Appalachian History

3 hand photos show 'open the doors and see all the people' game

If I couldn’t talk I’d bust

My family was Lutherans in the old days, but there ain’t no Lutheran church here and we are all mixed up; we go to different churches.

June 25, 2019 Appalachian celebrities / Italian heritage / Ohio

How Dino Crocetti of Steubenville became pop singer Dean Martin

We know him as Dean Martin, world famous crooner. But he was born Dino Paul Crocetti, in Steubenville, OH, the son of Italian immigrants.

Grundy VA in 1912 with 'lawless' overlaid in red

June 24, 2019 Appalachian crime / Oral histories / Vigilantes / Virginia

We had just as good as no law at all in Buchanan County

The Commonwealths had run away for dealing in Bogus Land Business, and Jim Thomas was never indicted for killing the two men.

joseph diss debar and wv coat of arms he designed

June 20, 2019 Appalachian celebrities / Politics / West Virginia

A (future) noted West Virginian befriends Charles Dickens

Joseph Diss DeBar’s designs became the official seal and coat-of-arms for the state when West Virginia came into the union.

June beetles made a sweet sound while flying around. The method to acquire this living music box was to fasten a long thread to one of the bug’s hind legs.