Dwayne Mills is a creeker.
Turkey Creek runs through Martin County, Kentucky. Alongside it, and up into the hollers away from it, live the tough and self-reliant people who grow their own food, hunt, ride horses, side-by-sides and generally find a way to survive. Call themselves “creekers” but as Dwayne is quick to point out~ even though the nickname is a badge of honor, they see all people as equal in the eyes of the Almighty.
Before we go further, an introduction. My name is Graham Meriwether and am a volunteer for Oliver Anthony’s new non-profit the Rural Revival Project (RRP). Am a documentary filmmaker at Leave It Better who makes positive, healing films. We were in Eastern Kentucky a couple weeks ago to get to know the region in preparation for a concert event we’ll be doing there October 10-12. This isn’t the typical music concert. For those unaware, when Oliver Anthony (Chris Lunsford) skyrocketed to fame in summer ‘23, he did something rare- turned down the big paycheck, the glitzy life of playing sold out arenas. Knew inherently the music business was being destroyed by predatory monopolists Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Instead, Chris chose to do concerts on Main Streets and farms across rural America, to keep ticket prices low, and to make the events not just about music but about economic and spiritual healing. It took a couple years to launch the idea. Our first event was this Spring in Spruce Pine, North Carolina. More than 4,000 people gathered on Lower Street to listen to truth talks, eat a whole hog, learn blacksmithing, and attend church service from Pastor Mike on Sunday. And yes, listen to music.
Back to Kentucky. Dwayne was kind enough to give Pastor Mike (part of the RRP team) and myself a tour of his home county. Note: People in Eastern Kentucky don’t tell people what town they’re from. It’s the county. Lawrence County. Martin County. Pike County…
We met in the parking lot of Appalachia Reach Out, a non-profit Dwayne captains. It’s got a humming brand-new-looking thrift store, and next door a compound where visiting missionaries stay. Dwayne’s an energetic presence, with a passion for his homeland and an encyclopedic knowledge of the area. Basically, the perfect tour guide. We started off driving by one of the most historically famous locations in the area- Tom Fletcher’s front porch. LBJ went there for a photo-op in 1964 as he launched his “war” on poverty. He chose Martin County because at the time, it was the economically poorest in America.
Eastern Kentucky is coal country, and everyone we talked to over the course of the five day visit had some connection to the industry. The license plate on the back of Dwayne’s mini-van had a logo with the words “Friends of Coal” and the tagline “Coal Keeps the Lights On!”. As the van followed the winding road along the Tug River, Dwayne explained that in the mid-2000s, coal was villified and opportunistic politicians were quick to turn on the people and regions where it was produced. In a couple of decades, the industry went from employing thousands in the area, to hundreds. Factories shuttered. Jobs gone. Families leaving. For many, Dwayne explained- drugs have filled the emptiness of no work. Martin County has been hammered by the opioid crisis. And despite LBJ’s photo-op 60 years ago, an estimated seventy percent of the people in the county live below the poverty line.
Dwayne was quick to point out- that although somewhat accurate, people in the region are really tired of that storyline. Countless “journalists”, “documentarians” and “influencers” have come to take footage of the run-down trailers with overgrown weeds, the abandoned storefronts with teen-broken windows, and/or the drug addict stumbling around in squalor. In many ways, Dwayne has devoted much of his life to reversing these stereotypes, and bringing health and prosperity to his home. He mentioned multiple times the people of Martin County are tough- really good at surviving. His dream, however, is that instead of just surviving, he wants people to thrive.
He brought us to the homestead of Jared Goforth, who along with his family runs a thriving farm way up in a holler where his family has been living for generations. Jared played the banjo and showed his well-stocked root cellar filled with cans of homegrown vegetables and homemade jams. Got out the camera and we made a short portrait.
best thoughts,
graham
Oh, I enjoyed this film and report so very much. Praying daily for Rural Revival Project. It is wonderful to see the videos and hear these stories. It brings hope to so many who now have lost it and education to those who follow along the Rural Revival Project's journey. God is doing a great work through it and He has only just begun. The filming is beautiful and captures the heart of this work. Mission fields come in many diverse locations and varieties and this mission field is so needed. “There are three stages to every great work of God; first it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done. God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply.” -Hudson Taylor
Here in Northeast Tennessee things aren’t as bad but homeless abound because of the good people who provide for them. But so much more could be done. I loved your story and I am a follower of
Rural Revival Project. I live in Sullivan County and I guess you would call me a creeker. My husband and I are retired but we raised 5 kids up in a holler on horses and homegrown garden veggies. I taught myself how to can as I was raised on a golf course with privilege but saw the county as my salvation and teacher. And it has been a great life. I loved Arthur Anthony’s music the moment I heard it. I lived in Richmond for 4 years while attending dental school. I traveled to DC and enjoyed the National Mall for picnics not protests. I missed the Spruce Pine event but hope to get to Kentucky or maybe he will make it to Erwin, Tennessee. I live in the next country up but they are in great need and have so much potential. I’m watching and learning and willing to help. Thank you for what you are doing!