If you’re from Fairmont, you know the story of the pepperoni roll, a lunch treat which evolved from the need for an easy and filling sandwich which wouldn’t spoil while coal miners were working. Original to our area, one coal miner quit his dangerous mining job and opened a bakery. Millions of pepperoni rolls later, it is still a staple in the diets of many West Virginians.

It only seemed fitting that I had pepperoni rolls for lunch while I was cruising around our county to visit the local miner’s memorials. Rather than going to Country Club Bakery, where the bun was first marketed, I stopped in Monongah at a relatively new place called Papa Joe’s. They advertise that their pepperoni rolls are served warm. Being just a few steps beyond normal, I needed no other incentive. The smell alone made me salivate and, in a matter of minutes, I had all but inhaled four of them. They were small. Really!