The Appalachian mountain region in northwestern North Carolina is filled with natural beauty and, back in the time I spent there in 1970, was also place where many mountain folk lived in abject poverty.

While the landscape was filled with lush woodland growth and many open fields of agricultural land, the “hills and hollers” found many individuals and families tucked away in isolation without work and in much need of basic goods and food. There were government assistance programs focused on improving the lives of the poor in the region but progress was slow.

I spent most of my time away from the pockets of emerging tourism in the town of Boone  were the economy seemed to be working for the well off and solid middle class. As I drove the backroads and visited with folks in their isolated hollers, I sensed it was a place filled with mystery, a prideful but distant past, tempered by and uncertain future. 1970

[ a selection of photographs from the complete portfolio ]

Note: a video journal of this subject is currently in development and will be posted here when complete.