Appalachian Shine

"A Summer Without Children": Polio outbreak in the 1950's

In the 1950's Wytheville, VA was thrust into the national spotlight for having the highest per capita ratio of the polio pandemic. It was running at twice the national average. Wytheville, then a tourist destination, had to shut down and put up a sign to warn travelers away. 

We can find a lot of similarities in how we handled that outbreak in Appalachia and how we are handling COVID-19. "We've been to this rodeo before," as one elderly man recently told me. 

#Appalachia #pandemic #polio #Wytheville #SummerWithoutChildren

100 Years Ago in Appalachia

100 years ago this month the Battle of Blair Mountain in West Virginia made national headlines, putting the fight for unionization on the front page in every home. 

Also, will Appalachia be prime real estate in 50 years?

#Appalachia #history #BlairMountain #WestVirginia

Swift Silver Mine Part 2.

Robert Prather, author of The Strange Case of Jonathan Swift and the Real Long John Silver, joins us for part 2 of our discussion about the possibility of lost treasure in Eastern Kentucky and his theory behind the legend. 

#Appalachia #Appalachianhistory #AppalachianLegends #RobertPrather #SwiftSilverMine #Kentucky

Jonathan Swift and the Swift Silver Mine

Author Robert Prather, The Strange Case of Jonathan Swift and the Real Long John Silver, sits with us to discuss this mysterious Appalachian legend and takes us on a real life journey of an American patriot and the founding of our nation. 

#Appalachia #SwiftSilverMine #RobertPrather

Fun Facts About the Appalachian Trail

The AT has a fun and unique history and a vibrant culture filled with amazing stories and unique characters. 

www.traildays.us

www.supportappalachia.org

 

 

#Appalachia #AppalachianTrail #DamascusVA #TrailDays #trailnames #WhitetopMountain

Appalachian Stories: Little Evie In the Garden

Author and school teacher Cathy Conley of Knott County, KY joins us to discuss the rich and fun history passed down by her grandmother and how that became the inspiration behind her books. Cathy shares a passion for Appalachia, her Eastern Kentucky roots, and has a unique view from the "holler" she calls home. 

#Appalachia #Appalachianbooks #stories #history #CathyConley

Economic, poverty and education rates in Appalachia

The Appalachian Regional Commission released their most recent Chartbook for 2015-2019 to highlight the changing numbers in education rates, economic disparity, and poverty rates. The report is very extensive and in this episode we do a high overview of the numbers. 

Also, on this day in history Ronald Reagan gave his famous "Tear down this wall..." speech in Berlin, Germany. 

#Appalachia #Appalachianhistory #AppalachainEconomy

www.facebook.com/supportappalachia

www.supportappalachia.org

 

The Friendliest Town on the Trail

Bunny Medeiros, author of Friendliest Town on the Trail and Walking to Wijiji...my journey overcoming loneliness joins us today as we sit down in Abingdon, VA to talk about her work, what inspires her, and her family history. 

#Inspiration #TheAzores #Damascus #Appalachia #author

https://www.amazon.com/Walking-Wijiji-journey-overcoming-loneliness/dp/1687306915/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1623184527&refinements=p_27%3ABunny+Medeiros&s=books&sr=1-1&text=Bunny+Medeiros

 

Congratulations to the Class of 2021!

A brief Memorial Day message from your pals at the FAA. :)

#Appalachia

Kari Kilgore and her connection to The Shining!

Appalachian author Kari Kilgore stops by to talk about her publishing company, the challenges of self publishing, and her strange connection to what we know as the Stanley Hotel from the horror movie The Shining! 

#AppalachianAuthors #writing #Appalachia #KariKilgore #SpiralPublishing #TheShining #AppalachianAuthorsGuild