At the turn of the 20th century, Serbians fleeing religious persecution settled in the Upper Ohio Valley. They established a Serbian Eastern Orthodox Church and picnic grounds along the Ohio River in West Virginia and Ohio, finding work in steel mills and coal mines. The Serbian population has shrunk in recent years with the decline of coal and steel jobs, but the Serbian community remains an important presence in Steubenville, Ohio and Weirton, West Virginia communities. They’re known throughout the region for one thing especially: roasted chicken. The Men’s Club of the church roasts 5,000 chickens every summer, in a weekly event they call a Chicken Blast. West Virginia State Folklorist Emily Hilliard went to check it out. She brings us this report.
Produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Inside Appalachia with the West Virginia Folklife Program, a project of the West Virginia Humanities Council wvfolklife.org
30 июл 2024
