Stories of Appalachia

With a firm smack to her bottom, a tiny baby girl came to a family not unlike so... Read More

July descended on the mountains, and Dog Days set in hot and dry. Still, we enjoyed cool, crisp... Read More

Last week, the Spencer family set out to Spencer Branch to stack hay. They had just arrived at... Read More

Most folks think it’s summer, and they’d be right, but that’s not all it is. It’s also Tractor... Read More

When you’re a child, living on a farm is just about the most marvelous thing in the world.... Read More

I got a lot of things to tell you about livin’ in these ole hills. Why, I’ve told... Read More

A simple plain block of sandstone contains the whole of my life on this earth. It is a... Read More

Hello Friends! Last week, I told you of how Mom left Aunt Bet out of her wedding after... Read More

Two sisters, 19 months apart in age. So alike; so different. Best friends most of the time; worst... Read More

Saturday night almost always meant that our family would do something exciting. On this particular Saturday night, MommyBlanche... Read More

[Bass] Now let us… [All] have a little talk with Jesus, [Bass] Let us… [All] tell him all... Read More

Libby and I eased ourselves out of bed, and walking on tippy toes, did what we needed to... Read More

Daddy implored, “Joan! Did you set that alarm? I have to be out of here by at 4:30... Read More

I realize I have written a good bit about Maw and Paw Spencer in the last few weeks,... Read More

While I was in college, I had the marvelous good fortune to work every Saturday and all through... Read More

The day started as usual for the Spencer clan. Biscuits (at least one jammed full of homemade butter),... Read More

I may be cheating a bit with this column, for loafering certainly isn’t unique to Appalachia. Indeed, you... Read More

The world was a very different place in 1920, especially in Ashe County, and the further you got... Read More

10:00 p.m.and I still had homework left in English for the next day. Sitting in Grandma Eller’s bed,... Read More

Aunt Mary lived in Virginia. I never knew where she lived in Virginia, and I never knew when... Read More

Friday, January 28, 1977 Dear Janet, Can you believe we’ve been out of school another whole week? I’ve... Read More

Aunt Celia, who moved away from these mountains some years before even my parents were born, returned home... Read More

Mom slipped into our room about 1:00 one morning when I was 7 and Libby was 4. We... Read More

The vivid scarlet against the stark white of our snow covered world made my stomach turn, and I... Read More

The rain poured down–one of those summer rains that comes down hard and cool and makes your car... Read More

Late one evening last August, Bill Gaut called to check on his 98 year old mother. When she... Read More

We rose early on this cold winter morning. Maw and Paw did the same at the foot of... Read More

Tom and I traveled to Boone last week just in time to get caught in the first snow... Read More

Tomorrow, January 6, is Epiphany, the day the Magi arrived bearing gifts for the new Christ child. Tomorrow,... Read More

For the past several months, I have revelled in telling you stories of my childhood as I grew... Read More

And all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Well, not quite…. Two... Read More

This week’s story will be a different one from my usual childhood recollections. This week, I feel compelled... Read More

It smelled of new ink on crisp, clean paper and told more stories than Scheherazade did in 1,001... Read More

In the very center of my grateful heart, an empty spot reveals itself from time to time. Today... Read More

We awakened that Thanksgiving morning to a world drained of color. Steamed up windows with frost around the... Read More

Wiping the sleep out of my still half-closed eyes, I stumbled down into the den already aware that... Read More

Hello Friends, Monday was Halloween, and despite living in a community full of children, we had no trick-or-treaters.... Read More

Fall is in the air, and I love it. Fall has become my favorite time of the year... Read More

Tom and I met our very first day at Emory & Henry College where we were assigned to... Read More

There is a place I know that no one else knows. Plenty of others know about the physical... Read More

There is a place I know that no one else knows. Plenty of others know about the physical... Read More

Music is an important part of my life. For as long as I can remember, I have loved... Read More

Growing up in the mountains meant that life was a mixture of work and play for my sister... Read More

I grew up in a time when almost everything was simpler, at least in the mountains. That doesn’t... Read More

Paw always owned a truck. In fact, a truck was the only vehicle I ever knew Paw to... Read More

Our lives are shaped by many people, places, and events. For many mountain folk, family and church were... Read More

Most kids are right in the middle of enjoying their summer vacation from school. But if you live... Read More

Our old home place sets vacant and neglected now. No one has lived there in many years, not... Read More

Mom and I arrived home from work, she from Sears and I from Hardee’s, at 6:00 that evening.... Read More