Book Reviews+Storytelling

Thoughts on Saving Broken Things

“One of these days this bowl is going to break apart,” my husband said while placing it on the counter. “I can feel it shifting. One day, the bowl will just let go.”

Her Favorite Coat

My mother didn’t like to discard clothes. Our house, built in the late 1940s, had a few small closets: one in my parents’ bedroom, one in my bedroom, and an alcove with a hanging rod at the top of the stairs.

A Time of Appalachian Christmas Cantatas and Pageants

Nervous energy danced around the classroom located just off the sanctuary. For many of us, this was the first time we had been allowed inside the adult Sunday school classroom.

Christmas Pokes

During my childhood in the 1960s, my family’s church, Garden Creek Baptist Church, held an annual Nativity play at Christmastime. The first play that I had a part in, when I was around six years old, required me to recite a Bible verse.

Word from the Smokies

I was at least an hour and a half into my conversation with June Goforth when I joked that she hadn’t given me a chance to ask any questions. She paused a moment before laughing and said, “Oh, I didn’t know you had questions.”

John C. Campbell Folk School

It began with a trip to the mountains over one hundred years ago. A place many considered a mission field, a fertile land for both agriculture and cultural experiences.

Chunking Punkins Warms the Familial Heart

The internet is filled with popular YouTube videos documenting festivals called “Punkin Chunkin,” which is a competition held around the country in places such as Clayton, New York, Vinita, Oklahoma, and Bluemont, Virginia.

The Kettle

My mother’s youngest brother, John Ray, was our family historian. For years, he worked as a meat cutter at local grocery stores, where he chatted with old timers who had known past generations of our family.

Blue Moon Keep on Shining

Sins of the Father

The Adventures of Roy Boy and Birdie

To Be or Not To Be

They Did It On Their Own

With Pen in Hand