Echoes of Appalachia
“Stories, culture, and memories from the heart of Appalachia.”
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recent posts
- The $90 Billion Lithium Discovery in Appalachia vs. The Split Estate Surprise
- Born in Appalachia, Told to Leave: How Political Migrants Are Changing the NC-TN Border
- Knox County’s Ban of the Book Roots Sparks Debate Across Appalachia
- From Good Ole Appalachian Country Food to Fine Dining
- The Tree Many Appalachians Know Has a Surprising History
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Category: Appalachian Mountains
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Across the hills and hollers of Appalachia, election results have followed a familiar pattern for decades. Republican candidates win county after county, often by wide margins, while the region continues to face deep economic strain, declining public health, population loss, and fragile infrastructure. A pressing question moves through kitchens, union halls, clinics, classrooms, and front…
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An Indigenous led effort aims to return bison to eastern Kentucky on land reclaimed from mountaintop removal coal mining. Bison are large, powerful animals that often seem slow and gentle at first glance. In reality, they move with remarkable speed and agility, running up to 35 miles per hour and jumping as high as six…
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People in Appalachia grew up knowing the mountains the way other kids knew streets. You learned where the ground stayed wet after rain, which creeks held crawdads, which slopes carried berries in late summer. Families stayed close to the same hills for decades, sometimes longer, and the land carried their routines with it. When mining…
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Homelessness in Appalachia has reached a visible and painful peak during 2024 and 2025. Communities across the mountains and valleys face a sharp rise in people living without stable housing, with some areas reporting increases as high as thirty seven percent. This growth reflects deep structural failures tied to housing access, economic decline, disaster recovery…
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Appalachia stands today as a living mosaic of peoples, traditions, languages, faiths, and foods. The mountains, valleys, hollers, rivers, and towns reflect centuries of human movement, courage, survival, and adaptation. Every family line in Appalachia traces back to immigrants. Every surname, dialect, recipe, hymn, and craft carries the memory of people who crossed oceans, borders,…
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Urban Appalachia exists in cities like Asheville, Knoxville, and Charleston, West Virginia, whether city leaders acknowledge it or not. These places did not suddenly become “mountain cities” once tourism and development arrived. They grew from river crossings, rail hubs, and industrial corridors where families from surrounding counties settled for work, stayed through decline, and built…
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My poetry collection Beautiful and Brutal Things is done. It’s actually done and finally published over 270 pages. Over a year of my life went into this book. More than a year, really. Long days at my computer, sometimes seven days a week because I couldn’t stop even when I probably should have. Then two…
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This story reaches beyond Appalachia and into the heart of a country searching for calm during an era shaped by sharp division. Along highways, through small towns, and across city streets, Venerable Monks walk in quiet formation as part of The Walk For Peace. Thousands of people gather simply to witness them pass. Some stand…
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Appalachia carries the burdens of an unfinished past. The collapse of coal stripped away livelihoods, emptied towns, and left streams and hillsides bearing the scars of a century of extraction. Economic decline followed environmental damage, and many communities remain caught between nostalgia for stability and the reality of shrinking opportunity. Into this landscape comes a…
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Long after the glittering rush of December fades across the rest of the country, certain Appalachian communities gather again on January 6th to mark a day tied to faith, history, and cultural endurance. This observance traces back to a calendar shift that reshaped the Christian world yet left pockets of people holding fast to an…
Echoes of Appalachia 