WESTON CARP FISHING TOURNAMENT
WHY WESTON WEST VIRGINIA? By the CORPULENT CARP CONNOSEWER Nearly everyone is familiar with the History associated with Weston West Virginia and its most famous landmark, The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum….but few know the history of the region and state…and fewer still know that the town played an important role in the introduction of a particular species of fish to American waters. HILLBILLIES AND REDNECKS In the 1850's, Western Virginia, that part "West of the Allegheny Mountains" was still classified as 'wilderness' territory and was populated largely by hardy Scots-Irish immigrants, who came here to cut the forests and farm the land. These people were accustomed to living off the fruits of nature, in their native homelands and were well adapted to the rigors of frontier life. Many of them had come to America following revolutions and wars in their own countries. Quite a few were of a rebellious nature having supported King William of Scotland while fighting against the British Crown. There they were called "Billy's Boys"….here in Amerca they were known as "Hillbillys". Not as well educated as their urban neighbors, in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., these immigrants performed manual labor and worked long hours in the fields. This type of work exposed the unprotected back of their necks to the full rays of the sun, and soon their necks were burned a bright red. One of the symbols these rebels had used to identify themselves during their war against England was to wear a red scarf or cloth around their necks, and they were also known there as "Rednecks". The people who lived in the Northern cities of America used both terms interchangeably to derisively describe their wilderness neighbors. In turn, the people of Western Virginia referred to the city folk as "Yankees" which is a Scottish word meaning "greedy". (To learn more about the Hillbilly n Reneck language visit the Language Guide). Little did the city folks know that either term is considered a compliment. These Scots-Irish pioneers had worn their red scarves or bandannas during both the American Revolution…and during the American Civil War. Many of these hardy Hillbillies and Rednecks supported the Confederacy and the "Mother State" of Virginia. They wore *red cloths or scarves around their necks as a sign of allegiance to the South and to distinguish and identify themselves in battle. Confederate General Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson was born on a plantation just North of Weston along the West Fork River is said to have issued red cloths to all his troops. Following the Civil War and the establishment of West Viriginia as a separate state, those residents who had remained loyal to the Union began calling themselves "Mountaineers" so as to distinguish themselves from those who supported the South. *Note: the bandanna as we know it today did not come into being until well after the civil war. The "bandannas" worn at that time were more like a womans large silk headscarf, and was worn like a tie around the neck, with a large, loose knot under the chin, that allowed the end pieces to protrude out to either side like the folds of a bow tie. A Red neck scarf or bandanna has come to represent the symbol of resistance and rebellion throughout the world. In the early 1900's Appalachian miners donned Red Bandannas as their sign of unity during the infamous "Coal Wars" in West Virginia. Terrorists and so-called "Freedom Fighters" in South America and the Middle East have also adopted the "Red Bandanna" as their uniform. Today those descendants of the first settlers to Western Virginia honor their Scots-Irish ancestry by wearing a Red Bandanna at area festivals, events and gatherings. THE ASYLUM AND THE FISH During the mid 1800's the population of the United States was expanding rapidly, cities on the East Coast were becoming very crowded - jobs were scarce - and as in some places today, people were living on the streets. Little known today is the fact that mental illness was nearly at the epidemic stage in many of these large cities. Alcoholism and syphilis, an (at that time) incurable sexually transmitted disease, were the main causes of these forms of 'dementia', especially in waterfront communities. Medical science being in its infancy, doctors didn't realize the cause of so many people suddenly exhibiting strange behaviors in public - and becoming a public nuisance - nor did they have any means of treating such illnesses. They attributed it the influences of lunar cycles - the 'changing of the moon' made people act that way - so they labeled them "luna-tics". The Virginia legislature decided around 1850 that the best way to rid the streets of Boston, Philadelphia, Richmond and Washington, D.C. of these "lunatics" was to build a large "Asylum" or shelter in which to house them. There were already Asylums to care for the destitute, and orphans - so it was felt a place was needed for the mentally ill as well. A site far from the cities, along the banks of the West Fork River in a town named Weston in the Western Virginia Wilderness was selected. Construction began in the 1850's and skilled craftsmen from throughout Europe and the Americas came to Weston to lend their expertise in stonemasonry, glassworking, carpentry, and metalworking to the project. Men came from Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland and other countries to work; settled down and soon brought their families to live in the town as well. Hundreds of black slaves were also sent to the site to perform the task of moving the large handcut stone blocks into place along the walls. Construction was interrupted during the American Civil War and the buildings were used to house soldiers from both the Confederate and Union armies during that great conflict. Work resumed after the war and it was finally completed around 1890 and served as a treatment facility for the mentally ill for over 100 years. During the construction of the Asylum in Weston there were thousands of workers who needed to be fed and housed. A railroad line was built into the town to transport workers, material and supplies from the Capitol in Richmond. The entire area "West of the Alleghenies" began to prosper and grow, and Weston became a hub or gateway to the territories beyond. The United States Government was called upon to help feed the growing population. Typically the government looked for a cheap, easily harvestable food source suitable for the purpose. The Europeans who had come to help build the Asylum were surprised to find that there were no Carp Fish to be found in America. Carp had long been cultivated as a food source in both Asia and Europe (where the Austrian princes of Schwarzenberg maintained 20,000 acres of carp ponds), so they suggested bringing in Carp. There had already been some entrepreneurs who had tried to import the prized fish, hoping to provide a familiar, profitable food staple to the rapidly growing nation. Julius A. Poppe was one of the most successful of these having imported the fish from Germany he built a Carp Farm in California where he hoped to establish himself as a supplier of fish stock across the country. Poppe tried to get people all over the country interested in his plan to "feed the masses" and in 1870 he gave a speech to Congress saying: "There ought to be one person in every county who would raise choice carp as stock fish to sell to others to fatten for their own tables. It would be a cheap but sumptuous food and at the same time very convenient, as they are ready to be eaten at all times of the year". (Gapen, p. 8). In 1871 Congress authorized President Ulysses S. Grant to use the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries to begin an intensive effort of carp cultivation. The government imported Carp from Europe and established 'carp ponds' in the state of Maryland where Carp were raised and sold to the various State Governments. The fish were supposed to raised in farm ponds but when they arrived in Weston they were instead put directly into the West Fork River so they would be readily accessible to the cooks preparing meals for the workers at the Lunatic Asylum construction site. Now the West Fork River runs South to North through the Center of the state, joining with other Rivers (Tygart and Mongahela) to subsequently meet in Pittsburgh to form into the Ohio and the mighty Mississippi rivers. It is said that was from this intial stocking of the River in Weston that the CARP migrated to other rivers and states throughout the East and Midwest. The fish multiplied rapidly and for many years was a staple on table of every Redneck in Weston---but as the years went by, societal changes came about and the rednecks became educated and found it was easier to buy their food, than it was to raise or catch it. Thus a basic part of pioneer life was discontinued by all but a few remaining Weston area Rednecks who still practice the art of CARP fishing on the West Fork River today. It is in the spirit of those early Hillbilly/Redneck pioneers, and the European craftsmen who settled and built the town of Weston - that the Carp Fishing Tournament lives today. Its an attempt to recreate and honor one aspect of a time honored tradition our our ancestors. That of fishing for the Carp - the fish that fed a town and helped turn a "Wildnerness" into the state of WEST "by god" VIRGINIA. The 2008 Carp Fishing Tournament will be held June 27th and 28th. Groups or individuals interested in participating in the Fishing Tourney or exhibiting and selling their crafts, merchandise, and services or those simply wanting more information should contact the committee headquarters at 269-5555 or 269-2210.