Coal Town USA

[giganova]

Found this at a gas station on Route 52 near War:

 

[giganova]

Arson is very common in McDowell County and the streets are flanked by burnt-out homes. I walked around through the rubble when I saw a statue of an angel in the middle of the debris!

 

[Keith]

What a world these people exist in! This has been one of the best things I've seen at RFF for some time and I thank you for sharing it with us. 🙂

 

[giganova]

Coal mine entrance. I learned that each coal mine has four entrances: one to blow in fresh air with gigantic fans, another one where the old air comes out. Then there's an entrance for the miners and an exit where the coal comes out on a conveyor belt. This is the entrance where the miners go in. This particular mine goes 7 miles (!) deep into the mountain!

 

[giganova]

Keith: this is what a typical coal town looks like. The people in this town all have jobs and are well off.

However, many people have to live under these conditions:

It looks even more depressing when it rains:

 

[giganova]

When I first went there, my plan was to meet people at the local bar. Well, turns out there are no bars or restaurant because nobody could afford spending money there.

Most people just sit in front of their homes like Ricky:

 

[giganova]

Need a pair of jeans? 😀

 

[michaelwj]

Loving this series, looking forward to the book!
I especially like the different takes on "shopping malls".

Abandoned shopping mall:

Closed Walmart. The closing of Walmart was a big loss for the region because it provided many jobs and served as an anchor for other business. I made a little experiment and stitched together a mosaic consistent or 37 individual frames:

That's the same closed Marmart in Kimball WV from the mosaic photo above:

 

[x-ray]

First class work!

 

[Mlehrman]

Just happened upon this amazing thread and story. Time very well spent.

 

[giganova]

Thanks, much appreciated!

 

[BillBingham2]

Great stuff, keep going.

B2 (;->

 

[gns]

If you're in the NYC area, you should check out Susan Lipper at Higher Pictures...
http://higherpictures.com/exhibitions/susan-lipper/