The Stoney Fork Community is actually made up of a number of smaller communities ranging in size from 10 to 60 people. The smaller units had originally grown up around various deep mining operations, known locally as Shea’s Camp (or Clinchmore), Round Rock, Peewee Camp, Welsh’s Camp, and Beech Fork.
This area is in an isolated section of Campbell County. The nearest towns begin 20-30 miles away on twisting gravel roads over Caryville Mountain. The driving time for those with a car is about an hour. As a matter of fact, the roads are so treacherous that the TVA mobile health unit which travels with health fairs could not make one of the turns and had to be stationed several miles down the road at the school in Rosedale.
Some of the reference to the Stoney Fork area in this [1973] report use the name Beech Fork. It was not until the end of the summer at a meeting of the community that the name Stoney Fork was chosen for the health council.
See the 1972 and 1973 SHC Annual Reports for more information.
Related People:
J. Thomas “Tom” John
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Richard Davidson
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Bill Dow
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Odes and Shelby McKamey
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Virginia Munford
Contributed by Virginia “Ginnie” Munford. My experience with the Student Health Coalition (SHC) was working as the first “Staff Assistant” at the Center for Health Services (CHS), from approximately 1974 – 1976. The staff of the Center included Bill Dow… Continued
Related Stories:
Rick Davidson talks about a local healer in the Stoney Fork community
Richard Davidson M.D., M.P.H., recalls his interactions with a local healer in the community of Stoney Fork, Tenn., while serving as the first physician for Mountain People’s Health Councils (MPHC), a consortium of health clinics originally formed by the communities… Continued
Post-health fair formation of community councils and the origins of MPHC in Tennessee
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Rick Davidson on connecting with local communities through music
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“I will always be grateful for the gifts that the work and the people of those summers gave to me.”
[Story contributed by Angela Carroll Healy, M.D.] Dear All, Seeing the videos and reading the memories of other Coalitioners has made me want to share what working with the Student Health Coalition (SHC) meant to me. I was a Brooklyn… Continued
On the joy and impact of living with local families in East Tennessee
Rosie Hammond shares the highlight of her SHC experience: living with and getting to know local families. She names several from her time in Briceville, White Oak, Petros, Stoney Fork, and Rose Creek, Tenn., including (but not limited to) the… Continued
Decline of coal camp healthcare and subsequent basis of need for reform
Charles “Boomer” Winfrey and Maureen O’Connell discuss the local healthcare setting upon Save Our Cumberland Mountain’s (SOCM) and the Student Health Coalition’s (SHC) early stages of community organizing in East Tennessee. Maureen details several local factors which established a major… Continued
Caryl Carpenter talks about her experiences with Mountain People’s Health Councils
Caryl Carpenter, former administrator of the Mountain People’s Health Councils (MPHC) of East Tennessee, talks about her experiences with MPHC, which was founded in 1974 as a coalition of three rural health clinics in Norma (Scott County), Petros (Morgan County)… Continued
Bob Hartmann on community medicine in Stoney Fork, TN
Bob Hartmann shares an inside look at the culture and people of Stoney Fork, Tenn., a fascinating anecdote which captures the realities of rural healthcare and community medicine. Full footage of Bob Hartmann’s interview with Rick Davidson. Continued
Notes from the road: Mountain People’s Health Councils
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On the sense of community
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Bob Hartmann on the National Health Service Corps and its role in his development as a young doctor
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Caryl Carpenter on community leader Odes McKamey
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Betty Anderson’s introduction to SOCM
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Kaye Bultemeier introduction
Kaye Bultemeier introduces herself and talks about how she came to work in Stoney Fork, Tennessee. She was initially part of the National Health Services Corps and ended up staying in the community for eight years. Full footage of the… Continued
Caryl Carpenter discusses the challenges with the structure of Mountain People’s Health Councils
Caryl Carpenter, former administrator of the Mountain People’s Health Councils (MPHC) of East Tennessee, talks about challenges in the structure of MPHC, which was founded in 1974 as a coalition of three rural health clinics in Norma (Scott County), Petros… Continued
Bob Hartmann on the influence of cultural understandings about death and healing
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Related Resources/Links:
Sue Love Student Health Coalition Meeting Photographs, Southern Historical Collection, UNC Chapel Hill
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Richard Davidson Photograph Collection, Southern Historical Collection, UNC Chapel Hill
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Article: “Health Care for those off the beaten path,” from the Tennessee Valley Authority
Kollar, Robert. “Health care for those off the beaten path.” Tennessee Valley Authority, post-1975. View PDF. More on the Tennessee Valley Authority: Continued
Caryl Carpenter Papers on Mountain People’s Health Councils, East Tennessee clinics, and Student Health Coalition Photographs, Southern Historical Collection, UNC Chapel Hill
Caryl Carpenter participated in the Rural Student Health Coalition in the mid to late 1970s. She worked with the Mountain People’s Health Council (MPHC) and East Tennessee clinics, and documented activities related to the SHC in the 1970s. Images depict activities… Continued