In the 1987 film Matewan, based on a true story in 1920s West Virginia, filmmaker John Sayles dramatizes the stand-off between corrupt factory bosses and the coal miners whom they exploited: poor whites (Appalachians, largely of Anglo or Scottish stock), African Americans, and Italian Americans. Yes, you read that correctly: Italian Americans. 

Italians in the Deep South? 

Again, yes, and deep in both senses—a long history there as well as breadth of achievements. In fact, the subject of Italians in coal mining—as with Italians in baseball—could make an entire documentary. The Italians engaged in this dangerous line of work not only in West Virginia but in other coal-rich states such as Illinois, Colorado and Wyoming. Take that, Godfather lovers. 

(Note: It was in New Orleans in 1891, during the infamous Hennessey incident, when the very word “mafia” was introduced into the American lexicon via sensationalist news reporting.) 

I was in Boston a month ago and am now in West Virginia, a state which opted to separate from Confederate Virginia during the Civil War in1863. The tenth-smallest state, with a population of just under 2 million, West Virginia’s state motto is taken from the language of our classical ancestors, the Romans. In Latin, it reads Montani Semper Liberi (“Mountaineers are Always Free”).  Protected by a swath of valleys and trees, West Virginians have maintained this fierce sense of independence ever since. 

A famous son of the “Mountain State,” the late Senator Robert Byrd, who still holds the record for longest serving U.S. Senator (51 years!), loved to pepper his speeches with references to classical Rome. Unlike a great majority of Americans, Italian or otherwise, Byrd was well aware of how deeply our Founding Fathers turned to Italic sources via the foundations of our nation.  And although Byrd may have been an early organizer of the Ku Klux Klan (a fact omitted in a glowing exhibit about him in the West Virginia State Museum), he rejected segregation and racism later in his career—a sense of justice surely derived from his deep knowledge of Roman history. 

(For any readers wondering why I mentioned Byrd’s KKK affiliation, I am engaging in gratuitous fair play: Doesn’t our media automatically try and “connect” any Italian American, regardless of their professions or economic level or achievements, to “the mafia?”  As they say in the South, “They do indeed.”)

While touring the state museum, I was pleased to discover that the history of Italians in West Virginia is duly documented, particularly via coal mining. There was also a note card and display referencing Peter Gentile, an Italian immigrant whose glass-making company has been around for nearly a century. Ditto various Italian festivals throughout the state. 

Likewise, A. (for Antonio) James Manchin is shown in a picture during his tenure as state director of the federal Farmers Home Administration, appointed by President JFK. He later went on to be elected Secretary of State. Alas, he resigned his post in 1989 after he was about to be impeached for allegedly mismanaging state investments. If the name “Manchin” rings a bell, it should: A. James Manchin was the uncle of Joe Manchin, former Senator and governor of West Virginia and an almost-candidate for president in 2024. (Family surname: Mancini.) 

Being in coal country, I had to take a coal mining tour. I did so in Beckley, about an hour’s drive from the state capital of Charleston. The tour guide was straight out of Dickens—a chubby, garrulous, retired ex-coal miner in his 70s. His West Virginia accent was so thick I had to surreptitiously “translate” words and phrases for a young German couple sitting next to me on the tram. The couple understood English—but not this English!

At one point, the guide asked us if we knew what pepperoni rolls were. He was shocked when I was the only tourist to raise a hand. Here is a description about them from a December 3rd, 2010 New York Times piece: 

The pepperoni roll was first sold by Giuseppe “Joseph” Argiro at the Country Club Bakery in Fairmont, West Virginia, in 1927. The rolls originated as a lunch option for the coal miners of north-central West Virginia in the first half of the 20th century. Pepperoni rolls do not need to be refrigerated for storage and could readily be packed for lunch by miners. Pepperoni and other Italian foods became popular in north-central West Virginia in the early 20th century, when the booming mines and railroads attracted many immigrants from Italy. 

The Italians shared them with fellow coal miners, of course, hence their popularity. Pepperoni rolls are now a staple of West Virginia food culture. 

What? Italians and food? To quote Gomer Pyle from the old TV show: “Surprise, surprise, surprise.” But food crumbs are better than nothing. I’ll take them. If nothing else, pepperoni sticks rather symbolize both Italic ingenuity and, as per their popularity, our inherently generous nature. And they do lead to a connective discussion of Italian Americans in the coal industry.

“Almost Heaven” is how the locals refer to their state. Italians know a thing or two about paradise. Ask Dante. And they brought some of that vision with them to West Virginia. -BDC