Two Words, One Answer.
Morgantown
 The Morgantown Rounders $8.99 Playing Time - 37:29 -- Rounders can refer to people of many, mostly undesirable, characteristics - informers, convicts, and lazy loungers. This group even sings about such a rounder in the song, "Sugar Babe." But, in this album's case, there's another definition of the slang term that certainly applies -- pleasure seekers. "Dance All Night With A Bottle in Your Hand" is the kind of perfect signature tune for the Morgantown Rounders to demonstrate their melodic mettle to give them and us gratification. Their set of twelve traditional rousers embraces many sounds from the past, tapping the roots of Appalachian and Cajun music. Band members include Rachel Eddy (fiddle, guitar, triangle), Scott Phillips (banjo, Cajun accordion), Jason Jaros (guitar, mandolin), and Walt Sarkees (bass). Instead of singing, the liner notes indicate that band members sang, cackle, holler, and squawk. It's a treat to hear these younger funsters presenting traditional music in West Virginie. Rachel Eddy sings with a precocious style on "Uncle Ned" and "Silver Dagger." If the full-time private music teacher's fiddle is the spark plug of this band, then it is Scott Phillips' clawhammer banjo that is a driving piston. Operating on all cylinders, the quartet knows that a successful old-time band has to operate much like a well-oiled engine. In true old-time fashion, they sing with biting vengeance. Jason Jaros' previous performance experience has been with Halftime String Band and The Hillbilly Gypsies. Imparting a rock and roll edge to upright bass, Walt Sarkees is affectionately known by his bandmates as Captain Rounder. While some songs work better for them than others, I'm certain that The Morgantown Rounders' music will further develop and mature in the years ahead, and they'll find their niche in the old-time music scene in their neck of the woods. There's plenty of rootin' and tootin' on their debut album, and I'm certain that they're a big hit at parties and watering holes. This is real heel-kicker-upper music. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)  Around Morgantown (WV) (Images of America) $21.99 I'm a big fan of the "Images of America" series, and am always glad to see them from the West Virginia towns and counties where my family has been living for the past eight generations. Thus I eagerly picked up "Around Morgantown". The pictures are, as in most of the Arcadia series, delightful to look at. But the captions leave much to be desired. There is a clear and obvious bias, especially towards New Deal policies and about coal mining in particular. Company town credit wars (for which the company hired armed guards) are compared to "credit cards" of today. Photos of company towns are always attractive. That FDR was important in miner's lives is written off as the "interpretation" of government photographers, even though no less than Senator Byrd has claimed this personally for years. Eleanor Roosevelt's project in Arthurdale is written off as the "failure" that people who don't come from this world insist that it is. But perhaps the most obvious example of bias comes on page 51 -- where we're told in the opening paragraphs for the chapter on coal that "Then, as now, some coal miners earned more in a year than most university professors." Note -- the Venables bio tells of their affiliation with the University. The endless war between "town and gown" lives on in this book. But in many ways, that IS Morgantown's history. I was just a bit surprised to see it so blatantly here, in an otherwise excellent book.  USGS Topographic Quadrangle Map - Morgantown South, West Virginia (Folded/Waterproof) $9.95 Perfect for outdoor enthusiasts and land-use professionals, this Offroute map is a waterproof and tear-resistant version of the most recent USGS paper map published for this area. USGS 7.5 minute topographic maps offer very detailed cartography. This map is one of nearly 54,000 maps it takes to cover 49 U.S. states. Each depicts elevations plus natural and man-made features such as; roads, trails and reservoirs. USE THE IMAGES ON THIS PAGE TO DETERMINE IF THIS IS THE MAP YOU NEED. We have provided three images to help you. The primary image is actual map imagery from the center portion of this map. The second image shows the entire area this map covers. The third image shows the searchable names and product codes for adjacent maps. HOW TO SEARCH FOR OTHER MAPS YOU MAY NEED: Names of adjacent maps can be identified for search by using the third image mentioned above. For non-adjacent maps, you will need to follow one of the two methods described below. TO SEARCH USING THE USGS MAP NAME: Simply use the Amazon search box and type it in like this: Offroute mapname, state. Use this exact format. TO SEARCH USING A KNOWN LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE: Use available resources to find the degree of latitude and longitude for the area you desire. For example; Yosemite Valley is located at 37 North latitude and 119 West longitude. With the coordinates known, use the Amazon search box and enter it like this: USGS37N119W. Replace only the numeric characters within the string to match the full degree coordinates you're after. This search will return all the maps within that area. STILL CAN'T FIND THE RIGHT MAP? Find and click the link to contact Offroute Customer Service by phone or email. Please note that these USGS maps are printed to order. We appreciate your care in determining that the map you order covers the area needed. |
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