Poverty in Kentucky in 1945

[kentuck]

I was born about 4 miles from where these photos were taken. I was reading about a mine explosion that happened in 1945 and trapped 31 men. An interesting piece of history for me. It was not much different from this when the war on poverty was started by LBJ. Some of the folks in the bottom left photo are related. (No, we were not all cousins and none of them was Uncle Dad :) )

http://www.geocities.com/fleahat/pg20.html

http://www.geocities.com/fleahat/pg2.html

http://www.geocities.com/fleahat/pg3.html

[eleny]

1. Then don't miss this thread, too

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x995857

Thanks, kentuck - going to look at the links you've posted.

[ananda]

2. Links don't work.

they come up unavailable.

[eleny]

4. I was just there and all three worked

I've since closed the pages. Hope that helps.

[kentuck]

5. Perhaps you can start here and go forward ?

They do work for me. ??

http://www.geocities.com/fleahat/pg1.html

[0007]

3. Link aren't working!

[chaumont58]

6. First thing I thought about when reading your thread title was the TVA

There aren't many people still alive from the first days of the TVA. The TVA changed lives in the area of the valley of the Tennessee River, and for the better. It was a Democratic President and a Democratic Congress that pushed and passed the legislation the created the TVA. Every time some bible toting repuke voting red neck turns on a light, he or she should remember the days when there wasn't much electricity and the Tennessee River overran its banks with regularity.

[kentuck]

7. The WPA was a big help in this part of Appalachia...

It gave people a glimmer of hope.

[kentuck]

9. And here is what people were paid with..... Scrip.

not even real money - to be traded at the company store.

http://www.geocities.com/fleahat/pg16.html

http://www.geocities.com/fleahat/pg11.html

[chaumont58]

13. I served in USAF from 1956 to 1960

There were still alot of enlisted men who served in the CCCs during the depression days. For those that don't know, CCCs stood for Civilian Conservation Corps. Men who couldn't find jobs could join the CCCs and work in mountains, or forests, or maybe more. I would bet money those men were Democrats until the day they died.

This is a good country, with a lot of good people, but it has to be lead right, and it isn't now.

[Stinky The Clown]

8. The links still aren't working

I get a 'page not available' message from Geocities.

[kentuck]

11. I think the site that is carrying these photos is easily overloaded..

a local carrier from the hills?

[diamondsndust]

14. feel free to upload your pictures here to share...

I have PLENTY of bandwidth and dont mind sharing ... http://offrampbums.com/coppermine/index.php

Don't forget about my "Bush Bum" kit either! (selfless promotion!) http://www.offrampbums.com/bushbum.html

[kentuck]

15. I'm a novice...

How? :)

[diamondsndust]

16. it doesnt require anything technical....

if you already have the photos on your computer, just upload them like you did to the geocities site....

[kentuck]

17. But I did not upload them...

I just linked to them...

[diamondsndust]

18. oh my bad...

i thought it might have been your site on geocities, as many people have them... sorry.. but the invitation is open to anyone that needs to host some pics...

[dipsydoodle]

10. Access problems - It's either because

too many of us are doing so at the same time or because the pictures have exceeded the agreed capacity - not sure which.

Aside from that I've got Doris Ullman's book of Appalachian Photographs as well as the old stuff which was filmed by Bascomb Lamar Lunsford and has been transferred to DVD. Poor but beautiful people. You just gotta see an eighty year old lady flatfootin' !

I was in KY 2002 and was told at the time that there are still families tucked away in the hills who maintain their own lifestyle and just keep themselves to themselves. Also heard the stories of the coal mining days.

[kentuck]

12. My Dad was a mule driver in the mines...

I used to help him sometime when I was about 8-10 years old. No machinery. Wooden timbers. Pick and shovel and some dynamite. In the mouth of the hollow where we lived were some empty coke ovens that were run by the British Coal Company at the turn of the century. But they made their money and got the hell out - like most everybody else.

[alfredo]

19. It was the civil rights act that helped push the Democrats from

that region into the Republican party. The poor whites were fighting for the same scraps as the poor blacks. they felt the Democrats had turned against them.

[dipsydoodle]

20. Got them !

They are truly beautiful pictures of sad hard times.

Thanks for sharing those.

[APPLE314]

21. We lost a 41 Ford in the 37 Flood!

Great Links, I bookmarked them.

I was born there and lived in Ky. in 1945. I remember going to town to trade on account of we didn't have any money. Folks would hide things from us when we were in town. Truth us, I still miss it.

Went to New York once,and I was introduced to some people as being from Kentucky. They looked down and said, but!!! you're wearing shoes. Stereotypical nonsense comment. I told them that when you Mensa you can afford shoes. That shut their holes up.

I wrote a song once about Weaver's Mountain that relates real well with these pictures.

Here's one of the verses

They raise them wild on Weaver's Mountain
At least the ones, so poor they stayed.
They hide the girls, on Weaver Mountain
When they come down, to town to trade.

You know you're poor when you don't have anything and can't afford to move.