negativity surrounding this place that no one ever focuses on the positive. they see us as ignorant or hillbillies. >> daniel whitt: overdose capital of the east coast. >> quentin: but there's more here than just poverty and illiteracy and drugs. there's a lot of good people here. >> coach: when you walk on this field, you better have tunnel vision. don't look left, don't look right. you look at that scoreboard, and that should burn in your heart. do you understand me? we got some ground to make up. and once we make that ground up, we'll take off. let's go. ♪ i took a walk through this beautiful world ♪ ♪ felt the cool rain on my shoulder ♪ ♪ found something good in this beautiful world ♪ ♪ i felt the rain getting colder ♪ ♪ sha, la, la, la, la, ♪ ♪ sha, la, la, la, la, la, ♪ ♪ sha, la, la, la, la, ♪ ♪ sha, la, la, la, la, la ♪ ♪ ♪ >> anthony: new york city, where i live. and it's easy to think, having lived here nearly all my life, that this is what america looks like, thinks like, that the things that are important to me are important to everybody. that every place else is out there. unthinkable, maybe even unknowable. ♪ [ rain falling ] [ water rushing ] [ birds chirping ] >> anthony: 600 miles away from midtown manhattan is mcdowell county, west virginia. another america. in the mind of many of my fellow new yorkers -- the heart of god, guns, and trump country. the existential enemy. ♪ ♪ there is a place on god's creation ♪ ♪ a place of beauty beyond compare ♪ ♪ some people say it's almost heaven ♪ ♪ look for me you'll find me there ♪ >> alan johnson: my daddy always told me, you know those tornados and hurricanes, they can't get to us. we're down in these mountains, down in the holler, and these mountains protect us. here, if you're going to see the sky, you gotta look up. ♪ you can find me on the highest mountain ♪ ♪ you can find me in the black coal mines ♪ >> anthony: to think about, much less empathize with somebody who comes from five generations of coal miners, in a place that looks like this, is to our enduring shame, unthinkable. why can't these coal miners get retrained, maybe put up solar panels for a living? why would these conservative, deeply religious people vote for a thrice-married billionaire new yorker? well, i went to west virginia, and you know what? screw you. here in the heart of every belief system i've ever mocked or fought against, i was welcomed with open arms by everyone. i found a place both heartbreaking and beautiful. a place that symbolizes, contains everything wrong, and everything wonderful and hopeful about america. ♪ >> anthony: the town of welch, known in its glory days as "little new york." ♪ >> josh: welch is a very rural area. i mean, it's an hour away from wal-mart. i mean, if that tells you anything. it's a real old, historic town, built in the 1800s. >> anthony: the american dream in miniature. a place where generations of immigrants and dreamers could work and lift up their family. >> alan: the town of welch, when it was booming, the sidewalks were so crowded there would be traffic backed up like a mile. you couldn't find a place to park. >> anthony: the rest of the country took a lot of money out of these hills over the decades. billions and billions of dollars. and when it became cheaper, or more convenient to pull the coal we needed to power our electrical grids, and to make our steel elsewhere, this is what was left behind. but this is not a poverty porn show. do not pity the people here, who despite what you may think, are not unrealistic about a return to the glory days of coal and better times. >> linda mckinney: i drank coffee from the time i could walk. they put coffee in your bottle. coffee or wine. [ laughter ] >> anthony: linda mckinney is a true daughter of appalachia. she raised her children here. linda's husband, bob mckinney, is a long-time mine safety inspector. >> anthony: now your family is originally from naples, is that right? >> linda: yes. >> anthony: naples area? >> linda: came here in 1923 trying to strike it rich in the coalmines. my mother died when i was five, so we went to live with my nonna, and the first day i was there she pulled me up to a cook stove. >> anthony: dinner is a not untypical expression of hard scrabble appalachian practicality -- >> linda: now i don't measure anything, so nothing has a recipe here. >> anthony: -- and neapolitan roots. >> linda: basil. >> linda: these my dad would call pisellis, it's peas. mm, making mama dance. [ laughter ] now, this is what i'm famous for in these parts. have you ever had spaghetti pizza? no, you haven't. don't say you have. [ laughter ] >> anthony: nearby, joel runs an organic hydroponic farm that supplies the local school system. ♪ >> linda: most of you've all got your potatoes, right? >> anthony: linda runs "5 loaves & 2 fishes", a food bank that holds many of the lives here together during tough times. >> bob: gracious god, we just thank you for this day that we're able to give food out again, this is not a regular give-out. watch over us and protect us, help us to keep cool heads. ♪ father, we pray over the food we're about to eat, for the nourishment our body is blessed, in the name of christ, amen. >> group: amen. ♪ >> anthony: the coal that came out of this area built america, right? >> linda: yes. >> bob: mcdowell county alone was called the "billion-dollar coal field." i made -- base salary was $94,000 a year. i also taught vocational school and most of the kids i had said, "well, i don't need this. i'm going to go in the coal mines." >> jina: there's just an education piece there now that we're trying to instill in some of the people that still have the mentality that coal is king. you know, we don't doubt that but we try to think outside the box to look at some other opportunities that might be there. >> coach: get more physical. let's go! run. >> anthony: the mount view golden knights have long carried the mantle of the town as perpetual underdogs. mostly the children of miners, many from very difficult situations at home. >> coach: why are you walking? hurry up! >> anthony: this week is homecoming. coach larry thompson has of late imposed some order and higher academic standards on the knights. there are high hopes. >> coach larry: lord, thank you for this food we're about to receive. bless these young men and these young women as they cheer and as they play on the field. in jesus' name i pray, amen. >> all: amen. [ applause ] >> coach larry: let's go eat, y'all. >> coach: these kids, you know, they got long days. they wake up, what, 4:45-5:00. they don't leave off the hill from us until about 7:00 after practice, so they go through a lot. >> anthony: how many generations of coal in your family? >> coach mike: at least five. >> anthony: wow. >> anthony: coach mike anderson is second in command. coal in anybody else's family? yeah? >> cole: like trash man, that's a real common job in my family. >> coach larry: don't feel bad. trash men make more money than teachers do, chavez. >> anthony: fred "fat back" minco, micah "woogie" mclaughlin, and cole "chavo" anderson are in many ways typical mount view players and students with the hopes and dreams of, well, any other high school students. >> anthony: homecoming. >> coach larry: it is. >> anthony: how big a deal is football in general, and this game, and what you guys do? >> coach: you know, a lot of these kids understand that there are not a lot of resources here. before you can kind of feel the dreariness that kind of lingered around the community. but now, you know, with these boys winning, the work ethic they're putting in, you can feel the support. and they feel it, they feel that sense of pride. >> anthony: how has this football program changed your life? >> coach mike: some of these guys have changed 100%. they had no guidance, no discipline. and as a team in here relying on each other, their limits are out of this world. >> anthony: now in the past, you could get into high school pretty sure that you were going to make big money working in coal. you don't have that kind of guarantee now. what do you see yourself doing in ten years? >> fred: journalism. >> anthony: journalism? >> micah: in ten years, i hope to be studying my phd and be a mechanical engineer. >> anthony: mechanical engineer? >> micah: yes, sir. >> cole: i'm definitely going to be a neuropsychologist. >> anthony: neuropsychologist? >> cole: yup. >> anthony: what's tougher, life or football? >> group: life, definitely. >> micah: there's no halftime in life. there's no timeouts, there's no none of that. >> fred: that was a really good insight. [ laughter ] >> anthony: "love thy brother" is one thing that's all well and good. but these guys want to win. they need to win. and everyone will be watching. ♪ appalachia is my name >> this parts unknown thanksgiving marathon is presented by johnnie walker. keep walking. get help managing your money for the life -- and years -- ahead. with fidelity income planning, we'll look at what you've saved, what you'll need, and help you build a flexible plan for cash flow designed to last. so you can go from saving... to living. ho ho ho! not again. oh no. for the gifts you won't forget. the mercedes-benz winter event. get a credit toward your first month's payment on select models. (tiger) this is the dimension of imagination. ♪ welcome to allstate. where you can pay a little less and enjoy the ride a little more. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ now, get new lower auto rates with allstate. because better protection costs a whole lot less. you're in good hands with allstate. click or call for a lower auto rate today. you have always loved vicks vapors. and now you'll really love new vicks' vapostick. it goes on clear and dries quickly. no mess. just the soothing vicks' vapor for the whole family. introducing new vicks vapostick. ♪ [ birds chirping ] [ indistinct chatter ] >> anthony: west virginia was settled by people who were fleeing persecution, by homesteaders, people who just wanted to live their lives their own way. but the discovery of vast coal reserves and the big business that grew up around it changed everything. the town of war understands this dynamic well. it's a former coal and timber camp that has more than paid its dues. the war cafe is one of the few businesses left in town. why no self-service? >> in the mountains it's hard to get signals into each valley. >> nick is a former coal miner turned writer. >> try calling an ambulance here and getting to the closest hospital. they don't deliver babies at the hospital in this county anymore. >> elaine mcmillion sheldon is an oscar nominated author born and raised in western virginia. if you were describing this area, gun rights important. that's not going to resonate at all. in fact, it sounds threatening. >> elaine: right, but both sides are saying the same thing. both sides feel threatened by each other. and i would say a majority of people that live in this region want to be left alone. the traditions of this place, the things that we value, whether that be family, interpersonal communication, not having cell phone technology to distract us, those types of things sort of butt up against america's idea of progress. and it's why we've always been looked at as being backwards. ♪ being part of the media, but living here, is a really big challenge because rarely, people like myself actually are the ones that control our narrative, that control our story. ♪ >> anthony: it was always too easy to come gawk at west virginia. to make it the poster child for whatever the agenda of the moment was. lazy depictions of stereotypical west virginians. hillbillies and hicks, tucked into isolated hollers to be pitied or made objects of laughter and derision. >> elaine: if you google appalachia to this day, you're going to see dirty-faced kids, bare foot on a front porch, shaking lyndon b. johnson's hand. there's a lot more to appalachia than that. >> anthony: in 1964, lyndon johnson declared his war on poverty. a good thing, yes? but the accompanying press tour portraying the people here as an incapable and bewildered helpless masse, missed the basic essential character -- the pride and the self-reliant core of the people here. that damage is lasting. >> elaine: when you come in and keep telling us how poor, fat -- how all these things are -- i think we've all felt it at some point. shame. >> anthony: what should people know about this area that they don't know, that they're not getting? >> it's just how much that people in this area have been exploited. [ bells ringing ] [ machines whirring ] >> nick: the land agents who came in and bought up all the mineral rights. the coal and timber companies that started extracting and taking everybody's labor rights. >> man: i can't fight a big coal company, they got too much money. >> elaine: politicians from dc that can make a quick day trip down here and get a good sound bite. >> trump: who is a miner in this group? who is -- stand up. you're all standing up anyway. >> anthony: the drug companies? >> elaine: nine million pills in kermit, west virginia over two years. one pharmacy, nine million pills. >> anthony: in a town with 372 people. the other side of this is that democrats, they don't take a lot of time to understand the problems here. >> man: i just want to know, how you can say you're going to put a lot of coal miners out of jobs, and then come in here and tell us how you're going to be our friend? >> nick: i don't think people understand just how genuine and wonderful the people are in these mountains. people who have just worked all their lives and who sacrifice so much for their families. ♪ >> anthony: you cannot talk about west virginia without talking about coal. and coal is a complex issue here. tied into the cell tissue and family pride of the people who have worked in the mines for generations. ♪ >> robie: that coal mine is something else, you know, you gotta take care of yourself in there. >> patrick graham: that fan is blowing about 200,000 cubic feet of air into the mine. fresh air. >> robie: when you go into that mine you don't know when you gonna live to see outside again. ♪ [ radio chatter ] ♪ >> patrick: today, we're going about 5,000 feet. >> anthony: 5,000 feet deep? >> patrick: yeah, oh yeah. [ thumping ] >> anthony: pat graham is the foreman at the pay car mine in kimball. >> anthony: so this is for steel? >> patrick: yeah. the average wage of a miner is 60% greater than the average wage of all labors in the united states. that's pretty phenomenal. it's easy to see why people in mcdowell county want mining jobs. ♪ >> anthony: i'm staying in a town nearby, welch. there's no bar. >> miner: most of us just go get the beer, and head back on top of the ridge and drink it. >> anthony: wow. >> miner 2: in the name of the father, we'd like to gather here to thank you for this opportunity to support our families. please watch after us, keep us safe while we're underground working. amen. >> group: amen. >> patrick: what do you got? >> man 3: bear meat and chicken. >> anthony: oh, damn. >> patrick: i may just put my sandwich back here if you got bear meat. >> anthony: that's delicious. do you think the country as a whole, do you think they understand the coal business at all? what coal mining is about? >> richard: no. >> anthony: they don't understand at all. >> patrick: when you travel from new york to here, whether you're on a boat, plane, train, or in the sky or driving on a car, it's because of a mine. >> anthony: mining causes damage to the environment. of this, there is no doubt. but what cannot be grown, must be mined. there ain't no cellphones, for instance, without mines somewhere. >> anthony: does anybody think it's going to come back, big time, like 30 years ago? >> miner: my personal opinion? every time a republican is in there it goes up. >> anthony: right. [ laughter ] this used to be a solidly democratic state. what do you think made trump attractive? hilary shows up here and she openly said she's going to put a lot of coal miners out of work. wrong answer. >> anthony: how many kids you got? >> miner: i got three. >> patrick: six. >> anthony: if you saw your kids had other options, would you recommend that they join the family business? >> group: no sir. >> anthony: you would say no. >> richard: i'd about guarantee that everybody here, their dad who worked in the coal mines, probably told their son, "don't go into the coal mines." >> miner 2: that's what i was told. and that's what i told mine. >> anthony: yeah. >> richard: you're going to tell them, "no, don't do it." but you know, if they do, you're going to be proud. i'm proud. from the stickers we put on our buckets, from the stickers we put on our hats, to my coffee mug there, passed down. if i don't mess that thing up, if my son goes into the mines, that's going to be his. ♪ ♪ i'm a stone's throw from the mill ♪ ♪ and i'm a good walk to the river ♪ ♪ when my worki' day is over we'll go swim our cares away ♪ >> anthony: it's so easy from afar to say that coal's time here has come and gone, that we should let the miners move, find some other work. what other work? the state's biggest employer is now wal-mart. ♪ i've seen my share of trouble ♪ ♪ and i've held my weight in shame ♪ whatever your views, respect these people, what they do, and what they've paid. ♪ as experts warn of the effects on well-being caused by the pandemic. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> man: what's my safelite story? my truck...is my livelihood. so when my windshield cracked... the experts at safelite autoglass came right to me... with service i could trust. right, girl? >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ unleash the freshness... [upbeat music] still fresh ♪ in wash-scent booster ♪ downy unstopables ♪ starter: ready, set, go. ♪ ♪ early in the morning when the sun does rise ♪ ♪ layin' in the bed with bloodshot eyes ♪ ♪ run me raggin' but i don't fret ♪ ♪ cause there ain't been one that slow me down ♪ take my troubles ♪ ♪ to the highwall throw 'em in the river ♪ ♪ and get your fill lord it's a mighty ♪ ♪ hard livin' but a damn good feelin' ♪ ♪ to run these roads >> anthony: so these things have to be durable to say the least? i mean, you're pounding the hell out of them. >> adam ringer: actually built to be indestructible. >> anthony: indestructible? >> adam: yeah, that's the plan. [ cheers ] >> joe pierce: well, i guess we broke it. >> anthony: this bat shit crazy, vertical mad max drag race come demolition derby is called rock bouncing. >> anthony: keep my neck from bouncing around too much. >> adam: yeah and what it's actually designed for is major collisions and it keeps your head from tearing off your body. >> anthony: adam ringer is a native son, jack of many trades, and a man who's all too happy to spend a day trashing some hills just to show me a good time. ♪ that moonshine get me higher ♪ ♪ than the grocery bill lord it's a mighty ♪ ♪ hard livin' but a damn good feelin' ♪ ♪ to run these roads >> mo: so that was pretty bad ass. [ laughter ] ♪ ♪ >> eric williams: you got your frog legs, turtle patties. >> anthony: eric williams is a hunter and trapper who caught most of this meal wading waist deep in the swamp on his property. >> eric: you ever ate snapping turtle? >> anthony: oh, i'm not missing that. >> eric: small-mouthed bass, catfish barbecued and fried. >> anthony: wow, what a spread. ♪ >> adam hanson: because we actually climb stuff that's vertical. >> anthony: straight up? >> adam yup. yeah, this race this weekend, the last 30 feet of the hill, the second hill was actually vertical. you had to hit it with enough momentum to skip up over it and land on top. >> anthony: wow. >> adam: yeah, that's why you gotta have a lot of horsepower. >> mike: but too much power can get you in a lot of trouble, also. >> anthony: oh, really? >> mike: oh yeah. >> adam: exactly right. horsepower is not always the key to success. but it's always a lot of fun. >> mike: hopefully you can come back and try the barbie jeep thing. [ laughter ] ♪ ♪ >> anthony: guns are a fact of life around here. whether as a means to defend your isolated home, get yourself dinner when there's no place else to get it, or just for the fun of shooting stuff. the feeling that gun ownership is an absolute right, immutable, and non-negotiable runs deep here. >> anthony: everybody's backyard look like this? >> ashley mcmillion: ours does. >> anthony: justin and ashley mcmillion are the nice couple next door. [ rapid fire ] if unusually, heavily-armed. >> justin mcmillion: our muzzle break is the only kind that actually reduces recoil, muzzle rise, and flash. >> anthony: they own “jmac customs,” a home business that designs and builds custom weapons and parts. >> justin: so this keeps you on target, makes sure that you're safe while you're shooting. >> justin: 3, 2, 1. [ rapid fire ] >> anthony: now, to be clear, these are fully automatic firearms. they cannot be purchased legally by individuals anywhere. but as they're in the business, these guys can apply for special, highly-vetted atf licenses for purposes of product development and testing. >> anthony: that was just really -- that was a lot of fun. i'm a child, what can i say? >> ashley: who wants to blow up pumpkins? ♪ >> justin: just mixed up a binary explosive. ♪ >> justin: 3, 2, 1. [ rapid fire ] >> anthony: whatever you feel about gun rights, or access to weapons, there is an undeniable, visceral thrill to blowing shit up. people who like guns, like them for a reason. >> justin: that's a whole lot of america right there. >> anthony: it's not mine. [ laughter ] >> chef: two choices: venison or beef, with or without cheese. >> anthony: venison and cheese. >> chef: venison and cheese. >> ashley: yeah. >> anthony: wow, nice selection. >> anthony: so everybody born and bred here? >> chase: i've lived in canada for a long time. i stayed in england for quite a while. sweden for quite a while. no matter how long i'm gone, i always come back. can't just load the jeep up with a bunch of guns and stay out there for seven days and, you know, you can't really do that anywhere else. >> justin: that's probably one of the greatest things about west virginia. you know, we can enjoy whatever we want to enjoy. i'm not trying to force my opinions on anybody else. that being said, we will defend ours. >> ashley: yeah, we will. >> anthony: i was guessing. >> ashley: yeah. >> anthony: i grew up in an environment, you see somebody at the super market carrying a hand gun, that would be cause for red alert. do you think there can be common ground between somebody who grew up absolutely thinking guns are a bad thing? >> justin: i say no. >> anthony: okay, you're an honest man, i appreciate it. >> justin: i'm a responsible gun owner, why should i be crippled in what i'm able to do as far as protecting my family? >> anthony: look, i hear you. but there's a fair number of people in this world who are just, you know, too dumb to pour piss out of a boot. [ laughter ] i mean 90 old drivers in florida, they still got their license, but should they be driving? >> ashley: right. >> greg: a few years ago, my father was involved in a shooting at his pharmacy that he works at. man came in, he had a weapon, my dad conceal carries. he has a license to conceal carry. he drew his weapon and fired. if they take guns away from law-abiding citizens, then it's just going to be the criminals that have it. >> anthony: it should be pointed out, it has to be pointed out, faced head on, that shortly after we filmed here, a gunman in las vegas with a perfectly legal weapon fired off 1100 rounds in 10 minutes, wounding 422 people and killing 58. shortly after that, 17 students were murdered in parkland, florida with legally purchased semi-automatic rifle. and the list goes on, with victims of mass shootings that have happened since this conversation measured in the hundreds. so there is that to think about too. >> anthony: i don't know whether the founding fathers anticipated the kind of firepower that we're playing with today. we live in a different world. >> anthony: there are the nice people next door who like guns, and unfortunately, there seems to be a whole lot of people who aren't nice at all. 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trees or on the ground? >> lola: trees. >> anthony: mostly up in the trees. >> lola: squirrels are more like -- it's a waiting game. find us a place and see -- and watch for movement. >> anthony: she and her best friend, leshawna huff, hunt together, raise kids together, and do their best to get by in a changing world that can get very hard. >> lola: we gotta keep our eye out, too . >> lola: my grandpa took me when i was about six. i just love this place. ♪ ♪ >> drema lester: my mom, she used to cook squirrel gravy. >> anthony: lola's neighbors name may be drema lester, but everybody here calls her ma. >> drema: 58 years, i was born and raised here. >> producer: you ever think about leaving? >> drema: no. >> leshawna: homemade biscuits, homemade gravy. >> lola: fried taters. >> anthony: fried potatoes, excellent. >> leshawna: dear lord, we come to you this day to thank you for this food and bless the hands that fixed this food. and thank you for each and every living day. amen. >> group: amen. >> drema: and thank you for letting us meet more friends. >> lola: yes. >> anthony: well thank you for having me. >> anthony: you're working on a farm nearby, is that right? >> lola: yes. after strip mines are done here, the land's usually just useless. so, we're trying to make a purpose. pumpkins, watermelon, we're just trying to figure out what will grow on it. >> anthony: so there is life after coal? >> lola: there's life after coal. so what do you think about that squirrel? >> anthony: oh man, it's good. >> anthony: thank you. >> drema: they call it "wild and wonderful west virginia." >> anthony: it is. and, your girls are how old? >> lola: my girls are nine, eight, six, and three. >> anthony: taught any of them to shoot yet? >> lola: yeah, all of them can shoot. >> anthony: all of them? >> lola: all of them. they think their mommy is a big hero, too, 'cause she killed that big buck last year. >> anthony: yeah. how big was this thing? >> lola: 250, it weighed 250 lbs. >> anthony: you dragged that thing out of the woods yourself? >> lola: mhmm. >> anthony: dress it? >> lola: yes. >> anthony: cook it? >> lola: yup. >> leshawna: we don't rely on nobody. >> lola: yup, there ain't nothing i can't do, and if i don't know how to do it, i'll learn. we're not a bunch of pregnant women bare-footed with no teeth. i got all mine, you see? >> anthony: what's the best thing about living in this area and what's the worst thing? >> leshawna: the best thing is the people here. >> lola: there's probably nobody in these hollows that i couldn't go say, 'hey, i'm hungry, would you fix me a sandwich?' >> anthony: and worse thing? >> drema: see somebody that's on pills. or drunk. or out here just fighting. >> anthony: what can you do? >> drema: pray for them. that's all we can do. ♪ oh, eliza oh, eliza ♪ ♪ little liza jane ♪ ♪ don't just put on a light show—be the light show. make your nights anything but silent. and ride in a sleigh that really slays. because in a cadillac, tradition is yours to define. so visit a cadillac showroom, and start celebrating today. ♪ ♪ with downy infusions, let the scent set the mood. feel the difference with downy. ♪ mike costello: these right here, they're called woodmetal. they've got a really nice, kind of aromatic quality to them. with the pawpaws, it's better if you can kind of like feel them, see if they're ripe. >> anthony: america's forgotten fruit, the pawpaw. forgotten when most americans stopped going to the forest for their food. but in west virginia, they were never forgotten. >> mike: so that's a pawpaw ice cream with some candied wildflowers, and then this is an old-fashioned vinegar pie. it's in a class of pies called "desperation pies" that try to create something like a lemon pie and you don't have lemon juice. what do you do? put some vinegar and some nutmeg together and you get that same kind of tang. >> anthony: appalachia has a rich and deep culinary culture. increasingly fetishized, riffed on, appropriated for the genteel tastes of a hipster elite willing to pay big bucks for what used to be, and still is in many cases, the food of poverty. >> mike: we see that ramps are selling for $30 a pound in new york city that we're harvesting in west virginia, and what's west virginia seeing from that? probably a guy that got about $2 a pound. >> emily hillard: it becomes just another extractive industry like coal or timber. and you sort of start to see that -- >> anthony: that's the story of west virginia. >> emily: yeah. >> anthony: chef mike costello and partner amy dawson are looking to keep that culture alive and appreciate it, and paying off locally for the region it originated in. “lost creek farm” is their place. and the nucleus of that effort is the garden. >> amy: we have two different varieties that we are picking today. the one are the logan giants. >> lou: this seed is logan giant seed. they're an heirloom strain of beans and i've had these seeds for 40 years. >> mike: this guy down at the end of the table, lou, is in his 90's, he said it's important for somebody to carry on these traditions, and gave me his stock of heirloom beans this year. >> anthony: this is what heirloom looks like outside of holy foods. fat horse beans, candy roaster squash and homer fikes yellow ox heart tomatoes. >> mike: nice and soft and it's like a really sweet green tomato. >> anthony: these ingredients define a near lost time and flavor. >> mike: we've got some sweet corn chowder. next, we've got these crackers, they're broken communion wafers. you know, the way that appalachian food has always worked is you work within your means and you create something pretty special out of what you have at your disposal. we've kind of suffered from this in a way. it created this sort of rush towards the middle class and a rush toward the perception that we're better than the food that we used to have to eat. >> john jennings: yeah, i think we were taught a lot to be embarrassed of our, you know, hillbilly past, you know? i remember coming home from school and my dad having hog's head on the kitchen table making head-cheese and sauce like, i would've been mortified if somebody came over and saw that. >> josh bennett: a friend of mines grandmother once told me, "you know we used to make this 'cause we were poor, now me make it 'cause it's effing good." [ laughter ] >> anthony: oh, what's that? >> mike: this is some buttermilk fried rabbit, rabbit that we raise here at the farm. >> anthony: oh, yes. >> mike: a little bit of chow chow, some fresh maple syrup. ♪ >> mike: is it gross that we slaughter rabbits right behind us? >> anthony: oh, which am i drinking here? the old school cider? >> josh: we actually came across a recipe from 1822 with elderberry and cider. and um, it's a native plant here so, we put a little bit in there >> mike: is it gross that we slaughter rabbits right behind us? >> anthony: yeah. >> anthony: oh, which am i drinking here? the old school cider? >> josh: we actually came across a recipe from 1822 with elderberry and cider. and um, it's a native plant here so, we put a little bit in there to see what it would do and it came out wonderful. >> anthony: you're using only west virginia apples? >> josh: i am only using west virginia apples. >> anthony: that can't be cost-effective. >> josh: it's not. it can and can't be. >> anthony: nobody is talking about money at this table. [ laughter ] >> josh: this is another thing for me. we are often talked about as being this impoverished state. we are rich, i mean, as could be, in food and the things that we make as a culture and as a community. >> mike: you know you look at something as simple as these pole beans. it took a community to save that seed. you know every time we put food on the plate, there's a story about the way that people have always kind of bound together to survive. ♪ >> coach larry: lord bless everybody that's going to the game, bless these young men and these young women as they cheer and as they play on the field. >> anthony: it's friday night. homecoming. the summers county bobcats versus the mount view golden knights. ♪ and for the citizens of welch, and mcdowell county, this is a very big deal indeed. [ laughter ] ♪ >> anthem singer: what so proudly we hailed. >> anthony: everybody knows everybody else's families, ask after their kids by name, mixed couples are common. there's an easy familiarity between people here. >> announcer: the 2017 mount view high school homecoming queen is -- [ cheers and applause ] >> coach larry: bang, bang on three. one, two, three. >> team: bang, bang. >> coach larry: get there! [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> anthony: so very much west virginia tradition. coal mining and the military. >> monica barner: yeah, for 10 and a half years, navy. we don' been around about. >> anthony: you've been around. and back here? >> monica: back here. >> anthony: monica barner is a mount view alum. her husband sly is a coach. her sons elijah and eliki are on the team. her daughter alicyia is a cheerleader. so it's personal for her. >> monica: born and raised here, went to school here, wouldn't have it any other way. >> coach: come on, man. >> announcer a 78 yard run. >> monica: come on. [ cheers ] >> monica: oh my. come on boys get your head in the game. >> anthony: garnet edwards jr. is a former mount view player who went on to play college ball. >> garnet: in this state of west virginia, we got two things going on for us. that's church and sports. now if we lose the game, it's like losing our best friend. >> monica: come on, boys. right here, stop him. stop him. >> garnet: shucks. >> announcer: pass is complete, for the score. ♪ >> announcer: so we come to the end of the first half, the bobcats 20, the golden knights nothing. ♪ >> coach larry: fellas. i just want you to play hard. i just want you to play hard and make smart decisions. ♪ ♪ daddy worked like a mule mining pike county coal ♪ ♪ he messed up his back and couldn't work anymore ♪ ♪ he said one of these days you'll get out of these hills ♪ ♪ daddy, i've been trying i just can't catch a break ♪ ♪ there's too much in this world i can't seem to shake ♪ ♪ [ cheers ] >> coach larry: let's go, let's go. ♪ see the ways of the world will just bring you to tears ♪ ♪ keep the lord in your heart you'll have nothing to fear ♪ ♪ live the best that you can and don't lie and don't steal ♪ >> coach larry: it's time to turn up and go to another level fellas. it's time. let's go. ♪ keep your nose on the grindstone and out of those pills ♪ ♪ daddy, i've been trying i just can't catch a break ♪ ♪ there's too much in this world i can't seem to shake ♪ >> coach larry: there you go! >> anouncer: touchdown! >> coach larry: this is the game. we win or lose on this play. >> cheerleaders: let's go mount view. [ cheers ] >> coach larry: oh, shit. ♪ ♪ [ cheers ] [ cheers and applause ] >> coach larry: hell of a job, young man. >> coach larry: you're never going to forget this ball game. whenever you're in a bind, stuck in a corner, you know what i'm saying? fight through it. fight your way out of it. and anything you do in life, in school, in football. as long as you got me and these coaches, this community, that's all you need. >> team: yeah! ♪ >> sarah slone: i grew up here, got married here. it's home. >> mom: oh my goodness, there he is. i'm so proud of you. >> dad: so proud, so proud. >> anthony: what are any of our hopes and dreams? a roof over our heads, some security, maybe even some happiness for our children. we all have that in common. >> richard rushbrook: i wish y'all could come down here and see us, and when y'all do, i hope y'all enjoy it. >> anthony: this is america. and if you can't embrace it, no matter how bitterly and fiercely we may disagree, there is no hope for any of us. >> carlton: i've been living here 65 years. i wouldn't trade it for nothing. i guess i'll be here 'til they cut the lights out. >> player: mount view on three. one two, three. >> team: mount view! ♪ ♪ >> lydia: new york city during the 1970s was a beautiful, ravaged slag. ♪ impoverished and neglected after suffering from decades of abuse and battery. she stunk of sewage, sex, rotting fish and day-old