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Appalachia Home • Projects • Resources • Mission • History • SWAP • Photo Gallery |
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The Beginnings of MCC Appalachia("We Became Friends" Excerpts)The Appalachian Mountains are among the oldest mountains on the earth. They extend for 1,200 miles, from the province of Quebec in Canada to central Alabama in the United States. These mountains form a natural barrier between the Eastern Seaboard and the Mississippi Basin of North America. The ruggedness of the mountains, the intricate network of streams and rivers, the dense forests and the lack of natural passes made the area almost impossible to cross, settle, or develop, particularly in the Southern Appalachians. It wasn't until the early 1700s that Scotch-Irish and English immigrants pushed into the mountains. In 1750, Thomas Walker discovered the Cumberland Gap. Daniel Boone blazed the Wilderness Road through the Gap, giving others access to some of the most rugged parts of the Appalachians. The mountains steadily filled with settlers who chose this world of ruggedness and isolated, unclaimed lands. After the initial immigration into Southern Appalachia, few newcomers moved there until the early part of the 20th century. Because of the isolation, people in the area developed a distinctive culture reflected in their ballads, folklore and handcrafts. They also maintained a spoken language derived primarily from 15th and 16th century English that is a colorful dialect of earlier times. The mountain people of Appalachia survived by their own wits independence. Pride and self reliance were a way of life. They settled in "hollers," narrow valleys between the mountains. They used the steep hillsides for subsistence farming and gathered things from the wild to provide for their needs. People settled close to kin, with each holler having two or three family names. Families intermarried to the extent that many people were related to each other. A strong sense of family loyalty gave Appalachian people a code that included never deserting a kinsman, whether right or wrong. The Appalachian Mountains contain tremendous wealth, bringing outside speculators from the North and the East in the late 1800s.. Immense stands of timber, rich coal beds, natural gas, salt springs and licks, iron ore and deposits of granite and marble were hidden in these mountains. Speculators bought large amounts of virgin timber and the mineral rights to locally owned land for a mere fraction of the value of these natural resources. Often the isolated mountaineers did not know that coal was in the land, nor realize the true value of the coal or the timber. Railroads were built into the road-less mountains around 1910 to transport the coal, and coal companies constructed their own towns called coal camps. The mountain people moved from their farms to these newly-built towns to work in the coal mines, along with many European immigrants. Land and labor were cheap; coal and timber made many "outsiders" rich. "Outside" coal companies owned the very lives of the miners: their houses, stores, recreation centers and hospitals. The miner sold himself to the coal company in exchange for minimal economic security. Because few safety laws existed, high accident and death rates were all part of the Golden Age of the coal Industry in Appalachia, from 1912 to 1927. The coal fields boomed during World War I and then slacked off. The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) appeared on the scene around 1917. Unionization of the miners was a bloody violent battle between mine workers and mine operators. Then the Great Depression slowed the coal industry down, until World War II when the coal fields again boomed. In the 1930s Southern Appalachia drew national attention when President Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced the "New Deal"--a legislative program for economic relief, recovery and reform. The New Deal established federal responsibility for the economic well being of the American people and produced the welfare state. After World War II, automation moved into the coal mines, displacing more than half of the miners from their jobs. Appalachia saw an out migration of more than a million people, looking for work in the post-war boom economies of the large cities. In 1963, Harry Caudill's book "Night Comes to the Cumberlands" ultimately brought international attention to the plight of the mountain folk in eastern Kentucky. People, organizations, material donations and money began to flow into Appalachia. During this decade people came to Appalachia to look at "poverty." There was a deluge of news reporters and photographers, an interest in filming national TV specials, and a desire to "do something" about Appalachia. The plight of Appalachia was difficult for other Americans to understand. It was seen as a "region apart" and not an integral section of the United States. The population of 15 million people was rural and underemployed. There were deficits in education and a high number of welfare recipients. Transportation was difficult due to the lack of good roads, and floods regularly played havoc with the people's lives. Compared to the rest of the nation, Appalachia seemed to suffer innumerable deprivations. The reasons and motives for people's interest in the region were as varied as the people themselves. At the same time, this attention kindled the suspicions of the Appalachian people. Hospitable and friendly by nature, the mountain people were unsure of "outsiders" due to unfortunate previous experiences with them. In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced 'an unconditional war on poverty' to end poverty for all time. A specific program for the Appalachian region finally developed in 1965 known as the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). Over 40 years, billions of dollars would be channeled through the ARC, the largest portion allocated to build and improve roads used to haul the coal out of Appalachia. In 1957, several Mennonites moved to establish a ministry in Breathitt County in Appalachia. However, it was a 1962 crisis that provided the gateway for MCC's involvement in Appalachia. In 1962, the UMWA announced the closing of 10 of its hospitals, resulting in elimination of all medical care for local people. The Presbyterian Church stepped in to try to save the hospitals, raising funds to buy the hospitals through the Appalachia Regional Hospitals. Responding to the serious shortage of medical personnel after some enquiry, MCC assigned its first volunteers to Southern Appalachia in summer 1964.
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© 2002 Mennonite Central Committee
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