6 Reasons Why People From West Virginia Are Unbelievably Tough

Coal mining — which for a long time was one of the only jobs to be had in West Virginia — is hard. It’s hard both on the miner and the families of miners who are at risk of a mine collapse or other disasters. Coal mining has been the cause of many disasters in West Virginia. It’s also made us tough people.

And coal has not caused our only disasters. In the past few years there’s been a natural gas pipeline that destroyed five houses, an oil train that derailed and destroyed a house, a chemical leak that made our water unusable for days and a landslide that destroyed a church. And those are only recent events. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, they say.