Following the arrival of Daniel Boone a couple hundred years ago, a slow trickle of settlers started coming up the mountain and settling around Tanawha, what the Cherokee called Grandfather Mountain. Its reputation as a unique and special place began to spread far and wide. It began attracting the attention…
A treasured family heirloom was the family bible. There were not many homes that didn’t have a bible in early Appalachian days. In fact, this was usually the only book in the home. Children as well as adults learned to read from the family bible. During early school days, the…
The colors of fall in Appalachia include more than leaves. The colors of the many apple trees include bright orange, reds and greens as well. As Avery County, NC extension agent Doug Hundley told us, those trees might be the remnants of much larger orchards! Many of our ancestors, who…
Over the years, there has seemed to be a decline in the gatherings we call family reunions. In the old days, families would get together on someone’s farm. Relatives from all over, even those living in different states, would make their way back home. This was an exciting time for…
To many outsiders, families in Appalachia were often viewed as living in the remote and isolated mountains where people were starving and ignorant. This is far from truth. My great-grandma, Ethel, was the 5th of 14 children. She was raised by her parents in a one room sawmill lumber home…
From the very beginning, his mother knew there was something special about this child. She named him “Oddie” because she had the notion that he was going to be unique, and that he was. The grandson of slaves, Oddie brought a revolution to black education in Ashe County. In 1933…
Many women in Appalachia were dedicated quilt makers. My grandmothers were no exception to the women who sewed quilts for their families. During the time when cotton was king of the south, Grandma Ethel worked in cotton mills in Tennessee and South Carolina. Her mother had taught her how to…
Tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Northwestern North Carolina, Alleghany County is the state’s fifth smallest county, but it is home to one of the most powerful political dynasties the state has ever known. Jonathan Doughton might have had some local fame as a county commissioner, but his…
Sawmill gravy with cornbread, hog jawl, fried chicken, chocolate dumplins’, soup beans and taters, fresh garden mater and onions. These were just a few of the good home cooked meals we enjoyed growing up in Appalachia. Freshly sliced cukes would make a good plate garnishment as well. Many of us…
There is a new generation of folks who don’t know that the wild and scenic New River was once threatened to be dammed by a major power company. One of the staunchest opponents of damming the New River had not been that interested in the whole process until the power…
