On Little Big Shots, host Steve Harvey interviews a young fiddler who “talks funny” like Harvey. They’re both from the South. Harvey was born and raised in the small coal mining town of of Welch, West Virginia. When Harvey was born in 1957, the population was 6,603 (it’s now 2,406). President John F. Kennedy, who visited the town in 1960 as a presidential candidate, witnessed the town’s struggle with poverty and responded by providing aid to the Appalachian region. in 1961, the first recipients of federal food stamps were provided to a family of 15 in Welch.
Another notable person from Welch, WV is author Jeannette Walls who wrote the 2005 memoir The Glass Castle, which recounts her poverty-stricken upbringing, a portion of it in Welch. Note: The Glass Castle is being made into a movie with Brie Larson, Naomi Watts and Woody Harrelson. Little Big Shots airs Sundays at 8pm on NBC.
