Davis, WV – The Recreation Department at Canaan Valley Resort State Park will host a free, interactive historical performance of the renowned author and artist David Hunter Strother, also known as Porte Crayon, on Wednesday, August 20 at 7 p.m.
Portrayed by Don Teter of Monterville, West Virginia, the History Alive! Program of the West Virginia Humanities Council explores West Virginia history using reproductions of Porte Crayon’s illustrations, including the cascades now known as Blackwater, Douglas, and Pendleton Falls.
“One of the greatest values of representing history through theatre is being able to provide entertainment and bring history alive for the audience,” explains Don Teter. “This History Alive! presentation of Porte Crayon provides a local connection to the past. Through careful research of the artist’s writing, speeches and biographies I am able to interact with the audience and answer their questions about events that have shaped our history as Porte Crayon himself would have answered them.”
Born in Martinsburg, trained as an artist in Europe and having gained fame as a writer and illustrator for national magazines under the name Porte Crayon, David Hunter Strother is perceived as one of the most accomplished and diverse men of the new state of West Virginia. Having illustrated several early travel stories including The Blackwater Chronicle which shared the exploits of an 1851 expedition of sportsmen into the Canaan Valley, he also penned and illustrated The Virginian Canaan, regaling readers with more tales of hunting, fishing, and other adventures in the mountains.
From Charles Town he reported and illustrated John Brown’s capture, trial and execution for Harper’s Weekly in 1859. During the Civil War Strother served as a Union officer and topographer who saw action in several major battles. He was one of the founders of the West Virginia Historical Society and a speaker at the first commencement held at West Virginia University.
Visit the resort website at www.canaanresort.com or for further information, call 800-622-4121.
