Appalachia Project: What Is Appalachia?

For the purposes of my reading project, I am using the political definition of Appalachia as formulated by the Appalachian Regional Commission, the ARC (www.arc.gov) (see below). The county I live in, Vinton County, Ohio, is in red, distressed. The classications are based on economy, population, education levels, employment opportunities, and other factors.

I am not an expert on Appalachia. This blog post presents my own private conceptualization of the region.




Geologically, the Appalachian mountain ranges stretch in a broad curve from eastern Arkansas through western New York and into eastern Canada. And, if you take plate tectionics into account, they extend into northern Ireland and Scotland. You can see from the map to the right how North America and Eurasia were neighbors earlier in Earth history. The tectonic idea is cool when you realize how many people from those areas moved so far only to settle in the same mountains. Thanks to author Sharyn McCrumb for introducing me to this idea.



A cabin at Niches, McArthur, Ohio,
 where I reconnected to Appalachia.

My personal definition of Appalachia has evolved to include emotional, genetic, and economic factors, in addition to geology. I was the one in my family who was called back, called to return. I began by camping in this region and ended up by moving in permanently. It just felt like home. My ancestors were fully established in southeast Ohio by about 1840--and I mean on both sides of my great-grandparents' families. Their gravestones are gradually disintegrating within about 40 miles of my house.


THIS land is my land. Can ya' hear me?

To me, Appalachia is poor, slow to embrace change, suspicious of authority (in the schools and government), and slow to trust outsiders. It is also beautiful, resourceful, generous, funny, and rich in family and history. People feel tied to the land in a different way than in more urbanized areas. I feel tied to the land in a way I never imagined. When I sing "This Land Is My Land," I really mean this land, right here, right under my feet. "This land" is not an abstraction to me anymore. Some things about Appalachia drive me crazy. Some things make me cry. Some things fill me with gladness and Joy (myself).

Tourists don't usually see
the slum side of Jamaica.

Conceptual Models
Third world model. I often view Appalachia, and particularly the place where I live, as a third world country. We are largely dependent on extractive industries (timber, coal, natural gas) that we sell wholesale. Our raw materials are made into products and sold retail and the profits do not return proportionately to our region. Further, people keep trying to tell us that tourism is the salvation of our economy. But tourism is low-paying for the boots on the ground. Again, the real money often leaves the community. And, it is still other-centered, not a development of us for us. Like many third world countries, there might be a prosperous looking tourist "strip" masking neighborhoods of great poverty.

Matriarchal model. The key unit of community in Appalachia is the extended family, often overseen by a matriarch and supported by female breadwinners (at a lower rate of pay than male breadwinners). Men come and go out of this system, sometimes providing only sperm. People socialize within the family and do not build relationships outside it. Part of this stems from historic isolation of families (see density model below). An interesting part of a federal jobs program I have been working with is that the workers have been forming non-family community relationships. I think the results from this may be more revolutionary than the income generated by the jobs. The matriarchy is a key strength of Appalachia, but it can also deaden opportunity and stifle new ideas.

Poverty model. The characteristics often listed for Appalachia continguate with poverty characteristics. The problems of Appalachia are the problems of poverty, but spread out, diluted over many hundreds of square miles. We are hard to reach. The health and education issues are the same. Teen pregnancy, alcohol and drug abuse, and epidemic tobacco use are prevalent. That's why I'm an anti-poverty crusader as well as an Appalachia booster.

Density model. As mentioned above, we are spread thin. Vinton County, Ohio, is the most sparsely populated county in the state, in terms of people per square mile. This makes service delivery and transportation to services difficult and expensive. It also allows for privacy in a gruesome sense--no close neighbors to look out for methamphetamine labs, abused or hungry children or spouses, living standards. No gossip, in other words, which is amusing because in town (the tiny town of McArthur, population about 1,000) there are NO secrets. Everybody knows everything. I sometimes try to imagine what would happen if my county were simply closed. Move out all the people. Let it all go fallow. It's so empty anyway. It's just an idea I toy with. And, it demonstrates the parallel between the current treatment of Appalachian people and the historic treatment of native Americans. Move them off their land and disappear them into society as a whole. Get hands on land.

From ARC website:
ARC's mission is to be a strategic partner and advocate for sustainable community and economic development in Appalachia.
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a regional economic development agency that represents a partnership of federal, state, and local government. Established by an act of Congress in 1965, ARC is composed of the governors of the 13 Appalachian states and a federal co-chair, who is appointed by the president. Local participation is provided through multi-county local development districts.
ARC funds projects that address the four goals identified in the Commission's strategic plan:

1. Increase job opportunities and per capita income in Appalachia to reach parity with the nation.
2. Strengthen the capacity of the people of Appalachia to compete in the global economy.
3. Develop and improve Appalachia's infrastructure to make the Region economically competitive.
4. Build the Appalachian Development Highway System to reduce Appalachia's isolation.

The Appalachian Region, as defined in ARC's authorizing legislation, is a 205,000-square-mile region that follows the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi. It includes all of West Virginia and parts of 12 other states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Forty-two percent of the Region's population is rural, compared with 20 percent of the national population.

The Region's economy, once highly dependent on mining, forestry, agriculture, chemical industries, and heavy industry, has become more diversified in recent times, and now includes a variety of manufacturing and service industries. In 1965, one in three Appalachians lived in poverty. Over the 2007–2011 period, the Region's poverty rate was 16.1 percent. The number of Appalachian counties considered economically distressed was 223 in 1965; in fiscal year 2014 that number is 93.

These gains have transformed the Region from one of widespread poverty to one of economic contrasts: some communities have successfully diversified their economies, while others still require basic infrastructure such as roads and water and sewer systems. The contrasts are not surprising in light of the Region's size and diversity. The Region includes 420 counties in 13 states. It extends more than 1,000 miles, from southern New York to northeastern Mississippi, and is home to more than 25 million people.