Each Memorial Day, you might enjoy attending their Moonshine Festival.

 

For New Straitsville history: http://www.new-straitsville.lib.oh.us/townhist.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The heart of Appachia...

 

 

Looks like the general store is upgraded from the former "Appachin Indoor Yard Sale"

 

http://www.ohgen.net/ohathens/appalachianfurniturestore.jpg

 

http://www.ohgen.net/ohathens/Appalachianlanguage.htm (scroll down for image)

Indoor yard sale?  hmmmm

Looks cozy, and not far from my ancestral stomping grounds.

 

The loft in this building appears to be vacant; maybe I could move there cheap.

 

:wink:

LOL!

Something of interest.

 

http://www.new-straitsville.lib.oh.us/festival.htm

 

 

At least some of it is left. Wiki says that the population was over 4,000 in 1880, now only 774. Did you stop at the tavern for a beer and chat with the locals about the region's history?

The ATV vehicles parked outside the front of that building amuse me...  There are some really scenic roads in this region if you get off the main secondary roads. Still pockets of Ohio that feel somewhat remote. This place simply needs a coat of paint here and there... 

Straitsville?  :wtf:

 

The name alone is reason enough for me never set foot in this town!

 

However, this does solve the mystery of where the folks below where born and raised.

Overall, looks really briarish.

^ Yep...  but I can show you some of the most beautiful rural scenery in the vicinity as well. I had the pleasure of monitoring many rivers and streams in the region.... Its not all "The People Of Wal-Mart"

 

I actually have 'roots' in southern Ohio. Waaayyy....back in the day, there used to be many clean, proud, and prominent landowners and farmers in the region. Never say obesity because they physically worked hard and ate far less processed foods and ate at home. Many had farm fresh foods.

 

Then, the third generations inherit the land and do not always understand or appreciate the hard work put into the land, or pride in owning it, as their predecessors did. Lose an industry or two.... toss up a trailer....Then add the dash of Sprawl-Marts, and Mall Warts not too far away.....and VIOLA!!!... the result is the photos above. Oh, toss in the couch too! What a cultivation!

^ Yep...  but I can show you some of the most beautiful rural scenery in the vicinity as well. I had the pleasure of monitoring many rivers and streams in the region.... Its not all "The People Of Wal-Mart"

 

I actually have 'roots' in southern Ohio. Waaayyy....back in the day, there used to be many clean, proud, and prominent landowners and farmers in the region. Never say obesity because they physically worked hard and ate far less processed foods and ate at home. Many had farm fresh foods.

 

Then, the third generations inherit the land and do not always understand or appreciate the hard work put into the land, or pride in owning it, as their predecessors did. Lose an industry or two.... toss up a trailer....Then add the dash of Sprawl-Marts, and Mall Warts not too far away.....and VIOLA!!!... the result is the photos above. Oh, toss in the couch too! What a cultivation!

 

Rainbow Darter, (using the non Latin name :) )

 

The one thing that I keyed off of was not "the women of Wal-Mart" images above but the sign spelled "Appachin". I Googled that word just for fun and someone else references that same store:

 

http://www.ohgen.net/ohathens/Appalachianlanguage.htm

 

I'm a bit ashamed of my own urban/northern snobbery in some ways when the cultural issues are spelled out like in this article.

 

Many of us with northern roots who grew up in the industrial cities like Dayton that experienced the inward hillbilly migrations of the 1950s have only experienced the "lowlife" side of Appalachian mountain life: the dependency on big government and big business, the lack of work ethic, the almost feral dishonesty and scheming, and the cussed anti-"the man" and pro-union attitudes. Those things are "the briar mindset" in a nutshell.

 

So the most visible manifestation of briarishness, the accents, seem to be the easiest to zero in on.

 

I guess it's a population that was under severe stress when they moved into cities like Dayton or Cleveland to take jobs at auto makers and a lot of positive elements of Appalachian life didn't map well to city life.  Today, it's nearly impossible for a variety of reasons to make a living off of the land, and the old folkways of rugged independence have deteriorated because the generational links in the skills necessary to live independently were broken decades ago. So nothing to do today in places in Appalachia like this but eat potato chips on the front porch and wait for the SSI check to come in... :(

Rough around the edges for sure.  But still an entertaining tour, thanks.

unfortunatly for those of us who do live here, and keep a clean home, yard and work full time jobs, PLUS volunteer our time to the community as fire fighters and EMTs these pictures are all too much a reality of the area we live. Although, it doesnt seem quite fair that these are the only photos posted. We all laugh about the APACHIAN sign (im not sure if I mis spelled that right or not) and we are well aware that we are in desperate need of some MAJOR renevations. ( or destructions) but there is so much more to this small town than the "hillbillies" that are representing us here.  Agreed, there are thosein this town that have DEEP generations of "government assisted families" but we do not all fit in that profile.  Some of us actually moved here because we like the atmosphere and the people that create it. It really is a great little town.

And ain't nuthin' wrong with it!  I always did like New Straitsville...but I had to chuckle at the Moonshine Festival!

Moonshine Festival? Sign me up!

I think I just died a little inside.

Their web site says that moonshine is illegal. So this is basically another small town country festival. I think communities like this one really should capitalize on their history entrepreneurially. There is a moonshine distillery in Gatlinburg that is a tourist trap. They should amend the laws and do something similar here.

The former moonshiners - or their descendants - most likely remain, but now out in the woods they're cooking meth.

The former moonshiners - or their descendants - most likely remain, but now out in the woods they're cooking meth.

 

Somehow, I don't think in 100 years they will have festivals commemorating meth labs. :(