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Hear Through the Holler is a collaborative web-based project created by journalists Tyler Essary and Luke Franke in the spring of 2015. With a tip from a friend and fellow journalist Emily Kask the pair set out in late February with their sights set on Christiana, Tenn., roughly a 30 minute drive south of Murfreesboro.
After shooting countless hours of video the team presents what you see here now on this site. The video, along with all other content, exists to document Hippie Hill and its’ people. Often looked down upon by outside media Hear Through the Holler is the first true glimpse of what Tom Maddox, his wife Jeanie, and Hippie Hill itself mean to so many people in Tennessee and all over the United States.
We would like to thank Hippie Hill, the residents, and all who helped make this project come to light. May it allow a better glimpse into the lives of the people that live there and the true intentions of the Hill.
Built From Bourbon
Greg Fearing is covered in dust most of the morning. He has a passion to build, and woodworking is his medium. In his Louisville, KY workshop, he creates works of art from the most unexpected materials. – By Adam Wolffbrandt
A Way of Life
Coach Bill Powell has been swimming for 67 years. He learned when he was 8 while living on an island off the coast of Michigan. Ever since then, swimming has been a lifelong career. He spent most of his career as the head coach of the Western Kentucky University swim and dive team, where he later had the school’s natatorium named after him. He has touched the lives of many by sharing his passion of swimming with the people in his life. – By Kreable Young
What’s Inside Counts
Terry lost all voluntary muscle control and Diana lost any comfort of a normal marriage, but love and hope are far from lost. Diana knew what she was agreeing to when she married Terry Howard, one of the youngest to ever be diagnosed with Lou- Gehrig’s disease. A disease that has no known cure and a survival rate of three to five years after diagnosis is the prospect Terry has been living with for almost 30 years. The Howard’s have found unique ways to overcome loss of communication and have adjusted aspects of their life together to cherish every unexpected day they continue to share together.
Unbreakable
Within two weeks Alisha Waters had received 186 texts from her estranged husband D.J. Mathis. He used psychological abuse, and threats of harm in his texts and calls. On April 22, 2013 Alisha Waters was denied a Domestic Violence Order six days after receiving an Emergency Protective Order. Kenton Family Court Judge Lisa Bushelman’s court order read “no allegation of domestic violence.” On Aug. 6, 2013 DJ Mathis followed Waters to her work and changed Alisha’s life forever.
Miss Parker Bennett
by Megan Tan
When the program director of Parker Bennett Community Center Sabrina Johnson pairs up with Miss Black Western of 2013 Porshia Austin to host their first beauty pageant, their intensions of giving a group of young girls the opportunity to perform for the first time becomes more challenging than they expect.
Kid At Heart
by Ian Maule
William Poteet has a gift to be able to do college level math at the age of ten. While many people see this as lucky, William must walk a delicate balance between achieving his academic potential and fitting in socially with his peers.
A Father at 60
In the hilly countryside of Fordsville, Ky., 60-year-old Faron Cox spends his days in the same double wide trailer where he spent his childhood. Following the loss of his father in 2006, Cox inherited the home in addition to the expanse of land he now looks after.
At an age when most are retiring, Cox faces the daily challenges and struggles of raising his two youngest sons, Faron “Bear” Cox, 8 and Skylor “Tiber” Cox, 4.
Reality hits often for Faron as he finds himself worrying about the demands of childcare and his diminishing health. He relies on his disability check and pain medication for his back to get through the fiscal and physical challenges of each day.
A tense and complicated relationship with the children’s mother leaves Faron as a single father. Now, he questions the time he has left to watch his children grow.
Connected
George Wolffbrandt loves his land.
He has lived, worked and raised his family on the 200 acre farm for 25 years, where he his wife Cheryl grow their own food and raise livestock.
The property is dotted with old cemeteries, historical sites and endangered species but may soon have to share the space with a proposed $400 million two-lane road that would stretch 13 miles between I-75 and US 27 in Nicholasville, Ky.
Of the highway’s potential routes, one runs directly through Wolffbrandt’s farm.
Headliner
At 40 years old, wrestler Chris Michaels, of Franklin, Ky., still considers his life to be “pretty much neck and neck with being a rock star.” The father of three believes he’s at the peak of his career, and shows no signs of stopping. “It’s all smoke and mirrors and flashing lights,” says Michaels, “but I try to live that illusion, like I’m surrounded by women and partying all the time. Sometimes though I wish I was normal.”
by Danny Guy