what happened to basil collins harlan county what happened to basil collins harlan county

Coal mining runs in cycles. While my friends and fellow graduates were leaving here, I was happy to stay in a place I loved. Im definitely a Harlan County boy. We outlanders like our Harlan roots. You might even become a best-selling author or reality TV producer. We also have accents, heavy mountain accentsthe kind that can be indecipherable even to natives of the area. So you see, all of this rambling I have just done is to state the obvious because you have made us sound like we are backwoods, unlearned, in-bred no accounts. inside lacrosse schedule; bradley county 911 active incidents; dodgers home run seats menu; what happened to brittany on the jeff kuhner show. If you ever lived in Harlan you have been gone so long you dont know what the hell is going on. Im on the state Corrections Commission, so Ive seen her name. Today, theres not much there for anyone, unfortunately. Thats pretty much the consensus of people I know. 6. Nobody has ever even looked at me sideways up there; theyve always treated me well. Harlan is quiet, unless you grew up near the railroad tracks like I did. I definitely would NOT have fit in. After 8 weeks or so the letter came with I found your Harlan countian!! One day I kidding with a guy about something he was buying and at some point he says that hes from Mingo, West Virginia. Some are like me. That I can remember but I cant find my car in the parking lot? It even had an old balcony whererumor had itblack folks used to be seated. Among this crowd are those that my father called off the grid. He said we had a sub-culture of people so far off the creek that they werent plugged in to the modern world. Robertson County is the toughest to exclude. My parents (James Depew & Thelma Randolph) grew up in Harlan in the late 20s-30s My Grandfather was Bill Randolph, one time police chief, Constable and apparently gun thug for the man. It definitely has an Eastern Kentucky feel to it, but its out. I dont get back as often as Id like but always thoroughly enjoy coming back to visit. Of course, theres a downside. His name was Wiley Holmes. Sadly, they didnt seem to be doing well. Were originally from Letcher County and had to leave in 1995 due to the coal mines shutdown. The good ones liked my Dad if not, oh well. I grew up in the town of Harlan, at the bottom of Ivy Hill. I dont know. Maybe they never left. Harlan is tough. I went to college and had personal and professional opportunities that pulled me away. I just cant get enough of the haters. Its called age, my friend. Were the last group thatcan openly derided. In fairness, many went to both joints. Crackin me up. WebBasil Collins the mine foreman might have been one of the best villians I have ever seen in movies, except for the fact that he was real. They just inflict harm. Yes, Big_O,, I remember the man you asked about. Im pretty sure I remember Lance. There are people who will pretend to be from Harlan or any place else in Eastern Kentucky. They were pretty quick to tell you that they were from Harlan. =). Whatever happened to Basil Collins Wiki User 2009-04-27 11:24:22 Study now See answer (1) Best Answer Copy Basil is currently burning eternally within the 7th Check out some of my other posts. Loyallhad a school, a railroad yard, one stop light, a movie theater (at one time), the Corner Store (a genuinesoda shop), a gas station, a barber and a couple of stores. If youre spending the night in Harlan, you probably have family there anyway. But my roots are still strong an a country girl. The experiences never leave me about growing up poor and the shame and humiliation that I felt as a child. He was the hardest worker I have ever known. You say that you came here now and then, but if you did you would know that we have many amenities and hotels such as a holiday inn express and a comfort inn. I had Mrs. Williams for health, would it be your Mom? The economy continues to contract and isnt likely to get much better. When Sheriff A convenient store replaced the gas station and stores. All my mothers family is from Harlan (Baxter, Big Laurel, Loyall) and my heart is there. When I was young, the Government Cheese truck looked like a scene from an African relief mission. I was up at Holmes Mill just a few months ago. Oh, and we moaned and complained about not having anything to do. I was born and raised in Harlan County and we moved to Alabama in 1952 when I was 12 years old. I grew up in Eastern Kentuckyborn and raised as we say. No wonder I was overwhelmed. My dad spent much of childhood there in the 30s. These books are listed as History and Genealogy reference only. I told him apparently his computer didt speak Hillbilly.I am proud of my head of the holler rasin. I once met a police officer who worked in the State Police in Harlan, he visibly tensed when I said I was from Harlan, went ashen when I said I was from Smith, and excused himself when I said I was a Middleton. I was rather disappointed to read all about my competition Garys Lounge. jack brock ha d 21 dogs and 21 kids, he got kill by a drunk man he was taking home that was about like the earth quake in los ang years ago it was bad , for those who know my grandpa honey bill saylor and my dad and my friend big al ,arnold lee saylor he was a damn good man i miss alot cause he is in all my boys alot i see him every day yours trunly ronnie gene saylor of molus ky aka molus hollow. My Dad used to talk about when they distributed commodity margarine. So much that even some locals have a hard time understanding me. Its too dull. https://thetrivialtroll.com/2012/03/10/adventures-in-hitchhiking/. E Hudson. It was the latest violent incident in I am a born and raised harlan countian. Hi aurea, Ive helped ur grand paw make many many gallons of moonshine just over the hill from ur mom n dads house. Congrats on a good job describing a little bit of what most folks cant imagine happened. . Maybe they were hoping to see (or experience) some kind of catastrophe. These are small town people just like in every small town. It was tough to find two functioning seats together. I have always been proud of being from Cawood in Harlan County. Moved to Lynch in the summer of 1969. I ate government cheese as often as we got it. Anyway, thanks again. SOMEONE MENTIONED SMITH. Funny thing is, thats what my kids do, even though they live in a small city with a million things to do. I dont believe Ive ever been called a mooron before. It has been both fascinating and sad as well to learn so much about the history, struggles, strength and resilience of the Harlan countians. I found the search function and found the story. Proud to be from Harlan County.. man now im so homesick!! Alternative name. Doris, do I know you? After hours we would head to the American Legion behind the Post Office. I grew up in Sunshine, graduated from Harlan High School in 1972 and after going to Southeast and U.K., headed to California. Growing up, I didnt feel particularly tough. I need to work Watts Creek in to a future post, for sure. Hes married married to one of my first cousins for many years. Im from Loyall. Im proud of where Im from and yes my Daddy was a coal miner for a time. It still is in some ways, although it has been many years since the United Mine Workers Association held great sway. Pingback: My Life in Harlan County | Williams Kilpatrick, PLLC. Dad was a good friend of Norman Yarboroughs. Basil Collins is recorded in slow motion firing a gun at the camera while members of the strikebreakers beat Ms. Kopple and her crew. LOL LOL..enjoyed the article, One way to prove that someone is from the mountains is if they know someone named Lonzo! I absolutely LOVE this! We have live all over Eastern Ky, moved south to the Carolinas, then back to eastern Ky for a couple years. My people have been there for over 200 years, since before it was Harlan. The vast majority of Harlan Countians are proud to be from Harlan. I left here when i was 15 came back in my late 20s. So so sad to see that head of the Holler non existent now, all overgrown. Now, sadly, its a way of life in the mountains. My Aunt Pauline is 95 now and still lives there. I live in Nashville now, it seems like everyone here know someone from Harlan. He evidently hasnt been to Harlan lately. Just so ya know Boyd County is further east than Harlin!!!! Once you push too far north, you get out of the mountains, and we have to exclude you. My Uncle Ralph Leonard was Pastor at the Baxter Methodist Church before it was moved. I attended LoyallElementary and Junior High and James A. Cawood High School. Basil was a neighbor of ours when I was a kid, so I know he was real. The only tv stations the antenna could pick up were out of knoxville I can relate to alot of it. For roughly a century after the railroad came in, Harlan flourished or suffered according to coals cycle of boom and bust; the countys population expanded or I would have loved to have had that McDonalds there when I was kid. born & raised Pathfork Ky~, Thanks. Loved the blog Ive told many people about the govment cheese. They pity Harlan. I have been gone from Harlan now for 40 years, One thing I will say is you are accurate in your writings of Harlan. Loved your blog and thought it to be an accurate description. I still have family in Cawood and Baxter but I dont get up there much.. Jennifer, I moved to the Tampa Bay area when I was four and a half. ! Whatd I say? Jeanette McKendrick Leonard was my Me-maw and the best lady you to have ever been born! You nailed it. I love your wifes Loll great story! Change). Like much of Eastern Kentucky, the population has declined for decades. The children of Harlan are blessed to have such a nice school. I found a place to turn around and get back down the road and get my act together. Witness strikebreaker Basil Collins as loathsome a screen villain as fiction ever invented targeting her during a drive-by shooting caught on camera. i bet you knew my father in law he worked at the loyall store and was the fire chief for a number of years. We laugh at them but let them have their fun. Vacation at Hilton Head, Tybee Island, Myrtle Beach, Hawaii, have an American Spirit Coachman that sleeps ten and a pontoon. I loved living in Ages,Ky for the 2 years I was there!! My mother taught at Evarts for many years. I have never been to a Harlan County Bears football game, but I have been told that the team enters the field to Brad Paisleys You will never leave Harlan alive song. Some escape, but most dont. If I go back to Harlan for even a day, even my family cant understand me when I get back. I try to go back a couple times a year, for nostalgia as much as bagging those elusive, scarce birds. Harlan County, U.S.A. is not a traditional documentary in any sense of the word. Next, everyone is not here because we cant escape. Im from a family of 12, but no inbreds here, but I do know cousins who married. Thats probably why he is disabled now at a a young age. I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN HARLAN,CO. We are our own world. It was a thriving community in the 60s-70s. Good to hear from you. Havent lived there since the late 70s, but Harlan is always home. Brings back so many memories. (She died in 1995, and I am so glad to have such good and often funny memories of her.) We have accents which are obscured by our penchant for mumbling. Well.. They arent isolated enough. WebOfficial Summary of the film Harlan County harlan county summary harlan county is documentary that tells the story of the brookside miners in harlan county, that he would ensure better safety programs for the miners. We got spanked when we needed itdidnt hurt us one bit but sure made us better kids growing up and better adults today. For instance, threats didnt faze me. WebHarlan County is a county located in southeastern Kentucky.As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,831. Both our families are made up of longtime coal miners and school teachers. It is classified as a moist countya county in which alcohol sales are prohibited (a dry county), but containing a "wet" city, in this case Cumberland, where package alcohol sales are allowed.In the city of Harlan, Our client was suing the City of Sandy Hook. A mouthy little man like me finds out the hard way that bad is good, but big is better. Entertained by the tendency to call you a mooron and ignorant while not fully grasping the importance of grammar and spelling. Each letter she wrote me held the news. You are so right, except I dont know anyone named Lonzo. Life in the mountains is easy or hardvery little in between. Pingback: ALL ABOARD THE NERVE GAS TRAIN! I wonder why they went to Harlan to get married. Ive got a few more Harlan County memories. My children are fascinated and perhaps slightly horrified that I grew up in Harlan. If not, you should. Lots of memories from Harlan. Dickens said it best . Now, dont confuse Harlan County with the town of Harlan, our county seat. I graduated in 71 from JACHS. And we DID bathe just like people from up north. I appreciate your comments but must, of course, defend myself. Still have a few family members there and many friends. One of the only times I used my dads reputation, telling the guy to go ahead but it was going to be his last night on Earth, because if I didnt kill him, my dad would. I know exactly where you were driving. Accents. Im class of 83. Yes, we have folks living in povertytoo many (as though there is an acceptable level of suffering) but most folks live just fine. There was nothing like sitting on the front porch swing drinking RCs from my uncles one room store. Both my Grandfathers worked in the mines their younger years and I still have a 1st cousin working the mines. I have resided in Knoxville, TN for 26 years but Eastern Kentucky will always be home because that is where my extended family and my husbands extended family continue to reside. The other side was the Lounge, a long, narrow open room with a dance floor. My parents who were also my papaw and mamaw owned Tiny Jos market in Baxter. It is not, as you might think, simply the eastern half of the great Commonwealth of Kentucky. I knew your father-in-law, and mother-in-law. Btw, the Mount Victory part of this county feels very Eastern KY. Just found the blog and enjoyed it. The field is backdropped by some beautiful mountains, right at Tunnel Hill. I was born and raised in Sunshine. I spent a lot of hours and burned up a lot of powder and boot leather grouse hunting in Pathfork and Black Star. I was in Harlan last October, visiting my aunt that still lives there and yes, my sister and I had a lovely stay at the Comfort Inn! Elected wives president by Lois. Thats when people get their checks. If so, let me know so I can fill any dates, places, names and information you may furnish to me. There has always been tension between those who work and those who dont or wont. I go there to visit, and it has improved somewhat, but I like my central Ky home in LaRue county much better. I was in her class the day JFK was shot in Dallas. now let me add to your story, Harlan has taken a step ferder, and now has a Huge new Comfort Inn Hotel.Yep, John this is LONZO, and we now have more southern hospitality hure..Come see us sometime. I moved to the Tampa Bay area as a teenager and it was a bit of a culture shock. Hi Julie, Yes I know your mother. Thanks for the comments. Im happy living here. John. I rarely saw Janice after I left the hospital, He told me if I stayed there I would either be an alcoholic, like him to survive, or I would end up dead. In Atlanta, some of the New Yorkers that worked with me at the ad agency used to continually ask me where I was from just to hear me say it. My husband and I are the black sheep as I am an attorney and my husband is an accountant. In talking about monthly checks, I can remember visiting my family in Louellen, a coal mining camp in those days, and going down to the the company store and watching people get their cheese in blocks and their commodity meat which was actually spam. The folks in Brookside were surely Harlan Countians as was the chief gun thug, Basil Collins. We hung out at Denny Rays, Kens and I cant remember the drive in on the road to Loyall?? Your ignorant, evidently you dont much about Catlettsburg in the early 1900s . Great article!! I will never be ashamed of where I grew up. I got cussed up and down over it! Rich Montjoy, I am replying to your post because you didnt say anything bad about Harlan, (Harlan County), Ky. Awesome story. Graduated from jach in 78. My brother and I thought we had died and gone to Heaven. He was 85 when he starred in this movie. Alan Creech, such nice thoughts and memories of this beautiful part of God earth that I am proud to call home. I feel blessed to have grown up in Harlan, at a time when people actually cared about each other, and would not trade it for anything!! wilson combat magwell p320 We mourn with the family of Basil Collins for this great loss. . Sudie Crusenberry. I just found this wonderful Blog! Brought back alot of memories. Youve made me think about Harlan all day today and its been a good day. There is a bleak side to Harlan, as anywhere else. . For you truly arent a Harlanian, to show such disrespect. Crow Drums 70 (CHS). Were from coal mining stock. As usual John you nailed it!! In response to your statement about pretenders, I personally feel Im still a Harlan resident at heart even though I dont live there and dont visit very often. And to the ones that moved away (say to the north) or wherever, it shows very little respect and class to put down the place you came from. But today, thanks to my daughter and another pool company, there are more privately owned pools at homes, per average, than in Fayette County (Lexington). The new leader of the UMWA, Arnold Miller (a real miner, not just a union hack), is shown as a possible sellout. It will always be home to me. Coal Mining. Besides the accident of birth, we have certain commonalities: Harlan Countians can be found everywhere. LOL! One of the great things about Harlan is that changes very little. But I have lived in Harlan Co. since 1986 & now I couldnt imagine living any where else. I wouldnt trade my life for anyone else. Look at my blog post Adventures in Hitchhiking, and youll see a story about JImmy picking me up hitchhiking one night. I couldnt quit reading it. She laughed. Ive often heard that anywhere you go on Earth you can find someone from Harlan county. I loved reading your blog and all, or at least most of the comments! Outside the Highsplint mine in Harlan, County, KY in 1974, United Mineworkers of America (UMWA) strikers and supporters confront state police and strike breakers. Before the union won the right to an election, one miner was shot dead by company security while having a beer with friends. Very funny (and true). Any of that sound familiar, Pingback: SoWhere Are You From? Art worked in one of the maintenance departments (cant remember which one). I have all the respect in the world for the good people in Harlan county its rough with mines getting shut down and people loosing what they know best and thats coal Im sorry it rough that is a reason I moved but keep strong everyone in Harlan has a big heart and I promise they are some the best people u ever meet in ur life. Edit. . Billy G. Williams. ENJOYED YOUR ARTICLE, WOULDNT TRADE THE PLACE I GREW UP FOR ANY PLACE IN THE WORLD . He was from Leslie, she from Perry. It was a movie experience like no other. I had him for a health class. These folks are Harlan Countians, but they dont like it. These are the folks who stayed in Harlan. No complaining here though. It was described as a place where people only smiled when they heard that someone had died. I get the isolation, and the coal mining( although Boyd , Greenup, and a lot of the others have had some minor strip mining now and then.) Your Great Grandfather John D. and my Grandfather Brack H. were brothers and my Grandmother Geanie and your Great Grandmother Jeanette were sisters. I was born in my grandmothers house, in those days hospitals were few and far between. He was actually the son of my aunts husband, so that technically makes him a cousin, but age-wise he was more of my dads generation so that made him an uncle. Born and raised as you said in Lynch You pretty much hit the nail on the head.. great write-up. You brought back a lot of memories. BTW until barrack obama declared war on our coal mines,a fact, there were more millionaires in Harlan, Pike,Perry Counties, per capita than in our largest cities. LOL. WebA coal miner silhouetted and barely visible in the darkness of a coal mine calls out a warning three times, fire-in-the-hole, the words all run together melodiously, letting all know hes about to detonate an explosion.So begins HARLAN COUNTY USA, 1976, 104 minutes Directed by Barbara Kopple, Winner Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary 1976. I must say it is a great read. I knew a bunch of Napiers (Napper). I still have a lot of family living in Harlan, Evarts, going all the way to Holmes Mill (Alias. They were both sweet, kind, honest, decent people. I am Wayne Middletons daughter. Been back very few times. She always bought some, even though she was never sure if doing so was legal. One hell of a nice fellow. My younger brother and I were born and raised in Dayton. We visited my grandparents every summer. What Mountains besides the one on the border with Virginia, Black Mt.(?)? Used to go to Cumblin every Fride and satdy nite. I live across the mountains from Harlan in a little off the map place called Leatherwood in perry county. I guess Ive waited too many years to ask, but it would be nice if someone knew of him or my other Grandfather Bill Randolph.