Appalachian Lifestyles

You may purchase the album by sending $12 (shipping is included) to shirleystewartburns@yahoo.com using your PayPal account.  Just make sure you mention somewhere in the payment that it is ...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2017/05/long-time-on-this-mountain-songs-of.html

I remember when I was a kid that one of the biggest events of late winter was searching for the first dandelion.  Granny always told us that they were a promise of spring and once one was found...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2017/01/waiting-on-dandelions.html

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by Jay Shepherd of the Pike County Tourism, Convention and Visitors Bureau regarding making a post about Pike County, Kentucky. I am always amenable to prom...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2012/04/ellison-mounts-pike-county.html

A former feature writer and columnist on the Bluefield, W. Va., Daily Telegraph has released a double CD of oral histories titled “Folks Are Talking” from men and women he interviewed for the...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2012/01/folks-are-talking.html

It has recently been brought to my attention that one of my favorite books, "Goin' Up Gandy" by Don Teter has been reissued into a second edition. Loyal readers of Appalachian Lifestyles may reca...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2011/08/second-edition-of-goin-up-gandy-now.html

When I was growing up, I was considered by my family to be the pet pig. This was because I was the baby of the bunch, and for 12 years I remained that. During this time, I was doted on and given ...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2011/02/belvedere.html

This is one of my very favorite poems. I can just imagine my German ancestors living in fear of the Erl-king. What better way to celebrate All Hallows Eve than with the German folktale/song/poem,...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2010/10/erl-king.html

It all began on that night so long ago. It was hot when it happened, it was sometime way down in the summertime. I remember it was about the time the crickets start to hollerin’ but before t...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2010/07/marked.html

With apologies to the "real" Jack Tales of Appalachia... JACK LEARNS A LESSON IN HONESTY by Matthew Burns Did you ever hear the one about Jack getting a lesson in honesty? No. Well then, it’s...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2010/06/jack-learns-lesson.html

It's getting to be that time of year again. Time to be getting your tomato plants out into your garden. It seems that everyone I know has a few varieties that they swear by and plant year after y...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2010/04/west-virginia-land-of-tomatoes.html

I was looking at the blooming redbud trees up on the mountain And eating what was left of my chocolate Easter rabbit, When mama came running out of the kitchen door, hollering about how There was...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2010/04/hope-in-redbud-trees.html

Samuel Paris McKinney (1822-1898) The following story is about my wife Shirley's great-great-great grandfather. This story has been handed down for several generations, and was shared with me....

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2010/02/look-back-at-bee-tree-creek.html

The wind come a-whippin' around the corner of the house last night about midnight with such ferocity that it brought to mind the time me and Vern Cassell was coon huntin' up on Pinchgut. Pinchgut...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2010/02/times-up-on-pinchgut.html

The slate gray abyss presses down upon my mountain home, It forces an uneasy feeling upon us And causes Maw to snip at us. “Was you born in a barn?” “Don’t track in that mud!” �...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2010/01/winter-sets-in.html

Today finds me thinking about my gr-gr-gr-gr-grandfather, Joseph Lantz, and the horrors he must have witnessed and was subjected to while in the Confederate Service. He was a Captain in the North...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2010/01/camp-chase.html

Germany Valley, Pendleton County, WV. Photo courtesy of R. Jason Burns. "These Dark & Dreary Days" by Matthew Burns These dark, dreary days of winter, Press down upon my soul, And leach t...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2010/01/wintertime-realization.html

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2009/12/wordless-wednesday.html

“Diet Pepsi or Pepsi Cola”, Grandmaw Ev hollered as she saw our truck pull into her driveway. All of us kids hollered back, “Pepsi Cola!" Granddad Opie and Grandmaw Ev I remember w...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2009/12/diet-pepsi-or-pepsi-cola.html

Seldom does excellence get captured on a CD. However, I recently had the extreme pleasure and delight to come across such a recording. It is titled, "Beyond The Grave: Ghost Stories and Ballads f...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2009/12/review-beyond-grave-by-granny-sue.html

Every year about this time, I head for the mountain for a week with my family and doing a little hunting. My Dad and I traipse all over the old farm where I grew up, supposedly looking for our fu...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2009/11/walking-with-dad.html

I took a walk in the woods... And I wished you were there with me.

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2009/10/one-day-in-october.html

Though every year it comes back anew, And wears out its welcome all too soon. Something magical begins to take place That rekindles memories across time and across space. There's nothing...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2009/10/first-snow.html

I remember growing up, we always had a Halloween Party at school every year. It was always held on the Friday before Halloween. The school was Kindergarten through 12th grade, all in one building...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2009/10/school-halloween-party.html

This post is vastly different than my usual posts, but I feel compelled to tell about my experiences this past weekend. This post isn't fun, homespun or quaint, this post is about a great tragedy...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2009/10/eighth-circle-of-hell.html

"OCTOBER" by West Virginia poet, Grace Yoke White, from her 1953 book "Unhoarded Gold". What does it matter if my house is not swept, Or my beds placed to air in a hygenic way? For in through...

http://appalachianlifestyles.blogspot.com/2009/10/come-visit-october.html