Lou Turner And Little Jimmy Dickens, Inside Appalachia

A poet and musician draws inspiration from a distant family connection to the Grand Ole Opry’s Little Jimmy Dickens.

Also, for 15 years, a Virginia library has been hosting a weekly Dungeons & Dragons game for teens. It can get wacky.

And, a taxidermist in Yadkin County, North Carolina found her calling before she could drive a car. 

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

In This Episode:

• Nashville Musician Draws From Little Jimmy Dickens In Twin Lead Lines
• Saving Stray Cats In Shenandoah County
• Weekly Dungeons & Dragons Night For Teens At Virginia Library
• Revitalizing Rural Downtowns
• Christmas Zero Waste
• I Was A Teenage Taxidermist

Nashville Musician Draws Inspiration From Little Jimmy Dickens In Twin Lead Lines

A lot of people who came of age listening to the Grand Ole Opry know Little Jimmy Dickens. The West Virginia-born country music singer started at the Opry in 1948. He was its oldest living member before his death in 2015. With his clever songs and his rhinestone-studded outfits, Dickens influenced a generation of performers. Now he’s remembered in a new book of poetry by Nashville musician Lou Turner. Turner’s shared the stage with acts like MJ Lenderman and Bonnie “Prince” Billy. Her music veers from indie rock to Americana, and her poetry draws inspiration from country stars like Dickens.

Turner’s first book of poetry, Twin Lead Lines, was released in September. Producer Bill Lynch recently spoke with her about her poetry and connection to Dickens.

Saving Stray Cats In Shenandoah County

One of Appalachia’s deadliest predators is also one of its snuggliest. That’s right: we’re talking about the domestic house cat. Stray cats bear litters of kittens year-round. And they can take a major toll on songbirds and other wildlife. Through spay and neuter programs, fostering and adoption, shelters and volunteers are trying to stem the feline tide. WMRA’s Randi B. Hagi reports.

Listeners should be advised this story mentions some graphic veterinary problems.

Weekly Dungeons & Dragons Night For Teens At Virginia Library

Every week for the last 15 years, kids have gotten together at the Roanoke Public Library to play Dungeons & Dragons. 

Dungeons & Dragons, or D&D for short, is a roleplaying game that allows players to inhabit characters in a fantasy setting. They work together to battle monsters and find treasure and to tell a shared story in which they’re all the main characters.

Jeffrey Wood, a youth services librarian, is a game master for the library’s D&D program. That means he’s the person who prepares each game and acts as referee as the kids work their way through it. Host Mason Adams made a couple visits to the Roanoke Public Library and caught up with Wood one evening as he prepared the next gaming session. 

Revitalizing Rural Downtowns

Eastern Kentucky is full of isolated, rural towns that have declined alongside the coal industry. But some folks who want to stick around are trying to revitalize the region’s downtowns.

For the Appalachia Mid-South Newsroom, Shepherd Snyder reports.

Christmas Zero Waste

The holiday season brings a lot of joy and light, but it also brings a lot of stuff. After Christmas, what are you supposed to do with the wrapping paper and the gift boxes, not to mention the tree?

Last year, WVPB’s Chris Schulz spoke with Amy White, the director of sustainability at Marshall University, about some ideas for cleaning up after the holidays.

I Was A Teenage Taxidermist

A lot of people are fascinated by the results of taxidermy — whether it’s a display at a park’s visitor’s center, or a big buck on a friend’s wall. But we tend to be a little more uncomfortable with the process that goes into making these animal mounts. The preservation and mounting of dead animals has been around since at least the Middle Ages. But it didn’t really become popular until the 1800s, when hunters began bringing trophies to upholstery shops.

In 2023, Margaret McLeod Leef brought us this story of one expert practitioner in Yadkin County, North Carolina.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Fred Hutchinson, Lou Turner, Mary Hott, Blue Dot Sessions 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 Editor Jennifer Goren.

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

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Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.