Appalachian Traditional Subculture Study

In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson declared an unconditional war on poverty in the United States and the most photographed area was the Appalachia region. Many of the photographs intentional or not, became a visual definition of the Appalachia region. The images have drawn from the poorest areas and people to gain support for the war on poverty, but came to represent the entirety of the region. The point of the Looking at Appalachia project is to explore the diversity of Appalachia and to establish a visual counter point. (Home - Looking at Appalachia.) The three images I am going to analyze are challenge some of the stereotypes put on the Appalachia region. I believe my images challenge the stereotype that all Appalachian people do is work hard, go to church, and don’t have time for anything besides those two things.

When one thinks of the Appalachians, one generally thinks of the mountains of the southeastern region of the United States. However the Mountain range itself actually begins in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, extending from there for almost 2,000 miles (3,200 km) to central Alabama in the United States. Thus the region also forms the eastern counterpart of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

Growing up in the small town of Pocahontas, Iowa gives appreciation to the simplicity of tight-knit communities. With a population of 1,800 people, there is single café where local farmers enjoy a morning cup of coffee while discussing the news. Rural communities are a place where children have birthday parties at the local pizza place and teenagers’ first jobs are as detasslers. As a child, your mother knows if you got in trouble at school before you return home and everyone’s name is well known throughout the area.

The Appalachian region is a beautiful, rugged terrain that has much to offer in the way of tourism. The area is home to many different types of wildlife attracting game hunters, fisherman, and wildlife enthusiasts. Some species include bass, trout, deer, bear, squirrel, and many other types of animals. The area is also known for its wild vegetation including May Root and Ginseng which are still used for medicinal purposes. The natural beauty and mystery of the mountainous area has been attracting hikers and campers for many years. As well there are many other activities for people to enjoy such as whitewater rafting, New River Gorge jumping, bird watching, ATV riding and stargazing. Calhoun County Park in WV has recently become known

Appalachians are individuals living in the heart of the mountainous region known as Appalachia: an area stretching from Pennsylvania to Mississippi, touching thirteen states, and home to an estimated 25 million people. (Porter) Throughout history, their portrayal in films and television shows has taken on a stereotypical role. This includes the classic tropes of hillbillies and uncivilized individuals.

To understand Appalachian culture one has to look at the culture’s traits, customs, nomenclatures, strengths, and the weaknesses. While the Appalachian region is large, 1,500 miles of land that reaches Quebec, Canada to northern Alabama (Pollard, 2003), the culture discussed will be considered “coalfields.” The coalfields consist of West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and south western Virginia. Some of the traits of coalfields Appalachian culture is being family orientated and having large families (Jude & Jude, 2015; Baghbad, 1984). Being family oriented means that family is always the center of importance. No matter how hard times may be, there is always family to be support. While Jude and Jude (2015) can remember a time were family sizes could be between 5 to 12 children, today the number had decreased. According to Pollard (2003), families in Appalachia more slightly higher in amount of children than the

According to the United States Census Bureau (2017) rural is explained as a delineation of geographical areas identified by urban clusters of at least 2,500 people and less than 50,000 or urbanized areas of

The major industries of the Appalachian Region are mining, agriculture, and fishing. Mining in this region is well known to be found in Quebec particularly asbestos, zinc, iron, and lead. While in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia the minerals potash and gypsum are found there. In both Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island the vegetable crops carrots, potatoes, cabbage and rutabagas are harvested yearly. The Appalachians are rich in fish such as salmon, cod, halibut, herring and pollock.

“The Heartland and the Rural Youth Exodus” written by Patrick J. Carr and Maria J. Kefalas take readers on a journey through the small towns of America that are located in the Midwestern states like Iowa. While on this journey Carr and Kefalas use facts, and organizational moves like a map that shows readers the out-migration of non-metro counties in the Midwest. They also use great tone in their persuasive speech by using words like death knell, poverty, and even cockeyed nostalgia to persuade their readers to look at the trouble these heartland states are going through. Throughout this entire book readers are encourage to look at the diminishing populations of small towns caused by young people leaving to go to the larger cities and why they are doing so. Many Americans are able to take a stake or claim in Carr and Kefalas’s book, but there is

“The water reaches my thighs, pulls my legs, I turn to face the wall and stretch my arms wide”. (p293) This would be the last act of a man who fought for so much in his life for everything he loved. Denise Giardini’s “Unquiet Earth” is the epitome of Appalachian culture, true grit and undying perseverance in the heart of the mountains.

The stories in “The Children of the Appalachian Mountains” and “My People” have many similarities and differences. For example, in the book the story seemed much more happier and pleasant were es the video seemed more realistic. The video had gone on and on about how life really was, but in the excerpt wrote only about her college experiences and not the mountains. Yes, both in the text and the interviews they had roofs falling of and a large amount lived in trailers, but the story it made it seem less than it was. The video talked about how their living spaces were horrid, they had barely any food, and even how people could not get a job because of transportation but in “My People”

Customs originate from hearths. Folk customs have unknown origins and may have multiple hearths, while popular customs originate in more developed countries for the recreational leisure. Folk music serves the purpose of storytelling. Popular music is written to be sold. While some forms of popular music contain references to local places or events, the purpose of the music is to appeal to the world and a larger audience. Popular culture diffuses hierarchically through rapid communication from electronic devices and transportation networks. Folk culture diffuses through relocation diffusion. Soccer is a folk tradition that was popularized and then globalized. The distribution of sports depends on the fans willing to pay for events.

This chapter tells and explains the literature of Appalachia and includes important literature that’s came out of the region. It talks about many fiction tales Appalachia has to share and offer to the rest of the country. Many could say there myths or tall tales. They also explained how the lack of education decreased some literature and was a setback. Even with that being said they are many published writers from the region and plenty of great books to read. Other than just published books there a lot of poems that are famous and are very well written. Drama and theater are also two parts of Appalachian literature. I can relate to that because both of my roommates are in those programs. When I told them I was taking this class

The Woodland Native Americans had different daily practices. They hunted, fished, gathered berries and farmed. They pretty much ate the same foods we eat today. This is going to be a food stand in our exhibit. This is important because this is what they ate every single day. The clothes they wore were basic. They wore different clothes depending on different weather patterns but in their region is was pretty temperate and warm most of the time. The men wore skirts without a shirt and women wore skirts with leggings and shirts. This is going to be hanging up on a clothesline attached to two trees. This is important because these are the clothes they wore every day of their life. In one home it consisted of 60 or less people. Multiple families

I learned many aspects of traditional American Indian life that I had not known previously, such as their customs and traditions. In the Andes, ethnic identity and place of origin was often expressed by hats. The unique colors and designs could help distinguish a person, as the patterns were unique to the groups that made them. I also learned interesting facts like the Andean people knowing for thousands of years that the bark of a quina tree cures malaria, yet catholic missionaries did not learn this until the 1600s resulting in quinine to become a very valuable export to Europe right after its discovery, saving countless lives. Beads were also a prominent part of the American Indian life. Native people saw brightly colored beads as prized