by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Mar 5, 2020 | Appalachian, History, Writing
When I decided to write a story about a deaf boy who discovers a dead body (The Right Kind of Fool–Nov. 3, 2020), I knew I wanted him to know sign language. But how would a 13-year-old boy in West Virginia learn sign language? Just a little research solved the...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jan 30, 2020 | Appalachian, History, Nature
When we visit the farm in West Virginia we ALWAYS see deer. Lots of deer. But elk? Well, there are some at the Wildlife Center we drive past on our way in. And yes, I did try to trick my husband by pointing one out the first time we drove by as if seeing elk along the...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jan 24, 2020 | Appalachian, History, Nature
Ever have one of those weeks when you can’t keep track of what day it is? Yeah, me too. Wild azalea (often called honeysuckle bythe old timers) with mountain laurel inthe background. On January 23, 1903–117 years ago–the Legislature of West Virginia passed a...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Jan 2, 2020 | Appalachian, History, holidays
We’ve rung in the new year and Christmas is over . . . or is it? I’ve written before about Old Christmas–the mountain tradition of celebrating the holiday on January 6 due to some calendar confusion dating back hundreds of years. But there’s...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Dec 26, 2019 | History, holidays
It’s over. Christmas is done. Anyone tempted to take the tree down? Oh, the kids are still out of school and maybe there’s still family to visit, but for so many people these are the days when the blahs strike. The anticipation has been building since Halloween and...
by Sarah Loudin Thomas | Oct 21, 2019 | History, Miracles, Waiting, Writing
I’m a bit of a girly-girl. (When I’m not being a tomboy.) So when I realized it would work out for me to go to the Christy Awards dinner–which is semi-formal–I began looking for a fancy dress. Oh, I have a dress that would work but who wants to...
