Welcome
Welcome to a special edition online magazine titled “Special Report: Rural Alabama” created and developed by journalism students in Feature Writing at Auburn University. The online magazine is a selection of writing by students in JRNL-3220 about topics that affect Rural Alabama and how individuals are coping and trying to come up with solutions to these problem. Look onward for more information.
Economics
Where have the manufacturing jobs gone?
Times are changing. Just ask Mark Gieger; a former Gulf States Steel employee in Gadsden, Ala. Mark began working for Gulf States Steel in October of 1978, right out of high school. He enjoyed his job because he liked the type of work he did, and he made $18.50 an hour.
But, things changed for Mark Gieger. In August of 2000, Gulf States Steel closed. “I didn’t know what to do when the job I had for 22 years wouldn’t be there tomorrow,” said Gieger.
Education
Breaking the Cycle
Welcome to Camp Hill, Ala. Located one turn off U.S. Highway 280, this small rural town barely makes a blip on the map.The same could be said for the town’s only public school.
Right before approaching the corner store, Sam’s Quik Snak, there is a small green and white sign the size of a shoebox with an arrow pointing down M.L. King Street towards Edward Bell High School.
Questions about this page
Last updated November 16, 2006