Gallery: Hanging On

Poverty's toll on a small Ohio town

After extracting industries left in the '70s, communities like Chauncey never recovered. Work is hard to come by here. Many in this small, Appalachian town in Southeastern Ohio take jobs that pay minimum wage --or drive 75 to 150 miles to find something better. Still, a quarter of the 1,200 residents live below the poverty line. Matt Eich, a student at Ohio University, is documenting life in Chauncey and neighboring towns. Residents, he writes, can't escape the devastating cycle of poverty. And as it churns, he feels an "imperative to document." A selection of his work.

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Posted By: dolly1 @ 04/25/2008 10:26:11 AM

It is such a shame that these pictures show the Village of Chauncey in such a poor light as the new Mayor is working very hard at cleaning up the community by enforcing the trash & litter codes. The Village & its citizens need our support & assistance, & not a negative slant such as this one in the gallery. While I appreciate the photographers artistic approach, I am also saddened by the negative view of Appalachian Ohio it highlights.
To add to AppalachianProud's comments, Athens County is also home to an amazing assortment of festivals & musical venues. In Nelsonville, there is the Historic Stuart's Opera House, home to many musical venues each year. Nelsonville is also home to Hocking College, one of the finest 2-year institutions for natural resources, ecotourism & culinary arts, & will host the 4th Annual Nelsonville Arts & Music Fest this May. Just down the road from Athens County is the Fur Peace Ranch, where one can see such musical greats as Jorma Kaukenon, GE Smith, Roy Bookbinder, & Tommy Emmannuel, among others, or participate in a guitar camp led by some of these guitar heros. In late summer, the PawPaw Festival brings folks from near & far to learn more about Ohio's Native Fruit & sample foods made from the pawpaw.
I would encourage your readers to visit www.athensohio.com to learn more about the positive & beautiful aspects of our community. To dwell on the negative will not help these people end the cycle of poverty. Visiting our wonderful & welcoming community & benefitting our economy will!
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Posted By: AppalachianProud @ 04/24/2008 4:33:40 PM

There is no doubt that poverty exists in Appalachian Ohio. I used to work for the Governor's Office of Appalachia and I have seen the level of poverty throughout the entire region of the state. I am an Appalachian and that???s why I want you to know that poverty isn't the only thing in Appalachia.

Let me show you the ???rest of the story.??? A few miles down the road from Chauncey is Athens, home of Ohio University. OU employs approximately 5,000 people in a county of 60,000 residents. In addition to OU, a high tech bioscience company stemming from university research now employs 225 people who have educational levels ranging from PhDs to GEDs. This company is a manufacturing company of cell cultures. In addition, Athens County is home to the free-piston Stirling Engine with four companies using this technology collectively employing nearly 125 people. We have a publicly traded company, Rocky Brands, in Nelsonville who employee about 200 people.

Despite having to ???Hang On,??? several well-known people from Appalachia have made significant contributions to the well-being of all including John Glenn (astronaut and political figure), Bob Evans (restaurateur whose chain has grown to 579 restaurants. We also claim such greats as Cy Young and Clark Gable. Governor Ted Strickland grew up in Appalachia as well.

The best way to fix poverty is to build and create jobs. If we invest in the creation of well-paying jobs, then we can reduce our overall reliance on public assistance for those who want to work making it easier to serve those who really can???t work.

The next time you think about Appalachia, think more positively. We are making progress and we are moving people into jobs. We have a ways to go, but don???t lose hope.
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Posted By: Whitestone @ 04/22/2008 11:36:08 AM

Poverty will always exist. Sometimes circumstances cannot be changed. However, there are other times when circumstances can certainly be changed. Someone living in poverty only increase their poverty by spending the children's food budget on cigarettes, beer, or dogfood. Cigarettes at two packs a day will certainly buy a lot of groceries, or pay the gas bill, or pay a great portion ofhe rent. Wisdom will go a long ways towards leaving poverty behind.