Appalachian Studies Commons^™

Exploring Rockingham County’S Past: Recapturing Local History And Promoting Accessibility, Kayla Heslin

Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies

In 2018 Exploring Rockingham’s Past (ERP) launched. ERP is an online repository created to house local records from the Rockingham County, Virginia circuit court. Just a little over a year before its launch, Clerk of the Court, Chaz Haywood entreated facility and graduate students within the history department of James Madison University to help develop community access to the records housed within his institution. Sadly, over the decades the records of the courthouse had fallen into disarray, rendering them useless. Seeing this as a significant loss of culture and heritage, Haywood and James Madison University began developing a platform that …

Growing Up Deaf In Appalachia: An Oral History Of My Mother, Elizabeth Shelton Tipton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the life experiences of a rural, Deaf Appalachian woman, Jane Ann Shelton, a second generation Deaf child born to Deaf parents from the communities of Devil’s Fork (Flag Pond, Tennessee) and Shelton Laurel (Madison County, North Carolina). Over two hours of videotaped interviews were interpreted and transcribed, followed by various other communications to describe the life of a rural, Deaf Appalachian woman without a formal high school degree. As an advocate and a political lobbyist in Tennessee during the 1980s and 90s, she was unparalleled by her peers (deaf or hearing) in her efforts to “enhance …

Wildcats Never Trail, Clobber Morehead State 79-54, Lexington Herald-Leader, Josh Moore

Morehead State College Histories

Article published in the Lexington Herald-Leader on November 22, 2019 on Morehead State vs. University of Kentucky women's basketball game.

Museum Proposal At Portsmouth, Richard Duncan

Indian Head Rock Project

A proposal to construct a museum for the Indian Head Rock in Portsmouth, Ohio. The letter was written on November 18, 2019 and the drawings created on November 1, 2019.

We Are...Marshall, November 13, 2019, Office Of Marshall University Communications

We Are ... Marshall: the Newsletter for Marshall University 1999-2023

No abstract provided.

Ex-Morehead State Employee Charged In $167,000 Scam, Lexington Herald-Leader, Mike Stunson

Morehead State College Histories

Article published in the Lexington Herald Leader on October 25, 2019 by Mike Stunson. Discusses fraud and forgery charges placed on a Morehead State faculty member.

Healing The Encounter Between People And Place In Southern Appalachia, Caroline Merritt

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

In southern Appalachia, we fail to make visible the roots. Existing not as a geographical location but as a socially constructed culture and a concentrated source of exploited energy, the region reflects a necessary element of the postcolonial American imagination. For nationally lucrative resources such as coal, oil, lumber, and natural gas to be extracted without consideration or consciousness for the people and the place of its origin, the otherized Appalachian stereotype must prevail. Further crystalizing this false construction, white Appalachian scholars traditionally address current health disparities via the victimization of poor white Appalachia. The capitalist initiative to concentrate power …

Vertical File Index, 1970s-2000, Marshall University Special Collections

Miscellaneous Inventories

Meriam-Webster defines vertical file as, “a collection of articles (pamphlets and clippings) that is maintained (as in a library) to answer brief questions or to provide points of information not easily located.”

Vertical files were very popular in libraries before internet searching as a way to collate like materials found on specific subjects. The Special Collections vertical files contain clippings, pamphlets, articles, booklets and other literature that is too insignificant to catalog. This index serves as a guide to the folders contained within the collection.

The bulk of this collection was curated from the 1970s-2000 and is broken into two …

Why We Can’T Solve The Opioid Problem, Wayne F. Coombs, Ph.D.

Journal of Appalachian Health

Appalachia’s opioid epidemic is a complex, systemic problem being addressed by limited intervention processes conceptualized through narrow disciplinary models that are not working. We need a new comprehensive, collaborative approach if we ever hope to find solutions to this problem.

A Virginia Mountain City Responds To The Challenge Of Improving Health Outcomes, Robert S. Cowell Jr.

Journal of Appalachian Health

In 2012, Roanoke Virginia was becoming a city of haves and have-nots, a place where many were benefitting from revitalization underway but too many were seeing their situation grow worse and becoming even more entrenched. Poverty with levels as high as 50% in some neighborhoods; life expectancy sometimes 14 years shorter than those living just one or two neighborhoods over; and lack of access to fresh food, medical care, and economic opportunities—all within view of the largest hospital in the region was unacceptable.

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Adult Food Security And The Relationship With Adverse Childhood Experiences Among Residents Of Appalachian North Carolina, Manan Roy, Erin Bouldin, Maggie Bennett, Adam Hege

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: The Appalachian region has worse health outcomes than the remainder of the United States. These disparities are often linked to the underlying social and environmental determinants of health. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are associated with poor health outcomes across the lifespan and have a significant impact on future social determinants as an adult, including food security status.

Purpose: To explore the relationships between ACEs and food security among adults in the Appalachian counties of North Carolina and make comparisons with the rest of the state.

Methods: Researchers used North Carolina’s 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data; namely, …

A Comparison Of Appalachian And Non-Appalachian Kentucky Dui Offenders, Megan F. Dickson, Megan Kissel, J. Matthew Webster

Journal of Appalachian Health

Background: Driving under the influence has been an overlooked consequence of the opioid epidemic. Although recent reports have highlighted the increased prevalence of DUI in rural communities and the extensive mental health problems and criminal and drug use histories among rural Appalachian DUI offenders, it is unclear how Appalachian DUI populations compare to DUI offenders in other regions.

Purpose: To help fill this void in the literature, the current study uses a statewide sample to examine how Appalachian DUI offenders differ from non-Appalachian DUI offenders in a predominantly rural state.

Methods: Assessment records were examined for 11,640 Kentucky DUI offenders …

Roanoke's Collective Public Health Activities, Michael Lytton

Journal of Appalachian Health

Roanoke is addressing problems that confront many small and medium sized cities in the U.S., especially disparities in health and life expectancy between neighborhoods. These disparities are often legacies of decades of racial and economic segregation, resulting in low-income or disinvested communities. Typically, such neighborhoods have fewer parks, higher vacancy rates and less stable affordable housing stock, inadequate public transit systems, too few clinics, too many fast food restaurants and insufficient access to high quality schools. In Roanoke these are the northwest and southeast quadrants, both federally designated Medically Underserved Areas, and characterized by a large proportion of the city’s …

2019 Cave Run Storytelling Festival Poster, Cave Run Storytelling Festival Committee (Morehead, Ky.), Morehead Tourism Commission (Morehead, Ky.)

Cave Run Storytelling Festival Posters

Promotional development poster for the Cave Run Storytelling Festival held on September 27 to September 28, 2019. Those performing included: Anne Rutherford, Diane Ferlatte, Dolores Hydock, Donald Davis, Josh Goforth, Kim Weitkamp, and Peter Cook.

Morehead State Named A Top 20 Public University In South, The Lane Report

Morehead State College Histories

Article published on September 9, 2019 by The Lane Report on Morehead State University being named in the top 20 public universities in the South.

The Rural Health Physician Narrative: A New Historic Analysis Of Appalachian Representation In Twentieth-Century Rural Physician Narratives, Ashley Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rural health physician narrative is one of the most understudied genres in non-fictional Appalachian literature. Physician narratives are significant in the historical, social, and political contexts of twentieth-century Appalachian representation. These accounts provide insight into the social contexts in which physicians lived as they wrote about healthcare and Appalachian communities. New Historicism is an analytical tool used to better understand the complexity surrounding Appalachian representation, particularly in terms of the politics of representation, gender, and race that influenced these narratives in the twentieth century. I engage in close readings of narratives written by or about rural health physicians who …

Morehead State Students To Play Key Role In Nasa Mission, Spectrum News

Morehead State College Histories

Article published on July 22, 2019 by Spectrum News on Morehead State University students working with NASA to design a Lunar satellite.

Reaching For The Skies: Spacetrek Empowers Young Women, Ashland Daily Independent, Julianna Leach

Morehead State College Histories

Article published on July 19, 2019 in the Ashland Daily Independent on the SpaceTrek program at Morehead State University.

Town Comes Together For Lip Sync, Lexington Herald-Leader, Karla Ward

Morehead State College Histories

Article published on July 11, 2019 in the Lexington Herald Leader by Karla Ward. Discusses the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the town.

A Legacy Of Disease, Arthur L. Frank

Journal of Appalachian Health

In Appalachia, like much of America, there are important health issues that have not always been appropriately predicted or dealt with when they occur. Lifestyle issues in Appalachia lead to obesity and heart disease, not surprisingly due to extensive use of sugary drinks. The current opioid crisis could have been better predicted given the trauma of mining and the past abuse of less-potent narcotics. A continuing major problem in the whole country is inadequate support for preventive health activities.

Improving Access To Addiction Recovery Care In Central Appalachia Through Organizational Collaboration, Katy Stigers

Journal of Appalachian Health

Fahe, a Network of 50+ members throughout Appalachia based in Berea KY, has brought together a coalition to finance, build, and manage several addiction recovery care centers across Kentucky and West Virginia, increase access to employment, and deploy vouchers for supportive services.

Disparities In Quality Of Life By Appalachian-Designation Among Women With Breast Cancer, Robin C. Vanderpool, Ann L. Coker, Heather M. Bush, Sarah E. Cprek

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Few studies have examined the association of geography and quality of life (QOL) among breast cancer patients, particularly differences between Appalachian and non-Appalachian Kentucky women, which is important given the cancer and socioeconomic disparities present in Appalachia.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether women with breast cancer residing in Appalachian Kentucky experience poorer health outcomes in regards to depression, stress, QOL, and spiritual wellbeing, relative to those living in non-Appalachian Kentucky after adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related factors.

Methods: Women, aged 18–79, recruited from the Kentucky Cancer Registry between 2009 and 2013 with an …

West Virginia’S Sugary Drink Tax: Examining Print Media Frames In Local News Sources, Lauri Andress, Ogaga Urhie, Christine Compton

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Framing is an important aspect of the policy process that helps the public and decision makers sort through and resolve highly charged claims about an issue. Through slight changes in the presentation of issues, a framing effect may alter public support. The way a proposed sugary drink tax is discussed in public discourse and by the media significantly influences policy acceptance. Given the public health significance of obesity and diabetes in West Virginia (WV) the study of media frames employed to represent a sugary drink tax policy is useful.

Methods: Using quantitative content analysis, this study assessed news articles—published …

Investigating The Impact Of The Diseases Of Despair In Appalachia, Michael Meit, Megan Heffernan, Erin Tanenbaum

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Appalachia is one of the regions most significantly impacted by the opioid crisis. This study investigated mortality due to diseases of despair within the Appalachian Region, with an additional focus on deaths attributable to opioid overdose.

Methods: Diseases of despair include: alcohol, prescription drug and illegal drug overdose, suicide, and alcoholic liver disease/cirrhosis of the liver. Mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) Multiple Cause of Death database were analyzed for this study, focusing on individuals aged 15–64.

Results: Over the past two decades, the mortality rate due to diseases of …

Root Causes Of Appalachia’S Deaths Of Despair, F. Douglas Scutchfield Md

Journal of Appalachian Health

The U.S. is experiencing a decline in life expectancy, particularly among rural white males in their most productive years. Appalachia is disproportionally represented in mortality rates, accounting for 30% of the U.S. population, but 50% of the excess mortality attributed to the “deaths of despair”: drug overdose, suicide, and alcoholic cirrhosis. A substantial proportion of that excess mortality is related to the current opioid crisis we are experiencing. We have data on evidence-based solutions to the treatment of addiction, but little information on prevention of addiction as well as the other deaths of despair, likely with the same etiologic agent. …

Anthropocene Blues By John Lane, Jessica S. Cory

The Goose

Review of John Lane's Anthropocene Blues

Healthcare Access And Poverty Among Central Appalachian Residents, Kacey M. Lefevers

Kentucky Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Healthcare access is an important shaping force in the lives of Appalachian people. Appalachians often face both inadequate availability of medical facilities and poverty, which limits access to health insurance and therefore healthcare. This results in reduced life expectancy and health disparity. In this study, the author examines relationships between adequate healthcare and access to healthcare among Appalachian residents. Using a convenience sample of Appalachian residents, the author finds that income, education, and being an Appalachian resident have unique impacts on healthcare access or perceptions of healthcare in general.

Ex-Morehead State Star Goes From 'Mercy Pick' To Cubs Hero, Lexington Herald-Leader

Morehead State College Histories

Article published in the Lexington Herald Leader on May 18, 2019. Discusses a former Morehead State baseball player who was signed to the Cubs.

Mccartt-Jackson, Sarah, B. 1982 (Fa 1290), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1290. Student collection titled “’Clogging’s Just Clogging’: The Richard McHargue Cloggers and Approaches to Vernacular Percussive Dance Study” in which Sarah McCartt-Jackson conducts an interview with Richard McHargue, a clogging instructor from Richmond, Kentucky. The interview contains McHargue’s early dancing memories, clogging terms, and opinions about the contemporary state of clogging. The collection also contains a partial transcript, fieldnotes, interview questions, content index, photographs, and the recorded audio interview on CD.

Brown, Chloe Jo, B. 1991 (Fa 1289), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1289. Student collection titled “Dale Cross: The Art of Flintknapping” in which Chloe Brown examines the commercial, historical, and cultural factors that have influenced the production of arrowheads. Brown interviews Dale Cross, a flintknapper from Burkesville, Kentucky who is renowned for his artistic skills. The paper addresses Cross’ personal aesthetics, flintknapping processes, and his business-related endeavors. The collection includes an academic paper, a transcription, CDs containing the recorded audio interview and photographs, and one of Cross’ arrowheads.