Ohio -- Granola or Grits?

So, a little while ago, I posted about the "rust belt", and what it's like to try and explain Ohio to people who haven't been there. Today, I came across Southern Belle or Northern Deb by Duffy Brown on the Penguin blog and found another lovely description that resonates.

"I live in Cincinnati, right on the border of granola and grits. The Ohio River is not very wide, I mean people swim across the thing…usually after a few beers but that’s another blog.

On the south side of the Ohio River sushi is, and always will be, bait and granola is squirrel food. On the north 

side if you order sweet tea they toss you a packet of sweet-and-low. "

Covered Bridges

And there's the thing. It's such a border place, a cross roads -- a contradiction. What was really interesting for me, was that I took the understanding of this state and it's contradictions for granted. When I signed with Becky Vinter (super-amazing-agent), because my MS is set in Ohio, I found myself having to explain it for the first time to someone who was not familiar with the region. This was the best I could manage:

I think for readers who are not familiar with the area, Ohio feels like a northern state and Kentucky feels more Southern, though in reality when you reach the border, it's pretty much the same on either side. Part of what I want to bring out is the dichotomy of the setting, the rural traditions that hold strong, despite the need to adapt to an industrialized world to survive.
Some key points for me about the Appalachian setting:

Strong focus on family trees/roots and a strong sense of "clans". Who your kin are and where/how you were raised reflects on you.
Southern/country elements: home cooking, country fried, slow-talking charm, football players are local heroes, cops are good ol' boys, etc.
Survival/Scraping by - these areas are poor. They don't make money off the mines/factories/manufacturing. Those companies make money off the backs of hard laborers. Struggling to survive is second nature in these communities.
Crossroads: this is kind of where north meets south, with some culture clashes all along the way. A crossroads in humanity is exactly what I'm want from the setting of this story - a point of convergence.

Some examples of Appalachian settings I think are really well done - HUNGER GAMES. District 12 is clearly set in the Appalachian coal mines. JUSTIFIED - takes place in Harlan County, Kentucky. And somewhere in between those two settings is what I'm going for. Hunger Games, but present day and no creepy tribute taking; Justified, but less shooting and drugs.

I have been working on description of what it looks like, but also trying to make that Appalachian "feel" come alive in the ms. I recognized it immediately in both HUNGER GAMES and JUSTIFIED, and it felt like coming home. Not overdone, not stereotype and over the top, but really close to what it's like growing up there. I really want to capture that feeling.

Your thoughts? What sets Appalachia and Southern settings apart? How do you explain that difference? Have you ever struggled to explain your hometown to someone?

And just because everyone loves a visual - let me give you a little tour of where I'm from:


Ohio is a land of big cities and small towns, urban metroplexes and rural squalor

Big Cities

Amish Country

:

Columbus

Corn fields

Cleveland

small towns

Urban and modern

Rural and dilapidated

This.

But also this.

This.

And this.

Rock N Roll Hall of Fame

Script Ohio

corn fields

Land of Apple Orchards

Cider Mills - this one's in my  hometown,
where we hold the Apple Cider fest

And Cherry Blossoms.

Cedar Point - America's Roller Coast

Home of Drive-in theaters

Loved these as a kid.

And snow plows.

Great Sled Riding ...

which EVERYONE knows

is just what you do on a snow day. :)

Home of Hocking Hills ...

A place or sharp, natural beauty

(see that rock? I've stood on it.)

Great hiking and unbelievable sights

Even when it's cold

fog and fall colors

ghost towns

houses abandoned

chilly streams

shades trees for farmers to rest

And finally, this.

So, I don't know exactly how to explain Ohio. But I know it when I see it. I know by the smell of damp hay, crisp apples and crunchy leaves. I know it by the way it feels in my blood when I get there.

I know it, because it's home.