On the Road to Co-operative

Through research and stories told by friends, Worley learns more about what went before, during, and after his time growing up in Co-operative, Kentucky, a coal mining camp. In this memoir about a place and time, Worley takes the reader on a journey through the years when Co-operative was still a community and points out county-wide stories as well as national events relevant to the readers' journey on the road to Co-operative. Acts of violence are shared but these are overshadowed by the giving hearts of a poor people living in an extremely harsh environment. Those with a connection to Co-operative or the surrounding coal camps as well as other areas in McCreary County will love the personal stories shared in the memoir. The general reader will learn about a unique place and time in this country's history. All readers will be taken back to a time when coal was king, and the U.S. Federal Government felt the coal miner was as important to winning WWII as the soldier in the field. Worley writes about these miners with humility and reverence. The reader will come away with a deeper understanding of the value of life that comes only through relationships with good friends and a loving family instead of material objects.