In the Shreve High football stadium,
I think of Polacks nursing long beers in Tiltonsville,
And gray faces of Negroes in the blast furnace at Benwood,
And the ruptured night watchman of Wheeling Steel,
Dreaming of heroes.
All the proud fathers are ashamed to go home.
Their women cluck like starved pullets,
Dying for love.
Therefore,
Their sons grow suicidally beautiful
At the beginning of October,
And gallop terribly against each other's bodies.
--James Wright
Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio
Duquesne, Pennsylvania
As autumn begins in the Rust Belt, I'm always reminded of these sentences written by James Wright, a poet, who was raised around the factories in Martins Ferry, Ohio. Yes, many of the mills are long gone, but the ritual is largely the same. Of course, then, it was many a-player's dream to have football be his way out of a life working at the mill; today it's an escape from the night-shift at Walmart or days spent behind the counter ringing up bargain bleach at Dollar General. Truth be told, the steadiness of the mill life never looked as good as it does now to many of these kids.
In Western Pennsylvania towns like Aliquippa, Ambridge and Clairton, high school football is one sure thing that will make a celebrated return once summer has passed.
Alliance, Ohio
I wasn't one of the kids who bought a ticket and rooted for the local team. My friends and I tended to be the guys standing outside the gate, cigarettes in our hands and Schlitz Malt on our breath, just waiting for something, anything, to happen. We couldn't appreciate the ritual, as we were too obsessed with making sure it wasn't our future we were seeing.
Of course, the future has a funny way of working out sometimes.
Youngstown, Ohio
In Butler, Pennsylvania, one of the two large mills, Pullman Standard, made railroad cars. (The other was Armco.) Across the street and down a bit from the mill was the high school stadium. I had a friend who lived on top of a hill directly across from that factory. All through the night, large, loud noises would emanate from Pullman: the sound of materials being moved from one place to another and the dumping sound of those materials landing and loading. Those noises that echoed through the 3 a.m. air became a comfort to most that I knew. It was the sound of production and the pulse of the living.
Monessen, Pennsylvania
I remember well, standing outside of my friend's house across from the mill during the dead of night, winding down from whatever action we had found and staring out across the way to the clouds of smoke billowing from the factory's stacks, which during the colder months, would move slowly, almost as if frozen, into the winter skies. We would listen to the workers plow on through the night -- a precision and procession that seemed like a life-cycle all its own.
Within a couple of years that plant was shuttered. A few smaller, more minor, industries tried to utilize some of the old facilities, but they never really took. Finally, they came in and simply flattened the land where the mill operations use to be.
Alliance, Ohio
Autumn suits these scenes from the Rust Belt. While, in truth, it's a matter of decay falling upon the decayed, the season, to me, always brings back the focus of the communities and their rituals. It also conjures up those long-ago thoughts about "futures" and just how messy life can truly be. Days and nights that seemed endless, only to come to realize they're a thing of the distant past and aging by the second.
Please visit Randy Fox's website for more Rust Belt photography. Fox also manages the American Elegy website, which features the interviews and work of some of our greatest photographers, well-known and emerging.
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our journalism free and accessible to all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.