This week, before emancipation, Appalachia provided pathways to freedom for enslaved people trying to escape bondage. A new project identifies more than two dozen previously unknown underground railroad sites. Also, the Fly Around Music & Arts Festival in North Carolina was inspired by the hard work that followed Hurricane Helene. And, a ballad about floods recorded a generation ago still provides solace for people today.
Foxfire began in 1967 as a student-run magazine in North Georgia. It was a way for high school students to collect and share the wisdom and lore from their community members. They named it “Foxfire” after a fungus in the region that glows in the dark.
Over 50 years, it’s grown into a book series, a magazine, a museum and an oral history archive. One of those oral histories is from 1975 and captures the kind of knowledge that Foxfire collected.
An Appalachian Woman’s Place Often Went Beyond The Home
Appalachian storyteller Elizabeth Ellis is featured in the Foxfire project with Blue Ridge Public Radio.
Photo Credit: Lilly Knoepp
A lot of the women in older archival Foxfire interviews said that they “didn’t work” but so many Appalachian women were midwives, mothers and business owners.
Foxfire’s latest collection features 21 women in the book called, The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Women, edited by then Foxfire education director and museum curator Kami Ahrens. Mason Adams has more.
Oral History Tradition Continues Today
In 2020, Blue Ridge Public Radio partnered with Ahrens to record oral histories and aired them on the radio. BPR’s Lilly Knoepp shared a few.
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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn, Sean Watkins, The Steel Woods, and Dr. Kathy Bullock and her class at the John C. Campbell Folk School.
Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens.
You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
On this West Virginia Week, the state is under a flood watch through Sunday, the fire in Parkersburg is under investigation and a class action against the state’s foster care system will move forward.
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This week, before emancipation, Appalachia provided pathways to freedom for enslaved people trying to escape bondage. A new project identifies more than two dozen previously unknown underground railroad sites. Also, the Fly Around Music & Arts Festival in North Carolina was inspired by the hard work that followed Hurricane Helene. And, a ballad about floods recorded a generation ago still provides solace for people today.
On this West Virginia Morning, not much has been known about Appalachia’s contributions to the Underground Railroad, but a Marshall University historian is documenting that history.
Many West Virginians have trouble with their teeth. In fact, there’s a big gap between the folks who can reliably access an affordable dentist and those who can’t.
That’s no surprise when ha...
