Judith Victoria Hensley

In the Deep Dark Hills Judith Victoria Hensley

This book is the fifth in a series of book, compiling stories collected by students in Harlan County, Kentucky which includes oral traditions, local history, photographs, artwork, and folklore from the Kentucky highlands region of Southeastern Kentucky. It is a region where coal was king and bolstered the economy for decades. This extraction industry has seen a severe downturn in the last few decades, impacting both the economy and population of the region. The stories in this collection were gathered from students, faculty, staff, relatives, neighbors, and community members. The original book was out of print for years, but by request of the public is being made available again. The goal of this book was to help preserve personal stories, photographs, student artwork, and community and regional folklore which would have otherwise gone unpublished and lost over time. This project embodies the elements of hand-on, real-world, student-based service learning.