The Friends of Blair Mountain consists of the core group of people involved in preservation efforts at Blair Mountain. We are from West Virginia and the hills of North Carolina, and are a grassroots group of scholars, activists, concerned citizens, and union workers. We will continue fighting to preserve Blair Mountain, commemorate the memory of the miners, and contribute to the contemporary struggle for labor rights today.
Board Members:
Kenneth King
Kenny is the heart of the Blair Mountain preservation efforts, and although he won’t admit it, he is the hero in all this. Kenny has been working for about 20 years trying to preserve Blair Mountain, and is the main reason it still exists today. Kenny works full-time in the coal industry and spends his off-time conducting research as a self-trained archaeologist. He has devoted countless time, energy and personal resources to research and protect the battlefield. His knowledge of the archaeological resources and local terrain are unparalleled, and he is a key contributor to our work.
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Harvard Ayers
Dr. Harvard Ayers, a professor emeritus in anthropology at Appalachian State University, has been a long-time supporter of the Blair Mountain efforts and has a long history of commitment to the coalfields. He was part of the 1999 Blair Mountain march alongside Jimmy Weekley and Ken Hechler, and is a co-nominee for the nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Along with Kenny King, Harvard undertook an archaeological investigation of the Blair Mountain battlefield in 2006 and 2007. This survey, during which 15 sites were located and recorded, was a crucial element in the nomination to the NRHP. Harvard continues to play a key role as a plaintiff in the ongoing legal case involving the nomination.
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Barbara Rasmussen
Barbara Rasmussen has deep roots in West Virginia that go back seven generations. She is an American Historian with an interest in Appalachian and colonial history. She has taught history at the college and university level and has written about absentee exploitation of the land and natural resources in West Virginia. She is an ardent historic preservationist and consultant on National Register of Historic Places nominations and historic resource surveys. For her, writing the nomination for Blair Mountain with Harvard Ayers, Frank Unger and others was a very challenging, but rewarding task. She continues to work for the mountain’s return to the National Register of Historic Places.
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Brandon Nida
Brandon is a doctoral candidate in archaeology at UC Berkeley, and has been working on Blair Mountain for over two years. His activities for FOBM include data collection, data analysis, report writing, presenting and lecturing, IT support, video production, community organizing, labor activism, and archaeological research. As a native West Virginian, his commitment to research and community work in coalfield communities is a long-term one.
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Other key players in the second battle of Blair Mountain are Wess Harris, Regina Hendricks, Bill Price and countless others who have devoted time and energy to preserving the mountain
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