Mountaineers Are Always Free: Heritage, Dissent, and a West Virginia Icon

In Mountaineers Are Always Free, folklorist Rosemary V. Hathaway traces the history of the WVU Mountaineer mascot from its roots as a backwoods trickster figure to its official adoption in 1937 and its evolving role as a symbol of West Virginia identity.

Drawing on archival research and interviews with former mascots, Hathaway explores how the Mountaineer has been reinterpreted over the decades while consistently representing a spirit of independence — a figure distinct from, and often in tension with, the hillbilly stereotype.

• 276 pages, paperback
• Publisher: West Virginia University Press
• Author: Rosemary V. Hathaway