CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state of West Virginia is 154 years old.
Events were held across the state Tuesday in honor of West Virginia’s birthday. Activities, planned by the state Division of Culture and History, were held in Charleston, Moundsville, Logan and Wheeling.
First Lady Cathy Justice cut the state’s birthday cake at the state Culture Center in Charleston.
“I’m so proud to be a West Virginian,” Justice told MetroNews. “We’re so deep in culture, family, religion and we want to keep that alive and keep going.”
Justice was joined by eighth grade students from the West Virginia’s Ambassador’s Camp. Students sang the “Happy Birthday” song, John Denver’s “Country Roads” and more during the ceremony.
Tyler Ray, a graduate of Webster County High School, was on hand to recite what the state meant to him through poetry.
“To be able to express it through poetry is amazing. I’m really happy I actually found a few poems about West Virginia that reflect how I love it and that it is an amazing state,” Ray said.
Ray said he learned about West Virginia’s history in school, but never experienced what it was like to celebrate it at the Capitol.
“I’ve never been to a celebration like this before,” he said. “We’re learned about it all through school and I’ve celebrated it at school and did little events around my county, but something like this is just amazing.”
The First Lady said her goal is to keep West Virginia “alive and thriving” through strong relationships with its people.
“I’ve gotten to go to so many parts of the state this past year and the people are so genuine and so gracious. I just want to be a part of that and to be their friend. Let’s all work together,” she said.