Appalachian History

Tossing the caber

Scottish heavy athletics events include stone putt, hammer throw, sheaf toss, weight over bar, weight for distance, & caber toss.

July 11, 2018 Folklore / Kentucky

Gold is really good, only when wisely spent

‘Old Farmer Was A Miser Of The Worst Kind! His Love Of Gold Led To Great Misery,’ by McCreary Roberts in ‘Kentucky Explorer,’ April 2000

July 10, 2018 Epidemics & Pandemics

Musty corn and the dread scourge pellagra

Musty corn was thought to cause the life-threatening disease pellagra, a condition that we understand today results from a lack of niacin.

July 9, 2018 Doctors / West Virginia

His horse, saddle bags, and himself slipped into the river and went under

Dr. William James Glass, Sr. owned about twenty-five saddle horses. He made an effort to buy the very best. The average horse he bought would last about three years.

July 6, 2018 Appalachian music / Ballad singers / Folklore / West Virginia

Patrick Gainer and The Devil’s Questions

West Virginian Dr. Patrick W. Gainer dedicated the balance of his life to a personal crusade to revitalize the region’s folk traditions.

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