An Appalachian Awakening is happening all around us. We peer through our emblematic windows – clear or murky – and see a new dawn’s vivid light peeking above the grey clouds that, to a great degree, were thrust upon us. Our eyes gaze upon lands and mountains where the footstepsContinue Reading
They waited for me before they took him. I closed the car door, slogged past family, noted the numbed, distant faces and swollen, zoned eyes; passed the old country roses, sweet and sundry; passed his hand-crafted shed that smelled of fresh cedar, heard the bustle of birds all around, aflutter.Continue Reading
You have a story to tell. We all do. Ours is an oral history – told by great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, etc. Consider for a moment how many of our people’s stories will never be known because they were never written or captured in time. Instead, they areContinue Reading
In my last post of the Daugherty series, we left Byrd, his two sons, and Pryor Bunch rooted to the spot across from Daniel Britton Daugherty, Robert Lowe, and possibly a few others. If you recall, Robert Lowe reached into his jacket pocket, and I imagine that gesture put theContinue Reading
Deputy Byrd Daugherty1)In various places and sources, Byrd’s name is often spelled “Bird.” The way I was told, the correct spelling is Byrd. Another point: The last name, Daugherty, has also been spelled Dougherty. never reckoned that a bloodbath was coming when he stepped off the train from the HarrimanContinue Reading
We have beautiful lands here in the mountains. Our soil is fertile. Our springs are clear. Our mountains are misty. Tourists flock to these lands because the stunning panoramic views are legendary. But we have a problem (one of many, to be sure). I don’t know if anyone else hasContinue Reading
Eighteenth Amendment Section 1 After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. MyContinue Reading
Sometimes situations interrupt what a person has planned. Repercussions are felt in several areas, like a faceted, imperfect jewel. As Chief Editor of Appalachia Bare, I have planned so many things this year, and, hopefully, they will all work out just fine. But a recent event occurred that put aContinue Reading
See how you scored in the answers below. Kilt a. Quilt b. Cult c. Killed d. Kiln The “t” ending in kilt first appeared in Middle English: kelit, kelyt, kylt, kilt. The ending was first documented in a 13th century work called The Gest Hystoriale of the Destruction of Troy.Continue Reading
I’d like to begin here by saying I am not a linguist. I have studied a small portion of linguistics, enough to understand a smidgen of what I respectfully consider a complex discipline. Thanks to our Associate Editor, Edward Francisco, who graciously gifted his library to me (one of myContinue Reading