Coming fresh off of the Great Depression and as World War II forced rationing of a broad array of consumer products, it was estimated that over 3 million women and children were wearing clothes hand made from feed or flour sacks. Today we call it recycling or more to the…
David Crockett, frontiersman, Tennessee legislator and U.S. congressman, folk hero, and icon of popular culture, was an intriguing composite of history and myth. He was a unique and compelling mixture of the historical figure and legendary hero. First of all, he was never…ever…Davy. The name Davy just sounded better in…
As with many word histories, the exact root of the word “buck” for one unit of currency is difficult to say. However, the leading theory is backed up by a fair bit of documentation, specifically, it is thought that a dollar is called a “buck” thanks to our four-legged friends…
A Farmer, sawmiller, carpenter and sheriff’s deputy…Willie Trivette’s enduring legacy is that he was one of many self-taught photographers in the hills and hollers of Appalachia. His story, along with other “picturemen” illuminate the truest portraits of the Blue Ridge faces and places of his time. And we owe a…
As the story goes, the subject of today’s podcast was 35 years old before he ever used a camera. He left his Appalachian home during the Depression for the promise of a steady paycheck and landed in Detroit, Michigan, where, as he liked to say, “Henry Ford was paying us…
As Appalachia was settled primarily by the Scots and Irish, it is easy to think that they brought log cabin building expertise with them, but that would be incorrect. There was a long tradition of using logs for houses, barns and other outbuildings… in Finland, Sweden and Germany. When these…
Before VCRs, the internet or even cable TV, people actually listened to the radio for music and went out for entertainment, in this case live music. There are famous music clubs like the Fillmore East and CBGB’s in NY, The Fox in Atlanta and the Whiskey-A-Go-Go in LA, but Blowing…
In frontier times, quilts were a vital part of any household. A single bed might have multiple quilts to keep you warm until the fire was rekindled in the morning or several could be used as a pallet on the floor for extra guests or children. But quilts represent so…
New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard Time to branch out and learn more about the rise and fall of two foundational species of trees in the Appalachians…Chestnuts and Hemlocks. Because it’s been so long ago, it’s hard to imagine the impact of the loss of the native chestnut…
Born in 1894, the midwife who delivered young Otto Wood placed splints on his legs to keep them from turning inward. She later regretted the gesture of compassion saying, “If I had known he was going to spend his life running from the law I would not have attempted to…
