Blue Waters Mountain Lodge

Our tour of the history of the 19 counties that comprise western North Carolina continue with Madison, that was formed in 1851 and named for President James Madison.   McDowell, formed in 1842, was named for Col. Joseph McDowell who appended “P.G.” to his signature...

There’s a heap of unfamiliar history behind the names of the nineteen counties that form Western North Carolina.  Strangely enough, these names are as familiar to us as their origin and meaning are unfamiliar and the search for their source and significance reflect...

Sassafras Diggin’ time is here.  And the folk of the hills, who cling to some of the old customs, are searching out the tender roots of the tree that in another age rated with the spices of Ormuz and Araby as a precious substance.   They are the ones who take...

This is the time of year in the hills when the jaded appetite turns to turnip greens and poke sallet, speckled dock and branch lettuce.  To mountain folks, weary from a dreary winter-long diet of store-bought vittles, it is a very special season.  They call it green...

The names are legion and legend.  But they are only names on an old map today. Not too long ago, as time is measured, they were bustling little towns and thriving settlements.  There is little trace of them now.  Most of them lie beneath the vast waters of Fontana...

Old timers versed in the lore of moonshining will tell you that cattle and hogs are mighty fond of still-slop but that most horses despise the stuff.   They tell a story here in the mountains of a revenue agent who had a sure fire way for ferreting out corn likker...

Folks with an uncommon taste are flocking into the greening hills these days.  For it is ramp digging time and ramp-eating time.  Mountain folks are so fond of them they would not swap a mess for all the caviar in Russia!    To those unfamiliar with ramps, however,...

April…It is a new world in the making on these old, old hills.  It’s the sights and sounds and smells of spring creeping over the land.  It’s a time when folks want to get their feet on the ground and their hands in the soil. April is service trees starring the high...

The family reading hour was once a custom.  The mountain folk put a heap of store in meter and rime as aids to memory.  There was a wonderful storehouse of practical, down to earth knowledge in rimes that were learned and recited around the hearth fire.   Rimelore...