Fried pickles and populism: a diner tour of Trump Country
At the popular local eateries the Monitor visited, the fare ranged from smoky brisket and 鈥渇rickles鈥� (fried pickles) to fresh blueberry muffins and raspberry hot chocolate. The political views were not quite so varied, however. In some places, as many as 9 in 10 voters had supported Mr. Trump. Most of them remain enthusiastic about Trump because of his support of coal and conservative values that resonate in this predominantly 海角大神 region.
Wilma's in Paintsville, Ky.
By 7:30 a.m. Saturday morning, Wilma Eldridge has already made 27 pies. To be specific, 14 chocolate, six coconut, and seven apple pies.
She has owned Wilma鈥檚 Restaurant off of Paintsville鈥檚 Main Street for 54 years. 鈥淚t鈥檚 regular home cooking,鈥� says Ms. Eldridge, in her small wood-paneled dining area. 鈥淚鈥檓 known for my pies.鈥� Making the crusts from scratch makes all the difference, she explains.
Paintsville is part of Johnson County, where of residents voted for President Trump. A lot of the support was due to 鈥渞eligious reasons,鈥� says Eldridge, who adds that people in Paintsville are strongly against abortion and want God to be a part of public education.
鈥溾�業n God We Trust鈥� needs to be back in our schools,鈥� says Eldridge, who had one customer who would pray every day for Trump to get elected. 鈥淭hey would have taken God out of everything if Hillary had been able to appoint the Supreme Court justice.鈥�
Money is tighter than she has ever seen it in the five decades she has owned a restaurant. Eldridge used to have three employees working at her restaurant at any one time, but now she is the only one on duty most days. She started setting up a breakfast buffet on the weekends so customers could serve themselves while she doubles as both a waitress and owner.
Paintsville locals voted for Trump because they need jobs, says Eldridge. And so far, locals feel like Trump has lived up to his word. Kathy, a woman dining with her mother Martha, says she has seen more coal trucks running through the town since the election.
After President Obama put restrictions on coal production, Kentucky鈥檚 unemployment rate .听鈥淲henever you take coal out of eastern Kentucky, we have nothing,鈥� says Eldridge, to a nodding agreement from Kathy and Martha. Today the unemployment rate in Kentucky has fallen back down to five percent.
By 10:30 AM, Wilma鈥檚 grandson only has one of his grandmother鈥檚 pies left at his farmstand.
Fava's in Georgetown, Ky.
The busiest day at Fava鈥檚 is Saturday, says cook Chris Caudill, when locals line up to order bowls piled high with 鈥渇rickles鈥� (fried pickles) and hot browns, an open sandwich of Texas toast smothered in cheese, deli meat, tomatoes, and bacon.
Fava鈥檚 also has a steady flow of daily customers who keep their own mugs and plates in the back of the restaurant. 鈥淭hey come in every morning, and eat off the same plate and drink out of the same cup,鈥� says Mr. Caudill. 鈥淥ne regular gets poached eggs, another gets two eggs with a side of biscuits. You know when they walk in the door what they get.鈥�
Fava鈥檚 has great customer loyalty, says Alden Gruchow, a third-generation employee at the restaurant, but other small businesses in Georgetown aren鈥檛 as lucky. 鈥淭here is a building right across the street, and over the last 10 years they have probably had three to four different businesses and they close within a year or two,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 feel like it鈥檚 harder for people to open a business and sustain success.鈥�
Gruchow and Caudill say that鈥檚 one of the reasons they both voted for Trump. 鈥淚 feel like he wants people to start their own businesses and [give] tax breaks for small businesses,鈥� says Gruchow. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a big thing for me, having the restaurant in our family.鈥�
And three months into his presidency, they feel Trump is trying his best to revive local economies in Appalachia 鈥� even if that means budget cuts to major funding sources听like the Appalachian Regional Commission.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 trying to find ways to save money right now and he just doesn鈥檛 know how,鈥� says Gruchow. 鈥淚 think he didn鈥檛 realize how hard it was going to be.鈥�
The Wild Bean in Lewisburg, W. Va.
Wild Bean鈥檚 chef Chris Hinkle makes two dozen blueberry muffins a day. 鈥淚f we don't have 'em, people freak out in the morning,鈥� says Mr. Hinkle, who grew up in Lewisburg.
Washington Street offers a reprieve from the fast food chains and strip malls alongside Interstate 64. The sidewalks on either side of the 2-lane street are lined with a couple local restaurants, a post office, and a few galleries.听The Greenbrier, a local five-star resort, has long drawn visitors from outside West Virginia, but the town saw a significant bump in tourism after it won Budget Travel鈥檚 award of 鈥淐oolest Small Town鈥� in 2011.听
Despite these distinctions, Lewisburg鈥檚 resources 鈥� like those of the state听鈥� are still abused by outsiders, says Hinkle.
鈥淲est Virginia has always been kind of [dumped] on. People just want what we have and then they run off after they trash our land,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd that happens a lot.鈥� The coal companies are a big example, he explains, but a smaller example is tourists coming to the Greenbrier river trail and leaving tons of garbage on the river bank.
Hinkle, who identifies as a Democrat, thinks West Virginia will be further degraded under the president. Rollback of Clean Water Act protections and coal mine regulations 鈥渟care me,鈥� he says. Still, Lewisburg saw a lot of pro-Trump support before and after the election.
鈥淚 think Obama did a pretty fair job. He was diplomatic and professional and all that but things didn鈥檛 really improve a lot,鈥� says Colby Taylor, a customer at the Wild Bean. He hopes Trump can turn things around, specifically when it comes to health care.
After caddying at the Greenbrier鈥檚 golf course for employees of big insurance companies, he looks at the industry a bit differently. 鈥淲atching them party all that money away and drink the $500 bottles of wine, [and] they鈥檙e playing golf ... makes me say, 鈥楬ey. They need to clean up the insurance companies,鈥� 鈥� Mr. Taylor says.
Three months into Trump鈥檚 presidency, there are still some 鈥渉ostile feelings鈥� in town over the election, says Taylor. 鈥淚鈥檝e never really seen it as bad as it is now.鈥�
Hinkle agrees. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 really like the guy,鈥� says Hinkle, referring to Trump. 鈥淏ut he is the president now so I try not to fight too much with the people I know.鈥�
Morrison's Drive Inn in Logan, W. Va.
Loletta Evans has worked for 34 years at Morrison鈥檚 Drive Inn, where locals pull up in their pick-up trucks and sedans and waitresses come out to take their orders.
Ms. Evans says the restaurant used to get big orders of their famous hot dogs with steamed buns on Thursdays and Fridays for company meetings at the coal mines. By specially wrapping the hot dogs in both cellophane and foil, says Ms. Evans, the hot dogs can stay warm for hours.
Business isn鈥檛 what it used to be, but Evans says Morrison鈥檚 has received more large orders since the election. 鈥淚t鈥檚 slow,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut it鈥檚 coming back.鈥�
Evans says the economy in Logan 鈥� where she has lived her entire life 鈥� is hard-up, so she knew Hillary Clinton made a 鈥渂ad mistake鈥� when she said she was going to shut down the coal mines. 鈥淸E]ven if she thought it, she shouldn鈥檛 have said it,鈥� says Evans. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 just tell people you are going to take their livelihoods.鈥�
Locals lined the streets when John F. Kennedy campaigned in Logan, says Evans. She fondly remembers meeting the president-to-be, even though she has always considered herself a Republican.
But Mrs. Clinton would have been booed if she campaigned in Logan, Evans says, adding that when Clinton sent her husband Bill instead he didn't get the 鈥渂ig turnout鈥� that politicians normally get here.
Clinton鈥檚 remarks fueled support for Trump in the area, says Evans. Today locals feel he is trying to live up to his campaign promises, but that Congress is making it difficult. 鈥淭hey are fighting him tooth and toenail but he is trying. Of course I do pray for him every night. I would like to see him do good and I think his heart is in the right place.鈥�
If the country went 鈥渂ack to God,鈥� there would be less disagreement in Washington, says Evans. 鈥淧eople don鈥檛 have any moral standards about them anymore.鈥�
Smitty's Southern BBQ in Richmond, Ky.
By Saturday afternoon, Smitty鈥檚 Southern Style BBQ only has enough pulled pork for one more sandwich. They cook the meat in small batches so it stays fresh, but that also means they run out of barbecue sandwiches on busy days.
鈥淚 just told my daughter-in-law right here, I think we鈥檙e going have to start cooking more for Saturday,鈥� says owner Bonnie Smith. Smitty鈥檚 belonged to Ms. Smith鈥檚 husband, who passed away four years ago. Now she manages the restaurant with the help of her children, her children鈥檚 spouses, and her grandchildren.
Smith, who has lived in Richmond her entire life, voted for Hillary Clinton in November because she felt Trump was 鈥渟o negative.鈥� Before November, Smith says she heard a lot of talk about the candidates鈥� gender: 鈥淵ou had [some people] saying they didn鈥檛 want a woman for president. They needed a man.鈥�
Regardless of political differences, however, Smith says her favorite thing about Richmond is the people. 鈥淸T]here may be a lot of racism or whatever, but they are genuinely nice.鈥�
When the restaurant first opened, Smith and her husband gave customers markers to write messages on a blackboard in front of the register. And without any prompts, 鈥渢hey would always put Scripture,鈥� says Smith. Now Smith and her family call the blackboard 鈥淭he Wall of Praise.鈥�
According to Pew Research, of Kentuckians identify as 海角大神, and less than 2 percent of the state identifies with a non-海角大神 faith. And considering that at least 43 percent of adults in Kentucky read Scripture at least once a week, the Wall of Praise鈥檚 natural evolution makes sense. Religion is important to Smith,听who says it has helped her get through hard times at the restaurant.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really booming today and I thank God for it, because it can get a little slow in here,鈥� says Smith, gesturing to two full tables of customers. 鈥淚f I have just one person come in here I thank God for that one person because I know he is going to send more. That鈥檚 my philosophy with the kids. The Lord always makes a way.鈥�
Tonya's Country Kitchen in Marietta, Ohio
Every Tuesday, Joe Kurdz visits Tonya鈥檚 Country Kitchen on Front Street for the daily special: baked steak with mashed potatoes and gravy, a dinner roll, and a choice of green beans or corn for $7.95.
Located in the heart of Marietta, Ohio, Tonya鈥檚 is two blocks away from the banks of the Ohio River 鈥� and West Virginia on the other side. Local restaurants and home accessory stores line the wide streets of Marietta鈥檚 downtown.
A city of less than 14,000 people, Marietta is the largest city in Washington County, where Republican support runs deep: more than 68 percent of the county voted for Donald Trump in November. The city was an outpost for pioneers in the 1700s, but it has fallen on hard times. More than 26 percent of Marietta is in poverty, double the national average. Kurdz volunteers at a local food pantry every week and he says the majority of visitors are young families.
鈥淲hen I was in the workforce, there were a bunch of industries in Marietta. People stayed,鈥� says Kurdz. Now, he adds, many people born in Marietta later leave to find jobs. 鈥淏ut I stuck around Marietta. It鈥檚 a good city.鈥�
However, Kurdz says drug addiction in the area is a serious problem. Ohio is ranked among US states, including an 11 percent increase in deaths between 2014 and 2015. Drug overdoses have witnessed a long-term climb in Washington County: in 1992 there were two drug overdose deaths and .听
鈥淚t's gotten real bad,鈥� says Kurdz. 鈥淲hen I was a policeman, the worst I got was a kid sniffing glue.鈥�
After finishing his dinner, Kurdz goes home to let his cat inside the house. He鈥檒l be back to Tonya鈥檚 next Tuesday for the baked steak special.
34:Ate in Williamson, W.Va
鈥淲affle Wednesdys鈥� is big at 34:Ate, say co-owners Robyn Gannon and Debby Young: the weekly special of chicken and waffles.
Despite seeing the economy decline during their lives in Williamson, Ms. Gannon and Ms. Young decided to retire from their jobs as schoolteachers and open a restaurant together three years ago.听They tossed around hundreds of name possibilities and eventually they decided on 34:Ate, a play on Psalms 34:8, which reads 鈥淥 taste and see that the Lord is good鈥︹��
The local economy revolves around coal mines, says Gannon, so it inevitably influences local politics 鈥� including her own perspective. 鈥淚 am a Democrat still, but I could not live in this community where coal was just everything, and vote for somebody who just said they were against it,鈥� says Gannon, who voted for Trump in November. 鈥淚 mean I wouldn鈥檛 feel like I could hold my head up in this area.鈥�
But local politics are determined by more than the economy. 海角大神ity is very important to locals in Williamson. 鈥淚鈥檇 say for the majority of people around here if someone was against abortion they would vote for that person,鈥� says local diner Judy Southard, 鈥渘o matter what else they thought.鈥�
More than 70 percent of the US identifies as 海角大神 鈥� including 78 percent of West Virginia 鈥� but their behavior doesn't always hew to 海角大神 principles, says Ms. Young.
鈥淲hat hurts is that 海角大神s don鈥檛 always act like 海角大神s. We鈥檙e not always the most loving people and sometimes we鈥� can鈥檛 see how anyone else could think or feel,鈥� says Young. 鈥淏ut we should still love those who aren鈥檛 like us. They have their rights and they have the same needs that we do.鈥�
