Listening to Stories

The town of Todd, North Carolina is a small one outside of Boone. I have been living in Boone for almost five years, attending the University of Appalachian State. Appalachia has long been seen as the third world state of the United States. Appalachia is resource-rich; between our food diversity, rich soils, old growth forests, and some coal here and there, Appalachia is seen as a place to get resources. Because of the characteristics of the mountain region, Appalachia is a victim of what scholars call the "resource curse".

Todd is a community that clearly exemplifies what can happen once big business extracts the goods from a community. The community was once called Elk X Roads because it was in the crossroads of Boone to Jefferson, and Wilkes to Mountain City. During the latter half of the 19th century, community commerce grew from large scale timer harvesting and mica and copper mining.

The timber boom in the 20th century led to Todd's heyday. At that time there were two doctors, a dentist, one bank, seven stores, and two hotels, and three mills. The two founders and operators of the general store were the only two known mayors. by 1934 most o the mountains and valley were stripped of hardwood trees and the railroad company was losing money during the extra 14 miles of track to Todd. The tracks were pulled up, the bank was liquidated, the town's commerce dissipated, and a flood washed away most of the remaining history. The town's charter was revoked in the 1970's and the general store is the only thing that remains from the long history of the resource curse of Todd, NC. (visit the resource page here)

Appalachia is an vital place to keep in-tact, but it can easily be taken advantage of. Just as businesses may see the lumber and fertile soil as things to take advantage of in an economic sense, they may also see the people and the place as a means to an end. Whether that end be economic gain or a beautiful wood cabin, the effects are damaging and almost impossible to overcome. Todd found itself with only three active businesses in 2015 and a set of neighbors that had to commute to find work or a grocery store. Those distant neighbors found themselves farther and farther away from a community they used to know. To combat the devastating fall of Todd's economy and community, the Todd Listening Project was born. The TLP is a faith-rooted community development organization committed to the vitality of Todd, NC. Though they are faith-based, they do not advertise the church that founded the project, nor do they implement any type of religious restrictions for the town or project. That is because they want the community to join together, even if not everyone joins the church. The importance of the project being out of the Blackburn Chappell, however is because it is one of the longest standing organization and the meeting place for many of the community members. The mission of the TLP is to connect the community of Todd through listening and organizing. See the TLP video!

The way the TLP and other listening projects work is to gather information by listening to stories of how people came to live in and love in Todd, NC. By asking people to share their experiences, the TLP is able to get to know everyone that may be interested in being a bigger actor in the community and understanding more about those who don't or don't want to. Stories are viable and they build empathy, so not only do the story tellers get to be heard and understood, but the audience gets to move closer to the community as well. That listening allows the TLP members to address issues, build community, understand connections, bring people together, and foster growth, collaboration, and engagement. To build a sustainable community in Todd, the TLP must first understand what the people of Todd want, need, and desire in their own opinions!

The TLP has been very active and has worked to create successful gathering places, strong community connections, and respect of the community. To find out more, go to the website!

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