Downtown
Story 4: Life In Appalachia. Downtown. Beautiful bones. Antiquated. Eerily quiet. Vacant. A dying pulse but still beating. Furniture storefronts beckon to yesteryear. A smattering of churches with their messages of hope inscribed on their signs out front, a funeral home that seems to be the busiest place in town along with the fast food-joints that flank the downtown core. A lone military recruitment office. A bank. A couple bars. A small unkempt communiuty park with one see-saw and a swing-set. A derelict factory with blown out glass and crumbling chimneys. American Flags on every light pole.
In its heyday of the early 1900s, Appalachia employed over 700,000 people in the coal industry. Now that number is around 40,000. With the downfall of coal mining in the 1940s, Appalachian towns took a direct hit. Poverty rates skyrocketed to some of the highest in the nation. Those with any sort of education moved out seeking better opportunities. Today, just like the outdated stores, the people are trying to hold onto a life that once was. For many, progress isn't in the vernacular resulting in much of Appalachia being left behind and isolated. Trump promised to bring back coal and revitalize these towns, but it seemingly only hinders their future. Ironically, in a place that's been neglected, there seems to be a superfluous number of American flags flying. Clinging on to that heartbeat. What will the future hold? It seems prosperity and change will stem from homegrown efforts. In my time in Appalachia, I've seen a strong, prideful and resilient group of younger folks working together and reflecting beyond themselves and their respective towns. They think across county lines, state lines and even global borders
