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Friday, July 04, 2025

Tooting Our Own Horn: Celebrating 20 Years of Cultural Influence


"If thou tooteth not thine own horn, the same shall go untootethed."
Second Abraham, chapter 2 verse 23:

Allow us to toot.

Over the past two decades, this blog has had a major cultural influence in our state. We didn't invent the West Virginia Hot Dog, ya'll did that, but we gave it a label -- a brand you might say -- and brought it into a new level of awareness, appreciation and identity. 

Go ahead, Google search for any internet mention of "West Virginia Hot Dog" before this blog started in 2005. Look at newspaper archives. Check the library catalogs. You won't find it. Now do the same search since 2005 and note the tens of thousands hits. 

We did that. We were the first to define a West Virginia Hot Dog as one with chili, slaw, mustard and onions. We did this on this blog and its forerunner The Charlestonian Blog in early 2005. 

We thought we'd celebrate National Hot Dog Month by sharing some highlights and successes we've enjoyed over the past 20 years:

2005 - The Charlestonian Blog shares a hot dog photo by photographer Rick Lee and asks readers to chime in on their favorite Charleston hot dog joint. The reactions leads to the creation of a separate blog dedicated to discussions about West Virginia Hot Dogs.  

2006 - In January the West Virginia Hot Dog Blog begins to do reviews of hot dog joints in the Charleston area.

2006 - Numerous media outlets take notice of the West Virginia Hot Dog Blog and interview its Head Weenie Wonk, Stanton Means, for a variety of local and regional stories.

2006- The Weenie Awards is established to recognize the best hot dog joints around the state. Fairmont people go completely crazy when we refuse to recognize Yann's slawless hot dogs with an award.

2006 - Our "Slaw Line" historical marker becomes one of the most shared images among West Virginia internet users. 

2006 - Chris James becomes our second Weenie Wonk.

2007- The Associated Press distributes nationally an article on West Virginia Hot Dogs and the WV Hot Dog Blog. The article is picked up by NBC news and creates record traffic to the blog.

2007 - WVHotDogs.com website launches.

2007- Swiftwater Cafe in Charleston becomes the first hot dog joint to change the name of its hot dog to "WV Hot Dog." This trend will continue for the next several years.

2008 - An article on the West Virginia Hot Dog Blog appears in the State Journal, a statewide business newspaper, highlighting the uniqueness of the way West Virginians dress their hot dogs.

2008 -  Another Weenie Wonk, "Big Daddy," is added to cover the north-central part of the state.

2008 - Philadelphia artist Hawk Krall creates a graphic for a food magazine that depicts a West Virginia hot dog. 

2009 - West Virginia Hot Dogs win the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council's March Madness Hot Dog and Sausage Tournament on Facebook.

2010 - West Virginia Hot Dogs Facebook page established, connecting thousands of new folks to our blog.

2010 - Our "Slaw Mapping Project" image goes viral and causes a great deal of debate.

2011 - West Virginians search for the term "hot dog" on Google more than residents of any other state

2012 - Because of a viral tongue-in-cheek post on the WV Hot Dog Blog, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and opponent Bill Maloney are asked by a reporter their opinions on the proper toppings for a West Virginia Hot Dog. 

2013 - WV Hot Dog themed merchandise begins to show up in various places.

2014 - "WV Hot Dogs" begins to be printed as a menu item on more restaurants.

2016 - WV Hot Dog Blog is used as a primary source for the Southern Foodways Alliance article on West Virginia hot dogs.

2018 - Our clearly photoshopped "Slaw Line" historical marker image is used by multiple media outlets and presented as real. 

2020 - West Virginia named best state for hot dog lovers

2021 - The West Virginia Hot Dog Trail is created.

2022 - West Virginia Hot Dog Blog used as source material for a chapter in “Making Our Future” a new book by former West Virginia state folklorist Emily Hilliard. 

2024 - WV Tourism creates a web page dedicated to West Virginia hot dogs.

2025 - West Virginia Hot Dogs Facebook page reaches 12,500 followers.

We could list many more highlights and milestones, but you get the gist. We're proud of our influence, and even prouder that we did it for the love of the hot dog and not for money.

No, we've never made a cent off of the West Virginia Hot Dog Blog or its social media counterparts. And we've spent thousands on hot dogs to sample -- even when it went against our better judgement -- for reviews, and on gasoline traveling across the state. While we've been more active in some years than others, we have consistently been the leading advocates for the delectable gift from heaven known as the West Virginia Hot Dog. 

But it was you, dear readers, who have fueled the rise of our humble hot dog with your extreme devotion. We owe a lot of our success to those expatriate West Virginians who long for the hot dogs of their youth, and finding that nowhere in their new surroundings understands. We just provided a medium, but you provided the energy. 

So toot your own horn as well. Let's toot all of them. 

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