BLAIR'S WORLD

BLAIR'S WORLD

SOUTHEASTERN KENTUCKY


Coal Trip - 1919	Miners at tipple - 1930	World's largest tipple - 1930

Lynch Main Street - 1997	Lynch Post Office - 1930	Duplex outhouse - 1997

Follow the links below to visit some of the places where these pictures were made.

The Site Map

Coal mining as we knew it consisted of a tunnel dug into a hillside; the entrance was called a "portal". The mining of coal was through tunnels that followed the "seam" of coal. If you have trouble understanding the process, just conjour up a picture of a multi-layered chocolate cake (my choice) with a big slice out of it (that slice is in my tummy). The layers are the layers of earth and the coal is the icing between the layers. The mining usually followed the underground seams of coal. Once underground, these tunnels usually branched off and ran in many different directions from the main tunnel, creating a maze in which one could get lost if unfamiliar with the mine. The remaining coal between the tunnels supported the overlying land. This web site is a little like one of those multi-chambered underground mine tunnels in that it has many directions. However, I assure you that you will not get lost in the maze, or lose sight of the "light at the end of the tunnel". Just remember to click on "HOME" at the bottom of the page when you tire of exploring the site. Or you can use the "Back" button on your browser. You can also access other pages on the site by clicking on the underlined "Previous" or "Next" text at the bottom of some of the pages. I hope you have an enjoyable and pleasant visit and will place your comments on the guest book after you look around.

This section is a "Site within a site". This link opens into another "tunnel" with a whole group of different links and pages. Please don't leave without visiting the links shown here.

Here you will find things about my hometown (Lynch, Kentucky), rhymes, desecration of some so-called "holy ground", some insensitivity to over-sensitivity, tributes, criticism, politics, heroes, and some other stuff that runs through my backyard when the moon is full.

Ramblings

~~"MUST VISIT" LINKS TO OTHER PLACES IN SE “CAINTUCK”~~

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Contour coal mining is taking a toll on the beauty of the majestic mountains of Southern Kentucky, and in some cases, even lowering the summit. Visit this site to learn more.

Big Black Mountain

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Teacher, poet, upbeat philosopher, activist, historian, gardener and "macho tennis man"--always willing to lend a patient hand. Here is a "Child of the Mountains" who left his mountain home but returned in full spirit with an unmatchable web site of history, photography, just plain pretty things, poetry, environmental concerns, and an enormous amount of info about captive coal mining. This site is a shrine to all of the proud coal miners of many different nationalities who worked in the mines at Lynch, and the other mining towns in Appalachia, to feed and clothe their families and provide an education for their children.

Kudos to you Bill, on the site, and thanks for all the help and encouragement you provided when I was trying to learn how to operate in this media!

Black Diamond

"A little bit of coal--a little bit of dust."

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Kentucky or "Caintuck" was known as the "Dark and Bloody Ground" by the Indians and early settlers, which included the historically famous Daniel Boone. Boone and other settlers carved the Wilderness Trail through much of eastern Kentucky and thereby enabled the early settlers to reach westward. The Daniel Boone Parkway was named after the famous settler, guide, and surveyor to honor his accomplishments.

(The following needs to be said and right here seems to be the right place to say it. So here goes.)

Some in the state seem to have forgotten the contributions that Boone made in the early years of the state. The powers that be renamed the parkway for an obscure politician whose lifetime contributions to the state would not qualify him to hold ole Dan’s flintlock while he went into the outhouse. But then we all know that history is no longer a permanent record but an open document that can be altered by those in power at any given time. The time always seems to be when it is necessary to soothe the sensibilities of the hand wringers and bleeding hearts in an election year. Seems nowadays there are a lot of people that just plain refuse to view things as they are or as they should be and want everything to be politically “kereck”. To this I say “BS”! And to those that have forgotten Mr. Boone and changed the name of the parkway to honor Mr. Rogers I would also like to say “BS”. Some of us will still remember what we learned from our early teachers about how important it was to have brave and fearless men like Daniel Boone amongst us. We still need brave and fearless men and women to preserve the heritage of the state of Kentucky. Withdrawing the honor bestowed upon one of the most famous men of Kentucky history in order to place a high honor on a career politician does not speak well of the people of Kentucky who allowed this to happen.

Harlan County earned the rap of “Bloody Harlan” in the early days of coal mining due to labor union and mining company differences which often turned into armed confrontations that escalated into shootouts. Many brave men and women took a stand and made a mark. Right or wrong they put their lives and the security of their families on the line for what they believed in. And they were mostly crushed into the ground by the moneyed interest that could command the attention of the governor’s office and seek armed assistance to break the backs of the working class. The “Bloody Harlan” reference is still recognized and mentioned by many people from all over the country. How can any one place, with such a dark and tainted history, provide such magnificent beauty? Check out this link for great pictures and news from Harlan County, Kentucky.

Harlan

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The English designed city at the foot of the Pinnacle.

Middlesboro

The town with a wall

Pineville

This girl left Letcher County to live in another place but on this site she shares many things about life in and around McRoberts, Kentucky. She also has some deep convictions about life in general and shows great respect for her parents. Her "reflective pool" applets and the "down home theme" are really great!

If you want a real enjoyable trip to the mountains, great recipes, and some good down home humor, with super great graphics, then go sit with Trish on her front porch and enjoy her "Going Home" site.

Going Home

Trish's sister, Sue, also has a great site with the secret recipes to some "awfully good" vittles.

Kountry Koop

~~GENEALOGY LINKS~~

BLAIR	MY BRANCH	Reserved
Reserved	HARLAN COUNTY CEMETERIES	LETCHER COUNTY CEMETERIES

~~SEEKING INFO ON SURNAMES~~

HURST	COLLINGSWORTH
JENNINGS	HODGES

from Bell County, Kentucky and/or Claiborne County, Tennessee

Will exchange info on above by Email

~~LINKS TO OTHER PLACES~~

East Tennessee	Georgia On My Mind
Reserved	Reserved

~~MOUNTAIN MUSIC LINKS~~

Banjo	Two Banjo	One Dulcimer	Two Dulcimer
Reserved	Guitar	Fiddle	Folk Music

Comments are always welcome.

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“Y'all come see us again real soon!”