Sep 9
By Niki King
BRISTOL Tenn./Va. – The moment the Gentleman of the Road tour announced that it would stop in Bristol this August, I emphatically decided I would go. It appealed to me for about a dozen reasons. Read more
Welcome to another installment of our “Back Home Proud” series, a re-occurring feature in which Apps and Ex-Apps tell us, in their own words, what their Appalachian identity means to them. Today we hear from Sam Shinault, a photographer, guitarist and mandolin player for the Two Dollar Bill Band, an old-time, bluegrass and newgrass band in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Read more
By Cyerra Crumrine
Five breweries. One cidery. And many scenic views. That’s the idea behind the Brew Ridge Trail, the most intoxicating tourism trail in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Read more
By Beth Newberry
This occasional column highlights the tips of one local resident in an App city. We asked Meryl Keegan, a native of Kingsport, Tenn., who has lived in Knoxville for six years, “What’s on your list of not-to-miss-places to give a friendly fer’ner visiting your fair city?” Of her list, she says, “I live and work downtown so that is where I primarily wander. Here are my top picks.” Read more
By Niki King
The family of a dear friend of mine recently finished the final touches on a lux, three-story cabin on a wooded lot overlooking Lake Lanier in North Georgia. It makes for the perfect get-away spot, so our group of friends from high school, still close after all these years, agreed to meet there for a two-day reunion.
by Beth Newberry
Judy Bonds of Whitesville, W.Va., was an activist and community organizer, who in the latter part of her 58 years, tried to end the Mountaintop Removal (MTR) method of strip mining, particularly in the Coal River valley of southern West Virginia. While her work and life were centered on the mountains surrounding her ancestral home of Marfork Holler, her organizing work had national and international tendrils. She died a year ago of cancer on Jan. 3, 2011.
By Niki King
If you’re headed home for the holidays, consider brushing up your axel and lutz. Several Appalachian and near-Appalachian cities have recently opened outdoor ice-skating rinks in their central downtown areas, channeling the urban spirit of New York’s Rockefeller Center.
By Niki King
The holidays can be stressful, especially if you’re having to travel far to get back home. Fortunately, there are some prime places tucked away in the mountains where the wearied traveler might find some serious respite. If you can squeeze an extra day or two into your holiday schedule, treat yourself. Stop off at one of these fine establishments for rest, good eats, drinks and merriment. You’ll feel refreshed when you show up at your families and you can go back to work after the holidays feeling like you actually had a little vacation.
By Niki King
Say the word “Appalachian” and many images come to mind. A city skyline may not be among them. And maybe that’s our own fault. Our cities haven’t been a hot topic in the Appalachian Studies community and there are few representations of our regional urbanity in art, media and literature.
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By L.S. McKee
On many levels, Kingsport, Tennessee is home. I grew up here, my parents were born down the road in Bristol, and generations before lived in the hills of Southwest Virginia. On other levels—the willful, self-inscribed ones—it isn’t. I’ve always bragged on its beauty, its music, its people, and in the same breath swore it was a place where I would never live again. What it could give, I assumed, had already been given. Read more
The HillVille 