Category: general

When voting your  conscience out weighs voting to put a roof over your families head and food on the table for your children and what’s in the best interest of your friends neighbors and the poor that’s when you get red rural republican counties living in poverty.

50% of school children in poverty stricken counties live day to day in poverty. One such county in Kentucky is Harlan County where 32% percent of its citizens live in poverty. My friends we have Joe Biden to thank for a 25% increase in food stamps for these children in poverty.

If breaking the poverty in these rural counties means breaking the republican strong hold in these counties then we must do so. If parents refuse to do what is right for their children then it is up to us to bring their failure to the front of the debate.

Cranks Creek is a small community that has never been incorporated why means no mayor so on and so forth. Cranks Creek in its hay day was a bustling little community with a grade school one store which doubled as a post office and one little restaurant. The boundary of Cranks creek is from the top of Crummies mountain to the Virginia line.

The majority of jobs in Cranks Creek were coal mining jobs there was some farming and very few tobacco field. Most of the mines in Cranks were what we call dog hole mines they were own by locals and employed fifteen miners or less the bigger mine companies did not move in till the late 80s and 90s. These dog hole mines paid low wages with no health insurance or pensions.

One of he pioneers to mining in Cranks Creek was Elihu Bailey in the 1950s he moved to the head of what is now called Cranks Creek hollow and lived in a tent. Elihu would go on to run a number of mines for local owners. Local folk lore was told that Elihu moved so much his chickens knew when he was going to move so they laid down and stuck their feet in the air so they could be tied and moved easily.

Back in the early days of Cranks Creek it was shut off from the outside towns and rail ways so the men of Cranks Creek got together and hand built a wagon road from what is now called troublesome to rose hill Virginia which connected to the rail head in Virginia . To this day the road exist and at the top of the mountain a hand chiseled tunnel remain through the cliff rock.

This is part one of a series On Cranks Creek history then and now.

About 27% of Harlan students drop out of school about 25.8% have less than a high school education. 34% has at least a high school education. 27% has some college or associates degree. about 10.8% has a bachelors degree. About 2% has no education at all.

Residents with income below the poverty level in 2019: Harlan: 43.8% Whole state: 16.3% Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level in 2019: Harlan: 16.5% Whole state: 7.0% Poverty rate among disabled males: Harlan: 37.7% Kentucky: 21.3% Disability rate in this city among poor males (it is 30.2% among male residents who are not classified as poor): Harlan: 44.3% Kentucky: 37.6% Poverty rate among disabled females: Harlan: 44.2% Kentucky: 25.9% Disability rate in this city among poor females (it is 31.3% among female residents who are not classified as poor): Harlan: 48.0% Kentucky: 36.0% Renting rate in this city among poor and not poor residents: Residents below poverty level: 84.4% Residents above poverty level: 30.8%

Read more: https://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Harlan-Kentucky.html

Breakdown by age of poor male residents in Harlan,KY (percentage below poverty level) 60.4%Under 5 years 68.1%6 to 11 years 40.0%12 to 14 years 0.0%15 years 45.5%16 and 17 years 0.0%18 to 24 years 40.8%25 to 34 years 42.3%35 to 44 years 35.3%45 to 54 years 33.3%55 to 64 years 38.6%65 to 74 years 23.6%75 years and over

Read more: https://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Harlan-Kentucky.html

Breakdown by age of poor female residents in Harlan,KY (percentage below poverty level) 94.0%Under 5 years 100.0%5 years 58.0%6 to 11 years 10.0%12 to 14 years 0.0%16 and 17 years 56.0%18 to 24 years 69.0%25 to 34 years 53.0%35 to 44 years 5.0%45 to 54 years 43.0%55 to 64 years 45.0%65 to 74 years 52.0%75 years and over

Read more: https://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Harlan-Kentucky.html

Children below poverty level: Harlan, Kentucky: 51.4% State: 21.3% Poverty rate among high school graduates not in families: Harlan: 33.5% Kentucky: 20.4% Poverty rate among people who did not graduate high school not in families: Harlan: 67.0% Kentucky: 45.9%

Read more: https://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Harlan-Kentucky.html