The 1974 Winter Edition of the Foxfire Magazine contains a compilation of newspaper articles written by Harvey Miller. At the time of the magazine’s publication Miller’s weekly column had been around for sixty years and was till being published in the Tri-County News located in Spruce Pine, North Carolina.
Here’s a couple of Miller’s April articles. I enjoyed them and hope you do too.
1961
For the benefit of those who are collecting odd names of places, I will here give name of a hollow located near here and tell why it was called that.
The little community is known as Battle Branch and why it is called that does not exactly fit in the real meaning of the name, as there never was a war in the area.
It is said that every woman living on that branch had the same wash day and that was in the day when the women used the iron pots on the outside and had a wash bench and used a stick to battle out their clothes, by beating.
On wash days, their noise was heard so loud up and down the hollow that someone called the area Battle Branch.
4/20/61
1958
There is only one ancient rock fence left standing on Pigeon Roost. It was just a pile of rocks that extended all the way around the most valuable farm tracts. They were built to withstand through all the ages.
Rock fences kept little pigs in the fields better than did crooked rail fences.
However, it was only the valley farms that got rock fences. The rocks could not stick to the hillside when the spring thaws came. Rocks were first used more in fences than any other job, but it took a very good rock mason to build them.
Where are the rocks now that stood in the these old rock fences? Were the rocks dumped into the creek when they were torn down? No, they serve a very useful purpose. A rock crusher mashed the rocks into bits. The rest of the highway that is not hard surfaced has the crushed stone on it, they say, but you can’t detect much of the gravel now.
We need a road as solid as a rock fence. We hope we can get a good road all the way up Pigeon Roost someday.
4/17/58
I love the history behind old place names as well as how the names hang on even though the original meaning behind them has long since been forgotten.
Some unusual place names from my area that come to mind are Wehutty, Hot House, Hanging Dog, and Greasy Creek.
I’m glad Miller documented what happened to the old rock fences in Pigeon Roost. If there was anything left of those rock wall road beds Helene may have took them out since there was storm damage in that area.
Jump over to the Foxfire website and poke around. They are still publishing the magazine and those wonderful Foxfire Books too!
Last night’s video: Cooking for Potluck at Church: Slaw, Deviled Eggs, & Yummy Chocolate Cake.
Tipper
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Interesting stories of days gone by.
Back in the day of battling sticks folks had things to do that really got them dirty. I reckon there had to be some battling going on with a person and their stick being the agitator. I think I may have posted this before some years ago, but I know an area in Scott County, TN with a Troublesome Creek, a Difficulty Creek and a No Business Creek. It is a troublesome country to get into and you might have difficulty and think you had no business ever going. Some of the local folks may tell you difficulty is pronounced “Dee fick ul tee”. That ‘s the way of local names. They separate the homegrown from the people from “off”.
I helped mom and both of my grandmothers at time with laundry. I only remember one of them that had a large block of wood and a paddle for beating the mud and dirt loose. (Battling) My wife and I try to do laundry every two weeks. This week I was able to get it done all in one day. (four loads) Two weeks ago when I we both had covid it took me four days. With a modern day washer and dryer it’s not too hard a task. In days gone by carrying water, heating it, washing, rinsing, hanging them on the line, bringing them in and ironing two thirds of them was a tough job.
Jackie, I hope you are both feeling better!
Enjoyed reading your post today!
In response to Sadie’s entry Just last week I replaced a washing machine, 2 months out of 5 year warranty.!!!! My previous one lasted almost 20 years. Just goes to show–nothing is made to last, so much plastic, etc.
Morning Tipper, can’t forget buzzard roost, which is lower ducktown(& where a lot of TN company housing was located), turtle town, hell’s holler, persimmon Creek and Wolf Creek. that’s all I can think of right now have a wonderful day!
I’m also interested in the names of old places around here and how they came about and how each generation coming up are taught to call them by these names. It’s kind of humorous when you are talking with someone who doesn’t know the area and you mention a place and they look so funny but yet, it’s so normal to us. I’m sure it’s like this in so many areas. We also have some old rock fences around here and it’s amazing they are still standing.
I love your post this morning…so interesting. There are places with interesting names all around for sure. There’s a community in our area that is called Pumpkintown…I don’t think any large amount of pumpkins grow there. I also very much enjoyed your video last evening. That chocolate cake is calling my name. I have decided to definitely make it for Easter dinner.
What a visual and audio ‘picture’ you placed in my mind’s eye with the washer women beating their clothes, Tipper. I never had to wash clothes that way but did use a wash board for a time as a young wife & mama. They could be hard on the knuckles!! I have enjoyed any Fox Fire books I have read and then I pass them on to my daughter who also enjoys them. Have a wonderful day everyone!
In Alabama we have several creeks , rivers and communities with Native American names
I love the story about how Battle Branch got its name. Wringer washers came along and silenced the women on wash day, but their job was still a battle. Around my area, old rock fences can still be seen occasionally, especially in and around Lexington’s horse country. The plantation houses are showcased with what seems to be miles of rock fences. I have passed them a thousand times, but I never stop admiring the craftsmanship of those masons from so long ago.
A few unusual names in my area, Blue Heaven, Docheno, Possum Kingdom, Hillside, and Greenpond. I live in a community know by the older generations as Flatrock. A larger part of the area is know as Dunklin.
I was able to obtain a copy of the 1974 Winter Edition of the Foxfire magazine on EBay. It is an extremely enjoyable read. If all of Mr. Millers columns were compiled into a book I would certainly purchase it.
I became aware of Mr. Millers column through your blog Tipper and I thank you for that.
Ron, I’m so glad you found a copy 🙂
The little community where I was born and raised in North Georgia was called “Stink Creek,” and is called that to this day. It’s a clear, cold mountain creek and no one knows for sure how it got its name, but many stories have surfaced over the years. Some say it was from the feuding and fussing between the people that lived along the creek, others say it was from the mash dumped into the creek from the moonshine stills, and some say it was from the ramps that grew along the creek. I grew up wading and playing in that creek and as a child, I spent many happy summer days sitting beside my grandpa on the creek bank while he fished. I’d sit beside him, quiet as a little church mouse, and weave pine needles into little bracelets while he fished. We’d go home with a nice string of trout and Grandma would fry them up in a pan for our supper. Now, that’s good eating!!! Now that I’m older, I wonder about the name … could it be that the residents wanted to keep it all to themselves and hoped the name “Stink Creek” would keep people away. Whatever the reason, it was a little piece of heaven for me as a child, and I wouldn’t take a million dollars for the memories.
Betty, wonderful memories!
I saw the number 1961, that is the year I was born, I saw the word April, that is the month I was born, this man is getting old, I will be 64 on April 16th, God bless you Tipper
I will wish you an early Happy Birthday, I may forget by the 16th.
Speaking of unusual names, I live in a little community called Black Gnat. I’ve been told that when they painted the little old school house a swarm of gnats came through and stuck to the paint and the name also stuck. The schoolhouse is long gone but I recently acquired a painting of it through a local auction.
My goodness, this morning I especially enjoyed your blog, Tipper. I always enjoy it but it brought back some old memories of stories told me by my Mother and Daddy. I may have mentioned it in some comment back months or years ago on your blog. My Father helped his Mother on warsh day in NE MS. He had sat her old black iron pots near the little branch that never had run dry in their life time. He built up the fire under one and had her ” battling board” there too. I knew my Grandfather, and the five boys wore overalls during the week as they were growing up on the farm, so I could understand those work clothes would really be hard to warsh. I didn’t know they used sticks, I just figured maybe they had scrub brushes, I need to study on that:)
I have made a chocolate cake like you made and it is delicious. Mother had that same stainless steel with ring on handle that you used to boil your water:) I make my coleslaw like my Mother did, simple, just mayonnaise, a tiny bit of carnation canned milk or regular milk. salt & pepper to taste, tiny bit of sugar.
I make my deviled eggs, with a bit of mustard, pickle juice, and a little pickle relish, and a sprinkle of paprika on top. I remember going to those Tupperware parties and I have that same carrier for deviled eggs as you have. I love it too:)
I always enjoy reading anything that Harvey Miller wrote. What a pleasure it would be to sit on a front porch and have a long conversation with him. I’d want him to do most of the talking. Of course, the Foxfire books and magazines are an Appalachian history treasure.
The Battle Branch Foxfire entry made me laugh first thing. I’d say back in the day there was wash day, baking day, etc and as modern women it’s easy to forget the days of washing clothes by hand (until the washer goes out and then we start thinking desperate thoughts just like am I gonna have to wash clothes from a bucket? Oh my!) If God is willing and there’s a dollar or two to spare, we hustle to the store to get another washing machine knowing nowadays it’s gonna go down in 5 years -it’s called ENGINEERED OBSOLESCENCE-read ‘em and weep, y’all. I’d say since therapy was non existent and women weren’t nearly as outspoken in the olden days, wash day was probably a day they cursed and beat laundry and gave a few folks a “real what for” working and letting out stress on those dirty rags…I don’t know that, but it’s my guess and I bet it did sound like “swarping and warping” all over that valley. Now the thing about the rocks, I don’t necessarily believe…If the state highway needs rock, don’t they get it and have on sight rock crushers and haul it in? I’d hate to depend on the “plebians” rocks-and indeed they’d have to buy mine since the state doesn’t do anything for free…lol and have a good day yall since it’s warmer than it has been in 3 days… God bless the poor and the poor in spirit-all plebians to the nouveau riche…
Sadie, I have heard the SC Highway Department is having financial problems…the employees are even having having to buy and pay for their own shovels to prop on!
I’m interested in the names of places, too, and always wonder how they came about. There’s a Greasy Creek here in Tennessee but I don’t know if it’s the name of a community or just the creek and the road that you can take to go from the Ocoee River over to the Hiwassee River (or vice versa).
Alarka has a Battle Branch. It runs into Alarka Creek just below the fire department on the opposite side of the road. I think it was named for a family named Battle who lives there. I know that’s boring but sometimes facts are that.
Needmore is my favorite community name. It says much about conditions there, I think. It also happens to be the community my Pa was born into in 1894.
Cousin Ed, do you know how Needmore got it’s name?
My deceased cousin Bill Burnett said that Needmore came to be when the Swinging Bridge was being built. Materials were brought in by a road on one side. When the people working on the other side need something it had to be ferried across by boat. The way of communication was by yelling across the river. “NEED MORE NAILS!”, NEED MORE CONCRETE!, NEED MORE BOARDS, etc. NEED MORE was used so many times that they named the little community that developed around there Needmore.
Bill is a cousin of yours too, Robert, but I don’t yet know to what degree. He was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge of the history of Swain and the surrounding counties. I begged him to put all he could in writing. His reply was “You write better than I do, so you do it.” He has gone now, so his knowledge is a little bit out of our reach.
Going to have to check out the Foxfire website sounds like there’s some interesting reading there.
I was hoping to learn the origin of the name Greasy Creek!
I can remember seeing my maternal Grandmother washing clothes in cast iron pots and taking her clothes to the nearby creek and rinsing them out. These two pots were also used at hog killing time to render out the lard. I now have these pots, like with some other things that I have that were owned by family members, no amount of money can buy them. I have a short broken blade Old Hickory style butcher knife owned by my Granddaddy and he carried in the leg pocket of his overalls that is priceless to me and worthless to anyone else.
I want to thank everyone for their prayers and comments yesterday, even though we started out loving one another when we were teenagers, it was like Wanita said, she was my one and only, there can never be anyone else in my life. I went and set by her grave for awhile yesterday. I know she was not there and I also know because of us both being “saved” I will see her again and we will never be separated, I am left to try to carry on until that day comes. I don’t feel like I hurt anyone or it was anyone else’s business by doing this.