Appalachian History

Please welcome Tim Hooker, author of ‘Looking for a City,’ ‘Duncan Hambeth: Furniture King of the South,’ and ‘Rocket Man: A Rhapsody of Short Stories.’ Tim is currently an English instructor at Cleveland State Community College in Cleveland, TN. You know you are deeply imbedded in a culture when you take for granted things that [...]

This piece by Catherine V. Moore appeared on December 3, 2011 in the Beckley [WV] Register-Herald.  It is reprinted here with permission. Seventy years ago, U.S. Army nurse Ruby Bradley had just enjoyed a pleasant Thanksgiving in the Philippines. She looked forward to returning home to West Virginia soon and spent her days working some, [...]

Some would consider her the founder of Adult Literacy Education in the United States. Cora Wilson Stewart (1875-1958) was an elementary school teacher and county school superintendent in eastern Kentucky’s Rowan County who, in the fall of 1911, decided to open the classrooms in her district to adult pupils. When the Moonlight Schools opened on [...]

We post a new episode of Appalachian History weekly podcast every Sunday. You can start listening right away by clicking the podcast icon over on the right side of your screen. If you’d rather grab the show off itunes for later listening, click here: We open today’s show with a look at the phrase “What [...]

The whimmy diddle (sometimes called a Hooey Stick or Gee-Haw) is an Appalachian folk toy that has been around for centuries. It’s fashioned from two sticks of laurel or rhododendron into a rubbing stick and a slightly thicker notched stick. The whimmy diddle makes a characteristic sound when the one stick is rubbed back and [...]