Stories of Appalachia

In the 1940's workers, scientists and the military came to Anderson County, Tennessee, and built a city in which to develop an atomic weapon.  The weight of what they were doing came to be too much for one Naval ensign.  Today we tell what happened. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RadioPublic, TuneIn, Spotify and on many other podcast apps. Thanks for listenin...

At the start of the Civil War, the Appalachian part of Tennessee voted 2-1 to remain a part of the United States in that state's secession vote.  When Tennessee left the Union and joined the Confederacy, those loyalists defended that Union, leading to summary executions and marshal law.  Today we tell their story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneI...

Appalachia is filled with unique and colorful characters.  Today we tell the story of one of them: journalist, baseball entrepreneur, self-promoter and chronicler of life in southern Appalachia through the medium of Super-8 movie film, Virgil Q. Wacks, of Lee County, Virginia. The Stories podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RadioPublic, Spotify and on many other podcast apps. Thanks...

In 1931 a Chattanooga woman made baseball history by striking out, back to back, two Yankee legends.  Today we tell her story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RadioPublic, TuneIn, Spotify and on many other podcast apps. Thanks for listening!

They say that history doesn't repeat itself.  While that's certainly true, it's also true that history does tend to rhyme every now and then. Today we tell the story of the Spanish flu, a story that could have come from today's headlines, except it's actually about a pandemic  that happened 102 years ago.   You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RadioPublic, Spotify,...

Today we continue the story of labor activist Mother Jones, beloved by generations of Appalachian coal miners. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RadioPublic, TuneIn, Spotify and on many other podcast apps. Thanks for listening and for sharing our stories of Appalachian history.

A woman born in Ireland who immigrated to, first, Canada, then the United States, became a schoolteacher and dressmaker.  The tragic loss of her husband and children led eventually to a career in labor activism.  Today we start to tell you the story of a woman beloved by generations of Appalachian coal miners, Mother Jones. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spot...

A boy's search for the spirit of his late mother in the Smokey Mountains led to a career as a Great Smoky Mountains National Park guide and a life as a well-loved Gatlinburg businessman and teller of Appalachian tall tales.  Today, by listener request, we tell the story of Sevier County's Wiley Oakley. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at our website: www.storiespodcast .net  You can also s...

Up until the late 1800's the legal profession in North Carolina was limited to men only.  That changed with the admission of a spunky woman born in Iredell County named Tabitha Ann Holton.  Today we tell her story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at our website: storiespodcast.net; also at Apple Podcasts, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher, IHeart Radio, and wherever else fine podcasts are fo...

One of the most well-known Cherokee on the Appalachian frontier was Nancy Ward.  Today we tell the story of the Cherokee "beloved woman." The Stories podcast is available at our website, www.storiespodcast.net , at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RadioPublic, Spotify, Google Play and on most other podcast apps. Thanks for listening and for sharing our stories of Appalchian history with your friends.

Today we tell the story of a bizarre tragedy that took place aboard a Piedmont Airlines DC-3 in the skies over western North Carolina in 1956. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, RadioPublic, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, IHeart Radio, Tune In and on many other podcast apps. Thanks for listening and thanks for sharing our stories with your friends...  

Many years ago a railroad ran from Johnson City, Tennessee, over the mountains to the North Carolina high country in Boone.  This narrow-gauge passenger and freight railroad is no more, but it is remembered in a theme park named after it, the Tweetsie Railroad.  Today we tell its story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, Tune In, IHeart Radi...

Wyoming County, West Virginia, contains a set of strange rock carvings called petroglyphs on a rock ledge of a cliff overhanging the upper Clear Fork of the Guyandotte River.  While most scientists think these etchings are the work of Native Americans, some people argue they were made by Irish Christians during the Middle Ages.  Today we tell the story of the Luther Elkins Petroglyph. The Stories...

In 1937 the state of Tennessee passed a law that forbade marriage for anyone under the age of 16, without their parents' permission.  The first case brought under that new law involved 32 year-old Homer Peels, who married Geneva Hamby, who was 11 years old, in Monroe County. Today we tell that story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at RadioPublic, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, Tu...

What do you get when you mix a coal mine, explosives, and greed?  Why, you get today's bit of Appalachian history, of course!   Today we tell the tale of an insurance scheme gone horribly wrong in Pike County, Kentucky back in 1925. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at RadioPublic, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, IHeart Radio, Spotify , Tune In and on many other podcast apps.  You ca...

Today we tell the story of two of the most prominent Cherokee the first settlers encountered on the Appalachian frontier, Attakullakulla and his son Dragging Canoe.   You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at our website, www.storiespodcast.net , Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RadioPublic, Spotify, or wherever fine podcasts are found! Thanks for listening and for sharing out stories of Appalchian his...

Connolly Fields lived with his wife in Scott County, Virginia, in the 1880s.  All was well, until he, his wife, his brother in law William and his associates all got into a fight over trespassing on the Fields' land.  That resulted in Connally going on the run for 16 years.  Today we tell his story. The Stories podcast is found on RadioPublic, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, TuneIn, Player...

Appalachia has always been prone to flooding in one valley or another but in 1977 the heavens quite literally opened up over the entire region, setting off the worst widespread flooding in Appalachian history.  Today we tell that story. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at RadioPublic, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and on most other podcast apps. Thanks for listening and thanks for shar...

The Minneapolis Lakers weren’t exactly setting the basketball world on fire in January, 1959.  In fact, on January 16th they had a 15/27 won loss record for the season.  The 16th was the day the Lakers were scheduled to appear in Charleston, West Virginia’s brand new civic center to play the Cincinnati Royals, and they hoped to break a four game losing streak with the help of their talented rookie...

Today we have a story of politics, corruption and murder in 1916 Huntsville, Alabama. The Stories podcast is available on RadioPublic, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, IHeart Radio and many other podcast apps.  Be sure to subscribe for free! Thanks for sharing our stories of Appalachian history with your friends.  

On September 27, 1903, a mail train was on it's way to Spencer, North Carolina, from Monroe, Virginia, when it crashed at a trestle in southern Virginia, near Danville.  That terrible wreck inspired a country music classic that's still played today, and on this episode of the podcast we share the story of the crash and the song with you. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts,...

One of the most colorful personalities to ever come out of Appalachia was a media savvy self-made grocer, radio and tv host and Tennessee politician by the name of Cas Walker.  Today we tell you about him. The Stories podcast is available on RadioPublic, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn and on many other podcast apps. Thanks for listening and sharing our stories of Appalachian history with your fr...

A traveler uncovers a local legend about an old hermit living in a cave on the Virginia/Kentucky border, so he sets about to investigate.  We tell you that story, this year's Halloween tale, on today's podcast. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, RadioPublic, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn, IHeart Radio, and on many other podcast apps. Thanks for listening...Happy Halloween!

Between the towns of Big Stone Gap and Appalachia in the mountains of southwestern Virginia was a  place once known as "Boneyard Hollow."  This little hollow was where a meat butchering concern used to dump the bones left over from preparing steaks, roasts and other meats.  It also was where a body could be found, at least as one prisoner told it.  Today we tell you that story. The Stories podcast...

The strange story of Tizrow McGhee, born on Friday the 13th in Kentucky, who kept getting into all kinds of scrapes, including one that kept him awake for 23 years. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at RadioPublic, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and many other podcast apps. Thanks for listening!