Artists heal their businesses and communities in the wake of devastating floods by WMMT/Appalshop

The catastrophic eastern Kentucky flood of 2022 impacted multiple post offices and even more rural and small-town mail carriers. Mail carriers are conduits of information in the mountains, informal conductors of wellness checks, often friends to many of the people they deliver to . In Whitesburg, pretty much everybody knows Jody Holbrook, the downtown carrier. For Mountain Talk, Katie Myers followed Holbrook through his usual route, as he described the way the community, and his own work, has changed since the floods.

If you had something tricky in your life already, this summer's catastrophic floods didn't make that thing magically go away. It just meant you had to still deal with that thing, on top of the difficult, tragic set of logistics that so many East Kentuckians faced (and which far too many still face) after the water receded.

For Willa Johnson, of Letcher County, one of those tricky things has been her blood sugar. Willa has prediabetes, a condition which essentially means you're on the road to type 2, unless you can make some changes. And for years now, Willa has confronted prediabetes head-on, particularly in being intentional and thoughtful in mapping out a diet that can keep her healthy, while keeping her blood sugar low. But the profound disruption brought by the flood—on top of the disruption to daily life that the pandemic had already caused—threw off Willa's routine. Especially when it came to accessing healthy food, which, as Willa says, was *already* a problem in East Kentucky, long before the flood.

November is National Diabetes Month, and especially as East Kentucky has higher rates of diabetes than the state and national averages, we begin this edition of Mountain Talk with Willa's story, in her own words. This story comes to you, in part, through our ongoing storytelling project Prevent Diabetes EKY.

Then, we hear another story for National Diabetes Month, from the Prevent Diabetes EKY archives. For Carol Sturgill, of Floyd County, she'd long been dissatisfied with her health. And after a difficult year—which included facing down some of the worst that diabetes can do, in being a caretaker for a loved one—Carol tried something new: the Diabetes Prevention Program, a CDC-developed curriculum that was being offered at the Floyd County Health Dept. And as Carol explains in this story, it was a game-changer for her health, and her overall well-being.

For more stories like this, of East Kentuckians dealing with blood sugar, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes, check out our project website: https://www.preventdiabeteseky.org

A vox popula from the 2022 midterms in Letcher County; a look into elections past via 1982 Appalshop film "The Big Lever"; election analysis from Center for Rural Strategies president Dee Davis.

Produced and mixed with help from Rowan Roudebush and Parker Hobson.

This story is part of the “America Amplified” initiative. America Amplified is a national public media collaboration focused on community engagement reporting.

In this edition of WMMT's Mountain Talk, we bring you a full hour of voices and stories from the aftermath of this summer's historic & devastating flooding in eastern Kentucky.

First, we visit the Letcher County Farmers' Market, on the first day it re-opened after pausing in the wake of the flood. It was also the first day of an innovative program at the market that was offering free produce, to anyone who wanted some— no questions asked. Appalshop producer Parker Hobson has this audio postcard from the day, featuring the voices of market customers and organizers alike, who share stories from the flood, and about what having access to fresh produce means to them— especially to people like Angela Maggard (L, pictured) who are keeping an eye on their blood sugar. (This piece is brought to you, in part, by our ongoing series Prevent Diabetes EKY; find more stories here: www.preventdiabeteseky.org)

Then (28:00), WMMT producer Katie Myers visits the community of Millstone in Letcher County, to speak with Dean & Melissa McBee. At the time of this interview, Dean & Melissa were living in a camper while they worked on repairing their home, which was seriously damaged in the flood. In this in-depth conversation, we hear about their experiences of the flood, what life is like in a camper, and some of what the long, slow process of rebuilding has felt like so far.

A radio documentary produced by two high school students from Raleigh County, West Virginia. Each interviewed a family member, recording stories of how this place used to be, and how it’s changed over time. 

Produced by Addie Butcher and Lexie Brinson, with Benny Becker. 

This production was made possible thanks to funding from the National Coalfield Heritage Area, a project of the National Park Service, and the state of West Virginia. Support also came from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and from WMMT listeners like you. 

Thanks also to Melanie Cooper, Cyndi Massie, Vickie Webb, Raleigh County HSTA, and all the many staff, volunteers, listeners, and supporters of WMMT and Appalshop.

On July 28, record flooding killed 40 and left perhaps thousands homeless in Eastern Kentucky. The day after was an uncertain one for many, but it was deeply anxiety-inducing for residents who've spent years struggling with addiction and in rehabilitation and recovery programs. Isolation, loss of structure, financial problems, and loss of community could be deadly, and many worried they'd lose all the stability they had. At the Hemphill Community Center and Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company, two flagship recovery-to-work programs decided to scrape together any money they could find to continue paying their workers for the community support & disaster relief work they were already doing.

For this Mountain Talk, we spoke to baker Jason Fields and director Gwen Johnson at the Hemphill Community Center near the town of Neon as well as director Doug Naselroad and luthiers Anthony Parsons and Jeremy Haney of Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company/the Culture of Recovery program in the city of Hindman.

Music featured is "Hard Times" by Doug Naselroad.

Kentuckians seeking help for substance use can call 1-833-8KY-HELP (1-833-859-4357) toll-free to speak with a specialist about treatment options and available resources. Kentucky River Community Care can be reached at their 24 hour informational hotline, 1-800-262-7491.

This story is part of the “America Amplified” initiative. America Amplified is a national public media collaboration focused on community engagement reporting.

This reporting was also supported by the Solutions Journalism Network.

This reporting is a part of WMMT's labor series.

After the reversal of Roe V. Wade, many LGBT people fear that same-sex marriage and transgender rights could be up for scrutiny on the national level. Meanwhile, state legislatures are passing restrictive laws curtailing LGBT rights.

At the same time, rural Pride celebrations have proliferated. After a COVID-19 hiatus, Pikeville Pride returned to Eastern Kentucky, accompanied by new celebrations in Harlan, Ashland, and Breaks Interstate Park, among others. For Mountain Talk, WMMT traveled to Pikeville and Breaks Interstate Park to speak with people about the tense political atmosphere in Kentucky around LGBT rights, as well as the increasing acceptance many have found in their personal lives as rural queer folks.

Interviews in Pikeville include Emma Lowe, an organizer with Pikeville Pride; Cara Ellis, who helped found Pikeville Pride in response to a neo-Nazi march in town; openly queer high schoolers Rachel Daniels and her sister Isabella; mother and ally Paige Lewis, and more. Interviews at the Breaks include organizer and musician Pierceton Hobbs, same-sex marriage officiant Debbie Counts, and her son Reece Cumbo, among others.

Music is "Move Up a Little Higher" by Earl Gilmore, from June Appal Recordings.

After that, hear sounds of a past Pride, from the Archive: Rae Garringer speaks with performers and attendants at the first-ever Pikeville Pride.

In this episode of Mountain Talk, WMMT celebrates Memorial Day with The Eastern Kentucky Remembrance Project in Wayland Kentucky. This campaign, spearheaded by the Big Sandy chapter of Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, aims to encourage learning and action for racial justice and reckon with the local history of racial terror and lynching.

On Memorial Day, the community came together in Wayland to reckon with and reconcile these histories through a day of storytelling and community service.

Listen for words from Tiffany Pyette, a volunteer organizer with Kentuckians for the Commonwealth and member of the region's Native community; Reverend Steve Peake, a Black religious leader from Fleming-Neon; John Rosenberg, Holocaust survivor and activist, and retired lawyer with AppalalRED Legal Aid; and Emily Jones Hudson, founder and executive director of the Southeast Kentucky African American Museum and Cultural Center in Hazard. Music was performed live by Reverend Peake.

Content warning: This episode contains frank discussion of racial violence, including lynching,

Eastern Kentucky is, sadly, part of what the CDC has called the nationwide "diabetes belt": the rates of type 2 here are higher than the state and national averages.

But even so, when it comes to type 2, our fates are not set in stone. And Mary Beth Castle, of Johnson County, is living proof.

In this edition of WMMT's Mountain Talk, in the latest from our storytelling series Prevent Diabetes EKY, we hear about how Mary Beth has managed to prevent type 2 diabetes— despite being diagnosed with prediabetes, AND having a family history of type 2. We also hear about Mary Beth's work with the Johnson County Health Department's Diabetes Prevention Program, where she helps other people in her community do just what she did: keep prediabetes from turning into type 2.

And for more stories of preventing diabetes in East KY, check out our project website: http://www.preventdiabeteseky.org.

Also in this show, in honor of the upcoming Seedtime on the Cumberland Festival (happening June 3-4 on the Appalshop grounds, in downtown Whitesburg, Ky.), we hear two performances from Seedtimes past: a reading from 2015, from Harlan County author (and longtime friend of WMMT) Robert Gipe, and a performance from 1993 by 'Mr. Seedtime,' Letcher County's own master banjo player Lee Sexton, who, sadly, passed away last year. While we're thrilled about this year's festival, Seedtime just won't be the same without Lee.

For more information on Seedtime 2022, which is totally free, and will feature local music (of all kinds), art, crafts, theatre, and documentary film, all in the same place check out the Appalshop website: https://appalshop.org/news/save-the-date-for-seedtime-2022