On the Cusp of Recovery...Maybe?

My work has recently taken me down to the Ohio Valley in eastern Ohio. It is a different world from my comfort zone of the flat farmlands of northwest Ohio. For decades, the lure of the moving water and underground resources brought coal mining, steelmaking, and energy production to the once tranquil valley. In recent years, much of the industry that operated on such a grand scale has been downsized - scaled way back, leaving hulking, vacant monstrosities of buildings and countless Brownfields where thousands used to hold down grueling but relatively well-paying jobs.

So it was surprising to tune into the ABC news a couple nights ago and watch a piece on "Steubenville: Boomtown". I've gotten to know a few folks in Steubenville, and they are not expecting a miraculous turnaround anytime soon. What they do expect is a large number of temporary jobs, followed by a long period with modest gains over today's job scene. And they'll take it.

The catalyst? All that natural gas lurking underground, in amongst what they call the Marcellus and Utica shale formations. They have to inject high pressure fluids and chemicals down there to fracture the rocks and drive the gas out. They call it "fracking". It is somewhat controversial, and the industry types and environmentalists have been duking it out in New York and Pennsylvania for some time. Now Ohio's turn has come, and with a little trepidation, the Ohio Valley is excited to see the "next best thing".

Panacea for the Valley? Nah. Good jobs for a decent number of people? Yup. Drilling rights and steady income for landowners? Could be. More wealth to be spent in the Valley, at the corner deli, local restaurant, car dealer? Definitely. So, though I hug the occasional tree, I cannot scoff at this as a shot in the arm, not to mention the rock, of the region.

I was down in the area yesterday. I have visited twice during our usually-gorgeous Fall Foliage Season. Both days have been gloomy though, with too much pouring down rain. Despite the gloom, here are a handful of pictures from my day in the Valley.

Massive power plants coexist with the river valley, all along the Ohio border
from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati.

A pretty impressive church in Steubenville, from back in the day when they built 'em to impress man and God.
Scene along Route 7 - a pretty interesting ride.
I just wanted to document that I got to see some blue sky. Actually, this was just about it for the whole day, just as i was crossing the border into Jefferson County (where I was headed; note the welcoming sign). A good omen?
Driving along 7, sometimes I just pointed the camera out a side window and snapped a random shot. I like this one, with the houses dwarfed by the huge plant behind them. The size of so many installations along the river is amazingly immense.
And last, despite civilization's incursion into the Valley, not to mention cutting big pathways into the rock to route the traffic, there is plenty of beauty to be found.