Helen Ayers

Appalachian Daughter: the Exodus of the Mountaineers from Appalachia Helen Ayers

Appalachian Daughter-35987Not since the Dust Bowl days of the 30's have so many residents of one area of our great country migrated to another in search of a better way of life. The sturdy ancestors of this group had followed Daniel Boone through the Cumberland Gap a century or more before and were ready to follow their leaders to a new life elsewhere. Appalachian Daughter was written to chronicle the exodus of a number of leading families from the Pine and Black Mountain areas of Eastern Kentucky. Collectively, these mountains are known simply as the "Cumberlands" and form a section of the Appalachian Mountain Range. After the Second World War, the area was so poverty stricken many of the mountaineers left their homes for fertile Southern Indiana farms or went on to cities such as Chicago, Detroit and Cincinnati in search of factory jobs. Coal mining was the only job available in Eastern Kentucky. When the mine operators refused to budge on employee welfare or safety issues, the leaders decided to abandon the only profession they knew and start their lives anew in other places. This story tells of one of those families who migrated and their struggles for acceptance. It attempts to show the impact of this migration on Indiana and other states. It also shows the dismal prospects of those left behind, prospects that would require fifty years to mend. The area would not heal until it had produced, reared and educated new leaders to take the place of those who left. This story is about my family. I hope you enjoy reading of our exploits.