Appalshop has been a cornerstone of Whitesburg, Kentucky since 1969, working to tell the stories of Appalachian people through art, film, music and more with an emphasis on their voices. Its theater is usually buzzing with actors representing the experience of the region; public radio broadcasts music and local news; and its rich archive provides a vast repository of central Appalachian history.
But on Wednesday, as Alex Gibson, the organization’s executive director, stood in the building that has housed Appalshop for four decades, all he could see was mud.
Water damage covered the walls of the radio station. Every chair in the recently renovated 150-seat theater was smeared with sludge. Filing cabinets, tables, CDs and loose filmstrips were tangled together. And perhaps worst of all, many of the contents of Appalshop’s archives were covered in mud and debris after last week’s devastating floods in the region left the building submerged in water.
Mr Gibson said he was most struck by the “indiscriminate nature with which water destroys things”.
“I see things that shouldn’t be together,” Mr Gibson said. “There’s a banjo built by a master banjo maker covered in mud next to one of our first albums in 1970.”
He added: “We used to have an organized archive.”
The flooding killed more than three dozen people in Eastern Kentucky and displaced hundreds more. Many are still without power. Even amid the loss of life and property, members of the Appalachian community also mourned the loss of the region’s cultural heritage.
“We’re going to do everything we can to save everything we can,” Mr Gibson said. “Obviously it’s emotionally devastating to watch such precious materials just sit in water and whatever chemical combination on my boots right now.”
Mr Gibson and Carolyn Rubens, Appalshop’s archivist, are working against the clock along with around 50 volunteers. Their aim is to restore what Appalshop estimates to be hundreds of thousands of archive pieces from various media: films, photographs, artisan crafts, woodwork, musical instruments, magazines, newspapers, posters and personal family archives that have been donated to the group – all depicting life in the Appalachians.
The water ripped through the first floor of the Appalshop building, which has been occupied since 1982. This included the radio station, the theater, air-conditioned archive storage and part of the gallery used for art exhibitions.
When Appalshop first received word of potential flooding last week, the priority was to make sure staff were safe. They then mobilized to use their resources – social media, their website and the radio station – to provide information to the Whitesburg community.
Now, the organization’s highest priority is to ensure that archives are saved quickly before mold grows. It’s still too early to say how many of the items can be salvaged, damaged or destroyed, but salvage has been aided by visiting archivists from nearby colleges and universities in Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and the greater Appalachian region.
One piece that is likely missing is the “Sun Quilt,” a stained-glass sculpture by local artist Dan Neal Barnes composed of five interlocking squares that mimic the quilts common in the region. It stood in front of the Appalshop building and was a popular gathering place for visitors.
“It was a particular pain,” said Meredith Skalos, Appalshop’s director of communications. “It has become an iconic part of the building. We’re not sure if there were pieces of it, but it was glass, so probably not.”
Ms Skalos said Appalshop had a history of documenting floods and climate change and that she could “see a future where we’re telling that story too”.
After the floods, Appalshop wanted to prioritize the community, Ms. Skalos said, and raised tens of thousands of dollars for various relief groups. The outpouring of support from archivists and volunteers is a true mark of the mountain community, she added. She said there was a similar sense of camaraderie after the tornado killed 74 people in the region in December.
“Kentuckians show each other up, we do,” she said.
Ms. Skalos, who grew up in rural Kentucky, said she joined the organization in part to “reconnect with my own heritage.” “Appalshop has always been more about making people feel like it’s okay to be proud to be Appalachian,” she added.
But the building itself has become a central part of the work the group does throughout the community, hosting art openings, concerts and regular radio programs. Appalshop began as a film workshop in 1969, but has expanded to include photography and literary programs, a theater company, a recording studio, and a community organizer, all centered around the mission of documenting and celebrating Appalachian culture. Appalshop had just finished its annual summer documentary program for young people and was ready to show its films during the flood week.
Steve Root, a volunteer DJ at WMMT 88.7 FM, Appalshop’s community radio station, was looking forward to hosting a bluegrass event on July 28, but the floods had other ideas.
“Walking into the radio room and seeing the situation will bring you to your knees,” he said. “There was about five feet of water in that space, I’m sure at one point it looked like an aquarium.”
Mr Root said the Whitesburg community was in shock but “rising up to the challenge”. He and Appalshop hope to soon have the radio station back up and running at a temporary location in the city.
“It was a gathering place for people interested in mountain history and the history of the region,” he said. “It was a place that’s not one small thing for a small group, people from all walks of life can come in and feel good and safe.”
While full restoration of the Appalshop could take months and the fate of many of the building’s contents remains unknown, a sign of hope brought some joy to Mr. Gibson, the center’s director: despite more than 20 feet of flooding, a young apple tree remained standing with about 30 attached apples.
“This tree was obviously completely submerged in the rapids and it still has so many apples and leaves on it,” he said. “I didn’t know an apple was so hard to pick.”
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