Tom Bethell, 1939-2025: Journalist, Advocate, Mentor

Tom Bethell, 1939-2025: Journalist, Advocate, Mentor

EDITOR’S NOTE: Journalist and social-justice advocate Tom Bethell died April 10 at the age of 86.  This article is from The Mountain Eagle, the famed weekly newspaper published in Whitesburg, Kentucky. Bethell contributed writing, editing, and encouragement to the Eagle and its staff for more than half a century. This piece was written and compiled by some of the friends Bethell helped along the way.When the Scotia coalmine in Letcher County, Ke…

Journalist Tom Bethell was a tireless advocate for coal miners and Appalachia

Thomas N. Bethell is seen here in 1972 at the old Mountain Eagle office on West Main Street in Whitesburg while taking a break from the one finger typing style he used to write policy proposals or newspaper reports that would ultimately do much to better the lives of many residents of Letcher County and elsewhere in Appalachia. Bethell died earlier this month at his home in Washington, D.C. He was 86. (Eagle photo) This remembrance …