Ashford Yesterday, Today and Maybe Tomorrow?

In Ashford, WV (northern Boone County), the beauty of the place and the pride of people who have lived there for generations will astound you, as will the serious problems they are facing as radical strip mining operations come ever closer to their homes and communities. There are at least three mining companies operating here, seemingly intent on dismantling much of the community.

Daily, blasts from mining operations shake homes, cracking the foundations of old and new houses alike. One resident reported coming home one day to find shelf contents scattered and broken all over her floors; she thought a robber had been in the house! It turned out to be damage from a mine blast. Her large home is less than a decade old and now has cracks in the foundation and walls.

Other people recount their grief over the loss of beautiful community landmarks, such as large rock formations that used to frame the town and provide hiking destinations for school groups and families.

These folks are so connected to their surroundings that any change to the landscape in the area saddens them greatly. Many worry about water pollution and streams that are being buried. Some people think far enough ahead to worry about the long-term effects to the entire Coal River; the river runs through this community and has shaped its identity in many ways throughout history.

Despite the challenges they now face, Ashford residents are quite proud of their place; they want to remain there and are trying desperately to defend their land and heritage.

A couple of people, both relatively new to OVEC networks, have taken some arresting photographs of the Ashford area. The serene beauty of the place they call home and the challenges it faces are represented in these images.

Teresa Perdues family has resided in the area for many generations; she has children and grandchildren who live nearby. Perdue has many jobs, and one of the most interesting is that of photographer. Shes well known in the Ashford area for the high school senior pictures she provides for area youth, as well as for her flowers. She has constructed an award-winning landscape design consisting of phlox and other flowers on the bank of the creek near her home.

Gary Epling (father of Christians For the Mountains Americorps volunteer Rebekah Epling) says that he rarely leaves the house without a camera. Although he now lives in the Ripley area, he grew up around Ashford, and he has returned to take some striking pictures of the Coal River. He is also terribly concerned about the radical strip mining and mountaintop removal mining going on there that will inevitably alter the landscape of the place where he was raised.

These two folks represent the fierce pride of place that Ive observed among Ashford residents. Their photographs remind us all of the beauty of this highly endangered place.