Floyd
County, Kentucky: Hardship, uncertainty and hope characterize
life in the coal field of the 'Country Boys'
January 2006
By Amy Glasmeier, Penn
State Geography’s E. Willard Miller Professor of Economic
Geography; the Appalachian Regional Commision’s John Whisman
Appalachian Scholar Editor; Economic Geography Director, Penn
State Environmental Inquiry Minor; currently on leave at the Carsey
Institute, University of New Hampshire; Web site http://www.povertyinamerica.psu.edu.
In the PBS "Frontline" special, Country
Boys (click
here to watch or get more details), film maker David Sutherland
tells the story of the hardship, uncertainty, and hope that faces
two teenagers growing up in Floyd County, Kentucky. Hardship,
uncertainty and hope are words that characterize the life of many
children in rural America who live in regions with few economic
opportunities, little steady employment, and limited parental
support and encouragement. In the first two parts of the documentary,
we are introduced to the young men and their families, girlfriends,
teachers, and mentors. We also receive a bird’s-eye view
of life in Floyd County. Floyd is located in the rugged Cumberland
Plateau region of the Eastern Kentucky Coalfield. Prestonsburg,
the seat of Floyd County, is located on the Levisa Fork of the
Big Sandy River. For a physiographic map with county lines, click
here. Floyd County is directly west of Pike County, the large
county that forms the eastern tip of Kentucky.
from "Frontline" Web site
Like many other parts of the East Kentucky Coal
Field, many of Floyd County’s residents brush up against
but are largely unrewarded by their location in a region rich
in natural resources. The county was home to 10 coal towns in
the early 20th Century, but mechanization and strip mining since
the mining heyday of the 1940s have made it possible to produce
as much coal as before with many fewer workers. Poverty in Floyd
is twice the state average and almost three times the national
rate (30% versus 15% versus 12%, respectively). Today, the county’s
economy is largely moribund, with public services that include
health care and education comprising the largest sources of employment.
Such an economy works because payments from taxes translate into
incomes that are paid to local residents who work in the public
schools and social services agencies. Money earned in the county
is either immediately consumed or leaks out to outside businesses
linked to consumption, such as the Taco Bell restaurant in which
Chris worked. The largest private employment sector is retail
trade, where work pays just above poverty line wages for a family
of four. Income has grown negligibly over the last 10 years and
is well below the rate of inflation.
A quick tour through the county’s basic statistics
provides a stark picture of the context in which Chris and Cody
reside. Their world is comprised of many challenges, the least
of which is a dwindling population, a population aging in place,
a large number of persons of working age outside of the labor
force due in part to persistently high levels of unemployment,
and education levels that depart significantly from Kentucky and
national trends. Other facts about the local economy serve to
reinforce the message that a long-standing lack of economic opportunity,
combined with the accompanying economic uncertainty, wears on
and ultimately shapes individual aspirations.
And yet there is hope. Kids like Cody and Chris
are touched by individuals and organizations that provide the
support required to overcome obstacles. Family values and religious
beliefs are an important structural element in a person’s
system of life chances in American communities where economy and
society long ago parted ways. To see a regional view of Floyd
County click
here.
A report from Floyd County
Prestonsburg lawyer John Rosenberg, a member of
the advisory board of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community
Issues and chairman of the East
Kentucky Science Center, says there are other reasons
for hope: Big Sandy Community and Technical College, with
3,000 students, where four-year degrees from Morehead
State University can be earned; the Science Center, which
has "a world-class planetarium," exhibits and equipped
classroom ("We hope for Silicon Hollows eventually,"
Rosenberg says); the Mountain Arts Center, site
of many musical and theatrical productions and frequent venue
for traveling artists; Stonecrest Golf Course,
on top of a former strip-mine site; and several federal and state
prisons in the area, which provide steady employment.
Rosenberg also sees "an improving educational
system" still too slow in his view, but one in which Betsy
Layne High School can produce Governor's Scholars and "forensic
competitions which would have been unheard of years ago. . . .
So, I think it is worth noting that , in some ways, there are
positive changes, although we continue to be economically depressed."
For local and regional information from the Big Sandy
Area Development District, click
here.
Why does poverty persist in Appalachia?
Cynthia Mildred "Mil" Duncan of the Carsey
Institute, author of the 1999 book Worlds Apart:
Why Poverty Persists in Rural America. She blames long-term
neglect and lack of investment. To read the "Frontline"
interview with Duncan, click
here.
Major points and links to
graphics
Floyd County has been losing population since the
1980s and has declined by 5,000 persons over the last 20 years.
http://www.economictoolbox.geog.psu.edu/population.php?cfips=21071
A smaller number of younger persons and a larger
number of older persons characterize the basic demographics of
the county. http://www.economictoolbox.geog.psu.edu/age.php?cfips=21071
Steep declines are evident in the percentage of
the population in the age group 25 years of age and younger. http://www.economictoolbox.geog.psu.edu/age_change.php?cfips=21071
Just over 40% of the working-age population is in
the labor force. Almost 32% of the entire population is to some
degree disabled. http://www.economictoolbox.geog.psu.edu/labor_force.php?cfips=21071.
Also see http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/21/21071.html.
For 20 years, unemployment in the county has been
substantially above the state and national levels. Since 1990,
unemployment in Floyd has been double the jobless level for the
state of Kentucky. For details, go to http://www.economictoolbox.geog.psu.edu/unemployment.php?cfips=21071.
The lack of economic opportunity greatly diminishes
the returns to education; 35 percent of the population of Floyd
County lacks a high-school education, more than double the average
for the nation as a whole. http://www.economictoolbox.geog.psu.edu/employment.php?cfips=21071
Jobs tend to be in the public sector, or in retail
employment -- where wages are low by national standards. http://www.economictoolbox.geog.psu.edu/education.php?cfips=21071
From 1998 to 2003, the county lost more than 1,000
mining jobs while gaining 2,000 in health care and social assistance.
http://www.economictoolbox.geog.psu.edu/employment_growth.php?cfips=21071
The county's employment growth has had some spikes
but has lagged far behind the state and nation. http://www.economictoolbox.geog.psu.edu/employment_growth_index.php?cfips=21071
