Celebrating Appalachia

Celebrating Appalachia

Beth Collins, Director, Appalachian Institute at WJU

Too many times when the term “Appalac

Local community members and the WJU campus Celebrate Appalachia!

hia” is used, a negative, almost sympathetic thought, is conjured up. At the Appalachian Institute, while we recognize challenges that need to be addressed such as health care, environmental exploitation, generational poverty, and access to quality rural education, we also stand firm in our belief that this region is one to be celebrated, even bragged about. For this reason, we recently held our annual Celebrate Appalachia event on the campus of Wheeling Jesuit University.

We kicked off the week of events by getting the campus involved in our new community vegetable garden. Over 40 people shoveled, planted, and began to grow the seeds of community and healthy living. Later that night, campus and community members celebrated some of our greatest Appalachian assets—food and music! An Appalachian feast complete with ramps, fried green tomatoes, venison stew, chicken and dumplings, and apple stack cakes were served up. Along with the dinner came some great music from a local bluegrass band and a quilting workshop.

Later in the week, Appalachia’s long history with the labor movement was highlighted by local musician and WJU employee, Tom Breiding. Breiding’s folk music told the story of the earliest labor protests, the role of WV in the start of a nationwide labor movement, and the current struggles for union coal miners.

Rooted in Scottish, Irish, and Native American influence, Appalachian folk tales reflect history and fantasy. During the week of events, local storyteller, Judi Tarowsky, performed her collection of ghost stories for local community children during our Appalachian Story Hour.

The Appalachian Pastoral Letters, specifically the original 1975 This Land is Home to Me, highlight the beauty and challenges of the region. The letters were a catalyst for organizations like the Appalachian Institute to be formed. Several philosophy and theology classes learned the impact the letters have had on the region and the “dream of the mountains’ struggles” that we still encounter today through a personal account from Fr. Brian O’Donnell, SJ and Fr. Jim O’Brien, SJ.

A key feature of the week was to not only emphasize the splendor of the region, but also modern challenges that the region is facing. The topic of natural gas drilling is one that’s literally taken over regional news. Many of the news reports and academic journals focus on the environmental costs versus the economic benefits.  Brian Cohen, lead photographer for the Marcellus Shale Documentary Project, introduced a different category into the conversation—the community impact. Through an unbiased lens, the team wove together a stunning, and sometimes tragic, story of families that are succeeding and families that are forgotten. Several community groups, students, and faculty attended the evening presentation.

To end the week of events, Fr. Brian O’Donnell, SJ led a lunch discussion with employees on green theology and Appalachia. Using excerpts from At Home in the Web of Life and the model of the Franciscans, a clear question arose—do we have a vocabulary yet in terms of the dignity of nature to effectively argue the pros and cons of a particular intervention into ecosystems? As a Jesuit university, this burden of creating such a vocabulary and shift in mindset is particularly significant.

Here at the Institute we believe that praising a region is just as important as advocating for its struggles. The two must go hand in hand if empowerment is to happen. As Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ said during convocation at WJU this year, “Without kinship there is no peace. Without kinship there is no justice.” Delighting in our history, our culture, our kinship as Appalachians is the foundation for advocacy and change.

Regis University Health Care Immersion–Olen’s Blog

It’s been an abstract journey, one that has led me to reflect upon the nature of life and what it means to live in these days we share. History has shown us that humans eternally struggle to find common ground between our disagreements and what we consider to be the right way to live. So what role are we to play – or why should we play any role at all – in the development of the human race on earth? What do we consider reasonable progress of our individual humanity and our communal role as stewards of the earth? War is a more obvious face of the inequalities permeating our many cultures, but yet even thousands of years of history have not taught the lessons required to establish a cohesive union with our current brethren.

            Some time in the future of man, nature will determine our end despite our best efforts to master both life and destiny. How must we behave and conduct ourselves until this time? Should we move to continue our habits as they are, with little regard to the consequences of our existence? I think not, lest we hasten the deprivation of our humanity and leave ourselves nothing but a tumultuous finale on this earth. Should we not instead find ground stable enough to balance our needs and wants against the realities of communal life? Our existence requires only few things, yet the needs we hold so close and dear are far more superficial than we have been led to believe, and our wants increasingly unjustified as we collect them in abundance. Perhaps it is commitment and focus inward that will lead to our discovery of that which is pure and necessary; it is focus outward that will lead us to treasure the little abundance we have that others do not.

As social beings, I argue that our nature requires us to act virtuously in the care of our fellow beings, avoid selfish posturing on pedestals, and take in all that is our history and legacy in hopes of perfecting a future of broad visions. Such visions must consider the actions that have left our soils bereft of life and look to sustain equality for those that will share in the future of our resources; they must consider the nature of our relationships with our fellow animal beings; they must stress an unwavering commitment to the persistence of justice in the eyes of the beholder; and they must over all else ensure that the lessons of our failings, both past and present, permeate throughout our future.

“I say that man is condemned to be free… because he did not create himself, yet, in other respects is free; because, once thrown in to the world, he is responsible for everything he does.”

- Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism and Human Emotion

Appalachian Mountain Top Removal Mining – A Call to Build A New Model

The following post is offered as a reflection on the recent New York Times article entitled “Appalachia Turns on Itself” published on July 8, 2012.

written by: Mary Ellen Cassidy, Research & Advocacy Associate, The Appalachian Institute at Wheeling Jesuit University, reposted from the Ignatian Solidarity Network

The recent New York Times article on Mountain Top Removal, “Appalachia Turns on Itself” repeated several arguments often cited to persuade us to limit or eliminate the practice of mountain top removal (MTR).  However, I propose that there is only one argument that really matters in this current political culture.

The first arguments offered in this article against MTR use scientific studies that document significant negative impacts of MTR on ecological systems and public health. These arguments carry the fatal flaw of assuming that we, in Appalachia and in the nation as a whole, understand scientific principles and math. They assume that the reader understands the scientific principles of natural systems – that “streams and mountains” are not aesthetic frivolities, but on the contrary, they are our very lifeline for clean water, nutritious soils and breathable air.  These arguments also assume the reader understands statistics and probability and what is meant by “percent greater risk”.   Check the international and state rankings of our schools in science and math performance and you’ll begin to understand why these arguments do not translate to the public at large.  It’s all too abstract, distal and distant to the uneducated and of course if you need to remain in denial, you can’t let science get in the way.  So, without an education and an open mind, science and math will not persuade.

Jason Howard next makes the jobs argument. Now we’re talking! Now the public is listening! Sure, it’s disturbing to hear about streams, mountains and public health problems, but for many in Appalachia jobs trump all of these concerns. Times are tough and have been tough for generations. For those not directly and immediately impacted by MTR, scientific studies must take a back seat to the immediate needs of their family and where their next paycheck is coming from. So jobs, any kind of jobs, become the holy grail of policy.

Feeding on these hard times, corporations pit us against each other, convincing us that jobs that ensure workers’ as well as the community’s health and safety are simply not competitive globally. So, we continue on our race to the bottom. Perhaps an answer to Appalachia’s civil war and the nation’s extreme partisan culture lies somewhere within a quote from Umberto Eco, “When your true enemies are too strong, you have to choose weaker enemies… Only the powerful always know with great clarity who their true enemies are…”

In light of this, I offer this thought to our Ignatian Solidarity Network.  Work as hard on the solution end as you do on the protest end. As Buckminster Fuller said, “You never change things by fighting existing reality. To change something build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete”.

To Love and Serve

by Chris Sullivan, Boston College High School

Our sojourn for service in West Virginia of April vacation had a significant impact on my peers, the chaperones, as well as myself during and after our efforts.  Despite the fact that the trip was a school required trek, I felt that each one of us approached the trip with open minds and genuine hearts. Over six days in WV, we served the poor by working in soup kitchens.  We served the poor by helping organizations that recycle just about everything you can imagine and redistribute it to those in need all around WV. We served by tearing down and rebuilding homes that had been entirely flooded out. We learned about the struggles and injustices that the poor peoples of WV face each day.  I believe the combined contributions of our group touched those who were in need.   But what was most surprising was the way we all changed and progressed during our time spent in West Virginia.

Through spending time with the people of West Virginia, we dispelled the previous stereotypes that we had of one another.  Everybody came to the realization that we are not all that different from one another.  We realized that being human unites us in a way we should be sure to consider while we live our lives.  We are all human and here to love and serve one another. This was the most remarkable characteristic of the trip for me. Everything else took the backseat as people began to help people solely because of this profound connection and calling. The  experience of breaking down and rebuilding houses in Logan, West Virginia was perhaps the greatest example. It was amazing to realize that at that very moment we all had the power to make a difference in this world.  The needs of this family were immense and we were called to be there to not only build a home, but to reform and build new relationships based on hope and love. Overall the trip took a physical and emotional toll on each and every one of the participants, myself included. However, undoubtedly it was a sincere act of kindness by a concrete troop of “men for others.”

Rebuilding with Graditude: Boston College High School

by Mike Goulding, Boston College High School

I hadn’t even heard of the flooding in southern West Virginia until about a week before our troop.  I had not seen it on the news, newspaper, or any media source.  I found out through a group leader as we were preparing for our trip, who had found out through talking with volunteer coordinators via phone.  This was extremely daunting to me and others going on the trip.  How could this be going on in my own country and not even hear a single thing of it.  We saw youtube clips of some of the devastation, but would not even compare to actually being there.

 

We arrived at the first house, the entire area had been severely affected.  Every building or house in the area was damaged in some way.  But in this very hopeless looking environment, dark clouds, raining; one found shining hope in the large groups of people, all helping to make this place HOME again.  It was truly quite a sight.  We entered the house.  It was quaint, though a very beautiful place to raise a family.  The water levels had reached beyond five feet and its effects were noticeable.  We began tearing down walls, insulation; learning the entire time aspects of the skills our generation has neglected.  We met Tom and Dave, two very special individuals.  Tom is quiet, but an extraordinarily hard worker.  Dave definitely enjoyed talking and I loved talking with him all the more.  He spoke of how right when the floods happened he just came right down.  It seemed that it wasn’t even a question for him, he felt called.  He always speaks with a smile and is genuine to everyone he meets.  We continued to talk as we met again at another house.  The next was also badly, perhaps more.  We tore up a floor and put a new one in, something I have never done before.  I also met Mike, who loved to crack some of the punniest jokes I have ever heard, still making me laugh, none the less.  He taught me a lot about carpentry and importance of the craft.  I was able to work much one on one with Mike and enjoyed his many words of wisdom.  He told the group and I, as we left, “What you’ll learn in life is how YOU make sense of the world.”  Those words have stuck with me and always will, one among many others he spoke.

I learned much on my trip and was able to experience a truly beautiful land and people.  WV is a place like no other and the people you meet are some of the most good-hearted and passionate people you will ever come across.  I am grateful for all the people and places that have touched me in my life, and West Virginia will always hold a special place in my heart.

Comfort Always: St. Louis University

by Michael Scolarici, St. Louis University

It was Wednesday morning.  Some friends and I woke up at 6:00AM to slip in a run before the sun began to crawl over the horizon.  After returning I led a reflection with two main focuses:  a phrase from Coach Michael Arenberg, “First thought, good thought,” and a quote from Dr. Thomas A. Dooley a Saint Louis University Medical School graduate “A doctor’s job is to cure sometimes, to relieve often, and to comfort always.”  I wanted to share the first phase from one of my high school mentors to remind my new friends that we have the power to decide if we are going to have a good day or let the obstacles we face bring us down.  The second quote aligns with our Health immersion trip, because not only does it describe a doctor’s duties, but Dr. Dooley says that the main responsibility of a doctor is to comfort.  No one on the trip was a doctor, but we all have the capability to comfort those we interacted with on our trip.

After we finished sharing our thoughts on the reflection, Adam, Sara and I traveled to Boone County, WV to serve and shadow at the Boone-Raleigh health clinic.  Our shadowing experience offered very unique opportunities which included taking vital signs of the incoming patients, brainstorming for ideas on a grant regarding black lung, interacting with patients in the blood lab.  The atmosphere of this rural clinic was simple yet warming, and the staff was glad to have us for the morning.

          

Once the three of us began to settle in for the morning, I felt that we posed less of a burden and offered more of a relief to the staff through our conversation and aid in busy work.  I was asked to follow the student physician’s assistant (PA) as she held an appointment for prescription refills with an older mother and daughter.  The student PA completed a very thorough and professional history despite a seemingly routine appointment, and after a few minutes of talking with each patient she was able to open their lives and delve deeper.  Both mother and daughter complained of not only a persistent coughs but chronic vomiting and diarrhea for the daughter and knee pain for the mother.  Besides the cough, both mother and daughter also had a distrust of medicine in common.  The daughter explained that despite only eating baby food, oatmeal, and Pepto-bismal for the past couple of months, she only would trust one hospital to see a gastrointestinal specialist.  Although the mother repeated multiple times that although she has knee pain, she was adamant about not wanting anyone to touch it with needles.  The mother also was very specific that she would only consider getting her knee x-rayed by a nurse she knows at the clinic.  Understanding their concerns, the student PA discussed how she could try to accommodate their requests but also that they might have to step out of their comfort zones to get the appropriate treatment they needed.

This obvious distrust of the medical system is frightening because it adds another layer of complications when trying to treat someone who is now not only limited by poverty and access to healthcare but also by their own fear.  Earlier in the week, I also shadowed at Jackson General Hospital, and one of the patients in the clinic was almost desperate to take off his wrist identification from the hospital.  He explained to the PA if you don’t have one of them on then there is nothing wrong with you.  Some may call this ignorance of their own health needs, but there is something deeper.  Fear of what the doctor may tell them and fear of what anyone involved in healthcare may do to them burrows deep into the culture.  This fear is contagious and needs to be addressed along with all of the other public health concerns that everyone knows about throughout WV.  Whether it be lung cancer, obesity, diabetes, bad knees, or a mystery gastrointestinal problem, fear must first be calmed and over come before a patient will accept and follow a healthcare provider especially in the areas that I saw in West Virginia.

Discovering Appalachia Through Research

The Appalachian Institute admires the students at Wheeling Jesuit University that presented their scholarship into issues and projects that engage real questions for the region.  Research ranged from measuring the effects of coal and natural gas extraction to the prevalence of important local species.  Here are a few highlights:

• Audra Macri, Ryan Schubert, Colt Street and Si Gammache, “Appalachian Institute Mapping Software.” Instructor Robert Kotson, Jr. mentored the project.
• Sean Weaver, “A Study in the Movement and Propagation of Justicia Americana in Middle Wheeling Creek from 1995 to 2011.” Professor Dr. Ben Stout mentored the project.
• Ronald B. O’Neil, “The Effectiveness of Buffer Zones to Mitigate the Impact of Longwall Mining on First Order Streams in Southern Ohio.” Professor Dr. Ben Stout mentored the project.
• John Ruberg, “Establishing Baseline Water Quality for a Stream and a Spring.” Professor Dr. Ben Stout mentored the project.
• Katlyn Marino, “A Comparison of Hellbender Microhabitat Data to Various West Virginia Watersheds Using a Geographic Information System and a Digital Elevation Model.” Professor Dr. Ken Rastall mentored the project.
• Andrea Fitzgibbon, “Leaf Decay Coefficiants of Abnormally High Conductivity Streams in Southwestern Pennsylvania.” Professor Dr. Ben Stout mentored the project.

The Appalachian Institute also gave out its annual award for research that advances understanding in an issue specific to the Appalachian Region.  This year it was given to Andrea Fitzgibbon for her study on how measures of leaf decay reflect the impact of industrial processes on local ecosystems.  A copy of her abstract is attached.  A certificate of recognition was also given to the worthy team that presented on participatory mapping software.  This was the first group of recent history to have a project from a discipline other than natural science.

Discover past research projects here on our website and contact us if you are interested in your own project at ai@wju.edu .

ABSTRACT: Leaf Decay Coefficients of Abnormally High Conductivity Streams in Southwestern Pennsylvania, Fitzgibbon, 2012