Living in the memories of their most famous and prosperous residents, the people of Glouster, Ohio are forever reminded of the possibilities and greatness they once had in this once thriving coal town.
“You either have to party or walk around because there’s nothing to do here, no movie theatre or nothing,” says Kevin Thompson, 18, as he sits with girlfriend Kayla Shaw, 16, at a popular hang on out for Glouster youth. The same place the Hollywood film “A Place to Die” was filmed, which used Glouster’s rough exterior as a set.
“Glouster’s past is a lot brighter than its future is going to be,” 82-year-old third generation barber, Everett Holmes, said. Once there were six barbershops in the village, soon Holmes says there will be none. Due to the loss of jobs, today 35 percent of Glouster’s residents travel an hour or more for work.
As families struggle to survive in Glouster, with about 25 percent of families living below the poverty line, their children wander along High Street in unsupervised packs. “There are fights all the time, we’re tough though,” one said.
Like the state of Ohio during 2005’s election, Glouster is divided between its once glorious past and its uncertain future. In the window of the old train depot that was the stop of promise for Americans and internationals alike searching for a piece of that great American pie, children from the local Leo Club have come to help clean up the mess left by passers by where a train no longer stops.
Hundreds of coal mines, large and small dotted the landscape in the Athens county area that employed thousands of people. As natural gas and the evolution of the combustion engine gained popularity, coal mines like Glouster’s Hisylvania mine began to close.
Many families in Glouster are eligible for Ohio Work Force Assistance money for their children and less than 10 percent of poor children receive these benefits. Wesley Koon, 4, lives in a two-bedroom trailer with his mother, father, pregnant aunt and her boyfriend along with his four brothers, sisters and cousins.
As if economic problems weren't enough for the people of Glouster, hardened faces meet at the Village Hall for a FEMA meeting after being hit by the second 100-year flood in five years as residents try to obtain funding to replace their losses.
Glouster Holiness Mission, congregant Terry Moody Sr. says they pray for the community of Glouster every week at the oldest church in Glouster, which has stood for more than 100 years. “We need more young people in the church,” he said. “Many of them are lost and we need a revival here.”
Gutting out her home after the recent flood, Glouster resident Velma Lenigar said, “it’s hard but we’ll get through it,” much like living in Glouster before the flood. The per capita income per person in Glouster is $11,837 with 28 percent of the population living below the poverty line.
Even though Glouster has been living in recovery for decades, its residents still find strength in their community. Many residents choose to stay in the same community they struggle to survive in. At Mollies Bar townies like Dorothea McClelland, 85, and third generation Glouster resident, Donnie Stanley say they wouldn’t live anywhere else. “We’re family here, a community,” McClelland said.
After learning how to fix cars himself Jamie Spears, 26, a high school drop out, now works part-time at a local auto repair shop. To supplement his income, and support his girlfriend who doesn’t work along with his four kids, he receives food stamps to help pay for food. In Glouster 29 percent of high school students will not graduate this year and 35 percent of people will have to travel an hour or more for work.
Third and fourth-generations share the same pond their relatives once enjoyed during Glouster's glory year's. Though residents are felling the pressure to leave Glouster for better opportunities, many families are hopeful that Glouster's next generation will usher in a brighter future.