Inside Forgotten America - 5th Gen Coal Miners

Hey Peter !
It was so good to see you come to my state, Kentucky !
That Big Wes guy, is a kind individual. He was very honest and open as most all people are.
I was hoping you would ask if you could come back or even stay the night.
I know the answer would have been "yes"!!!
They were not joking about telling you if they liked you or not.
I know my people well, and they accepted you brother. Keeping in mind, you are a very genuine person yourself. So that helps lol !!
Had you car broke down they would have seen to it, you got back up and running. And you wouldn't be staying in a hotel. You would have been treated like family there I just know it !
You could have picked another family and it would have been the same.
Wes said 99.9% !
That covers any topic issue or situation.
I love my state and my people, and these people represented us well.
Please come back again, you as usual did a great job !

"The love you give, is the love you get" moral of the story!

Found your videos a while back. Several parts on several videos I've been nearly brought to tears. I was just thinking, how awesome would it be if you set up some sort of GoFundMe type account for each of the families that offered you their time and inner thoughts so us as watchers could give $5 or $10 as a sort of thank you gesture from your followers. Maybe you could even split the proceeds to help further your channel and to help further their life? I'd be willing to give that $10 to Wes for sure.

One side "Signals Virtue"
Another side "Lives Humbly"

I love your Appalachian series ❤
Best ....Thank you Peter ❤ Taking me places i might otherwise not been able to see.

Nice beautiful world 🌎

Hillbilly and rednecks. Its like i thought it would be but a lot less trump flags and meth heads. You found the "good for tv" hill people

Take me home ❤️

Next time wear a hat! I noticed

❤😢

I have family in VA that see things quite the same and are good people through and through.

Thank you Peter, you are possibly the only true and honest journalist remaining in the USA 🇺🇸 ❤

Simply amazing video…

These hard working family loving people make more sense than our Ivy League colleges…

wow. smoking cigarettes and working in a coal mine. very dangerous.

Thanks Peter for showing the true grit of America! I have a special place in my heart for Appalachia and now that we have a new and better president, they can be saved bc they are proud people of America ! God bless them all
I had family in Appalachia but they are all gone. I loved going to visit and remind me of my heritage.

I love this series, much love to Wes and all. I’m a tradesman in ny and it’s amazing how your lives and stories are so much like ours. I hope videos like this keep helping people see each other for the good we have.

I live in Harlan,KY Obama killed our coal industry in the early 2000's I don't see it ever coming back. A lot of the miners are older and can't work but if Trump can do something to open mines back up then maybe 10 to 20 years our town would reap benefits of the coal industry again but it would take years

"When my mom died, it turnt my heart black."

That hits different.

I really appreciate your honesty and caring in bringing the story of Appalachian coal country in today’s world! I was born in a coal mining town in Harlan County KY on the last day of 1950. Both my grandfathers were coal miners in the 1930s and 1940s. My parents (who were also born in the area) continued their education graduating from Eastern Kentucky University a few years later. Dad became a chemist (later a chemical engineer) for Union Carbide in Oak Ridge TN where we moved shortly before I was 4. We continued to return regularly until all my grandparents had passed on. This story brought tears to my eyes, because it was so real and honest! Thank you!

The same doctores who pushed the pills, the same doctors who pushed the jab, the same "doctors" who advertised cigarretes...You see a common thread

Harlan is in Kentucky 5th congressional district. It's the 2nd poorest country in the US and has the highest percentage of White Americans. It has voted for the same Republican congressman for the last 30 years.

Wes is an awesome dude great video

Cole Miners built our Country USA

I think I was at bell co. forestry camp many years ago

I love this family. Wes is awesome..

Awesome people. 🫡

24.28 - "Slavery was about many different things" - that supposedly backward man is more nuanced than the whole woke movement combined. We really live in a strange world where the presumed enlightened, educated and progressive are more narrow-minded than common folk. Not to mention our leaders who seem to want to end all mankind for good lately in their infinite wisdom.

Great job, sir. Your strongest asset is your compassion.

Bro u be careful walking around these abandoned propertys filming stuff some people don't take kindly to that it does look a lil suspicious but Man this is real cool to see into what I moved from as a baby I could of grown up right in one of the hollars with a tight community I wish we didn't move and I've really been thinking about moving back down somewhere around the Appalachian

Great episode. My great grandad mined coal in Southern Illinois. Lost his leg to a coal fall and eventually died from the injury. Lost a fair few family members to the mines during the 1800's but proud of the heritage.

To be pride is vanity

Peter, I recently found your channel and really enjoy it. Period. I didn't anticipate liking it as much as I do. When the algorithm initially suggested it, period. But another thought I had while watching this video of Kentucky coal miners was their feelings towards unions in the coal mine.

I worked for a bunch of years in a few coal mines that were heavily organized And I've always enjoyed people's opinions on the subject.

I mean if an industry goes out of business your going to have to do something else

Wow this documentary unbelievable they're good people hard working people on the ground putting food on their table and roof over their heads politicians are all about power and greed and themselves God Bless the Deep South 🙏 😇❤️💛🖤🤍

Mr. Santenello, I just discovered this video and must commend you for the awesome job you did showing these folks lives with compassion and understanding. I'm a retired underground coal miner of 32 years. I would certainly worked longer but the mine I was at closed. Here in Illinois, the state is working to close all mines and coal fired power plants. In agreement with Rick, I told my sons to not go into the coal mines. My dad was a miner and worked in the coal industry his whole life. He even bought and operated a small mine in Ohio for a couple years, till it caught fire and they had to seal it up to smother the fire. Three brave men were sealed up inside. I beleave it was 2 months before the fire was declared by MSHA to be extinguished so they could break the seals and go back in to recover the mens bodies. I was a longwall mechanic. Longwalling deliberatly collapses the roof behind us. Coal mining is still dangerous work, but I, like many others, loved it. It fed and clothed my family and I'm drawing a pension and health benefits for the rest of my life, thanks to the UMWA, but even more, thanks to Our Creator. I'm 70 now and cherish my memories.
May The Most High Bless and Keep you Mr Santenello for the work you do.

Weird thing my grandpa was killed coming out of the mines in 1957 in WV

I'll bet some of his people knew Nimrod workman, he was instrumental in getting the union in the mines in Harlan, I knew him in mascot Tennessee, my boys great great grandmaw wrote the book, WHICH SIDE ARE YOU ON, they made a movie about it, I saw, her name was Florence Reece, loved talking to them and what they went tru! Use to go ginseng dig with Nimrod, he was 84 then and couldn't keep up with him in the ginseng woods! He copywrited a bunch of the ol coal mining songs!

Really enjoyed this video. Great people!

Lived here all my life! I've always told my Kids that they don't have to work like that! They knew I wouldn't give up , Simple!

I am almost sure you would enjoy the tri county area! Please consider my invitation

Such amazing people! ❤much love from a small town in Ohio!

I m not gonna lie, I cried twice watching this. When Wes was telling his story about addiction and again at the end. I’m not from his area but I am a few hours away. One thing I can tell you is how hospitable people are on this side of the country. They will give you the shirt off their back but DO NOT cross us lol Peter, thank you for all you do! Excellent videos on Appalachia!

I thank you guys for your contribution and the story was so insightful I just love your grit all of you fine people ❤, 💪💝 I'm thankful for stories like this this is better than anything you can learn in school ❤

I like these folks they seem like real nice folk. If i ever get into some money i'm moving to West Virginia . I'm pretty much like them , if i like you i like you, if i don't like you best stay away from me. My grand father used to stop bleeding not sure how to call it in English but we call it Un Don in french. I just looked it up it's called a Gift = Don. Yeah he would stop blood like in a wound stop it from bleeding. I know another man that had the gift to stop poison ivy , the itch. I used to be a walking blister until i seen him , i still get it but just a lil bit. Not sure if its true but i heard through the years that someone with "The Gift" can pass it on to someone. If it's true i wish my grand father passed it on to me so i could help folks.

القرآن حق

If you all are interested in the coal industry and Harlan Kentucky, listen to the music of Kathy Mattea she is excellent and tells many stories with her music!

Particularly enjoyed hearing what these people had to say and their views on life. And his shed tour! So awesome ❤

It’s crazy growing up in a southern city because seeing these people, they all look normal to me.. I live in Knoxville, Tn.. Sevierville isn’t far from here. I feel like these smaller little towns around here are growing because of the westerners moving to the area. There are plenty of opportunities for teens to go to college and start a career.