Awful But Essential Lessons
Wabash junior Nathan Rutz observes the destruction caused by mountaintop removal mining on Kayford Mountain. Rutz was an intern with Coal River Watch, part of the Mountain Justice Summer program that endeavors to help local citizens end the practice of mountaintop removal mining in Appalachia.
The Stanley Family cemetery on Kayford Mountain.
"The Gates of Hell"—looking over the edge of Kayford Mountain at the mining going on there.
Marker on Larry Gibson's property near the family cemetery on Kayford Mountain.
A coal silo dwarfs the playground and main building of Marsh Fork Elementary School.
The "campaign house" Nathan Rutz helped furnish, organize, and run during his internship.
Nathan Rutz, with the mining at Kayford Mountain in the background.