Nineteen seventy-two was a big year for me. I was seventeen years old, graduated from high school in May, moved away, and started college in June. It was also the year I discovered the Foxfire books. The first was published in 1972, the year I first saw in print the Appalachian culture that I had grown up with. I discovered that the life my parents lived and that I grew up in … [Read more...] about The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Women
Overcoming Adversity; The Helen Keller Story
Helen Keller (1880-1968) was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama. No woman in our history has exhibited greater courage or been more accomplished in the face of disability. Helen was blind and deaf but was not born that way. She became ill at the age of 19 months when she lost both of those two senses. Doctors today think she may have had meningitis or severe influenza. Whatever it was, … [Read more...] about Overcoming Adversity; The Helen Keller Story
Cast Iron Cookware; A Tradition of Southern Life
If you are a reader of The Southern Voice, you are unarguably also a fan of Southern* cooking. Nothing speaks of Southern cooking like cast iron cookware. It brings back memories of a previous generation, cooking on woodstoves and those early electric stoves with eyes heavy enough to build a house on. Cast iron cookware is an heirloom that many of us covet. I was curious about … [Read more...] about Cast Iron Cookware; A Tradition of Southern Life
The Bloody One-Hundredth; Heroes From the Greatest Generation
If you follow my articles on The Southern Voice, you know how much I love to read. Almost every article is tied to a book I have read or recommends that you read one to get more information. I read and review many books from popular fiction authors, history and memoirs, and local and regional authors. The best books entertain you with a story and also teach you something. One … [Read more...] about The Bloody One-Hundredth; Heroes From the Greatest Generation
Entrepreneur, Firebrand and Controversial Character; Cas Walker
If you grew up in East Tennessee, Virginia, or Kentucky in the 1940s thru the 1980s, there is one man you likely remember. He was a very successful businessman, a politician, and an entertainer. Orton Caswell (better known as Cas) Walker was an extraordinary personality in all of those areas. Part business owner, carnival barker, showman, and politician, he was outspoken and … [Read more...] about Entrepreneur, Firebrand and Controversial Character; Cas Walker
