A long time ago, before The Trail of Tears, before the Red Indian was banished to the West, he roamed the hills of Appalachia. His skin was tawny, his limbs were strong and muscled. His face was regal and his war paint fierce. He was the Cherokee of the old days. There was a period [...]
Rest of the Story ...Appalachia has very beautiful landscape. In order to protect and preserve the landscape, in 1911, Congress passed the Weeks Act, giving the federal government authority to create national forests and control timber harvesting. Regional writers and business interests led a movement to create national parks in the eastern United States, culminating in the creation of [...]
Rest of the Story ...Numerous studies are available about fatalism in Appalachia. A few I’ve read, indicate the first Scotch Irish settlers of Appalachia brought their fatalistic outlook with them, then passed it on to future generations. Others infer the sometimes dim outlook of Appalachians is directly related to their isolated lives and the difficult circumstances surrounding them. I personally believe, [...]
Rest of the Story ...My parents recently visited the Museum of Appalachia, located in Clinton, TN. They enjoyed themselves quite a bit during their visit, so much so that I am planning my own visit. They had tons of good things to say about it. I wanted to share this organization with you because of the great work they [...]
Rest of the Story ...When I think of summer, I think of laying by the pool and reading, long summer days, warm Kentucky rains and fairs. I have always loved fairs. It is a time when the community comes together to share a little summer fun, view the local stock, whether it be cows or sheep, watch some local [...]
Rest of the Story ...Tom Dooley is a song I’ve heard all my life, I can even play it on the bass. It’s one of those sad down right mean songs about a horrible act-that still seems to draw me in for some reason. Appalachia abounds with lonesome sadistic songs about killing-almost always a girl. Some of the songs [...]
Rest of the Story ...Some laughter by way of Pap.
Back in the day, Pap and a friend walked to see 2 brothers, who were musicians-in the hopes of hearing some good pickin and grinnin. Soon after arriving, they started asking the brothers to play them a song-but the boys kept putting them off. Even the boys’ Mother encouraged them [...]
The Summer Solstice was on June 21st. For several days before and after, the Sun seems to stand still. The longest day and the shortest night of the year occur on the Summer Solstice. This is sometimes called Midsummer since it is roughly in the middle of the growing season.
For most folks in Southern Appalachia [...]
Until the mid 1950s folks took their corn, wheat, or rye to a local gristmill to have it ground into meal for bread making and other uses.
Here in Southern Appalachia most people used Corn for meal-as it was easier to grow and seemed to last longer in storage.
Typically the Corn was left in the field [...]
http://www.missionofhope.org/index.htm
Mission of Hope is a charity/volunteer organization who’s goal is to help impoverished children and their families in rural Appalachia.
Currently, the specific campaigns and programs that the Mission of Hope undertakes throughout the year are as follows:
Christmas Campaign
Back-To-School Campaign
Spring Resurrection Programs
Healthcare Events
Construction Ministry
Resource Ministry
To meet the ever increasing requests for assistance presented to the Mission of Hope, the charity receives contributions [...]
Rest of the Story ...