King Coal | Telling Appalachia's Story - Past, Present, and Future

[@doberman1ism]

My Walker relatives come from the mountains and hollers of Panther, West Virginia. Everyone of them a dedicated Coal Miner, except my dad, Jesse James Walker. He walked into a coal mine once and swore he would never go into one again. So he ventured up to Ohio in the early 1950 & sought a job at the Ohio Rubber Factory on Lake Erie. I am so proud of my family. They are the earth. They are the mountains. It is almost heaven! Uncle Junior told me that he loved working in the Mine! The darkness and the sound of roaring thunder underground never bothered my uncle Junior. What a proud brave strong man. My Walker side is Scott Irish and Cherokee Indian. A'ho!

[@doberman1ism]

I know the plight of your people. I met my Walker kin in 1983 and I truly was enchanted and in awe of their survival lifestyle that came so easily to them. As far as the mines go uncle Junior told me that he loved working in the mine! His daughters told me what it was like waiting for daddy to come home from working in the Coal Mine. They told me about the way he looked and the way he smelled from all those excessive hours underground in the black coal mine. The very first time I saw a coal miner in a very very old general store at the cash register. The man checking out turned his head and looked at me and all I could see were the whites of his eyes and the white of his teeth and the white of his safety helmet from the mine. His face, his body, his hands, were covered in solid black! It was then when I realized where the term came from "As black as a coal miner". I am not racist! This term was used in my home to describe the dark thunderous clouds that would roll from Canada across the lake to our front door in Ohio. God Bless All Coal Miners & their Families! 🙏😇

[@FactualAmericaPodcast]

Thank you so much for your comments!

[@dbob3405]

Two young artists that are currently able to capture the tone and texture of the coal fields are Sierra Ferrell (from the Charleston WV area) and Tyler Childers (from Lawrence County, Ky.). There are others that have been doing it for longer like Tim O’Brien. And, if you are ready for a straight shot, no chaser, dose, give Hazel Dickens a listen followed up by watch the documentary, Harlan County USA which captures the coal fields during the time when I was young.

[@FactualAmericaPodcast]

Thank you for your recommendations, and for watching!

[@djt8518]

The thing about change is that change isn't always good some people are always hurt I'm a former wv miner how or where can I watch this documentary