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Christmas in Appalachia

Shane

Shane and Melody discuss what Christmas is like in Appalachia. Some of these traditions are native to Appalachia while others are more universal. The atmosphere at church the week before Christmas is joyful, with treats handed out in old-timey brown paper bags. They standard items inside were candy, an orange or apple (or both) and a pack of peanuts, along with a giveaway item such as a pencil, pen, bookmark, etc. We discuss this tradition and several more in the video below.

We would love to hear more about your traditions and customs, whether you live in Appalachia or somewhere else in this great big world.

Holler Life

Shane

It has been almost exactly 2 years ago since I took this picture of a typical Appalachian holler one bitter cold winter morning and wrote these words in about 5 minutes while sitting in my car waiting for the windshield to unfog. I can still feel that moment like it was yesterday, I just glanced up the road and it spoke to me as if the mountains were alive. I still stand behind it as much today as ever – there’s nothing like a good ol’ Appalachian holler. This picture and words have been seen over a million times so I think a lot of people have a connection to these ol’ hollers. Anyways, feel free to share.

A typical Appalachian holler.

This is what we call a holler. This is a West Virginia holler to be more specific. You can usually tell you’re in a holler when you look around and see mountains in pretty much every direction; you’re on a road with no painted lines; and, a dead giveaway, when you see a dog standing right smack dab in the middle of the road staring at you like you’re about to play a game of chicken. A holler has a head and a mouth…it also has plenty of eyes because if you happen to be a stranger driving up or down the holler, someone has more than likely taken notice – an informal neighborhood watch, if you will. If you live in a holler then you probably know every Tom, Dick and Harry that lives in the holler with you and you’re probably kin to more than a few of them. You probably know everybody’s business whether you want to or not and they know yours. If you’ve ever driven up the wrong holler, there’s a 99% chance you had to use a stranger’s driveway to turn around. It doesn’t matter how many times the people that put up the road signs spell it h-o-l-l-o-w, it’s a holler – it only makes them look pretentious to spell it that way. You can live in a holler and still holler at someone but that’s a story for another day.

Southern Highlanders (of Appalachia) From 1947

Shane

Southern Highlanders was a part of the Ford Motor Company’s “Americans at Home” series and tells the story of folks living in the Great Smoky Mountains in 1947. It has more emphasis on the positive aspects of mountain life as opposed to many other films primary focus on poverty. The film captures the music, faith, and lifestyle of rural Appalachia as well as anything I have watched from the era.

This is the only episode of the Americans at Home series that I’ve seen so far but it must’ve been designed to have more of an uplifting tone and take on the subject matter they present. I like to watch things that leave me feeling more of a sense of pride and celebration rather than gloom and doom, as is too often the case.

Shane

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On December 21, 1964, CBS aired a special report entitled “Christmas in Appalachia” with Charles Kuralt. The special visited folks Kuralt referred to as the “permanently poor” in the Eastern Kentucky counties of Letcher and Floyd. In this video, I discuss the report and show the original broadcast in its entirety. I have been fortunate to hear from some of the folks in the video as well as some of their families to get a couple of updates. As you might imagine, life had different twists and turns for the folks featured in the video,

I would love to hear your thoughts on it as well after watching. It was clearly a sad story and meant to call attention to the plight of the folks suffering from poverty and job loss. Several of the folks featured in the video really get an emotional grip on a viewer. I have heard from so many people about how this video makes them appreciate their own lives and upbringing in comparison.

I have noticed a lot of Appalachia-related documentaries from the mid-1960s that are centered in Eastern Kentucky, especially in the Letcher County area. A lot of the reason for this stems from the influential yet bleak book Night Comes to the Cumberlands by Harry Caudill. This work had an influence on John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson and indirectly led to the infamous “War on Poverty.”

The effectiveness of the War of Poverty is certainly debatable but documentaries like this certainly left a lasting mark, for better and worse.

Shane

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Unfortunately, the sickness has continued to plague us both this December but we are hopeful it is about to come to an end soon. Melody has been battling various ailments for around 8 weeks and I had a week thrown in there myself. We are extremely thankful for all of you and can’t say enough how much it means to have your support – your prayers, cards, letters, messages, and all the ways in which you’ve reached out to us have made this time so much more bearable. We look forward to seeing you all back out on the road very soon and wish you all a blessed Christmas season. We posted this video to give the latest update on our situation.

Shane

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We have been aiming toward launching a new website for a long time but finances and other obligations had popped up to delay it until now. We look forward to using this website as the mothership for all of our social media endeavors, as well as adding exclusive content here. We appreciate you all and hope everyone is having a fantastic Christmas season!

Shane

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Clintwood, Virginia is known as “the county seat of Virginia’s baby” for being the county seat of the youngest county in the Commonwealth. Home of the legendary, Dr. Ralph Stanley, Clintwood has also been home to some very strong women – including the ladies who made up the Petticoat Government.”

Clintwood, VA: Home of Petticoat Politics and the Man of Constant Sorrow – Dr. Ralph Stanley.