COAL COUNTRY REVISITED, 2024: 060524_Joe_Porter_1.jpg

Retired coal miner Joe Porter, Roda, VA. I went to Roda to look for relatives of the people I’d photographed there 46 years earlier. But all the old structures had been razed by the coal company, and the area planted over. I stopped down the road at a home with a newer pickup truck and knocked on the door. Joe answered, and I proceeded to show him photos from my previous trip. He identified one legendary union organizer for me, and gave me a lead on another old resident. Like his miner father before him, Joe is proud of his heritage, and maintains a collection of historical books on coal mining. His welcoming me, a total stranger, into his home was a generous gesture I have not forgotten.
060524_Joe_Porter_1.jpg

Retired coal miner Joe Porter, Roda, VA. I went to Roda to look for relatives of the people I’d photographed there 46 years earlier. But all the old structures had been razed by the coal company, and the area planted over. I stopped down the road at a home with a newer pickup truck and knocked on the door. Joe answered, and I proceeded to show him photos from my previous trip. He identified one legendary union organizer for me, and gave me a lead on another old resident. Like his miner father before him, Joe is proud of his heritage, and maintains a collection of historical books on coal mining. His welcoming me, a total stranger, into his home was a generous gesture I have not forgotten.