Tuning in the Loft Up in the loft, the pipes are separated from the choir space behind narrowly slatted walls on the east and west. I sit at the two manual pipe organ, pulling stops and holding down t...
Finding Inspiration in the Rhythms of Mountain Life The Rhythm of the Loom Helen sat at her loom on the porch, shifting the shuttle through the shed, then pulling the heddle to the weft. Left, pull. R...
An Eco-Conscious Calling My teenage daughter wants to be an environmental scientist and save the polar bears. She loves all the little animals, asks me to plant pollinator flowers in our garden, hangs...
The Golden Hour Picnic It’s early summer, and we’ve finished our burgers, crumpling the greasy wrappers and depositing them into covered bins. We return to our blanket, sipping the last of...
Frances’ Macaroni and Cheese “Frances!” I jog her down, catching her in the foyer of The Church of Jesus Christ. “Frances, your macaroni and cheese was the star of the show aga...
A Peaceful Foreboding It crackles. Have you ever heard the sound of a wintry mix falling in the Appalachians? It sounds a bit like rain with its steady, calming rhythm, and a bit like hail, drumming t...
VIRGINIA By Kathryn Jacobson She has an old type of beauty. I’m not quite sure why she feels that way; old. I suppose God put the dirt here at the same time he put the dirt everywhere else. It&#...
When the sun finally drops behind the ridge and the last chore is done, life on an Appalachian Highlands farm shifts gears. Today, we might turn on the TV or scroll through our phones. But for generat...
Life in the Shadow of the Mountain: The Bonny Blue Mine Gather round, friends. Pull up a chair by the fire. I want you to hear a tale about Bonny Blue, back before the asphalt roads and the internet, ...
