The place and time Henry Riffe writes about in his book, “From the Mountaintop to the Valley of Jolo, McDowell County, West Virginia,” are alien to America’s teenagers, but he says they could learn a lot from his life.
Riffe, who lives in Appomattox, Va., says that is one of the reasons he was compelled to write his life story of growing up in the 1930s and ’40s in one of the most economically depressed areas of the United States: the coalfields of southwest West Virginia.
“The life I had growing up down there, no one wants it today,” Riffe says.
Count him and three of his siblings among them. A brother and sister, Charles and the late Louise Falke, came to northeast Ohio to find better lives. Another sibling landed in North Carolina, and after working 11 years in the coal mines, Henry bailed out of West Virginia, moving to northern Virginia.
A brother who stayed behind lived hand to mouth the rest of his life. A sister’s husband found work with one of the big mines, and they ended up doing “O.K.”
Riffe, 74, believes God has kept him alive so he could tell his story in this book.
“My hope is someone who is struggling in life will read this and get help from it,” he says.
He is visiting the area this week and will do a book signing at the Kingsville Public Library from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, he will be at the Ashtabula County Nursing Home starting at 2 p.m.
His hardcover book is $19.
Riffe’s brother-in-law, the Rev. Robert Falke of North Kingsville, grew up in Jolo, W.Va., and gives the book a positive review.
“It’s more about his life and what happened to him in life,” Falke said. “It probably tells people you can do a lot with your life if you get confidence. A lot of people think they cannot accomplish anything because of their (lack of) education, but it’s more about what they can do if they are willing to try.”
For Riffe, that involved moving his young family from West Virginia to the Washington, D.C., area, where he succeeded at a number of ventures. But, as is common with migrants from the Mountain State, Riffe’s heart could never escape the` orbit of mountains and kin.
Riffe said the message of the book is to “keep pressing on, no matter what,” and he wrote it knowing there would be some reader who would need to hear that encouragement.
“I kept in mind all the time I was writing the book for young people,” he said. “Young or old might get a lift from it.”
online: dorrancebookstore.com
Local News
Related Photos
Discussion
Talking about hard times
Author in town to tell it like it was in West Virginia
- Local News
-
-
Sports, academics to come together
SPIRE Institute will expand its educational base and accept international students into its sports performance programs through a partnership with the Andrews Osborne Academy, Ted Meekma, SPIRE management team member, announced Wednesday.
-
Grand Valley sixth grader wins Ashtabula County Spelling Bee
James Elliott, a sixth grader at Grand Valley Middle School, clinched his win of the 29th annual Ashtabula County Area V Spelling Bee by successfully spelling the words “physique” and “daffodil.”
-
Conneaut Chamber lauds top citizen, ‘Champions’
Nicholas Iarocci, Conneaut’s 2011 Citizen of the Year, needed plenty of gulps of water to complete his acceptance speech Tuesday night.
-
Conneaut’s unpaved roads will get priority status in 2012
Secondary roads in Conneaut will get the lion’s share of attention from the Public Works’ Department this year, said City Manager Tim Eggleston.
-
Felony charge filed in robbery
An Ashtabula woman who police said grabbed a woman’s purse inside a Conneaut supermarket late Monday afternoon faces a felony charge in Conneaut Municipal Court, according to reports.
-
Ashtabula County building projects readied for bids
Up to four improvement projects for county-owned buildings are being lined up for bids in the next month.
-
City of Ashtabula looking for new auditor
Six candidates have applied for city auditor, which City Council President J.P. Ducro IV says he hopes to fill by the end of March.
-
Red Cross holding breakfast for ‘Community Heroes’
The Red Cross Community Heroes Breakfast will honor 12 county residents March 3 at the Bernard Vacca Community Center.
-
New film showcases county’s scenic rivers
Ohio’s Scenic Rivers program, which protects stretches of 14 waterways — including three in Ashtabula County — is the focus of a new movie by a Dayton-based independent filmmaker.
-
Students can donate clothing to Goodwill
Many Ashtabula Area City Schools students will find themselves cleaning out their closets this week.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Sports, academics to come together
