2005 – Issue 1 (February)
Appalachian Treasures Project Launched
In March, Appalachian Voices and Coal River Mountain Watch will begin touring the country to build a national network of people who will work together to protect coalfield communities from mountaintop removal. Dubbed the Appalachian Treasures Project, the effort will feature a multimedia presentation and the personal testimony of residents of Appalachia’s coalfields, who will…
Read MoreOne Valley, Two Worlds
Climbing the steps at C.D. Owen High School in Black Mountain, NC, as hundreds of my classmates do each morning, offers two unique and contrasting perspectives. Looking straight ahead, as most do when preparing to start their school day, we see the rigid vertical and horizontal lines of the school’s modern facade-the carefully laid cinder…
Read MorePersonal Geography
We are marked by the place we call home, not the house or people (though that is true, too), but by the land. I am the daughter of the mother of mountains, child of this earth’s oldest river, suckled by Appalachian breasts, sung to sleep by New River’s roar. The road ended, petered out, at…
Read MoreIn Search of the Pileated Woodpecker
Both the sight and sound of a pileated woodpecker are unforgettable. The call of the bird has always struck me as jungle-like, sounding more like a chattering monkey than a chirping bird. Most folks who spend any amount of time outdoors will probably recognize the sound, even if they cannot identify the source. Its exotic…
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