South Carolinians have known about the mineral springs of Glenn Springs, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Spartanburg, for centuries. In the latter part of the eighteenth century, the place was known simply as a “deer lick.” Cattle were continually straggling from their pastures seeking the swamp around the lick. Its future [...]
0 commentsAppalachian History
Stories, quotes and anecdotes.
Tag Archives: appalachia
May
09
Kids! Get rich selling Cloverline Salve!
By the time George Wilson Jr. became president of the Wilson Chemical Company in 1937, two generations of Wilsons had perfected the art of what was then a most unusual sales technique. The company recruited young children nationwide via advertisements in comic books and newspapers to sell their White Cloverline Brand Salve door-to-door, stating in [...]
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May
04
How the strawberry came to the Cherokee people
In the beginning of the world, ga lv la di e hi — Father to us in heaven living— created First Man and First Woman. Together they built a lodge at the edge of a dense forest. They were very happy together; but like all humans do at times, they began to argue. Finally First [...]
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May
03
Hang down your head Tom Dula
Hang down your head Tom Dooley Hang down your head and cry Hang down your head Tom Dooley Poor boy, you’re bound to die. It’s the most famous murder ballad in American folk music history. And chances are, if you know it, you know the version popularized by the Kingston Trio. Their recording of the [...]
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May
02
See what a break that was? We got the 40 hour week
In 1924, when I was 16 years old, I started workin’ at the Appalachian Mill as a cone winder operator. Now on that machine, that was a long machine, it had about 50 spindles on it and I was windin’ threads from a cone up to a spool. There wasn’t a clock in the room. [...]
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