Posts Tagged ‘Appalachian Culture’
Another Nordic Revolution
By Kristian Jackson It’s 5 a.m. and outside the truck, headlights reveal driving snow squalls and drifts as high as the pickup’s hood. Our crawl up Roaring Creek Road near the Toe River of North Carolina comes to a sudden halt in a wall of whiteness. We abandon our attempt to dig out the beast…
Read MoreWriting the Ballad Novels: Sharyn McCrumb In Her Own Words
My father’s family settled the North Carolina mountains in the 1790s, and I grew up in a swirl of tales: mountain legends, ballads and scraps of Appalachian history. My first ancestor to settle in these mountains was Malcolm McCourry, chronicled in my novel The Songcatcher. As a child in 1751 he was kidnapped from a…
Read MoreGhostly Legends Rooted in History
By Molly Moore As fall creeps into Appalachia, a smoky fog drifts through the hollows and wraps trees and church steeples in a ghostly haze. At this time of year, it’s wise to pay attention to the human stories buried in the region’s historical towns and landmarks. Elizabethton, Tenn., one of the earliest permanent settlements…
Read MoreYour Goode Deed of the Day
This fall, Appalachian Voices is excited to collaborate with a regional artist and a socially conscious website for an online art sale and fundraiser. GoodeDeeds.com promotes art for charity by holding online gallery events. The site provides the opportunity for artists from around the world to display their artwork, and all of the profits are…
Read MoreCider Beans, Wild Greens and Dandelion Jelly
By Molly Moore After several decades living and eating in the hills of east Tennessee, California native Joan E. Aller proves her love for southern Appalachian cuisine in Cider Beans, Wild Greens and Dandelion Jelly. This is a serious cookbook, and Aller has her priorities straight. In it, food is given the respect true cooking…
Read MoreForward Thinkers Move Back to the Land
by Rachael Goss When we think about the 1960s, certain iconic images pop up. From flower children and festivals to fierce protests and racial unrest, the decade was marked by a turbulent change in the social and political fabrics of our nation. In the late 1960s, many idealistic young Americans turned away from the mainstream…
Read MoreEditorial and Viewpoint
A Politician A Day Keeps The EPA At Bay What is it about politicians that calls them to be so obedient to the worst of the bad apples in big business? The mantra of the 112th Congress seems to be that we should use the pain of an economic recession to justify more unsustainable and…
Read MoreThis Green Yard: Bringing Organic to Your House
Jillian Varkas If you are not convinced that organic gardening and knowing what goes into your ground is important, place a few sticks of celery in a cup full of water and add red food coloring. After a few days, the celery will begin to turn red. That is what happens to our food; pesticides…
Read MoreFarming Forestry: A Pianist’s Tale
By Maureen Halsema He is a champion of trees, fighting for them in the legislative arena, teaching about them on educational platforms, and managing them on Charlane Plantation, his 25,000-acre tree farm southeast of Macon, Ga. Chuck Leavell is most recognized for his musical talent and his travels with the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, and…
Read MoreHome Grown: From Farm to Farmer’s Market, Appalachians Seek to Bring New Meaning to Modern Agriculture
Story by Bill Kovarik Stroll through any farmer’s market and you’ll find a riot of color, taste, and sensation. And, quite likely, crowds of consumers. Farmers markets are the most visible sign of rapid change in agriculture. For consumers it means healthier choices, better tasting vegetables and a new relationship with the farmers. For farmers,…
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