Appalachian Women
Writer Reta Winebarger shares stories of what life was and is like for Appalachian Women.
Click a title below to read the story.
Grandma’s Cooking By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
I read somewhere that to be healthier and to live longer, we should eat like our ancestors. The... Read More
It’s Just the Way We Talk By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
This article isn’t really about women of our region, but all people of our region. It is about... Read More
Sunday By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
Sunday morning breaks across the Appalachian mountains. The sun makes the sky appear pink above the Blue Ridge.... Read More
Emma By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
The first time I met Emma she was 90 years old. She was a lovely woman with a... Read More
My People By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
For the past few hours I have been staring at a copy of an old picture my brother... Read More
Fun and Games By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
“Once there was a little old woman and one day she went to the neighbor’s to buy a... Read More
Gathering Herbs By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
I never knew my paternal grandmother. She died in 1950, way before I was born. I grew up... Read More
Big Sister By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
My sister Frances is thirteen years older than me. She is the oldest girl in our family and... Read More
Cool Spring By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
Although the trip to the old home place was just a few miles away, Ann had to make... Read More
Mother Mountain By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
We belong to the mountains. It’s just a feeling we have deep inside us, rising up, bursting forth... Read More
Waiting on Santa By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
It was Christmas and the little girl was sick. Sick enough to warrant a doctor’s visit on Christmas... Read More
Christmas Traditions By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
Our Appalachian people held to time honored superstitions and traditions regarding the Christmas season. The Old World traditions... Read More
Appalachian Christmas Cooking By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
The week of Christmas has always been a busy time for the Appalachianwoman. Parents, aunts, uncles and cousins... Read More
Homemade Christmas By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
My mother’s family never had a Christmas tree. Momma would tell me about how she used to see... Read More
Memories of Home By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
It’s summer in Ashe County. The little girl is up early, her blond hair in a rat’s nest... Read More
What Would They Have Been By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
Appalachian women are some of the smartest women I know. Quick witted and sensible, when left to their... Read More
Song Bird By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
My mother was born on a farm in a very rural area here in the mountains in 1924.... Read More
The Burial By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
Preface: This is a fictional account of how death and burial were handled in our mountain communities years... Read More
The Old Ways By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
The Old Ways, superstitions, and healing came along with our foremothers on the ships from Ireland, Scotland and... Read More
Backward Supper By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
Great-great aunt Ida was very different from all the other young ladies that lived in the early part... Read More
Aprons By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
“A protective or decorative garment worn over the front of one’s clothes to protect the wearer’s clothing and... Read More
Cinderreta and the Homemade Dress By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
This is a picture of me in first grade. I was kind of shy, smiling that crooked little... Read More
The Argument By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
I heard a story once from my mom about a couple that lived not to far from where... Read More
The Mountain Quilt By Reta Winebarger – Appalachian Women
For as long as I can remember, I have rested peacefully under the warm soft covers of a... Read More
Appalachian Women By Reta Winebarger
I wish I was more like my mother. She was a proud, hardworkingAppalachian woman. She learned the value... Read More