Films to celebrate people, places of Letcher County

On Wednesday, Sept. 24, as part of Whitesburg Day during the Mountain Heritage Festival, Appalshop will hold an allday screening of Appalshop films that showcase the people and places of Letcher County. The screenings, which begin at 11 a.m., are free and open to the public. Spanning the 1970s to the 1990s, the films give a unique glimpse into the past.

Viewers will see Main Street of Whitesburg as it was in the early 1970s, be transported back to Kingdom Come School, and see many more of the places and people in the county over the years. Among the faces people may recognize are those of Etta Banks, Oaksie Caudill, Woodrow Cornett, Harding Ison, Frank Majority, Morgan Sexton, Lee Sexton, Mabel Kiser, and many more.

The films to be screened are "Kingdom Come School" (1973), "Nature's Way" (1974), "Millstone Sewing Center" (1972), "Oaksie" (1979), "Morgan Sexton: Banjo Player from Bull Creek" (1991), "Woodrow Cornett: Letcher County Butcher" (1971), and the rarely seen "Whitesburg Epic" (1970), one of Appalshop's first films. A one-time only DVD compilation of the films will be available for sale at the Appalshop on Sept. 24.

Each film will be screened twice on Sept. 24, beginning at 11 a.m. A schedule of when each film is playing and its description will be available on www.appalshop.org or by contacting Derek Mullins at 633- 9336.