There are many coalfield communities that live with this challenge. Some households have gone months without tap water. That’s if they were able to get water at all.
After years of inconsistent access to tap water, some communities in McDowell County are now connected to a reliable water system. One of those communities is Keystone, where 57 percent of the population is Black.
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
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