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The Rebel in the Red Jeep follows the personal and professional
experiences of Ken Hechler, the oldest living person to have served
in the US Congress, from his childhood until his marriage at 98
years of age. This biography recounts a century of accomplishments,
from Hechler's introduction of innovative teaching methods at major
universities, to his work as a speechwriter and researcher for
President Harry Truman, and finally to his time representing West
Virginia in the US House of Representatives and as the secretary of
state. In West Virginia, where he resisted mainstream political
ideology, Hechler was the principal architect behind the Federal
Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 and constantly battled big
coal, strip mining, and fellow politicians alike. He and his
signature red jeep remain a fixture in West Virginia. Since 2004,
Hechler has campaigned against mountaintop removal mining. He was
arrested for trespassing during a protest in 2009 at the age of 94.
It's the 1960s. The Vietnam War is raging and protests are erupting
across the United States. In many quarters, young people are
dropping out of society, leaving their urban homes behind in an
attempt to find a safe place to live on their own terms, to grow
their own food, and to avoid a war they passionately decry. During
this time, West Virginia becomes a haven for thousands of these
homesteaders - or back-to-the-landers, as they are termed by some.
Others call them hippies. When the going got rough, many left. But
a significant number remain to this day. Some were artisans when
they arrived, while others adopted a craft that provided them with
the cash necessary to survive. Hippie Homesteaders tells the story
of this movement from the viewpoint of forty artisans and musicians
who came to the state, lived on the land, and created successful
careers with their craft. There's the couple that made baskets
coveted by the Smithsonian Institution's Renwick Gallery. There's
the draft-dodger that fled to Canada and then became a premier
furniture maker. There's the Boston-born VISTA worker who started a
quilting cooperative. And, there's the immigrant Chinese potter who
lived on a commune. Along with these stories, Hippie Homesteaders
examines the serendipitous timing of this influx and the community
and economic support these crafters received from residents and
state agencies in West Virginia. Without these young transplants,
it's possible there would be no Tamarack: The Best of West
Virginia, the first statewide collection of fine arts and
handcrafts in the nation, and no Mountain Stage, the weekly live
musical program broadcast worldwide on National Public Radio since
1983. Forget what you know about West Virginia. Hippie Homesteaders
isn't about coal or hillbillies or moonshine or poverty. It is the
story of why West Virginia was - and still is - a kind of heaven to
so many.
At thirty-three, Mary Cate Randolph still believes in fairy tales.
She's been searching for Prince Charming all her life, but after
she was date-raped by her last boyfriend, she is understandably
cautious. When she meets tennis pro, Nick Hamilton, at her
Asheville country club, she thinks she's found the perfect man.
He's charming and intelligent, but not sexually aggressive. No
wonder. It's 1983 and unbeknownst to Mary Cate, a naive homophobic,
Nick is a closeted homosexual. Thus begins a tangled web of love,
deception, and discovery that ultimately leads to Mary Cate's
transformation and realization that true love is far different from
the fairy tale version.
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