An eye for stories: Morehead professor documents the world around him

Apr. 6—Steven Middleton is a storyteller.

He's also a full-time mass-media instructor at Morehead State University, a member of the folk/string band The New Beckham County Ramblers, and a host for various programs through the years on Morehead State University Television.

But, ultimately, he's a storyteller.

So, it was no surprise that when I met with him at The Nook & Cranny Coffeehouse on Main Street in Grayson, our conversation lasted a couple of hours longer than expected.

From the latest goings-on in the world of professional wrestling to the happenings at Morehead State University, there were plenty of topics to cover before we ever came to the subject at hand.

Those types of conversations naturally occur with Middleton, thanks in part to the keen observational eye he seems to have.

It's that observational eye that has taken glimpses of a multitude of topics over the years and has established Middleton as a documentarian in our region with a unique voice for the subjects he covers.

A storyteller, recording the world around him.

But why documentaries? It started for Middleton with a love for film in general.

"I always loved movies but I realized pretty young that it was hard to produce a movie," Middleton said. "I actually wrote and made some old movies with a VHS, and they were pretty bad."

The less-than-stellar results of these films didn't stop Middleton, but rather shifted his focus to a place he's since thrived.

"I still wanted to produce something and then I learned that I could produce documentaries on my own without much of a crew."

So why documentaries? Middleton says that old public television broadcasts pushed him in that direction.

"I grew up watching a lot of late night television where you would see kind of strange, off the wall documentaries."

At the time, Middleton was living in Elliott County and the channels available were few.

"Growing up, I only had over the air channels, and we got the PBS out of West Virginia. They used to play this documentary series called Different Drummer."

That series, produced by Jacob Young, showcased stories on a variety of eclectic subjects from the likes of "The Dancin' Outlaw" Jesco White to a rundown hotel in Charleston, WV where many disadvantaged folks lived.

"They were zany, silly pieces that were still informative," Middleton said. "And that's what I wanted to do. Nothing life-changing, just stories. I've gone to conferences and film festivals and those filmmakers, they really think that their pieces are changing the world. I've never thought that, I just wanted to make films like Jacob Young."

And so that's exactly what Middleton set out to do.

His first completed piece was part of a graduate thesis at Morehead State University examining Appalachian stereotypes in music, a natural subject for a man who also plays in a traditional string band himself.

The end result was far from what Middleton was looking for.

"It was too serious and too academic," Middleton said. "It was informative and that was about it. I want people to watch something I produce and not so much stew on it but almost laugh, while at the same time go, 'You know, that's the way it really is.'"

As a general rule, Middleton likes to go in a direction that isn't the "same old" Appalachian topics, like poverty, environmental issues, drug epidemics, etc. and instead explore the more unique stories our area has to tell.

"I really like our strange Tri-state region," Middleton said. "It's so bizarre at times. From Morehead to Olive Hill, to Grayson, to Boyd County and Ashland, up into Greenup it's such a strange area. Like in the weirdest of ways and I mean that in a positive way. It's just fascinating."

Sometimes the mere presence of our area helps tell that story. In his latest release, 2023's "Stages and Waves," Middleton came to Ashland for part of the film's shoot.

The film looks at how the COVID-19 pandemic affected creators and artists in our area of Appalachia.

He said the setting of the river and the bridges in Ashland created a perfect metaphor for the divisions we face post-COVID-19.

"I wanted to use those bridges in Ashland," Middleton said. "They take you to Ohio and then into West Virginia that way in and out of the state. I wanted that imagery of change and people coming in and out of things in their life, because COVID forever changed us whether we want to admit it or not."

That division is on full display in Middleton's 2017 documentary "Between the Rock and the Commonwealth," which showcased a dispute between folks in Greenup County and Portsmouth, and on a broader level between Kentucky and Ohio, over an eight-ton boulder that was removed by Ohio historian Steve Shaffer in 2007.

"Eastern Kentuckians and Southern Ohioans just don't seem to like each other," Middleton said with a laugh. "I don't know if it's because they each think the other can't drive or what, but they love to rip on each other."

Middleton thinks the aspect that drew people to the Indian Head Rock story was a somewhat primitive response between the two sides.

"It really resonated with the people in the Tri-state, the Ashland and Greenup region," Middleton said. "It was like Kentuckians thought, 'Ohio came and took our property!' and then the Ohioans want to defend that property."

The kicker to the ordeal is the fact that it was well documented that the rock was, in fact, not a Native American artifact in any way.

But perhaps that made it the perfect artifact to highlight the people in our area, who often make similar Native claims about their own heritage.

"It looked like Charlie Brown more than anything," Middleton said. "But folks around here, especially where I grew up, everyone wants to think they're Native American even though they're not. But it kind of resonated with people because they thought, 'that's our culture, that's our people's rock.'"

It's a topic that resonated with people in our area then and still resonates now.

"I still get emails from and people who are like, what do you think about the rock being over in Greenup in that exposed air," Middleton said, shaking his head.

Middleton has covered an array of other topics including local candy manufacturers, death traditions/rituals of Appalachia, and the history of Morehead State University just to name a few.

As future subjects come, Middleton looks to continue to bring his own unique perspective to the subjects he observes.

"It comes down to things that I think are interesting to me," Middleton said. "Things that peak my interest and makes me think, hey maybe there's more to that story."