Download or read book Backroads Faces of Appalachia written by Lynn Coffey and published by Lynn Coffey. This book was released on 2016-02-03 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Backroads 3: Faces of Appalachia is the third in a five-book series by Lynn Coffey about the native people of Virginia's highlands and their customs. As with the first two Backroads books, Faces of Appalachia is chock full of old time subject matter such as making apple cider, scrub board washing, cutting winter firewood, gathering watercress, outdoor privies, tapping maple trees for syrup and the demise of the American Chestnut trees, which the mountain people said was "the worst lick the south ever had." Lynn writes the life stories of twenty-four of her close friends living in and around the mountain village of Love where she makes her home, giving new insight into the lives of those inappropriately dubbed "hillbillies" by the media. People like Lizzie Wyant Wood, the plucky little woman who raised nine children and at this writing is almost 111 years of age and still living in her own home, doing her laundry, cooking meals, planting garden and canning the harvest as well as beating anyone who sis down in the evenings to play a hand of Pollyanna. Take a ride with Junior Hatter, a rural mountain mail carrier who still delivers groceries to the older widows on his route or opens a mailbox with a Mason jar of sugar in it with a note, "Take this down to Annie Carr who is baking a cake and needs it." Or marvel at the love between Irvin and Melba Rosen who celebrated their sixty-seventh wedding anniversary and are still busy, active people, full of good humor and a zest for life than many envy. These and many more will entertain readers and give new respect for the rugged folks that call the Blue Ridge Mountains home.
Download or read book Mountain Folk written by Lynn Coffey and published by . This book was released on 2016-02-27 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mountain Folk is the fifth and final book in the Backroads series by Lynn Coffey that showcases the lives and customs of the native Appalachian people of Virginia's highlands. Interviews with seventeen people still living in and around the hamlet of Love where the author makes her home, shed a new light on these private and oft-misunderstood folks whose roots grow deep in the rocky soil of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Read about Ruby May Henderson and Irma Roberts, both now over one-hundred years of age who can remember what life was like during the horse and buggy days of their childhood. Or Carl Coffey, whose father died when he was eight years old, leaving him and his younger in charge of making a living for their family of five by logging the forest with a massive but gentle ox named "Mike." Be swept away by Frances Fitzgerald's account of the Flood of 1969, when Hurricane Camille ripped through rural Nelson County, Virginia, dumping over two feet of rain in an eight hour period, destroying not only property but taking the mountains down with it, along with 124 lives. Read the eulogy for Owen Garfield Campbell; one of the last true mountain men of our area, who, following in the footsteps of his early ancestors, continued to live a life devoid of all modern conveniences. These stories and more will thrill the reader and command new respect for the last generation of mountain people who lived the old way.
Download or read book Backroads The road to Chicken Holler written by Lynn Coffey and published by Lynn Coffey. This book was released on 2009 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Backroads 2: The Road to Chicken Holler, Lynn Coffey is back with another remarkable journey into the lives of the elder people of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. In her first book, Backroads: Plain Folk and Simple Livin', she revealed the charm of the "old ways" as she told the stories of the native residents living in and around the little hamlet of Love, Virginia, where the author makes her home. In her second volume, we are once again taken back to this beautiful country setting, beginning with an interview with Doris Giannini Hamner, the real "Olivia" of the popular TV series, The Waltons. From there, it's on to river baptizing, pickling beets, midwives and home births, bear hunting, mountain music and those wonderful recipes. Each story is enhanced with a multitude of photos of early ancestors, craftwork and breathtaking scenery that only the Blue Ridge Mountains can afford. No one tells the story of the Appalachian culture with such heart, warmth, and respect as Lynn Coffey because this is her life and these are her people. Or as Brad Herzog, the best-selling author of the American travel memoir, States of Mind, says, "Like its predecessor, this book is a celebration- of the people and pastimes of a bygone era and a magical place. It is a snapshot of a flickering candle before it burns out, and Lynn Coffey is the keeper of the flame."
Download or read book The Face of Appalachia written by Tim Barnwell and published by . This book was released on 2021-05 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Face of Appalachia: Portraits from the Mountain Farm is the culmination of over twenty years of work by acclaimed photographer Tim Barnwell. Combining beautiful landscapes with tender portraits, his remarkable black-and-white images provide a stunning record of a vanishing way of life on the remote mountain farms of rural Appalachia. Over one hundred photographs, printed here in elegant duotone reproductions, are combined with conversations with the subjects, to give us an insight into the daily lives, activities, and dreams of the hard working, proud, and resourceful men and women of this unique area of our country. Transcending their geographical origins, these photographs give us a look at how our forefathers lived, for generations, with seemingly little change, in the decades before modern industry, roads, and technology transformed the country from an agrarian to an industrial economy and then to the information age we live in today. The rugged and remote mountains of the southern Appalachian region have served to isolate and preserve the last vestiges of life as it once was throughout rural America. By documenting this disappearing way of life, Mr. Barnwell has captured the essence, beauty, and rugged character of the rural landscape and its people, for this and future generations.
Download or read book Back Talk from Appalachia written by Dwight B. Billings and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2013-07-24 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Appalachia has long been stereotyped as a region of feuds, moonshine stills, mine wars, environmental destruction, joblessness, and hopelessness. Robert Schenkkan's 1992 Pulitzer-Prize winning play The Kentucky Cycle once again adopted these stereotypes, recasting the American myth as a story of repeated failure and poverty--the failure of the American spirit and the poverty of the American soul. Dismayed by national critics' lack of attention to the negative depictions of mountain people in the play, a group of Appalachian scholars rallied against the stereotypical representations of the region's people. In Back Talk from Appalachia, these writers talk back to the American mainstream, confronting head-on those who view their home region one-dimensionally. The essays, written by historians, literary scholars, sociologists, creative writers, and activists, provide a variety of responses. Some examine the sources of Appalachian mythology in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century literature. Others reveal personal experiences and examples of grassroots activism that confound and contradict accepted images of ""hillbillies."" The volume ends with a series of critiques aimed directly at The Kentucky Cycle and similar contemporary works that highlight the sociological, political, and cultural assumptions about Appalachia fueling today's false stereotypes.
Download or read book Backroads written by Lynn Coffey and published by Lynn Coffey. This book was released on 2009-11-01 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Signs, superstitions, remedies and cures. The first book in Lynn Coffey's five-book series about Virginia's Appalachian culture, Backroads; Plain Folk and Simple Livin' gives readers a look into a disappearing way of life that has served generations of mountain people well. The book contains thirty-one chapters ranging from digging ginseng, churning butter, old time recipes, beekeeping, early burial practices and handmade coffins as well as in-depth interviews with six elder native people of the Blue Ridge Mountains. With endorsements from Earl Hamner, Jr., creator of the Waltons, and Jan Karon, author of the popular Mitford series, Backroad is a testament to the tenacity and resilience of the hearty Scots/Irish immigrants born and raised in the isolated hollers deep in Virginia's hazy blue mountains. Reminiscent of the Foxfire books, Backroads; Plain Folk and Simple Livin' captures the essence and spirit of those who chose a hardscrabble way of life over the confines of city living. A must read for those longing for a simpler way of life and a modicum of self-sufficiency.
Download or read book The Faces of Appalachia written by Michael D. Spaulding and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book At Home in the Heart of Appalachia written by John O'Brien and published by Alfred A. Knopf. This book was released on 2001 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John O'Brien's deeply evocative book re- veals a place and a way of life--and the lives of an estranged father and son whose differences rest, ironically, in their own powerful bonds to Appalachia. John O'Brien was born in Philadelphia, his father having left his beloved home in the West Virginia mountains after an impoverished childhood made all the more painful by family tragedy. Struggling to escape a father defeated by disappointment, displacement, and poverty, John too left home. When John decided to settle near his father's birthplace in West Virginia, he hoped to comprehend the elder O'Brien's attachment to the land, as well as the disabling fatalism he had carried north. What he discovered is hardly the mythic Appalachia most Americans imagine, but a world of extravagant beauty--lush with green mountains, deep forests, ice-cold trout streams, and small hill farms. The people we meet who inhabit this land are for the most part unpretentious, working class, straightforward, open, commonsensical, and easygoing. They tend to look back more than most Americans do, defining themselves by how they fit into an extended family that includes their ancestors. We are in a mountain culture that feels old and deeply rooted, that follows a traditional way of life. It is a world the author would finally love and call his own. We also come face-to-face with provincialism, intolerance, and--perhaps Appalachia's defining legacy--the horrors of the coalfields and chemical plants. We see clearly what rapacious greed and exploitation have done for generations to much of the landscape and to the lives of the people. And we learn of the stream of reformers and missionaries, ever readyto show Appalachia the way, whose real contributions tend to be negligible or absurd. In this clear-eyed, beautifully rendered telling of his story and his father's, John O'Brien gives us, as well, the history and true heart of Appalachia.
Download or read book A is for Appalachia written by Linda Hager Pack and published by . This book was released on 2009-10-01 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An alphabet book featuring words about Appalachian culture, plus additional stories and facts, a glossary, and a list of places to visit in the region.
Download or read book Back Roads written by Tawni O'Dell and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page 422 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE Funny and heartbreaking, this New York Times bestselling debut perfectly captures the maddening confusion of adolescence and the prickly nature of family with irony and unerring honesty. Harley Altmyer should be in college having the time of his life. He should be free from the backwards Pennsylvania coal town he calls home, with its lack of jobs and no sense of humor. Instead, he’s constantly reminded of just how messed up everything is... Harley’s mother is in prison for killing his father, so he’s in charge of bringing up his younger sisters and working two jobs to pay the bills—and that doesn’t leave a lot of time for distractions. But lately, he’s getting more and more sidetracked by lusting after Callie Mercer, his middle-aged neighbor. As he struggles to keep it together, things begin to spin out of control. Soon Harley finds that as shattered as his family is, there are still more crushing surprises in store. “In Harley, O’Dell has created a hero who’s heartbreakingly believable; like Holden Caulfield, he uses caustic humor to hide his pain. Readers will care very much about him and his future, if indeed he has one.”—St. Petersburg Times
Download or read book Appalachian Heart written by Lynn Coffey and published by Backroads Publishing. This book was released on 2013 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contains "the current oral histories of 19 native people still living in the Virginia highlands where the author makes her home. The material is new, fresh and full of rich history taken from those who can remember what life was like before electricity, telephones and indoor plumbing; before technology became a household word. It was a time when survival depended on how well the crops and gardens grew. A time when the labor was hard but brought an inward satisfaction to those living the old way. When the last generation of mountain folk are gone most of the knowledge of the rugged culture that nourished and sustained them will be gone as well." --From author's website.
Download or read book The Trail of the Lonesome Pine written by Jr. John Fox and published by Prabhat Prakashan. This book was released on 2024-09-13 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Embark on a captivating journey with John Fox Jr.'s The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, a timeless tale set in the rugged and scenic Appalachian Mountains. Experience a story rich in adventure, romance, and the enduring spirit of the frontier. As Fox’s narrative unfolds, follow the intriguing journey of characters whose lives are intertwined with the wild beauty and harsh realities of their mountain home. The novel vividly captures the essence of a bygone era, full of struggle and triumph against the backdrop of a breathtaking landscape.But here’s a thought to ponder: How does the untamed beauty of the land shape the lives and destinies of those who call it home? Can love and resilience truly flourish amidst the challenges of the wild frontier? Dive into the mesmerizing world of The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, where every page brings to life the spirit of the mountains and the lives of those who are shaped by them. This is more than just a story; it’s an evocative exploration of love, loyalty, and the enduring bond between people and their land. Are you ready to experience the powerful journey through The Trail of the Lonesome Pine? Embrace the adventure and discover how the heart of the frontier beats within the pages of this classic novel.Don’t miss the chance to explore this enchanting tale. Purchase The Trail of the Lonesome Pine today and immerse yourself in a story of love and endurance set against the stunning backdrop of the Appalachian Mountains.
Download or read book Appalachian Portraits written by Lee Smith and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Who s who in Appalachia written by Colman McCarthy and published by . This book was released on 1976 with total page 8 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Historic Photos of Appalachia written by and published by Historic Photos. This book was released on 2010-02 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Appalachia: The place and its people have long inspired a special fascination among travelers and commentators. The rugged, ecologically rich mountains, at once forbidding and inviting, have provided a place of retreat and exploration for lovers of natural beauty and outdoor adventure, while the region's resources have long lured both capitalists intent on creating wealth and regular folks just looking for a steady wage. The inhabitants native to the region have often been held up as pure, strong, and self-sufficient on the one hand, and derided as primitive, backward, and exotic, on the other. Not quite south or north, east or west, the region continues to defy easy classification. Yet it emerges in Historic Photos of Appalachia as both distinct and as familiarly American. The nearly 200 photographs included here portray the region's land and people in all their distinctive and sometimes surprising specificity--including views of towns, houses, and farms; families at home and on the job; railroads, mining, and logging; and beautiful streams and mountain landscapes.
Download or read book Something s Rising written by Silas House and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2009-04-17 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like an old-fashioned hymn sung in rounds, Something's Rising gives a stirring voice to the lives, culture, and determination of the people fighting the destructive practice of mountaintop removal in the coalfields of central Appalachia. Each person's story, unique and unfiltered, articulates the hardship of living in these majestic mountains amid the daily desecration of the land by the coal industry because of America's insistence on cheap energy. Developed as an alternative to strip mining, mountaintop removal mining consists of blasting away the tops of mountains, dumping waste into the valleys, and retrieving the exposed coal. This process buries streams, pollutes wells and waterways, and alters fragile ecologies in the region. The people who live, work, and raise families in central Appalachia face not only the physical destruction of their land but also the loss of their culture and health in a society dominated by the consequences of mountaintop removal. Included here are oral histories from Jean Ritchie, "the mother of folk," who doesn't let her eighty-six years slow down her fighting spirit; Judy Bonds, a tough-talking coal-miner's daughter; Kathy Mattea, the beloved country singer who believes cooperation is the key to winning the battle; Jack Spadaro, the heroic whistle-blower who has risked everything to share his insider knowledge of federal mining agencies; Larry Bush, who doesn't back down even when speeding coal trucks are used to intimidate him; Denise Giardina, a celebrated writer who ran for governor to bring attention to the issue; and many more. The book features both well-known activists and people rarely in the media. Each oral history is prefaced with a biographical essay that vividly establishes the interview settings and the subjects' connections to their region. Written and edited by native sons of the mountains, this compelling book captures a fever-pitch moment in the movement against mountaintop removal. Silas House and Jason Howard are experts on the history of resistance in Appalachia, the legacy of exploitation of the region's natural resources, and area's unique culture and landscape. This lyrical and informative text provides a critical perspective on a powerful industry. The cumulative effect of these stories is stunning and powerful. Something's Rising will long stand as a testament to the social and ecological consequences of energy at any cost and will be especially welcomed by readers of Appalachian studies, environmental science, and by all who value the mountain's majesty—our national heritage.
Download or read book Just Passin Thru written by Winton Porter and published by Menasha Ridge Press. This book was released on 2009-12-01 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like a well-crafted stage play, Just Passin' Thru delivers one suspenseful scene after another. But in this historic setting — a store on the Appalachian Trail called Mountain Crossings — the characters who show up are no fictional creations. They are the real-life stars of the author’s new life as a backpack-purging, canteen-selling, hostel-running, bandage-taping, lost-child finding, argument-settling, romance-fixing, chili-making man of many faces. Like any good drama, there are the good guys (and gals) and the weirdos, too. Some show up once (and that’s enough), and some appear again and again. Some are friends, and some dangerous. But all are united by two things: the author’s story-capturing talent, and whatever it is that lures them to attempt (or conquer) a 2,200-mile path that climbs and plummets from Georgia to Maine.
