Having a very specific talent can lead to a dream job. It’s how cartoonist John Rose got his foot in the door to draw the comic strip "Snuffy Smith."

Also, there are dos and don’ts for treating poison ivy.

And, a young, old-time musician wants to save her family’s lost ballads.

You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

In This Episode:

Snuffy Smith In The 21st Century

The logo for the comic strip "Barney Google and Snuffy Smith." Snuffy is shown on the left.

Courtesy of John Rose/King Features Syndicate

Like it or not, the hillbilly stereotype still permeates American pop culture. It’s been used to degrade and shame folks in the mountains, but there are gentler versions. Like "Snuffy Smith," the long-running comic strip character who still appears in newspapers. Although these days, it’s easier to find Snuffy online.

He originally started out as a supporting character in his comic strip, which first launched in 1919 when Billy DeBeck created "Barney Google." Artist Fred Lasswell was brought in during the ‘30s to create Snuffy Smith and his friends. And now the strip is written and drawn by John Rose, who lives in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.

Host Mason Adams spoke with Rose.

Folk Cures For Poison Ivy

A close up photo of a cluster of poison ivy growing near the ground. — About 80% of people will develop an itchy series of blisters from poison ivy, but about 15% will have a reaction so severe, it resembles chemical burns.

*strawberrymochi/Adobe Stock*

With warmer weather, more folks are spending time in the woods or yards, and it’s just a matter of time before some will get into a patch of poison ivy.

You can find ways to treat the itchy rash that comes from poison ivy at the pharmacy, but there are plenty of people who still use folk remedies.

Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch explored the intersection of folk cures and mainstream medicine.

What's The Buzz With Bees?

A stack of boxes on a table outside. Inside the boxes are cubed pieces of wood with drilled holes in the middle. — Mason bee habitat at the Blandy Experimental Farm in Boyce, Virginia.

*Ayse Pirge/WMRA*

When we think of livestock, we might think of animals like cattle and sheep. But, what about honeybees? Both honeybees and native bee species face challenges some in common, and some not.

WMRA’s Ayse Pirge reports.

Mussel Restoration In Tennessee River

Five mussels with yellowish orange shells are sitting in a tray of water. There are black tracking tags attached to their shells. — Tracking tags developed for freshwater mussels.

*Photo Credit: Michael McKinney/University of Tennessee, Knoxville*

The Tennessee River runs like an artery through Knoxville, Tennesee. It feeds the recreation and tourism business and also a rich ecosystem. And some of the river’s biggest protectors are really very small: freshwater mussels. They live on the riverbed and clean up the river. But their numbers have been declining for generations.

WUOT’s Heather Haley spoke to a group working to protect these creatures.

Preserving The Music Of The Mountains

A white woman strumming a banjo. She is wearing blue overalls and a white shirt with orange polkadots. — Murphy Campbell plays a ballad in the Blue Ridge Public Radio studios.

*Photo Credit: Gerard Albert III/BPR News*

North Carolina musician Murphy Campbell is trying to preserve old ballads from Yancey and Mitchell counties. And some of them come from her family. Blue Ridge Public Radio’s Gerard Albert III has more.

Campbell’s performance in the BPR studios can be found here.

Big Emma: Remembering Appalachia's Steam Locomotive

A colored image of a locomotive steam train barreling down the tracks. There is black smoke blowing out of the front of the train. — Big Emma 1977 hauls empty coal cars from Winchester to Ravenna, Kentucky, in June 1956. The big locomotive was retired that year and scrapped in 1959.

...

John Rose And The Snuffy Smith Comic Strip, Inside Appalachia