Day 7 - Last Day Thoughts!

No more Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches, but more Nutella-based concoctions. No more strangers, but 10 more new friends.  I’m no longer naïve; I’m now more aware of this beautiful city of Harlan. ‘Til the day I cross these borders again, I will always remember the miners and the history. Thank you to Harlan, my new home away from home. –Sabrina A. Coaxum

I realized that I could survive without coffee; all I needed was the bright, shining faces of my AB group and the warm, southern hospitality of the Harlan community. I’ve learned so much about myself through our impactful service and have grown as an individual because of it. I look forward to heading back to UMD tomorrow to continue my growth as an active citizen. I want to empower somebody. I desire to increase understanding among diverse communities. I yearn to instill hope.

Thank you for inspiring me, Harlan. I will share your story.

P.s. I can finally say that I have been in three places at once. :) –Emilio A. Rivera       

In all honesty, I never expected a service trip to impact me in such a huge way. I was definitely surprised by Harlan. I don’t think I’ve ever connected with so many people, thought about so many different social issues, laughed so hard, or eaten so many Nutella sandwiches in my entire life! I’m so thankful for my amazing team. I don’t know what I would have done without them. And I’m so happy to have made such a huge impact in this community. Through this trip I’ve learned so much about myself, and I think I’ve helped others empower themselves as well, and that is truly a blessing. Haboob! – Chloe

Harlan is a beautiful city. You might not notice all the greatness this city contains at first glance, but if you give it a chance it will grow on you. From this journey I have learned more about this region and more about myself.  Many of the people that we met did not live glamorous lives or have everything single thing they wanted but they were happy and satisfied. They were proud of the city they grew up in and the family that they had and the friends they made along the way. Harlan citizens are resilient, magnificent stars. I hope to follow in their footsteps and learn to appreciate and be satisfied with what I already possess.  I made a lot of new friends and had tons of fun. I hope I can see them again someday and that all our plans do not simply become empty promises. However, even if that were to happen I still wish them all the best and hope they are successful in all their future endeavors. 

-       Ashley

Thank you, Harlan, for bringing me much-needed perspective and letting all of us from UMD know that an “I love you” can come from a few minutes’ knowing each other. All week, I struggled to find where I fit into the Harlan community and where this experience, in turn, would fit into my life. I have goals from the floor to the ceiling and assumed my time in Kentucky would be one to check off my list. Instead, Harlan has brought the loose ends together and given me focus for my aspirations – personally and professionally. The people I met here showered me with love and encouragement, and my team challenged me to prioritize and stay passionate in whatever I do. No, I don’t have it all figured out, and I have yet to put my experience to good use. But I can say the sun shines bright on my old Kentucky home (rather, the beautiful Camp Blanton), and I can ask the age-old question: Turn down for what?

-       Sophie

P.S. Much love to Ellen, Evelyn, Marjorie and Sybil.  

Day 6 - Senior Citizens

Friday was our second-to-last day in Harlan. We continued our service with senior citizens in their homes…

In the first house that my group visited, we met the lovely Rosemary, her husband Willy, and their cat: Baby (ba-aby, ba-aby, baby oooh). Rosemary and Willy had been married for 46 years, and the house they lived in was located across the street from where Rosemary was born. Rosemary was really excited to show us her collections of figurines and dolls, as well as paintings that covered every wall of every room. She explained how her pieces had been collected over the years, some of which she saved from when she used to sell art. She also told us that Willy had worked as a coal miner for 15 years, and now in his later years had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. As we cleaned, Rosemary made peanut butter fudge for us, and Baby darted around by our feet.

While we were there, three different people stopped by to help Rosemary and Willy. The first visitor was her niece, who came to drop off hot dog rolls that Rosemary requested. The second was a man from a meal delivery service, bringing their dinner for today. Lastly was a nurse, visiting to give help give Willy a bath. Rosemary kept repeating how lucky she and Willy were to have so many people supporting them, which was clearly evidenced by their cheerful visitors.

Rosemary embodied the kindness and warmth that we have experienced during our time here. She enthusiastically greeted each visitor by introducing us and saying over and over how grateful she was for us to be there. I didn’t think anything of dusting off furniture and washing walls, but seeing Rosemary’s reaction was heartwarming and helped me remember the importance and impact of direct service.

After a lunch break, we visited another elderly citizen: Eugene. He lived by himself in a house near our campsite. His home was drastically different that the others we had seen: simply furnished with wood floors and bare walls. When we arrived, Eugene was comfortably seated on his couch watching a western movie. He instructed us to wipe down the cabinets and windows, insisting that these tasks would take no longer than 45 minutes. We finished in about 20 minutes after cleaning the cabinets, counters, tables, windows, bathroom, and walls. We kept asking Eugene if we could do anymore, but he insisted that he was just fine and wished us on our way.

My group enjoyed a 2 hour Frisbee break while waiting for the rest of our participants to come back to camp.J For dinner, the camp manager, John, made barbeque pulled-pork sandwiches with coleslaw for us. YUUUMMM. These pulled-pork sandwiches were better than the ones from yesterday’s lunch. Elliott and Ryan both ate 4 to prove it! Afterwards, we played an invigorating game of Uno followed by reflection.

As one of the experience leaders, I am always excited and happy to see my participants grow throughout the week. Today’s reflection proved how much everyone has learned, as well as come closer together as a group. I am so proud and grateful to have met with everyone here, and I am kind of sad that our experience is ending so quickly. I know next week I’ll miss living off of PB&J/Nutella sandwiches, freely shouting haboob and bidet whenever I want, and listening to Elliott make alarmingly realistic Gollum noises. I’ll miss Chloe’s infectious laugh, Julia’s beautiful smile, and Ashley and Susan’s attitude. I’ll miss Sophie feeding us tidbits on Harriet Beecher Stowe, Ryan’s snoring, and Sabrina and Emilio’s sass. I’ll miss Amanda and her great friendship and leadership, to which I accredit most of this experience’s success. I’ll miss s’mores by the firepit and the sound of the steam running by the cabin. I’ll miss looking up into the night sky and seeing nothing but stars. But I still have tomorrow.

Goodnight for now,

Christy

Day 5 - Fun Day!

Today was a bright and sunny day in Kentucky. We commenced the day’s activities with an informational tour of Harlan’s historic coal mining museum. Next, we visited one of the sites where coal mining actually took place, following with a quaint luncheon at a local, converted bed & breakfast (originally a school).  Lastly, we concluded the day with a hike on Pine Mountain.

           

            We enjoyed a late start, waking up to the radiant sunlight and cool breeze. After our breakfast we took a thirty-minute drive to the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum, which gave us an introduction to the town’s deep-rooted history. Tour guide, Mike, narrated his personal account of working in the coal mining industry. He showcased the equipment that coal miners have to wear while completing their duties. The equipment consisted of a helmet with attachable lanterns, methane detectors, mallets, etc. He also gave us a simulated tour of a coalmine. We literally had to hunch and walk or sometimes crawl to navigate these pathways. I wasn’t ever carrying anything, but it was hard to keep my back hunched the whole time. We subsequently traveled to a real coal mine in the nearby town of Lynch.  Since it has recently experienced flooding issues, we were given a superficial glance of the coalmine.  Nonetheless, Mike’s wealth of knowledge of the town’s industry filled in the gap.  What was most endearing was Mike’s account of the individuals lost to the dangerous career, evidenced by a memorial dedicated to them (some of which he knew).  If you’re ever in Harlan County, KY, check out this tour!

           

Next on our journey we traveled to the local bed and breakfast, Benham School-Inn, for lunch. The Benham Inn was originally a high school, now it has been transformed into a fully functioning, rustic inn. We were treated to pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, baked beans, and sweet banana pudding dessert—a traditional southern meal.  We then took a tour of the old school, discovering the rooms from transformed classrooms and offices. Again, please come to this place!

            Then we visited to the local community college.  A professor gave us a tour of the school’s growing archival collection, primarily concentrated with local artwork and Harlan’s historic treasures.  One specific display is focused on the work of residential artist, Jeff Chapman-Crane.  His paintings encapsulated Harlan’s simple lifestyle in the perspective of an interested observer, like us. Beautiful! One particular piece that captured my interested was a sculpture of the mountain that was made to look like a women’s body that was being mutilated. It was haunting but strangely beautiful.  I could feel his soul screaming from this work of art, it evoked such passion.  I would definitely be interested in seeing more of his artwork.

Our trip concluded at the Kingdom Come State Park. We traveled along the Pine Mountain trail, one of the largest mountain ranges in the region. The park’s naturalist gave us a tour of one of the trails and gave us information on how the mountain was formed. He also told us that the park is home to a lot of wildlife including black bears, different species of snakes, frogs, turkey vultures, and other various species of fauna and flora.  I was particularly interested in snakes so I asked his more about them. I did not know that poisonous snakes did not have as much strength as non-poisonous snakes.  They also cannot jump too far and avoid people when they can. They only attack people when they feel threatened. So if you come across a snake remember just step back and they will leave you alone. Overall today was a great day. We learned a lot, and it was super fun.

Thank you all for the consistent support throughout our full immersion into the Harlan AB experience! Until next time!

-Ashley and Emilio!

Day 4 - CAA and Rosspoint Elementary School

Today was an eventful one in Harlan. The group split in half; one group went to Harlan County Community Action Agency (CAA), the other to Rosspoint Elementary School. Blogging from the former group is Julia, the latter, Sophie. Enjoy the conversation.

Sophie: What IS weatherization?

Julia: Weatherization is the process of preparing a house for the different seasons. All seasons, not just winter.

S: Interesting. What was your role as volunteers?

J: Well, as volunteers, we were assigned to different parts of the house. One group was part of a different Alternative Spring Break Program, so they were assigned to a subsection of the basement and our group was given the crawlspace under the house. Not the basement. The man living there had a problem in the crawlspace with too much water from when it rained and drained, so we put down giant plastic sheets on the wall and floor. We had to caulk the walls to make the plastic stick, and that would reduce the moisture levels. After that, we were assigned to put in insulation in the crawlspace – between the floorboards and the ground. Now it’s good, but it takes forever.

S: What stuck out to you today?

J: The state of the house was not too bad, but it was enough to be shocking that someone lived there. The man that lived there was very pessimistic about his living situation, which was really sad. We didn’t talk to him that much, but when we did, he would make blunt comments that were difficult to respond to. Sophie, what did your group do today?

S: Our group switched the school’s clothing bank from winter to summer clothes and cleaned the concessions stand. Then we read to kindergarten classes!

J: Did you notice anything interesting about the school and the people there?

S: The teachers were enthusiastic about their work and invested in the Harlan community. The hallways were decorated with illustrations of Dr. Seuss books and kids were walking up and down the halls all day. They all seemed happy and the teachers were great disciplinarians when they had to be. The history teacher, Mrs. Napier, was particularly great because she was so passionate about her subject and her place. Her students respected her, even though they were in that awkward middle school angst phase. On the other hand, it was a shock to see the concessions stand open during recess. The school is making tremendous strides with its programming and faculty, but some changes could be made.

Later on, the groups rejoined (briefly) and drove to a neighborhood where they were placed with two senior citizens to help them with various tasks around the house, but primarily to interact with them.

Sophie: Tell me about your experience.

Julia: When we first walked in, the woman that lived in the house was very welcoming and it was hard because she would ask what we wanted to do, but we were there to clean, so we didn’t know what to do. Her house seemed pretty clean. We polished her furniture, cleaned her bedroom, and did similar tasks. We split inside and outside, the outside group did something different. When we were done with that, we sat and talked with her for a half hour about her life and Kentucky. In the end, it was a sweet goodbye. She said “I love you” and gave us all hugs. Another member and I cried at how touching the moment was.

S: AWWWWWWWW.

J: So, Sophie, what was your experience like?

S: My experience was nothing like that, save the talking. We walked into the house with some last-minute background knowledge about the woman’s family situation, which made my group ill at ease. When we started cleaning, it became apparent she just wanted to talk to someone new. I was all ears, though the conversation took some uncomfortable turns. Our group handled it well and finished cleaning what she had asked us to clean, so we set off. She hugged us, too, and held pretty tight for a few seconds.

Takeaways from the day:

Julia: How welcoming everyone is. And how friendly.

Sophie: Ditto. And their attitudes are infectious.

Day 3 - Cawood Elementary and CAA

Today we woke up at 6:30 am, which was a drastic change from 10 o’clock the day before. After breakfast and packing lunches, we headed off to do service; three of us went with Harlan County Community Action Agency, and the rest of us went to Cawood Elementary School. With the CAA, we evaluated houses to be worked on. We drove around with James to the different houses while learning about different aspects of Harlan County. James informed us that there are only 12 functional coal mines left in Harlan County, even though there used to be close to 30. At each mine, only 11 employees are needed to run the operation. James was welcoming and kind, and entertained us with his stories.

At the school, which held students from grades K-4 through 8^th, we helped however we could, which included organizing the supplies, PE equipment, and clothes as well as handing out hygiene packs, which held items like soap and toothpaste. Two sixth graders, Steven and Jared, helped us by pushing the packs around on a cart and introducing us to their teachers. The clothes closet was PACKED with donations, so many that Cathy, the Youth Services Coordinator, could not make good use of all of them. By organizing and keeping the essentials, we re-donated the remaining clothes to others that could fully utilize them. 

Later, we watched kindergarteners play basketball. We kept score, which was fun, as we got to alter the scores towards the end to make sure it was a fair game. Watching the kindergarteners play was more interesting than watching a Terrapin game!

Finally, we came home and made foil packets of potatoes, carrots, and green peppers. We held reflection around the campfire and finished the evening with s’mores. All together, it was a great day!

~Elliott and Chloe