The Long Trip was revived in 1998 by Fern Khan, then Dean of Continuing Education, and Carol Hillman, a Bank Street alumna and former Board of Trustees member. Attendees to these "new" Long Trips include students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of Bank Street. The eighth of these trips took participants to Charleston & Morgantown, West Virginia in 2006.
The 2006 trip revisited the first 1935 Long Trip location, taking participants to Arthurdale, a New Deal Resettlement community for miners; they learned much about the impact of mountaintop removal on the community. Bill Price, Sierra Club organizer, taught about the work being accomplished by his organization as well as by the local residents in preserving the mountains and creating a healthier environment. A side trip to environmentally polluted Cheshire, Ohio, introduced families suffering from massive pollution from the American Electric Power, the devaluing of their homes and the company’s legal maneuvering to avoid compliance. Participants saw the total devastation of the awesome Kayford Mountains, a sad and somber scene. In Mingo County, coal sludge waste has seeped into drinking water, causing numerous illnesses within families. They entered the Beckley mine and marveled that workers, often cheated and mistreated, survived in the dark and damp environment.
To view a timeline and map of the newer Long Trips, visit the Bank Street Continuing Professional Studies site.
