Butter and Egg Money
Appalachian farm wives contributed to their family’s income through the butter and egg money they earned by taking their extra eggs and butter to the general store. . .
Apples
Apples are a traditional and valuable part of our heritage in North Carolina. The most popular varieties nationwide–Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Gala–are grown here. In the western part of the state over 10,000 acres of orchards produce 75,000 tons of apples every year.
Farmers’ Market
The recent growth of farmers’ markets across Appalachia is part of the effort of mountain farmers to survive in a national market dominated by large-scale agribusiness. The Department of Agriculture identifies more than 800 farmers’ markets throughout the region. . .
Subsistence Farming
Subsistence farming is the practice of families producing most of the necessities of life from their own land and labor. Until well into the 20th century, most mountain farmers raised animals for food, grew vegetable gardens and orchards, and gathered from surrounding woodlands to provide what they needed for food, shelter and clothing. . .
Christmas Trees
After the Second World War, mountain farmers, looking for crops to revive a declining farm economy, began to market trees from natural stands in nearby towns. Mountain terrain was no handicap for hardy evergreen trees. By the 1950s managed stands of Fraser fir and balsam firs had become America’s most popular trees at Christmas. . .
Tonya Carroll (B.A., 2007 M.A., 2009) with Bruce Frazier (Carol Grotnes Belk Endowed Professor in Commercial & Electronic Music) in the recording studio.