Another eye opener is a film called MATWAN. It's about coal miners in that part of the country, and what happened to them when they tried to organize. brutal.

I do wonder how come Appalachia gets so much attention as a poor district, and, where I came from, just as poor, gets very little?
We dont write songs about it, but, it sure comes out in our humor. For instance.. I came from a very large poor family, 11 of us.. I never slept alone 'til I was married.

The high school I attended was so sub standard, you could get a letter if you knew what the letter was.. etc.