Under My Tree: Dolly’s Recipes and Coal History

Posted in History & Culture on December 25th, 2011 by marklynn
Under My Tree: Dolly’s Recipes and Coal History
Check out my gifts! With 125 of Dolly’s favorite recipes and a coal history classic under my tree, it’s been a very Appalachian Christmas. I hope you’re having a wonderful day too, full of home cooking, maybe some country crafts, and more loved ones than you can count. Read More »


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Moonshiners – Tonight at 10 on Discovery

Posted in History & Culture on December 6th, 2011 by marklynn
Moonshiners – Tonight at 10 on Discovery
Y’all know that the days of bootleggers, backwoods stills and “white lightning” aren’t over, but did you expect them to end up in prime time? Tonight at 10:00 PM, Discovery Channel premieres its new series Moonshiners. Here’s how they’re billing it: “Moonshiners tells the story of those who brew their shine – often in the woods near their homes using camouflaged equipment – and the local autho Read More »


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I’m a Lucky F’eller

Posted in History & Culture on November 24th, 2011 by marklynn
I’m a Lucky F’eller
Before I start all of the chopping, blending and baking today, I’m taking a few minutes to reflect. I’m thankful for so much. The people who are closest to me are in good health; I have a loving, close knit family; I’ve got work and insurance and a car that runs; and to top it off, I get to exchange ideas with you all every week of the year. I’m a lucky f’eller. Whether you’re spending Thanksgiving in the quie Read More »


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The Crooked Road to Improving Local Economies

Posted in History & Culture, Music on November 21st, 2011 by marklynn
The Crooked Road to Improving Local Economies
Sonja Ingram, Guest Blogger You might remember The Crooked Road. It’s a unique driving trail that winds through Southwest Virginia. Each of its nineteen stops represent Appalachia’s musical heritage. When I wrote about it back in March of 2010, it was facing the axe in state budgets. Luckily, it’s still going strong and remains an economic engine. It is estimated to bring $28 million dollars into the region annually. Our frien Read More »


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Gingerbread Art: View It When You’re Full

Posted in Art & Lit, Food, History & Culture on November 13th, 2011 by marklynn
Gingerbread Art: View It When You’re Full
I am hopelessly behind. I’m just now figuring out what I’ll be cooking for Thanksgiving, and already gingerbread-themed, Christmas time events are popping up all over the region. While they’re starting on the early side for my taste, they all sound delicious. Houses in every shape and size, some complete with little streets, and even entire villages are being constructed of gingerbread rectangles and gum drops and candy canes a Read More »


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Will Legal Pot End Appalachia’s Biggest Cash Crop?

Posted in History & Culture on October 23rd, 2011 by marklynn
Will Legal Pot End Appalachia’s Biggest Cash Crop?
White lightning might be Appalachia’s most famous vice, but the smokable pleasure of green lightning is reported to be our most lucrative one. According to a 2008 History Channel documentary on Appalachia, the region’s annual pot production is valued at a whopping $4 billion dollars. That far exceeds farm incomes, and it even outstrips Appalachia’s other breadwinner–coal. For instance, the world’s largest coal comp Read More »


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What’s on Your Autumn Playlist?

Posted in History & Culture, Music on September 25th, 2011 by marklynn
What’s on Your Autumn Playlist?
I jumped the gun with autumn this year. Before we’d even hit the equinox, I’d already loaded up a basket in the middle of my kitchen table with mini-pumpkins and butternut squash. I made a huge pot of bean stew. I found excuses to wear sweaters. (A entirely fictional circulatory disorder topped the list.) And my stereo speakers were playing the kinds of songs that make you want to roll around in a pile of crunchy leaves. Van Morrison Read More »


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Urban Deer Hunt Starts This Weekend

Posted in Food, History & Culture on September 18th, 2011 by marklynn
Urban Deer Hunt Starts This Weekend
Downtown Deer in Huntington, W. Virginia Just two blocks from the front door of my row house in Washington, DC, I can find wild morels, scampering foxes, woodpeckers, and silvery alewives, all set in 1,700 acres of forestland. I picked my condo partially because it is so close to Rock Creek Park. Within about five minutes, I can leave the city’s blare–honking horns, construction, irate people yelling, blasting music–and stand at Read More »


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W. Virginians in Unusual Places: Libyan Prison

Posted in History & Culture on September 11th, 2011 by marklynn
W. Virginians in Unusual Places: Libyan Prison
If you’d told me a month ago that the long arm of former Libyan autocrat Moammar Gadhafi would reach West Virginia, I’d have politely advised you to lay off the bush whiskey. Then I read an unlikely article in The Charleston Gazette. It detailed the story of Rida Mazagri, a local doctor, who recently returned to Libya, where he was raised and educated, to help those who were injured in that nation’s dramatic uprising. W. Virgini Read More »


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Crossroads: Memories of a Pioneering Mall

Posted in History & Culture on August 21st, 2011 by marklynn
Crossroads: Memories of a Pioneering Mall
People's Drug Store coffee shop in Crossroad's Mall When Roanoke’s Crossroads Mall opened in 1961, it was like Christmas and Fourth of July combined. This was the first enclosed, suburban shopping center in all of Virginia. It drew customers and curiosity seekers from miles around. According to Steven Swain, a blogger who traced the mall’s history, “Developer T.D. Steele and his designers created a unique and popular s Read More »


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