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David Sibray

David Sibray is the founder, publisher and editor-in-chief of West Virginia Explorer, a news and travel magazine devoted to the state’s history, tourism, outdoor recreation and economic development. For more information, he may be reached at 304-575-7390 or at editor@wvexplorer.com
C. W. Scott and a young boy feed hogs from a wagon in Petersburg, West Virginia. Raising hogs provided mountain families with an important source of meat, traditionally butchered during the cold months of late autumn and early winter. (Courtesy West Virginia & Regional History Center, WVU Libraries)
Food

Why old West Virginia families waited for cold weather and a full moon to kill hogs

by David Sibray

RICHWOOD, W.Va. — As temperatures fall across West Virginia in late autumn and early winter, an old Appalachian tradition comes to mind— hog killing. For generations, mountain families depended on the cold to slaughter the hogs they had raised, preserving enough pork to feed their households through the winter. Historian and publisher Jim Comstock documented … Read more

Visitors browse vendors during a previous Hinton Railroad Days celebration in downtown Hinton, W.Va. The annual festival continues October 9–11, 2026, without the dedicated excursion trains that once brought hundreds of passengers to the city.
Festivals / Events

After losing excursion trains, W.Va. rail town Hinton found a way to keep celebrating

by David Sibray

HINTON, W.Va. — For decades, special passenger trains brought hundreds of visitors to this historic railroad town each October, drawing the crowds that helped make Hinton Railroad Days one of West Virginia’s enduring fall traditions. When the excursions ended, local officials faced a difficult question: Could a festival built around train arrivals survive without them? Hinton Mayor Jack … Read more

As WVU's Mountaineer prepares for his flu shot, health officials explain when West Virginians should get vaccinated and how to prevent influenza.
Health and Medicine

WVU Mountaineer Reese Allen to get flu shot as officials urge fall vaccinations

by David Sibray

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — As influenza season approaches, West Virginia University is spotlighting one of its most recognizable figures in a campaign to encourage residents to protect themselves against the flu. Mountaineer mascot Reese Allen is scheduled to receive his annual flu shot on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the WVU Health Sciences Center in Morgantown. A student pharmacist from the WVU … Read more

A scene from Yellow Letters, directed by İlker Çatak, winner of the Golden Bear at the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival. The film is among eight features scheduled for the West Virginia International Film Festival in Charleston, November 12–15.
Arts

Award-winning films from Cannes, Berlin coming to West Virginia film festival

by David Sibray

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Films honored at two of the world’s most prestigious international film festivals will be screened in Charleston this November as the West Virginia International Film Festival celebrates its 41st year with eight feature films from six continents. The festival, scheduled for November 12–15, will feature winners from the Cannes Film Festival in … Read more

A river otter pauses along a grassy riverbank log before slipping back into the water. A new collaborative study by WVU and WVDNR used high-tech GPS trackers to reveal that West Virginia otters can log up to 30 miles in a single night.
Wildlife / Conservancy

GPS trackers in new study reveal W.Va. otters traveling up to 30 miles a night

by David Sibray

NEWBERRY, W.Va. — A collaborative study led by state wildlife officials, federal scientists, and West Virginia University researchers in Morgantown is shedding light on the secret lives of West Virginia’s river otters and directly shaping state management policy for years to come. The research, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey and W.Va. Division … Read more

Peak autumn foliage frames Blackwater Falls in Tucker County, W.Va., as visitors look out from the boardwalk viewing platform. Cold overnight temperatures across the Allegheny Highlands have accelerated the seasonal color shift across higher elevations.
Travel / Transportation

Recent mountain freezes accelerate peak fall foliage across high-altitude W.Va.

by David Sibray

SNOWSHOE, W.Va. — With overnight temperatures dipping into the 30s across the high elevations of the Allegheny Mountains, West Virginia’s fall foliage season has reached its pivotal moment. For autumn leaf-peepers, cold nights are a double-edged sword. A light frost acts as a botanical supercharger. As temperatures drop toward freezing, trees seal off the veins … Read more

Coal miners pose with a mine locomotive at the drift mouth at Kaymoor in the New River Gorge. Coal companies established and named hundreds of mining communities across West Virginia during the industry's expansion. National Park Service photo.
History / Prehistory

Industrialization created a new naming system across West Virginia coalfields

by David Sibray

SKELTON, W.Va. — Industrialization changed the names on the map in parts of West Virginia on a scale that researchers have found unusual even among other American coal-producing regions. As railroads and coal companies developed the state’s coalfields in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they established hundreds of communities and became a major … Read more

A vehicle enters Coopers Rock State Forest in northern West Virginia. The West Virginia State Parks Foundation hopes to expand private fundraising for projects at state parks, forests and rail trails across the state.
State Parks, Forests

Foundation seeks to expand private funding for West Virginia State Parks projects

by David Sibray

HURRICANE, W.Va. — Members of the West Virginia State Parks Foundation hope to raise millions of dollars in private donations and grants for projects across the state park system, with its executive director saying some estimates put maintenance, equipment, and project needs at about $260 million. The nonprofit organization will use a new $25,000 grant … Read more