I was born in Atlanta and moved here when my step-daddy (forevermore referred to as daddy) and my momma met when he was proudly serving this country.He a handsome young man from the mountainsshe a beautiful divorced young woman with two small children. God do I ever remember the Government Cheese and all the other free food provided by the gov. I was born and raised in Liggett. If youre spending the night in Harlan, you probably have family there anyway. These folks are Harlan Countians, but they dont like it. I am also thankful for the brief time that I knew my grandmother on Turner Hill who taught me how to grow strawberries, to make jelly, string shuck beans, quilt, crochet. I knew that truly dangerous people dont threaten much. The rest of us (that includes me) hate the image of Harlan Countians as violent, uneducated hooligans. . I have a 95 year old aunt who still lives there. Rarely is an Eastern Kentucky county a destination. No as in stop, do not, negative, etc and nothin slang for nothing not anything; no single thing; having no prospect of progress; of no value; not at all. That I can remember but I cant find my car in the parking lot? I found a place to turn around and get back down the road and get my act together. I dont remember Chappells slogan, but I do remember: Thats what I saidBunny Bread! I also remember the 1st grade field trip to Chappells, Bunny Bread and Harlan Ice. Janice and I were both switchboard operators and admissions clerk. I have more memories of the younger Brittons that are closer to my age. We are related to at least one coal miner. Geelong. Moved to Indiana at about 15 or 16 years of age. Jenny Lynn (Saylor) Moore I was born and raised in Wallins ,lived there until I was 28 moved to Florida w/ My husband David Moore from Graysknob, we both graduated from James A. Cawood, My heart is still in the mountains, you can take the girl out of the country but you cant take the country out of the girl, we long to come back some someday Lord willing, I am a Harlan girl to the bone. In fact, I got up this morning with the intent or renewing my research. Some are like me. It still is in some ways, although it has been many years since the United Mine Workers Association held great sway. You hit the nail on the head. If we didnt know them, well they were at the wrong house. My sister in law was born over in Leatherwood. We knew who it was, because he told my mom about the encounter, but he was quietly scary, like a lot of the men from his era. I dont need tattoos, i have scars. All thats left is the yard and that light. In talking about monthly checks, I can remember visiting my family in Louellen, a coal mining camp in those days, and going down to the the company store and watching people get their cheese in blocks and their commodity meat which was actually spam. My great grandpa ran a mill there. They had no desire to ever live anywhere else. as differences, real ones, but the rest is a little over stated, like JUSTIFIED, eh? We didnt all drink Mountain Dew as babies. One of the great things about Harlan is that changes very little. . I aint convinced about mccounty I was born and raised in Floyd County,I always heard my family came out of Harlan or Harlan County over a hundred years ago.I dont know if there are any STAPLETON family in Harlan anymore,I am proud to be from the HILLS OF KENTUCKY !! As you know we lived near Evarts. He died in a house fire a few years ago. It was a thriving community in the 60s-70s. I guess Ive waited too many years to ask, but it would be nice if someone knew of him or my other Grandfather Bill Randolph. =). I worked as a car hop from Denny rays rite out of high school. Elliott County is an exception becausewellyou just have to visit there to see. And they were well respected. They might as well have been in different states. If so, let me know so I can fill any dates, places, names and information you may furnish to me. There were several Leonard families in the county in my day. I feel the same way, even though my sons say they cant believe I grew up there! That bastion of journalism, Hustler Magazine, once listed Harlan (the town) as one the three meanest towns in America. I am still Harlan County thru and thru. Im fortunate that my job regularly takes me to Eastern Kentucky. I left first to attend Cumberland College, then only a two year school, and later was forced to leave and gravitate north for employment. Im an outlander, living in Pulaski County. Theres no future. It has been both fascinating and sad as well to learn so much about the history, struggles, strength and resilience of the Harlan countians. People were practically hanging on it. We just live somewhere else. You talked funny. I am sure he is talking about when he grew up and how times were then I am from Harlan live here now .I loved the article and havent read anything disrespectful . Unless you lived in the town of Harlan, you dont go to the city schoolsHarlan High Elementary and Harlan High School. Hi aurea, Ive helped ur grand paw make many many gallons of moonshine just over the hill from ur mom n dads house. How can I contact your Uncle Clarence E. to find out if he has any information to help with my research? Change). wilson combat magwell p320 https://www.facebook.com/groups/WallinsCreekers/. We wore machine guns with semiautomatic carbines. They were both sweet, kind, honest, decent people. Im sorry that I didnt do more to keep in closer touch with them both as we grew older. This film documents the coal miners' strike against the Brookside Mine of the Eastover Mining Company in Harlan County, Kentucky in June, 1973. I didnt want to leave. You need some coal mines, either now or in the past. Theyre still there. I feel like they are missing something that we experienced, but so is life. Remember all the men that used to hang out around the courthouse, sitting on the little wall? I, too, am from Harlan an outlander like yourself, and I was left laughing and shaking my head at all the things only people like us would know to be true I would love to include a link to this in my own blog, but I dont yet know how to do it, lol. Just discovered your blog. McCreary just has that Eastern Kentucky feel to it. Daughter of a preacher. Still have family there. Unemployment in 2017 was 9.4 percent, far above the national average. Harlan Countians did not like that. Im pretty sure I remember Lance. (: Did you know Jo Alice Chitwood or Lance Johnson? Im surprised I didnt end up with some kind of lung disease. Your article is awesome! My Dad was a coal miner, was on oxygen from 2007 until 2010. I also have no desire to change this wonderful region.am I forgiven? I didnt know, but thats before my time. I instructed her to be on the lookout for a Harlan countian. I not THAT old! Harlan County, U.S.A. is not a traditional documentary in any sense of the word. Being a descendant of such a controversial character of those times I may be asking for a social beating on here. Im definitely a Harlan County boy. . I love the fact she loves a mountain boy, just like her Momma did:) This is a great article!! Oh, you might go to Garys Lounge and Roller Rink sometimes. Before we started, I told the court reporter that Ive been told I have an accent of some kind. My little brother had a knife pulled on him at Cawood. Crow Drums 70 (CHS). If we meet anyone else from Eastern Kentucky, we can get instant acceptance with a simple I grew up in Harlan. Translation: Despite appearances, I will kill you if necessary. Not a native but my ears always perk up when I hear Harlan. I do not claim to be from there so I am not in any of your groups. Some of these folks do leave Harlana lot of them, in fact. Thanks. John Read my post about growing up in Loyall sometime. Bad and small isnt a recipe for success. Heres my personal map of the area: This seemingly random boundary results in some folks calling it Southeastern Kentucky which, geographically speaking, is more accurate. You shouldve had to breath half a can of hairspray in the morning after he got out of the bathroom. My brother and I thought we had died and gone to Heaven. Yes, Big_O,, I remember the man you asked about. My mom always bought margarine but our housekeeper would get the butter and we thought it was strong. Nowadays, I would love to have some! I married a Lady, born and raised in Harlan. So so sad to see that head of the Holler non existent now, all overgrown. Only if were talking to another Harlan Countian would we narrow the description to the town. They pity Harlan. Fantastic post, though. Ive also been criticized for making Eastern Kentucky sound too goodand that came from a guy who lives there! But they dont always leave. Fleming County has beautiful, rolling hills, but they arent mountains. We knowthat houses have winders and chimleys. I grew up in Wilhoit and went to Loyall High for the first part of my freshman year, then moved to Indiana, but I still go back to Harlan often, my sister still lives there. miners in this county AND other states. My roots and my heart are there and for me thats important. Its county seat is Harlan. HARLAN WILL ALWAYS BE HOME TO ME. My husband has worked in low coal where one had to crawl to get to your section. BTW I live on Watts Creek and have most of my life..off and on. I was up at Holmes Mill just a few months ago. I raised my daughter hereBTW she has owned a successful swimming pool and fence company here for 35 yrs. Weve been in the Lexington area since then, but we still say back home when we are talking about Neon and Jenkins. John, enjoyed your comments. If I go back to Harlan for even a day, even my family cant understand me when I get back. For instance, threats didnt faze me. They lived near Dionne along the river there. I have lived in Evarts since age 7 this is my home (sals Branch) I had your mom in home Ec. One side was a roller rink. Id love to learn more about the people, especially on the other side of the strike. But today, thanks to my daughter and another pool company, there are more privately owned pools at homes, per average, than in Fayette County (Lexington). I was just in Harlan County this weekend. Thank you. There is a bleak side to Harlan, as anywhere else. Lots of good folks from across the mountain.. Cheese is the only thing the US government ever perfected. Absolutely loved this!! I happened across this blog through a friend. We used to be territorial based on our schools. It is a tragedy what Black Jewell Coal company has done to honest, hard working coal I graduated in 80. Eastern Ky is not privvy to divorce is it?? There are doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, coaches, laborers, deadbeats and criminals. I live in Texas but will always be a Harlan Co Ky girl. Charles Leonard Birmingham, AL. I am simultaneously entertained and offended. LOL! Therefore, the kids of this county today only have to step out theyre door and into a pool. Like anywhere else, you have to hope to you dont cross paths with the bad ones at the wrong time. This is where Norma lives, was the reply. It rated right up there with his song about Jim and Tammy Baker, pretty good actually. WebBasil Collins the mine foreman might have been one of the best villians I have ever seen in movies, except for the fact that he was real. He worked at Eastover for several years after the strike until Duke closed the mines. These are the folks who stayed in Harlan. Its boring. Thanks for your comments. Even though life was very hard at times, it was filled with family and friends and its been fun thinking about them this morning. Sally Simonton. I-64 runs through Montgomery, Bath, Rowan and Carter Counties. I was born in Harlan and I remember living there, but I didnt have the experience that my parents had (who were both born in Harlan County) since I didnt grow up there. Singing man in the beginning. It was described as a place where people only smiled when they heard that someone had died. its more home to me than anywhere ever will be. The road to lexington did get better tho. My husband is a retired coal miner. I went back through my Ancestry.com files and I found 2: Clarence Leonard, born 24 May 1914, Walker County, AL and died 27 July 1985 at Corbin, KY, it shows he had no wife or children, and his father was John D. Leonard and his mother was Jeanette McKendrick Leonard. I knew no one married to his own sister and just a handful married to their cousins. They were pretty quick to tell you that they were from Harlan. Both our families are made up of longtime coal miners and school teachers. Both my grandsons have degrees in med profession PT and Massage Therapy.
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