Woolly Worms

Not too many generations ago, before snow plows, central heat, and supermarkets, winters in Appalachia were a much different experience than they are today. Many basic necessities such as mobility, heat, and food were not taken for granted. . .

Cornhusk Crafts

A Corn husk Family from Allenstand, part of the John Parris Collection Appalachian people, of Cherokee, European, and African origin, all share a long history of making useful and decorative items from the outer leaves of ears of corn, known as cornhusks, or corn...

Junior Johnson

Back in the 1930s and 1940s, when moonshining was a means of survival in the mountains of Western North Carolina, a young man emerged who would go on to become one of NASCAR’s founding fathers. He reinforced the romanticized, cultural stereotype of a “noble rogue.” His name was Junior Johnson.

Horace Kephart

In 1934, the United States Congress officially established what is today the most popular National Park in the country, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As a result, over 500,000 acres of scenic. . .

Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual

Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual, located on the Cherokee Indian reservation in North Carolina, was founded in 1946. Its goal is to preserve Cherokee arts and crafts, and provide Cherokee people with a means to sell their crafts year-round. Today, Qualla Arts and Crafts...

Culture

Dulcimers

Dulcimers

Dulcimers come in two versions. The so-called “mountain dulcimer” looks like a skinny fiddle with 3 to 6 strings, sits across the player’s lap, and is plucked with the fingers. The other consists of a box frame with 40-120 strings; because its sound is produced by hitting the strings with small mallets, it is often called the “hammered dulcimer”. . .

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Horace Kephart

Horace Kephart

In 1934, the United States Congress officially established what is today the most popular National Park in the country, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As a result, over 500,000 acres of scenic. . .

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Economy

Bill Monroe

Bill Monroe

audio moment   Essay by Amanda Smith, WCU 2012 When people are asked to name words that they associate with the Appalachian region, one of the first words off the tongue is bluegrass. The country credits one man, Bill Monroe, with the creation of bluegrass. Bill...

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Bascom Lamar Lunsford

Bascom Lamar Lunsford

One voice seized me more than the rest. Over a simply picked banjo, the voice sang mournfully about a mole in the ground. Elsewhere, the same voice preached, over that same simple banjo, about dry bones. Like so many folk tunes, these told strange, elliptical stories, dense with images, exploding with emotion.

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Land

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People

Frankie Silver

Frankie Silver

18-year-old Frankie Silver was hanged in Morganton, North Carolina in 1833, convicted of killing then dismembering her 19-year-old husband in a fit of jealous rage. Her mother and brother were also arrested but both were soon released.  Her family broke her out of...

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F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald was the famous author of The Great Gatsby and other novels chronicling fast life in the Jazz Age. Scott, an Army officer, met Zelda, a Montgomery, Alabama debutante, at a dance in 1918. . .

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Institutions

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