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The Rural Americans Too Poor for Federal Flood Protections
A data-driven disaster tool shows “bias” against rural communities. by Claire Carlson and Elizabeth Miller / Climate Central, The Daily Yonder August 12, 2024 On the day he would become homeless, Wesley Bryant was awoken by his wife, Alexis. This story was produced through a collaboration between the Daily Yonder, which covers rural America, and…
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How We Owned a Mine, or A Brief History of Kentucky’s Mining Cooperative
A Hungarian immigrant created a collectively owned coal mine that, for a brief moment, proved an alternative to ruthless and exploitative mining operations of Appalachia in the early 20th century. by Anya Petrone Slepyan July 10, 2024 For over 100 years, Himler House stood on a hill overlooking Beauty, formerly Himlerville, in Martin County, Kentucky. Once the…
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Former Inez lawyer climbed out of alcoholism, launched a recovery boom
BY DEBORAH YETTER KENTUCKY LANTERN LOUISA — Around the office at Addiction Recovery Care, Vanessa Keeton is still known as “Client One” — marking her status as the first client of the first recovery center ARC opened as a group home in Lawrence County. But her official title is vice president of marketing, where she…
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Eastern Kentucky towns fight to recover from opioid epidemic, with help from newcomers and recovering addicts, national author reports
BY SAM QUINONES REPUBLISHED BY KHN FROM THE FREE PRESS In early 2020, Mandi Fugate Sheffel, 42, opened a tiny bookstore in her hometown of Hazard. Everyone thought she was crazy. Downtown Hazard was a forbidding place to start any business, much less a bookstore. Most coal mines that once supported the area had closed.…
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What it means to have Appalachian roots
There is a certain bond between people born and raised in Appalachia and where they grew up. Most of us spent our childhoods in small towns or up a holler (hollow for you city slickers) and we have a special attachment to those communities and the people who live there. The place where we were…
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‘Coal Miner’s Son’
People occasionally will ask about my upbringing, family life and Appalachian roots. So, here is my song that I wrote and recorded titled “Coal Miner’s Son.” Maybe you can relate to some parts of the following lyrics.Daddy slept all day, worked all nightGot home early by dawn’s daylight.Mommy made gravy, biscuits and eggsFried apples, we…
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Autumn is a special time of year
Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year. I am sure many of you feel the same way. The temperatures are nearly perfect. The days are still warm enough to get outside, but the nights start getting cooler. Perfect sleeping weather, according to many. There is a certain “feel” when those summer evenings…
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Growing up country was special
There was something special about growing up in rural Appalachia. It might be hard for those who lived and grew up in larger urban areas to understand this. It is even harder for those younger folks who are growing up today with the internet, computers, cell phones and other electronics to understand. Getting to know…
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Appalachian linguistics and terms some may not understand
BY KYLE LOVERN In Appalachia we have a certain language – or linguistics and a way we say certain words that those city slickers may not completely understand. It’s a long tradition passed down through the years. I’m afraid we’re starting to lose these quaint terms or phrases with our younger generation. But we need…
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Central Appalachia could be safe haven for climate-change migrants
BY JANIE EKERE FOR THE DAILY YONDER A new report from Invest Appalachia, a self-described social investment fund, looks at ways to bring economic development to Central Appalachia as climate change increasingly determines where Americans live. The report released in May analyzed emerging climate data from Appalachia. According to its findings, Central Appalachian states like…