One of my favorite bands, cast iron filter, does a song about the coal miner riots there. Anyone have good info on the history of it, or current memorials, etc?
My Google-fu is crap lately. Hell, I cant even find the song. Doesn't help that all I have access to right now is a stupid smartphone. ..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_County_War
Thanks sfo. Any more than Wikipedia?
All I know is from watching "Justified", so I can't help ya. It's a great show, though.
Tom_Spangler wrote: All I know is from watching "Justified", so I can't help ya. It's a great show, though.
Me too.
Stay away from the Boyd family. Big trouble there.
Here's the track: http://youtu.be/qovcN_V3wd4
All I know about Harlan is that my stepfather had a heart attack while working down there. The stat flight heli experienced an engine failure en route to the hospital, and they crash-landed in a cemetery. Awesome story. Scary day for all of us. It made the local news when it happened, supposedly. He's fine now.
https://appalachiancenter.as.uky.edu/coal-strike/background-coal-strike
Also, there was an 80's movie called "Matewan" that dealt with similar troubles in West Virginia around the same period.
There's a pretty good documentary about one of the (much later) coal mining strikes. I think netflix has it (or maybe Amazon). See: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074605/
Yeah. The documentary is berkeleying great...and disturbing.
Lotta great coal mining songs about that general region: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEy6EuZp9IY
All I know about Harlan, I learned from Robert Mitchum.
"Roarin' out of Harlan, revving' up his mill
He shot the gap at Cumberland, and screamed by Maynardville
With T-men on his taillights, roadblocks up ahead
The mountain boy took roads that even angels feared to tread.
Blazing' right through Knoxville, out on Kingston pike
Then right outside of Bearden, there they made the fatal strike
He left the road at ninety, that's all there is to say
The devil got the moonshine and the mountain boy that day"
Just remember you'll never leave harlan alive.....
My lovely wife and I met in the lead-up to a volunteer trip to Harlan County. It's a very poor area, by western standards. After the riots, it became known as Bloody Harlan, and many old folk still refer to it as that.
Here's some more info: http://parallelnarratives.com/remembering-bloody-harlan/
Lil bit or trivia:
The coal wars of eastern Kentucky and southeastern West Virginia are one of the origins of the term Redneck. The unionized miners wore red handkerchiefs around their necks to show their support for the unions and for one another. The newspaper reporters called them the "Rednecks" and it stuck, although now the term refers to any unsophisticated, southern person.
Although not in Harlan County, it is related to the coal wars.
Interesting side note, I'm headed to WV this weekend to visit my wife's family. And we plan to come home alive, so we aren't going to Harlan.
Amusing thing about the show Justified. The characters are always zipping over to Harlan in something like 30 minutes. It's actually more of a 2 1/2 hour drive.
And sadly (for those who care) the show isn't shot here in Kentucky. Lexington is one of the prettiest cities around but Kentucky doesn't have very friendly tax laws to induce shows to shoot here.
KyAllroad wrote: Kentucky doesn't have very friendly tax laws period.
FTFY. 
Yay for people talking about Kentucky. I grew up on the other end of the state, but spend many summers in Clay county.
My father was a coal miner, we have lots of coal on our end of the state, too.
Check out Chris Knight, singer song writer from that area, he is raw.....
In reply to KyAllroad:
Bingo, I'll probably still swing through there at some point though when I go down to play in the mountains.
The wrote: Check out Chris Knight, singer song writer from that area, he is raw.....
My mom went to highschool with him
The wrote: Check out Chris Knight, singer song writer from that area, he is raw.....
Worthless gearhead enticement, he has a haunting song relating his crashed cars to his broken heart; My Old Cars I think its pretty brilliant;
Chris Knight said: Everyone I ever owned, excpet the one I'm driving now Been stripped down to the bare bone at Sam's Salvage Yard There's a Mustang and a GTO, bloody seats, and caved in grilld sent outta town There's a scar on my forehead, for every busted windshield My old cars, they haunt me still Cuase I droven every one of 'em over the edge It's a wonder I wasn't killed My old cars, rise up from the wheel I wish to hell and back was far enough to outrun, your memory I drive by that junkyard, count the times you broke my heart Watchin' a jackleg with a socket wrench Drinkin' beer and yankin' parts I can count these broken bones, cause broken bone will heal But I can't stand to count the times you said I love you, aint no big deal My old cars, they haunt me still Cuase I droven every one of 'em over the edge It's a wonder I wasn't killed My old cars, rise up from the wheel I wish to hell and back was far enough to outrun, your memory Last week I bought a 442, black as ace of spades I sold my half of grandpa's land, bes he's rollin' is his grave My friends say I'll get over you, but my friends they just dont know Gonna take her out on a 41, see how fast she can go My old cars, they haunt me still Cuase I droven every one of 'em over the edge It's a wonder I wasn't killed My old cars, rise up from the wheel I wish to hell and back was far enough to outrun, your memory I wish to hell and back was far enough to outrun, your memory
Chris Knight, I heard one song went right to iTunes and bought everything song he has done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCFpODI06OQ I put a bullet in his head, dropped him in his tracks and we went down the river......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i3YDVWJcNk me and ole William, we used to smoke out behind his barn, till his daddy caught him stealing cigarettes...I still think he broke Williams arm...he never said to much about home or the bruises on his back, I asked him about um one time but he never answered back.....William, you could have had a heart of gold I don't think you ever knew that you had one, I don't think you was ever told......
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