Appalachian History

Yes, it’s heavy as a brick, and lasts long enough that you can re-gift it year after year without anyone commenting on its shelf life having expired. Blame the Scots. Early versions of the rich style fruitcake, such as what we know today as Scottish Black Bun, date from the Middle Ages, and were luxuries [...]

For Pennsylvania Dutch children Christmas started yesterday, the beginning of ‘chriskringling’ (or ‘Kris Kringling,’) the two-week period culminating in Christmas. It’s a hybrid of trick or treating, mischief night, and Christmas caroling. Tradition dictates that after dressing in costumes, the children sneak up to a neighbor’s house armed with noise makers of every shape and [...]

Three remaining parts of the hog deserve brief mention. One, the tail, is a most delectable morsel when roasted in an oven or over an open fire. Two, the hog’s spleen, sometimes called the milt (German), is a tasty delicacy when roasted and sprinkled with salt. Immediately after its removal, along with the viscera en [...]

John Jacob Niles composed the Appalachian influenced Christmas carols The Carol of the Birds, The Flower of Jesse, What Songs were Sung, Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head, and Sweet Little Boy Jesus. I Wonder As I Wander, one of his most popular carols, illustrates the working methods of this inveterate collector of homegrown musicality: “I [...]

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 [...]