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ACE conference starts needed conversation
At the first ever Appalachian Community Economics (ACE) conference held September 19-21 in Abingdon, VA, participants brought that old maxim “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” into contemporary context. The conference focused on developing sustainable, local economies that don’t rely on coal. Prior to the conference, participants had the option of taking a…
Read MoreTwelve Ghost Story Books of Appalachia
Compiled by Sarah Vig Appalachia has a long and rich folklore tradition, and as anyone knows who has ever sat around a campfire at night, or held a flashlight under their chin, ghost stories are one of the most thrilling parts of oral tradition. As our issue is coming out so near to the time…
Read MoreThe Story of Mysterious Martha
By Joe Tennis In the Bible, it is told, all things will return to dust. But for one little girl in Wise, Virginia, the vision of seeing dust turn into things that talked would prove so haunting that she would be too frightened to sleep alone. It happened on the campus of the University of…
Read MoreGhost Hike to Cone Manor
By Joe Tennis It may be ambiguous, mind you – all this stuff about ghosts. And it might be only your imagination, you see – this idea that you can stare up into the night sky and see figures or shadows or just-plain-something in the windows of the Moses H. Cone Manor House. But maybe…
Read MoreLeading by Example
Solar Homes Tours Show People the Light Story and Photos by Sarah Vig It’s been said that the best way to lead is by example. The American Solar Energy Society has embraced this mantra with the sponsorship of a national solar homes tour. Over the first weekends in October, people all over the nation traveled…
Read MoreMontezuma’s Revenge
Mountain Electric Right-Of-Way Crews Spray Near Drinking Source, Cooperative Refuses Cleanup Story by Sam Calhoun, Associate Editor of High Country Press, Boone, NC – reprinted in part, courtesy of High Country Press “We are deeply concerned for the contamination of water that leads into the Toe River and for our grandchildren who play in this…
Read MoreKanawah State Forest
By Joe Tennis All of a sudden, we saw a snake, lounging in the cool, rocky waters of a creek in the Kanawha State Forest. It was a little snake, about a foot long. Yet I couldn’t tell what kind it was. Neither could my hiking buddy, Justin. Was this a fake snake? Did somebody…
Read MoreLetters to the Editor
Natural Gas is Responsible Dear Appalachian Voices, With reference to your Spring 2008 Appalachian Voice on natural gas drilling – As a “clean fuel” natural gas is reasonably available in this country. Coal seam gas extraction has garnered increased attention due to its availability; but it is NOT a new energy source. In southern Appalachia,…
Read MoreThe long term cost of COAL power VS. WIND power
Wind farm campaign for Coal River Mountain Residents of West Virginia’s Coal River Valley have launched an exciting new campaign to bring a wind farm to Coal River Mountain. Coal River Mountain is one of the last mountains left intact in the beautiful Coal River Valley of West Virginia. However, Massey Energy has plans to…
Read MoreHawksnest Tunnel
The First Gauley Disaster By Bill Kovarik Seventy five years ago, the area where the Gauley River and the New Rivers meet became known as the site of America’s worst industrial tragedy. The same water power that today attracts recreational enthusiasts from over the world was, at the time, attracting the attention of hydroelectric engineers.…
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