Dave Tabler, Author at Appalachian History

Lenci Boy and girl dolls sitting together at the Judges' Lodgings, Lancaster

They did have little dolls for the girls

Mother’d have something special, cook up something special for Christmas, like cakes. We always had cake. For Christmas you didn’t get much.

Lydia Ann Kimble married Isaac Graham, who’d served as a drummer boy in the War of 1812, in 1869, when he was an elderly man and she was a woman of 32.

December 13, 2018 Christmas traditions / Farmers/farming / Virginia

It’s only in the mountains that you can raise these fraser firs [for Christmas trees]

Christmas tree growers want maximum new growth to help develop tree shape and density. Fir cones are a detriment, and are removed regularly.

December 12, 2018 Child labor / Tennessee

“Morrison Is Employing Boy 12 Years of Age”

Child labor was common in Tennessee in the late 1800s. Many textile and coal mills in the state employed young children.

illustration of woman's face transposed onto a letter

December 11, 2018 Love and romance / North Carolina

I am a poor girl what you might say got no home

Letter from the personal papers of Edgar M. Lyda (1873-1956), who among other posts was mayor of Asheville.

Author: Dave Tabler

They did have little dolls for the girls

Last surviving widow of a War of 1812 veteran

It’s only in the mountains that you can raise these fraser firs [for Christmas trees]

“Morrison Is Employing Boy 12 Years of Age”

I am a poor girl what you might say got no home