Mr. Noel W. Tenney

Mr. Tenney, a native of Upshur County, currently serves as a  Folk Cultural Specialist and Assistant Professor of Folklife Studies at Fairmont State University. At FSU, he teaches courses in "Material Culture," "Cultural Geography and Regional History," "Introduction to Folklore," "Folk Arts-Art Making," "Folklore Application, "Introduction to Museum Studies, and Craft Production & Marketing," He is co-editor of Traditions: A Journal of West Virginia Folk Culture and Educational Awareness, and the children's journal Hillchild. Mr. Tenney co-directs the WV Folklife Center's Study Abroad Program "Roads to Appalachian through" (Scotland and Ireland - 2005) (Italy - 2007). He also serves as coordinator of the Pierpont Community and Technical College of FSU's Folklife Studies Associate Degree program in Craft Production /  Marketing and Museum Studies.  He has co-directed, along with Dr. Judy P. Byers, various West Virginia Humanities Council Summer Seminars on Folklore for Teachers

He has instructed various Elderhostel courses on storytelling, cultural studies, and arts. . Mr. Tenney served as Director of Museum Education for five years, as well as General Director for one year at Fort New Salem, Salem College, Salem, WV. He taught in the public schools of West Virginia, elementary and secondary level, for twelve years.

Mr. Tenney also serves as Director of Special Projects and Executive Secretary for the Upshur County Historical Society where he designs and curates exhibits, serves as cheif archivist for a vast collection of regional artifacts and manuscripts, and oversees various publication projects. He has authored five texts on local history and published book reviews and articles in various journals, such as Appalachian Heritage, Goldenseal, and West Virginia History.

Mr. Tenney has been honored for his work in the field of history with an Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History for "interpreting the rural culture of central West Virginia," and was named a "Paul Harris Fellow" by Rotary Foundation of Rotary International for community service. He received his undergraduate degree from Concord College, a master's degree from West Virginia Wesleyan College, and has done additional graduate studies at The Pennsylvania State University.

Mr. Tenney lives in Tallmansville, Upshur County, on part of his family's ancestral land where he also maintains "Old Orchard Studio," his artist business.

Judy P. Byers, John H. Randolph, and Noel W. Tenney co-authored In the Mountain State: A West Virginia Folklore and Cultural Studies Curriculum for the West Virginia Humanities Council. This educational tool was distributed statewide to West Virginia schools and libraries and is in a second printing. This text is used extensively in the Folklore Studies curriculum at FSU. This team has also produced seven audio cassette recordings: Lore of the Hills and Selected Stories from the Green Hills of Magic under the name of The Hill Lorists, an educational consulting and storytelling team that they developed in the mid 1980's. For their heritage efforts The Hill Lorists were the recipients of the National Storytelling Association Southeastern Region Educational Award in 1998.

The Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center
at Fairmont State
1201 Locust Ave., Fairmont, WV 26554-2470
phone: (304) 367-4403 or 4286
email: wvfolklife@fairmontstate.edu