Surprised to see the PCAS newsletter turn up in your inbox this morning?
Me too.
Thought I’d never be able to get back to writing this stupid thing. It’s been a busy summer.
I won’t bore you with the details, but it’s been a long, hot three months in more ways than one. I ended up in the ranks of management in my little corner of NPR — a temporary assignment made necessary because of (eh-hem) regime change, which made this summer hotter than it needed to be. But now that we have a permanent boss in place, I’m back to anchoring newscasts beginning this weekend and amusing myself by writing dumb newsletters — just in time for the start of the fall season, my favorite time of the year.
Things are cooling down around here. And even though the sun has been sun-shiny in Martinsburg, Porte’s hometown, the highs have been more manageable this week. It’s as if the weather gods knew exactly when my temporary sojourn in management would come to an end and backed off the broiler accordingly. In fact, temperatures around here are only expected to rise to near 60 today, thanks to Tropical Storm Ophelia, which is also bringing heavy rain and wind to the Mid-Atlantic.
I might have let the PCAS lapse over the past few months, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about it. Planning some changes around here. What do you think about making this newsletter a little bit more …. newsy? I still want to include my Porte-inspired adventures, but what about including news that has West Virginians talking?
Take the turmoil at West Virginia University. Here’s the latest from West Virginia Watch, the state’s newest newsroom. Also, WVU President Gordon Gee talked about the layoffs and cutbacks with the Charleston Gazette-Mail’s editorial board this week:
Library among two programs asked to reduce staff in WVU’s budget crunch - West Virginia Watch
Gee dismisses past audits, denies financial mismanagement of WVU during Gazette-Mail interview | Education | wvgazettemail.com
Speaking of stuff we’ll be talking about this weekend, Marshall is playing Virginia Tech today. Kickoff is at noon and the game will be streaming on ESPN2. The WVU game against Texas Tech kicks off at 3:30pm ET, streaming on ESPN+.
Today being the first day of fall, it’s time to start thinking about celebrating the apple harvest.
This is the Porte Crayon APPLEJACK Society, after all.
You can find harvest celebrations in just about any apple growing region, but since this newsletter is based in West Virginia, I’ll just name two homegrown festivals — both with Porte connections.
The annual Apple Butter Festival gets underway in Berkeley Springs in a couple of weeks. Mark your calendar for the weekend of October 7th. Berkeley Springs is notable for Porte enthusiasts because he maintained a second home there and his family operated the grand Berkeley Springs Hotel that catered to the tourist crowd. Berkeley Springs is also where Porte kicked off his adventures in the West Virginia highlands for readers of Harper’s New Monthly Magazine.
The annual Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival follows hard on the heels of the celebration in Berkeley Springs. The four-day event here in Porte’s hometown of Martinsburg begins Thursday, October 19th. Come watch the crowning of Queen Pomona XLIV!
I’ll leave you today with this — if you’re looking for something a little harder than apple cider to warm you up as the evenings get cooler, I recommend applejack … because, what else would I recommend!
I drink it neat, mostly because I’m too lazy to take the time to actually mix a drink. But if you’re more ambitious than me, here’s a link to get you started experimenting with the venerable spirit Porte mentions in his writings more than once. Let me know how it goes in the comments.
12 Applejack Drink Recipes (From Sours to Sidecars) | LoveToKnow
By the way, I’ll likely post today’s newsletter to Facebook and the platform formerly known as Twitter, but I’ve largely backed away from social media, which means trolling for new subscribers is a challenge. I’d appreciate the help in getting the word out.
Stay hydrated.
And thanks for sticking around while I was much too busy at my day job to work on this newsletter.
Much appreciated.