This episode grows out of a moment earlier this year, when my great-grandmother’s words appeared in The Atlantic in a January 6 article by Annie Joy Williams on Appalachian speech and memory. But long before her voice was quoted on a national stage, it was part of our family’s oral history, spoken in her accent and in her words.

In this episode, I share more of her story. She talks about growing up on the mountain, birch sapping in the spring, and the rituals of courtin’ in a world before cars, phones, or much privacy. These are everyday memories, told plainly, the way people often tell the truth when they’re not performing for an audience.

She also reflects on harder chapters: her husband’s (my Papaw's) near-fatal bout with black lung and his time on supply ships during World War II. Her memories remind us how industrial labor and global conflict reached deep into mountain homes.

This episode is about what oral history gives us that written records often can’t: a sense of place and voice. It’s a reminder that Appalachian Englishes aren't meant to be “cleaned up” or corrected, but included in a living record of experience.

This is the longer story behind the quote in The Atlantic. And it’s one worth hearing.

*Though every effort has been made to clean up distortion, you may hear audio interference due to some disintegration of cassette tapes that are about 25 years old.*

Ivy Attic Co
Jewelry from coal, river glass, and discarded books handcrafted in the central Appalachian Mountains

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Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain

Mamaw's Story: Hear Her Oral History in Her Own Words (Quoted in the Atlantic)