Squashing Development

This week we have disussed development issues in Appalachia, prompted by our readings of Dave Whisnant's work. A few things have struck me as I have read Whisnant's texts, and listened to the ideas of my colleagues here at the NEH summer institute. My comments and conerns, of course, are primarily with West Virginia, my area of study, realizing that development, like culture, history etc varies greatly within the Appalachian region.

Over the years this business of tourism has been posited and promted as a panacea for economically distressed areas, particulary those with great natural beauty, like WV. The idea being that tourism can open up the region to outsiders, and greatly benefit local economies. In West Virginia the state parks, whitewater rafting and other general outdoors activities are promoted on a grand scale. Some critics of this idea of development, including Dave Whisnant, suggests that tourism has not helped economically depressed areas because the jobs they provide are non-union, low-wage and frequently seasonal positions. Interestingly enough, in WV, many ideas for development have been squashed, particularly if they have challenged the political-economic arrangements in the state, or the cultural hegemony in place, with this case being the coal oligarchy that has created and sustained WV for over 100 years. Most state politicians, and regulators, for instance, are present or former coal industry employees. Thus, in this scheme, tourism is a safe idea for economic development because it doesn't challange or threaten this entrenched system. Therefore, lots of money has been poured into Appalachia to create lakes, design state parks (such as the New River Gorge Bridge National Park) and develop a white-water rafting industry in the state.

I would also argue that churches have been used or posited as other types of cultural development to assist the people of Appalachia as they make their way through the hards lives that seemingly define them. One of my colleagues here, Bob, made the observation that in Minnesota (where he is from) if you were to take a country drive you may run into a church every 10-20 miles. He has noticed since living and traveling through the central Appalachian region that you see a church about every mile - usually some type of baptist or penacostal church. When Bob made this observation, our seminar leader that day, an historian at Ferrum, who is also a pentacostal minister said this was due to the private nature of churches in the region. The basic idea is that anyone and everyone can build and open a church, not relying on some larger, institutionalized church structure to define and execute such projects. And they have opened them, and they dot the landscape of Appalachia. You basically can't throw a rock around here without hitting a church.

With this being said, I would also argue (again, primarily thinking of WV) that churches erected as an aspect of development (and i know how problematic that notion is but don't have time to unpack it)is similar to tourist projects in that these developments are safe, and don't challenge the social, political, and ecnomic processes that have created this need for different types of development in the first place. A political/economic system that contaminates people's water supplies, blows off their mountain tops, and shifts their tax burdens onto state citizens.These forces could care less if yet another pentacostal church is built in Eccles, WV or anywhere else in the state. This is probably a welcoming sign to them because of the "opiate" nature of the religious experience.

Another development project in WV has been the building of highway sytems throughout the mountains, paritculalry in the coalfields. Those awful Feds who presented to us as spokespeople for the Appalachian Regional Commission, which was designed to assist citizens in the area and create greater job opportunities for them, said that over half of their budget goes to costly road construction projects.The idea behind this type of development is that because of its rugged, mountainous geography, some areas in the region need bigger and better road systems. This, again, will open the people up to other areas in the state and country providing them with better employment prospects, and also the idea being that businesses are bound to locate along these roads bringing even more bank to Appalachia. Well, Well. It is true that while growing up in WV there were many roads that were terrible, and to travel them would beat you to death. up the mountain, down the mountain, around a hair pin turn just to get to see your relatives in the next county. Travel to some places was actually discouraged because of road conditions. Most of this has now changed. Over the past 10 years or so lots of wonderful, 4 lane highways that travel through sublime mountain scenery have been built all over the state, given the name of "The Robert C. Byrd" Appalachian Highway System. But ultinmatley, these are mixed blessings. Yes, it has made travel easier, and I suppose it has connected some communities in and out of the state, that were once disconnected. But, in terms of jobs and economic developent growing right along with these highways, West Virginia's new super highways strike me as being roads to nowhere. But nowhere, of course, is a matter of perspective. Thinking of II9, which I traveled last Saturday from Pikesville, KY to Charleston, WV there may be some out there who would argue that one can travel on this highway to their jobs at the Super Walmart, McDonalds, Car Dealers, and Exxon Stations. Yes, they could, but still, its a road to nowhere.

Finally, speaking of Robert C. Byrd, I'll end with a small example of an idea for development that was tried in the 1960's in WV. Mingo county, WV (and county as opposed to town distinctions are more descriptive and useful in rural studies)is the poorest county in one of the poorest states in the country. It is in the coalfields of WV, and like most other counties in this region, residents are undereducated, experience great health problems, unemployment rates can be quite high - over 40 %, with over 50% of the county's residents living below the poverty line. No basic infrastructure exists to help citizens in Mingo county. In the late 60's/early '70's The Gilbert Creek Comunity Action Group in Mingo Co. opened a cooperative grocery store, which, of course, led to protests among local merchants. The state senator, Robert Byrd, stepped in declaring himself 'absolutely against this program being used to drive our business people out of business'(Whisnant 111). Byrd had the "communist" grocery store investigated by the OEO (office of economic opportunity.) At the urging of Byrd the coop was denied authorization to accept food stamps on the pre-text that its customers owned its stock, and could be seen as using the food stamp program for personal profit. Ah, There's always some way to see that hegemony stays safely in place.


In this case, citizen owned food co-operatives would have provided challenges to political economic arrangments,so they had to be squashed by those who protect and enforce those powers simultaneously serving their own political economic agendas.

So, in Appalachia we can have tourism, recreation, centers that gather and celebrate WV crafts and culture, highway projects ,Superwalmarts (incidently, my home town of Beckley, population 17,000 has 2 Superwalmarts) but no, absolutly no subversive, communistic food co-ops in small communities in WV.

jb