It has suddenly gotten very cold! We had a beautiful week of fall, but that seems to be over already. I suppose that’s not true; it is still beautiful and fall-like right now. For a while all the leaves were so bright it was hard to see the bright orange signs along the road, warning me a sharp curve was ahead or the man up on the (orange) tractor that popped out of the leaves right in front of me!

In the past month things have changed around our house! We’ve had two birthday banners up for a month, a new sign above the phone “FACT: 9 out of 10 moms love calling new house! Has your mom called today?” a new volunteer arrived and another left.  Oh! We also got new bread pans that we make bread in all the time and have quit buying bread at all! The NewHouse favorite is a Rosemary & Oregano bread.

(I did it again. I started this post two weeks ago and am only now finishing it..)

I can’t believe it’s November already! AH. October was quite the month. There was one week when we had over 100 people in our yard. That weekend was called the Fall Summit and those people came here to learn more about Mountaintop Removal, resistance in Appalachia, direct action, street medic-ing and more.

The weekend before that, my friend Becks came to visit and go to their status hearing. That was a nice weekend. It was the weekend of the contra dance in Charleston and Fun Day – a day of walking a corn maze, doing to a benefit lasagna dinner & auction at the Union Senior Center, mini-golf and watching the end of a World Series games. Then there wasa Monday of going to court. Becks plead not-guilty and will go to trial.

Here in this month of November…

I attending the Alliance for Appalachia’s Visioning Summit this past weekend. It was quite the thing. My brain hurts.

The week leading up to it, I spent a few days in Blair at the community center and museum. My friend that lives there asked me why I was there – he was just curious, but it made me think about it a lot and it something I have thought about a lot. I like to go there and visit my 2 friends that live and work at the museum and spend time with all the awesome people that live in Blair, like him. I try to help out as much as I can when I’m there. After doing a lot to make the March happen, I think I should spend time helping with the important work that came out of that march. It seems to have so much potential thanks to a lot of amazing work by too few people. We play a lot of games and music and ping pong there.  Well, I’ve articulated my thoughts on this better other times, but I think I’ll just post this now.

Hope everyone is doing well, wherever they are!

eek

I had the flu/ some kind of virus and decided it was The Perfect time to update.

I wrote a nice, rather long post that deleted itself when I hit save.

I tried to write it again and got frustated and went to sleep. It started like this: “Sorry I haven’t written in months! I have no good excuse or reason for this, but am currently taking advantage of the fact that I have the flu (or maybe a stomach virus, or maybe food poisoning. it’s up for quite the debate) and don’t feel like doing anything other then curl up in bed to finally write an update. It’s good I have a laptop, or this would be a lot more uncomfortable. “

After the March on Blair Mountain I went back to Lancaster for a two weeks. That was great.

I came back to WV to help out with jail support for the tree sit and to take over the role as the volunteer coordinator for Coal River Mountain Watch.

CLIFFTOP. An excellent week that rejuvenated me in every way except physically. So I slept a lot upon return.

I went back to Lancaster for a week once the tree sit ended.

From there I went to DC to join other folks coming from Appalachia to stand in solidarity at the Tar Sand Protest. There were 10 or 15 folks who live or work in Appalachia that went, and about 5 of us got arrested.

Back in WV I have been keeping busy with CRMW and other things. I’ve spent some time in Blair, helping out at the community center and museum. I went to the Gospel Weekend on Kayford Mountain. Monthly contra dances started up again. My birthday happened with a lot of friends, cakes and nice messages/letters.

I found a gift certificate in my room (when I was back in Lanc) and ordered a bunch of books!

A new volunteer is living at the house and working with us.

Some friends and I formed a dance troupe; stay tuned.

Now that I’ve caught you all up to speed, I am going to write something on here every other week. By saying that here I hope to hold myself to it!

I am sorry I haven’t updated in so long. Some other Lancasterians and I are scheming about writing a post together about the March on Blair Mountain. For now you can check out my friend Molly’s blog. It’s great and so is she!

-EK

That Friday was a rare 80 degrees for Lancaster in March. I did some work on the computer in the morning and then went outside. While eating an orange, I wandered and investigated the garden, the backyard and then climbed my favorite tree once I’d finished my orange. I can’t get up as high as I used to. When I would be up at the tippy-top, as high as the thin limbs would support me, clinging on while the wind from an approaching storm shook the tree. I can’t climb that high anymore, but I was high enough to sway in the wind, high enough to look down on the roof of our barn, high enough to receive angry chirps from birds in neighboring trees.

I got back to West Virginia on Sunday evening. I haven’t found a good climbing tree that is near our house – yet. I plan to wander around soon and find one. And a good tree for a swing.

Lately I’ve been spending a fair amount of time on this computer of mine. Sending and reading e-mails, doing other interneting and making a bunch of phone calls (on the phone). We’re organizing the March on Blair Mountain. I am very excited about this and encourage everyone to check out the website: friendsofblairmountain.org  A few months ago I sent out a message to CMCL folks about the pending mining permits and some of the history of Blair, which you can read more about on the site.

Today it’s my housemate, Molly’s birthday! Becca and I made a birthday sash out of ribbons (a whole box of ribbons for $2 at goodwill!!) for Molly; she is excitedly wearing it all day.

-EK!

also. if anyone ever has something they are interested in me talking more about, let me know! I often don’t know what to write about or what people would like to hear and so pick some little part of my life.

The wood from the old store shelves has been used to create beautiful paneling for part of the room. We’ve sanded the floors, have plans to do some wallpapering, painting, polyurethane-ing and other fixing.
The other day my friend, Becca, was approached by someone at the little store/ gas station in our area. He asked if she was working with the community center in Naoma and proceeded to ask more questions, mentioned dropping by when it opens – an exciting change from the more expected ‘treehugger’ comments.
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Coming back to WV, I wasn’t quite sure what to except – I was returning with a different mindset and things here were, and are, changing a lot. Since I’ve arrived we’ve been in the process of moving and settling into a new Coal River Mountain Watch volunteer house (NewHouse) whilst getting back into the swing of working with the community group, some work with the sludge safety project, helping other folks set-up and move to a new living space, and spending time catching up with friends around here. During this time we’ve almost constantly had 3+ house guests in addition to the 3-6 of us living here, which is has been a lot of fun – especially because NewHouse is big and awesome. Having our own, good-sized house is a big change from our previous volunteer house: the first in the row of 4 houses on Ford Addition Road. These 4 houses were the home of most of the anti- MTR activist community in the area. A lot of ridiculous things have occurred, causing most folks to relocate; hopefully this change will only lead to better things, but it is a big difference living with only a few folks, in one house, up a hollow.
Speaking of big, NewHouse also comes with 170 acres of land – not to shabby.
Needless to say my first few weeks have been rather crazy, but mostly in a good way and not to say there hasn’t been some time to relax.

A few Sundays ago (when I first began writing this entry) the last of our visiting friends (at the time) left after church. My two housemates and I were relaxing at the table and on the couch in our dining room. Snow was gently coming down. The view from our windows showed an beautifully stereotypical image of a snowy winter wonderland.
The next Sunday (when I continued to write) I was sitting in our living room, aptly named BigRoom; it’s about equivalent in size to the main rooms of our old house. Contrasting the previous Sunday, it was quite warm and all the snow was melting. Becca and I took a walk around the house, inspecting the pigpen area and the other outbuildings that line our driveway. We are getting chickens and considered cows, a pet teacup pig and maybe hogs to butcher, an outdoor cat and possibly goats. These are the plans for now; we’ll see how they pan out and change.
I hope we will soon have internet at NewHouse, but until then here is my brief update – I’m alive and well!
-EK

* I’ve written about the community center and it’s grand opening before, but things went sour with group relations and there was a split. This is a new building, new energy, more folks, closer location and exciting mission – ‘to spark the growth of a local sustainable economy based in our foods and crafts traditions, and to build community by passing on these traditions to the next generation.’ http://marshforkcommunity.org/

Eliot and I recently returned from a two day oral history training, focusing on story collecting. It was graciously led and hosted by Carrie & Michael Kline of Folk Talk – Talking Across the Lines.

We are feeling invigorated and excited about beginning the necessary work of listening to, collecting and spreading citizens’ stories regarding the Battle of Blair Mountain, and hearing opinions about the strip mine that is planned upon this historic site.

Thanks for your support. We look forward to conducting and uploading some interviews in the near future!

- Nick

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I recently moved into a new place along the Kanawha River in Fayette County, WV – about twenty minutes from Charleston.  I live in a ranch style brick house in a small neighborhood on a steep ridge with three, sometimes four other friends – Eliot, Josh, Jordan and Delta.  We’re living here rent free, at least for the winter months, and in exchange have been cleaning up and fixing up the house a little bit.  Our biggest house projects will be re-tiling the floor of the asbestos laden basement and taking down floral print wallpaper and painting walls.

Opposing our house is an even steeper, north facing ridge.  At the bottom of it train tracks run parallel to the river.  Coal trains fly back and forth every day and night – even on Thanksgiving.  The lonesome train whistle is a constant reminder that coal is still King here, and there is still much work to be done.  In the morning, fog rises up from the river and hangs around the peaks of the ridges.  The other morning, I woke up to snow clouds hanging lower than the ridgeline, making the mountains seem even taller than normal.  I could see the snow was laying high up on that ridge, but it melted away where my house is.

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I’m beginning a new project with Josh and Eliot.  The inspiration for this project came to me when I was riding in the back of a pickup truck on the way to see Jordan’s new movie called Low Coal.  I was laying in the back of the truck, flying down highways surrounded by intact mountains, knowing that strip mined mountains likely lurked on the other side – away from the public eye.  I was feeling cynical, depressed – like my life was lacking in direction, like I wasn’t doing enough concrete work to put an end to the madness of blowing up mountains.  I tried to think about what this movement was missing, what I’d done in the past that felt effective, useful, important.

Eventually, I came up with an idea.

I remembered my time with Iraq Veterans Against the War – the work I did compiling, transcribing, and picking apart testimony from veterans: people directly impacted by war, greed, capitalism.  It was real work.  It was honest, it was hard, it hurt, but it was real, and I still feel like it mattered, that my work did something, that it really mattered.

Eliot, Josh, and I have been brainstorming, planning, writing and working ever since I proposed the basic idea to them: to begin a project focusing on testimonies of people directly affected by mountaintop removal.  Since that point – a couple months ago – our vision has expanded, shifted, and grown, but it has at its core remained the same.

We’ll be launching the project officially in January, when we will begin meeting with residents living near Blair Mountain – the site of the largest armed civil uprising in the United States since the civil war.  In the 1920’s, over ten thousand union coal miners took up arms against coal companies in order to earn the right to unionize, to earn a fair wage, and decent living conditions.  The federal government ended up suppressing this rebellion by sending in armed troops, and actually dropped bombs on the miners.  Now, a portion of Blair Mountain is being strip mined.

A permit was recently applied for to strip even more of the mountain – including a portion where the Battle of Blair Mountain took place – even though there is likely enough evidence to prove that the mountain should be remembered as a historic site.  We plan to speak with residents whose families, friends, or neighbors were involved in the Battle, who have grown up around the mountain knowing the history behind it, and who are currently being affected by the strip mining on top of it.

Check out my new project at http://fireinthemountains.wordpress.com I’ll try to be more regular about posting updates as this project develops.

- Nick

I’m in Lancaster for another month and have been here since mid-November. While here in a more calm and quiet environment, I thought I would try to sort through all of the letters I received in jail, the things I wrote and my thoughts, feelings and such after jail and house arrest. I wrote two letters to my friends back at Rock Creek while in jail and thought people might like to read them, as I never sent the letters when I was in. (I added a few clarifications – they’re not in italics)

5/20 & 5/22
Well hey there lil’ friends,

It was very nice to see some of your faces today and to talk to 3 of y’all. Today was a pretty exciting day – it was the first time I left the pod, for the visit, and then twice more: called my lawyer friends and went to outside rec. And I got this snazzy paper and envelope, but still waiting on a pen -this is Donna’s.
Today during a rousing game of Screw yer Neighbor, Melinda (aka Loco) started singing “you’ve gotta know when to hold ‘em…” which made me think of y’all and rock band at Junior’s. Sometimes when I’m reading a book and I suddenly glance down & see that I’m in all orange I burst out (quietly) laughing that I’m in jail. I like those moments when I think of Rock Creek of the absurdity of me in jail, keeps me amused- no really, it does.
Glad to hear that our carrots are doing pretty well. We had some nice cooked (all-the-nutrients-&-flavor-outta-the) carrots with dinner. mmm
I’m still making my way through Superman’s autobiography – it’s better then most of the books we’ve got, so I’m taking my time.
It’s weird showering everyday, but it’s something to do. I’ve also taken up combing my hair! And stretching. Today when we were in the cement block outside (outside recreation), a few of us were walking and I was shaking my head at all of us in orange, walking one after another in a circle inside of a cement square… so I turned around and walked the other direction. Hah! Take that, jail. Yeah, that’s right.
I’ve also started walking some laps (inside, in the pod)- usually during Days of Our Lives and the news so that I have something to look at as I walk. I have watched more TV these few days then I have the rest of the year! My brain is dying : ( Sometimes I dance a bit instead of walking the straight part, gotta mix it up. Keep things exciting! Sounds like some stuff might be going on downstairs – I try to never do one things instead of another, ’cause I’ll have time to do both at some point so I’d better check it out.
Heard from Fox today and he seems to be doing fine.  It’s weird to see him without a hat & with a clean, fluffy beard.
Now it’s Saturday; I never sent this, but thought I’d finish it and stick ‘er in the banister (where we put letters to be sent out). today was rather boring, but fine. I think I have read all of the decent books & now have moved on to the shitty ones that annoy me : ) oh well.
I got two letters in the mail today and a note from Fox saying that the de Vitry’s & Jacob & Caitlin sent him a “cheery snailmail.” Played a few hours of Screw yer Neighbor and my checks were sore from laughing. (This is my proving that all is well : ) )
It’s great how everyone here is really excited for people to get out. When I was at court all day yesterday, they were all sure that I was free. It was really awesome to see y’all, one after another, walk in yesterday, couldn’t stop smiling. (even though I was sort of pissed at the judge for saying that he had read on the internet something that said “my sister is my hero” & wondered if my brother really loved me when he had let me sit on those sticks and piece of plywood. It also was sort of amusing how serious he was about that. Whatever) can’t wait to see everyone and eat some carrots. much love to all -EK

When I wrote these letters, I usually included the best and most exciting parts of my day and little things to show that I was fine. I had the feeling from letters I received that, while jail sucked, people were thinking I was doing much worse than I thought I was. I tried to write about the more fun things that helped me get through each day.  I also was writing with a… cynical sarcasm of sorts, in the back of my mind. Chatting about the goods times while realizing how ridiculous and fucked up it was that I was in jail – while realizing that things could be much worse than jail. At the end I got a little angry when writing about and remembering the magistrate’s comments. Mainly, I tried not to let myself get too angry about things that I had no control over at that moment. I suppose while in jail, I somewhat muted my feelings and lived as I could and this played out in my letters as well.

I think I’ll stop here and add the other letter sometime soon.

EK