Article Author:
Associated Press
Allen G. Breeds
Fleming Neon, Kentucky (AP) — JR barber shop OPEN along main street just one week after floods hit downtown A strange sight appeared, with the signboard declaring that it was flashing.
As the National Guard patrolled outside and volunteers in backhoes piled up the rubble, J.R. Collins stood behind a barber chair and groomed one of his regulars. was Fleming Like most of his neons, Collins comes from a family built on mining, with both his grandfathers working in coal. Even as industry dwindled and others fled, he remained in the close-knit town.Those who remained were determined to prove their community was more than just coal. increase.
And to ensure Collins' barbershop and other businesses can reopen amid the devastating floods that killed more than 30 of his people in eastern Kentucky, they united.
"They had shovels and squeegees and water and were helped by packers and children," says Collins, referring to the noise of his store's air conditioners and dehumidifiers. said above. "Good, hard-working people who like to help people and help each other."
Fleming-Neon, once he was two towns. Fleming, a company town founded by the Elkhorn Coal Company in the early 1900s for mining purposes only; and Neon, a former logging camp.
Fleming was run by Elkhorn and named after one of his executives. The company issued its own money, which employees used to rent company-owned homes and goods at company stores and local businesses. Neon was an independent, free town whose legal currency was US government dollar bills rather than corporate bonds, but it thrived on nearby coal glows.
Fleming and Neon prospered with the company and industry. The dates, which can still be seen on brick storefronts today, mark a boom year.
"Department stores, grocery stores, restaurants, dry cleaners. We had a theater," said Susan Polis, the 73-year-old mayor of Fleming Neon. I was. "I didn't have to leave here to get anything."
But as the mines became more mechanized, Fleming's and Neon's populations dwindled. In the late 1970s, formerly rival cities were merged under one government to pool resources, but the bleeding continued.
Today, only about 500 remain. And he feared that on the 28th of July, the waters of the Light Forks would rise, further devastating this valley of the people that had long drawn wealth from the earth. But Fleming Neon has a spark, and so far it hasn't gone out.
About two weeks after the storm hit, a multipurpose center was scheduled to open in the former car dealership. Longtime educator Jeff Hawkins, who has lived here since he was a teenager, said the project, named Neon Lights, will include a performing arts studio, an internet cafe, an event space and an innovation incubator. .
"We wanted a space where the kids could move, dance, sing, do whatever they wanted," he said. "On the second floor we will have a robotics lab and a computer his coding lab."
That dream is not dead. For now, the cleared space serves as a distribution center for emergency supplies.
It rained again last weekend, so we temporarily evacuated on Friday night. But while some feared it, Emory Lee Mullins decided to see it as a blessing.
and used a push broom to sweep the last silt of the stream into the gutter outside the flower shop. "You get that with every little sweep, don't you think?"
Mullins bought her flowers 25 years before her shop, Letcher, had been eroded by five feet of water. But as the rains fell, he tore down the waterlogged walls, confident that he would be able to resume in a few weeks.
``Flowers make people happy,'' he said. "They will need flowers."
Mr. Hawkins said of the corporate strategy of "making as much profit as possible and moving on," he said of cutting coal's grip on these mountains. said it was difficult.
"For decades, money was put here and not reinvested," he said. "And that's what we're left with."
But Fleming's neons are also left with a formidable force. And Hawkins said that every tale of tragedy has six additional goodnesses and blessings. has guts," he said.
Volunteers from other states have also seen the spirit. Ken Caigl of North Carolina said it makes him think about retiring here.
And Hawkins will be with them on these hills. He sees the flood disaster as an opportunity to reinvent Fleming's neon and Eastern Kentucky.
"Rethink how we can do it." he said. "And we're not just surviving, we're progressing to a stage of prosperity."
