Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 12
OUR BLUE RIDGE TOWNS
MOUNTAINS, MUSIC AND MOONSHINE, INDEED
Whitesburg, Kentucky
Comes Back
With the region's coal mining
jobs largely gone, the east
Kentucky town is at work on
new ways of success.
By JOAN VANNORSDALL
C
ongresswoman Angie Hatton
doesn't pull punches when
she talks about her hometown of Whitesburg. "Last
year, there were just 38 coal
miners employed in Letcher
County-once home to thousands of high-paying mining jobs, and
$70,000-dollar-a-year jobs are hard to
replace."
MATTHEW CAUDILL
ABOVE: Whitesburg is cradled by the
Pine Mountains, at the western edge of the
Appalachians.
12
BLUERIDGECOUNTRY.COM
LEFT: Ben Spangler and his wife, Lacy Hale,
stand outside their center-of-Whitesburg
Roundabout Music Shop, where old-time,
bluegrass and punk/metal music happily coexist.
their eastern Kentucky neighbors.
These are the stories they told me. Together, they form a narrative of progress
for their town.
Paraphrasing Margaret Mead, Hatton
says, "A small, dedicated group of people
is the only way to get things done. And
we're not going to give up."
Hatton won her seat in 2016, running
against the wealthy mayor of nearby
Pikeville-a victory she terms "a miracle."
"I got up there in Frankfort to advocate
for those without a voice. I told them, 'I'll
take roots and boots over suits any day.' "
Hatton is part of a diverse group of
people thinking creatively and collaboratively to create a new way forward
for Whitesburg-population 2,200-and
Ben Fink, Appalshop
If you've heard of Whitesburg before, it's
most likely because of Appalshop, born
50 years ago during the War on Poverty.
Initially, Appalshop focused on filmmaking and music in the region. Today, community development and relationship
building are central to its work.
Ben Fink came to Appalshop in 2015
knowing this: "You always bond through
culture. Then you can organize."
Fink's Letcher County Culture Hub
focuses on building economic alternatives to the coal "monoeconomy." With
20 grassroots partners around Letcher
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 3
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 4
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 5
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 6
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 7
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 8
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 9
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 10
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 11
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 12
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 13
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 14
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 15
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 16
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 17
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 18
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 19
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 20
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 21
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 22
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 23
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 24
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 25
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 26
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 27
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 28
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 30
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 31
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 32
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 33
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 34
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 36
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 37
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 38
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 40
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 41
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 42
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 43
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 44
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 45
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 46
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 47
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 48
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 49
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 50
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 51
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 52
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 53
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 54
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 55
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 56
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 57
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 58
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 59
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 60
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 61
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 62
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 63
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 64
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 65
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 66
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 67
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - 68
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2018 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/BlueRidgeCountryMarchApril2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-january-february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/BRCND21
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/BRCSO21
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brcja21
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2021_0506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2021_0304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2021_0102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_11_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_0910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_0708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_0506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_0304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_0102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_1112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_0910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_0708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_0506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_0304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_0102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_1112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_0910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_0708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_0506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_0304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_0102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2017_1112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2017_0910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2017_0708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2017_0506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2017_0304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20170102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_201612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20160910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20160708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20160506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20160304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20160102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20151112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20150910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20150708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20150506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20150304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20150102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20141112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20140910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20140708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20140506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20140304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20140102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20131112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20130910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20130708
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com