Stories, quotes and anecdotes from Appalachia. 1880s-1950s era.

Category: Childrens games

America loves the yo-yo

WV entrepreneur Donald F. Duncan (1892-1971) had never heard of the yo-yo until 1928, when he encountered Pedro Flores in California.

The marble-take-marble world of commies, steelies, aggies and glassies kept children hunkered in the dirt and out of trouble.

Two classic wooden folk toys, the whimmydiddle & the flipperdinger, have been enjoyed by children for hundreds of years in the region.

Stretching from the early 20th century, this collection of melodies traces the regional attitudes & traditions of American children at play.

The whimmy diddle is a traditional kinetic Appalachian toy commonly made from two sticks of rhododendron or mountain laurel.

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Appalachian Innovators: Untold Stories of Invention and Ingenuity
July 16, 2024
Heavy Rainfall Events and Their Impacts in Appalachian History
February 27, 2024
From Root Cellars to Larders to Modern Pantries: The Evolution of Food Storage in Appalachian Homesteads
January 12, 2024
A Journey Through Appalachian Winemaking History
November 9, 2023
The Historic Role and Contemporary Allure of Vintage Appalachian Farm Trucks
September 7, 2023

David Doerr on Tapping Oil at the Roots of a Family Tree
Tami on The Guineas of West Virginia
Marbles in the Graveyard - The Secret Life of Marbles on Put the corpse in the barn till spring
Brian Sherwood on 125 reasons you’ll get sent to the lunatic asylum
Kat on “Everyday” Appalachian Superstitions

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