Monroe County Ohio on MSNBC
We used to live in Monroe County, moved away almost 30 years ago. When we lived there, it was Democratic. It also had plenty of factory jobs and coal mines. The coal mines started closing right before we moved, because of EPA, or because they were played out. My husband worked until he retired at ORMET rolling mill. Most of the people we knew worked the same place or at the ORMET reduction plant, just above the rolling mill, on the Ohio River. The plants were built in the 1950's and drew people from many different states to live and work in Monroe County. When Olin Matheson (later Conalco) and ORMET were run by competent business people, they thrived. Then Emmit Boyle got hold of the plants and they failed just like other mills he 'managed', such as in Ravenswood WV. He ran the 2 plants in Monroe County into the ground, the rolling mill in 2005, the plant up above about 3 years ago. And he stripped the plant so that no one will produce aluminum there again. The is a book Titled Men of Steel. You can read about Boyle in it.
There was a lot of poverty in Monroe County always, lots of drug abuse and alcoholism. But is is a beautiful place, undeveloped and timeless. I guess that's why the people who have roots stay. But is isn't easy to make a living. Even if you must drive 30 or 60 minutes, people drive to the malls, and to jobs away from Monroe County. We left because we outgrew the place. It isn't a surprise that it seems to be Teabagger now. But if it is, it isn't because of jobs. It is because of guns.
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ignored S.E. Ohio except to try to get votes. We've got friends in Tyler County 