Diving Into Spring, Inside Appalachia

We meet the woman behind the popular TikTok account “Appalachian Forager.” She makes jam from pawpaws and jewelry from coyote teeth. 

Also, we sit in on a master class in foraging for wild mushrooms. 

And, when a West Virginia pastor got assigned to a new church, folks tried to warn him. 

You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia. 

In This Episode:

• Appalachian Forager Found On TikTok
• Fun With Foraging For Fungi
• Kentucky Meat Shower
• The West Virginia Egg Church
• Black Bears Eating Trash In West Virginia
• Humans Letting Black Bears Eat Trash In Virginia
• The Sweet Taste Of Syrup In Virginia And West Virginia

Appalachian Forager Found On TikTok

Here in central Appalachia, it’s spring planting season. Gardeners are dropping seeds in the ground, with hopes of a good harvest later this year. Folks in the mountains also gather food and medicine from the forest. Foraging is an acquired skill. It’s not easy to learn without someone to guide you. With the internet, it’s become a lot easier to meet folks in online communities devoted to mushroom hunting and using native plants. One woman in eastern Kentucky made a name for herself online as “Appalachian Forager.” And her videos have gone viral.   

In 2024, Folkways Reporter Amanda Page visited Appalachian Forager and had this story. 

Fun With Foraging For Fungi

Along the Blue Ridge, it’s almost morel season. Mushroom hunting has always been a part of Appalachian culture, but in recent years, it’s become almost an obsession for some. In 2023, Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch spent time with fungi enthusiasts in Virginia and West Virginia. She brought us this story. 

Kentucky Meat Shower

We celebrate all kind of things in the lead-up to spring. There’s Groundhog Day, Mardis Gras and St. Patrick’s Day. And then one you probably haven’t heard of. The people of Bath County, Kentucky celebrate an odd bit of history. In 1876, pieces of meat fell out of the sky and onto a farm. A hundred and fifty years later, why that happened is still a mystery.

Cheri Lawson from the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom has more.   

The West Virginia Egg Church

A lot of holidays have their own particular kind of candy. At Christmas, you have candy canes. Valentine’s Day has those conversation hearts with sayings on them, like “XOXO” or “Be mine.” At Easter, you might be thinking chocolate bunnies (you’d be right), but it’s also the time of year when you find those big chocolate eggs. Some regional churches sell them before the holiday. One West Virginia church has become known far and wide for its chocolate eggs.

Last year, Zack Harold reported this story for the Rural Remix podcast from the Center for Rural Strategies. 

Black Bears Eating Trash In West Virginia

Warm weather brings out critters, which can be a problem. And while people in cities often get their trash picked up at the curb, folks who live in more rural places have to haul it to dumpster sites. Those sites are destinations not just for folks hauling trash, but also for bears seeking an easy meal. Now, some places have made moves to keep the bears out of the trash, which also helps keep them alive.

WVPB’s Eric Douglas has more.  

Humans Letting Black Bears Eat Trash In Virginia

In Virginia, some localities have tried using bear boxes but found they can’t seem to train people to use them right, like in Floyd County. Mason Adams reported this story for WVTF.

The Sweet Taste Of Syrup In Virginia And West Virginia

Temperatures this time of the year can be hard to pin down. We have warm days and then a bitter cold snap. This back and forth, which drives sap up and down maple trees, is how we get syrup.   

Highland County, Virginia, and its neighbors in West Virginia, are some of the southernmost places in the U.S. to make maple syrup.  

Generations of people in these communities have turned tapping trees for syrup into a longstanding tradition, but modern producers are experimenting with new syrups while adapting to changing demands, and a changing climate. 

From our Folkways archives, we bring you this story from Clara Haizlett. 

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Ron Mullennex and Gerry Milnes, John Inghram, Tim and Dave Bing, Jeff Ellis and Hello June. 

Bill Lynch is our producer. Abby Neff is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. We had help this week from Folkways Editors Jennifer Goren, Chris Julin, Nicole Musgrave and Mallory Noe-Payne. 

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

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Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.