I hate to pull a FEaper, but really?

*Sigh*

Yet another reporter that seems to have suddenly learned that "West Virginia" is a state, and not just a westerly section of VA. Anyone ever see the movie "October Sky" or read the book "The Rocket Boys?" Fact of the matter is that Welch, and the rest of McDowell county and all the other coalfield counties south of US Rte 60 have been on a downward spiral in employment rates and population since the time that the book and movie take place, the late 1950's. Not only did the Japanese and Germans begin to overtake the steel markets in the 1960's meaning less demand for coal, but the advent of long-wall mining and strip mining meant that fewer men were needed to extract coal from the ground. That meant fewer jobs in the mines which means fewer people to spend money in the area which means even fewer jobs all around. And what happens when there aren't any jobs? People move and those that are left are either retired, unemployed, or a very small minority of gainfully employed individuals.

Back in its heyday, Welch was one hell of a nice town. Just look at it!


But the fact of the matter is that from the post-war years through today, mining companies have continued to cut payrolls time and time again to the point that these types of places, dependent on a single source of revenue, simply fade away and die. Places, like species, must evolve or get left behind, and unfortunately, my home state has failed to keep up throughout the years. I think most of my fellow native West Virginians share the sentiment that I have, which is that WV is quite possibly THE BEST place in the world, but there's no future there for any of us right now.