Appalachian History

There was a notable character, a Mrs. Henagar, who had the reputation of being a witch. Her upper eye-lids were paralyzed and drooped over her eyes, giving her the appearance of being blind. Whenever she read her Bible she was obliged to stoop over it and hold the lids up with her hands. Then her [...]

“The celebrated mountain lands, of which Mark Twain writes in the Gilded Age, lie in Fentress County; and the picturesque village he describes under the name of Obedstown is none other than its county site. “The court-house, on the fence surrounding which the male population of the village were sitting, chewing tobacco and spitting at [...]

During the Depression the Federal Writers’ Project provided wages for unemployed clerks, writers, editors, lawyers, teachers, librarians, and similar workers, and sought to compile anthologies of oral history, folklore, and music, as well as state, local and specialized guidebooks. The Virginia Writers’ Project (VWP) was the state-sponsored segment of the Federal Writers’ Project. The VWP [...]

Please welcome guest blogger Timothy W. Hooker, author of the Sushi Tuesday blog. Tim teaches English at Cleveland State Community College [TN], is a “Point of View” moderator for WDEF-TV 12, and is the author of several works, including: “Rocket Man: A Rhapsody of Short Stories,” “Duncan Hambeth: Furniture King of the South,” and “Looking [...]