2007 – Issue 1 (February)

Appalachia lost a beacon of righteousness and a tower of talent when Wilma Dykeman died at the age of 86 on December 23, 2006, in Asheville, North Carolina. Wilma Dykeman, who lived in Newport, Tennessee, throughout her adult life, was a uniquely compelling force for decades, combining a high-class background and presentation with a conscientiously…

Astute observations are not at all unusual in a Survey of American Literature course, usually arising out of lively discussions of what is to be found among the pages of college textbooks. Sandra L. Ballard, a teacher in the English Department at Appalachian State University in Boone, had an insight focused more upon what was…

Appalachia is waking up to the political impact of local action. For example, Blacksburg VA and Morgantown WV joined over 350 cities and towns nationwide in recent weeks, pledging to reduce their global warming pollution. Other cities in the region are working towards similar goals. Black Mountain, NC, for example, has a Green Buildling Council…

I first heard about the Buffalo Creek Disaster while at a meeting in central West Virginia. A group of activists had gathered to form an Appalachian chapter of the People’s Party — an anti-war, populist political party that in 1972 ran Dr Benjamin Spock for President. It was Saturday, February 26, 1972. An hour or…

Slow Road Home: A Blue Ridge Book of Days. By Fred First. Goose Creek Press. 216 pages. $15.95 Fred First is a biologist, photographer, and writer who did what many simply dream of. Several years ago he quit his “day job,” moved to a small farm nestled in the Blue Ridge, and set out to…

At a moment when North Carolina’s strong clean air legislation seemed under attack on the federal level, Appalachian Voice volunteer Brenda Huggins showed how leadership and common sense can make an important political point. Huggins was concerned about the possibility that a 2005 federal bill would dilute strong state air pollution laws such as the…

With a long history of organizing and activism, Appalachian women have played vital roles in the drama of this mountainous region. Activists such as Anne Barton, Aunt Molly Jackson, and Widow Combs, all who hail from the first half to the middle of the twentieth century, provide the foundation for contemporary Appalachian women, those working…

images/voice_uploads/Tacket.gif Imagine. You’re cooking breakfast. Suddenly, the lights blow out. A low rumbling sound like an explosion echoes down the hollow. You run outside. Someone screams: “The dam has broke!” You grab the children and run uphill — any direction will do. Then you hear it. A three story wall of water roars down your…

images/voice_uploads/nn.p23.hickory.gif When European settlers arrived in America, they found an abundant nut tree unknown in the Old World. Native Americans had a curious practice of pounding the nuts and tossing them into boiling water. The heat separated a cream-colored oily substance from the nuts, which was skimmed off and stored as a pasty material the…

Appalachia is waking up to the political impact of local action. For example, Blacksburg VA and Morgantown WV joined over 350 cities and towns nationwide in recent weeks, pledging to reduce their global warming pollution. Other cities in the region are working towards similar goals. Black Mountain, NC, for example, has a Green Buildling Council…