A Chef Shares W.Va. Memories And Visiting A Cat Cafe, Inside Appalachia

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The chef of an award-winning Asheville restaurant says he was shaped by memories of growing up in West Virginia.

The Seeing Hand Association brings together people who are visually impaired to learn the craft of chair caning.

And a West Virginia community grapples with its population of feral cats.

You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

In This Episode:

Appalachian Memories Inspire Chef

Chef William Dissen at his home in Asheville, North Carolina.
Photo Credit: Johnny Autry

Chef William Dissen’s memories are seasoned with the flavors of West Virginia's mountains. He’s now taking some of those memories and turning them into award-winning cuisine at his James Beard Award-nominated restaurant, The Market Place, in Asheville.

Folkways Reporter Margaret McLeod Leef spoke with Dissen while he was in Charleston with his debut cookbook, Thoughtful Cooking.

Mending With Seeing Hands

An elderly woman is leaned down close to the seat of a chair. She is weaving a new seat onto an old hand caned chair. — Jeannine Schmitt weaves a new seat onto an old hand caned chair.
*Photo Credit: Clara Haizlett/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

A lot of folks in Appalachia grew up with caned chairs in the house, but you don’t see them as much as you used to. Cane breaks down over time and needs to be replaced. Few people know how to do that.

At a workshop in Wheeling, West Virginia, a community of skilled workers repair old chairs - and show that not everything that looks broken has to be thrown out.

Folkways Reporter Clara Haizlett brings us the story.

Clara also produced a short video about the people at Seeing Hand. That video, and a few others, will appear on West Virginia Public Broadcasting as part of an Inside Appalachia television special. The episode premiers at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving on WVPB and will be available to watch online starting Nov. 25.

A Cozy Cafe For Cats

A tabby cat looks directly into the camera, bringing its face close. The photo is slightly blurry, as if the cat is in motion. — Many cats at Give Purrs A Chance come from overrun shelters and animal rescues in southern West Virginia.
*Photo Credit: Jack Walker/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

West Virginia is home to more than 100,000 stray cats. Most aren’t spayed or neutered, which only increases the problem of overpopulation.

Pet advocates say subsidies for the procedure and pop-up clinics can help, but as WVPB’s Jack Walker reports, so can creative efforts to find cats a home.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Christian Lopez, Harvey & Copeland, Todd Burge, Dinosaur Burps, Paul Loomis and Blue Dot Sessions.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. We had help this week from folkways editor Chris Julin.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

You can find us on Instagram and Twitter/X @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.

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Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

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