June 20, 2017

Manchin Celebrates West Virginia's 154th Birthday

Washington, D.C. – To commemorate the Mountain State’s 154th birthday, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) shared West Virginia’s state food, the pepperoni roll, with all of his colleagues in the U.S. Senate and invited them to the West Virginia State Society celebration on June 28th.

“The State of West Virginia was founded during the Civil War by patriots who were willing to risk their lives in a united pursuit of justice and freedom,” Senator Manchin said.  “Since our state was forged through the fire of our nation’s Civil War, Mountaineers have stepped forward for causes greater than themselves – for freedom, for fierce devotion to our great state and its people, for love of family and for the protection of our nation.  West Virginians have always abandoned the status quo to fight for what is right.  Today, this proud lineage continues through West Virginians who do the heavy lifting and hard work to keep our country the strongest in the world.  Mountaineers inspire me every day. Our people and their love for one another make me proud to say ‘I am a West Virginian.’

“On this West Virginia Day, I am especially grateful to the countless volunteers and neighbors who have lifted up their fellow West Virginians in the year that has passed since the tragic flooding of last summer. In times of challenge and trial, West Virginians come strongly together, without question, to sacrifice and help and give of themselves. That’s just who we are. That spirit of selflessness defines the Mountain State on its birthday this year – and every year.”

Senator Manchin shared pepperoni rolls – the food invented for coal miners to bring into the mines – with fellow Senators because they are a powerful symbol of West Virginia’s proud history of hard work.

“It was West Virginia’s coal miners who took on the dangerous job to mine the coal that fueled America’s Industrial Revolution, won both World Wars and made our country what it is today,” Senator Manchin said. “The sacrifices made by our miners and their families are incalculable, and West Virginia’s gratitude to them is immeasurable.”

###