Carolyn Merchant states in her article, “Shades of Darkness: Race and Environmental History” that “an environmental history of race” should be researched in order to explore environmental racism itself. Her article presents a dichotomous exploitation of minorities in lower-class and minority neighborhoods against pristine, pollution-controlled upper class white neighborhoods. SheContinue Reading
I have written a little bit about my love for these mountains, about my fond – and not so fond – memories living deep in the holler. The place where I grew up was an offshoot of an area called Demory Hollow. At one point in time, Demory was aContinue Reading
The following section is the last of my father’s journals, which really turned out to be more of a memoir. This part is devoted to his childhood, so I have included pictures of him as a little boy. I hope his writings have offered enjoyment, knowledge, or comfort. AContinue Reading
I cannot watch war movies. In my mind’s eye, I interpose my father trudging through rice paddies in Vietnam, trudging through tall grass so thick, it slices the skin. I see his small frame – just a boy – whose uniform in later years fit his 13-year-old grandson. I seeContinue Reading
. . . [and they] arose against me; they laid to my charge things that I knew not. They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul. Psalm 35:11-12 Written (in part) on the back of Daniel Britton Daugherty’s tombstone Thank you to Zach Foster andContinue Reading
**Trigger Warning: This article contains supernatural violence and abuse. The Smurl family didn’t have an easy go at life. They were Pennsylvanians and devout Roman Catholics who were heavily involved in church activities. The family included Navy veteran Jack Smurl,1)Jack Smurl was on a ship at sea during the CubanContinue Reading
Something deplorable is occurring in the hollows of Appalachia. A person might trek through the woods or walk along a dirt road and see deer carcasses lying here and there. They are not dying for natural reasons. They are not succumbing to disease. Instead, they are victims of people whoContinue Reading
A few years ago, I put together a four-part series about Appalachians in the silent film era entitled, “Appalachians in Moving Pictures.” Every actor’s story provides an interesting insight into the dawn of motion pictures and a place called Hollywoodland. Enjoy the following story about silent film actress Ethlyne Clair.Continue Reading
An Appalachian Awakening is happening all around us. We peer through our emblematic windows – clear or murky – and see a new dawn’s vivid light peeking above the grey clouds that, to a great degree, were thrust upon us. Our eyes gaze upon lands and mountains where the footstepsContinue Reading
They waited for me before they took him. I closed the car door, slogged past family, noted the numbed, distant faces and swollen, zoned eyes; passed the old country roses, sweet and sundry; passed his hand-crafted shed that smelled of fresh cedar, heard the bustle of birds all around, aflutter.Continue Reading