With the region’s coal mining jobs largely gone, the east Kentucky town is at work on new ways of success.
Congresswoman Angie Hatton doesn’t pull punches when she talks about her hometown of Whitesburg. “Last year, there were just 38 coal miners employed in Letcher County—once home to thousands of high-paying mining jobs, and $70,000-dollar-a-year jobs are hard to replace.”
Paraphrasing Margaret Mead, Hatton says, “A small, dedicated group of people is the only way to get things done. And we’re not going to give up.”
Hatton won her seat in 2016, running against the wealthy mayor of nearby Pikeville—a victory she terms “a miracle.”
“I got up there in Frankfort to advocate for those without a voice. I told them, ‘I’ll take roots and boots over suits any day.’ ”
Hatton is part of a diverse group of people thinking creatively and collaboratively to create a new way forward for Whitesburg—population 2,200—and their eastern Kentucky neighbors.
These are the stories they told me. Together, they form a narrative of progress for their town.
Ben Fink, Appalshop
If you’ve heard of Whitesburg before, it’s most likely because of Appalshop, born 50 years ago during the War on Poverty. Initially, Appalshop focused on filmmaking and music in the region. Today, community development and relationship building are central to its work.
Ben Fink came to Appalshop in 2015 knowing this: “You always bond through culture. Then you can organize.”
Fink’s Letcher County Culture Hub focuses on building economic alternatives to the coal “monoeconomy.” With 20 grassroots partners around Letcher County, Culture Hub has overseen the opening of Gwen Johnson’s Hemphill Catering, the Hemphill Community Center, and a bluegrass festival. And they have a lot more projects in the works.
Fink’s fellow Appalshop employee Marley Green sees their work in art and economic development as “creative placemaking.” “Both are central at Appalshop—and to this town,” Green says.
Ben Spangler, Roundabout Music
Appalshop and Ben Spangler go way back. He’s a 2002 graduate of and, from 2011-2014, an employee of Appalshop’s Appalachian Media Institute.
When he was a kid in the 1990s, Appalshop provided Spangler and his punk-music-loving friends something crucial for people living in small towns: a gathering spot.
“We had hundreds of kids coming to do stuff together when Appalshop bought the Boone Building across the street. We played music there. We had concerts. A book club. Art workshops. We started an online discussion group and web forum, Appalcore.com. This was before any social media existed. It was revolutionary!”
Spangler, the first in his family to make his living outside of the coal mines, opened Roundabout Music in 2014 with three friends. Now he’s the sole owner, and with his wife Lacy Hale, he’s re-created a gathering place for musicians and artists in his shop. You can buy vintage vinyl, strings, consignment guitars, banjos and fiddles dating back a century. It’s where concerts and impromptu music jams happen. They specialize in punk/metal . . . and bluegrass/oldtime. The old and the new, ongoing.
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