Appalachian Communities Struggle to Overcome Poverty
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Owsley County Saddle Club board members Larry Campbell and Ricky Marshall man the entrance gate at the Saddle Club trail ride in Booneville, Kentucky. The trail ride attracts riders from outside the county who contribute much needed revenue.
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Horse riders prepare to depart after a break at a gas station during the Owsley County Saddle Club trail ride in Booneville. The 2010 U.S. Census listed Owsley County as having the lowest median household income in the country outside of Puerto Rico, with 41.5% of residents living below the poverty line.
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Craig and Cora Adams, married nine years, pose outside their trailer in Owsley County in Boonevilley.
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Former chimney sweeper Mose Noble and his nine-year-old nephew Johnny Noble gather outside Noble's trailer during a visit in Owsley County. Noble no longer works but volunteers cleaning graveyards. His trailer has no electricity or running water but he receives government assistance.
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Mose Noble's nephew Johnny Noble sits in Mose's trailer. Familial and community bonds run deep in Owsley County, with a populace that shares a collective historical and cultural legacy uncommon in most parts of the country.
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Former chimney sweeper Mose Noble stands in his trailer, that lacks electricity or running water, in Owsley County, Kentucky. Noble no longer works but volunteers cleaning graveyards and receives governmental and neighborly assistance. The community of around 5,000 struggles with a lack of jobs due to the decline in coal, tobacco and lumber industries along with health issues including drug addiction without effective treatment.
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Mose Noble and Lowell Morris sit while taking a break from cleaning a cemetery in Owsley County. Morris' grandfather killed Noble's grandfather during a time in Appalachia when blood family feuds still existed. The county contains hundreds of centuries-old graveyards. Morris is paid $8 per hour to do the work while Noble volunteers.
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Family members gather on the porch in Owsley County in Booneville, Kentucky.
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Owsley County Outreach Center director Cleda Turner carries food to be delivered from her thrift store to children as part of the center's Food Backpack Program. The program delivers backpacks filled with easily prepared meals for underprivileged school children who were found to go without meals over weekends in the county.
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Paul Neace sits in his home in Owsley County.
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An abandoned building in Owsley County, Kentucky.
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Brittany Brewer fixes her gown as she prepares for the Owsley County High School prom next to a wood stove in the home where she lives with her grandmother.
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Married students Starr Lewis, Travis and 3-week-old daughter Ariel, attend the Owsley County High School prom in Booneville.
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Family members Hope Lucas, Jesse, Jacob and Love Faith Duff gather near their home in Owsley County.
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Cora McIntosh displays a cross she knitted.
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People gather around a fire at the Owsley County Saddle Club trail ride. The trail ride attracts riders from outside the county who contribute much needed revenue.
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