40th Commemoration of the Buffalo Creek Disaster

Almost 50 people filled the Appalshop theater last night to commemorate the 40 year anniversary of the Buffalo Creek disaster in West Virginia.  Appalshop film maker and long time Letcher Chapter member, Mimi Pickering, showed her films The Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man and Buffalo Creek Revisited, a look back at the community 10 years later.  

The tragedy is described as follows on the Appalshop website:

On February 26, 1972, a coal-waste dam owned by the Pittston Company collapsed at the head of a crowded hollow in southern West Virginia. A wall of sludge, debris, and water tore through the valley below, leaving in its wake 125 dead and 4,000 homeless. Interviews with survivors, representatives of union and citizen's groups, and officials of the Pittston Company are juxtaposed with actual footage of the flood and scenes of the ensuing devastation. As reasons for the disaster are sought out and examined, evidence mounts that company officials knew of the hazard in advance of the flood, and that the dam was in violation of state and federal regulations. The Pittston Company, however, continued to deny any wrongdoing, maintaining that the disaster was an "an act of God."

Mimi shared some of her experiences making both films and traveling to screen the films across the country.  She said "people in other regions of the country are shocked to hear about this for the first time and see what people went through." 

The first film featured images of the nearby communities directly after the disaster and the obstacles they faced, testimonies from those who experienced it, as well as reactions of company and government officials.  Mimi said she hopes the film "shows the resilience of mountain people".

After discussions at the January Letcher Chapter meeting, members Elizabeth Sanders and Sylvia Ryerson worked to organize and advertise the event, complete with a WMMT radio community calendar announcement.  Over a dozen Letcher Chapter members attended the event, along with friends, neighbors, and friendly strangers.  

 Tonight, WMMT will continue the commemoration with a 'Buffalo Creek' Mountain Talk from 6 - 7 pm, featuring Mimi, Jack Spadaro, and others.  Stream WMMT live here, and learn more about the Buffalo Creek films here.