Stories of Appalachia

Appalachian Moments

Former classroom teacher Scott Ballard shares stories of notable people, places and things in the Appalachian mountains.

Click a title below to read the story.

C.C. Stump

In this edition of Appalachian Moments we roam the hillsides with a saddle bag preacher! In the aftermath... Read More

Coal

Today on Appalachian Moments we stoke the debate on coal and share stories of growing up in coal... Read More

O Death

A hundred years ago, it was bad news if you received a letter with black on the edges…join... Read More

Albert Hash

We pay a literary tribute to a musical legend of the High Country of NC. The phrase “pay... Read More

Over the Top with the 80th, Pt. 3

In this final episode of the three-part series, “Over the Top with the 80th,” private Rush Young watches... Read More

Over the Top with the 80th, Pt. 2

In this second of a three part series called “Over the Top with the 80th” Ashe County, NC... Read More

Over the Top with the 80th, Pt. 1

Today in Appalachian Moments, we celebrate the end of World War I (November 2018) by reliving a fascinating... Read More

Is it sorghum or is it molasses?

In this edition of Appalachian Moments, and in the Fall of the year, we have a tasty test... Read More

A mysterious graveyard in Slipper Hill

In today’s edition of Appalachian Moments, we travel to a mysterious graveyard in the Slipper Hill area of... Read More

Chasing waterfalls

If you visit nearby Linville Falls or the Cascades off the Blue Ridge Parkway and generally there are... Read More

A youngster from Helton who struck out the mighty Babe Ruth

In today’s edition of the Appalachian Moments, we follow a youngster from Helton, North Carolina, who once struck... Read More

Appalachia’s Own Devil John Wright

In today’s edition of the Appalachian Moments, outside of Buffalo Bill Cody, no one from the American Wild... Read More

The final lap with Junior Johnson

In Part Two of our Junior Johnson edition of Appalachian Moments we go from pole position to pit... Read More

The best thing that ever happened to Junior Johnson

In this edition of Appalachian Moments, we trade paint with NASCAR legend and Hall-of-Famer Junior Johnson. Robert Glenn... Read More

An enduring Grand Dame of the High Country

In today’s edition of Appalachian Moments, we check in with the rich and famous at one of the... Read More

Great-Grandmother Kincaid’s Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

Family and Labor Day! Because our usual Labor Day Holiday plans for next weekend have been hijacked by... Read More

All the way to the end of the line

In today’s Appalachian Moments Blog we get personal with the Virginia Creeper but also watch it leave the... Read More

Take a ride on the Creeper

In today’s Appalachian Moments Blog, we tackle the daunting task of building a railroad from Abingdon, Virginia to... Read More

The Hayloft Sweethearts

Since we’ve been featuring barns and haylofts recently, in today’s podcast, we tune into North Carolina High Country... Read More

A mountain meditation at twilight

Today in Appalachian Moments, we are going to do something a little different. We offer a Mountain Meditation... Read More

A dark and cautionary musical tale

Every song tells a story, but in today’s Appalachian Moments blog post we discover the inspiration and true... Read More

Untangling the Hangman’s Reel

Every song tells a story, but in today’s Appalachian Moments podcast we discover the inspiration and true meaning... Read More

Up on Cripple Creek

Every song tells a story, and in today’s Appalachian Moments second of a short series we discover the... Read More

The surprising inspiration for Old Joe Clark

Every song tells a story, and in today’s Appalachian Moments we discover the surprising inspiration and true meaning... Read More

The little steam engine that could but nearly didn’t

In today’s edition of Appalachian Moments we take a ride on the little steam engine that could, but... Read More

Shape music in the mountains and beyond

In today’s Appalachian Moments podcast we’ll talk shape music in the mountains and beyond… Some folks say they... Read More

The simple but bold spring

In today’s edition of the Appalachian Moments blog, we visit Ashe County North Carolina’s very own Shatley Springs,... Read More

The simple delight of fried baloney

Let’s get back in the kitchen for another Appalachian Moments Blog post! When you get folks talking about... Read More

A beautiful human being

Now, every interview is special in its own way because everyone has a story, but this particular moment... Read More

The brothers who built Appalachian State University

The oldest of the Doughterys was D.D. or Dauphin Disco Dougherty…obviously the boy’s father, Civil War Veteran Daniel... Read More

The Hanging of Will Banks, part two

When we last left Will Banks, he had been convicted of murder in what many then and now... Read More

The hanging of Will Banks

Will Banks, a son of slaves, was born in 1875 in the Crumpler community of Ashe County, NC.... Read More

A series of ironic twists: The life of William Sidney Porter

You’ve probably heard the story about the young couple who were short on money but who desperately want... Read More

The legend of Sister Sophie

Humble beginnings often lead to humility and a life of service. One legendary example is a woman know... Read More

Branch Lettuce time

Some folks call Spring in the mountains Green Up time. As Winter releases its grip (begrudgingly!), the hills... Read More

The Old North State’s Finest Son

Our story begins in the southwestern part of NC…and ends only 8 miles south of his birthplace. Zeb... Read More

The rare air of the Cloudland Hotel

Frequent visitors to the area attempting to escape the summer heat led Union Civil War General John T.... Read More

Doc’s impact is still felt around the world

While Doc always insisted he was just a regular person, a man of the people, but people growing... Read More

How Arthel became “Doc” Watson

Arthel Watson embodied that classic Southern phrase: “Don’t get above your raising.” Folks from the North misinterpret its... Read More

The Blizzard of ’93 in the mountains of NC!

The Great Blizzard of ’93 was a massive storm that formed over the Gulf of Mexico on March... Read More

Remember Flour Sack Dresses?

Coming fresh off of the Great Depression and as World War II forced rationing of a broad array... Read More

Davy Crockett: Where history and myth collide!

David Crockett, frontiersman, Tennessee legislator and U.S. congressman, folk hero, and icon of popular culture, was an intriguing... Read More

The Buck stops here!

As with many word histories, the exact root of the word “buck” for one unit of currency is... Read More

Appalachia in Pictures

A Farmer, sawmiller, carpenter and sheriff’s deputy…Willie Trivette’s enduring legacy is that he was one of many self-taught... Read More

The Hillbilly Snapshooter

As the story goes, the subject of today’s podcast was 35 years old before he ever used a... Read More

We’re still building log cabins!

As Appalachia was settled primarily by the Scots and Irish, it is easy to think that they brought... Read More

The Legendary PB Scott’s

Before VCRs, the internet or even cable TV, people actually listened to the radio for music and went... Read More

The warmth and history of the Appalachian quilt

In frontier times, quilts were a vital part of any household. A single bed might have multiple quilts... Read More

Do you remember these trees?

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard Time to branch out and learn more about the rise... Read More

Modern day Robin Hood or Jesse James? You decide!

Born in 1894, the midwife who delivered young Otto Wood placed splints on his legs to keep them... Read More

The battling botanists on Grandfather Mountain

Following the arrival of Daniel Boone a couple hundred years ago, a slow trickle of settlers started coming... Read More

What do the Ozark Pippin and Granny Smith have in common?

The colors of fall in Appalachia include more than leaves. The colors of the many apple trees include... Read More

Why would his mother name him “Oddie”

From the very beginning, his mother knew there was something special about this child. She named him “Oddie”... Read More

Do you remember the Doughton Dynasty?

Tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Northwestern North Carolina, Alleghany County is the state’s fifth smallest... Read More

Was there going to be a Lake New vs. a New River?

There is a new generation of folks who don’t know that the wild and scenic New River was... Read More

Was justice done? You decide!

When we last left Tom Dooley he had just been caught on the run in Tennessee. Now it... Read More

Solving the mystery of Tom Dooley (Dula)

In today’s edition of Appalachian Moments We explore the most famous love story gone wrong in North Carolina... Read More

From Seven Devils to Shull’s Mill

Seven Devils…the village that we know today was just an isolated mountain valley farm perched between Hanging Rock... Read More

Just in time for Haint Tales! Do you believe in ghosts?

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard Just to be clear: A “haint” (sometimes referred to as... Read More

You can’t go home again?

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard Born at the turn of the 20th century and prodigy... Read More

Family connections and deja vu

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard Think about someone in your family (history) that you are... Read More

Jinny and Jim (Part Two)

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard We sat a spell with Jinny in our last Appalachian... Read More

Jinny and Jim

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard Her name was Virginia, named in part because her father... Read More

These twins were inseparable…from Siam to North Carolina

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard Arguably the most famous Siamese twins, Chang and Eng, were... Read More

The little mountain crystal that could!

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard Well, it’s true that a variety of minerals have been... Read More

Why was this $5 bridge covered?

As the county seat for Carter County, Elizabethton grew steadily throughout the 1800s, but the town fathers ran... Read More

When time stands still

New Appalachian Moments blog post by Scott Ballard Did you ever wonder what we did before funeral homes?... Read More

What’s in your family tree? Any Melungeons?

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard Author Roberta Estes states the first mention of term Melungeon... Read More

The power behind Daniel Boone: Rebecca!

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard History has told us all too little of this young... Read More

Jesse James got his start in the Civil War?

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard When I say the term bushwhacker, it’s not some high... Read More

Do you know this side of Daniel Boone?

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard The cultural awareness of Daniel Boone begins with John Filson’s... Read More

The town that refused to drown

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard Early on, and ironically enough, an abundance of water made... Read More

Have you ever heard of this plant?

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard There are so many wonderful plants, shrubs and trees that... Read More

America’s Most Scenic Drive: Birth of the Blue Ridge Parkway

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard The Appalachian Scenic Highway, what we know today as the... Read More

Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise: Historic Floods

New Appalachian Moments blog post by Scott Ballard Many people can recall various floods or high water, but... Read More

Moonshine!

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post! By Scott Ballard When the early scotch-irish pioneers came up into these rugged... Read More

A story of Afrilachia

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post! By Scott Ballard The Junaluska neighborhood, in the NW North Carolina mountain county... Read More

Annie, get your gun!

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post! By Scott Ballard While she might have beat the heat and vacationed at... Read More

They broke the mold after creating Buncombe Bob

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post! By Scott Ballard What do the US Senate, movie star Jean Harlow, a... Read More

Jake Carpenter’s Book of Death

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post! By Scott Ballard Just below the crest of the Blue Ridge…over on Three... Read More

Scenic byways

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post! By Scott Ballard Even today, It never fails that when visitors from…off the... Read More

You’re healed!!! by Scott Ballard

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post By Scott Ballard The popular image of the Appalachian folk healer is complex... Read More

The Spirit of Appalachia in Art! by Scott Ballard

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post By Scott Ballard (Author’s Note) I was encouraged to visit a unique exhibit... Read More

Meet me at the Crossroads by Scott Ballard

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post! By Scott Ballard Many of our “modern” roads are built upon the trails... Read More

What is Andrew Jackson’s connection to NC? by Scott Ballard

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post by Scott Ballard If you’ve heard it once, I’ll be you’ve heard it... Read More

Goin’ a-courtin’ by Scott Ballard

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post By Scott Ballard It’s not hard to imagine that dating (or wooing!) someone... Read More

Before it was “Grandfather” Mountain by Scott Ballard

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post! By Scott Ballard When gazing upon Grandfather Mountain, it’s easy to imagine that... Read More

The Cherokee Legacy still with us today by Scott Ballard

New Appalachian Moments Blog Post! By Scott Ballard There are two prevailing views about Cherokee origins. One is... Read More

Digging into history part 2 by Scott Ballard

NEW APPALACHIAN MOMENTS BLOG POST!!! From Scott Ballard Welcome to Digging into Ashe County History Part Two. In... Read More

Digging into history one shovel full at a time by Scott Ballard

NEW APPALACHIAN MOMENTS BLOG POST!!! From Scott Ballard Mining in the upper northwestern section of North Carolina begins... Read More

The Itch! by Scott Ballard

NEW APPALACHIAN MOMENTS BLOG POST!!! From Scott Ballard Nope, it’s not the 7-year itch, perhaps a topic for... Read More

Why Cedar Trees??? by Scott Ballard

NEW APPALACHIAN MOMENTS BLOG POST!!! From Scott Ballard Have you ever been driving out in the countryside and... Read More

Got Electricity? by Scott Ballard

NEW APPALACHIAN MOMENTS BLOG POST!!! From Scott Ballard Is there anything we take more for granted today than... Read More

One Room Schools by Scott Ballard

NEW APPALACHIAN MOMENTS BLOG POST!!! From Scott Ballard Can you imagine how different school was in the early... Read More

Welcome to Appalachian Moments by Scott Ballard

Where to begin? For example, as a former classroom teacher, one of the first things I did was... Read More

Home Remedies by Scott Ballard

Back in the day before hospitals and certainly before there was a pharmacy on every corner, the pharmacy... Read More