Sunday, May 23, 2010
WV Gov. Joseph "Joe" Manchin (Mancina) Shares Stories of His Italian and Coal Mining Heritage
West Virginia
Gov. Joseph "Joe" Manchin III, grandfather was adopted as an infant by
Mrs. Mary Mancina of San Giovanni Farese, Italy.
Gov. Manchin, who also serves as
chairman of the Interstate Mining Compact Commission.has engaged in monstrous
battles with the Powerful Massey Energy belligerent and cantankerous chief
executive officer Don Blankenship, and won most of them furthering the
Safety Rights of Coal Miners.
Manchin Shares Stories of His Italian Heritage
Bluefield Daily Telegraph; By Bill Archer; May 15, 2010
BLUEFIELD, Va. — Gov. Joe Manchin
shared many stories with his friends Friday evening at Fincastle Country
Club.
Most of the stories that the governor
shared were about how privileged he was to grow up in a loving and supportive
family. "We had unconditional love," Manchin said of growing up in Farmington.
"You didn’t have to worry about right or wrong. You learned that early
in life. But at the end of the day, you came home to a family that gave
you unconditional love."
Manchin appeared to hold the crowd spellbound as he told them of how growing up in a mining community taught him how to focus his energy on the family. He spoke with reverent tones of how families came together during the Sago tragedy in 2006, at Aracoma three weeks later, and again at the Upper Big Branch Mine on April 5.
"West Virginians are amazing people", Manchin said. "I’ve never seen a group of people come together in times of tragedy and support each other like we do. Roots and heritage have a lot to do with that. I was a privileged child. No one was born with a silver spoon in their mouth. I doubt if there was a silver spoon in the whole town."
He talked about how his family got its name. His grandfather was adopted as an infant by Mrs. Mary Mancina of San Giovanni Farese, Italy. He talked about returning to his home town on a trade mission, and visiting the monument there for the coal miners who died in the Dec. 6, 1907 mine explosion at Monongah. There were 171 Italians among the 361 coal miners who died in the explosion at that mine.
http://bdtonline.com/local/x1414101641/
Manchin-shares-stories-of-his-Italian-heritage
Governor Joe Manchin III, West Virginia's 34th Governor
Joseph "Joe" Manchin III (born August 24, 1947) is an American politician from the State of West Virginia. Manchin is the 34th and current Governor of West Virginia, having taken office on January 17, 2005. He is a member of the Democratic Party and the scion of a large Democratic political family in his home state.
Manchin was born in Farmington, West Virginia, second of five children.He graduated from Farmington High School in 1965.His grandparents were Italian immigrants.
Manchin entered West Virginia University on a football scholarship in 1965; however, an injury during practice ended his football career. He graduated in 1970 with a degree in information management and later became involved in several family owned businesses.
He was elected to the House of Delegates in the West Virginia Legislature in 1982, and moved up to the Senate in 1986 where he served until 1996. In 1996, Manchin was a candidate for governor, but finished second to Charlotte Pritt among a large group of candidates in the Democratic primary election. He then ran for state Secretary of State of West Virginia in 2000, winning easily.
Manchin announced his intention to challenge incumbent Governor Bob Wise in the 2004 Democratic primary election in May 2003, but Wise decided not to run for re-election after a scandal, becoming the first governor of West Virginia not to do so since running for re-election was permitted in 1972. Manchin won both the primary and general election by large margins, and his election marked the first time that two persons of the same political party have followed one another in the governor's office since 1964
Manchin has been married since 1967 to the former Gayle Conelly, and they have three children: Heather, Joseph IV, and Brooke.Manchin is a certified pilot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Manchin
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