Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2013 Appalachian Alter-Natives: The Back-to-the-Land Migration and Community Change in Appalachia, 1970--2000 Jinny A. Turman West Virginia University Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Turman, Jinny A., "Appalachian Alter-Natives: The Back-to-the-Land Migration and Community Change in Appalachia, 1970--2000" (2013). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 254. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/254 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Appalachian Alter-Natives: The Back-to-the-Land Migration and Community Change in Appalachia, 1970-2000 Jinny A. Turman Dissertation submitted to the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Kenneth Fones-Wolf, Ph.D., Committee Chairperson Elizabeth Fones-Wolf, Ph.D. Melissa Bingmann, Ph.D. L. Christopher Plein, Ph.D. Paul Salstrom, Ph.D. Department of History Morgantown, WV 2013 Keywords: Back-to-the-land; migration; Appalachia; voluntary simplicity; self-sufficiency; communes; smallholder; Floyd County, Virginia; Lincoln County, West Virginia; counterculture; agrarianism Copyright 2013 Jinny A. Turman Abstract Appalachian Alter-Natives: The Back-to-the-Land Migration and Community Change in Appalachia, 1970-2000 Jinny A. Turman Beginning in the late 1960s and continuing through the 1970s, thousands of people migrated from America’s cities to the countryside to establish communes and independent homesteads on small plots of land. By working the land they hoped to achieve autonomy, self-sufficiency, and closeness with nature. Cheap land, mild climate, beautiful scenery, and folk culture drew many of these predominately young, white, well educated, and affluent migrants to Appalachia. During the earliest years of the back-to-the-land migration suspicion and occasionally conflict surfaced as natives and newcomers navigated different lifestyle preferences and worldviews, for many of the back-to-the-landers, or “alter-natives,” had identified with 1960s social movements or the counterculture. Reactions to differences softened somewhat as the in-migrants engaged in mutually supportive relationships with their native neighbors. The alter-natives also formed countercultural sub-communities in the mountains that provided emotional and physical support for what could, at times, be a trying lifestyle. Many alter-natives eventually became involved with broader community initiatives that addressed economic, educational, and environmental problems. Through various campaigns they forged bonds with like-minded natives, although disputes sometimes occurred as their “cosmopolitan” visions for local development and environmental sensibilities clashed with local procommodity interests. Different notions of the meaning of community and perceptions of sense of place shaped these contests. Both parties wanted to nurture community, but to many natives that meant preserving the traditional social structures and kinship networks that existed prior to the back-to-the-land migration. To many alter-natives community meant preserving the environment in which those exchanges occurred. Sometimes the clashes resulted in “outsider/insider” distinctions but they also brought diverse groups of individuals together. Scholars who study the back-to-the-land movement have generally overlooked the impulse for community that existed alongside the desire for autonomy. Using Floyd County, Virginia, and Lincoln County, West Virginia, as case studies, this dissertation analyzes the in-migrants’ integration into Appalachia and the broad effects they had on the region’s social, political, and economic landscape. So the story of Appalachian alter-natives is the story of the search for community, of the push to reclaim—or preserve—interpersonal connections that provided support, grounding, and identity for multigenerational and new residents in rural Appalachia. Dedication The author dedicates this work to the memory of her mother, Jeanie Turman, and to her late grandparents Eunice Yeatts McAlexander, Elkanah McAlexander, and Doris Turman. iii Acknowledgements When I first entered the graduate program in history at West Virginia University, people cautioned me that I would grow tired of my project by the time I completed the dissertation. In no way has this happened, and I attribute my ongoing interest in the back-to-the-land movement to the hundreds of wonderful people I have met during my investigation. Oral histories serve as an important component of this research, and the Appalachian residents who have allowed me into their lives have enlightened me, inspired me, and deepened my understanding of the region’s complexity and richness. I am indebted to so many people that I cannot name them all here, but they should know that their stories have touched my life and that I sincerely hope that this study represents them well. Several natives and alter-natives devoted significant amounts of time to my research by introducing me to people, reading and commenting on my work, and providing me with additional resources. Paul Salstrom, one of my first interviewees and a dissertation committee member, has served as both mentor and guide. He has been involved every step of the way and was always willing to make comments, send materials, and to provide additional context for my work. He also encouraged me to publish an early seminar paper on the back-to-the-land movement. His family members, particularly his brother John and sister-in-law Jan, were also extremely helpful. Both sat for interviews and made themselves available to answer questions and provide feedback. Others who I would like to thank for connecting me to additional interviewees or providing me with resources include Susan Mead, Barbara Weaner, Phyllis Baxter, Melody Cochran, and Mack Samples. Lincoln Countians who offered me continued guidance include Jim Chojnacki, Julian Martin, and Ric MacDowell. Floydian alter-natives Colleen Redman, Jayn Avery, Fred First, Jason Rutledge, and the Bason family have been particularly helpful, and I would like to extend a big thank you to Floyd natives Wanda Vest and Lydeana Martin for their assistance as well. Several institutions provided support for this research. Many thanks to the staff at the Jesse Peterman Memorial Library in Floyd, Virginia, for their ongoing guidance as well as the staff at the Lincoln County, West Virginia, courthouse for letting me take up valuable space in 2012. Thanks to my dear friends Fred Hay and Dean Williams at the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, for their assistance and encouragement. I would also like to thank John Cuthbert and his staff at the West Virginia and Regional History Center at West Virginia University. I am equally grateful for the assistance I received from Greg Carroll at the West Virginia State Archives in Charleston; Lisle Brown, Kathleen Bledsoe, and the staff at the Special Collections at the Morrow Library at Marshall University in Huntington, WV; Marilyn Thielman, Donald Pitzer, and Jennifer Greene at the Center for Communal Studies at the University of Southern Indiana; my friend and fellow Appalachian Studies graduate Simms Toomey at the Southern Folklife Collection at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; William LeFevre at the Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State University; and Phillip Runkel at the Department of Special Collections and iv University Archives which are part of the Raynor Memorial Libraries at Marquette University. These individuals turned what at times felt like an overwhelming research task into an enjoyable and rewarding process. Funding is necessary for resesarch but it also provides validation of one’s work. I am grateful for the financial support I have received through the years. The office of Graduate Education and Life at West Virginia University funded my early research through the Arlen G. and Louise Stone Swiger Doctoral Fellowship. The stipend enabled me to get a head start on the project by relieving me of teaching duties during my three years of coursework. The WVU Foundation’s Distinguished Doctoral Fellowship provided me with financial support for an additional semester to conduct research. The Foundation, along with the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of History, has continually supported my work by providing money for conferences and research trips. This study, with all of its oral histories, would have been impossible without such support. Members of the Appalachian Studies Association and Society of Appalachian Historians have helped me to refine my research and have highlighted new avenues of consideration. Every time