A look at a way of life in Appalachia that is being lost to history.

Born on January 5, 1907, Zetta Hamby spent much of her life in the northwestern mountains of North Carolina, keenly watching the changes in her community of Grassy Creek and in the world. Families, homes, weddings and funerals, politics, health, world war, race relations, the telephone--those are among the topics touched on in this firsthand look at rural Appalachia in the early decades of the present century. Sometimes poignant, often humorous, and surely authentic, these stories are yet another reminder of recent history that is all too quickly being lost.

This reference work provides complete biographical and discographical information on more than 75 traditional recording artists from the Central Blue Ridge area. It includes a chronological overview and primary and anthology recordings.

This work carefully examines Trivett's life and photographs, comparing his work to that of contemporary outside photographers. Through Trivett's imagery we can see the everyday reality for most people in rural Appalachia.

In this collection of oral histories, 33 people in Ashe, Alleghany, and Watauga counties-most of whom are in their 70s, 80s, and 90s-share memories of their lives and work on the New River and their hopes for its future.

This work is a biography of John Fox, Jr. It draws from personal and family correspondence and covers his entire life, from his birth in Stony Point, Kentucky, in 1862, to his death from pneumonia in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, in 1919. His early life and education at his father's school, his two years at Transylvania University in Lexington, his transfer to Harvard and graduation in 1883, his work for New York newspapers, and his return home in the mid-1880s to work with his half-brother in the coal mines are all documented. In the 1880s he began his first novel, A Mountain Europa, and over the...

Scotland and Southern Appalachia have always shared a strong connection. Many of the first people to permanently settle in the Appalachian mountains came from the Scottish highlands seeking religious and other freedoms. Many descendants of those first settlers from Scotland still make their homes in Southern Appalachia and attribute many aspects of their culture to their Scottish heritage. This book explores the parallels and connections between Scotland and Southern Appalachia, with special attention to the interplay between revivals of folk culture, native languages, and dialects in...

Prior to his death in 1985, Cratis Williams was a leading scholar of and spokesperson for Appalachian life and literature and a pioneer of the Appalachian studies movement. Williams was born in a log cabin on Caines Creek, Lawrence County, Kentucky, in 1911. To use his own terms, he was "a complete mountaineer." This book is an edited compilation of Williams' memoirs of his childhood. These autobiographical reminiscences often take the form of a folktale, with individual titles such as "Preacher Lang Gets Drunk" and "The Double Murder at Sledges." Schooled initially in traditional stories and...

Mills Higgins Flack, a leader of the Farmers' Alliance and Rutherford County's first Populist in the state House, was murdered on August 28, 1900, by Avery Mills, an African American. This work documents the murder and lynching of Avery Mills.

Willard Gayheart, a pencil artist from eastern Kentucky who now lives in southwestern Virginia, presents the history, people, and culture of the Appalachian region. This book combines a biography of Gayheart with a portfolio of his work and his comments on his inspirations and techniques. His art has its roots in his childhood and his memories of that time inspire him today. Gayheart is also known for his portrayals of Appalachian musicians and ways of life, and many such drawings are reproduced here.