Editor's note: Click the arrow icon in the lower left hand corner to launch. Click "captions" to display the captions with the photographs. You must have Flash player to view this feature. Please note that the "large" option for this file is currently disabled.
From his tiny home atop a mountain in Boone County, W.Va., Larry Gibson has a stark view of what he calls the destruction of a way of life. He's surrounded by mountains that have been bulldozed and blasted by companies wanting valuable veins of coal. Such mining techniques are ruining the state's legendary landscape and forcing mountain people to change the way their families have lived for generations. Maria Gunnoe, who lives in the small space between two mountains not far away, agrees. She says it's easy to feel powerless in a state where "coal is king." In a Post-Gazette audio slideshow, the two talk about their strong connection to the land and what it's like to see that land change dramatically in just a few years.
First Published: February 26, 2006, 5:00 a.m.
