‘Life is old here’ in the Eastern Panhandle
By Vanta Coda III, RealWV
“Life is old there, older than the trees,” said John Denver, a verse made for the eastern panhandle.
A land where the two mighty rivers converge, the eastern panhandle breathes life into every fold of land that touches the eye. What lies in the shadows though, are the struggles of our nation’s past. Over many generations the eye of the United States has watched the historic West Virginia banks of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, either through the making of weapons in Harpers Ferry or the ancient battlefields that dot the countryside.
The amount of history, stories and beauty in these rolling hills and forests baffles me everytime. I find that even the scars of battlefields and ruins to be just as beautiful as the land it once looked like, but even though they stay as monuments against the trees and sky they are also reminders of what not to follow in the course of history.
It troubles me knowing that this land may not always be the way it is now, with the push of commuters from cities in the east moving to the area driving development of once historic farmlands into compact living quarters for the masses. This is not what this land was intended for. It is supposed to be a historic epicenter for West Virginia, where stories flow instead of a way point for bustling commuters going to work in D.C. or Baltimore.
As forests grow back from the conflicts that crossed these lands, the husks of war remain. They become part of the landscape as West Virginia claims it back for herself. To love this place is to understand this state was never really ours in the first place, it will always be the earths and unto the earth it shall remain no matter the conflict or strife that is thrust upon its lands. So, as its inhabitants for the time being we must live as one, so forests can grow over fond memories when we are gone instead of unsettling ones.
Knowing that the future is coming can be unsettling, especially when looking at ruins that pertain to war times, but we cannot just look away from them; we must accept the scar over the oldest region of West Virginia. In the land that is older than the trees, we must keep its old heritage for generations to come.
