Jan 5
By Jason Howard
This is the third installment of our tribute to the life and work of community activist and outspoken mountain mama, Judy Bonds, who passed away a year ago this week. Here, friend and brother in the fight to end the Mountaintop Removal form of strip mining, Jason Howard, shares his memories and his thoughts on Judy’s legacy.
By Niki King
The family of a dear friend of mine recently finished the final touches on a lux, three-story cabin on a wooded lot overlooking Lake Lanier in North Georgia. It makes for the perfect get-away spot, so our group of friends from high school, still close after all these years, agreed to meet there for a two-day reunion.
by David Flores
“Meeting someone like Judy is a motivating thing in life that makes you refocus your work, and I hoped, after spending the day with her, that my work would become more focused and I feel like it has,” says David Flores, a native of Louisville, Ky., and resident of New York City since 2005, who traveled on assignment as a photographer to profile activist Judy Bonds over Labor Day weekend of 2004 in her hometown of Whitesville, W.Va., and the surrounding region.
by Beth Newberry
Judy Bonds of Whitesville, W.Va., was an activist and community organizer, who in the latter part of her 58 years, tried to end the Mountaintop Removal (MTR) method of strip mining, particularly in the Coal River valley of southern West Virginia. While her work and life were centered on the mountains surrounding her ancestral home of Marfork Holler, her organizing work had national and international tendrils. She died a year ago of cancer on Jan. 3, 2011.
We’ve had a great response to our first issues and enjoyed connecting with many of you on Facebook and Twitter. As promised, we threw the names of followers, commenters and tweeters into a boot and drew four names of winners who will enjoy custom prize packs of Appalachian goodies, either MoonPies from Chattanooga Bakery or a variety of stationery from Yee-Haw Industries letterpress of Knoxville with a Yay! Mountains! magnet from Yay! Life! Products.
Congratulations to Hannah Allen, Dave Tabler, Bobbi Dawn Rightmyer and Douglas Lauderdale!
The HillVille HQ is on holiday this week, so please enjoy the stories we’ve posted in our first two issues “Defining Urban Appalachia” and “Home for the Holidays” and we will see you with piping hot, straight from the oven content on Monday, Jan. 2, 2012. Happy New Year!
The HillVille has been live for ten days and we’ve already heard from many citizens of the HillVille out there in highrises in near-Appalchian cities and from far western outposts and from—bless-your-heart—very flat places. We’ve shared a few of the comments and e-mails we’ve received so far. Read more
Co-publisher Niki King talks urban Appalachia, stereotypes, and urban planning of smaller cities with reporter Josh Flory of the Knoxville News Sentinel. Check-it out, and let us know what you think of urban life in Appalachia or ask questions of Niki about urban planning and Appalachia in the comments below.
By Beth Newberry
Whether you’re driving or flying home to the mountains for the holidays—pack an extra bag. You don’t want to have to relegate those jars of your mamaw’s homemade preserves or that box of MoonPies to the corner of a suitcase with socks and dirty clothes. Nope, that’s no way to treat regional delicacies you can’t find in the flatlands. Here’s a short list of staples some of our readers will hoard on trips home this year. Read more
by Beth Newberry and Niki King
Winter’s here, yins. And in case you were trying to ignore the chilly weather, the gray skies or the tail-end of college football season— a sure sign winter has come to stay—the year-end holidays are your final warning. Winter’s the best time to settle in and snuggle up with a good book. We’ve curated a list of regional-themed Christmas books and top picks of Appalachian literature and community development from 2011 to keep you engaged and entertained until the first bulbs start to bloom. Read more
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