Inside Appalachia's Most Remote Border

[EndtheMadnessNow]

We went to Martin County, Kentucky, on Appalachia’s remote border with West Virginia to look into its water problem. Instead, we ended up deep in a holler, miles from any store, hospital, or business. There, we asked locals about jobs, drugs, and life in the holler.

00:00 Most Remote Holler
0:49 Martin County, KY
1:42 Inez (Pop:546)
2:21 Entering the Holler
4:20 Meth
4:38 Life in Holler
5:35 Jobs
5:55 Drugs
6:26 Appalachian Knowledge
7:21 “It’s a Retirement Home”
8:35 Work
8:48 Culture
9:29 What is a Holler?

Don't miss this guy starting here:
11:14 “Armpit of USA”
12:29 Schools
14:26 Overdose Story
15:20 Appalachian Wisdom
15:58 Homosexuality
16:35 Trump and Biden
17:05 Hillbillies
18:11 Food Stamps & Jobs
19:40 Inflation
20:50 “Racist Ideology”
21:20 The Rapture
24:11 Outro

[Ninurta]

That location isn't very far from here. It's up along the Tug Fork of Big Sandy, in "Hatfield and McCoy" country.

And some folks actually do live in those little camper trailers full time. I did once, for a while. When my first wife and I first got married, that was our first "apartment". It was so tiny that if someone was in the bedroom, they would have to climb into the bed before the bathroom door could be opened - there was not room for a standing person and the opening door both. I used to tell folks that it was so tiny I had to step outside to get enough room to change my mind.

But, we moved onward and upward - outright bought a regular sized trailer - 12x64 footer - for 2500 bucks, which was just a tad over what we paid for 6 months rent on the little camper trailer. Granted, the trailer we bought was 30 years old and instead of being built with 2x4 wall studs, it had 2x2 furring strips for wall studs, and the kitchen wall on the end was not firmly attached to the bottom bands of the trailer, but it was home, and I owned it.

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[BIAD]

Then of course, there's this chap with his horde of hidden gold from around those parts!
Moishe Edelman.

[F2d5thCav]

Ninurta--

I lived in a trailer once.  Not a bad style of living, the only thing I didn't like is one night when a bad storm came through.  People in the trailer park were okay.  Had the edge of a bayou in the back yard, I liked to sit back there in the evening with a can of beer and listen to the 'hollering' of the frogs and insects.  And the cost of living was dirt cheap, not bad at all.

[Ninurta]

Then of course, there's this chap with his horde of hidden gold from around those parts!
Moishe Edelman.

Lots of tales of buried treasure around here. Probably the mot famous id the "Beale's treasure" in Bedford county, but there are innumerable tales of other folks burying gold and then dying without leaving directions to find it.



My first wife's great-great grand dad is alleged to have buried what was, at the time, $30,000 worth of gold somewhere in River Mountain, Russell County VA. The story goes that he mistrusted banks, as many old timers here did and still do, and he kept his own money closer to hand. Over time he converted it all into gold coins for easier storage.



When the government outlawed the private possession of gold coins and bullion, he took the attitude that "the bastards ain't takin' what's mine" and buried all $30,000 dollars worth up a holler in River Mountain to prevent "them damned revenoors" from seizing it. Many people have looked for it, but so far as I know it has never been found. I have no idea what it would be worth today with the changes in the price of gold, but I think it would be safe to say that if I found it, I wouldn't broadcast the news. I'd just quietly convert it to useful stuff over time in dribs and drabs. No point in making myself a target by telling folks I had it - there just ain't no percentages in that!



I know the approximate location where it is supposed to have been buried - within about a 500 yard radius I'd guess - but have never searched for it. Gold just doesn't mean that much to me.  Too much of a headache worrying over whose going to try to take it, and that leads to sleepless nights. I like my sleep.



My guess, if I was a guessing man, would be that he probably broke it up into 4 or 5 parcels and buried them separately, so that if one were found, he wouldn't be robbed of all of it. At least one of those parcels was buried "near the outhouse", to keep it close to hand and in a place that could be constantly observed... but that old outhouse is long gone now.



It is supposedly buried in sealed glass Mason jars rather than chests of any kind. Not sure what time will have done to the lids of those jars, but the glass and gold ought to still be pretty intact.



Crazy old mountaineers - ya just gotta love 'em, and their unconventional ways!

ETA: I got curious and checked the prices of gold then and now, and $30,000 of gold buried in 1933 - when the government outlawed the private possession of gold coins and bullion by executive order - would be worth $3.76 million dollars now. Glad that is someone else's headache. I'd never get any sleep if I had to worry over who was targeting my 3.76 million dollars of gold!







.

[EndtheMadnessNow]

Ninurta--

I lived in a trailer once.  Not a bad style of living, the only thing I didn't like is one night when a bad storm came through.  People in the trailer park were okay.  Had the edge of a bayou in the back yard, I liked to sit back there in the evening with a can of beer and listen to the 'hollering' of the frogs and insects.  And the cost of living was dirt cheap, not bad at all.

Same here for a little over 2 years. Though it was just me in a 38' 5th wheel.

Dirt cheap. Yea, once I was up at high elevation and a storm came through with 60mph gusts. I got so freaked out I hitched my truck to the trailer for an anchor. Nothing happened but was nerve racking till the storm passed.

[Michigan Swamp Buck]

Did Ya'll get yerself some White Lightnin' fer medicinal purposes?

[Ninurta]

Did Ya'll get yerself some White Lightnin' fer medicinal purposes?

As a matter of fact, I did. I used to keep two gallons of it on hand at all times, and that was the very reason I gave when folks asked about that. I'm still that way to this day, just not so much with moonshine any more since it went designer and got too damned expensive. Back then, I could get it for 20 dollars a gallon, because I had a friend that was making it, so I got his friends and family discount. Nowadays, they have all manner of weird flavors of 'shine, and it goes for sometimes 800 bucks a gallon, which is WAY too much for it.

I have this strange notion that moonshine ought to be moonshine-flavored, or else it's not 'shine.

Now it's usually rum, mostly "raw" and un-spiced, your most basic "white" rum. I take a few daily doses to keep my health up. The goal is to create an environment within my body that no microbe could survive in. So far, it works pretty well.

Alcohol and hot peppers - breakfast of champions!

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