Wednesday, March 25, 2015 // The Statement
8B
Brad Paisley warbles that you’ll never leave Harlan alive.
At the beginning of this March, my Alternative Spring
Break service trip traveled to the area depicted on FX’s
popular series, “Justified,” where jaw-dropping mountains,
hard-nosed Southern charm, and rusted remains of a
formerly dominant coal-mining industry meet in the heart
of the Appalachian Mountains.
We spent the school year learning about rural poverty in
Appalachia, but it wasn’t until we got there that we realized
the realities behind the rust.
In our short stay, we had the privilege to be welcomed
by families living in the area. The Lankfords were one such
family.
Danny Lankford and his wife, Rita, have been fighting
cancer and bankruptcy in Harlan County, Kentucky. Ever
since Danny was laid off from the coal mines, they have
had a continuing string of troubles. Nine years ago a mining
company bought out the couple’s previous home and they
were forced to relocate their residence. A diagnosis of
prostate cancer forced Danny into retirement from city
work. Just two years later Rita was diagnosed with colon
cancer, adding to their financial strain.
Danny lists these calamities nonchalantly, as if they
are just a part of life in Harlan. Danny and Rita’s story is
complex. Many members in the community share their
struggles, where the remnants of a once-booming industry
remain destructive to the environment and the lives of
residents living in the valleys.
“The industrial revolution in America of manufacturing
is over with,” Lankford said. “It’s been over with here for a
long time. We’ve basically been left out, left behind. We
don’t really count no more.
“We can survive. That’s what the people in Appalachia
been doing before coal came, they survived.”
Despite the circumstances, Danny is perfectly content
doing just that; surviving. As he looked off his deck into
his own mountain ‘paradise,’ he explained that he has no
desire to ever leave Harlan, alive or dead.
“At this age, you can’t make no dreams come true, just
live out the ones you made,” he said.
VISUAL STATEMENT: SURVIVING APPALACHIA
The last day we visited, all of the puppies that had shared a room with Danny and Rita were adopted
except for the runt, Minnie.
The Lankfords were caring for their daughter’s dogs, Bobo and Duchess,
after her move out of her ex-husband’s houswe. The couple was taking
care of seven dogs in addition to a new litter of a dozen puppies.
Luna Anna Archey
The Lankfords daughter recently underwent a divorce from her abusive husband. He was a nurse, and
Danny claims the desensitization to violence might have been a factor in his actions.
Danny said “being out here is all I need” of his mountain home. Companies are currently fighting for the ability to conduct mountaintop
removal on some peaks in Danny’s backyard. This practice would pose multiple environmental problems like stopping regional rainfall.
Danny and Rita traded home cookied meals and conversation for
our work repainting and sprucing up the interior of their home.
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