Glenville State University’s Robert F. Kidd Library has been chosen to receive a West Virginia Humanities Council grant. The grant will cover the digitization of ¼ inch audio reels and wire audio recordings.

WV Music Hall of Fame member and Vandalia Award recipient Buddy Griffin collected many of these recordings over several years and donated them to the Library prior to his passing in 2025. Since the equipment to digitize this audio is difficult to find, the recordings have remained untouched for years. With this grant, the tapes will be sent to the MediaPreserve in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania to be reformatted. Once returned to the library, staff will be adding images from the era to create videos that will be made accessible through YouTube. 

The tapes could contain some of the only known recordings of the earliest West Virginia State Folk Festivals and featured performers of the time from Gilmer County and surrounding areas throughout the state. “The audio on these tapes is invaluable. So much unknown information about our local history and festival development could be on these recordings,” said Jason Gum, Library Director and Archivist at Glenville State University.

While the contents of the recordings are unknown at this point, they are believed to be from the 1960s and early 1970s, with some possibly predating the festival and going back as far as the 1930s or 40s. Most of the recordings are from the earliest music festivals in Glenville, which could include recordings of Dr. Patrick Gainer, music from the early festivals held at the Gilmer County Fairgrounds, or possibly presentations or speeches related to folklife in the region from additional scholars. 

This project is presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Humanities Council, the official state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations do not necessarily represent those of the West Virginia Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.

For more information, contact the Robert F. Kidd Library at (304) 462-6161.