Last fall, Appalachia Bare had the opportunity to conduct an on-site interview with Wayne Mason, the Compost Supervisor at Knoxville’s University of Tennessee (UTK) Compost Facility.1)Over the winter Wayne took a position with a city in the northeast to set up a municipal compost facility. What an eye-opening experience! WayneContinue Reading

On Friday, March 24th, Appalachia Bare loaded up the laptops, business cards, and tabling equipment, and headed to the Magnolia Campus of Pellissippi State Community College (PSCC) in Knoxville, Tennessee, for the second Mag Comic Expo. The Expo was organized by our own Science Guru, Grant Mincy, who invited usContinue Reading

You have a story to tell. We all do. Ours is an oral history – told by great-grandparents, grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, etc. Consider for a moment how many of our people’s stories will never be known because they were never written or captured in time. Instead, they areContinue Reading

I first met Cassie Watters when I was Local President of United Campus Workers (UCW). In 2011 I hired her to be one of our union Organizers (a decision I count among the best during my terms as president). Since then, I have had the privilege to call her aContinue Reading

Appalachian Spring by composer Aaron Copland (1900-1990), is one of, if not the most iconic and recognizable pieces of American music. Full Stop.  The vast majority of people these days don’t know the proper title and may just think of it as the old Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts.” Which, asContinue Reading

We here at Appalachia Bare hope the holiday season brought everyone warmth and togetherness. We wish all our readers, subscribers, and submitters a healthy, happy, safe New Year. Appalachia Bare will take a brief hiatus and will return January 18, 2022. We’ll use this time to perform a little websiteContinue Reading

Earlier this year, Appalachia Bare’s Tom Anderson attended a bare-hands baseball game hosted by the Historic Ramsey House. He wrote an article about the experience you can find here. Subsequently, Ramsey House invited us to cover the Celtic and Appalachian Music Festival. We felt so honored to be there. TheContinue Reading

Arts and artists throughout Appalachia have a strong connection to the land. That connection is expressed in diverse ways, sometimes overt and intentional, and other times more subtle, like an undercurrent. The music of Appalachia, especially Southern Appalachia, is no different. Usually, when one thinks of “Appalachian music” the mindContinue Reading

The Ramsey House recently invited Appalachia Bare to attend their annual Celtic and Appalachian Music Festival. So, we packed our modest gear, threw in a few lawn chairs, and headed that way. The event was held underneath a large tent, sheltered from sun and/or rain. Food trucks were on hand,Continue Reading

Emmett Machinists of Knoxville vs. the Quicksteps of Spring Hill Though the Saturday afternoon in August was hot and sunny at the Historic Ramsey House in Knoxville, Tennessee,1)The Ramsey House was built in 1797 for Col. Francis A. Ramsey, the patriarch of one of Knoxville’s early prominent families. the weatherContinue Reading