A Forgotten Appalachian Holler in West Virginia
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- čas přidán 22. 06. 2024
- Exploring A Real Appalachian Holler in McDowell County West Virginia!
Hollers like this are commonplace throughout the mountains and hills of Appalachia. But this is is a West Virginia holler for sure, in McDowell County to be exact! You know you've entered a holler when at noon day the sun is almost blocked from view by hills or mountains on both sides of an often dirt or gravel road, sometimes they're paved.
It's not uncommon to see gardens planted on the side of a hill, backyard chickens that have wondered onto the road, or even a dog or two blocking your drive. Most hollers follow a creek between hills or mountains, and there's a head and a mouth to the holler- it's best to know which is which so you can get out!
Many of the mountain communities that settled these hollers go back several generations, so the folks living there today are often close-knit and keep an eye on each other (as well as keep an eye on the strangers who wonder up their hollers). It's best not to loiter or outstay your welcome, although most of these people would give a stranger the shirt off their backs!
This is a REAL Appalachian Holler! (remember how to say it: app-uh-latch-uh and holler, not hollow..)
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#appalachia #westvirginia #holler - Zábava
Let us know in the comments where we should explore next in Appalachia!
Cedar Bluff Va follow the road down to Grundy. Would love to see how its changed because of the flooding problems. Thanks.
@@billie-leelawhon3941 was just down there shooting video of the singing barber (look him up on Facebook). I plan on doing a drive and some video around Richlands and into Grundy too, so keep an eye out!
Come up here to Elkins…. Plenty of hollers and old towns to explore, or greenbank wv in Pocahontas county, very interesting place
@@joshualarkin747 thanks for all the suggestions! Definitely looking into it 👍
Do a video on cass/spruce/Whitaker/Elkins wv
I grew up in that holler. The last house where you saw that dog. We moved and sold it in the '90s. Loved this video. That building you went by with all the trees growing up around it, used to be the old Three Forks Elem. school.
Wow! We think our relatives used to live in that same house in the 60s/70s!! Didn't realize that other building was a school, thanks for sharing the info 😊
Thank you for the interesting pieces of history here.
I love taking trips through West Virginia.. Such a beautiful state and being a native of Pennsylvania it's just a short drive from home.
would that be the blue building bout half way up the holler???
Wow!!! Thank you for sharing that with us!! It's so cool to hear from an actual resident from there!!!!
40yrs ago, I graduated high school in Wyoming county, and joined the military.
I've regretted ever leaving home
I love that area
While at WVU I dated a girl, Sonya, who was from Laurel Creek right outside Logan, close to Kermit. Chickens in the yard, beautiful home, nice cars in the driveway, pool out back, her mom was a Speech Therapist for the county school system and her dad was a coal miner. The whole family was very “Appalachian” but so nice, friendly, giving, fun, and they had money! Stereotypes don’t always work!
I was born and raised in Lenore. Loved the place when I was younger
besides the coal mine where eles do people work?
My kin are buried in Kermit. I have roots there that go back over 200 yrs. I've never lived there and only visited once since learning my roots.. I wonder if her family is related somehow.😊
I live in a "forgotten holler" in McDowell County. 8 households over the course of about a mile. We're all close and take care of each other. We're all working people or retirees. I tell people I live this way because I want to. Not because I have to! Wouldn't have it any other way! Good video. Thanks!
I'm watching these videos in Finland 🇫🇮 and enjoying them. Have always been fascinated by the WV people, music and resilience❤️🎶🎶
I live on a West Virginia mountaintop in Pocahontas County called Marlinton. We only have about 800 people here and I wouldn't trade it for anything
@@aldoushuxleysghost Been to Marlinton. Beautiful, rural area!
@@bradlane3662 thank you. There's a lot to be said about doing a little extra hard work for a little less reward. The tradeoff is that we don't have to deal with urban problems, which are getting way out of hand these days
@@aldoushuxleysghost So true! I pray it doesn’t happen in our rural areas but we are seeing some of these migrants even here. But as long as they all keep their distance. I hate to get into the arsenal!lol
People looking out for each other. What a concept in 21st-century America! Two thumbs up!
Yes, it happens. I live in a suburb in Connecticut and we do the same in my neighborhood. Keeps my faith in mankind alive!
How else can they buy meth safely
@@thetruthandnothingbutthetr6484 Oh c'mon!! really?!!! You're just labeling these people!! So RUDE!!!!!! There you go Stereotyping.
I was a deputy in McDowell county about 11 years before I moved to North Carolina like so many others. That holler is what we called “Bug Hurley hollow” I’m not sure why and really did think about it. I had several occasions to be in that hollow and one was chasing a guy on a motorcycle who was terrorizing the neighborhood and just acting stupid. He wrecked the bike and ran . I hooked what was left of it to a chain and dragged it back to the mouth of the hollow. The people were standing on their porches clapping as I drove by..lol Good times..My mom and brother still live in Raysal Hollow where I grew up. I miss the mountains and although North Carolina has been good to me and it’s where I raised my kids, West Virginia will always be home..
It was call bug Hurley because that man owned a store right at the mouth where you enter ,,use to live across from the old store grew up there from the 70 s to the 90s before leaving our old hose still there today big rock wall around it..
was there alot of crime?
We were actually looking out the window wondering who was going up the holler 😂but it was great talking to you guys.
Hey! Thanks so much for stopping to talk with us 😊
I went to middle school in Logan with a boy named Bobby Estep. Any kin? I'm 59 now.
born and raised in West Virginia--Kanawha Falls area,,,am 73 now and proud hillbilly.
My family lived from the late 1700’s to the 1970’s in the same holler in Summers County. People don’t realize how many success stories such as the Rocket Boys, Jerry West, Steve Harvey, etc. came from places like these.
They’re ignorant and look down on the folks living there then and even worse now not knowing what greatness lies within those hills.
My football coach in high school played football for Big creek owls...Dave Rider...his grandson is Jason Witten! class act people!
And 80s country singer Kathy Mattea from w Va, and Country legend Loretta lyn
I'm born and raised from a hollor in summers county as well and wouldn't change it for nothing lol
Pk I'm
Smart folk in them there "hollers"! Notice how hollers were established next to creeks - a ready source of water.
The description of a holler is families that have settled in a close space makes me smile. Nowadays, “generational estrangement” is normal. If I could find property where my mom, myself and my not so little could live with adjacent properties, that would be awesome.
Thanks for pointing out the shorter period of sun in a holler.
Hollers are some of the most beautiful places on God's great earth. 💜
I was born in Clarksburg so seeing these videos makes me home sick been in Indiana for a while now but I from time to time go back and see family
As we all know CZcams can become a rabbit hole of videos, this is another rabbit hole I've fallen into and can not stop watching, love your videos. Excellent *******
So glad you found your way here 😉
that isz pretty much all of small town Americal. Of course there can be some downside. such as everyone knows your business. I remember one incident, I just proposed to my wife, also from same small town (under 1500 people small) ; and before we could drive over and tell her parents within the hour, someone had already called and congratulated her mom, Mom was kind of mad she had to find out from some busybody from her church.
I had no idea what a "holler" was until know. looks very peaceful and relaxing.
I grew up in WV and never heard an explanation of the holler better than you gave! I want to see more videos like this. it was cool seeing where some of your Mountain Roots started!
Aww thanks! 🥰
I grew up in a holler in WV, just outside of the city limits of Charleston. Most hollers you’ll find dogs laying in the middle of the road and not wanting to move 🤣😂
It's a hillbilly security system. People slow down so as not to hit the dog, which gives the owner a chance to get a good look at who is there. 😉
I grew up in Charleston
I sure miss them country roads my papa n uncle lived in Scarborough grandma and uncle in Fayetteville family in summers becket god I miss it
@@melaniedelaney640 I took flying lessons from five dollar Frank Thomas back in the day
Love it. My mom's side of the family is from McDowell county & it is true that the hill folks don't just pull together when things are bad, but also for the good times. People from up & down the holler would show up at cookouts, or drop in to pay respects to my great-grandmother on her birthday.
She was a teacher in an old, one-room school. Like a good Catholic, her name was Mary Susan, but everyone called her "Maw Susie".
My mother was from Anawalt, Jenkins Jones. Area, my aunts were teachers there
@@Dee-zi5pk Anawalt? Small world. My mom was from Maybeury.
There's soo much to love about WV, from the vistas to the people and it's history. Currently though WV is still trying to figure out what's the next step moving forward in the state. Lots of places were back in the day company store towns. Coal was the industry that made most if not all the jobs. Now that it's changed everyone is wondering what's next? Unlike ghost towns in the west that dried up once it's reason for being was gone. WV has many different reasons to go forward. The question is can they capitalize on it. For myself I wouldn't count this state out at all.
The same is true of emptying Midwestern farm towns. My parents graduated from different small-town high schools in Nebraska. The towns don't really exist any more. One has a high school, only because the previous one burned down in the early 1970's, and thus it had a newer building when school consolidation rolled around. As corporate farms buy out family farmers, counties are left with almost no residents. That whole way of life is basically disappearing.
The one thing going for West Virginia coal country is that the old coal ash piles are rich with vital rare earth metals. The kinds that are necessary for high-tech equipment like electric cars. China currently enjoys a near monopoly on rare-earth metals today. But a 5 metric ton pile of coal ash has a kilogram of the rare earths, and there are billions of tons of coal ash in West Virginia. America's investment in this vial resource would bring construction and jobs to these old coal towns.
www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2021-2-march-april/feature/can-harvesting-rare-earth-elements-solve-coal-ash-crisis
I'd like to see stories on some of the individual places/buildings and people in the towns/counties you visit that are important to the people who live there. I'm sure there's loads of hidden talents, skills, and stories waiting to be shared.
Definitely! Loads of historic towns & buildings full of rich history and stories. Throughout this series and the larger TV docuseries I'm producing I aim to do just that- uncover those places and find those people to tell their stories!
Love this. I miss living in Buchanan Co. Va. Beautiful place, wonderful people. ❤
Thanks so much, it is a beautiful place with some great folks!
Been in and out of so many hollers. I’ve lived in southern WV my entire life. Nice video
Loved this! Been all in those hollers! My dad grew up in Coalwood! I still live a few miles from there! ❤️ home!
I just ran across your channel I’m originally from Ohio but married a boy in 1973 that had moved to my tiny town called Shiloh we married and made our way back to where he was raised which is Man WV I’ve called WV my home steady now since 1975 I love it here I’ll never leave thank you for putting so much thought and love in your videos I get very upset when I hear people bash WV it really upsets me I’ve called it home for over 40 years raised all my children here I live here longer than I did in Ohio I say I’m a born again adopted in West Virginia girl again thank for showing so much kindness and love to our great state hugs Susie
You're so very welcome, thanks for watching!!
Good old Man! I could write a book on the good times I had there for 34 years! I have friends there I love like family there. But they are passing very quickly now.😪
I look forward to your videos because you show how Wild and Wonderful West Virginia really is.. love them Mountain Views. Love my home state🤗 ❤️
I loved this. My husband was from this area and it brought back memories of he times we went together
“holler” the Appalachian vernacular of “hollow”, such as Irving’s “Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
In the 1980s I got stranded in West Virginia with my children broke down on a Labor Day weekend nothing was open for parts and the people came out of the holler and they helped us so much those are great people up in those mountains my mother was from West Virginia and I lived just across the Ohio river in Ohio but I still feel close to West Virginia good people
Great story- they are that indeed!
Josh! This is great! Well done, brother
Hey thanks so much!
My grandma and grandpa used to live up sawmill holler ,my mom and my aunt's and uncle was born there ,they all grew up in new camp part of coalwood and I also lived there for 17 years.
I miss West Virginia badly it was my home state I moved from there in the 80s
Still live up a holler right here in WV. Nothing like home. My family's roots grow deep in this mountain state and for that I and proud and grateful.
I would love to live in a community like this seems so peaceful
Lived App for a time in my life. Forever.. in my soul!
Awesome job there I appreciate your time making these videos nice to see place it isn't wild crazy busy and upside down everyday I wish the best of luck to you and your family.
Thanks a lot really appreciate it!
I grew up in McDowell County. I love it
I loved it !! I grew up in a Holler in Logan County called Mudfork, Verdunville.
Awesome ride up the Holler my friend, sure wish I was riding along on these trips.👍🏼
Man I love these videos!! I live in Northern WV....there are some forgotten places here as well! If you ever interested in Ohio, Brooke, Hancock counties let me know! Thanks for all your work
My daddy was born in Powhatan….. (or Pow Town as they called it.) It is closer to the Mercer County side. I love to take a day every now and then to drive through the county. Thanks for sharing!
I'm from WV and still live in WV......I hate that most people that has never been in this state continue to believe everything they hear! Yes we have bad areas just like every state,but we are a close community, we stick together, but we are also some of the nicest people you'd wanna meet! I have a suggestion on another place....Lake Shawnee to Matoka in Mercer County. There's a lot of history in that short travel
I lived in East Dailey, near Elkins, W.Va. It is a small community that features homes built during the C.C. camp days. There are deep roots there if families that continue to inhabit that area. It would be an interesting opportunity to reveal through your video the history of the era that created that homestead housing. I lived there in the early to mid-seventies and discovered 2 main styles of architecture used in the 3 sections that are connected by an upper road and a lower road, and several crossroads. There is the " slanted roof" type, and the "barn" style homes. Many residents had careers in mining or lumber. The neighboring Civil War town of Beverly, W. VA. has rich history that would also make great video material. Thank you for possibly considering this area. I lived there about 3 years during my young adult life.
That's a great idea, thanks for the suggestion!
@@MountainRoots Should you decide to drive around the area of Elkins & Dailey, you might enjoy taking a drive through parts of neighboring Barbour county. As far as I know, we're the only county in the state with covered bridges over two "main", or paved roads.
It might make for an interesting shot or two for your channel.
I love Daily. We fished on the Elk in Bergoo for decades. Always loved passing through Daily when driving to Bergoo. Used to stop at Campbell's meat market. Sad that it closed.
!968, Dingess in mingo countywas much like the holler in video.if you were a stranger there the people where a bit stand offish until the word got around from someone knew you who were residents let the word out that you are ok. after a while people would wave when you drove by. good people. loved going there from southern Illinois. fell in love with the mountains.
I have been fascinated with the articles and stories about Applachia. It is great to find out how it all started and how it has survived until now
One thing I’ve always enjoyed about driving through the rural parts of wv is how excited everyone is to meet someone from “the big city” lol. They can’t wait to hear about your daily life or to share their own stories
Very true!
Awesome!!! I love this tour! Can't wait to see more!
Thanks man, really appreciate you!
My grandmother lived there for 2 decades
Absolutely loved seeing this!! Great shots of the area! And I really enjoyed how you explained a little about Appalachian people and culture and how it’s not at all like the stereotypes would have you believe. Very well done. Excited to see more!
Ahh thanks so much! Glad you liked it- & that's the goal throughout this series and the larger TV docuseries I'm producing is to hit stereotypes head on, showing what's real & authentic in Appalachia.
I’m glad I found your channel I sure miss the mountains of West Virginia I still got family there I’m from oak hill got family there some were in scar room fauetville oak hill love seeing it again
I have enjoyed your videos on McDowell County. I was born there and lived there until age 15. Would love to see one on Elkhorn and Keystone.
Thank you for explaining and showing what a "holler" is. I'm a lifelong Northern boy who hasn't traveled much. I've heard and seen so much mocking of and derogatory comments about the areas you visit and share in these videos. I appreciate the historical contexts you provide and the insights about the people who live in these areas. I think you are performing a great service on behalf of this region of the United States and the people who have lived and continue to live there.
Thanks so much for taking time to leave this comment! I think it encapsulates a key reason I endeavored to produce this series- to give an honest look at Appalachia from a perspective that attempts to foster greater understanding and cultural awareness/context. I prefer dialogue over denigration.
@@MountainRoots Your statement that several local people stopped by during your filming efforts to see if you were okay was a powerful testimony to the people of the area. I look forward to exploring the series in greater depth. The history is fascinating! Thanks for sharing.
I used to deliver furniture in WV, driving from Dayton oh. I don't drive anymore, but, damn, I miss those mountains,. The crazy part is Im mexican, and never had troubles there.
Awesome! I'm fascinated with West Virginia. Never been there. Only lived in Northern California. If I could relocate I would move to WV fast. No need to go in advance to check it out. I already know I would love it. Tell me I'm crazy.
Love that spirit! I've been to California a few times, it's got some beautiful country too...but there's just something about these old hills & hollers of Appalachia & WV🤙
No you are not crazy, I am looking at property there and have never even set foot in WV. Would move there in a heartbeat.
You're not crazy! There's a rare breed who come here and fall in love with it immediately! I had a supervisor who did that very thing. He never got to move here tho. It only happens once in awhile though. We're so stereotyped that even the tourists who come and ride the extensive trail systems are verbally abusive and disrespectful all while they enjoy the wildness and beauty. Go figure!
Yes southern w Va is nice deep in the Appalachian mountains.!East Tennesee, south western North Carolina, North Georgia blue ridge mountains, south west and southern parts of Virginia all Gorgeous. Come on down and get a taste of the Good life. Good down home cooking, friendly laid back folks, especially the older people, wave at you when you drive through town, Speak to you in the grocery store or at post office. Cheap living, cool at night in the higher elevations, country living. Rocky gap and Burks garden Virginia is beautiful to.
@@ericmcbroom7825 getting my act and my finances together as we speak. Too much going on here where I am now as far as overcrowding. Have to retreat to a quiet way of life where people think like I do. The friendly, laid back, good cooking all sound good. Thank you for your perspective!
I really did enjoy riding with you. The holler is so beautiful!!
Just found your video. I very interested in learning about McDowell county and about the people of the West Virginia coal mining era. I have family that lived in these areas of West Virginia. Thank you for your videos.
I have alot of family in hollers in that area. Families been there since the 1700s. Live in a similar place in Washington State now.
PS,I’m praying for everyone affected by the floods,West Virginia Strong is what we are,it can be a challenging state to live in but besides all the infrastructure and sewer,water,power,technology,I hope it never changes,it’s our untouched piece of earth that I love more than I ever knew,God Bless You All !!!!
I'm very interested in learning more about Appalachia and its people. Thank you for this.
Mountain Roots : Hi there ! My dad had a aunt whose house used tobe along side main drag going into Diana-loved that old house. Has been gone(torn down)but there was a holler there that dad&relatives used for hunting . I sure do miss trips into Webster Springs Webster county . TFS !!👌🤗
I really love your channel . Thank you for bring this to life. Can't wait for the next video patsy
McDowell is the poorest county in WV. But that doesn't make these folks any less than the richest or most educated counties in the USA. I met several of these kindly folks and there good as gold!
I really like the nature in West Virginia, so many trees, everything is green! 👍
"Almost heaven"!
That's beautiful footage! My dad was born in Thorpe, WV in #4 holler. I wish you would do a video sometime of that area and it's history. I know at one time that area used to be booming!
Thank you for sharing.
Grew up in Hungry Hollow. It used to be Happy Hollow until a Winter storm stranded Depression-era parents in their search for food to feed their families.
😀😀😀 where I'm from NM, we call a Holler a Valley.
That is some beautiful country.
I would like to find at least 1 acre with a little place on it by water of some sort.
I loved this video. Thanks for sharing. The first house looked so familiar but the rest I did not recognize. Maybe mobile homes have been added since we moved. This was the good life growing up.
Things have definitely changed in these parts over the last 3 or 4 decades. Thanks so much for your support & watching!!
I grew up there,, went to that school up that hollow in the early 70s
I love your accent. Really enjoying traveling through the US and seeing places like this. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much, glad you enjoy! 😊
Thank you for this great video. I certainly enjoyed it and look forward to more of them. Also, I totally agree with you when you mention that the stories of these places are worth seeing, sharing and learning about. Subscribed and a thumbs up!
Thanks so much! Really appreciate you watching & sharing!!
I ride West Virginia trails (atv) frequently and have met nothing but nicest people up there. Always friendly and willing to help. Makes me feel like a home away from home.
I loved "riding with you" on this journey! Takes me back to when we'd got visit my mother's family in a holler called Crag, WV! Don't know if it was even on the map. Nearest "big" town was Rainelle.
I think I'm going to love your videos! My folks and grandfolks were mountain people but nothing like the Appalachian mountains, just the northern mountains here in NM. I've always wanted to see that part of the country.... I guess now I will... just subscribed!
I'm a cricker in WV! Love my holler and the farm. NCWV area near Harrison Co.
Love your demeanor and videos! I just found these and have been watching all them. Keep up the Great work👏👏👏
Catching up, but so thrilled to see this. Brings back memories from my youth in TN.
Great video 😊
A lot of great holler country there too! Tennessee is my home away from home 😁
I grew up in a holler I miss home I lived in Cincinnati now for 25 years I'll go back to visit when I can no place like home
From the UK- Great videos; looks very similar to (And just as wet as !) the little village I live in in Snowdonia and also to my eldest son's home in the hills -and-valleys area of Indiana; it would be interesting if you paused in some of these places and maybe talked to local people ? However-keep at it
Thanks-Tom
Love the videos. I grew up in east Tennessee and know what its like seeing, playing and growing up in the hollers.
Life's pretty good in the holler 👍
That looks beautiful! Wow...
Your videos just maintain the same quality, thank you !
looking forward to seeing more of West Virginia thanks for posting I am learning a lot
Im so fascinated with appalachia. Thanks for sharing.
I love the places you drive through ienjoy it we used to live in those places thanks
I was just reading about flooding in Pax, WV including a baby that was swept away with a car. Prayers for all of the people in West Virginia, and hopes that the towns in your videos are safe.
Just subbed to your channel. What a nice way to spend some time. Quiet hollers, good people. Slower times.
Thanks for the nice ride!
I really enjoyed this video. Many people in America are upset about the bad treatment that coal country unreservedly got. I don't believe that coal is done. It's just awaiting a new revival.
Made me homesick. I grew up in a couple "hollers", Dry Branch and Elk Two Mile, Kanawha county. We used to joke that they had to "shotgun the sunshine in".
Love that, good memories!
my daddy was born and raised in a very small town in W.V. Hart's creek.he told us all kinds of stories and "tall tales about his childhood and the word holler came up frequently. now i understand that it's just a little bigger than a gully huh? great Video. would love to know more about Appalachia. i subscribed for more.
Thanks so much for sharing! What town is that in?
@@MountainRoots in lincoln county/ Logan County
I love this so much!!! The quality of everything, visuals/audio, was perfect. Definitely one of your bests thus far! Excited to follow along the rest of this series😃
Thanks so much, & thanks for riding along with me! 😁
Anytime! I really enjoyed it😃
Absolutely love what you're doing maybe we are related I have roots and ties that go way back and McDowell county as well may you be blessed in all your endeavors really enjoy your video, it was like I traveled back in time. Thank you & God bless West Virginia.
Possibly! Thanks so much for watching :)
Reminds me of my grandma’s hollar. It was called Dog Bone, in WV.
I have family in coalwood and Lovens WV i thank you for this
I found your vids because I've just seen the movie "October Sky!" A gem of a movie! Hey from the UK!
Great film! Hi from Appalachia, & thanks for watching!
Such beauty!
Loved the video, thanks for sharing
This is so amazing.YOu opned my eyes to things i never knew. Thank you so much for a great education and i want to learn more.
Glad to hear that, and thanks for watching!
sold life insurance to union members down there a few years ago. Loved the movie when i was a kid. West virginia is truly a magical place. I hope they get some new industry and money back in those towns in my lifetime.
Great video my friend looking at the holler's of West Virginia where I know from my history class that a great many of my fellow Scots came and settled in years gone by. All the best from a new friend in Scotland