A Piece of Mingo County
I keep a piece of Mingo County on my desk. There have been many like it, but this one is mine.
Pieces of Mingo County, like this, have been taken away for more than 100 years. This piece is different, though. This piece reminds me of the cost paid by the men and women who mined this coal, who sacrificed in countless ways for their families and communities, and for the toll it’s taken on both the people and places of the Appalachian coalfields and elsewhere. I think about the hopes and dreams and fears and sorrow that hang like coal dust deep in the hollers of “Bloody Mingo.” I think about sacrifice and being sacrificed and I’m reminded of the difference between the two. I think about the natural resource and human extraction, blasted out, hauled away, never to return. And I think about what it is to return and how literally there are parts of Mingo County you can’t ever return to. I think about “Friends of Coal” and know that coal has never been a friend to Mingo County. I think about the wail of the train engines, the thunderous vibration of the tracks as coal cars roll out, taking another few hundred tons from the heart of the billion dollar coalfield, a heart that try as you may, you will never hollow out. Politicians have heralded it, outside interests have swallowed it, and we are all are complicit in our thirst for this nonrenewable resource. I think about my role in this, too. I think about home for me and it’s impossible to do so without thinking about coal.
This little piece of Mingo County keeps me thinking…
Honeysuckle Gets Me
Every time, honeysuckle gets me. While driving Route 52 in Mingo County last month with the windows down in the low early evening light, I was overcome with a flood of childhood memories. There it was. Honeysuckle. It's funny how smells can trigger such powerfully vivid memories. In an instant, in that moment, I knew more than I've ever know before that I was exactly where I was supposed to be doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing. Like everyone else, I've had a pretty busy year and the summer, thus far, is no exception. It's a good kind of busy, though so I won't even attempt to make it sound like a complaint. I've learned over the years that nothing's worse than actually trying to look busy. Dividing my time between my family, a full-time job, and my own self-assigned work and projects certainly keeps me busy, but never trying to look busy. I'm OK with that. (Below are some of my favorite Instagram pictures so far this year.)
Testify finally came together and shipped in the months of May and June. I am forever grateful to the many folks who, in a number of different ways, supported the work and the project. The book is sold out and as of now there are no plans for a second printing. Later this year, I'll be exploring my options for possibly making a second edition.
One of my goals last year, was to have an image published in an issue of Oxford American in 2014. Well, I'm happy to say that I have an image in the summer issue (Issue 85) included in Catherine Venable Moore's beautiful essay on Mary Lee Settle. I began collaborating with Catherine last fall when she contracted me to make photographs in the small town of Cedar Grove, West Virginia. It's nice to finally see everything in print and I'm grateful to both Catherine and Oxford American.
The Looking at Appalachia project is developing nicely, however we're still missing work from three states: Alabama, Kentucky, and South Carolina. If you're located in any of these regions, plan on heading that way later this year, or know folks you think might be interested in contributing, please have them give me a holler!
I have some other exciting projects in progress right now including a couple of books covers, which I'll share with you as soon as I can. Even though I've added a second digital camera to my bag, I've been intentional about shooting more film this summer. More on that later.
(Above photographs: Abandoned mine, Mingo County, West Virginia and Tug Fork riverbank, Mingo County, West Virginia.)
Sketches from Appalachia - September 2012
1. Bluefield, West Virginia. 2. Williamson, West Virginia. 3. Grants Branch Park, Pike County, Kentucky. 4. Virgil Webb, Kentucky Colonel, Big Creek, Kentucky. 5. Sanctuary, Big Creek Baptist Church, Big Creek, Kentucky. 6. Hatfield family photos, Big Creek, Kentucky. 7. Fish fry, Big Creek Baptist Church, Big Creek, Kentucky. 8. Iron Weed, Hatfield, Kentucky. 9. Fall colors and East River Mountain on the horizon, near Bramwell, West Virginia.