Portraits of Appalachian Ohio
Yale Insights commissioned photographer Erin Clark, who received her master’s degree from Ohio University, to document the people working to transform southeast Ohio. She talks about the experience.
Photo: Erin Clark
In McConnelsville, I was hoping to get some images of people interacting in the streets when I saw this kid with his nose against the window of the furniture store. It was perfect. I photographed him from the outside and then went inside and met his whole family. They’ve owned the business for 100 years. They were so kind, nice, and deeply integrated into their community. I’ve done community-focused stories in this area before, and this just confirmed how generous people are. I was welcomed with open arms everywhere.
People’s passion for what they’re doing was very evident, especially with Green Edge Gardens and Marietta Adventure Company. Part of that is creating jobs that pay a livable wage while letting the company be sustainable. That’s a hard balance in itself, but they’re going beyond that to engage with the community in lots of different ways. They have a vision and work really hard to have a positive impact on the future of southeastern Ohio.
In much of Appalachian Ohio, historic downtowns remain. Contraxx Furniture’s loft offices occupy the top floors of the J.K. Jones building in McConnelsville. The building also has six apartments for visiting executives which are leased by Miba, an Austrian drivetrain manufacturer with two production facilities in town.
While steel mills, coal-fired power plants, and other manufacturing facilities have been closing for decades, the amount and scale of heavy industry that remains, particularly along the Ohio River, characterizes the region and would be remarkable in many other parts of the country.
Downtown Marietta, Ohio. While dollar stores and Walmart’s have a toehold in the region, small businesses remain a key part of many tight-knit communities.
Faith Knutsen directs the Social Enterprise Ecosystem (SEE) project at Ohio University which, in addition to work with client companies, has developed a model that helps quantify social returns. Earlier, she worked for Sunpower, Inc., a firm built around developing Stirling engine technology. The free-piston Stirling engine which was invented by her father, an engineering professor at Ohio University.
A brick street and railroad bridge crossing the Muskingum River in Marietta, Ohio. The town sits at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio rivers. The town’s annual Rivers, Trails, and Ales Festival celebrates the community and highlights the many outdoor opportunities in the area.
An Appalachian vista: forest, farmland, and a cemetery showing the deep family roots in this area.
Kip (pictured) and Becky Rondy own Green Edge Gardens, a 120-acre organic farm in Amesville, Ohio, which maintains year-round production of vegetables and mushrooms with greenhouses.
McConnelsville’s furniture store has been run by the same family for over a century.
Microgreens being washed at Green Edge Gardens.
Morgan County and the Muskingum River.
The Marietta Adventure Company is a bike and paddle shop that aims to be a hub for outdoor enthusiasts in the area as well as a sparkplug for pride in the lifestyle opportunities in Appalachian Ohio.
While the Appalachian landscape doesn’t allow for the massive-scale agriculture production that exists in other parts of the country, farming has been and remains a key piece of the local economy and the region’s identity.
Downtown McConnelsville, Ohio. The downtowns, particularly in county seats, remain community hubs in this heavily rural region.
There’s poverty that has lasted for generations. But there are also people acknowledging that and approaching it in alternative ways. Kara Dingus Brook at the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio knows these issues will take time to deal with, but she is going after it with so much caring and excitement. All these powerhouses are doing significant work to close the economic gap in southeastern Ohio.
It’s too easy to operate with the mentality that these are such huge problems, what difference am I going to make? If nobody does anything, nothing’s ever going to change. The people in the photographs and the articles, they’re digging in and trying to make their communities better.
I think we’re very fortunate to live in an area that cares so much about its community members and solving the economic problems. This level of generosity and engagement isn’t the norm. It’s like living in a bubble. I hope these great examples create awareness of the possibilities for the region, so the bubble can keep getting bigger.
Interview conducted and edited by Ted O’Callahan.