Blind Pig & The Acorn

January the 23 the 1870

`

Several months ago, Peggy P. asked me if I'd be interested in reading a letter that had been handed down through her family. It seemed to have been written to folks who lived in my county near the town of Andrews. Peggy said reading W.C. Penland's letters reminded her of the letter in her possession. After reading it-several things in it also reminded me of W.C.-they seem to use the same phrasing-even though their letters were about totally different things. 

One thought I had after reading Peggy's letter-the writers of her letter and W.C. grew up in the same region (about a 45 minute drive by car today)-so was the phrasing used common for our area-or common throughout the entire US? Maybe one of you can answer that question.

The letter was written by Susan Lunsford and her husband, Mat Lunsford. Susan was Peggy's Great Great Grandmother's sister. It touches me on so many different levels-give it a read and see what you think:

January the 23 the 1870

 

Dear father and mother  i this evin seat my self to drop you a few lins to let you no that we are all well at present hopin my few lins will come safe to hand and find you all enjoyin the same blessin and to let you no that I have got a fine boy I call him Jousep Henry after his Granpap Pendergrass he was borned October the 4 1869.

 

Whet is 20 cents per bushel corn is 3 dollars a bushel we have got 69 bushels of corn. We have kild one hog that wade 3 hundred and 48 pounds at 18 teen months old an one we didn’t way and I got one to kill that will go about 2 hundred and fifty and got 18 hogs left  We have 2 cows one will have a calf in March the other I don’t know when we have settled down her to stay 2 years or longer if we want too but I git more and more dissatis fide ever day if I was back in ole north Carolina I never would say Mat less move again. tho we have plenty to do us this year and plenty more comin on for another year but what satisfaction is it to me if I ain’t satisfied and all that dissatisfides me is to want to see my old father an mother and can’t I want to see you all I want you all to writ as soon as you git this letter not one but all

 

Susan Lunsford

 

Margaret I want you to write to me one time if you pleas if you hant for got that that you ever had one sister called  Suzy. Nin and forn and rocksy and lasy all drop me a few lines I would take grate pleasur in readin a few lines from you all  tell Jissy Baldwin and Joy to write to me I will send pap and mother a stran of little francis hair I send the girls some scraps of our dresses but if you have forgot my name look at the top of the letter I will write you my name  in full I will close so no more at present only I remains your child till death I still remains you sister so good by to you all from Susan Leunsord to her ole father and mother to her sisters all so

 

A few words from Mat to let you no that I am well and well sadisfide and tryin to do the best I can suzy has got dissadisfide here lately she sez she would be sadisfide if she could sho nanny and pap her fine boy the resen I am satisfied I recken is am so much like the … ???...  Bill an his family is well we live about half mile apart we have rented land and both work to gether this year we have sod ten bushel of wheet and hay all it makes free of rent 30 achorks (acres) of lan to tend in corn four acres to tend in tobacco you might not think hard of me for not ritin no sooner for we was a while that we did not no wether we would go on or stay her as soon as we got our minds settled we had to build our cabins to move in too I thought it would be no use to rite till I got settle we have made a contract for 2 year I would like for sum of you to come and see me next fall I will send you a way bill to come by if you node the situation of the country you would be willing to leave north Carolina tomorrow. Susan hole study is on the friends that is left behind it is true I would like to see you all but my mane study is to do the best I can for my self and family I pass off the time at work through the day at nite I nurs my too baby for pleasure so I take up no time in idles I will close for this time so no more at present only remaining your son till death.  From M.M. Lunsford to his father and mother write soon and fail not.

 

What I liked about the letter:

 

*The similar phrases used by the Lunsfords and W.C.- "at present only remiaing your son till death", "I this evin seat my self to drop you a few lins to let you no that we are all well at present hopin my few lins will come safe to hand and find you all enjoyin the same blessin", and "I will close so no more at present only I remians your child till death"

 

*I love how Susan gives them a hard time about not writing her, calling them out by name, and even saying if they've forgot her name she'll write it at the top of the page. Sounds like she was a spit fire.

 

*Since we've been discussing hog slaughtering-I enjoyed her details about their hogs.

 

*I like the contrast between what she writes and what her husband writes. Through his words you can feel the determination that he is going to make it for his family-and if everyone knew how good it was there-they'd all come too.

 

*The letter was written on January 23rd-the way mail was then-I wonder how long it took for her folks to get it-could it have been an unexpected Valentine for them?

 

*My favorite part of the letter keeps running around in my head. Susan missed them but she mostly wished they could see her boy that she was so proud of. She tells them she will send a stran of little Francis's hair-is this another child they never seen or is it a child she had before they left NC? Makes me wonder if they passed that little strand of hair around and talked of how they missed little Francis-of how there was a fine baby boy named Jousep Henry-who they  might not ever see but would love from afar.

 

What did you like?

 

Tipper

Subscribe for free to Blind Pig & The Acorn by Email

Canning Sausage

I love my Ball Blue Book of Preserving-its full of canning and preserving advice-on everything from blackberries to clams. This is what the book has to say about canning Pork Sausage:

"Shape ground pork in to patties or 3 to 4 inch links. Cook until lightly browned. Drain. Pack hot sausage into hot jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Ladle hot broth over sausage, leaving 1-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process pints 1 hour and 15 minutes, quarts 1 hour and 30 minutes, at 10 pounds pressure in a steam-pressure canner."

Pretty simple instructions for anyone who has ever used a pressure canner.

Granny never canned any kind of meat when I was growing up-she still doesn't-choosing instead to freeze any fresh meat that come her and Pap's way. Not long after I married The Deer Hunter I began hearing stories of the entire Pressley family coming together during hog slaughtering time-the men doing the slaughtering and the women inside the house preparing the meat for preservation. From the beginning I was interested in the sausage part-I'd ask "you mean you canned sausage? But how?" Even though they detailed the process they used to me more than once over the years I just couldn't fathom how it would really work. Since there was no longer anyone in the family slaughtering hogs, there wasn't a chance for me to see the process either.

Some of you may remember my Mountain Folk interview with Jackie Cole last summer. Her family still slaughters hogs each fall-and as she told me the details of handling the meat, I realized her method of canning sausage was the same one the Pressleys used. As I questioned her closer she finally gave me a jar of canned sausage, told me to take it home, cook it, and see for myself. When I opened the jar a few weeks later I enjoyed the best sausage I had ever eaten. It was so much better than frozen-and almost as good as fresh. Since then I've been given jars by other folks who can their sausage in the same manner-and its all been good-not just good but outstanding-however there is just one problem-they don't pressure cook it.

This is the method they use:

 

First they sterilize their jars, lids, and rings-keeping their jars hot.

Pat out their sausage and brown it on both sides.

Place as many pieces of hot sausage as they want for a meal in a hot jar.

Pour 1 to 2 inches of the hot sausage grease/fat into the jar. Attach the lid and ring tightly-turn the jar upside down.

After sitting over night-the jar looks like this.

They store the sausage upside down until they're ready to open a jar to eat. Placing the pieces in a pan they fry them for a few minutes to warm through-using the excess grease to make gravy just like you would with fresh sausage.

I've been studying this method for almost a year. Here are some of my thoughts:

• How could the sausage keep like this-how does it not spoil since it wasn't canned in a pressure cooker?
• Does the grease protect it somehow?
• I've read some toxins are odorless and tasteless-is the sausage spoiled and they just don't know it?
• In the last year-I've found dozens of folks from western NC who can their sausage like this. Even the lady I buy sausage from said she did-and her mother did as well. Could it be folks who are used to eating it are used to eating it-you know like when you travel to another country you may get an upset stomach because of the different strains of bacteria that are present in the food and water?
• Have all the folks who use this method just been lucky for the years they've been canning it like this?
• If I followed all the directions of my canning book-I'd water bath my pickles and jelly-which I don't-so is the sausage kinda like that?
• Wouldn't you get sick easier from meat than from jelly or pickles?

As you can see I've mostly went around in circles on this one. One thing I do know-folks who were taught this method by their elders-and have used it for the last 40 years aren't about to change their minds on the subject. And although, I'm not advising anyone to use the method-I sure won't be turning down any jars that are waved under my nose.

What I want to know is what do you think? Did your parents or grandparents can sausage like this? Do you think all the folks that use the method are just lucky dogs and their day of dying from botulism is coming? If you'd always used this method with no adverse consequences would you change cause the Ball canning book told you too?

Tipper 

Subscribe for free to Blind Pig & The Acorn by Email

Hard Times Come Again No More

Hard Times Come Again No More was written by Stephen Foster in 1855. Since Foster was a songwriter by trade I'm sure the song was composed with monetary gain in mind-however-I've read it was also penned cause the words directly related to events that were taking place in Foster's own private life-in other words Foster had fallen on hard times himself.

We've been performing the song for the past few months-any of you that tuned in to hear Pap and Paul on the radio heard it there. I'm always amazed at the longevity of songs like this one-how it was written all those years ago-well over a 100-and still resonates in today's modern world. Foster was a masterful writer-more than a few of his songs are still popular today.

I believe Hard Times Come Again No More has hung around-cause who hasn't had hard times? The songs first lines indicate just that "Let us Pause in Life's pleasures to count its many tears for we all share sorrow with the poor". The song goes on to discuss how as humans it's natural for us to seek mirth and beauty-even though frail folks at the door are experiencing hard times and some of those hard times may be waiting for us across the troubled waves or upon the shore.

While this life is full of troubles and trials-a common thread of hard times folks in the US are experiencing at the moment-is the economic downturn. In my area of Appalachia-the current unemployment rate is 15.5%. Over the past several months, the number of friends whose homes are in foreclosure has risen from 2 to 3. Hard times indeed.

This Pickin' and Grinnin' In The Kitchen Spot features Foster's song-Hard Times Come Again No More. (don't forget to stop the player in the top right hand of this page before you start the video-just click on the larger round circle with the ll marks)

Hope you enjoyed the song-and I hope hard times come around your cabin door no more. If you know what the unemployment rate is in your area-please leave a comment about it.

Tipper

Subscribe for free to Blind Pig & The Acorn by Email

Firewood

 

Firewood

By Keith Jones

 

With central heating or even today’s highly-efficient wood heaters, few people now appreciate the sheer volume of wood it took to keep a pioneer mountain household in operation, and the often-backbreaking labor needed to procure it. My granddad Dyer’s mountain farm in Choestoe district of Union County, Georgia, had an open fireplace in the living room, an upright wood heater in the large “new” bedroom he added to his original house, and a hybrid wood-burning stove in the kitchen. The stove had two eyes that worked off electricity, similar to today’s hot plate freestanding eyes, but Granddad never cooked on them. He left that to the kids, and continued to cook on his old reliable iron cooktop and oven.

 

Granddad’s farm was a bit over 150 acres, and about a third or half of it was in timber. I realize now that the natural timber growth on this tract of land was roughly equal to, or slightly in excess of the amount of wood burned to keep the house warm, food cooked, and the farm running. So he was practicing sustainable growth before the term was invented.

 

I first became aware of how much wood it took to supply these three heat sources as a small child, visiting at Granddad’s with the uncle and aunts who were about my own age. Blueford, one of two older uncles, was helping cut, split, and stack firewood. I was just large enough to carry one or two sticks of wood and place them within easy reach of the fireplace. I remember how you’d stand on icy winter nights with your back to the fire while your face froze, then turn around and warm your front while your back froze. Sometimes we’d put some popcorn in a little wire basket on a stick and pop it over the wood coals. No microwave popcorn could ever taste as good as that “smoked” variety.

 

Before long, I was large enough to begin helping cut wood myself. Usually my Uncle Troy, a year younger than me, and I would have this assignment. Granddad, Uncle Blueford, or Uncle Gene (the other older uncle) would have taken the tractor up into the woods after it was cool enough for the sap to have come down. They’d cut several oaks or hickories, and a pine or two, then drag the trees down to the area where we processed them. Side limbs would have been trimmed off to facilitate dragging the main trunk, but sometimes limbs that were parallel to the main trunk or a fork would be left in place. Those limbs that were large enough to provide firewood for the kitchen stove, heater, or kindling for the fireplace were by no means left in the woods. They were cut to length, gathered up into a wagon, and brought to be stacked onto the wood piles that graced the slight hill to the south of Granddad’s homeplace.

 

Once the trees had been drug from the woods to the woodlot, Troy and I would begin wrestling the logs up onto the pivoting shelf attached to the circular saw. This contraption consisted of a circular saw about 30” to 40” in diameter, set into a metal frame, with a large flat pulley wheel on the other end of the shaft. The pivoting shelf allowed the logs to be shoved over against the cutting saw to be cut to length. I think we sometimes cut logs as much as 18-20” in diameter on this machine. The power was supplied by a rubber belt similar to a conveyor belt that was driven by an industrial 220-volt motor Granddad had scrounged somewhere. The motor had its own little tin-roofed shelter to keep off the rain. To the best of my recollection, that same belt was used to transfer power from the back wheel of an idling jacked-up Chevy pickup truck to the old cane grinder that had formerly been driven by mule or ox-power when sorghum syrup was being produced.

 

People today would probably be charged with child endangerment if they let 12 or 13-year-old boys handle the circular saw like Troy and I did, but we thought nothing of it, except warning each other to be careful. Logs were cut into three different lengths, depending on their future use. 24” length logs, usually the biggest diameters, were destined for the open fireplace after splitting and seasoning. Logs for the heater were somewhat shorter. Smallest of all were the fat lighter pine used for kindling and the kitchen stove. Sometimes old corncobs were used in kitchen stoves and small heaters, but this is something I remember from other relatives’ homes, not Granddad’s.

 

After the logs were cut to length, or if additional help was available while that was being done, most of the wood had to be split at least once. The larger “drums” of wood had to be split into four to six pieces of firewood. This was accomplished with either an ax, or a wedge and sledge. I really hated to try to split green wood, since sometimes it simply refused to split. Wood from tree forks is also notoriously hard to split properly. But there’s nothing like the satisfying “chunk” of a log splitting perfectly at the first blow of the ax.

 

Hardwoods were the main fuel for the fireplace and heater. They produced a lot of ash, which would be processed by draining water through them to yield lye, to be combined with leftover cooking fat to produce lye soap. Pine tended to produce less ash, but more tar and creosote buildup in stovepipes and chimneys. The most excited I ever saw my grandfather was when the main chimney caught on fire with a huge roar. He was right to be agitated, since many house fires began with just such a scenario. In the attic, where we went to check if the fire was endangering the house or not, you could see the roaring flames through cracks in the mud chinking. The next summer after this fire, Granddad tore down his old red-clay-mud chinked chimney, and had his stepson Lloyd to rebuild the chimney with the same rocks, but with modern mortar as chinking. Lloyd was well-known in the community for his ability to construct chimneys that “drew” well and didn’t smoke up the house. That chimney lasted as long as the house did.

 

Syrup making was a main cash-producer on the Dyer farm. So limbs that other folks would have cut up into stovewood, at Granddad’s were left longer—about 8 or so feet in length—so that they could be fed into the firebox under the evaporator pan at the syrup mill. Troy and I again did the honors, keeping the fire stoked and at just the right temperature, at Granddad’s or Blueford’s direction. (Uncle Gene usually was tending his own syrup mill during my growing-up years.)

 

In addition to the wood used to heat the house and make syrup, firewood was needed for cooking all year long. The fireplace usually had at least a small fire in it for nine or ten months a year, and the kitchen stove had a fire every single day. When it was time to cure hams or smoke other meats, fuel was needed for the smokehouse, too. And if a farmer dabbled in blacksmith work, he needed a supply of charcoal, which was produced by stacking large amounts of logs into a mound shape, covering the whole thing with dirt except for a tiny chimney hole, and burning a small fire in the middle until all the wood turned to charcoal. This was such a specialized skill that not every farmer tried it. I never saw it done, but heard of families who made this their specialty, just as others ran sawmills or gristmills, or ‘tended store’ in addition to their farming.

 

All in all, Granddad’s farm consumed several full cords of wood each year. Today, people use chainsaws and hydraulic wood splitters. We had the circular saw, a large step up from the crosscut saws my Dad and Granddad had to use many years ago. But even today, producing firewood is an arduous task. So when the fellow comes with the pickup truck load of split, seasoned oak and hickory, don’t begrudge him the $50 or $75 or even $100. And as you enjoy the warmth from your Buck stove or Warm Morning, give a thought or two to how that wood came to be there for you.

 

by Keith Jones

 

Hope you enjoyed Keith's guest post-I know I did.

 

Tipper

 

p.s. The winner of Peggy Poe Stern's book is...

 

 

Pat in East Tn! Thank you-to all who entered the giveaway.

 

Subscribe for free to Blind Pig & The Acorn by Email

Spreading The Love For January

Time to Spread the Love for the month of January. You've went along with me as I bemoaned the cold, killed hogs with Keith Jones, made my debut radio appearance, rendered lard with Pap and Granny, made a might fine cake of cornbread, mourned the passing of Arley Phillips and picked out one of my favorite songs Silver Wings-and I thank each of you.

A big shout out for all those who took the time to comment during the month of January:

Sandy Carlson, Janet, Mary's Writing Nook, Paula, Kathleen, Just Jackie, The Texican, Julie at Elisharose, Miss Cindy, Brenda Kay Ledford, Sheila B., Osagebluff Quilter, Terry, Matthew Burns, GrannyPam, Warren, Lanny, The Fishing Guy, Mary Traveling Hammer, Petra Michelle, SolsticeDreamer, David Templeton, Greta Koehl, Farmchick Paula, Nancy M., Glenda, Nancy Simpson, Fencepost, Rick's Whitetail Woods, Trisha Too, Mary Life In A Cordwood Cabin, My Carolina Kitchen, Kelli, Farmchick, Emily Cole, Mike Mclain, Kat, Peggy P, Paul Saltcreek, Patty Hall, JoLyn, Olecrowsnest, The Welldigger, Rachel, Marilyn, Stacey, B. Ruth, CheE, Debbie, Sallie Covolo, Shane Moad, Barbara Gantt, Mary-Annies Goat Hill, John Dilbeck, Vicki Lane, Mary Libby, Frances, Jay Henderson, wkf, Marlene, Tazebell, Michelle, Susie, Ethel, Julie Curtis, Janet Pressley, Mark S., Michael Golch, Tish, Eva Nell Mull Wike, Ph.D., Sarah, Wanda, Christina-The Joy Of, Benny Terry, Two Square Meals, Dana, Catherine Seiberling Pond, Lonnie L. Dockery, Rooney Floyd, Jan, Apple, Annie, Miss FiFi, Stacey South Western PA, Carrie,  Will Dixon, Elizabeth, Ed, Sharon, Dee from Tennessee, Lynn Legge, Jen, Elizabeth Thomas,  Sue, Vera, Steve A in Florence Ky, Pat in East TN, Charles Fletcher, Becky Nicks, Malcolm, Nancy's Family History, Sheila, Shirley, Maggie Mallard, Michelle, Daniela, doggybloggy, Teresa, Wanda Pressley, Steve,  Clint, Brit,  Diane Crafty Passions, Finnishwahine, Dan Myshrall, Warren Meckley, Kay B., Chris, tracy sparks,  Ethelene Dyer Jones, Rhonda, Shirley Bullock, Larry Meckley, Nancy, Cindy Loven, the inadvertent farmer, Denese, Cindy, Rhonda Haslam, Joe Penland, Laura, Eunice, Dejoni, Mckee, Helen G., bluemountainmama, Thea Klein, Laura Jane, Jill at Livin Good Jewelry, and Paula Rhodarmer.

All of your comments-truly make the Blind Pig a better place to visit. This month's winner is...

Rooney Floyd! Since I happen to know Rooney likes good music-I'll be sending him one of Pap and Paul's Lamp Lighting Time cds.

Drop back by to read Keith Jones' memories of cutting firewood back in the day-and we've still got some sausage to can.

Tipper

p.s. don't forget to click on a commenter's name above and go for a visit-I know you'll be glad you did. Also-I'll be announcing the winner of Peggy Poe Stern's book on Wednesday.

Subscribe for free to Blind Pig & The Acorn by Email

Burning Firewood

The Farmer's Almanac predicted this would be a harsh winter-and so far it seems they've been right. Parts of the country barely get dug out before the next winter storm arrives on their doorstep.

We've lived in our house a little over 13 years. In the beginning, we heated with a combination of a kerosene monitor heater upstairs and a wood stove downstairs. After we'd been here several years and were able to afford a heat pump, The Deer Hunter helped one of his buddies install one. Mostly we wanted the pump for the air conditioning it could provide during the summer months, however when heating oil began to rise to unheard of prices it became cheaper to use the heat pump for heat and forgo the monitor heater.

Over the years, we got slack about using the wood stove in the basement. After all-unless you buy the wood-it takes much effort and time to lay in a supply of wood for the winter. It only took the economic downturn to light the proverbial fire under The Deer Hunter to get him back to laying in that supply of wood. For the past 2 winters we've returned to using the wood stove in the basement for heat-makes us both wonder why in the world we let it sit cold for those few years.

Our stove is a dandy-it came from Papaw Tony's basement-it was there when Papaw and The Deer Hunter moved in during the late 80's. It was handmade by a talented craftsman.

The stove heats wonderfully-and after The Deer Hunter banks the fire and turns the dampers down-it always holds coals for the next morning.

Everyone has preferences when it comes to what kind of wood they like to burn. I'm sure it makes a difference depending on where you live as well. The Deer Hunter likes good seasoned oak and locust the best. But will mix in other woods-like maple and popular. The one he doesn't like to use much-is pine-cause it is more likely to build up creosote in your chimney.

My favorite thing about using the wood stove: we have wood floors and a type of tile in the bathrooms-I love that it heats the floors from below-and my piggies have a warm floor to walk on.

Do you burn wood?

Tipper

p.s. Check back in a few days to read a great guest post by Keith Jones-Firewood.

Subscribe for free to Blind Pig & The Acorn by Email

Civil War Letters 5

It's been a while since we checked in with W.C. Penland. If you need to be refreshed on his previous letters-click on Civil War Letters.

Greasy Cove Tennessee Washington County

March the 2nd 1863

Dear Father

I seat myself to write you a few lines that I am still in the  land of the living   hoping that these lines will find you and all of the family in good health   I am not very well at this time but have been well all of the time until a few days ago   I have the bad cold very bad   I think that I will be well in a few days   we have been doing some very hard scouting   we started one morning last week at two o'clock and walked all day until night over the mountains and did not get anything to eat until between one and two o'clock   some of our boys went to the limestone cave and they got back   and they got two bush whackers   General Jackson is in this part of the country and a part of our men crossed Chucky to go with the general   they are a going to give the mountains about the line a general scouting   they killed one of the bush whackers yesterday   they found three of them at a camp and they started to run and they shouted and they would not and they killed one of them and the others got a way   there is camps nearly anywhere in this country   where there is there is a thicket    Arch Henson met with a bad accident the other day   I believe it was yesterday morning   he was going to get into a canoe   had his gun on a rock and hit the cock on a rock and it went off and hit him in the back   I do not know if it went to his hollow or not   the doctor says that he will get over it    I expect it very uncertain whether he will

March the 3rd

I feel some better this morning but not at all well   Big Jason Ledford and Hezakiah Smith runaway a few days ago   I recon if he went strait on he is at home today   he did not tarry with us long   I think that he just come after his money and not as he aimed to stay   he is a true lover of money   and at least he thinks more of money than he does for his character   we a getting a plenty to eat for ourselves and our horses   my horse is in a little better condition than he was when I wrote you last   our men are very much scattered    Lieut Barnard and about twenty four are here   and there is a detail of fifteen with Lieut Feancher   Lieut Anderson and all of the rest of the sick a way down below Johnson Depot and the last that heard of Lieut Cunningham he was in the Elizabethton area   I do not know here James Crawford is now   He was a getting better   I have not got a letter from home for some time now   the last one I got was from brother James H Penland   I got a letter from Mr E M Scroggs   he is well   he says he thinks that the folks of Macon and Clay have forgot him   I expect that would be glad to hear from you all at home   I do not  know when I can write again for we are all nearly out of paper and we can not get any paper in this part of the country    we can get some by sending to Jonesborough or Greensville   I want you to write me as soon as this comes to hand   I must bring my few lines to a close   give my love and respect to all the children and Mother and grandma and also Mr Sherman   still address to Hanesville Washington County Tenn   tell Uncle Charles and family howdy for me   so no more at present but remain your affectionate son as ever

to H M Penland

                            William C Penland

Reading this letter-makes me sorry he's sick-and sorry he hasn't gotten a letter from home. I'm sure the reason he had not received a letter was the mail system itself.  I imagine in those days, the mail would have been slow and not very dependable. Much different from the 'instant contact' we have with loved ones today.

What jumped out at you from the letter?

Tipper

Subscribe for free to Blind Pig & The Acorn by Email

Appalachian Writers

I'd like to introduce you to Peggy Poe Stern-have you ever heard of her? I've only known her a few months-I believe she may be one of the best kept secrets of Western NC.

I stumbled onto Peggy's website one day-and once I realized she was an Appalachian Writer I began to click around-all of my clicking landed me on an excerpt from one of her books. I could not stop reading it-and when I reached the end-I knew I had to have the book to see what happened to Laine and her lazy sister and Mother.

This week-I had the opportunity to interview Peggy Poe Stern.

Are you a native of Appalachia?

Yes. I was born and raised in Ashe County North Carolina at the end of Sugar Tree road. Although I have traveled on business, I’ve never lived or wanted to live anywhere other than our beloved mountains. 

Did you always want to be a writer? If so did you write as a child and throughout your life?

As a child, I had three dreams. I wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, or a writer. Being there was never money for college, my dream of great writer took over and I’m still dreaming and working at it diligently.  I was born loving stories. I spent treasured hours listening to the old folks telling me stories about their lives. I tried to write as a child - and spent 38 years of my life working and raising six children while scribbling and dreaming of having time to really write. Six years ago, I stopped working and focused on my dream of writing. It’s as though there is a specific book I’m supposed to write and no matter how many books I have written, it’s not that specific book. Therefore, I must trudge onward.

I know you write about Appalachia-is there any other subjects you write about? Non-fiction?

My genre would be considered general fiction; although, each book may contain mystery, suspense, murder, and romance. My main love is writing about Appalachia and her people. I’m also fascinated with the human spirit and reincarnation. I have a book titled: “Hunting the Haunted”, about local haunted places and ghost stories. “Dream Lover” came about due to Dr. Ian Stevenson’s book about his research on cases suggestive of reincarnation. Two of my non-fiction books are about mountain speech and the moon and zodiac signs.

Why do you write about Appalachia?

That answer is easy. Not only are the Appalachian Mountains my home, but I love their ruggedness and their endurance. I also find the tough, vigorous, hard-working natives of this unforgiving land fascinating. 

Do you think it's important to write about Appalachia?

Yes, I believe it is always important for writers to write about their homes and the places they love. There has been a lot of discrimination about the Appalachia and her people, not to mention a never-ending supply of jokes. The jokes don’t bother me in the least. I actually enjoy them and sometimes encourage them. What does bother me is that people may never be able to personally experience the endurance, life, times, and beauty that I have been blessed with. Therefore, another reason for my writing.

Where does your inspiration/idea come from?

My goodness, I have no problem with ideas or inspiration. They bombard me from all directions, insisting on being written. I tell people that feeling the wind blow gives me another idea for a book. It’s as though a dozen different muses hound me all the blessed time.

The 2 books of yours I read are full of turmoil and fast paced. Why do you choose to write about the "hard" part of life?

I’ve read and enjoyed a lot of books glorifying life without ever dwelling on hardships. However, I wanted to avoid idealism and show life close to reality. The first book I wrote, based on the old mountain saying that a man owns his land “Heaven High and Hell Deep” came about because I wanted readers to know what it was like to be a woman in the early 1900s. I tried to portray life, love, and hardships as closely as they had been portrayed to me. "Tamarack" came about because of my fierce hatred of child abuse. It is roughly based on a true story in which the local sheriff, and many others, helped me with the research. I was hoping readers would not only feel the hopelessness of the victims, but solutions as well. I might add that not all my stories focus on the hardships of life, but the ability to overcome them. 

Do you have a favorite place to write? Do you use pen and paper or a keyboard? Do you write every day?

I write in a little corner of my bedroom where I see nothing but a wall, hoping not to get distracted. Most everything interests me - and sitting is not my favorite occupation. I use a laptop computer because it is faster than pen and paper, plus I’m not good at spelling and spell-check helps. My favorite time to write is early of a morning when I’m fresh and haven’t been distracted. If there is a day when I’m not actually writing, I’m thinking about it. I also devote a couple of hours before bedtime to study writing, techniques, and stories by other writers. I’m always trying to improve, but often feel I go backward.

I read you work on more than one book at a time-could you explain this process a little?

As I mentioned before, stories bombard me. I give in and start writing a lot of them. I have as many as 7 or 8 books in the making at one time. Two of them will prove dominating, and I will finish them first and second. Multiple stories also eliminate my writer’s block. One of the stories will always come. Once, this proved disastrous. My hard drive went and couldn’t be recovered. I lost about two years of work – including the entire book of “Joppa”. I rewrote “Joppa” but feel that it lost some of its original vitality. I now call “Joppa” the lost book.

How many books have you published?

I have just finished book 17. It should be in print in two weeks. Only 5 of the 8 books I’m now working on are pushing me hard. I can only write two or three books a year without giving up animals, farming, gardening, canning, and taking care of grandchildren and great grandchildren. Thank goodness I have a husband that’s willing to help me out.

Where can folks find them-buy them?

There are a few stores that carry the books. A list of stores can be found on the web site http://peggypoestern.tripod.com/. I fear that I have spent all my time on writing and very little on marketing. I try to encourage readers to order directly from me as it enables me to know the readers, and their likes and dislikes. My address, email, and phone number are on my web site. I always welcome their comments and phone calls. Readers make writing possible. 

Hope you enjoyed my interview with Peggy Poe Stern. I've read 2 of her books-I read each book the day I got it- I could not put them down. If you like  books that pull you in from the first sentence-if you like books that are fast paced and full of angst-then Peggy's books are for you. Peggy's style of writing brings to mind 2 recent best sellers-Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones and Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner. After I read Tamarack-I told Peggy I have one question-"why are you not at the top of the New York Times best sellers list?"

In an effort to help spread the word about Peggy Poe Stern-I'm going to give away a copy of her Heaven High and Hell Deep book. To be entered in the giveaway all you have to do is jump over to her site; read the excerpt from the book; come back here and leave me a comment telling me what happens to Laine's little brother, Joey.

Tipper

Subscribe for free to Blind Pig & The Acorn by Email

The Wild Man of Cataloochee

 
                    Early 80's Cataloochee

Ever heard of The Wild Man of Cataloochee? His real name was Arley Phillips. Arley was a legend in Haywood County, NC and beyond. He died almost 2 weeks ago-he was 77 years old.

Quote from article featured in The Mountaineer, written by Vicki Hyatt:

Phillips lived in the White Oak community under conditions seldom found in today’s world. His  primitive home had no running water or electricity and is unchanged — except for wear and tear — from the time it became the family home. The Phillips were one of many forced to relocate when the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was formed. There is no insulation in the house and the construction of yesteryear allows plenty of places for outside air to circulate in both winter and summer.  

In years past, Arley frequented the Cataloochee area of the park. As folks saw him slip through the woods or look for food in the dumpsters-they nicknamed him The Wild Man of Cataloochee.

The Deer Hunter and Papaw Tony spent many days and nights in the Cataloochee section of the park. It was their favorite place for camping, horse riding, and fishing. The Deer Hunter was always on the look out for The Wild Man, over the years he saw him several times. Once The Deer Hunter was trout fishing-as he looked up The Wild Man crossed the river just a few feet ahead of him-he never spoke just looked at The Deer Hunter and kept going.

Arley's nephew, neighbors and a few other folks did befriend him-leaving him food and other items he needed-checking on him every once in a while to make sure he was o.k.

By the time I met The Deer Hunter and Papaw Tony, their days of camping at Cataloochee were over. You had to reserve a place to camp-I suppose you still do. One day Papaw got a phone call that he wouldn't be able to camp the coming weekend-even though he'd had it reserved for quite some time. Seems someone more influential than Papaw and his horse riding buddies had rented the entire park. Papaw decided a little complaining was necessary-but it was to no avail. Then he decided he'd rent the entire park himself-however it seemed he wasn't allowed too. After Papaw contacted a congressman about the issue-the welcome mat was never put out for Papaw and The Deer Hunter again-actually that's an understatement. It was more like-come if you want too-and we'll make sure we find every fraction of the law you violate no matter how small it is. During one of the last trips they made to Cataloochee-there were 21 flat tires among their group of horse riders.

Years ago The Deer Hunter told me about The Wild Man-I was intrigued from the beginning-what did he eat? Did he talk to anyone? Did he have a house? Did he get lonely? Seems kinda sad that all my questions were answered through the death of Arley Phillips.

Ever heard of The Wild Man of Cataloochee?

To read the entire article about Arley Phillips in The Mountaineer click here.

Tipper

Subscribe for free to Blind Pig & The Acorn by Email 

Humor At Hog Slaughtering Time

In the first post about hog slaughtering-I shared my funny story of being chased home by 2 big pigs. In Keith Jones' guest post Hog Killin Day, he described a comical incident about his Uncle Blueford. After that-it seemed I kept hearing funny stories related to hog slaughtering.

One of the first I heard centered around those 2 young men in the foreground of the photo above. Papaw Tony and his brother, Uncle Sam. The story also highlights 2 of the dangers that accompanied slaughtering day-boiling water and sharp knives.

Tony and Sam were both students at Haywood Community College. Sam had stayed home from school to catch up on homework, and their father, James, was going to slaughter a hog.

To aide in removing hair from the hog-it was common for folks to have a barrel buried in the ground at a slight angle. The barrel would be filled with boiling water-the pig would be 'dipped' into the water to scald the hair off and clean the hog as well. Although James had folks helping with the slaughtering, they called Sam out to help with dipping the hog. It had started to rain, and as they were handling the hog, Sam slipped and his foot went into the scalding barrel. As they tried to pull Sam's sock off to see how bad he was burned-the skin came with it. Pig slaughtering was halted and a trip to the hospital was soon under way.

After returning from the hospital, it was decided that Tony should be called home to help finish the slaughtering job. When Tony arrived the process continued. As the hog hung from a tree, Tony held the hog open for James to clean out the innards. During the gutting-James' knife slipped and cut Tony's finger to the bone. Feeling horrible I'm sure-James said "come on and lets go down to the hospital and get it sewed up." Thinking of Sam's trip to the doc earlier in the day, Tony refused saying "I'm not going to the same Doctor for the same hog!" Tony fashioned a splint to hold the wound together. Both he and Sam recovered completely from their accidents-but that would be a hog killing day that no one in the family ever forgot.

Many of you left comments about becoming attached to hogs-only to have to part with them once slaughtering time arrived. The Deer Hunter had a similar experience.

His Papaw James bought 2 hogs to fatten up and slaughter for meat. From the beginning The Deer Hunter was warned not to become attached to them. From the beginning-he didn't heed the warning. Ever chance he got he headed for the pig lot. Feeding the 2 pigs, petting them-in other words they become his best friends. I suppose the grown ups knew he would be upset when slaughtering day arrived-but after all they had warned him. On the big day-The Deer Hunter had a plan to stop them. He gathered a good supply of rocks and hid within easy throwing distance. As the men walked down to the lot-he began his rock attack. Not only did his plan fail-he said it was without a doubt the worst whipping he ever got.

I'll leave you with one more funny story about hogs. It's from Teresa in KY:

We were at my uncle's house. He had 3 boys, each about our ages to match me and my sister and brother. When we'd get together with them, there was usually some mischief. We went out to the pen to see the piglets. Then someone decided to separate the momma sow from the babies so we could play with the little ones. All I remember was standing in the pen with a branch and trying to get between the momma and her babies. She turned and charged at me. She'd had enough!!! The next thing I knew, I was riding a sow, backwards, being jarred half to death as she trotted full-speed to the electric fence line, determined to get me, the enemy, out of her pen. I landed right across that weed-eater fence and it cut some good welts across both knee-caps. I went crying to the house and once the grown-ups realized how it happened, that was the end of our fun for the day. But I can't help but smile at the vision of a 9-year-old girl riding a sow backwards at full speed, with my teeth rattling in my head. --teresa in ky
 

If you've got a funny story to add-please leave me a comment.

Tipper

p.s. A few of you have inquired about the radio broadcasts-we're figuring out how to upload portions of Paul and Pap's. You can hear mine where it's archived over at Salt Creek Life (look in the top right hand corner of the Salt Creek Life page). There was a little technical difficulty during the first few minutes and during the trivia questions-but the rest is great. Also-since the trivia/prize portion of the show didn't work out-Paul Ward is going to try a different route-read about it here. He's got some great prizes and all you have to do is answer a question about the Blind Pig & The Acorn to win them-so check it out.

Subscribe for free to Blind Pig & The Acorn by Email