Clinchco, Virginia: The Coal Town Home of "Band of Brothers" War Hero Shifty Powers

[@sandrabills2634]

I lived there for about 6 months in the early 1960s. Near as I can recall, my Grandma's house was around 16:30 . I sometimes did my homework at Shifty Powers' kitchen table because his daughter was a friend and schoolmate. I always thought he was a very nice man. He lived up on a hill on the left as you are coming into town near where the derelict old red brick post office is on the right. I believe it was called Graveyard Hill locally. My older sister was sent to Ervington High School on the bus, as Clinchco Elementary only had grades 1-7, I believe. My 5th geade teacher was called Mrs. Crum or Mrs. Crumb. My Grandmother, Mrs. Jones, played the piano in the Missionary Baptist Church on Sundays. I don't remember the preacher's name back then but he had a son named Sammy around my age. Our neighbors were the the Thomases and the Mulkeys.

[@realappalachia]

Thanks for sharing your memories, love hearing more about these towns

[@guns2317]

Just finished reading the biography of Shifty Powers by Marcus Brotherton. Clinchco was indeed the name given to the town as a tribute to the Clinchfield Mining Company. Shifty would make daily trips to the town post office to deal with his fan mail after the debut of the Band of Brothers series on HBO, and people would travel to Clinchco to seek him out. Shifty lived on Shifty Lane, he described the house as having a lot big enough to support two separate gardens, a porch he could shoot his Garand off of, and he enjoyed sitting on the front porch watching the trains go by. Thanks for this great tour of a town that produced an American hero.

[@realappalachia]

I need to read that book, a real shame I haven't already as I have such a respect for Mr. Powers. He was an amazing person and soldier.

[@guns2317]

@@realappalachia I think you would really enjoy it. The author does a great job of putting you in Shifty's shoes, and describes his home region well. I shed a tear at the end of the book, and based upon the writing wanted to learn more about Clinchco, and thus me finding your video.

[@realappalachia]

@@guns2317 I’ll definitely give it a read, thanks for the heads up

[@kimgoodman9340]

❤ My father was from clincho Virginia and he worked in the coal mines. My father died in 1994 he would have loved to see his town on video. My father is part of the Gilmore family. Many of his family remained there. Thank you for doing honor to this town❤

[@knifecoop001]

Great video, I grew up in Riverside near Clinchco and my grandparents lived in Clinchco.

[@hortenseplaceg9740]

You two are truly made for each other! Great people 😊

[@cindyjofaithful4469]

That's wonderful that they have that coal miner's memorial. So respectful ❤️

[@ralfgroh2719]

Love your presentation; thanks!

[@williamdeloach5838]

This is my town. Very proud of the history and heritage! Also, I spotted myself in this video! Thanks, guys!

[@realappalachia]

That’s really cool, we are glad you liked it

[@eltoro6688]

Heart of the Dickenson County VA Coalfields!!!!!

[@jessicajackson6863]

Clinchco is my home town. It has changed many times over the years. When I was a kid growing up there it was a very close knit community, everyone knew their neighbors, everyone helped out their neighbors and there was no lack of kids around to play with. It has gone down a lot the last several years.

[@robinhaupt9119]

Great tour Shane and Melody. Thank you for showing the miners memorial. Today is the anniversary of the Upper Big Branch mine disaster, sadly. Appreciate that you honor all the miners.

[@bradleymcconnell470]

My dad was injured in Moss 2 mine (in Dante) in 1978, passed in2019. I have so much family that worked and died either direct result of the mines or indirect. Thank you for honoring them.

[@realappalachia]

It sounds like we have a lot in common there

[@bradleymcconnell470]

@@realappalachia yeah very true the coal mines have affected so many families 💙

[@lynnshaffer3419]

My dad grew up in Clinchco Va and he attended and graduated on early 1960s from Ervington Hs in Nora Va

[@donlove3741]

Wise county next door. Great Grandparents and many others. Real America..

[@kevinayers6322]

Wise county is also dirty

[@mountainman3979]

I was raised just across the mountain from Clinchco. Where y'all turned around going up the hill past the row houses, if you keep going it turns into Turkey Branch, then Lick Creek, which is where my mom and dad still live. At the top of the hill Beecher Barton had a store there, he was also a local legend in the community. My grandmother on my dad's side was a Powers and we are related to Shifty and Francis Gary Powers. Loved the video, nice to see my old stompin' grounds.

[@daviddryden8088]

I travel vicariously through you guys. Not sure what that says about me...but love your videos.

[@realappalachia]

Thank you, David! We think it means you have great taste in people! Haha! - Melody

[@bobsharoncounts6663]

Trip down memory lane. Our son still lives there. Cat Counts was my 1st cousin. Bozeman, MT Enjoyed it!

[@lynnshaffer3419]

We were also related to Cat Counts. My dad was a Holbrook and grew up in Browns Hill section of Clinchco (the house they lived in burnt down years ago) my papaw Holbrook worked in the number 9 mine I think (I’ll try to check to be sure soon I have several plastic bins full of family info ie courthouse documents and some family lore) My mom was raised in Nora and her maiden name is Edwards

[@ronbass8136]

Love the memorial, it speaks well of the people there to have it. Thanks for taking us along.

[@jeffstull2534]

Good road trip. Thanks.

[@bruinsfan8278]

That was Awesome, Great Name Band of Brothers, Shifty Powers! What a Hero! Thanks Again! Gone But Not Forgotten :-)

[@zachthornton7930]

I have a great uncle on the memorial Dow rose. My great uncle owns the swing bridge near river side grocery

[@stevehannah5712]

Hey guys thanks for the videos,. I didn't see a dollar general store

[@realappalachia]

You know, come to think of it we didnt either

[@FootBall432221]

This video is so awesome! I just read shifty’s book and I wondered what clinchco looked like so I looked it up and this video came up. Thank you for sharing :)

[@realappalachia]

That’s great, glad you enjoyed it. Shifty was such a fine man.

[@appalachiangunman9589]

A man I go to church with had Shifty as a patient in the hospital in Clintwood and he spoke very highly of him.

[@NickandRachel]

loved all the nicknames in the history! We definitely want to do some more exploring in Virginia it's such a beautiful state. Thanks for sharing!

[@realappalachia]

Thank you guys! Yes, come check out our piece of Appalachia! We could definitely recommend some good places! - Melody

[@buzsalmon]

I'm kinda late watching you all tonight but I'm here and I just saw you miss a car by inches (which if there was any law that car would have been illegally parked).But I didn't see any cops! Now backing up after finding the road blocked! The Memorial to the MINERS was very nice!

[@ccottrill100]

That's normal there. No need for cops, or guard rails. Most roads barley fit 2 cars. Honk your horn for on coming coal trucks , so they don't run you over around curves. Only people who come here are from here. 😅

[@gingerlancaster3033]

Ive fallen in love with the area, thanks to your videos . Moving to Dante soon

[@realappalachia]

That’s fantastic to hear, hope all goes well with your move

[@gingerlancaster3033]

@@realappalachia thank u

[@dennismullins4930]

I was raised in the middle, now abandoned, house, on Graveyard hill. You could barely see it up from the union hall. The Clinchco History Book, by Dennis Reedy, has a lot of information and photos. Dennis also has a museum on Main Street. The old post office is all that’s left of the town. There were offices, company store, barber shop, confectionery and theater. The elementary school was between the theater and the church. Thanks for showing the world my home town. I wish you could dig a little deeper and go back. There’s a lot of history in that little camp. I think it was the last coal camp in the state. Plus, the graveyard at the top of the hill is haunted by a woman and a crying baby. The new operation is at what used to be the end of Power House holler where a main power house was. There were 10 mine entrances in and around town back in the day. I was actually born in camp 10 and moved to Graveyard hill when I was a year old.

[@realappalachia]

Thank you so much for this, Dennis! We didn’t know about the museum and also had trouble finding a lot of old photos. Maybe we can go back sometime to pay a visit there. We learn as we go along a lot of times too so we especially appreciate input from people there! - Melody

[@dennismullins4930]

@@realappalachia I’m very proud of my heritage and really appreciate y’all helping to keep it relevant.

[@mitziflanery1491]

@@dennismullins4930 me too. Clintwood 1969

[@DarrellPowers-u4b]

​@@realappalachia you guys should have rode on up to the end of Shifty Ln. and I would have shown you some of my dad's memorabilia. DW Powers.

[@realappalachia]

@@DarrellPowers-u4b I wish we would have known that when we were in the area. I’m a huge fan of his life.

[@focusintegrity8490]

Dr Ralph speaks of Clinchco in his autobiography. He said it wasnamed for the mine. The Clinchfield Railroad a cording to the book was ahead of it's time. The idea of tunnels thru mountains was new and I believe he says there were 6 around there, some you see from VA 83. The McClure Creek came down McClure and eventually is a river. He says logs were floated down by Clinchco all the way to Breaksthen the Tug Fork up to the Big Sandy and Ohio River. Some of the best hardwoods ever were from there. He talks about all the coal camps, Dante, Trammel, Nora, McClure and Clinchco. He remembered it all booming. He was from up thr road at Stratton. Also an elementary was there. Kids road buses over to Ervinton for High School. He said in the first decade of the 1900's, a geologic study was done to check grades of coal. The world'sbestwasatDante. Quality sl changed as you went further out. That's why Dickenson County hasso many. There are 2 bigger mines now near McClure, #41 and #44. I hopethathelped. Loved Shifty Powers in"Band of Brothers."

[@aratrump]

My Amos and Anderson sides are from that area. Both my great grandfather's WW2 draft cards on ancestry have their place of work or business listed as Clinchfield Coal Corp in Clincho VA. And apparently my great great grandfather Anderson's WW1 card lists Clinchfield Coal Corp as well. Pretty cool.

[@walterlangston4484]

was in north carline over the weekend and Tennessee had some curvey roads film few of them

[@mitziflanery1491]

Decades ago. There was/still stands, I believe? A two story store. Moma would stop an get gas there, a pop(we’d split) when we infrequently came home. Near that ragged brick building. Several years ago. They auctioned off the town. That’s when those buildings took a turn. Sad

[@talldude5841]

Love the story about Shifty Powers. Just another humble appalachian hero. Boy, there is not much going on down at Clinchco now days. Very sad, but that is what some call progress.

[@kevinayers6322]

ITS A DIRTY TOWN AND REGION WHAT DO YOU EXPECT

[@michaelgarrity6090]

Another nice tour of an old Appalachian coal mining settlement. Shane, you were so lucky to get to meet Darrell Powers. For a few years back before Covid, I was part of a group of volunteers where I live now, that met with WWII veterans to interview and record their stories of their wartime experiences for a joint oral history project of the US Library of Congress and the State of Florida oral history program at the University of Florida. I got to meet many great men and hear their stories about the war. It was quite the honor to get to do so. I heard and for posterity's sake, got to record record their stories. When I was a younger man, by pure happen stance, I got to meet several seminal figures from World War II. The first was Admiral Fritz Furth. He was credited for bringing high technology electronic systems to American Naval warships like radar, advanced communications systems and the first generations of electronic firing controls for ship board weapons systems. He also was the man who lead the so called "Philadelphia Experiment" where the Navy was said to be experimenting with a means of electronically cloaking naval ships. By the story that was told, the experiment went way wrong. This was the late 70s/early 80s and I and another guy had to install cable TV into the house he and his wife had moved into where I lived at the time. Some years later, I would have some regular business I conducted in an area outside Columbus, Ohio. One day, at the lunch counter at a Bob Evans Restaurant in Hilliard, Ohio, I sat down next to a very nice gentleman who happened to be retired Air Force General Paul Tibbets. He piloted the Enola Gay and commanded the squadron of B-29s that dropped the two "A-Bombs" on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He was very friendly, unassuming and nice and we had a nice conversation about his role in the war. I sure wished I'd had a tape recorder with me then. Admiral Furth was not so pleasant, he was intimidating as all git-out. You forgot to mention one other place where they mined coal, the coalfields of western Pennsylvania. My paternal grandmother was German and her family after coming to America, had gone to PA to settle to work in the mines, but by the very early part of the 20th century, her father left the mines for factory work in Springfield, Ohio. She was very young when she came to Ohio, but I called her my "mountain grandma" because she had those mountain ways about her. In some ways, she always sorta reminded me of "Granny" from the Beverly Hillbillies. Well guys, I hope you don't mind my big ramble here. I just thought you might be interested in hearing my brushes with a few WWII heros. Safe travels, Godspeed and see ya "somewhere further down the line." It was good to see the coal miners memorial they have in this town. I was traveling in the area back in 2010 not long after the Upper Branch Mine explosion. By the time I was there, they had already set up a very nice memorial for those men that were lost in that disaster.

[@realappalachia]

Loved reading these stories, Michael! I’ve met a few WWII vets myself that were involved in major battles and I agree they are so interesting to talk with. I’ve read quite a bit about the Philadelphia Experiment so I would’ve loved to talked with Admiral Furth. - Melody

[@karencaddle7288]

Thank you for another interesting video of coal mining days gone by. Nice job backing up Shane! I’d be swerving all back and forth.

[@kesmarn]

Melody, I am with you on the issue of smaller schools being better! I don't have any stats to back me up, but I would bet that there's a lower level of violence and a higher level of teachers and students getting to know and understand each other. Another terrific video. And hats off to the late Shifty Powers.

[@realappalachia]

Thank you! I’m like you, I don’t have the statistics but I remember from my time in school, we all seemed to thrive more with a smaller student to teacher ratio! - Melody

[@buzsalmon]

@@realappalachia Melody (and Shane too) THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THE SMALLER THE CLASS THE BETTER THE EDUCATION!

[@fredsimmons2793]

I'm working on a nickname for you two, I sure as heck know it's not Pete and RePete! This was a great tribute!Much respect to you two!

[@realappalachia]

i'm anxious to hear this one lol

[@judypierce7028]

Thank you for another wonderful video Shane and Melody! There was a similar mine disaster in WV to that of Upper Big Branch mine. Many coal miners died. Both were sad tragedies. Be safe in your travels.

[@patriciabogue6811]

I love reading the comments of people who lived in these camps.

[@janets.2918]

Thank you for posting this! It was quite a trip down memory lane. My parents grew up in that row of duplexes off to the right at 18:28 and I had many summer vacations there. Good memories!

[@sandy89107]

Nice little town. I like the skinny windy roads. ..no way for ppl to just hang out in front of your house making noise 😆

[@realappalachia]

Very good point! I like that perspective! Lol - Melody

[@kevinayers6322]

It’s a dirty town

[@jocelynbey5944]

Nice video. When I was in ClinchCo about 12 years ago it had the one convenience store. Is the railroad in service? It was ideled, then put back in service to my understanding.

[@rebeccamartin9528]

I agree on schools I love this like going on Sunday drive

[@debbieepperly3821]

Another very interesting drive, y'all. I really like when y'all can put in old photos of when places were in their heyday! Enjoyed this very much. Y'all please stay safe! God bless y'all from VA! 🤗

[@realappalachia]

Thank you, Debbie! We love the old photos, too! I wish we had been able to find a bunch of good ones from Clinchco but we had trouble there. God bless you, our sweet friend! - Melody

[@viking7560]

I got to see Mr. Powers speak at Mountain Empire many years ago. After he spoke a lady with a European accent stood up afterwards and stated she had been a 10 year old in Belgian in WW II. She thanked him an d asked if she could hug him. It was a powerful moment. Years after that he signed two copies of Band of Brothers for me and a friend of mine who was a Command Sergeant Major in the Army that retired with 30 years of service. My friend and I had served in the 82nd Airborne Division in the 70’s. He was a kind and humble man and still looked like he could jump out of a perfectly good aircraft. Airborne.

[@realappalachia]

That is so awesome to hear! Thanks so much for sharing! I wish I could’ve met him sometime myself. - Melody

[@viking7560]

@@realappalachia one of my coworkers was a neighbor of Mr. Powers. When I got the idea to give Band of Brothers as a gift to my friend at retirement I sent a hand written letter to Mr. Powers requesting he autograph the books. I introduced myself and told him what I knew of my buddy’s 30 years of service. Besides autographing the books he took the time to write his congratulations on my friend’s retirement. He wrote as if he were writing to people he had known all his life. It is a memory I cherish.

[@DarrellPowers-u4b]

He told her he had never turned down a hug from a pretty woman. I didn't tell mom on him.

[@toastythereaper7119]

So as a descendant of the Powers family ( descended from Olen Powers) I'm looking for more information about clinchco and my lineage because that's where Olen ( great grandfather) lived.

[@benandcis]

First time I’ve seen a road gated off

[@TheMARCVISION]

My mom was born in Clinchco

[@Mustang4]

I just love the old brick, if they had to take the old abandoned buildings down, they should give the bricks to the community so they could build a driveway or a patio, that way bricks are wasted.

[@danieljenkins1799]

That old building is the old post office

[@thomastommy1192]

For a small town with a population of under two hundred. You sure did pass a lot of nice homes with new trucks & cars in the driveway. How do they afford those? Another awesome great video thanks for sharing. Many thumbs up. Do you guys think the coal will ever come back to your area? Stay well & safe.

[@realappalachia]

I can’t say I know anyone living in Clinchco at this time but I imagine most have to drive out of the town for work. There are some open mines within driving distance as well as banks, hospitals, etc that would provide good paying jobs. Just a good estimated guess on my part though! Haha. Coal has always had its ups and downs but I believe it’ll keep declining. We appreciate you! Thanks so much! - Melody

[@dancrofford927]

Almost 30k subscribers, wooooooooooo

[@realappalachia]

Yes!! We are so grateful!!

[@glenbo2464]

I wonder sometimes how people in such rural towns survive and get the groceries they need if they dont have a big store , especially if they don't drive.

[@karencaddle7288]

I imagine in small towns like that there are neighbors or parishioners from the church that help and take care of residents that can’t get out.

[@mitziflanery1491]

Good neighbors over in there

[@tomnohmy1273]

Cool.. looked u guys up earlier

[@realappalachia]

That's awesome

[@jerrymullins850]

You missed a lot. The museum, grave yard hill. The churches in camp number 9 and number 10. Thanks for going there .

[@tomnohmy1273]

@@jerrymullins850 thx. Gonna catch it later. Been watching them for a while..I meant looked them meaning there last upload

[@larrrymullen539]

I wanted to see a video of Huntington, WV like your Video s.

[@jessicajackson6863]

The old building was the post office

[@a_b_fishing_5373]

I’m from clinchco

[@larrycounce4509]

Did you say Counce? @ about 0.34. I paused the video but didnt see her name on the Memorial. We have kinfolk up in that area of VA

[@realappalachia]

This one is spelled Counts but pronounced the same

[@larrycounce4509]

@@realappalachia Some changed the spelling after we were ran out of Winchester, VA back in 1837

[@realappalachia]

@@larrycounce4509 there’s a whole bunch of Counts in Dickenson County

[@joecamel6196]

The decendants & posterity of every name on the memorial needs to monetarily compensated abundantly for both compensatory & punitive due their ancestors Otherwise, let misery sorrow and poverty exist in the lives of the present & past National Politicians and rich that prospered off the coal industry :.

[@shannonandsheila1403]

Hey Shane how is Bill?

[@realappalachia]

He is going really good and still working every day. Thank you for asking.

[@shannonandsheila1403]

@@realappalachia He's a tough one tell him Shannon Patrick said hello.

[@realappalachia]

@@shannonandsheila1403 I’ll do it sir

[@shannonandsheila1403]

@@realappalachia Thanks Shane

[@harveynorris3688]

Are you married?