In 1972 the Sisters of St. Francis opened the Friendship Center in Rocky Hollow, KY in the backyard of a local family. Seven mountain ladies and the nuns’ main objective was to alleviate poverty in their lives and to improve the lives of their neighbors. Within a year they moved to a storefront in Williamsburg, KY where they were able to distribute donated food, clothing, and furniture. Any income was used to meet emergencies in the form of rent, medicine, medical bills, transportation, food, heating bills as well as paying for the regular maintenance expenses of the Friendship Center.

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The Friendship Center became a gathering center hosting educational, social, and recreational interests. Programs such as quilting, sewing, music, general education, and candle making to name a few were open to everyone. Within a few years the Friendship Center found itself facing growing pains. People who lived out in the country were not always able to come into town. So, they formed satellite centers throughout the county which gave those communities a social gathering place to meet new friends. But more importantly, the Center fostered continuing the production of handmade crafts that could be sold to give the family income a boost. Additionally, engagement with the Center provided opportunities to develop skills in store management while acquiring a new self-concept of dignity, pride, and responsibility. 

 

One such Center was the Mulberry Friendship Center. That is where, in 1993, Maureen Shanley met Bobbie Jean McKiddy, who was an incredible women devoted to improving the lives of her neighbors. At her center there was an area for clothing and food donations, but more importantly Bobbie worked with and encouraged her neighbors to hone their artistic talents so that they could earn additional income. Sewing and craft skills produced wonderful products that were sold to groups like Appalachian Volunteers, Inc. AVI was a volunteer group based in Ct that purchased Appalachian handmade crafts which they would then sell at their store in Darien, CT. AVI’s mission was twofold. First, they wanted to create a venue that would enable mountain people to supplement their income so they could continue to live in the mountains that they loved and called home. Secondly, AVI wanted to preserve the artisan skills that existed only in Appalachia.

 

The Friendship Center has a long history of mountain people working together with their neighbors to improve their lives both socially and financially.