Mother’s Day began in the Andrews Methodist Church now known as the International Mother’s Day Shrine.

Mother’s Day was first celebrated on Sunday, May 10, 1908, in Grafton, W.Va., in the Andrews Methodist Church now known as the International Mother’s Day Shrine.

Anna Jarvis is recognized as the founder of Mother’s Day.

During the Civil War, the Jarvis family lived in Webster, a community south of Grafton. Anna’s mother, Ann Jarvis, provided nursing care and promoted better sanitation during the war years. After the war, Ann continued her work and strove to bring families and communities back together.

In 1902, the family moved to Philadelphia where Ann would die on May 9, 1905. On the second Sunday in May 1907, Anna invited several friends to her home to commemorate her mother’s life. Anna announced her idea of a day of national celebration in honor of mothers.

Anna Jarvis wrote to Andrews Methodist Church suggesting that the church, in which her mother had taught classes for 20 years, celebrate a Mother’s Day in her honor.

Anna established the white carnation as the symbol of the celebration and developed programming activities in honor of the event. On April 26, 1920, West Virginia Gov. William E. Glasscock issued the first Mother’s Day proclamation. In 1912, at the General Methodist Conference, Anna was recognized as the founder of Mother’s Day. A joint resolution in the U.S. Congress designated the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day and was approved by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914.

Andrews Methodist Church has been designated a National Historic Landmark and is the focal point for the celebration. In 2008, the International Mother’s Day Shrine and the City of Grafton celebrated the 100th anniversary of Mother’s Day. Each year, the Carnation Ball is held in April to raise funds for the shrine.

The Anna Jarvis Birthplace Museum is located in Webster.

Becky Henderson (far right) of MountainMade launches a Marble King marble down one of the toys at the gallery.

West Virginia is known for its rich tradition in fine art glass and marbles. Did you know that Marble King, Inc., was founded in 1949 by Berry Pink and Seller Peltier in St. Mary’s, W.Va.?

The factory didn’t move to Paden City, W.Va., until 1958 when Manager Roger Howdyshell relocated the factory after the original one was destroyed by fire. Howdyshell, who purchased Marble King in 1983, was the first to create cat’s eye marbles and veneering marbles.

Marble King, Inc., is still owned and operated by the Howdyshell family. The factory is open 7 days a week, 365 days a year and is touted as “The world’s best known and best loved quality marbles.” Marble King marbles have been featured in the movies Goonies, Hook and Home Alone.

Marbles aren’t just for tournament play. MountainMade is proud to carry Marble King Marbles and several Mountain Craft Shop toys, heirloom toys that family and friends will enjoy for generations.

Made from real wood (no plastic!) harvested here in West Virginia. Simple treasures and mind teasers like the Marble Trick, shuttle Puzzle to the beloved Marble Trees and Marble Chutes.

There is fun for kids of all ages. Of course, when you pick up the Marble Blister Pack of Marbles you’ll learn how to play those old marble games and what a “mig” is and why a shooter is called a “taw.”

So, what are you waiting for? Get your game on!

Working at MountainMade provides a constant source of challenges. On any given day, there are new details in running a retail business.

This winter presented additional problems brought by the record snowfall in Tucker County. However, taping the video pieces was a completely different challenge for one who prefers to take care of business without much attention.

First of all, I am not a MountainMade artisan. What I know about our artisans and their art I have learned from them. I hope and worry that the way I have related their craft, skills and history is correct.

Second, I have never been a thespian. At times, I can still be anxious before giving a talk or presentation. While filming these videos, I strove to clearly relate the details of the artisan’s skills and keep my knees from knocking.

And I worried about my appearance. How did my hair look? Did I slouch? In the midst of it all, I could hear my mother saying “stand up straight.” Of course, this had nothing to do with the quality of the video.

I hope the artisans are satisfied with my comments on their craft that I related in the video pieces. I am truly in awe everyday when I see what their talents can create.

Charlotte Gerlach is a marvel and a West Virginia treasure. Self-taught, Charlotte’s ability to capture the fine details is little short of amazing. She works in oil paints. Her exhibit will be a collection of original works, prints and giclee’.

A nationally recognized artist, Charlotte has earned numerous awards and had her work commissioned. She is widely published.

Charlotte is known for her intricate, life-like work. “I want the viewer to feel a sense of being able to walk into the scene, touch the wildlife and enjoy our wonderful world of nature,” she said.

A generous spirit, Charlotte has contributed her talent and work to causes close to her heart: People’s Hospice, the American Lung Association, Duck’s Unlimited, West Virginia Health Right, Inc. and the Clarksburg Historic Society. She is a member of MountainMade and Tamarack.

Her work can be seen throughout West Virginia in various state parks (i.e Blackwater Falls) and select galleries.

Charlotte’s work is on display in Washington, D.C., in connection with fine art paintings she has been commissioned to paint for prestigious real estate developers.

If you’re in the area Friday, July 16, come by the Purple Fiddle in Thomas to hear some great old-time singing and playing by the Hillbilly Gypsies.

The “Gypsies” are one of our juried MountainMade artists and we carry both of their rousing CD’s, “Come On In” and “One Foot in the Gravy.” Show starts at 8:30 p.m. – a good time is guaranteed!

The Mountainmade Artisan Gallery is only a short drive from the Purple Fiddle and we’re ready for summer and overflowing with great gifts from hundreds of West Virginia artisans.

The Gallery is located on Douglas Road. After you pass the U.S. Post Office, take a right onto Douglas Road at the MountainMade sign. The Artisan Gallery is three-quarters of a mile farther along the road.

Thomas, W.Va., is ready to celebrate Mountaineer Days this Fourth of July weekend. And MountainMade would love for you to come visit! Some of the store's newest treasures are quilted jewelry bags and a wonderful selection of field guides on hiking and travel, and birding and wildflowers. Rich and Carrie will be ready for the holiday weekend with a fresh batch of Hurley Bird Feeders, which won't last long.

Summer’s in full swing in Thomas and the celebration is just beginning.

Thomas hosts Mountaineer Days on July 2-5, 2010. It is a celebration of our nation’s independence and a time for many of the local families to “come home.”

The historic downtown and rail-trail will be abuzz with craft, game and food booths. You can also expect live music – Mountain State Brewing Company and the Purple Fiddle will have great shows all weekend long – cake walks, pageants and more.

Saturday is an exciting day for kids of all ages with the parade that morning, the Fireman’s Water Battle, an evening with Elvis and the fireworks display. Thomas is very proud and grateful to our volunteer fire department. They are an active and committed group of individuals who serve our community.

And for one night each July they put on an amazing show of fireworks. They put on one of the region’s best displays. We recommend bringing a late-night picnic, spreading a blanket and gazing at the glorious colors! It promises to be a great evening in the mountains.

And the fun doesn’t stop there. Slip down to Canaan Valley for the 20th Annual Celebration of the Arts, including a Free Concert by the Wheeling Symphony Orchestra and the Red, White & Blue Golf Scramble on Saturday.

Stop by and see us in the Gallery. We promise, there’s something for everyone.

It was no surprise that photographer Gerri Wilson became a juried artist. She and her husband Bruce pursue their shared and joint passion in their Deer Run Studio in Canaan Valley, W.Va.

A fine art nature photographer working from her home and studio in the Canaan Valley of West Virginia, she specializes in vignettes, close-ups and landscapes of native flora in the Allegheny Highlands.

Gerri has spent much of the last year documenting the flora of the Beall Farm Tract I in the Canaan Valley for the National Wildlife Refuge. She currently captures images on a Canon 30D digital camera, most often from a tripod, and processes images using an iMac using Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom 2 and prints from an Epson R1900 printer.

Gerri pursued photography after a long career in music education. Accustomed to “stirring the pot” of the creative process with her students, she brings the same expectation of possibilities to nature photography.

Gerri is attracted to wilderness, hence her interest in native species and visible signs of natural progression in time and topography. She has studied technique and composition from Kent Mason and Ed Heaton and pursues her course of self-education in all parts of the process.

Gerri has won numerous awards in competition at the Canaan Valley Refuge, including taking first, second and third place for Refuge Scenery.

She is one of the winners of the 500th Wildlife Photography Contest at Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge honored in the June West Virginia Magazine. Be sure to check out Gerri’s full-page spread.

While Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Wash., is given credit for Father’s Day, history shows that the first Father’s Day celebration occurred in Fairmont, W.Va., on July 5, 1908.

The seeds of a Father’s Day Service were planted on Dec. 6, 1907, when a horrible mine explosion at Monongah, near Fairmont, killed more than 360 men, 210 of whom were fathers, leaving 250 widows and more than 1,000 children grieving.

Thoughts of these lonely people touched local resident Grace Clayton deeply. “It was partly the explosion that got me to thinking how important and loved most fathers are. All those lonely children and those heart-broken wives and mothers, made orphans and widows in a matter of a few minutes.”

She suggested to her pastor, at Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, South, that it would be wonderful if fathers were given a special day to be honored and remembered.

 Mrs. Clayton suggested the Sunday closest to her father’s birthday, which would be July 5, 1908. Her father had been a Methodist minister.

Mother’s Day may have had a small influence, which had originated some 20 miles away in Grafton. The event was set for July 5, 1908.

Unfortunately due to other events within the Fairmont community, no one felt the desire to follow through to convince the city or the State of West Virginia to issue a proclamation establishing an annual Father’s Day.

In the next several years, a number of people in different states made an effort to found a Father’s Day with a national observance. Finally such a bill was signed into law in 1972 by President Nixon.

But one church member who attended, remembered, “I recall the occasion very distinctly as the pulpit was decorated by having ripened sheaves of wheat placed about it. Many favorable comments by the individuals and the press were made concerning the service at that time.”

The church is now called Central United Methodist Church and Father’s Day is celebrated there each year. Highway signs were erected at city entrances proclaiming ‘Welcome to Fairmont – the Friendly City – Home of the First Father’s Day Service, July 5, 1908.”

A plaque was placed on an outside church wall in 1984, and in 1985 a historical marker was erected in front of the church by the West Virginia Department of Archives and History.

The MountainMade staff spent the week boxing, wrapping, loading and unloading hundreds of West Virginia made arts and crafts. We are pleased to report that nothing was broken.

The Gallery is now ready for summer and overflowing with great gifts for all occasions – we’re sure you’ll be able to find the perfect gift for someone special or even for yourself.

The MountainMade Artisan Gallery is located on Douglas Road. After you pass the U.S. Post Office, take a right onto Douglas Road at the MountainMade sign. The Artisan Gallery is three-quarters of a mile farther along the road.

Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, W.Va., is best known for intensive week-long workshops that annually attract several hundred participants. Thousands more attend public concerts, dances and festivals.

Augusta’s full-time staff, plus volunteers, seasonal staff and work-study students produce a great variety of quality workshops. These world-renowned workshops and festivals have brought together master artists, musicians, dancers, craftspeople and enthusiasts of all ages.

Their mission -

• To encourage wider understanding and practice of artistic expression found in local, regional and ethnic traditional folk cultures.
• To document, promote, encourage, and nurture West Virginia’s folklife and folkways.
• To accomplish the above through workshops, apprenticeships, publications and public presentations.

As a many-year participant in the workshops, I can attest to the fact that this total immersion into the music is a rare experience that you will never forget.

I would encourage anyone interested in exploring their artistic side through music or dance to take advantage of this unique opportunity in West Virginia. Many of the musicians featured at MountainMade have been teachers or students at Augusta.