by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Oct 12, 2020 | Appalachian, superstition
Today I’m sending you off to check out my guest post on Dave Tabler’s Appalachian History site. Throughout the month of October, he’s hosting a fun, spooky series of post all about Appalachia and I’m delighted to be participating. Dave created...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Oct 8, 2020 | Appalachian, History, West Virginia
When people ask me where in West Virginia I’m from, it’s a bit of a dance. I generally say, “French Creek.” Then, when they give me a blank look, I say, “the nearest town is Buckhannon.” Mom and me failing at taking a selfie on Main...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Aug 31, 2020 | Appalachian, Nature, Waiting, Writing
Ginseng I have several “pet” ginseng plants. I know where they grow and I’m not telling anyone. I like to check on them to see how they’re doing and when they produce their red seed pods around this time of year, I plant them to spur future...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Aug 27, 2020 | Appalachian, Food
I was NOT a fan of green beans when I was a kid. I liked the green okay, but not the bean! These days, though, I’m a big fan. Especially now that I’ve gotten the hang of how to cook them. I struggled to get that wonderful, tender, cooked-down quality. So I...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Aug 20, 2020 | Appalachian, superstition
Have you ever knocked on wood? Or avoided walking under a ladder? I think we’re all at least a smidge superstitious. But Appalachia makes a veritable sport of it! And in this year when everything seems bound to go wrong I was thinking . . . what the heck?...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Aug 6, 2020 | Appalachian, History
I’ve shared before about how West Virginia came to be a state in a pretty unusual way. Basically, some mountaineers west of the Allegheny Mountains vacated all the state (of Virginia’s) offices and filled them with their own elected officials. President...
