A Miner’s Story
June 28, 2009
Filed under People and Places
George “Aaron” Leath was born and raised in Harlan County, Kentucky – the heart of the US coal mining industry.
His father is a coal miner.
His grandfather is retired from working the mines. An oxygen tank in the living room is a reminder of years underground; Black Lung disease has ravaged his chest and makes it difficult for him to breathe. Read more…
Willing and Able
June 23, 2009
Filed under People and Places
Looking for work these days can be a challenge for anyone. In the past year Harlan County, Kentucky has already seen a coal mine and several department stores shut down, and there are rumors of future layoffs at area coal mines.
With fewer places hiring and fierce competition for limited spaces, imagine what it must be like for people who are already perceived as disadvantaged because of a physical, mental or emotional disability? Read more…
Blazing Trails: From Coal Mines to ATV Tourism in Kentucky
June 18, 2009
Filed under People and Places
In rural southeastern Kentucky, the hills have always provided. Timber harvesting employed thousands when it began in earnest after the Civil War. Not long after, massive mines began to define this area as “coal country.”
Until late in the twentieth century, those industries gave this part of Kentucky much of its identity and livelihood. Today, both are in decline and employ a fraction of the workforce they saw at their peak. Read more…
Family Farm 2.0
June 13, 2009
Filed under People and Places
Mike Watson grew up on a family farm in rural southwestern Virginia. Having made a career at the electric company, he never imagined himself – let alone his children and grandchildren – back on that farm. Read more…
After Tobacco: In Appalachia, Farmers Hope the Future is Organic Vegetables
June 9, 2009
Filed under People and Places
This still looks like tobacco country. Tractors still slow traffic on the roads. An autumn celebration is still called the “Tobacco Festival.” And family farms still have the region’s trademark tall barns where the harvest’s giant green leaves once cured in the rafters until they were rusty brown and ready for market.
But despite decades of tradition, tobacco farming is on the wane in Appalachia. The elimination of government price supports and increased costs of production have prompted many tobacco growers to seek out new crops in order to get by. What some have found may change the face of agriculture in this remote region. Read more…
Fighting Hunger at Home
June 4, 2009
Filed under People and Places
Their stories begin with the loss of a job, an injury or illness, or the simple realization that Social Security retirement income alone isn’t enough to feed a family. Whatever the circumstances, in the mountains of rural Southwestern Virginia, the stories intersect on the third Wednesday of the month at the Patrick County Community Food Bank. Read more…
Out of Dodge
June 1, 2009
Filed under People and Places
Nelson Automotive is known around Martinsville and in Henry County, VA as the place with those crazy TV commercials where the guy bangs on fenders. The gimmicks only get people in the door; something else brings them back time and again. After more than 30 years in the car business, selling 13 different lines in 6 locations, Nelson Automotive has become an institution. Read more…
Stitch by Stitch
May 30, 2009
Filed under People and Places
The area around Martinsville, Virginia once teemed with busy factories churning out raw fabric, underwear and countless sweatshirts. This town once proudly called itself “The Sweatshirt Capital of the World.” Read more…
The High Road in Hard Times
May 26, 2009
Filed under People and Places
When Rick Percival was laid off from his job in Kansas City, he decided to return home to New Zealand by an unusual route: a 2,175 mile hike along the Appalachian Trail. Read more…
