When Daddy worked for the Park Service he went to Cataloochee every spring to clean off the trails and the graveyards and to do maintenance on the Churches and whatever buildings were still standing. They had to hike in and carry their equipment and supplies. They would camp there a week every year. Imagine spending a week there and getting paid for it. Of course they had to work all day with only hand tools but still the evenings and night must have made it worth it all. That was 45 years ago and I don’t know how they do it now.
Daddy was a singer. Daddy worshiped in song. I am sure that all those many years ago he was in that same old Church where the Girls sang and I am sure that he couldn’t have been there without busting out in song. And when he sang everybody there would sing. I can envision a worship service erupting there amongst a handful of mountain farmers trying to make a little bit to supplement their income. The next time you go there, when Chitter and Chatter calm down and it gets real quiet, listen for them. They are still singing! Hear the voice that sings a little louder, a little bolder and with a little more heart? That would be my Daddy. Tell him you know his second son. Tell him I said Hey! Tell him I said I’ll be home in a little while.
—Ed Ammons August 11, 2017
Like Ed I’ve often thought of those who’ve long since gone that once walked the same paths I do. Sometimes it’s the past generations of my family that lived along the same creek I do. They seem so real that I just know if I set and wait quietly one of them will come along on their way to visit a neighbor or check on the garden.
I feel the same way when I visit places like Cataloochee where people once lived.
Back in 2013 we visited the old Lufty Baptist Church for the girls to sing a few songs in the stillness of the building.
Here’s a portion of what I wrote about the experience.
There are Bradleys, Collins, Elliotts, Gibsons, Griffiths, McMahans, Roberts, Watsons, Lamberts, Maneys, Jenkins, and the list goes on—with all the names being the same in one way: they are still common surnames in Swain County as well as in all of Western NC. Many folks who live right here in Cherokee County share the surnames.
I finally realized that was the story. It was the story of Granny’s family who are Jenkins; of the Collins who live just over the GA line; of the Griffiths who live over the ridge; of the Watsons who live at Murphy; and of the Lamberts who live up on Junaluska. My entire experience with the Lufty Baptist Church told the story of the longevity of Appalachia.
Earlier this week we talked about how sense of place ties Appalachians to their homeland. Multiple generations of the same family being able to settle in the same area (or country as Pap would say) ensures an enduring culture.
I can never say what it felt like to lose your land, your home, your church for the supposed greater good of society, yet I can say without a doubt the members of Lufty Baptist Church were my people. They lived in the same Appalachian culture that I do where things like independence, self reliance, faith, neighborliness, love of family, humility, humor, music, and love of place are all valued.
Even though I didn’t know any of the people from the list of names I shared yesterday they’d be no stranger if I met them today. For we’d soon find out we both speak the same rich Appalachian language, we both know about gritted bread, and with just a few quick questions we’d know who we both belonged to and we’d know we were of the same people.
I have nary a doubt that if I could indeed find Ed’s father and his coworkers singing in the old church I would feel the same way about them.
Last night’s video: July and August in Appalachia: Garden Bounty, Putting Up, & Fiddling.
Tipper
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I feel the same way. Visiting places like Cataloochee and Cades Cove, and places around Cashiers NC and Clayton GA where my mama and daddy’s people are from always makes me think about those long gone from this ole world and what they would have been like. I have no doubt I would have loved them all and felt a strong kinship with them, relatives or not. I can’t wait to meet them one day when we have our heavenly reunion!
Loved reading this heartwarming story!!
Tipper, I enjoyed your and Ed Ammons’ reflections on bygone days so much. Also, Randy’s comments about the land that was taken from some of the people. It’s so similar to my own ancestors’ story. My great-grandfather, Theodore Saxon, was a good, hardworking, Christian man who was always helping his fellow man. He prospered until the Great Depression in 1939 when the government came in and condemned and took a huge portion of his land. The government’s reason, stated in the court documents, was “for other purposes.” We believe they took it to expand the Chattahoochee National Forest, build Vogel State Park, and the Richard B. Russell Scenic Hwy since the majority of his land adjoined those properties. I’ve written a book about it and also about the area my ancestors settled along the Nottely River in the Upper Choestoe district of Union County, Georgia. Sadly, most of the history of the people and places of that era and area have been forgotten in time, so it’s important that we write it down so future generations will know the hardships and sacrifices their ancestors made. I appreciate so much all you do on a daily basis to do just that.
You are so blessed to have family generations in the same place! My 1st 7 years were in the hills of West Virginia near a little place named Basin near the Raleigh & Wyoming county lines on top of a mountain. At 7 my parents moved to Mercer county, leaving behind several generations having lived there, my growing up and getting married. Ended up here in northern California, going back in the early 2000’s to find my original home place returned to nature, only accessible by 4wheel drive and only traces of the old house and water pump left. Tipper, after discovering The Blind Pig a couple years ago I have really enjoyed following your family, especially your Mother, her beautiful crochet projects, I am a crochet nut myself. And your growing family, what a Blessing!! Keep up your wonderful work, have another blessed day in your little corner of God’s world.
Great read, Ed; thanks for sharing, Tipper!
My husbands great-grandparents came here and settled in the Appalachian mountains of WV from Italy long ago. They were farmers. His grandfather continued with their farming and also was a coal miner. His father and brother and himself and many other family members worked in the coal mines as laborers, equipment operators, electricians and foremen. His father owned and operated his own coal mine at one time. Our son still lives on part of the land his great-great grandfather owned and farmed. Our daughter-in-law loves gardening and grows and puts up food for the winter. It’s not the gigantic gardens of my husband’s childhood, but gardening just the same. These Appalachian mountains have been home to many generations of my family, as well. We both have our roots here—and I hope some, or maybe all, of our grandchildren will decide this is the perfect place to call home too.
And we have many Griffiths over here in Mitchell County. Thanks for another great post Tipper.
Cultural connections and spiritual beliefs feed that familiarity I have found.
My mother’s mother was a Lambert and mother’s first cousin was a Collin’s! But I don’t know when these folk came to Alabama.
There is a secret at the heart of the BP&A. I can’t exactly say just what it is but it involves faith, family, friends, kindred spirits, place, life experience, character, abilities and purpose. I know. You may say, “Well, that’s just about everything!” True, but I think there is a common thread that runs through it all. And I think were it all to be distilled down to just its essence, it would be – love. Anyhow, I’ll stand by that. I’ve got to study on it some more though ’cause there is more with it.
My family moved from eastern Ky in the early fifties to northern Ohio for jobs. Daddy couldn’t find a job even in coal mining which he had done for several years. He often said that if we had not moved to Ohio we probably wouldn’t have been saved. Daddy was a strong Christian man and thank the Lord my entire family came to know the Lord. The Lord has reasons for moving people. I was so young (4 1/2 yo) I barely remember the move. We went back to Ky at least once a year. I used to wish that we had not moved, and I could grow up in the same place I was born. Daddy found a good job and me and my four siblings grew up in Ohio. It was a true culture shock, –dialect, food, weather. I kept the best food recipes from both states and my husband, a northerner, loves some of my Ky foods I make. The children do too. My mother-in-law used to say I cooked my green beans to death. I always replied, maybe but they sure taste better than yours. The northerners do not put any grease in theirs. Very blah. My father planted at least an acre of vegetables every year and Mom canned almost everything she could get her hands on and made chow-chow like you, Tipper
There was a woman from W. Va who lived in our neighborhood, and she would request a can of Mom’s chow-chow every year. We had a little room off the utility room where she stored her canned jars. Later, when we could afford it, she bought a large chest freezer and put more of the garden vegetables and meats in there. Daddy died a few days after turning 75 and my mother just turned 95. She doesn’t put up vegetables any longer, but she still cooks her excellent Appalachian biscuits and gravy, green beans, apple stack cake, and other tasty foods which I enjoy when I visit her from Virginia. God has given us many blessings over the years, and He still is blessing us.
I enjoyed last nights video. It was so nice to see you going about your daily life. Katie’s impromptu fiddle playing was a nice addition, as well.
Oh the tales the hollers could tell if we only spoke their language of old whispered through the trees and rocks all through the ages!!!! I think it’s wonderful to visit and see places familiar to ones people generations ago!!!! It’s beautiful really!!! Enjoying the rain this fine morning in southern WV…
Those gone on..I just lost another classmate from UCHS Class of 1960. Jo Neal Collins Ward. She was a member of “The Trio” in school..all girl singing group. I backed them on guitar and Patsy Colwell on piano. The annual school talent contest we won 1st place with the Platters’ “The Great Pretender” We were close as music folks always are..
As I read the part where you were mentioning the values of the Appalachian culture I couldn’t help but think how society, as a whole, could benefit from putting those values into practice more. There are valuable lessons to be learned from those who have gone on before.
I love your channel because I didn’t come up in a family who stayed in Appalachia–for us, eastern Tennessee and West Virginia. The farmers in our clan resettled in southern Ohio. Many of the men moved to Dayton, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan for jobs in the auto industry, and the women and children of course followed the men. I didn’t come up with a devotion to place though I eventually found mine in northern Michigan. I have such a romanticized concept of your lives, silly as it sounds, all tied to family, faith, and mountains–so much so that your ancestors created it’s own language, arts, traditions, and culture. You are so lucky that your ancestors stayed. My family’s diaspora changed who we once were when we adopted the ways of so many different places. You all got it right.
I think my Appalachian ancestors kept a language that came here when the first English, Scottish and Welsh settlers came to our beloved shores. Almost from the beginning they dwelt here without much outside influence. They lived here among the Cherokees some of whose culture and language the adopted . The Irish, the Italians, the Germans, etc. came later, in the mid 19th century, at the time of the industrial revolution.
Their language didn’t develop or change. It remained, closer to old English, almost intact, from the early 1600s until the mid 1900s while the rest of the country, being influenced by other immigrants strayed away.
I have lived all of my life (70 years ) at the same place. I often think of my family, friends and neighbors that lived around me in the past and have gone on and think about how different it is now. I often think of the many sharecroppers that lived around here when I was young, now they and their homes are gone and the land they farmed is now grown up in trees. I have often thought of the many people that had their homes and property took from to build the Blue Ridge Parkway Road and the Park itself. I remember watching the Waltons tv show and one of their relatives have their home and property taken from them to build the park.To me it is sad when someone has their home and property forcibly taken from them to build something for someone else to enjoy. My church is over 200 years old, I cut the grass and kept the cemetery clean for a few years when I was a teenager 14 -16years old, I would look at the graves and wonder about the ones buried there. One thing that bothered me and I think about even now is the number of young children from the other centuries buried there.
The “Park” Dead Ed was referring to was The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “The Waltons” was a fictional TV show whose writer came from Schuyler, Virginia. Schuyler is near the Shenandoah National Park. I would assume that is the Park referred to in the TV show(s). I don’t watch TV so I’m not sure.