This is a video that made me so happy to see. Leave it to Sesame Street to help us all have a positive, pure respresentation in the media of this world. This clip is of a mailman who delivered mail in our area (not too far from where we live, in the same county) in the 60s/70s. Roads like we have today are relatively new here. Most of our parents and grandparents grew up kind of like our girls are growing up on our holler. No “true” road, or a creekbed for a road. Because of this, horse was still the most convenient means of gettting from here to there. In the county where we live, many women were still having their babes at home, doing the doctoring for their families, organizing church meetings, and teaching the children the 3Rs at this time. It has not been that long ago that many of us lived in intentional communities where most of our needs could be met within a few miles from home. This was out of necessity, but something that, if you were to talk to the elders in our hills, was a thing of pride. I think our future will look similar. Our economy will eventually return to our own two hands, and be ours to create. The truth is that Appalachia is not urban, and cannot be made urban, and any effort to do so will only continue to bring ruin to our people. OK, off my soapbox. I hope you enjoy the video.
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An Appalachian woman born and raised, mothering two little girls in a place that is non-existent to AT&T or UPS. Happily working toward a sustainable lifestyle and writing on the demand of a loud muse.
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12 comments
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July 7, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Carrie
I honestly think I REMEMBER that video! LOL!!!! I was a Sesame Street addict.
I think you’re right. We seem to be returning to our ways. Everyone is always saying that our area needs to build more and relax regulations to bring in more jobs. I disagree. We need to DEVELOP the jobs we have and encourage people that want this way of life to come here. Why are setting ourselves up for a way of life that we don’t want and that has obviously failed our country?
July 8, 2010 at 1:58 am
eastkentuckygal
Amen sister!
July 7, 2010 at 5:50 pm
Aneta
I alwys love to learn more about your culture. I’m Eastern European, but live in Melbourne, Australia. Where I come from – if you look outside the kitchen window – in Europe – it’s mountains. I miss the snow. You remind me of home. Thank you for sharing.
July 7, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Simple Mama
Great video clip. I’m so intrigued by life in Appalachia. I have been since a dear professor wrote a memoir on growing up there – Creeker – a Woman’s Journey. I love reading your blog because it helps fulfill my desire to learn more about the area.
July 7, 2010 at 8:39 pm
lemontreelane
Thanks for sharing. It made me smile. And he sounds so very honoured to be horse riding postman. How I long for those days, of community and simplicity.
July 7, 2010 at 10:24 pm
catherine
Thank you, thank you for posting that video! THAT is why I moved here. I’ve seen the old maps of my area. My holler had a one-room school house, a post office, a small general store and a church. It was a true community. We seem to have lost that in modern-day America.
And I agree with your assessment that our future will look much like this video. But really, what is so wrong with that? I look forward to when the old maps are the new maps.
July 8, 2010 at 1:56 am
eastkentuckygal
Absolutely! Me too. I am working on a post about my great grand-dad who owned a small store. I think getting back to that sort of community and an economy that depends upon us mostly is where its at in the long run. It’ll take some time to get there, but I think we’ll eventually have to.
July 8, 2010 at 2:04 am
eastkentuckygal
Oh, and heck yeah he was proud. Mail was and to some still is a big deal here, but especially then. To be trusted with someone’s mail in a time when people relied on letters to communicate with there families gone off to find jobs etc. That was huge. He was an important man. :)ffffffffd
July 8, 2010 at 2:04 am
eastkentuckygal
Ok, my kitten typed that last part…
July 8, 2010 at 2:02 am
eastkentuckygal
Aneta, Simple Mama, and lemontree – I love sharing my culture. I know the book Creeker, but I haven’t read it. I should. I love learning about history, sociology, anthropology, culture, etc… myself, so I love talking about mine to others. This video was so awesome because it is so close to where I’m living now.
July 8, 2010 at 3:24 pm
monsterbugblankets
LOVE THIS! 🙂 My kids were worried about the girl who got the ride–HOW will she get home?–they asked! hahaha!
I love the returning to our roots, the turning back to self reliance (or in my case, God-reliance)!
🙂
July 20, 2010 at 8:25 pm
Fun Mama - Deanna
I remember that video!! I think the move toward urbanization is a mistake in most cases. I live in a rural area, and always want to live in rural areas. I can’t understand people who want to move to the county and then gripe until Walmart and Kroger move in.