“We mountain people are a product of our history and the beliefs and outlook of our foreparents. We are a traditional people, and in our rural setting we valued the things of the past. More than most people, we avoided mainstream life and thus became self-reliant. We sought freedom from entanglements and cherished solitude. All of this was both our strength and our undoing.”
—Loyal Jones – Appalachian Values
Today’s Thankful November giveaway is a used copy of Appalachian Values written by Loyal Jones . Leave a comment on this post to be entered. *Giveaway ends November 16, 2023.
Martins Creek School had their annual Veterans Day program this week. I might have forgotten about it, but Granny told me Paul was cooking for the attendees. They usually serve breakfast for local veterans.
When the girls were still in elementary school I’d tag along with Pap since I wanted to see the school program that all students participated in. I loved seeing the veterans from my community lined up together in the hallways. They always looked a little bit bashful over the attention they were getting, but they deserved every minute of it and more.
To all Veterans: I THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.
Last night’s video: 9 Brides & Granny Hite 14.
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I am thankful for our veterans and the sacrifices they made. My husband, Larry served in the Army for 8 years, his dad retired from the Army after 22 years & his brother served for 12 years. A photo of the 3 of them was published in the nationwide Army newspaper once. They all three were stationed at Ft Bragg at the same time in 3 different areas. My father in law was Command Sargent Major, Larry was Airborne, & Terry was in Special Forces. Such an honor!
My Grandfather fought in WWII. He died in Luxembourg and is buried in a military cemetery there. I never had the privilege to know him but I have heard so many stories about the kind of man he was.
Thank you to all of our Veterans!
Thank You to all the veterans for serving our country. My Dad served and retired from the military. I have a brother and son who has served.
I’m glad to be numbered as part of this community of caring souls who value sacrifice and embrace time worn values. We appreciate our brothers in arms and wish God’s loving care upon all those families that surrendered the greatest for the least of us. God bless you all.
My dad served near the end of the Korean War, but he spent his tour in Germany and France. Since he never saw combat, he doesn’t consider himself a vet, but he was willing to make the sacrifice and he served with pride.
Lord, Watch over our veterans and take care of them as they protected us. Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we forget how much freedom we have, but it doesn’t come free. Thank you veterans for all your service. Love and prayers to all of you and Granny, too.
Thank you, Veterans!
God bless our vets and their families.
I definitely cherish my solitude. Nice quote. I’d love to read his book.
Thank you veterans. God bless America, land that I love!!!
Sounds like a good book. would love to win a copy. Thanks for all your blog info, Tipper!
Thank you to all the Veterans!
I’m so thankful for our Veterans! Thanks to them, we can worship freely in the USA. Nothing is free though. They sacrificed their lives for us. God Bless these men and women!
Veterans’ Day is the only event that will make me break my cardinal rule for living here in Utah: NEVER go into a building owned by the predominant religion (hint-it rhymes with foreman). My high school age daughter is in choir and her school and about 8 others join voices on Veterans’ Day and give a concert of thanks in a structure known as The Tabernacle. Constructed in the 1850’s, it really is a marvel of engineering and the sound of about 300 high school kids is nothing short of glorious. Even a jaded old bird like me gets a tear in the eye when I hear the Battle Hymn of the Republic, sung by these kids in honor of veterans, in a building comprised of hand sawn lumber with wood pegs and plaster fortified with horsehair for strength. It’s as though 160 plus years of the American Spirit is brought to life and on display as a thank-you to those who have given so much.
Yes, it is amazing a lot of my family has served over the years, my two sons are the last to serve so far,one 8 years in the Marines the other security Air force 6 and half years. I am blessed they even came back. GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
One grandfather had a pair of mules, the other a pair of big footed work mares when i was very young. Pa Jim’s mules were Fred & Sukey, i remember. I guess he sold them when they moved off the place. Pa Hugh had Flujie and Maude. Daddy had Sally and Trixie but bought a tractor when i was a first grader. Don’t remember what he did with Sally but Trixie retired & stayed. Would love to read all Mr Jones’s writings.
My brother was the first in our direct line to serve in the military since our great grandfathers in the War for Southern Independence. I was in reserve components for 22 years but never in a combat zone (except for having a teenage daughter in the house). Don’t really feel worthy to stand with those who did.
Freedom is not free but is purchased by those who serve in the United States military services. Thank you veterans, past and present, for purchasing my freedom.
My maternal grandmother, Mary Lyzinthia Tabor Hutchins of Swain County, had 17 (or maybe 15; I misremember a lot these days) grandsons serving during WWII including one of my brothers. Only one, my cousin Ed Hutchins, was wounded and that very badly. He survived only because he lay in the cold waters of the Rhine river for most of a day until found and rescued.
In addition to my brother, one of my brothers-in-law and my father-in-law served during WWII. Three brothers served during the 1950s but not in wartime. A brother-in-law served in Vietnam and was wounded. During my 20’s when it might have happened, I was the sole support for my mother and was not classified for call-up. It is the biggest regret of my life that I never served.
I would love to read this book! Prayers for all. Take care and God bless ❣️
Today was our veterans Day, or Armistice day. We wear poppies in remembrance of past and present conflicts. The poppy was created by a Virginian woman at the end of WW1 in memory of her fallen loved one. It never caught on in the states, but was adopted here in the UK over a hundred years ago due to the proliferance of poppies on the French battlefields remembered by the soldiers. As a past member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and having lost an Uncle and a colleague in that uniform, I remember them and people like them every 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month each year.
I thank all veterans for our freedom.
What a great quote! I’m so glad we have day to honor our veterans. I’m very grateful for their sacrifice!
All branches of the service were represented by my immediate family. As a young person I never realized the sacrifice they made. I believed that they were getting paid and benefits from being in the service. I just never understood the risk! Now, I do. Thank you to all veterans and current service men and women!
My dad was a WWII veteran. He passed away in 1991. I knew he was in the war, but he never talked about it. I was lucky enough to spend a couple of weeks with him towards the end of his life (I had moved halfway across the country 10 years before). I never knew he had walked around Nagasaki just two days after the bomb was dropped until he was on his death bed. I can’t imagine the horror he witnessed. His generation truly was the greatest generation! Thank you to all the brave men and women who have served in the armed forces throughout our great countries history! Love you dad!!!
Happy Veteran’s Day to all our Veterans. My maternal grandfather served during World War I, was wounded and almost died in France. So many times I have thought about the fact that if he had lost his life in France, I would never have been born. When my father served in the early 50’s there wasn’t a war going, so he was able to serve state side his entire time. I was born in 1955 on a military base in New Mexico while my Dad was in the Army. He was a Military Policeman during his entire time of service.
Thank you to all Veterans
Yes, thank you to all the veterans and to all who are serving today. My family has a strong tradition of service all the way back to the American Revolution, Civil War and World Wars. My husband is a navy veteran and one granddaughter from the army. Some gave all to serve their country. I also believe that all who came home had/have scars whether physical, emotional or spiritual.
Thank you to all of the veterans. Without your sacrifices, I, and all other Americans, would not enjoy all of the freedoms that come with America.
That is a TRUE statement Loyal Jones wrote in Appalachian Values.
What did Paul cook for the school?
Lenora-he made breakfast tacos 🙂 It’s a joint effort the teachers cook too.
Thank you to all of the Veterans.
When people would thank my spouse for his service during the Vietnam War, he in turn would thank them for helping to fund the G.I. bill that allowed him to graduate from a University.
Tipper, hats off to your brother Paul and other volunteers who recognized the Veterans in your community.
Thank you 🙂
What a wonderful thing for the local school to do for the veterans! I wish our schools in town would have done that for our veterans. It’s both good for the students and the veterans!
My Daddy proudly served in the U. S. Army and was the most patriotic man I knew. He loved America so much and did everything to honor and serve both in service and at home. Daddy was my hero. He wouldn’t talk much about the war but Mama told me he was in Germany and fought a horrible battle on the Rhine River. I was a Daddy’s girl and I sure do miss him. My Mother was a Rosie the Rivetter and that’s where they met when Mama was living in Marietta, working on the airplanes at Lockhead and Daddy was stationed at Fort Benning Ga. It’s one of the sweetest love stories I’ve ever heard and it has been published in the Rosie the Rivetter book. God is so good to have given me the parents He chose for me. May God bless the U.S.A.
My husband was in the USAF. He served 21 years,1 month and 19 days. I am so proud and very grateful to him, and all veterans who honorably served our country. Thank you, I salute you all and may God bless you. Jen
Thank you to all veterans. I’m thankful for my two uncles that I never knew who were killed as young men in WW II: Preston and Brem. I’m thankful for the young people in our church serving today: Emma, Alex, Travis, and Chase.
I love reading your post get great joy in all you do. I’m thankful to go along with your journey and always look forward to more. Bless you all!
Having family and some of my young school friends who went to serve our country, I too, give thanks to all who served from wherever to go to wherever they were sent not fully knowing what they would be facing or the cost they might have to pay and some paid all, but none came home unwounded in one form or another. It breaks my heart to see how so many are now not taken care of by the very countries and governments that sent them into battle.
The above quote by Loyal Jones rings true with how I grew up too even though I was raised on a remote small Island community of the upper west coast of British Columbia, Canada.
I’m a proud mom of an Air Force veteran … my daughter, Sherri Hopkins, Major, US Air Force, Retired, served 21 years with a tour in the Persian Gulf (Bahrain) during the Iraq War. My son just recently married a girl who is a veteran and her son and daughter are also veterans. I worked alongside officers and enlisted at the U.S. Army Infantry Center in Ft. Benning during the Vietnam War who were “snowbirds” awaiting orders for deployment to Vietman. Needless to say, I have a special affection for all veterans, and especially Vietnam vets as it was an unpopular war and they never got the credit they deserved for their service.
I would very much like to read Appalachian Values by Loyal Jones.
Every Veterans Day I think of the service of my father and his brother during WW2. Daddy was in the Army Air Force and served in the North African theater of the war. My uncle was a marine at Guadalcanal. Both joined the service just after America entered the war and didn’t come home until victory was achieved. My great aunt’s son, Jimmy, died in the war. He did something with maps in a plane and was shot down over the Philippine’s. Our freedom’s were certainly bought at a price.
May God Bless all of our veterans. Both my dad and father-in-law served as well as six more of our uncles and they were blessed to return home. Some served in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam. They represented the Navy, Army and Air Force. I think about the many families who lost loved ones fighting for our freedom. What breaks my heart is to see how our disabled veterans are treated. They fought for us, can’t we fight for them?
Appalachian Values written by Loyal Jones
Dad was in the Army in WW11 and my daughter was in the Air Force during the Iraq war. I was too young for the draft for the Korean War and too old for Viet Nam so I didn’t have to go. I served in God’s Army instead I’ve read several things Loyal Jones wrote but I don’t remember this one. I think I still have the Cross-eyed Mule somewhere.
Our teachings from our ancestors serve us well here but in the West I was told my ethics were too high to survive there. I served successfully there for over twenty years anyway.
Like the Billy Ray Cyrus song, SOME GAVE ALL, AND ALL GAVE SOME. I AM THE ONLY ONE OF MY FAMILY LEFT to give Honor to my uncle who died in the Korean War. He held a gun, never got to marry and hold a son.
To all our veterans “thank you for my freedom”
Thanks to all the men and women who have served and sacrificed for our country. My 2 sons served in the Marines like Pap did. Proud!!
Yes, thank you to the veterans and their families for their sacrifices. I’m sure most of us could name a lot of them close to us. I hope that all people realize the significance of Veterans Day. I think it is so special that I refuse to buy anything with a “special” price listed as a sale on this and other similar holidays. It is a time to remember those who served our country. Thank you all.
Another great read today, Tipper; thank you for all you do to keep Appalachian tradition and history alive. Historically, our mountain families have always had a willingness to serve. Sincere thanks to all who signed that “blank check” for our country not knowing what the price might be.
Bless Paul for his servant’s heart and music talents. Praying for veterans and their families, so grateful for you and the sacrifices you make. And, it’s always a joy to hear Granny is having a good day! ♥️
my father enlisted January 15, 1942. He was in the army in the south pacific arena. He saw many horrific thing while on the islands. He never wanted to talk about it. My brother enlisted in the Army and went to Vietnam. He was a door gunner in an assault helicopter crew. He saw many horrific things. He would only talk about his buddies and their relationships. He was never the same when he came back. God bless our veterans. God bless the old ways and values
Happy Veterans Day!
Amen and thank you to all of our veterans. All of them. I agree with Loyal Jones – best description I’ve read of Appalachian Mountain People:
“We mountain people are a product of our history and the beliefs and outlook of our foreparents. We are a traditional people, and in our rural setting we valued the things of the past. More than most people, we avoided mainstream life and thus became self-reliant. We sought freedom from entanglements and cherished solitude. All of this was both our strength and our undoing.”
I attended a wonderful Veteran’s program at our K-12 school yesterday.
Pardon my asking, but how do we know if we are a winner in the giveaway?
Linnie-I will announce the winners in a post 🙂
Thank you to all our veterans and their families and the sacrifices you all have made and I’m sure will continue to make. I’m honored to have many generations of veterans in my family
♥️
Many thanks to all of the veterans who served our country!
I love the phrase from ‘Appalachian Values’: “We sought freedom from entanglements and cherished solitude.” God Bless our veterans! Thank you for your service and for keeping America safe. I pray we are all safe in this World’s dangers today, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Thank you for this wonderful publication!
Thank you, Tipper, for remembering to thank veterans for their service. Truly, freedom isn’t free; it is bought by the sacrifice of veterans and their families.
Thank you as well for sharing Loyal Jones’ definition of mountain people. It is the finest I have ever read.
P.S. How is Granny today?
Lesley-Good today 🙂
Prayers of safety for all our military men and women stationed around the world. Many thanks for your service!
What a wise beautifully written selection. The last sentence, in particular, resonated with truth truer than true: our self-reliance can be “both our strength and our undoing.” We experience blessing and brokenness. Thank you for sharing. We are deeply grateful for the service and sacrifice of our veterans and their families.
I’m so very thankful for all the veterans. May God continue to bless our country and those who have and continue to give for our freedoms.
“All of this was both our strength and our undoing.”
True in so many ways, and in so many situations.
My daddy was a Army veteran who served in Vietnam. Thank you to all past, present and future soldiers who serve and protect this great nation!!
My brother-in-law is in a veterans nursing home that put on a big to-do yesterday and more is planned for today. A first-grade teacher whose husband suffers from PTSD had her students color hearts with a message for everyone there who served our country. It was a very touching ceremony.
I’ve texted the two men in my life who served my love & thanks. Fortunately they are close & I can also hug them.
I’d love to read Loyal’s book.
Thanks to all veterans that read this post.
Thankful and grateful. God bless our military and veterans.
Thank you to all Veterans past, present and future for your service! I’m grateful for the men and women who proudly serve our country for the cause of Freedom. Thank you and may God bless!
We love visiting the small towns with their veterans photos and branch of service on banners hanging from street lights. My dad served in the Pacific in ww2
Morning, Tipper! I think sometimes people don’t realize the sacrifices our veterans and their families make so we can enjoy the lives we live. My son in law gave 25 years to the air force. In that time he was sent twice for 9 months to the mid east. Afghanistan was going on. He spent almost two years away from his wife in their early years of marriage. That’s hard on both the husband and wife. I thank God our men and women are willing to sacrifice precious time with their loved ones so we can all enjoy our lives, and live in freedom! God bless you and yours, Tipper!
We all need this reminder to be grateful and thankful and appreciative of our dear veterans. God bless each one.
Thank you to all our veterans.
I also say a big thank you to all our veterans. My family, on both sides, have been here since the 1700s. They have fought in all the wars. Both sides during the Civil War. My dad was in the army during WW11 and my husband served in the Navy during the Vietnam conflict. Happy Veterans Day to all.
Thank you to all the veterans who have served our country, and to their families as well.
I, too, am thankful for the service of our veterans.
The older I get, the more I value the ways of the past. I would love to read this book.
I always enjoy your posts and videos so much! I live in the country in the Arkansas Ozark foothills for which I’m very thankful but I am a lover of the woods and could be a little further back in them and be very happy about it. Continuing to keep Granny in my prayers! Thank you for the opportunity to be in a giveaway!
That’s a very interesting statement. I would love to read the book!
Thank you to all our veterans.
Thank you to veterans everywhere for your past, present and future service. You are the true heroes in this world.
Thank you to all the Veterans for your service.
Tipper,
Loyal Jones comment, “All of this was both our strength and our undoing.” reminded me of the truth of “No man is an island.”
Loyal Jones passed away Oct. 7, 2023. His comments on BPA were always thought provoking. He was a wise man, indeed. This book would be an honor to own.
This Country has so much to be thankful for and we have to begin with thanking those who gave their lives, literally, of those that came back from the conflict less than whole. My Father served in WW2 in Japan and was awarded two purple hearts. While he looked whole, it was never the same as before joining up. The Marines are a tough group, but he made it. Thanks once again for your video and looking forward to next Friday. Praying for Granny…have a Blessed weekend you guys.
God bless America. I am thankful for the veterans, some are still with us and some are gone on . One of my brothers and my dad was in the service, both are gone .
While I didn’t grow up in a rural setting, we now have a family farm in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. It is a land of history, knowledge, and beauty and am grateful my daughter spent so much time there with her grandparents,
I have Veterans, from many of America’s wars, in my family lineage and I’m proud to claim them. This Veterans Day I remember back in 1979 so well. It was on a Sunday. Daddy was a WWII Navy Veteran. My family was evicted from our family farm by the federal government by the use of eminent domain. The farm and home we loved so much were taken for the Tellico Dam Project. It has been 44 years ago today and its like it happened yesterday.
When my son was in the army, he always had a tough time with the attention he would get if he was in uniform. The first Christmas he couldn’t come home he was working as a gate guard felling a little homesick. A little boy came up with a plate of Christmas dinner and a plate of cookies. Boy was he touched!
hallelujah, ain’t God Good!
It’s wonderful to have traditions in a family as well as extended families, and the region that you live in.
I was in North Carolina last week, such beautiful country and stories are plentiful.
Blessings to all
To all of the Veterans who read Tipper’s blog, thank you so much for your service and have a wonderful blessed Veterans Day today!
I don’t tk I have written this before…..My father served in WWII in the Italian campaign. Being a child of the late 50 & 60s, I grew up playing ‘army’ and watching all the tv & movies about the war…i.e.: Combat, Rat Pack, etc.. I bugged my dad to tell me about his experiences….he never did. Fast forward ~ 40 yrs….my father passed first then my mother ~ 7 yrs after….being the only child I had the responsibility of settling the ‘estate’. That meant among other things, getting the house ready for sale. As I was cleaning the house, I found a small cigar box on the floor in the back of my parent’s closet. I was just going to toss it but something made me open it. Inside were letters my parents exchanged during the war and @ the bottom was a small case and letter still in it’s envelope. The letter was from Washington and in the case was a Purple Heart.
I’d love to have the book if I’m lucky/blest enough to be chosen.
Ps. Why don’t you try to put some mountain music in the background when you show the drone footage? Just a thought. Have a blest day.
A. Keith McDonald
I’m sad to report that Loyal Jones passed away a few weeks ago. He grew up in Brasstown and we had many great conversations about those days. He credits Marguerite Bidstrup, co-founder of the Folk School, with convincing him to go to college and helping him apply to Berea.
Happy Armistice Day! My daddy was a veteran of WWI; never saw action, but was ready to ship out, when on 11/11, the treaty was signed. He was 18 years old.
I don’t comment as often as I used to, but I read your writings every morning. Thank you.
What a thought provoking statement about Appalachian life. I personally have always admired the values of Appalachian people. God was generally the center of their lives, family was most important next to God, and their ingenuity was so amazing. Self sufficiency was a way of life. Tipper, you mimic all of these things which I find very admirable. Would enjoy a copy of this book I believe. Have a blessed week.
God bless our veterans.
God bless each and every veteran. So grateful for them.
Good morning friends of Appalachia, I think I posted this last year my uncle Carl was in world war II in Italy he was a medic he was gone 37 months the war had been over for a month , his family thought he was dead, one day they heard somebody dancing and singing on the porch it was Uncle Carl he had to ride a slow boat home from Italy praise God he lived praise God somebody served and died for our freedom, Lord God Almighty please comfort those that have lost loved ones in wars in Jesus name
I also want to thank all veterans for their service. I have two brother-in-laws who are veterans. One served in Desert Storm. There were parades yesterday and many free dinners today in our area. They all deserve to be appreciated and thanked every day. Blessings to all.
It is scary to think where our country would be today without those that have served. I don’t want to ever take their service for granted.
I salute each and every veteran today, and everyday I pray God blesses each one for the sacrifice you have made for our country.
My Grandpa Joe served in WWII and a favorite Great Uncle Charles made a career in the military and served from WWII until the Vietnam conflict. I also had a couple other uncles that served in the army, Uncle Grady and Uncle Herman. I’m proud of each one of these men who’ve all had an impact on my life.
A much deserved “Thank You!” to all of our veterans. Thank you for keeping us all free and safe.
A special thank you to all the veterans who served our country in order for us to enjoy the freedom we have today. God bless the USA.
The paragraph written by Loyal Jones puts into words a lot of how I feel. I thank God for the values ,work ethics and religious values taught to me by my parents, grandparents, and my church. I was talking yesterday with a neighbor about today’s younger generation, many of them are good kids, but will not work, run on the wild side and some other things. I think the fault lies with with their parents, they were never taught any different, anything they ever wanted was give to them, they were raised in day care or nurseries, and then sent to school and if someone tried to discipline them they will be sued or put in jail.
This has to do with yesterday and mules. I commented about my Granddaddy and his mule Kate. When Grandmother had the dinner/afternoon meal ready, she would ring a bell, when she did this, Kate would stop no matter if it was in the middle of the row and would go no farther until you unhooked her from the plow. She knew what it meant- break time, going to house and getting some water and a little food and a little rest, Granddaddy would always take a short nap after he ate.
I want to thank all Veterans for their service. I was of the Vietnam area and have strong feelings about this war and how the veterans of this war were treated by many when they got by home. I had a cousin to be killed in this war.
Geraldine High School, where I’m principal, had its Veteran’s Day program Wednesday. One part of the program, the band playing each branch of the military’s anthems and Veterans standing representing their branch, is always touching to me.
God bless all veterans.
proud of those that choose to serve and protect our country…proud daughter of a sailor, and mother of a sailor…may the generations of my family continue to serve.