Memoirs of Grassy Creek

Memoirs of Grassy Creek
Author: Zetta Barker Hamby
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 268
Release: 1997-12-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780786404162

Born on January 5, 1907, Zetta Hamby spent much of her life in the northwestern mountains of North Carolina, keenly watching the changes in her community of Grassy Creek and in the world. Families, homes, weddings and funerals, politics, health, world war, race relations, the telephone--those are among the topics touched on in this firsthand look at rural Appalachia in the early decades of the present century. Sometimes poignant, often humorous, and surely authentic, these stories are yet another reminder of recent history that is all too quickly being lost.

From the Front Lines of the Appalachian Addiction Crisis

From the Front Lines of the Appalachian Addiction Crisis
Author: Wendy Welch
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2020-08-07
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1476641331

Stories from doctors, nurses, and therapists dealing on a daily basis with the opioid crisis in Appalachia should be heartbreaking. Yet those told here also inspire with practical advice on how to assist those in addiction, from a grass-roots to a policy level. Readers looking for ways to combat the crisis will find suggestions alongside laughter, tears, and sometimes rage. Each author brings the passion of their profession and the personal losses they have experienced from addiction, and posits solutions and harm reduction with positivity, grace, and even humor. Authors representing seven states from northern, Coalfields, and southern Appalachia relate personal encounters with patients or providers who changed them forever. This is a history document, showing how we got here; an evidenced indictment of current policies failing those who need them most; an affirmation that Appalachia solves its own problems; and a collection of suggestions for best practice moving forward.

Melungeon Portraits

Melungeon Portraits
Author: Tamara L. Stachowicz
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2018-04-04
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1476631638

At a time when concepts of racial and ethnic identity increasingly define how we see ourselves and others, the ancestry of Melungeons--a Central Appalachian multiracial group believed to be of Native American, African and European origins--remains controversial. Who is Melungeon, how do we know and what does that mean? In a series of interviews with individuals who claim Melungeon heritage, the author finds common threads that point to shared history, appearance and values, and explores how we decide who we are and what kind of proof we need.

The Ore Knob Mine Murders

The Ore Knob Mine Murders
Author: Rose M. Haynes
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2013-09-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 1476604436

How could the peace and quiet of Ashe County, North Carolina (in the mountains, at the Virginia-Tennessee corner), turn into a nightmare of crime and drugs, and the old copper mine itself become a dumping ground for the dead? In 1982, two bodies had been chipped from an icy grave and brought up from the 250-foot mine shaft where they had been thrown while still alive. Now, there were rumors of 21 bodies still down there. If the mine was ever re-opened, what would they find--copper or bodies? Murder, drugs, prostitution and gangs come together in the history of the Ore Knob Mine. A small Appalachian community became the heart of a vicious drug ring ruled by the Outlaws motorcycle gang from Chicago. Ashe County made national headlines when a police informant came forward confessing that he had pushed a man alive into the Ore Knob Mine shaft. This book is the full story.

The Trees of Ashe County, North Carolina

The Trees of Ashe County, North Carolina
Author: Doug Munroe
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2017-11-13
Genre: Reference
ISBN: 1476672520

The mountains of Ashe County, in North Carolina's northwest corner, support an antediluvian mixed hardwood forest, rooted in nutrient-rich soil and watered by 40 to 60 inches of annual rainfall. From the highest peaks--approaching a mile above sea level--to the lowest valleys, through which flows one of the most ancient river systems in the world, trees carpet much of the county's 406 square miles. Species with nicknames like wahoo, goosefoot, ironwood, shadblow, bom-a-gilly and buckeye thrive. Others, dominant in the region for millennia, have all but disappeared in recent years. The author describes in detail their anatomy and ecology, and discusses maple syrup production, the local nursery business and the lore and deep value of heritage apple trees; 165 photographs are included.

Appalachian Children's Literature

Appalachian Children's Literature
Author:
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2010-04-13
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0786460199

This comprehensive bibliography includes books written about or set in Appalachia from the 18th century to the present. Titles represent the entire region as defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission, including portions of 13 states stretching from southern New York to northern Mississippi. The bibliography is arranged in alphabetical order by author, and each title is accompanied by an annotation, most of which include composite reviews and critical analyses of the work. All classic genres of children's literature are represented.

Boone Before Boone

Boone Before Boone
Author: Tom Whyte
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 189
Release: 2020-10-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1476683425

Native Americans have occupied the mountains of northwestern North Carolina for around 14,000 years. This book tells the story of their lives, adaptations, responses to climate change, and ultimately, the devastation brought on by encounters with Europeans. After a brief introduction to archaeology, the book covers each time period, chapter by chapter, beginning with the Paleoindian period in the Ice Age and ending with the arrival of Daniel Boone in 1769, with descriptions and interpretations of archaeological evidence for each time period. Each chapter begins with a fictional vignette to kindle the reader's imaginings of ancient human life in the mountains, and includes descriptions and numerous images of sites and artifacts discovered in Boone, North Carolina, and the surrounding region.

Appalachian Fiddler Albert Hash

Appalachian Fiddler Albert Hash
Author: Malcolm L. Smith
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2020-04-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 147663940X

World-class luthier and renowned guitarist Wayne Henderson calls Albert Hash "a real folk hero." A virtuoso fiddler from the Blue Ridge, Hash built more than 300 fiddles in his lifetime, recorded numerous times with a variety of bands and inspired countless instrument makers and musicians in the mountains of rural Southwest Virginia near the North Carolina border. His biography is the story of a resourceful, humble man who dedicated his life to his art, community and Appalachian musical heritage.

New Art of Willard Gayheart

New Art of Willard Gayheart
Author: Willard Gayheart
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 207
Release: 2013-12-05
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0786465514

This is a portfolio of 87 drawings by the Appalachian pencil artist Willard Gayheart dating from the early 1970s to the present. The book features information about each drawing taken from interviews with the artist and the owners of the art. Additionally, the book contains information about the artist's life and music and where his art can be found in the region.

Richard L. Davis and the Color Line in Ohio Coal

Richard L. Davis and the Color Line in Ohio Coal
Author: Frans H. Doppen
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2016-10-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 1476626677

Born in Roanoke County, Virginia, on the eve of the Emancipation Proclamation, Richard L. Davis was an early mine labor organizer in Rendville, Ohio. One year after the 1884 Great Hocking Valley Coal Strike, which lasted nine months, Davis wrote the first of many letters to the National Labor Tribune and the United Mine Workers Journal. One of two African Americans at the founding convention of United Mine Workers of America in 1890, he served as a member of the National Executive Board in 1886-97. Davis called upon white and black miners to unite against wage slavery. This biography provides a detailed portrait of one of America's more influential labor organizers.