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Naturalists Notebook – Switchgrass
You’ve probably driven by fields full of switch grass a hundred times and never known it. Varieties of the warm season grass – Panicum virgatum – can be found all over the Southeast and the Midwest. Switch grass looks humble enough in the spring, but by autumn it can be six to ten feet tall.…
Read MoreLetters to the editor
Dear Editor, Every article is different, stimulating, provocative, and something you won’t find anyplace else. Thanks. Su Clauson-Wicher Chilhowie, VA Dear Appalachian Voices, Finally, my Economic Stimulus “Kicker” from the Federal Gov’t. came, and I was able to donate part of it to your fine organization. I would love to encourage others who received a…
Read MoreNatural gas — Appalachia’s other energy dilemma
Stand on a ridgeline in southwestern Virginia. You’ll see lush hardwood forests, dark-green groves of rhododendron, blue skies … and square, neat clearings, marked by green tanks and red well heads. They dot almost every ridge, every nook and knob in the mountainous terrain. Look directly overhead, and you might also be standing under a…
Read MoreWild bees create a buzz
A few years ago I invited a local beekeeper to place a hive on my farm. I naively assumed a honey bee colony would increase pollination and thus help maximize crop production. On a preliminary visit he stopped near a mist of insects hovering around a patch of blooming blackberry briars. “You’re getting plenty of…
Read MoreNew river organic growers find themselves growing
Organic farming is one of the fastest growing markets in the agricultural industry, and the New River Organic Growing (NROG) cooperative wants to fill this niche. “The demand is here,” Charles Church, an original member of NROG, said. “People eat everyday and somebody has to grow food. That’s one thing you know people will buy.”…
Read MoreNew perspectives on a platter
The lofty vision of the Harvest Table Restaurant in Meadowview, Virginia can be served up in two different ways. One, you can catch the drift by reading some of the comments on the menu and getting into a heated debate with the restaurant manager. Or two, you can read the runaway bestseller, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,…
Read MoreEditorial – End Game for King Coal
/images/AppalachianVoice/Mar_2008/Edit.cartoon.jpg The American coal industry has never been more profitable, and yet paradoxically, has never been more vulnerable. With the rise of coal prices to unprecedented levels, new coal mines of marginal quality are being forced online. The owners are squeezing small profits from big risks. Experts who have observed mine safety budget cuts expect…
Read MoreBook review – Lockjaw by Holly Farris
Lockjaw by Holly Farris Gival Press, Arlington, VA The language is fresh, the stories stimulating. Holly Farris’s first short story collection, Lockjaw, offers poignant glimpses into the interior lives of an array of diverse characters that linger in the reader’s mind. Her Appalachian narrators, though deeply rooted in Southwest Virginia, exhibit characteristics universally human. As…
Read MoreMuseum of Appalachia – The Ultimate Field Trip
John Rice Irwin tarried among his exhibits for an hour. Maybe more. And that was still not enough to show it off. It was hardly more than a breeze-through of the farm tools, musical instruments, antique furniture and odd relics of yesteryear at the Museum of Appalachia. Irwin smiled and said, “You could spend a…
Read MoreLiving History Museum Honors the Past, for the Future
By Keith Deel By the sweat of their brows and the strength of their backs, settlers built a life in Appalachia. Few reminders of their struggles remain, but one is the Matthews Living History Museum, located outside of Galax, VA. It gives a glimpse into the lives of the citizens of Grayson County from 1880…
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