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The Oldest Story of #Appalachia: The #Cherokee Creation Story

#Folklore #NativeAmerican #Appalachians #Legends #Story #Genealogy

I started writing a #blog this year to document the #stories behind the stories & to Change the Narrative on #Appalachia and #Appalachians.

I am poor at marketing the blog but the fabulous Amy Johnson Crow promoted my latest entry about Appalachian #Dialect and #Language.

Fun trivia: The #video in the blog kicked off my Initiative to Change the Narrative. 😉

To read the blog & watch the short video:

https://ancestryroads.blogspot.com/2025/04/52-ancestors-week-14-language.html

A #subscribe would be great too.

#Genealogy #FamilyHistory

Anytime and Anywhere I see someone wearing a #WestVirginia #University shirt (heck, any WV shirt), I walk right up to them, face-to-face and say....

'Cue Country Roads.

While this might seem bizarre to most, to West Virginians and #Appalachians, this usually gets you a free drink. 😉

Worked twice when I was in #NewOrleans.

If you know, you know. #Appalachia

https://youtu.be/hMBKT7rGgQs

@WikiTreeBeyondBMD
Thanks for sharing!

It's a great profile that is managed by a descendant. I love it when there are family members working on #Appalachians on @wikitree

"It wasn't but a very few people had an old-fashioned talking machine -- a phonograph, you'll recall. I played music for 25 years before ever I owned even something I could play a record on." - Dock Boggs

I've been participating in Amy Johnson Crow's #Genealogy #52ancestors #Blog Challenge for 2025.

This week is about #Language. And, my biggest issue with language is explaining that #Appalachians are not poorly educated or lazy due to the way they speak and their #dialect.

Check out the blog & #video for some common sayings.

https://ancestryroads.blogspot.com/2025/04/52-ancestors-week-14-language.html

#Appalachia #FamilyHistory

Are you interested in #Genealogy

Do you have #Appalachians in your #Family Tree?

Join the #Appalachia Project in April 2025 on #WikiTree for our first ever Spring Fling Challenge.

Help us Change the Narrative of Appalachians through Genealogy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ADMeVnM7X0

#Appalachia #Music Short -

Moonshine Kate with Poor Girls Story.

Moonshine Kate, the daughter of Fiddlin' John Carson. He was considered one of the pioneers of Country Music.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/52yjCX361IQ

#MusicShort #MusicVideo #CountryMusic #Appalachians #TuneTuesday #Singer

Name for Southern Appalachian antifascist organization:

Hellbenders

"We're not going straight to hell. We'll take the scenic route."

@redstateinsurgents

#Hellbenders #TVAC #RedStateInsurgents #Appalachians #Antifa #Antifascist #AntifaAF #ResInt

Sky, land, and water merges in monochrome.

These were from the very last sunset I captured in #fall of 2024 in the #Appalachians

We had the archetype of #tennessee weather, with rain falling as sun rays were still bursting through the clouds to create amazing rays and highlights on the distant peaks. Truly a 1:1 moment that I was extremely happy to capture. I chose black and white as I feel it highlights the things that were most amazing within this scene

#monochrome #landscapephotography

Sun rays distinctly burst through the clouds over a blue ridge mountain landscape, highlighting the valley below

Sun rays distinctly burst through the clouds over a blue ridge mountain landscape, highlighting a ridge in the foreground and a valley below

We, #Appalachians, love our #holiday #traditions.

While many customs align with broader, modern Valentine’s Day practices, there are unique #Appalachian twists—practical in decades past and still cherished today.
https://ancestryroads.blogspot.com/2025/02/appalachian-valentines-traditions.html

#valentine #blog #community #family

The image depicts a warm and romantic Appalachian-themed Valentine's Day scene:

Background: Snow-covered Appalachian mountains rise in the distance under a soft, diffused light. The sky is serene, with hints of warm tones.

White Church: A small, classic white church with a steeple is nestled among snowy pine trees. It evokes a sense of peace and community.

Cabin: To the left of the church, there is a rustic wooden cabin with a red door, lightly dusted with snow, adding to the cozy atmosphere.

Foreground:
A red-and-white wedding ring quilt pattern is laid out on a wooden surface, symbolizing warmth and tradition. The quilt has intricate, star-like designs in shades of red and white.
A woven picnic basket is placed next to the quilt, brimming with colorful fruits like apples, oranges, and grapes, along with a plate of heart-shaped pastries topped with jam.

Valentine’s Elements:
Soft, glowing heart-shaped lights overlay the image, floating gently throughout, adding a romantic touch.

The words “Valentine’s Day in Appalachia” are written in elegant white script across the top left, blending seamlessly into the dreamy atmosphere.

The overall mood is nostalgic, romantic, and inviting, capturing the essence of Appalachian charm on Valentine’s Day.

Human use of fire has produced an era of uncontrolled burning: Welcome to the #Pyrocene

by Stephen Pyne, The Conversation, January 22, 2025

"#LosAngeles is burning, but it isn't alone. In recent years, fires have blasted through cities in #Colorado, the southern #Appalachians and the island of #Maui, along with #Canada, #Australia, #Portugal and #Greece. What wasn't burned was smoked in.

"Is this another case of a future not only dire but strange, without a narrative to join past to present or an analog for what is to come?

"I'm a historian of fire, and my reply is that we have both a narrative and an analog. The narrative is the unbroken saga of humanity and fire, a companionship that extends through all our existence as a species. The analog is that humanity's fire practices have become so vast, especially in recent centuries, that we are creating the fire equivalent of an ice age."

[...]

Welcome to the Pyrocene

"Widen the aperture a bit, and we can envision Earth entering a fire age comparable to the ice ages of the Pleistocene, complete with the pyric equivalent of ice sheets, pluvial lakes, periglacial outwash plains, mass extinctions and sea-level changes. It's an epoch in which fire is both prime mover and principal expression.

"Humanity's firepower underpins the #Anthropocene, which is the outcome not just of #anthropogenic meddling but of a particular kind of meddling, made possible by humans' species monopoly over fire. Even climate history has become a subset of fire history.

"Fires in living landscapes, fires burning lithic landscapes—the interaction of these two realms of fire has not been much studied. It's been enough of a stretch to fully include human fire practices within traditional ecology. Yet humans—the keystone species for fire on Earth—are merging the two arenas of earthly burning with a give and take that is reshaping the planet in what resembles a slow-motion #Ragnarok.

"Add up all the effects, direct and indirect: the ice driven off by fire, the areas burning, the biogeographical #migrations as biotas move to accommodate changed conditions, the collateral impacts with damaged #watersheds and #airsheds, the unraveling of #ecosystems, the pervasive power of #ClimateChange, #RisingSeaLevels, a #MassExtinction, the disruption of human life and habitats. The result is a #pyrogeography that looks eerily like an ice age for fire. You have a maturing Pyrocene.

"If you doubt it, just ask California."

Full article (it's a good read):
https://phys.org/news/2025-01-human-era-uncontrolled-pyrocene.html
#Wildfires #UncontrolledFires #HistoryOfFire #PyroceneEra #ControlledBurning #ClimateCrisis

#2025. I did my obligatory shot of #moonshine and going back to bed.

We #Appalachians do have our #traditions, required #food, quirky #celebrations, something called a Watch Night.

Happy New Year to all. May 2025 bring you peace, joy, and happiness. And, a trip to #Appalachia

Quick read on the blog.
https://ancestryroads.blogspot.com/2025/01/appalachian-new-years-traditions.html

I revitalized my #blog for 2025 and sharing the #history, #culture, and #music of #Appalachia & #Appalachians. A companion to my #genealogy #podcasts & #webcasts.

Rarely about me but my 2024 recap is deeply personal.

Four People, Two Pets

My Journey of loss and sharing the songs that got me through 2024.

https://ancestryroads.blogspot.com/2024/12/you-couldnt-pay-me-to-do-this-year-again.html

Donating to #FoodBanks and/or for #Disaster #relief

#Milton #Helene #Appalachia #Appalachians

A few things that I've collected from others working the front lines:

What you should know about donating food and products for relief: 1. Never assume that a family has salt and pepper. Include some other spices too. 2. Be mindful that pasta sauce and spaghetti are heavily donated items. 3. Butter (margarine if you must) and Boxed Milk are always appreciated. . Donate a couple boxes of cereal with the boxed milk for the kids. " ,/‘” 4.Eggs, sugar, and flour are very rare items at a food bank but much | 0 ' appreciated. ONK 5. The Rice a-Roni box kits require oil and that is another rare item at a food bank. 6. Kraft Mac and Cheese in the box is heavily donated but requires milk and butter which is rare from a food bank. 7. Don’t assume someone has a can opener. If sending in soups, buy the pull tab ones or include a can opener. 8. Meat is a luxury and a rare find from food banks. Watch what you buy that requires meat, such as Hamburger Helper. Itis not a helper without the hamburger. 9. PB&J’s are awesome and food banks get a lot of peanut butter and jelly/jam but always run short of.... bread. 10. Tuna and potted meat along with crackers are easy to make without the need for a stove. 11. Everyone loves Stove Top Stuffing and Bisquick. 12. Anything fresh from the farm or garden is a real treat. Most food donated is from a box. 13. Seeds in Spring and Summer can enable a family to grow their own fresh vegetables. 14. Water is always needed during disasters. Add a box of tea or a bag of coffee that will be really appreciated.

It has been a month since #Helene destroyed parts of my beloved #Appalachia. There were over 1900 documented landslides.

Don't let the #Appalachians be forgotten. Many are homeless.

** Help is still desperately needed. **

I know many prefer to not donate to a religious organization but Samaritans Purse IS getting the job done.

If you prefer a non religious, boots on the ground organization: https://donorbox.org/hurricane-helene-relief-2

It will take years but these Communities will be back.

Color Photo
Very blue sky with a sun ray.
Green field with a dark wood fence.
Gravel drive cuts through the middle of the photo.
Full leave trees in different shades of green on the left side.

A very informative structural geology teaching talk given today by Dr. Morgann Perrot (Univ. Quebec at Montreal). Basic concepts of fold orientation illustrated by amazing field photos.

Folds preserved in the Ayer's Cliff Formation, southeast Quebec Appalachians (from Perrot et al, 2020)

#UQAM #McGillUniversity #Appalachians #StructuralGeology #Quebec

Tightly folded Devonian strata deformed during the Acadian phase of the Appalachian orogeny. The folds dwarf the humans for scale. From Perrot et al (2020) J. Meta. Geology

Appalachian power grids were hit hard by Hurricane Helene. But there’s a silver lining

Utilities in the region should take the opportunity to rethink their approach to electricity in the face of climate change

https://www.fastcompany.com/91208463/appalachian-power-grids-were-hit-hard-by-hurricane-helene-but-theres-a-silver-lining

#Appalachians #USA #US #ClimateChange #GlobalBurning #ClimateDestruction #ClimateSuicide #MassExtinction #pollution #ecology #environment #climate

Greater Goods is taking donations to help feed the pets and shelter dogs due to #Helene

If you can, donate and send some food and love.

https://greatergood.org/hurricane-helene-help-pets-now

#Appalachia #Appalachians

Never ever talk about a disaster as an opportunity. Especially one of this magnitude. People are dead, grieving, homeless, cold, hungry, sick.

This isn't an opportunity. This is a consequence.

A consequence of blatantly ignoring the threat of #ClimateChange. A consequence of the the oblivion of those--mostly on the outside-- who benefitted for generations from the exploitation of the southern #Appalachians vast cultural and natural resurces.

And hopefully, it's a wake-up call.

#Helene

#Appalachians

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