This week for our Local Love project we decided to interview Erica Pennington. Erica has lived in Harlan her whole life, has worked for 12 years at the Appalachian Challenge Academy, and is the Academic Supervisor at the ACA here to give her perspective of the mountains we call home.
Why do you love Harlan?
- It’s home. I like that when I go into a store, there’s at least one person there that I know. I like that if my kid is out hanging out with his friends, there’s someone there that probably knows him. There’s always a little bit of hospitality from people here no matter who they are.
How do you think Harlan County has changed over the years?
- I do feel like as I’ve gotten older there have been more businesses downtown that attract a younger population. I think there weren’t as many option for teenagers back in the day, but now you have things like Mountain Merch and My Sister’s Closet. The revitalization of the city is really what I’ve seen. Even just hangout spots like upstairs at the portal, or you can hangout at the coffee shop in moonbow. I don’t remember there being multiple places for that when I was a teenager or even a young adult.
What do you think makes Harlan unique compared to other places?
- I have to say the people. A lot that are still here have deep roots in harlan and there is always someone willing to help someone else. I don’t know that you would find that as easy in other places. People here understand struggle so they want to help each other. A lot of people from harlan even went down to Letcher county when they flood happened to help them out and that helpfulness isn’t as common other places.
What are your hopes for future development in Harlan?
- I’m hopeful for more small businesses to open up downtown. I’m hopeful we can embrace change with an open mind while not forgetting, I guess, who we are.
