“The West Virginia boys have moved the mountains. All of the roads were just gone, until now. It’s nothing short of miraculous.”
~ Chimney Rock resident
The swift, practical, and heroic actions of a volunteer group of coal miners from West Virginia have made residents of the North Carolina town of Chimney Rock very happy, as they are able to return home “months earlier than they expected.” According to an account in the New York Post, the miners “moved a mountain in just three days”—shifting 20-ton granite boulders—to reopen a stretch of highway ravaged by Hurricane Helene.
Because the project was undertaken without official permission, the miners would not speak on the record. According to the Post, however, FEMA, the NC Department of Transportation (DOT), and the local sheriff’s office all were aware of the undertaking and “turned a blind eye” to allow the effort to proceed. Other road crews had previously stated that the project would not be doable until next spring. A volunteer from Mississippi who himself had been sleeping in tents for 17 days straight to help residents in towns hard-hit by Helene stated:
“The Army Corps of Engineers took a look and said they’d send some surveyors and engineers, the same thing the DOT said…. I told them you might as well not waste your time because the West Virginia guys will have this road built before you finish your paperwork.”
Celebrating the “West Virginia Boys” as “real men” and “real humans,” Catherine notes that this is a great example of pushback against technocracy, which is systematically destroying productivity. West Virginia coal miners—with their state’s history of the exploitative company store—have their own reasons to be skeptical of central control.
We congratulate the “West Virginia Boys” and wholeheartedly agree with another post-Helene volunteer who told the Post, “It gives you so much hope for the American we all want to believe in and the America we want our children to experience.”
Related:
West Virginia Boys Move a Mountain to Rebuild Highway
Let’s Make Sure the WV Boys Get Credit for This!
North Carolina mountain towns “forever changed” by Hurricane Helene’s destruction
