Effie: An Old Story, Finally Written Down

An adventure, a regret and the beginning of something new.

It’s as true a story as stories told can be.

The essay I share below represents four generations of women (if you are a careful reader, you may recognize five) and over one hundred years of family history. My mother, who was born in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, was shipped back to the hills of Eastern Kentucky every summer of her childhood to stay with her grandmother. These summers shaped her life.

Turning spoken word history into text, turning my mother’s voice into my own writing style is no small feat. What you read below has taken my whole life to get to. We are both excited with the result and are already working on the next one.

And one more thing before we get to Effie.

Episode #38 of The Ruins Podcast is ready for you to listen.

John Hepple, The Preservationist tells another story, set in the same decade, just farther north, as the one below. Any of you following the tragedy of The Darr Mine Disaster will not want to miss this one. Take a deep breath for fortitude and click the u…