As I look back over 2009 I’m happy with the progress made here on the Blind Pig & The Acorn site-mostly I’m thankful I have such great readers who have made 2009 a banner year for the Blind Pig.
Each post I write in an effort to promote, preserve, and celebrate Appalachian culture and heritage is made better by the comments you leave. Maybe you don’t realize it-but each of you are part of the effort too.
Here’s an example of how:
- say someone googles medicinal remedies
- they click on one of my posts relevant to the subject
- read what I have to say
- then continue reading your comments
Maybe you shared your experience with a specific remedy-maybe you knew something that worked better for the ailment-what ever you shared-it helped the person who came looking for information-in many cases it may have been what brought them here in the first place. To me-that process is fantastic-and it’s most definitely progress for preserving my culture.
My mind is always at work thinking, planning, and scheming about what I want to write next. Although once I write about a subject, it seems to slip to the back of my mind, pushed into a corner to make room for new ideas. This morning I took a moment to look back over the posts from 2009. A few stood out as my favorites for one reason or another:
- Have You Got The Blues -one of my all time favorite songs-and everyone gets the blues at some point
- Quilting Bee Then And Now-great juxtaposition of technology and old timey customs
- My Carolina Crafting Episode Premiered Today -still can’t believe I was chosen to be on this fabulous show
- Pap And The Big Rock -it’s about Pap-what else can I say
- Economic Downturn Causes Resurgence In Old Time Ways -one good thing about the economic mess-it’s brought many folks back to their roots
- Three Indian Princess Move To New Territory -the joy of childhood
- Pickled Beans And Corn The Old Time Way -shows it’s easier than you think-and my how good they are with cornbread
- Treasure Hunting In Appalachia Just A Touch Of The Past-I’ll never forget the weirdness of this day
- The Moving Wall Memorial -I’ll never forget the emotion of this day
- Gathering Corn -I learned how to gather corn for people and animals-I also found out a few of you still do it this way
Each of you made 2009 a great year for me-and I thank you for it. I’m hoping you stick around for 2010. A few things I’m working on for the year: a series of essays written by local students on part of western NC’s history, a month long spotlight on music-which ends with a free guitar for someone out there (I’ve already interviewed David Grier for it-that was for sure a highlight of 2009), coming up soon-a series of posts about hog killing, and we can’t end our journey of corn without making a pan or 2 of cornbread.
Happy New Year!
Tipper
Hey ALL TARHEELS! That Breda Kay Ledford’s stories and poetry make me homesick for the Matheson Cove over in Clay County! All the topics on this BLOG make me think I am HOME! Beautiful!
Eva Nell Mull Wike, Ph.D.
So many of us love your blog, Tipper, and need to get our Blind Pig fix. You always have such interesing topics and write so well. It has been so fun getting to “know” you and your family. Some of my favorite posts this past year were your spooky halloween posts. They were so much fun and I always love the vocab lessons.
Happy New Year to you and yours!
a great blog here! it’s so nice to see the rich appalachian heritage and culture preserved and promoted in a positive way.
Tipper, I’ll say it again. This is the best of the Appalachian Blogs and one of my daily favorites.
I do not know how you come up with so many new ideas to write about. You do a great job and keep my interest.
Great round up of your posts. Happy New Year to you and yours…
Keep up the good work. I enjoy every post. Pappy
Happy New Year Tipper!!! I am just glad that I found your blog in 2009. I love reading about your heritage, and I love the music. Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving your sweet comment on my “Rose” post. You are a special blogging friend, and I hope that the New Year brings you and your family many blessings.
:)Marilyn
Tipper, Your blog is a treasure to me. And so his Pap’s music. I’m not sure, but I think I came your blog by way of a bluegrass blog…or maybe a blog of Appy writers? And the Moving Wall post — what can one say? When we saw it in Pigeon Forge a few years back, it was truly profound. And to this day, I’m not sure that my husband was “ready” to see it. Not sure at all. And, up until that time, I had never heard of the White Table tradition and the organizers at Pigeon Forge had included it as part of the Memorial. Love , love, love your blog…you’re authentic and I thank you for that. Happy New Year and may blessings abound.
I hope you had your collard greens and black eyed peas for good luck!
Happy New Year!
What a fun look back at the year. You are a great addition to the internet world–it’s so great to have long-distance friends! Thanks for being a bright spot in my day!
Happy New Year to the whole Blind Pig Family. I feel like you are my family now just like Tipper, the Deer Hunter, Chitter, and Chatter.
I look forward to all your comments. And now I wonder what in the world we all will come up with this year!
Look forward to the cornbread recipes and how about some information/history on those wonderful old cast iron pans we use to cook the cornbread.
Thanks, again Tipper for all you give us!!!
Happy New Years Tipper! I look forward to where ever 2010 takes the Blind Pig & The Acorn.
He Tipper and the rest of the Blind Pig and the Acorn group. A Happy New Year to all.
I thank you for this site Tipper as it has certainly been a blessing in my life. Living so far away down here in Australia from where my Moad, Hatfield and Stanley ancestors come for it is great to hear and learn about the traditions of Appalachia.
So thanks again Tipper and all the others that share here, have a wonderful and blessed New Year….Shane
Happy New Year to everyone at the Blind Pig & The Acorn.
Tipper, I love reading your posts and agree that the comments are wonderful additions to what you’re doing here.
I hope you have even greater success with your blog and other activities in 2010!
All the best,
JD
Two searches brought me to your site originally. I was searching sites related to mountain music and I was looking through the World Wide Bluegrass site and ended up at your site. About that same time, I was reading articles about outside toilets and found an article you had done at The Blind Pig site about outside toilets (Among my works I have, for the last two years, been restoring a dozen or so toilets that were a part of thirty-some collected by a now-deceased Americana lover in our area. I was asked by a nature conservancy group, which now owns the property on which the toilets set,to save the toilets as they were falling apart some twenty years unattended after the collector’s effort).
From that time, having fallen in love with your site, you have always been the first ( and about the only) internet site I visit each morning and the one I watch during the day for your readers’ contributions).
I think you are a treasure.
I hope 2010 turns out to be one of your best years ever, Tipper.
Thank you for giving us The Blind Pig and the Acorn. You have blessed us There were some hard times for me this year, but you helped me through. Did you have black eye peas, rice and hog jowl? I got a new grand baby-girl new year’s eve. All in all I have been blessed.
Tipper, I’m not sure how I found you here but I’m glad I did. I’ve so enjoyed reading your posts. I know I’ll continue enjoying it in 2010
Happy new year Tipper. I hope 2010 brings you much happiness and good health.
Sam
Looking forward to sharing the next year with you and your blog. Happy New Year Tipper and family.
Thank you, Tipper! And Happy New Year to each of you at Blind Pig and the Acorn!
I have been here reading each and every post and plan to be here for them all in 2010!
Thanks for taking us all back in time and encouraging memories of days gone by.
I have really enjoyed coming to visit your site and learn about the ways of Applalachian. Thanks so much for putting out such an interesting site! Happy New Year!
Hey,
I love this website…and enjoy others comments as well!…Some comments are so funny, some sad and/or happy, some encouraging, memories renewed of past times and places..Remembering that there are old ways of doing new things that work as well or better and probably a lot better for us…Mountain people are strong folks!..I love the language tests..too…makes me realize why sometimes some folks look at me with a quizical expression when I say something!..Reading the terms refreshes me that it’s just my appalachian roots speaking!.LOL.and I am not a “country bumpkin” so to speak!
Keep up the good work!
Remind us where we came from and hopefully where we can go from here and save the best…for our children and grandchildren…
One of the worst memories was when my old (98)Grandmother told me her Grandmother hid meat in the ground, in the front yard and placed a bucket over it, to remember where it was,.. to keep, “the ‘yankees’ from getting it”…so the family wouldn’t starve!…so sad!
By the way…Are you having blackeyed peas and howl jowl, greens and cornbread for your New Years Day meal?…My family wouldn’t start the year without em’. We eat it all day..and then some..LOL A day or two later, sweeten the peas, add tomatoes and they are better ever again…
Sometimes I thought, when I was a kid, that we would never see anything else to eat ’til Spring…LOL
Happy New Year Tipper!
The BLUE MOON and the year 2009 are gone but your greeting to start my NEW YEAR keeps me inspired! Thanks for all your dedication and brilliance!
The song, SHADY GROVE, is one of the favorite songs my daddy use to play on his banjo! Keep those great tunes playing!
Eva Nell Mull – from the Matheson Cove
I discovered a picture of Holt Patton’s house on Blind Pig and the Acorn and through a comment there have established contact with a 92-year-old cousin of my Dad’s who lives in Missouri. Andrew Patton is Holt’s son.
When you mentioned medical remedies, I am reminded of a story cousin Andrew’s wife related last week: When their son was less than 6 months old, they were at Holt Patton’s house. The floor in the house was uneven and little Phillip’s stroller started rolling and it rolled into the hot pot-bellied stove. Phillip reached out for the stove and burned the palms of both hands. My grandmother (Holt’s sister) was there and she cut up a raw potato and put the potato in Phillip’s hands and wrapped them. Phillip experienced no pain and in a couple of days, the wrappings were removed and Phillip had no blisters!
Some people make fun of home remedies, but there is a reason that these remedies are used. They have been passed down through generations because they work.