" Appalachia, a History of Mountains and People"will be on PBS Thursday night- local stations times may vary
I’m gonna be watching to see what they say about my part of these mountains, or what’s left of them…
I’ve already watched it.
The producers came to my school and we watched the movie as a one-time only prieview showing for a small group of students and faculty, through our Appalachian Studies department.
Most everybody who saw it was outraged because it depicted our region as a totally impoverished, almost completely uneducated, prejudiced and backwards cesspool that is in pitiful need of help from the outside world and from within.
I liked it because of that. It was realistic.
While it did over-dramatize some things (to be expected, a documentary is still a kind of entertainment), it rang very true, on the whole.
As I recall, there was a feature in the National Geographic way back in the beginning of the 1980’s on the subject. I found it fascinating and depressing, and ended up writing a song about it. Maybe I can get it recorded to post sometime with hubby and maybe a couple of others. It includes mention of the mail route. 8^)
Since you’re an outsider, I would prefer that you watch the documentary first.
How do you know?
What am I?
(just want to be sure about the parameters.)
I’m getting dressed for work and don’t have time to find internet links. Do an internet search, you’d be amazed at what is considered “Appalachia.” It’s just not hollers. West Virginia is the only state entirely within Appalachia. Major cities are considered Appalachia.
Appalachia is usually considered to consist of over 400 counties spread across twelve states from southern New York to Mississippi. I think the socio-economic influence spreads beyond that. I certainly have seen this influence in counties east of “Appalachia” in Virginia so I would suggest the actual boundaries here are a little muddled.
I know because I’ve watched the documentary. After you watch it, you will see what I’m talking about.
The documentary said Annie is an outsider? Annie, you’re famous! 
Yes, it said exactly that! 
Maybe the song is outsider art.
Before what, exactly, Jack? I do plan to see the documentary, but I have already read the NG study, long ago wrote the song, and, you are not the first Appalahian in my acquaintance.
several years ago Cincinnati was trying to pass an “equal rights” ordinance. It didn’t pass for various reasons.
It was specifically calling out “groups” that it would be illegal to discriminate against. The usual - African Americans, Gays and Lesbians, Handicap. But another group was “Appalachians” - because there are many living here that are from that area.
Since my ex’s mom was born in Harburley KY, and the ordinance stated it would apply to anyone 1/4 of the group, my kids would have become a legal minority status.
Of course, since Tom was born in Parkersburg WV, he’s also Appalachian.
I dunno~ I think Im gonna pass this one up… I get the same kind of uneasy feelings about venturing into Appalachia that suburbanites get about venturing into the inner-city…
I feel rather displaced without concrete, traffic congestion & neon to console and re-assure me 
Anyone else?
This is the Appalachian Region folks.
well, geo-ficially ( hey! new word alert! ) sure,
but realistically, what someone from Binghamton NY has in common culturally with someone from east-central Mississppi seems to me to be a very small subset.
I defnintely wouldnt include any of NY, and “blue-out” at least half of the PA portion.
Maybe I’d better tune in anyway.
Hey, I resemble that remark.
Actually, those boundaries are drawn by the federal government to define Appalachia in a socioeconomic sense, rather than a geologic sense. And I can assure you that the Binghamton area has the look and feel and general impoverishment of Appalachia proper. So does much of western PA. The only difference between northwest PA and West Virginia is the amount of snow.
Around about 2004, online marketers began to target banner ads to your computer’s location. I remember the first time this happened to me because I saw a banner ad for “hot singles in Binghamton,” the ad showing profile pictures of alleged local members of their dating network. Given the three-toothed nature of Broom County, the ad was an obvious fabrication. So we followed the link to see what the local profile pictures really looked like from our area. There was basically one person, a lady from Apalachin, about the dimensions of a refrigerator, whose profile picture was a blurry image of her shifting through the woods as if some cryptozoologist just caught her on film. I think she had an eyepatch and a wooden leg.
djm
Been a few year since I heard that one..
Forgot how good it is.
Slan,
D.