When Mountain People Show Up | Lee County Virginia Story

Pamela’s story from Lee County, Virginia

I was moved to Lee County, my parents’ home place. Our first house was in Dryden. A fire took all we had. The people in the community rushed to help a family. My father died shortly after it of a heart attack. I was 9, my brother 7. Mother could not find work. We were at the mercy of strangers.

First Baptist Church in Pennington Gap opened their doors asking for donations.

My mother used everything we got. One thing was a Singer sewing machine. She used it to transform almost all we had, from bed sheets to curtains, patchwork quilts, and clothes that did not fit. She reconstructed those into clothes for us.

My parents grew up in St. Charles and left for work, but came home for their children’s sake, wanting us to grow up here.

I’ve never given a second thought to leaving these beautiful mountains, lakes and rivers.

When I had my baby die, 3 days old, a preemie in Rose Hill, neighbors flooded our house with groceries and dishes of their best dishes. We had more food than our kitchen made space for.

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Her funeral, a graveside ceremony, brought in over 100 neighbors to show they cared. Silver Leaf Church, our home church, Pastor Johnny Alonzo Dixson, held our service in the church cemetery. A horrible day in my life.

I’ll always remember how many people took a weekday to give us their condolences. Only true mountain people, tagged as ignorant, could show such an outpouring of love to a young couple full of grief.

I want to return, but finding affordable housing prevents it.

Pamela shared her memories with Hearts of Appalachia and gave us permission to share her story as part of Stories from the Mountain. ❤️