Stompin’ 76 was a landmark festival that, for one long weekend in 1976, made Bluegrass the center of the musical universe. Like New York’s iconic Woodstock festival in 1969, the event is legendary. Over 100,000 attended the event. Most attendees parked miles away—some on Interstate 77, more than eleven miles away—and walked up country roads…
The Roanoke Star, also known as the Mill Mountain Star, is an iconic symbol of Roanoke, VA. Its simple, star-shaped outline is formed by a steel framework and white neon tubing. It’s a striking figure against the backdrop of Mill Mountain. At 88.5 feet tall, it sits 846 feet above Roanoke, VA, dominating the mountaintop….
The Euro-centric history I learned in school in the 1960s was woefully inadequate. I suppose that’s the best they could do. After all, the world is a big place with lots going on. There was only enough time to cover the Big Picture. That’s why I was shocked to learn, only a few years ago,…
When it comes to Southern comfort food, there are few combinations as iconic and satisfying as pintos and cornbread. These humble ingredients have been a staple of Southern cooking for generations, providing nourishment and a sense of home to countless families. When cooked properly, pinto beans have a creamy texture and a nutty flavor that…
Cherokee legends tell of a short, white, blue-eyed race living in the Blue Ridge and Smokies hundreds of years before Columbus. They called them the Moon-Eyed People. Archaeology, historical records, and other tribal legends support these tales. Are they true? Childhood Threats and Moon-Eyed People Stories and legends of life in the Blue Ridge Mountains…
Background: The Saltville Muck Dam broke around eight o’clock on Christmas Eve,1924. The dam held back a pond filled with 27 years of chemical waste released by the Mathieson Alkali Works. When the dam broke, a 100-foot-high wall of toxic sludge cascaded down the Holston River, destroying homes and farms, killing 19 people, and rendering…
I liked this article about the Smoke on the Mountain BBQ contest in Galax so much that I asked The Daily Yonder for permission to republish it. They generously agreed. It was written by Sara June Jo-Saebo and originally titled ‘Mouthwatering and Divine’: A Reunion over Barbecue in a Small Appalachian Town. It was published…
They call it that old mountain dew, And them that refuse it are few, You may go ’round the bend, But you’ll come back again, For that good old mountain dew The folks of the Blue Ridge Mountains take their moonshine, aka mountain dew, seriously. Moonshine liquor was always a part of the colonial Virginia…
Appalachian Folk Magic The Celtic roots of the Appalachian people run deep. Appalachian folk magic practitioners regarded natural openings like caves, lakes, graves, or a coffin as “thin spots” or portals between heaven and earth, where one can glimpse the spiritual world. In these places, lost spirits might be seen lingering near their graves. Of…
Electricity didn’t reach most parts of the Blue Ridge Mountains until the 1930s. No electricity meant no modern conveniences for food storage, such as refrigerators and freezers. So until a couple of generations ago, food was preserved the old-fashioned way: drying and canning. Drying fruits and vegetables didn’t require canning jars, and drying was a…