By Ainsley Hall
HEDGESVILLE — Back Creek Valley Elementary students dressed in gold and blue on Tuesday for Mountaineer Day, where they celebrated West Virginia and did fun activities throughout the day.
The event kicked off with all the students gathering in the cafeteria to listen to Stony Creek Bluegrass Band. The band includes Libby Files, on bass; Brett Smeltzer, on mandolin; Kenton Catlett, on guitar; and Rylan Rissler, on banjo. The band members played several familiar songs, including “Take Me Home, County Roads.” They enjoyed playing for the kids and sharing their passion for traditional mountain bluegrass music.
“We love entertaining people and making them smile,” Rissler said.
“Yes, plus we have a lot of younger children playing music instruments bigger than them,” Smeltzer said. “We want to inspire them to try playing bluegrass music themselves. Someday, when someone asks them why they enjoy bluegrass music, maybe they’ll say it’s because they heard us play back in elementary school.”
After the performance, classes split up to go to different stations to try different activities that followed the Mountaineer theme. Students played pioneer games, listened to a story in an Appalachian dialect, learned about monarch butterflies from the master gardeners, went on a hayride and more.
Don Grimes taught students how to square dance. He has been dancing since 1968 and is passionate about sharing his love for it with the younger generation.
“I enjoy doing this, because it’s fun,” Grimes said. “I love seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces. People say that square dancing is fun set to music. It’s what I love, and I wish more young kids would get into square dancing.”
Kirsten Hughes also came to the school to talk to students about the violin and play some music for them. Hughes has been playing the violin since fourth grade.
Last year, one of the Back Creek Valley Elementary teachers invited her to Mountaineer Day after seeing her play at her church. Hughes was happy to share her music with others and decided to come again this year.
“It’s a great hobby,” Hughes said. “Music is very enjoyable, and I love playing for other people, so it’s a fun opportunity for me and the kids.”
After all the students made their way through all the stations, they had a picnic lunch and ice cream. Students had a wonderful time learning about Appalachian culture and having fun.