Breaking the Barrier of Women Coal Miners In the coalfields of eastern Kentucky, where coal seams carved both livelihood and hardship, Diana Baldwin carved history. At just 25 years old, in December 1973, she became one of the first two women, often credited as the first in a union mine, to work underground in a U.S. coal mine.

Appalachian Figures In the spring of 1948, eastern Kentucky sent a familiar courthouse figure to Washington. William Lewis had been a teacher, sheriff, prosecutor, and circuit judge across the upper Cumberland for half a century before he ever took a seat in the U.S. House. When he finally did, at age seventy-nine, he represented the old Ninth District for just the balance of one term, then stepped back home to London.

Appalachian Figures Born in the coal camp country of Yeaddiss in Leslie County, Kentucky, Hugh X. Lewis carried the cadence of the hills into Nashville’s studios, onto syndicated television, and back home to Appalachian radio across six decades.

Appalachian History Where is “Tunnel Hill”? Locals use Tunnel Hill for the crest above a pair of side-by-side railroad bores just northwest of Hazard. On the maps the spot falls within the unincorporated community historically called Dunraven. A quick way to pin it on the ground is the county’s own road index, which lists Tunnel Hill Cemetery in Dunraven.

Repurposed Appalachia In a narrow hollow north of downtown Kimball sits one of McDowell County’s most intact company stores. The Houston Coal Company Store, later known to locals as the Koppers Store, anchored daily life for the Carswell mining camp and still reads clearly as an early twentieth century company showpiece.

Appalachian Figures Joseph Bengal “Joe B.” Bates began life in a Knott County place that could not be more aptly named for a future courthouse politician, the little community of Republican. He took his first steps toward public life in one-room classrooms, then carried that training to Washington, where he became a steady, procedural voice on the House floor for nearly 15 years.

Appalachian Figures Roots in Knott County Carl Dewey Perkins was born at Hindman on October 15, 1912, and schooled in Knott County before attending Caney Junior College, Lees Junior College, and the Jefferson School of Law at Louisville, graduating in 1935. He practiced law in Hindman, served as Knott County attorney, and enlisted during World War II with service in the European Theater.

Appalachian Figures Roger Dale Bowling came out of the Kentucky mountains and wrote songs that circled the world. In a short span he helped give Kenny Rogers two career-defining hits, moved Billie Jo Spears to the top of the country charts, and even cracked the trade listings with his own single. His story ties Nashville to Leslie County, Kentucky, and finally to a quiet hillside cemetery in Rabun County, Georgia.

Appalachian Figures The signature that traveled from Frankfort to Washington On the first day of the 91st Congress, the U.S. Senate read the formal credentials for Kentucky’s newly chosen U.S. Senator, a routine ceremony that depends on states sending sealed, attested certificates. Kentucky’s attestation carried a familiar block: “ELMER BEGLEY, Secretary of State.

Appalachian History A coal obelisk in a river triangle On a small wedge of ground in Baxter, just north of Harlan, a black obelisk rises beside the road. Locals call it the Coal Monument. It stands at the junction where neighborhood streets and state routes braid together near the meeting of the Cumberland River’s forks.

Appalachian History Series What it is On the east side of Main Street in Wheelwright, Kentucky, the Wheelwright Masonic Lodge building rises in brick with a pedimented doorway, a semicircular window above the entrance, and brick quoins at the corners. The structure was designed by architect Leland Becker and dates to 1942.