Where the Appalachian mountains roll through southwestern Pennsylvania, saving the coal-blighted economy might mean a return to the sheep-farming industry the region was once known for.
Nothing is flat here. It’s all rolling hills, misty hollers, rhododendron thickets, and serpentine roads. It’s the rises and falls in the pavement that make my belly tense up as Amy Manko and her husband, Scooter, drive me around their slice of Appalachia in an early-fall rain.
Here in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania, history matters. Most people can trace their local lineage back hundreds of years; they take pride in their role in the Whiskey Rebellion and in their Civil War soldiers. But it’s another history that’s really shaped this place: The geologic process that formed this steep terrain 300 million years ago left something valuable behind. We are in the heart of coal country.
For much of its recent history, this country has run on coal, lots of it produced here in Washington, Greene, and Fayette counties. Many of the small towns were founded by coal companies, and the region became a hub for manufacturing and industry. But as power plants have converted to using cheaper, somewhat more environmentally friendly natural gas, demand for coal has dipped drastically. Between 2005 and 2015, production fell by nearly 50 percent.
Greene County is still home to the Bailey Mine—the largest underground-mining complex in the country—but over the past decade, its two major competitors, dozens of smaller mines, and myriad businesses dependent on the coal economy have closed, taking thousands of jobs with them.
This economy hasn’t always centered on mining, though. Before the first shaft opened, another industry thrived in the rocky landscape.
Denne historien er fra Summer 2019-utgaven av Saveur.
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Denne historien er fra Summer 2019-utgaven av Saveur.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Raising a Better Bird
Blue Apron founder Matt Wadiak has moved onto greener pastures, where happy chickens roam free.
One Good Bottle
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My Not-So-Secret Garden
Good (vegetable-laden) fences make good neighbors in one tiny town.
Pralines: How They Cook 'Em in New Orleans
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My Father's French Onion Soup
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Our All-Time Best Recipes
If anyone should know if a recipe’s a keeper, it’s the person tasked with making sense of the original instructions—from the far reaches of Sri Lanka, say, or a famous chef who measures nothing. This might explain why many test kitchen staffers named favorites that their predecessors had tested and recommended. (Though a couple put forth recipes they developed themselves.) And while Saveur never shies away from the oddball authentic ingredient, the fare on the following pages is the stuff we cook at home, over and over again. Consider it global comfort food.
Genever Is the Original Juniper Spirit
Don’t call it a comeback. Or gin
Tending The Bines
Overshadowed by high-end viticulture, the art of growing hops for beer might not always get the recognition it deserves.
Field Of Dreams
The son of an innovative pea farmer is carrying on his father’s legacy.
Jamaican Jerk Marinade - Fire And Spice
Jamaican jerk is more than a marinade—it’s a smoky, flame-grilled cooking style that uses the best ingredients of its home island.