I had a coworker named Barbara Nofsinger that ran a little country store in Anawalt, I believe.

I lived in #8 Hollow as a young girl in early 1950's, which was the section of homes above where the video started. My grandfather George Willie Blizzard was a fire boss in the mine at the top of the holler near Walt Harman's home. My dad, Floyd Blizzard worked in the mines for a few years until he and his brother George helped recover bodies of miners from the Bishop and Amonate mine explosions. Dad then left mining and got his certification as an electrician. I feel it was from seeing the aftermath and loss of lives in those explosions that inspired him to leave. Back in those good ol' days, the area had many company houses that were kept up nicely. Painted white and trimmed in dark green paint, mowed lawns, and there was a company store "up 6 Holler" and the busy little town of Anawalt nearby made it a very desirable place to live. Anawalt boasted of a bank, movie theatre, drug store, clothing and hardware stores and a larger grocery. When I was young a Mr. Rector owned the grocery. There were a couple of "filling" stations and the Central Cafe where Bonnie Hatfield had a cook named Julia Sage who made the best fish sandwiches I have ever eaten! They were one of a kind, fried fish filet on a hotdog bun, topped with mustard, onions and homemade chili! Back then the streams were clear, life was serene, people worked hard, and we children played hard. It was a wonderful place to grow up. One thing I have taken with me is West Virginia pride. The kind of pride in doing a good job, going the extra mile, being kind and helpful to your neighbor, and a backbone of steel. We were West Virginia strong! There were a few exceptions to the rule, as in any community/state. Some were lazy, didn't keep things clean and cared for, some were uneducated in "book learning" but then there were also those who were highly intelligent, took care of themselves and their homes, worked hard, gave to others and made their world a better place with good values and fine character. It's sad that people who were had no real clue of the character traits of REAL Appalachian folks, often spoke only negativity. Today, if one really looks, they will see a strong people who have gone through extremely difficult circumstances who came out even stronger, even more determined to not give up, to fight on and to turn things around. I'm proud to be a "Holler Girl", a "Mountain Momma", a "Coal Miner's daughter, granddaughter, sister. I am West Virginia strong.

Same here Kimberly.

Glad you enjoy them, Kimberly

LoL

LoL

@@lovelife7249 LoL

That Church is super cool.

That’s so awesome, welcome to the family

I heard that Amonate mine has been reopened, which was a pleasant surprise to me

Oh man, I looked up that song and it was awesome!

We feel the same way

Ok you will know...lol. What are the small buildings in front of many of the houses. Right up on the street. They are built of different things but are all built alike...it has been driving me nuts..I grew up in NY so I have no idea..

@Hunter Hamiltom They were called coal houses. A small dump truck would off load coal in the coal houses and the homeowners would then carry the coal in the house in a coal bucket.

@@jamespenland479 Thank you!!! You rock...

@jamespenland479 You attended Anawalt Elementary?

Are you kidding !?

Glad to have you watch along with us

Bless you, we really appreciate it!

Fantastic, we wish you safe travels

Thanks for sharing those memories - it helps to piece it together because that town is a little trickier than some others we go to

Thank ya so much, Paul, welcome to the family

Glad you enjoyed it, Michael, thanks for watching

Glad you enjoyed it, Betty

Thank you!

I think a lot of people have the mountains in their blood.

Bless you too and thanks for the comment

Thanks so much, Amy ❤️

Thanks for riding along with us, Lora

Thank you!

How cool, wish we’d have made it down to Anawalt

I'm wondering if there will be a demand for coal to supply Europe if this Ukrainian situation goes on into the fall and winter. Folks are going to have to stay warm and supply power plants somehow. It'll be interesting to see if there's something of a revival of the industry in Appalachia.

@@kesmarn I would like to see that happen. We have vast coal reserves in the USA that we ought to either use for ourselves or to help out others. Right now most of the coal mined in WV is going towards export, much of it to India.

@@1940limited I hear you. I care about the environment, but I also care about the survival of humans over this upcoming winter!

Thanks, Dave

I don’t think we’d go back in them again lol

@@realappalachia shady looking at best, for sure!! Love you guys. You seem like great people!

@@realappalachia I been going in them for a few years now. Could definitely show you the old coal company and go in it!

Hope we can get there soon, we just did Castlewood but hope to get back over. I’m not familiar with that holler.

@@realappalachia we just watched the Castlewood one. Hubby got all excited when you turned towards St. Paul. Lol. His grandparents lived just past the bridge/ overpass on the left. A little light blue house with a porch. The last we looked on good le street view it’s still blue.

Glad you enjoyed it, Patricia

Thank you so much for the information, that is helpful bc we weren’t sure about it. Beautiful church

I agree

I hope you'll come back and share whatever information you can dig up!

@@kesmarn the church is NOT on the register of historic places! I can't believe that. I also couldn't find anything out on who built it so I would have to go to a local library or find a book.

We didn’t realize we were so close to it 😔

We hope to make it there someday