskie fisherman, first introduced him to the monstrous fish. They can grow up to 72 inches, and in some cases, live more than 20 years.

“My dad was casting one day and this big Muskie hit, and it got off. As we were going home he just stopped, handed me the rod and said ‘it’s all yours,” he said. “I started right at that moment, fishing for Muskies.”

Muskie (muskellunge) is a fish from the pike family. In W.Va., they are found in certain waters, such as North Bend Lake, Stonecoal and Stonewall Jackson lakes, Buckhannon and the Elk River.

Fisherman can only bring Muskies home if they die in the process of being caught, and Looney makes sure to take special care of them.

“They’re just like little children to me,” he said.

Karen Hudson, Fishing Division secretary of West Virginia Department of Natural Resources says that, under section 1 of the agency’s regulations for favorite fishing waters, “All muskellunge caught must be returned to the water at once.”

DNR regulations also require favorite fishing waters to be stocked with Muskies, after surveys are taken to determine where they are needed.

The waters are stocked with young Muskies, which are allowed to reach full growth because they are considered C-P-R fish, “catch picture release.”

Looney’s “Amma Bamas” are specifically designed for Muskies.  Looney says foreign made products cannot copy the appearance or behavior of a real Crappie, Green Walleye or Banded Perch.

Customers, who have fished with the lure, are loyal to it. On the “Amma Bama” website, an endorsement from fisherman Robert A. Anderson says, “There is simply no other lure that will last your lifetime and produce fish in size and numbers like this one will.”

Amma Bama lures typically range in size from 4-10 inches. They come in all different colors: golden, black-orange, gray ghost and more. Looney can combine colors for any original look, and custom colors are available.  His lures’ sprayed and spotted eye-catching finishes imitate the markings on real fish, making them genuinely resemble the Muskie’s desired prey.

The lures are crafted through a 24-stage process. Looney uses wood from a native Linn (basswood) tree and a heavy-gauge stainless steel wire for specific through-wire construction. Each lure needs a certain amount of lead weighting for the guarantee of natural buoyancy.

The methodic activity involved in making Looney’s 13 different signature lures, ranging in appearance from a crappie to a walleye, also helps to alleviate the physical pain that is residual from his bout with Polio.

In 1954, when Looney was diagnosed with polio, there were nine cases of the disease in Roane County, where he lived, and approximately 400 cases in West Virginia. At least some of those, including the lure maker’s, were due to a manufacturer’s error in the vaccine. Dr. Jonas Salk’s Polio vaccine was a field trial sponsored by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis.

Looney lost the use of his legs and had to use a wheelchair during that time, but after two years of rehabilitation, he regained strength in his legs. The effects of the disease remain.

“My shoulders hurt and my legs hurt, but when I’m making fishing lures I’m not hurting,” he said.

While it only takes two weeks for Looney to go through the 24-stage process resulting in a batch of 60 lures, the preparation time is much longer.

The Linn (basswood) tree takes two years to dry out enough for the crafting process to begin. Looney dries the wood himself in his garage.

Of the 300 lures Looney makes annually, 12 lures a month are sent to Wisconsin, where there is always a waiting list.

Rollie and Helen’s Muskie Shop in Minocqua, WI was one of the first bait shops Looney supplied with his lures, selling them for $25 to $50.  It is the largest Muskie fishing supplies shop in the world.

Jay Esse, an employee at Rollie and Helen’s Muskie Shop, said that it’s hard to keep Amma Bamas in stock.

“As soon as the lures are in our store, they are gone within a week,” Esse said.  “They are hard to keep because the demand is very high. The lure is popular, not only here, but throughout the country.”

It wasn’t long before the lure’s popularity attracted imitators.  The shapes of the baits have been copied 13 times that Looney is aware of.  He was forced to copyright the trade name “Amma Bama”.

Looney functions as his own quality control manager, testing every Amma Bama before it is sold.  He personally tests every lure in the water to make sure it works just right.

“I guarantee [my lures] 100% forever,” he said. “It gives the people who are buying them confidence. I’ve only had one complaint in 30 or so years.”

When we first launched this magazine, I didn’t know if anyone would read it. I knew it was filled with information I thought was interesting, but I wasn’t sure if ten thousand people would feel the same.

Frank felt more optimistic, and when 10,000 copies of the first issue were gone in less than a week, he said, “I told you so.”

So, we increased to 12,000 copies, then 15,000, then 16,000. More than once, Frank has told me, “You  opened a barrel of monkeys.”

We’ve been printing 16,000 per issue for over a year, and still Frank pushes for more. “I don’t have enough,” he insists after  deliveries.

“When there are zero copies left over, we’ll print more,” I’d respond.

We’ve had zero copies left several times now. In fact, we’ve never had more than 2% left over — ever.  We can definitely tell that folks don’t get out that much in January, and when folks start complaining that they didn’t get a copy, we know travel season has started.

So, Frank and I reached a compromise. This spring and summer, we’re printing a thousand more copies per issue for travel season. We’ve always included the regional state parks and seasonal attractions in our delivery. In addition, we now regularly ship to Tamarack, several WV Welcome Centers, and local rest stops.

Frank is convinced that we can’t print enough, and we can’t travel far enough with Two-Lane Livin’. We get requests from Lewisburg, Beckley, Elkins, Grafton. “When will you deliver here?”

Sometimes, instead of mentioning the barrel of monkeys, Frank tells me I’ve created a monster. We became the largest independent print publication in the state of West Virginia, and it was almost a year before we even realized we had. I shouldn’t admit it, but that wasn’t one of our goals.

In fact, the whole “bigger is better” mentality seems contradictory to the whole Two-Lane Livin’ concept. Bigger-Is-Better is not part of the simple living mantra.
Printing more copies is not part of today’s “New Media” concept either. In fact, from the beginning, Two-Lane Livin’ has been contradictory to nearly every prediction about the publishing business.

In many ways, Frank and I have come to see the magazine as a living, breathing thing that has a life of its own. The magazine attracts its own writers, readers, supporters, influences. It has little concern for the business plan I worked so hard on and am constantly adjusting.

There’s a revolution in the publishing business. Any citizen can serve as a journalist, and syndication is built right into most blogs. Publishing no longer means “print.” It includes audio, video, interactives. It includes discussions and posts and online presentations.

And while I resist printing more copies and expanding our circulation, Frank resists technology. He’s never looked at our digital edition, doesn’t have an email account, and spouts the evils of facebook on a regular basis. But just as I have to admit we need more print copies, he has to admit that New Media  is undeniably essential as well.

*   *   *

Two years ago, the serendipity of the magazine from a post on twitter brought us an invitation to participate in WV Uncovered, a project of the Pearly Issac Reed School of Journalism at WVU. Part of the program is to teach “old school” journalists and publishers about New Media.

These lessons are what helped us upgrade twolanelivin.com to include not only features from the magazine, but also regular blogs posts from our columnists throughout the month. Do you enjoy the stories here by Granny Sue? We have more from her on our web site several times a week. Do you enjoy Randy Bodkin’s descriptions of his outdoor hunting and fishing adventures? His posts often include amazing wildlife photos. In fact, Charlotte Spears, Janet Smart, Sherri Brake and I all write throughout the month.

It was through WV Uncovered that we discovered the importance of digital editions – digital files that match the print edition exactly. Subscribers receive access via email every month, and readers can also download single issues. In addition, digital is the only way we can reach those who have requested affordable access in Lewisburg, Beckley, Arizona – anywhere in the world.

That’s a pretty good example of how far the magazine runs ahead of Frank and me. It seems from day one, we have just been trying to keep up with it. More copies, more features online, more columnists, all made possible by the clients who support us with advertising.

It’s a challenging time for all of us. The publishing business isn’t the only business that’s turned topsy turvy. We appreciate our readers’ support, and ask that you support those who advertise with us. If you want to know who makes Two-Lane Livin’ possible, who provides this free copy for you, you only need to look at our ads. Visit our advertisers, and thank them for supporting us.

You can also support us by visiting our web site. As mentioned before, twolanelivin.com includes features that aren’t included here in print. More from our columnists, different advertisers, articles from our archives. Consider suggesting digital subscriptions to out-of-state friends and family.

Although many of us who enjoy the Two-Lane Lifestyle may prefer print, so many in the world who need to hear the two-lane message lead more digital lives. And though I don’t see Two-Lane video or Two-Lane TV in our business plan anywhere, I think the magazine is going to take us there, very soon. You’ll want to join us in the digital realm for that, so you may as well get acquainted with us online now.

The Two-Lane Lifestyle may be resistent to technology, but Two-Lane Magazine is not. Frank and I follow where the magazine takes us, even into the digital world. We hope to see you there. Some of you may not have access yet, but if and when you do, Two-Lane Livin’ will be waiting to greet you.               ~Lisa

To enjoy all of the features and articles from the May 2011 issue, download the PDF file HERE.

Two-Lane Livin’ Magazine is available, free, in print to Central West Virginians thanks to the support of our advertisers and supporters. If you would like to encourage continuing education in the region, please consider making a donation:

Online videos and slide show presentations really make sense for a newspaper, but what about us? Video of me running the rototiller? Feeding the hens? Harvesting the garden? Who’d want to see that?

Two-Lane Livin’ Magazine was one of the fortunate publications in W.Va. to be selected to participate this year in the WVUncovered Program at West Virginia University. The program is led by the university’s School of Journalism, designed to introduce papers to new media.
Our first workshop session was this past week; two days spent learning about [...]