Flood recovery is a slow process for organizations, communities, and individuals. We can see the different stages of recovery in nearby communities like Hazard, which was affected by flooding this past Valentine’s Day, and farther out in the places that suffered through Hurricane Helene a year ago this past month.
Here on campus we’re happy that maintenance staff has recently finished the new laundry room on the ground floor of the Mullins Center. Hospitality staff now have large tables and new shelving for folding and storing linens. Other flood repairs, as well as other high priority needs of our campus, continue to be completed.
We’ve recently celebrated the 1-year anniversary of the release of our anthology Troublesome Rising: A Thousand-year Flood in Eastern Kentucky. Invited by long-time Hindman writer Colette Crown, editor Melissa Helton, anthology photographer Tyler Barrett, and Melissa’s daughter Kelsey, who volunteered over 200 hours in the donation center during the months after the flood, were guests for a special forum about the anthology at Second Presbyterian Church in Lexington.
Church members read poetry selections from the anthology, and then Melissa, Tyler, and Kelsey spoke about their experiences during a Q&A. People in the audience also spoke about their experiences of the July 2022 flood, Helene, or other floods throughout Central Appalachia.
Additionally, we’ve published the second edition of the anthology’s companion website digital anthology. This year’s contributions include work from over 3 dozen creators. There are photos and poems, essays, and multimedia pieces.
Some special highlights include an original song from Doug Van Gundy, a short film from Tom Hansell about the flooding of his barn, an essay about murals on floodwalls throughout the region by Georgiana Janko, and an academic essay by Diane N. Loeffler and 10 other researchers about found poetry made in response to the flood
