"With obesity rampant across Kentucky, it may be hard for many to imagine that hunger still exists, but food pantries remain an essential lifeline for many in the state...In this Eastern Kentucky county, where the per capita income is about $15,400 a year, nearly 27 percent of residents live in poverty. The Mount Vernon food bank provides nearly 470,000 pounds of food a year to more than 2,300 families. CAP president Guy Adams said providing food is key in distressed regions where high unemployment and low wages have led to poor nutrition and health problems. Compounding the problem: the recent food stamp benefit cut." "Bacteria can make a bread rise and give it a cheesy flavor. That's the secret ingredient in salt rising bread, which dates to the late 1700s in Appalachia, when bakers didn't have yeast on hand. Growing up in West Virginia in the 1960s and '70s, Susan Brown would have a slice of salt rising bread, toasted, for Saturday morning breakfast. Her grandmother baked the bread with the mysterious and misleading name." "Patriot Coal said Wednesday it is considering layoffs at two West Virginia mining complexes that employ about 850 workers. In a prepared statement, St. Louis-based Patriot said it had warned all employees at its Wells complex near Wharton and its Corridor G operation near Danville of potential layoffs. The 60-day 'WARN' notices are required under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act." "Federal officials announced tougher rules Wednesday designed to fight an uptick in black lung disease in some pockets of coal-mining country. The move represents the most significant changes to dust-control practices in mines since the 1969 Coal Mine Health and Safety Act, which initiated modern health-and-safety requirements in mines nationwide. Industry groups criticized the rules, calling the changes too broad." "The next step in the "Shaping Our Appalachian Region", or SOAR initiative, is taking place Thursday. Ten working groups will be mapping out strategies and preparing to take more suggestions from eastern Kentuckians. The ten SOAR working groups cover everything from agriculture to broadband to business recruitment." "When people visit with friends and neighbors in southern West Virginia, where paved roads give way to dirt before winding steeply up wooded hollows, the talk is often of lives that never got off the ground...McDowell County, the poorest in West Virginia, has been emblematic of entrenched American poverty for more than a half-century. John F. Kennedy campaigned here in 1960 and was so appalled that he promised to send help if elected president. His first executive order created the modern food stamp program, whose first recipients were McDowell County residents." The Weekly Links is intended to bring awareness of news stories related to the Appalachian region. An article's inclusion in this list does not imply agreement with or approval of all things written within.
I am a painter, or at least I am in the process of learning the trade. (Think Sherwin-Williams not Bob Ross) During the course of our daily work, we normally pass the time by listening to talk radio. The station we listen to is out of Wisconsin, the home state of my boss. He grew up in one of the state’s urban centers but moved to Kentucky many years ago. Odd that he still listens to talk radio out of Wisconsin even though he lives in Kentucky, and has for some time.
Monday’s talk radio experience incited heightened interest, at least within me. The individual that we often listen to out of Wisconsin was filling the slot for another, quite popular talk radio host who is broadcast nationally. The interest began to bubble for me with the entrance of the first and, to my surprise, primary talking point of the show: the southern West Virginia county of McDowell and its continuing battle with poverty. McDowell County lies within the thicket of central Appalachian coal country. I thought to myself, “What better discussion to have on national talk radio?” Granted, the Midwestern host repeatedly mispronounced Appalachia. For those who know, you get the point. I came across this particular song many months ago while listening to a group called Crooked Still. “Calvary,” as it is titled, has remained one of my favorite songs of theirs since first hearing it. Digging further, though, I discovered that “Calvary” was not original to Crooked Still. Turns out that the song finds its origins in the mountains of Wise County, Virginia, through the pen and voice of Dock Boggs. In my opinion, Boggs’ rendition matches much more closely in mood to the crucifixion event of which it describes than Crooked Still’s version. In this song, Boggs typifies that ability to draw the listener in to the story and experience being told. Mountain music is music that is felt. And there is no greater truth to be felt than the redemptive work of Jesus Christ for sinners.
The song really captures in words the bleakness and darkness surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The place of the crucifixion is characterized as “lone and grey.” Calvary is depicted as being “dark,” a stark contrast to the “blessed Lamb” lifted high upon it. Blackness slowly saturated the sky as “a darkness came down” while “the rocks went around.” Even the air is portrayed on an emotional level, being overburdened and “sad-laden.” “Death’s dark sting” pulsates through the veins of the Lamb of God. A story is a shortened form of history. To me this is telling. My story is my history; and so many stories, those that I lived, or otherwise, are part of my makeup. I believe stories are powerful beyond measure, not only do they tell us about ourselves and how we came to be where we are, but they allow us to empathize with and understand others. They illuminate the humanness and therefore commonalities between us all. Let me share with you what story has meant in my life.
A four year old girl is lying on a rug on the floor, wearing hand-me-down clothes, sporting a bowl cut, with braces on her legs. Not the picture of joy and adventure, huh? But that girl was me twenty four years ago, and I couldn't have been happier, because in that floor is where I first met Jack, and others like him. That is, Jack and his infamous beanstalk were passed to me in wonderful detail by my favorite person in the world, my Granddad. We'd lie on that rug under the dining room table for hours, as we met giants, knights, fisherman, and toured castles. Things you don't see or do everyday in rural Southwest Virginia. I was hooked. The Scots-Irish, Appalachian Linguistics, and Ballads: An Interview With Cratis D. Williams3/12/2014 Cratis D. Williams was one of the early leaders in the field of Appalachian Studies, earning him the title "Mr. Appalachia" and "father of Appalachian studies" by some. One source comments on the life and work of Williams: Born in a log cabin in Caines Creek, Ky., in 1911, Cratis D. Williams, who died in 1985, was the first person from the town to attend and graduate from the county high school. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Kentucky, teaching in one-room schoolhouses to support himself. He later earned a Ph.D. from New York University. In 1942, Williams accepted a teaching position at the Appalachian State Teacher’s College, now known as Appalachian State University. He held various positions from teacher to dean of the graduate school (which was ultimately named for him) to acting chancellor. His field was English, but he also taught courses in speech, drama, folklore and Appalachian culture. Below is a brief but interesting 1980 interview with the Lawrence County, Kentucky, native on topics such as Scots-Irish immigration into the mountains, Appalachian linguistics and dialect, as well as a few early ballads from the region. The interview begins around the 1:45 mark and the footage is brought to you by Appalshop out of Whitesburg, Kentucky. "Nicholas Kristof blamed Appalachian poverty on the absence of federal anti-poverty programs (“To effectively fight poverty, you have to start early,” op-ed column, Feb. 25). Allegedly, the United States doesn’t start the poverty war early enough in Johnny’s life. Well, how does 1964 sound? President Lyndon Johnson’s administration started a war on poverty, particularly Appalachian poverty. Since then, an alphabet soup of anti-poverty programs has consumed $17 trillion in means-tested assistance." " As I watched the opening credits of Reelz’s new show, 'Hollywood Hillbillies,' I expected to be annoyed or outraged by yet another show that continued the exploitation of the mountain Southerner. I expected to see every hillbilly stereotype in the book. After all, 'Hollywood Hillbillies' is billed as a fish-out-of-water story, like the horrible 'Real Beverly Hillbillies,' which CBS threatened to create more than a decade ago. Appalachians have been dreading a program like that ever since TLC stopped broadcasting educational content and the History Channel became a 24/7 ghost and UFO fest. The closest we’ll be able to get to 'The Real Beverly Hillbillies' is here, and I’m not worried. You shouldn’t be either. Because I can’t imagine that the show will last longer than a season." "One of the nation's largest coal companies will pay a record $27.5 million fine over violations of federal clean-water rules in Kentucky and four other Appalachian states.Alpha Natural Resources also will spend an estimated $200 million to reduce illegal pollution discharges into hundreds of waterways in Appalachia, the U.S. Environmental Protection agency announced Wednesday. The $27.5 million fine is the largest ever for violations of water-pollution permits under the federal Clean Water Act, the EPA said. The discharges — many of them from Massey Energy mines that Alpha later acquired — occurred in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia." "It’s well documented that the American banjo has its origins in instruments brought to the colonies by enslaved Africans. Virginia has a long history with the banjo, and it didn’t start with bluegrass--it started with enslaved Africans." The Weekly Links is intended to bring awareness of news stories related to the Appalachian region. An article's inclusion in this list does not imply agreement with or approval of all things written within.
I set out a while ago to post some mountain music on a weekly basis not expecting the difficulty of such a task. Searching for a song without being repetitious with the singer or band takes time, time that I don't have. So, as a result, I am attempting to scale back on my efforts and limit the mountain music posts to once a month. If that proves fruitless or too difficult, I'll resort to posting only when I come across a song I like or whenever I catch a whim for posting. The song up for today is performed by Jean Ritchie and it is called "The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore." As many of you may know, eastern Kentucky has experienced for good and for ill the dramatic booming and busting of the coal industry throughout the past decades. Ritchie, born in the year 1922 in Viper, Kentucky, captures this experience well. She sings, "For I was born and raised at the mouth of the Hazard Holler/Coal cars roarin' and a rumblin' past my door/Now they're standin' rusty, rollin' empty/Because the L & N don't stop here any more." For a short biography of Jean Ritchie, click here. Oh, when I was a curly-headed baby
My daddy set me down upon his knee Said, son, you go to school and learn your letters Don't be no dusty miner like me Chorus: For I was born and raised at the mouth of the Hazard Holler Coal cars roarin' and a rumblin' past my door Now they're standin' rusty, rollin' empty Because the L & N don't stop here any more I used to think my daddy was a black man With scrip enough to buy the company store But now he goes downtown with empty pockets And his face as white as a February snow Chorus: For I was born and raised at the mouth of the Hazard Holler Coal cars roarin' and a rumblin' past my door Now they're standin' rusty, rollin' empty Because the L & N don't stop here any more Last night I dreamt I went down to the office To get my payday like I done before Them old kudzu vines had covered up the doorway And there was trees and grass, well a-growin' right thru the floor I never thought I'd live to love the coal dust Never thought I'd pray to hear the tipple roar But, Lord, how I wish that grass could change to money Them greenbacks fill my pockets once more Chorus: For I was born and raised at the mouth of the Hazard Holler Coal cars roarin' and a rumblin' past my door Now they're standin' rusty, rollin' empty Because the L & N don't stop here any more "The January chemical spill that dumped thousands of gallons of a coal cleaner into a major regional water supply in West Virginia has led to an investigation that continues to shed light on the lack of state regulations on above-ground chemical storage tanks located near public drinking-water supplies (not just a problem in West Virginia). State inspectors say they have found 600 more tanks, bringing the total to more than 1,600, Ken Ward reports for The Charleston Gazette." "Remote Area Medical has a new strategy for helping more people in the area have access to health care. The organization created to bring service to far-flung regions, now treats people in need here in the United States. Sadly, the need is so great in the hills and valleys of Appalachia. RAM is launching Stop the Suffering in Appalachia at a clinic in Kentucky this October. This initiative essentially organizes clinics on a local level where it will save time and money on high fuel costs for RAM, and create more clinics for those who need it most." "What eventually became NASCAR started as the by-product of Prohibition. On October 28, 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act, which outlawed alcohol across the United States. Though noble in its intent, the statute was a bad idea. It gave ambitious law-breakers across the country a golden opportunity to get rich by making and selling their own spirits. Nowhere was this more prevalent than in the hills of North Carolina, where moonshiners built hundreds of stills to accommodate the nation’s endless thirst for adult beverages." "When trying to define the roots of Appalachian mountain language, to make sweeping generalizations more often than not sacrifices accuracy. Since pioneers from virtually all parts of Europe made the trek to the mountains to settle, folks can drive an hour in any direction and find themselves scratching their heads at how different the local lingo is from one mountain hollow to the next. It is true that various terms are rooted in Elizabethan English, Scottish, Celtic, and Irish languages, and dialects do remain in use amongst the Appalachian people, but there is no across the board commonality amongst them that explains the unique nature of the language, other than geography. Urban immigrant and ethic concentrations existed, yet no clearly distinct way of speaking beyond a common accent had developed in these places." "North Dakota residents had the highest well-being in the nation in 2013, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. South Dakota trailed its northern neighbor in second place, with its highest score in six years of measurement. Hawaii held the top spot for the previous four years, but fell slightly last year. West Virginia and Kentucky had the two lowest well-being scores, for the fifth year in a row." "Dave Tabler is a rare man with a love for Appalachia that goes far beyond the pride of his regional identity as a 'hillbilly.' Although Tabler attended school in the Washington D.C. area, his early childhood spent with his grandparents in Martinsburg, W.Va. led to his adaptation of the dialect and mindset that is uniquely Appalachian. For many it takes a lifetime to embrace their Appalachian heritage rather than hide it, and Tabler was no different in his struggle to come to terms with his heritage. It was only after helping his West Virginia born father edit his coming of age memoir that Tabler realized Appalachia is not only unique, but has a history unlike any region in this country, and one worth sharing." The Weekly Links is intended to bring awareness of news stories related to the Appalachian region. An article's inclusion in this list does not imply agreement with or approval of all things written within.
Appalachia 2050 is an hour long documentary created by Prestonsburg, Kentucky, native Ralph Davis exploring possible solutions to the difficulties faced by many communities and towns in the Appalachian region, with a primary focus upon eastern Kentucky. Various individuals with ties to eastern Kentucky were interviewed, highlighting Davis' attempt to promote change within the region through the ideas of the people. For more details on the documentary, click here. |