Sophia, West Virginia: Senator Robert C. Byrd’s Old Stomping Grounds

[@Fevebblefester]

My late Uncle Jake used to talk about having conversations with the late Senator Byrd. My Uncle was a coal mine safety Inspector and spoke highly of the Senator.

[@missmon562]

Did they talk about his old KKK days?

[@kevingreen3365]

I live about 5 minutes away from Sophia. (Folks here say “So-fee-uh” for some reason) Thanks for documenting our areas in Raleigh and Wyoming Counties. I grew up in Oceana. Prayers for continued safe travels! 🙏🏻

[@1carolmassey]

I know it’s funny to hear the way they say Sophia. 😆

[@haroldhand2877]

Fantastic , my dad was born in Sophia and grew up in Crab Orchard , between Sophia and Beckley . Would love to see an episode on Helen W/Va ...home of Mark Twain High School where , Byrd graduated fairly close to Sophia and the Coal camp my mother lived in as a youth . You two are awesome

[@countryroads4932]

My husband grew up in this town. It really is a beautiful town.

[@terrikennedy2004]

SOPH-e-a also, hope you ate at China One…it’s a very popular restaurant. Be sure to visit the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine. There’s a coal miners shack, as well as the superintendent home.

[@jefferyb304]

Locals pronunce Sophia differently than most of the world. There is little E sound making the name closer sounding to sofa, but not quite. Perhaps sof'ia would sound closer to how locals say it?

[@chubbawubba6959]

Good to see y'all in Gods Country for this one! Thanks as always for sharing.

[@realappalachia]

Thank you for your support! We appreciate you!

[@marybotman5488]

Seeing Sophia (Sophie) brought back cherished emotions. Thank you so much. I saw so much that took me back there. The "pretty house" was 1 of my mother's friends. My dad went to high school with Sen Byrd.

[@chubbawubba6959]

@@marybotman5488 Great town, I lived there for a few years long ago. I still miss it, people are awesome and, friendly.

[@christophersadler2930]

The school was Sophia High School from 1943 to 1976 and Sophia Jr. High from 1976 to 1994. I attended Sophia Jr. High from 1989 to 1992.

[@user-ex4iu5tz9e]

A sea swell of words and emotions. This is so special I am so appreciative and so undeserving. Thank you. I have heard the term “heart centered” And it describes the pair of you. Please continue to shine bright and make the world a more loving place, with your art work and your passion to educate. Our ancestors feel our love when you tell of the extremely harsh conditions they endured, body and spirit. Thank you for this video from myself and my whole family. May God bless you and keep you all the days of your life.

[@realappalachia]

Thank you so much for these kind words! You absolutely are deserving, though! You, and all of our viewers and supporters like you, are the reason we do what we do! We appreciate you so much and hope this video did do your family heritage justice! Love and blessings! - Melody

[@carriebowman584]

You missed a very special part in Sophia. There is a monument for hero’s that went to Sophia High School. The building you drive around was the Sophia High School I graduated from in 1972. My son went there as well. After he graduated he went into the navy and became a Navy Seal and was KIA in 2005 Operation Red Wing. He name is on the monument.

[@iloveamerica3917]

I'm sorry you lost your son. I am grateful for his service and thank your family for his sacrifice.

[@ritchiehorton4157]

Actually work in Sophia once a month and always wonder the history around there, great job!

[@joannetillett1647]

I live in Sophia and I've been trying to find the history of the school all that comes up is that it is now a CDL School.😢

[@talldude5841]

Such beautiful, peaceful scenery here. Thanks for taking us along you two.

[@samcook1206]

So-fee-uh not so - fee- ah

[@robinhaupt9119]

What a wonderful town. Thank you for the visit Shane and Melody!

[@keithtimmons378]

Nice looking clean town.

[@virginiadunlap2612]

I am originally from WVA. When I would go back home I would drive through Sophie. The one side road you turned up & turned around I wish you would have went further up it. It was the one across from the Dollar General. It would have taken you past Independence High school & at the stop sign if you made a right hand turn you would have come across a small town called Coal City. I had a lot of family in that area & mostly all the men were coal miners including my father. Great to see back home.

[@MillerMeteor74]

My other place of interest besides Appalachia is New York City. Those steps at 7:13 remind me of the step streets in parts of New York City, though many of them go up much higher hills than that. I have not seen any of them in person, but I've seen plenty of pictures. Right at 8:05 I caught a glimpse of a church in the distance on the right, but I didn't see any way of getting to it. But you found it later in the video. 🙂

[@robertm731]

Shane, I've been watching your videos for some time and mostly the recent ones with that precious Melody. Then, lately, I've caught some of your solo videos and thoroughly enjoyed those, too. Quite a few older ones, actually, but today, when I saw this newer one with Melody, I literally could not stop the tears from flowing. I hope you appreciate her as much as some of her AND your fans do. Absolute perfection

[@realappalachia]

Oh yes, believe me, I know, she knows, and she knows I know lol. We were just talking the weekend how it is 100x better quality and 100x more fun now that she’s on camera. We wanted to get it worked out for a long time because we knew we work fantastic together and were excited when it happened. I really doubt I’d have been able to keep going with it alone, people don’t realize how much work goes into it and she does a LOT behind the scenes too that people don’t know about.

[@robertm731]

@@realappalachia Well,I was sure that you did. I just wanted her to know what I think of her. I'm trying to go back and check out some more of your earlier videos. The Hinton one was the last I watched. I was only there once when I was staying at Pipestem and drove over to see the lake. You all have a great weekend. I'm going to visit Bluefield VA again soon as I lived there growing up

[@heatherfulmore3412]

@@realappalachia This is a neat little town.

[@jimgibson4978]

Hello. Please keep up the good work. I do have a comment on the audio in the last few videos. The mics are so low I had to max out volume just to hear. This would not be a problem if there weren't commercials placed in the videos, all at full volume! You subjects are great, I love the old mining towns featured.

[@zxtenn]

I bought a house in Quinwood WV, closing in about 3 weeks or sooner as it's a cash sale. I was looking at a place in Helen maybe 4 months ago and drove through Sophia to reach Helen if i remember correctly? There is a Robert C Byrd road in Beckley that is a pretty long road.

[@johnmarshall8021]

What about visiting Beckley, Logan,Pineville, Chapmanville ….

[@savagenomore]

I go there often making deliveries to a business there, I hit all the towns around there on up to Pikeville KY. One of these days I'm going to probably be watching one of your videos and see myself driving 😄

[@realappalachia]

Now that would be funny lol

[@jimc.goodfellas]

On my dad's side of the family we had family that lived and mined there in the early 1900s and I have quite a few family members buried in a cemetery in Sophia

[@chiefenumclaw7960]

Who's the dude in the cool sunglasses? I thought Tom Cruise was down in the Danger Zone filming Top Gun 7.

[@danielarmstrong9219]

Pretty town - thanks for sharing!

[@judypierce7028]

I lived in WV for some 30 years and visited Beckley many, many times. However, I did not have an opportunity to visit Sophia. It looks like a neat little town. Senator Robert C. Byrd was originally from North Carolina and moved to WV. He was a great senator and did so much for the people of WV. I hope that you have time to go on the Beckley Mine tour. Thank you for another awesome video. Stay safe sweet people.

[@berktoeppen835]

yes the same byrd that was grand wizard of the kkk a democrat

[@russelltackett4779]

@@berktoeppen835 Cool

[@judypierce7028]

@@berktoeppen835 Right on!!

[@missmon562]

Exactly! As a West Virginian, I find him to be an embarrassment.

[@judypierce7028]

@@missmon562 I can understand that Miss Mon!

[@deborahmccartney5694]

A lovely and charming video to share with all of us. Thank you Melody and Shane. Have a beautiful week! 💗

[@Roadtripmik]

not just stomping grounds, "Byrd recruited 150+ men from around the mountains to form his own Klan"

[@stevehannah5712]

Dollar general,18000 stores.love the videos.✅💗❤️❣️🆒

[@lindamartin5286]

I was born in McAlpin, a coal camp very near Sophia (we pronounced it “Soph - ee.). We later moved to town, and I went to the elementary school that had sooo many steps!!! We spent time with our grandma, who lived in an apartment over one of the store fronts, and worked with a beautician named Woodie. My maiden name is Kaylor, and my mother’s was Tanner. I have very fond memories of those years, and would love to hear from anyone who lived there in the early 50s.

[@benlaw4647]

Enjoyed this ! Such a very beautiful area ...thanks guys ....God bless y'all...🙏🙏❤

[@JootwaProdz]

Have you guys been to glen daniel? about 20 minutes away from Sophia. Not much to do but it’s my old home town. I used to go to Sophia Christian Academy when I was 5 or 6 and great video

[@celestelacey812]

It is always fun to see these places. My late husband and I had talked about coming to Virginia and West Virginia just to see these beautiful small towns. There is one I would love to see that I had always seen the sign when were driving a Big truck through Virginia and West Virginia. It is call Lacey Springs, Virginia. If you ever get a chance to visit it please send us a video.

[@stanleylee8012]

Why not do a video on Madison,Va I used to live there.

[@harrywest2780]

Very nice

[@danalynch8889]

I took the Beckley Mine tour with my 10 old cousin at the time and you two would enjoy it. Your not the only thankful he is not singing.

[@johnmarshall8021]

My dads brother lived there until his death in 2016

[@lora5779]

You two are so cute! Was watching Ya on the short trip of cigarette holler.. Creepy Yup, thanks for that share, too funny! I am sure I will feel the same if I were with You two! Y'all are My favorite!! 👍

[@navydogsadventures3500]

I always picture W.V. as small town. Would be nice to be able to live in a small town in W.V. Peaceful! How close do you both live to W.V.?

[@russelltackett4779]

Senator Byrd was a good one for sure

[@ClaraBBrown]

This is such a nice little town I am a west Virginia native and I have never heard of this town but it's nice to see we have some beautiful areas in our state.

[@JaimeMesChiens]

I live in New England. I’ve been down south, but visiting cities, big these beautiful towns and hamlets. West Virgina looks so beautiful.

[@marthaanthis3980]

Is there a grocery store in Sophia?

[@georgiabiscuit]

Beautiful little town . I love watching you both, you’re so nice. However, Shanes driving makes me nervous. Lol

[@walterlangston4484]

think the old grade school and Robert C byrd live in stocksberry as A kid witch is A old coal camp just out side of Sophia hope you got to eat at chinia 1 they have great food

[@JaimeMesChiens]

How far away from Beckley from Sophia?

[@Animefruba]

If he was going to move to West Virginia this year would you move to Spencer ,Weston or Beckley I thought your viewers would have a opinion about that and I would appreciate it

[@realappalachia]

I’d like to know that too

[@larkhigginbotham5374]

My thought would be the Weston area.

[@E.M.Weddle]

The school y'all looked at was the old alternative school. The field.that.used to be behind it was home to Sophia's little league baseball team the blue hawks. Also, I want to know where Sophia PD was because y'all have sped through Sophia this entire video.

[@marykuhn7510]

It is the old sophia high school

[@willbygosh4887]

In my hometown of Clarksburg West Virginia(Birthplace of General Stonewall Jackson,the Statue is still at the courthouse) Robert C. Byrd helped helped moved the FBI Fingerprint Division in the 1990's from downtown Washington DC to Clarksburg,it is now the called the the National Crime Information Center which is all computerized before they used a card file system when it was in DC which had a high cost of living along with a high turnover rate.The Clarksburg Center has around 3000 employees which provided an economic boost due to the loss of the coal mines and several glass factories there.Criminal background epecially gun background checks go through the Clarksburg Center which named 1 of their High Schools after Robert C. Byrd,there is also a 4 lane highway nearby named after him eventhough he is from the southern part of the West Virginia.He also helped transfer the Bureau of Public Debt from DC to Parkersburg West Virginia that employed several hundred.He was a very beloved,powerful, influential senatori n West Virginia.

[@missmon562]

Byrd was also a knock Klan member.

[@davidbell9130]

y is that place so prone to destructive fires

[@bonniebrown4186]

Did he wear his KKK robe in the parades?

[@missmon562]

Lol.

[@allenbolen9705]

The old Sophia jr high school.

[@walterlangston4484]

I walk up the steeps thereone time got some phots not fun walk

[@missmon562]

I live in WV and enjoy your channel. I am not proud of Byrd though. Not only was he a member of the KKK, he stayed in power way too long.

[@benandcis]

I’m a coal miners granddaughter

[@berktoeppen835]

this is the same robert byrd hillary clintons mentor and both hillary and biden went to his funeral, he was a grand wizard of the klu lux clan kkk.

[@DrewTheConqueror]

Exalted Cyclops 👌🏻

[@russelltackett4779]

👋

[@chrismemphis8062]

Robert KKK Byrd, Democrat.

[@russelltackett4779]

Cool

[@gerrylopez5743]

R. C. Byrd of the kkk??? Consider me unsubscribed. Why would you…never mind.

[@realappalachia]

Uh, because he’s the only person anyone has ever heard of from the town

[@DrewTheConqueror]

Bye snowflake.

[@repealthe19thamendment]

Cry more Gerry

[@russelltackett4779]

🤣

[@missmon562]

Yes, he is an embarrassment but it is not the fault of the owners of this channel. They are just simply giving tours of these towns and giving interesting info.