“Breaking News,” 

“T he DOW and the NASDAQ have fallen to a record low; investors are worried of a repeat of the 1987 stock market crash and the lights are out in California.”

 Sitting in a swing on the front porch, sipping on a tall lemonade and occasionally cupping their hands over their eyes to get a better view of the blue on the distance mountains, a husband and wife, in Appalachia, seem undaunted by these news stories as they discuss last Sunday’s sermon on Hell Fire and Damnation and the blight of the corn crop.  The natural barrier created by the Mountains of Appalachia have nurtured, protected and prevented these people from changing with the times.

 Modern technology has provided the means to access the New York Times and the Washington Post headlines daily with just a click and miles and miles of roadways have closed the gap bringing the hub of the Nation within a few hours by automobile; yet the study of the history of Appalachia remains a study of a region and people apart.  During the 30’s and then again in the 60’s, Appalachia became the national project.  Federal dollars were pumped into the area for construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway, public buildings and electrification of the rural areas.  At the same time during both periods, Appalachia was a hotbed of turmoil and uprisings with family feuds, union takeovers, out-migration of people looking for jobs and do gooders coming in by groves aided by left-wing activists fueling many of  the activities.   For some, this unique culture has been an embarrassment, a thing to overcome, to hide from, to deny; however, today, due to the great resurgence of interest in Appalachia and the huge influx of tourists, the worry is to keep a unique lifestyle; a simpler time. 

A land of Contradiction easily describes the region.  Appalachia claims fame to some of the nations poorest counties with the per capita income at  poverty level and at the same time,  the Powerhouse of the United States Senate was born in North Carolina and raised in the coal camps around Beckley, West Virginia, (the heart of Appalachia), Robert C. Byrd.  While Appalachia cannot legitimately claim our 16^th President, Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky and his mother was a Hanks from Virginia. The Appalachian region is known for its resolute people.  A trademark resulting from isolation and determination.

Dollywood  Theme Park and the famous Country Singer, Dolly Parton, are not the only resources Appalachia is proud of, according to the U.S. Geological Survey of Reston, Virginia, in the United States of the 60 billion tons of coal produced during the last 180 years,  about 40 billion tons have been produced from the Appalachian basin.  In general,  now, coal production in the Appalachian region has moved well into the mature phase of the resource life cycle and some parts of Appalachia are being depleted rapidly, first by underground mining, strip mining and now mountaintop removal, which contributes greatly to the economic depression of the region and most of the profits have been reaped by out-of-state businesses. 

Abandoned and scarred, the Appalachia region has only gained renewed strength and now is a proving ground for tourists riding some of the most thrilling white water rapids in the US or climbing some of the most interesting mountains or gliding down our ski slopes.  Also, “I want to go home again people” are leaving the big cities and the southern coast of Florida and heading back the Bible Belt or the foothills of Georgia with their retirement checks, landing on soil where English is still the 1^st language. On the 3^rd Saturday in October, a small, rural town in Appalachia with a population of 2,500 people swells to well over 300,000 in the celebration of  the world renown New River George Bridge Day Festival, rated as one of the top festival in the United States,  where BASE jumpers  remark that the jump from the 3,030 steel arch bridge to a 876’ drop below is not as scary as riding an old school bus up the winding, twisting road that got them to the platform.

Parents on the west coast who have started their long battle for de-consolidation will look with envy at a small school consortium (k-12) made up of 5 schools with a total enrollment of 950 students in the Appalachia tri-states of Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina where life skills and culture heritage is incorporated in the CORE curriculum.  This concept is funded through a federal Rural Schools and Community Trust grant. 

Appalachia has many faces; a face of suffering, violation, poverty, ridicule, lack of educational opportunities, but she also has a rich history and an unrequited beauty, a sense of calmness and serenity and a deep love and commitment from her people.  I think it was Napoleon who said, “Mountaineers always love their country.”     He was so right.