30, Sep 2019
Jinny and Jim by Scott Ballard

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard Her name was Virginia, named in part because her father was in Virginia with the Confederate Army coinciding with the time of her birth. Jinny, as she was called, could truthfully claim pioneer ancestry. Her mother’s family included hunters and trappers who…

23, Sep 2019
These twins were inseparable…from Siam to North Carolina by Scott Ballard

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard Arguably the most famous Siamese twins, Chang and Eng, were born in 1811, in what it today Thailand. The brothers were joined at the sternum, an area of the chest, by a small piece of cartilage. Eighteen years later, Robert Hunter, a…

16, Sep 2019
The little mountain crystal that could! by Scott Ballard

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard Well, it’s true that a variety of minerals have been mined in the mountains of North Carolina. People have dug for gold on Grandfather; silver on Beech Creek; lead from the Linville Falls area; clay from Linville; Copper from Ore Knob in…

14, Sep 2019
RETURN TO BUCK MOUNTAIN by Walt Hampton

I have been working on this book, Return to Buck Mountain, as a sequel to my first book, Tales From Buck Mountain, for several years, and hope to put it to the publisher this year.  For my last column in this series I thought I would leave a bit of it with you first. …

9, Sep 2019
Why was this $5 bridge covered? by Scott Ballard

As the county seat for Carter County, Elizabethton grew steadily throughout the 1800s, but the town fathers ran into a problem. The town was hemmed in by Lynn Mountain and the Watauga River, while the flood prone Doe River lay to the East. To continue growing the landlocked town, it…

7, Sep 2019
BROKEN PROMISES by Walt Hampton

My turkey book is going to press this fall, titled Broken Promises.   Here is part of the introduction. BROKEN PROMISES © 2019 Walt Hampton It is the conundrum of my life, the life-conflict in my heart and my guts that I have to pursue and kill that which I love…

2, Sep 2019
When time stands still by Scott Ballard

New Appalachian Moments blog post by Scott Ballard Did you ever wonder what we did before funeral homes? Well, in Appalachia there were several traditions and rituals involved when someone passed away. First of all, there was not a ready made supply of caskets. So, when someone died, a custom…

31, Aug 2019
MEAT by Walt Hampton

MEAT © 2019 Walt Hampton *This is a long one, but important to me.  Several years ago a family member ask me to provide some advice for his daughter, who was graduating high school and headed off to college.  This young lady is intelligent and beautiful–but being a ‘middle child’…

27, Aug 2019
What’s in your family tree? Any Melungeons? by Scott Ballard

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard Author Roberta Estes states the first mention of term Melungeon was in 1810, listing them as neither Black nor Indian, but as “foreigners.” The adjective most often attached to them is mysterious. An awesome alliteration: the mysterious Melungeons, with their dark, Mediterranean…

24, Aug 2019
FOR THE TABLE by Walt Hampton

FOR THE TABLE © 2019 Walt Hampton Among my favorite pastimes is eating. I make no apologies for it, I am a food junkie.  Here I am talking about home cooking, not restaurant food; and although I have an affinity for the finer things, to be sure, it is the…