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Blog Details for "Appalachian History"
Appalachian HistoryAppalachian HistoryFolktales, anecdotes and quotes drawn from Appalachia. Emphasis on the Depression era. Articles
Listen Here: Appalachian History Weekly posts today
2011-12-04 06:00:00 We post a new episode of Appalachian History weekly podcast every Sunday. You can start listening right away by clicking the podcast icon over on the right side of your screen. If you’d rather grab the show off itunes for later listening, click here: We open today’s show with a look at the phrase “What ... You Might Also Like:Listen Here: Appalachian History Weekly posts today More About: Today , Posts
All I want for Christmas is a whimmy diddle
2011-12-02 06:00:00 The whimmy diddle (sometimes called a Hooey Stick or Gee-Haw) is an Appalachian folk toy that has been around for centuries. It’s fashioned from two sticks of laurel or rhododendron into a rubbing stick and a slightly thicker notched stick. The whimmy diddle makes a characteristic sound when the one stick is rubbed back and ... You Might Also Like:For Christmas – the whimmydiddle or the flipperdinger?
There wasn?t a prouder boy in all Steubenville when I gave mother that hat
2011-12-01 06:00:00 As long as I can remember there has been a Spies Jewelry Store in Steubenville, OH. The one I am thinking of now was on Market Street across from Beall & Steele’s Drug Store. Spies was not ordinarily important to a boy, since it sold only a lot of worthless stuff like solid gold breast ... You Might Also Like:He probably gave it to someone who liked moonshine More About: Mother
Cold Winter Shadow
2011-11-30 06:00:00 When a cold winter shadow I cast on the ground And frost from the foothills is creeping all around I now and then glance down the road towards the town In a kind of a hope you’ll be coming on down It must have been November when I left you to the train I watched ... You Might Also Like:Winter ’s the quilting season More About: Cold , Shadow
Well the son-of-a-gun pecked in, now let him peck out
2011-11-29 06:00:00 Nationally recognized herbalist Tommie Bass (1908-1996) was the subject of scholarly and popular books, television features, a front-page essay in the Wall Street Journal, and numerous articles in newspapers and magazines. Bass lived almost his entire life in the Tennessee Valley and Ridge section of Alabama, primarily in Cherokee County. “I don’t ever get a ... You Might Also Like:We used to catch the cat on a trot line
Acid rain devastates Tennessee?s Copper Basin
2011-11-28 06:00:00 In August 1843, a Tennessee gold prospector working on Potato Creek discovered a reddish-brown and black decomposed rock that contained deep red crystals; his “gold” turned out to be red copper oxide. At the time, this copper deposit was one of the world’s largest finds. The Hiwassee Mine opened in 1850, and within 5 years ... You Might Also Like:This ends a very favorable April with just about enough rain More About: Rain , Acid , Copper
No Listen Here: Appalachian History Weekly podcast today
2011-11-27 14:10:00 Still recovering from Thanksgiving turkey leftovers. Back to normal next week. You Might Also Like:Listen Here: weekly Appalachian History podcast posts today You Might Also Like:Listen Here: weekly Appalachian History podcast posts today More About: Podcast , Today , Weekly
Old Order Amish
2011-11-25 06:00:00 When you?re in Oakland or Grantsville, Maryland, you?re in Old Order Amish territory. If you?re not Amish yourself, you may be wondering just how that group got its name. You?d have to go back to the Zurich, Switzerland of the 1690s and make the acquaintance of one Jakob Amman. Amman?s roots were in the Anabaptists, ... You Might Also Like:Embarrassed wife has Oakland?s first doctor executed
Happy Thanksgiving, y?all!
2011-11-24 06:00:00 What we?re missing is the voice of our elders, explaining why things happened as they did, and what it was like there, then. Without this context names and dates are just abstractions, as real as a virtual kiss. Without knowing the challenges and compromises our ancestors faced we’re like machines making lists of rare ingredients ... You Might Also Like:Happy Thanksgiving y’all
The Guineas of West Virginia
2011-11-23 06:00:00 In American culture, if you can?t prove you?re 100% white or ?pass? for such, you get lumped into the minority by default. This is a cultural bias the Chestnut Ridge People (CRP) of West Virginia have been familiar with for several hundred years now. “There is a clan of partly-colored people in Barbour County often ... You Might Also Like:West Virginia’s first female physician
How the post office came to Pine Mountain KY
2011-11-22 06:00:00 “Back in the days when I knew him, Uncle William [ed.-- William Creech 1845-1918] was the sage of Pine Mountain; he was the leader to whom the creek dwellers far and near turned for guidance in time of decision. “In any rural community the mail is always a matter of importance, particularly in a region ... You Might Also Like:Where’s the Valle Crucis post office? Well, that depends More About: Office , Post , Post Office
He aimed to give Grit?s readers courage and strength
2011-11-21 06:00:00 Always keep Grit from being pessimistic. Avoid printing those things which distort the minds of readers or make them feel at odds with the world. Avoid showing the wrong side of things, or making people feel discontented. Do nothing that will encourage fear, worry or temptation… Wherever possible, suggest peace and good will toward men. ... You Might Also Like:We air now aiming to give a dumb show for to pleasure the Little Teacher More About: Readers , Give
Listen Here: Appalachian History Weekly podcast posts today
2011-11-20 06:00:00 We post a new episode of Appalachian History weekly podcast every Sunday. You can start listening right away by clicking the podcast icon over on the right side of your screen. If you’d rather grab the show off itunes for later listening, click here: We open today?s show with a look at the Collins Company, ... You Might Also Like:Listen Here: weekly Appalachian History podcast posts today More About: Podcast , Today , Weekly
Hard work, fresh air, and plenty of food
2011-11-18 06:00:00 Shortly after taking office in 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt announced plans for creation of a “conservation army.” FDR at first saw the Civilian Conservation Corps primarily as a forestry organization — fighting fires, planting trees, thinning timber stands, stopping soil erosion and floods — but the field personnel of the State and Federal agencies involved ... You Might Also Like:They would work up the apples the next day More About: Food , Work , Hard , Fresh
The year with two Thanksgivings
2011-11-17 06:00:00 “I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate Thursday, the twenty-third of November 1939, as a day of general thanksgiving.” How appropriate that Roosevelt’s proclamation was issued on Halloween, the day for tricks or treats. The average citizen was irritated and confused; big business was delighted. In the end, ... You Might Also Like:Listen Here: weekly Appalachian History podcast posts today More About: Bennett
The Santa Train pulls into town
2011-11-16 06:00:00 In Appalachia Santa Claus comes the weekend before Thanksgiving. Since 1943, the Santa Special, more commonly known as the Santa Train , has traveled 110 miles through the mountains of eastern Kentucky, southwest Virginia and northeastern Tennessee to distribute loads of candy, toys and other goodies to eager bystanders, most of whom have made it a ... You Might Also Like:Get ready for the Santa Train More About: Town
Highway to History: WV author helps illustrate history of Midland Trail
2011-11-15 06:00:00 The following article by Rick Steelhammer appeared in the November 12 issue of The Charleston Gazette. Reprinted here with permission. The route U.S. 60 follows as it traverses the breadth of Southern West Virginia has gone through a number of name changes. Known first as the Buffalo Trail in deference to the bison that trod ... You Might Also Like:Where the Hillbilly Highway ends More About: History , Author
Hog-Butchering Day
2011-11-14 06:00:00 “Butchering conjures up the image of a country diet laden with generous servings of ham, shoulder, tenderloin, bacon, sausage and spareribs. The restocking of our primary source of hog meat began every spring with the selection of four shoats. Their pre-slaughter fattening schedule coincided with cutting and shucking corn, hand-husking ears of golden grain, and ... You Might Also Like:‘Heave ho, over you go’ – hog butchering day
Listen Here: Appalachian History Weekly podcast posts today
2011-11-13 06:00:00 We post a new episode of Appalachian History weekly podcast every Sunday. You can start listening right away by clicking the podcast icon over on the right side of your screen. If you’d rather grab the show off itunes for later listening, click here: We open today?s show with a look at what was the ... You Might Also Like:Listen Here: weekly Appalachian History podcast posts today More About: Podcast , Today , Weekly
The women of this country are going to come and sit here
2011-11-11 06:00:00 Rebecca Latimer Felton, in her customary way, saw right through the political machinations that led to her officially becoming the first woman to serve in the United States Senate. When Georgia Senator Thomas E. Watson died on September 26, 1922, Governor Thomas Hardwick appointed a replacement to serve until a special election could be held. ... You Might Also Like:I did not enter politics. I was shot into it as by a catapult More About: Women , Country
It?s the Snallygaster
2011-11-10 06:00:00 It?s a great winged beast, with scales like a reptile and the wings and talons of a great bird. No. It?s half bird, half wildcat with yellow and black stripes. No. It?s a sable-eyed muskrat with a tuxedo front. It?s the Snallygaster, and for several years in the late 1920s and early 1930s it caused ... You Might Also Like:Prohibition comes to Alabama. Again.
Criminal Syndicalism comes to Harlan, KY
2011-11-09 06:00:00 In November 1931, as chairman of the National Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners, well known author Theodore Dreiser organized a special committee to infiltrate Kentucky’s Harlan coal mines to investigate allegations of crimes and abuses against striking miners. The self-appointed group of left-leaning writers (including Theodore Dreiser, Lewis Mumford, John Dos Passos, and ... You Might Also Like:Joe Ozanic’s AFL challenges John Lewis’ CIO
A Smoky Mountain clan protects its way of life one song at a time
2011-11-08 13:56:00 The following review of Alex Bledsoe?s new novel, ‘The Hum and the Shiver,’ was written by Tina LoTufo for Chapter16.org, ‘a community of Tennessee writers, readers and passersby.’ In The Hum and the Shiver, the Reverend Craig Chess is a young minister with a problem: his first church assignment?the Triple Springs Methodist Church?is located in ... You Might Also Like:The Great Smoky Mountain synchronized fireflies More About: Life , Song , Time
The farmer has become a prince
2011-11-07 06:00:00 “The log cabin no longer adorns the landscape. Instead, is the stately mansion, indicative of wealth, of taste and of hospitality. There are spacious, nicely painted barns, hedges, orchards, well-fenced, well-tilled fields. Steel bridges span the turbulent streams, and macadamized roadways wind among the valleys and skirt the rising hills. Where the wigwam once stood, ... You Might Also Like:Farmer or astrologer? Both! More About: Prince
Listen Here: Appalachian History Weekly podcast posts today
2011-11-06 06:00:00 We post a new episode of Appalachian History weekly podcast every Sunday. You can start listening right away by clicking the podcast icon over on the right side of your screen. If you’d rather grab the show off itunes for later listening, click here: We open today?s show with a nod to early Buckeye women. ... You Might Also Like:Listen Here: weekly Appalachian History podcast posts today More About: Podcast , Today , Weekly
"Their bodies were covered with the wreckage of logs"
2011-11-04 06:00:00 “The Barrenshe Run mishap was one of the worst log train wrecks in West Virginia history. “As the story became legendary, the runaway train gained additional notoriety as the subject of a local blind poet, who supported himself by selling copies of his works for a nickel on Oakford Avenue in Richwood WV. The poem ... You Might Also Like:It throwed the lead mule way up on the hillside
Christy and Leonora: City Girl, Country Gal
2011-11-03 17:03:00 Please welcome Marilyn Dean Mitchem, a nationally recognized commentator on Catherine Marshall?s novel ‘Christy.’ Marilyn has been active in the Christy internet community since the summer of 1995 (you can find her currently on ChristyFest?s Facebook site). She first attended ChristyFest in 2000, and was a planning team member from 2004 to 2006. Marilyn is ... You Might Also Like:I am a poor girl what you might say got no home More About: Country , Girl , City
Bastardy Bonds
2011-11-03 06:00:00 English law in the American colonies could get a bit florid on the topic of illegitimate children. A bastard child (or ?bastarda?, if female) could become a ?special bastard? by the subsequent marriage of its parents. And if that couple had another, legitimate, son, that son was known to the law as ?filius mulieratus,? and ... You Might Also Like:WV teacher sells $50,000 of War Bonds , wins contest
The town built inside a crater
2011-11-02 06:00:00 Middlesboro, KY is the only city in the US now known to be built within a meteor crater. William M. Andrews Jr., a geologist with the Kentucky Geological Survey, said erosion and vegetation have hidden most signs of the meteor’s impact. However, enough evidence remains, he said, to support the conclusion. “You have the round ... You Might Also Like:A mill built plenty sturdy More About: Inside , Town
Malted Milk and madness in Huntsville
More articles from this author:2011-11-01 06:00:00 Today Dr. William Henry Burritt is remembered in Huntsville, AL as the man who left his mountaintop estate to the city in 1955, and in doing so, provided that city?s first public museum: the fourteen-room, “X” shaped, Burritt Museum and Historic Park on Round Top Mountain. One of Dr. Burritt’s earliest charitable donations sounds like ... You Might Also Like:Underneath the Huntsville courthouse, yawning caverns More About: Milk 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
