June 20, 2021 - It was 158 years ago today when a young nation first learned that “Mountaineers are Always Free.” Since then, we West Virginians have worked hard to make our mark on bettering not only ourselves and our beloved Mountain State but also this great land in which we live.

June 20, 1863 saw West Virginia born from the Civil War as the 35th state. Since then, our natural resources — coal, natural gas and timber — have powered a growing nation. Our natural beauty and wild and wonderful landscape are a playground for many seeking to connect with the outdoors, and led this year to the New River Gorge area being designated as the nation’s newest national park.

As we celebrate our 158th birthday, though, it is fair to analyze exactly what we’re celebrating.

We call West Virginia “Almost Heaven.” We tell people it is wild and wonderful. Our forests and rivers, mountaintops and beautiful valleys are worth celebrating. Our whitewater streams, our wildlife and our historic sites make us worth a visit.

Time and again we have been told out-of-state visitors will be back not because of any of that, but because of the people. West Virginians are among the most welcoming, helpful people around, they tell us.

That certainly is true. It is only part of the story of West Virginia, however.

Our history is one of battling adversity, whether through a brutal war that often pitted brother against brother or in coping with economic and technological change.

Our history includes eras during which we permitted our beautiful hills and valleys to be devastated by timbering and coal mining. Long ago, we vowed that would never happen again.

We are among the nation’s hardest-working people. Many companies, taking a chance on West Virginians, have been surprised pleasantly at our work ethic.

Now, of course, we face both economic and social upheaval. As we emerge from a year of COVID-19 lockdowns and economic turmoil, we’re learning more about the ongoing toll the virus took on us.

The drug abuse epidemic continues to kill our friends and neighbors at an alarming rate. Far too many are taking their own lives. Economic hardships are tearing families and communities apart.

Somehow, we will get through this. That’s what West Virginians do.

Today, then, we face many challenges. But it is worth asking on our birthday: Are there any people you would rather have on your side than your fellow Mountain State residents?

That is reason enough for us to celebrate both our state itself and the people who make it, appropriately, almost heaven.

Happy birthday, West Virginia.