Jack and the Calf Hide (Part 1) 19 Aug 2013 | 10:59 pm

Once upon a time there was a man who had three boys, Jack, Will and Tom.  Will and Tom were the two oldest sons.  Jack was just a little bit of a fellow, not hardly able to take care of himself – the ...

The Man Yoked With An Ox 5 Aug 2013 | 07:59 pm

Quite a number of places and people have laid claim to this story but they say it did take place here in Graham County, where a man who was out with his yoke of oxen and one of his oxen got sullen and...

Room 1 (Lodge/Twins 29 Jul 2013 | 08:52 pm

The Belled Buzzard 25 Jul 2013 | 01:51 am

Back of the old fiddle tune, “The Belled Buzzard”, is a tradition which had its origins in the mountains.  The story concerns a settlement along a river bottom.  One bank of the river was bordered for...

Appalachian Food Customs and Rituals 11 Jul 2013 | 10:33 pm

In the folkways of Southern gastronomy, eating and drinking have played a part not only in general hospitality and sociability but also in community gatherings where the needs of work, religion and po...

Bald Mountain 25 Jun 2013 | 02:10 am

Many, many generations ago, long before the white man was seen in the land, a large happy tribe of Cherokee lived around the base of the mountain in North Carolina now known as Bald Mountain.  It was ...

Grease Is The Word! 17 Jun 2013 | 09:47 pm

The diet of the mountaineers was enough to kill them even after they’ve survived the rough handling of the midwives, the “stretchin’ hives” and the gamut of diseases.  Of course it varies somewhat wit...

The Sheriff and the Moonshiners 10 Jun 2013 | 11:18 pm

There was a time when liquor making was considered just about as important as putting a garden.  Maybe more so, because a family could get along without garden sass.  Once a well-known citizen who spe...

Imitating Bird and Animal Cries 3 Jun 2013 | 07:46 pm

One important pastime of local boys was that of imitating the noise of every bird and beast in the woods.  This faculty was not merely a pastime, but a very necessary part of education on account of i...

The Moon and the Signs of the Zodiac 28 May 2013 | 10:58 pm

“The moon had more to do with running the country than the sun did” said the old timer of the days of his youth.  Root crops and tubers, plants of darkness, are planted in the dark of the moon; above ...