Appalachia

wasteland suffering from a devastating method of coal collection called strip mining. Humans leave numerous amounts of destruction in their wake, whether it be on a small or large scale. This amount of coal excavation is an immense detriment to Appalachia, and is a horrid evil which needs to be addressed right now. While some say strip mining in the Appalachian mountains is a profitable and safe way to fuel America, the long term negative effects of strip mining far outweigh any perceived…

into consideration how culture affects the elderly’s survival. Social relationships, caring, territoriality and family all influence how the elderly live and survive. These dimensions affect the needs of elderly residing in Appalachia. Elderly adults residing in Appalachia face multiple barriers such as, living in isolation and poverty. The elderly lack transportation, have limited access to family, social supports and have limited income which contribute to the elderly living in poverty and…

Rachael Goodson Music of Appalachia October 26, 2017 Dr. McCollough Roy Acuff “Don't be a blueprint. Be an original.” This quote by Roy Acuff himself describes what he was, he paved the way for future country artists as well as radio itself. Roy Acuff is one of the most influential people when it comes to shaping what is known today as country music. Especially when it comes to music in Tennessee, his home state. Roy Acuff did not always want to be a musician, but he considers himself lucky to…

We see pictures of poverty on the news from many different communities across the nation, but often, little of this news coverage is given to the people living in Appalachia. The ABC 20/20 episode entitled A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains shines a much needed light on the daily struggles people living in Central Appalachia face. Watching Children of the Mountains was a sobering experience for me. The most surprising thing in this video was the drug abuse and drug dealing. It was…

whether they are successful or not, but there are several social factors that can influence a person’s individual opportunity. Can we honestly say that we are all equal? Why do we judge someone we just met because the way they look? The people of Appalachia mostly live crammed several families into one home, trash in their yards, soda or beer in their hands, cigarettes in another, and teeth missing. Why is this not a concern instead of a way to judge?…

children live in the same house. Most of the families seen in the film were extended families in which the head of the house was the mother of the family. In these cases, a father figure is usually absent. Most families in the poorer regions of Appalachia were either in ruins, or extremely dysfunctional. In Characteristics of Dysfunctional Families (1978), Schiamberg points out that dysfunctional families often…

Altina L. Waller exposes the old myths about the two families at war, the Hatfield’s and the McCoy’s, in the book, Feud Hatfield’s, McCoy’s, and social change in Appalachia, 1860-1900. Waller shows us that this was not only a feud between the Hatfield and McCoy families, it also included many people who were not in those families. Waller has a different perspective of the feud, and no one else has ever looked at it in the same way before. She dug up crucial facts that brought fuel to the feud.…

for an issue. In his book, Caudhill writes about his views on the strip mining industries’ effects on mid 20th century Appalachia. Caudhill’s book tells the story of modern Appalachia, specifically the coal mining areas of West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky. Caudhill was a lawyer who had stern opinions about the coal industry whose book stood as a voice for the people of Appalachia. Caudhill describes the coal industry as an industry that destroys the Appalachian hills. Night Comes to the…

and communities. It was developed in response to a lack of access to modern medical care and combines homemade remedies with superstition and religious beliefs. Appalachian folk medicine started from the need for health care. In pre-industrial Appalachia, doctors and modern medicine were rare and inaccessible as well as expensive, so people relied on traditional home remedies and superstitious practices to alleviate pain and to cure diseases. Practices such as using turpentine and brown…

the Deep South, and on the Far West. With Texas being as big as it is you had the greater Appalachia running thru it, which was an independent minded Scots-Irish. Most of the families that came in the greater Appalachia they came in great numbers. The greater Appalachia filtered down from the famed Natchez Trace from Pennsylvanian, Ohio, Kentucky, and also Tennessee. The Scots-Irish of the greater Appalachia set the feisty character of the republic and of the state that followed, but they were…