Appalachian History

When Louise Smith (1916-2006) started racing cars, most girls weren’t even allowed to drive. From her first wild adventure behind the wheel of her daddy’s Ford to the dangers and thrills of stock-car tracks across the country, Louise fearlessly paved the way for women in racing and became a NASCAR legend.  It takes a lot [...]

Fort Payne [AL] Journal May 28, 1941 Mr. Driskill’s ancestors on his father’s side were three Irishmen who settled in Maryland. His mother’s ancestors were English. Charles Driskill was born March 15, 1866, a mile from Portersville, in Big Valley, on the George Place. His Grandfather, who came from Winchester, TN, settled there in 1830. [...]

In the fall of 1941 on the eve of the United States’ entry into WWII, the Auburn High School freshman class of 1941-42 undertook an extraordinary community project. Under the guidance of their homeroom teacher, Harry W. McCann, Jr., who taught math, social studies, and English, the students decided that a place for social gathering [...]

Although she never gained the national recognition or recording status that other banjo-playing women in Kentucky achieved, Dora Mae Wagers (1927-1998), was—as the title to her self-produced cassette proclaimed—“A Legend in Her Own Time.” For forty years she played banjo on the stage of the Renfro Valley Barndance, and was often billed as one of [...]

You may not be familiar with the Bloch Brothers of Wheeling, WV, but it’s a fairly sure bet that at some point in your life you’ve encountered a roadside barn painted with the large sign “Chew Mail Pouch Tobacco  – Treat Yourself to the Best.” Aaron and Samuel Bloch’s barn-painting advertising, begun in the 1890s, [...]