Pucker up, it's persimmon time in Tennessee!

While driving to church yesterday morning, I spotted my first sign that fall was here. Lying in the middle of the road was an old familiar sight. Dozens of little orange berries, some smashed, some round and waiting to be run over. When I was a kid growing up here in East, TN, persimmons brought both pleasure and aggravation to my life.

According to Wikipedia, the American Persimmon tree grows mainly in the Southeastern United States. Its ranges from New England to Florida, and west to Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The tree grows wild but has been cultivated for its fruit and wood since prehistoric times by Native Americans.

I know that persimmon trees can be found in nearly every yard here in Knox County. In my own yard, I have only male persimmon trees, which do not bear any fruit. My parents, however, have female persimmon trees in their yard. My, the memories those things hold for me. From my earliest recollections, folks have been tricking younger kids into sampling green persimmons. I can remember my cousin Danny saying; “Oh, Tug, these persimmons are delicious, you’ve got to try one!” Then he held one up to his mouth and pretended to take a bite and acted like it was the best thing he had ever tasted in his life. Of course I, not wanting to look stupid in front of my hero cousin, took a big bite. If you have never bitten into a green persimmon before, you don’t know what you are missing. Or rather I should say you don’t want to know what you are missing! It takes no more than one bite into one to turn your mouth completely inside out. It has the similar effect of biting into a lemon, only worse! The first thing you want to do after trying one is to stick your tongue out and start slapping it. That is hard to do because your lips are now drawn into a frozen pucker, making this nearly impossible.

I can’t even tell you the number of folks that I played the above trick on. I know I did it to my younger sister, brother, and cousin Brad. Of course I also tricked my younger brother into sampling worms (which I wrote about in THIS post), bugs, and dandelions, but I’ll save those stories for another day. Ah the pleasures of being an older brother…

Persimmons brought a mixture of joy and misery into my life. Once the fruit gets ripe; it falls off of the tree. Naturally, this leads to the ground below being covered with plump, juicy, and sticky orange balls. I don’t know if you have ever slipped down into a slimy pile of persimmons, but let me tell you that is one nasty mess! Also much like “manure wars” we had persimmon wars. The green ones hurt, but the ripe orange ones would explode on your body and make a gross mess on your clothes, or in the worst case…your hair. I can still see my sisters and me running barefooted through the yard, slipping in persimmons, slinging them at each other, falling down and getting leaves and dirt matted into our clothes. My granny Spencer also had numerous persimmon trees in her yard and every time we went to her house we would get into them. Usually we would have a war with Becky, Paula, and Jeff Lawson, all whom lived next door to granny. The only thing separating us was a white wooden fence and a driveway. We would sling those persimmons with all of our might at each other, like it was a life or death situation. Oh what fun!

Some people eat persimmons and make things like pies and pudding out of them. I’ve eaten a few ripe ones and they are pretty good but the consistency of the fruit kind of turns me off. They are mushy and slimy, two textures that really don’t agree with my palate.

I came across this website: PersimmonPudding.com, which has lots of good information and stories about persimmons. Check it out when you have time.

The above is a cross post from my Tug's Life blog.

The Hotshot Freight Train

The Hotshot Freight Train
(Image from their MySpace page)

So here I sat, in my favorite chair, recovering from airports, Louisiana, and Mississippi, and psyching up for Wise, Abingdon, Emory, Blacksburg, and Radford, when in walks Zac (he doesn't really believe in knocking). A witty conversation naturally ensues, I make fun of him, he returns the favor, we discuss sports uniforms, paintings, and our trivia team (all true, I'm afraid), and then he turns to roll out. Then, right before he walks out the door, he says wait, I want you to check out this band - they're awesome, they're from Knoxville, and they have this kick@$% song called "Appalachia." Well, you know me, I'm a sucker for that sorta' lead-in. So I type (clickity-clack) and pull up their MySpace page - which, coincidently, is right here . . . and, yeah, they pretty much rock. If you like rock and roll of a bluegrass - gospel infusion that really screams of its intellectual underpinnings and cultural complexity of the modern Appalachian music-scape, well, you'll probably be an instant convert to the madness that is The Hotshot Freight Train - that's right, that's their name - you're already predisposed to like'm, ain't you?

Now, I couldn't find a true homepage that was active, but I did find a couple of other links for you - specifically the Knoxville News Sentinel's page on 'm (which includes a downloadable mp3) and this description:

While the music is distinct and perhaps a personal best for the individuals in the lineup, which has been a constant for well over a year, it often draws comparisons to national acts such as And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead and Afghan Whigs, but much of this can be attributed to the throaty vocals of Tipton combined with the dark, but not-yet-overdone, feel of his musical backdrop.

Also, dig on this article by Steve Wildsmith (good name, by the way) in The Daily Times.

Oh, and their next show is in Knoxville this evening, at 8PM, if you're interested, at the Longbranch Saloon on the Strip (Cumberland Avenue), near campus. Should be a doozy.

Support local music. (I'm planning on ordering the CD, stat, myself. Dammit.)

The Art of Daniel L. Maw: "incidental theatre and implements of banality"

incidental theatre & Implements of Banality
(Image originally by Daniel L. Maw - Taken from the Knoxville Art Blog)

Tonight my friend Zac and I were wandering through the Old City of Knoxville, shooting the bull and making pseudo-intellectual observations and hanging posters. As we walked in the door of one of the Old City's fantastic establishments (support local businesses), Old City Java, we were pleasantly surprised to find some tremendous artwork hanging up throughout the business - it was a small show, but one that really deserves some attention. So, after buying a small piece for about $5 (that's right - sure, it was a "souvenier" print, but the reproduction quality is high and it supports a Knoxville artist, which is worth it in and of itself) I was like, yeah, this guy gets on the blog. His name? Daniel L. Maw.

(Image by Daniel L. Maw)

Okay, let me drop the knowledge, tell you what I do and don't know. First, after a couple of Google searches, I found out that he is originally from Iowa and is working on his MFA in printmaking here at the University of Tennessee. His work is incredibly - beautiful, provoking, and damn does it drink deeply of the artistic genius of early 20th Century comics artists . . . if you like Segar's work (think Popeye), Krazy Kat, and early Disney comics (Mickey Mouse when his eyes were still ovals with or without pie slices), well, you'll love his work. He has an eye for detail without letting it overwhelm his images, not to mention an impressive knack for visual story-telling. Well, enough of my absurdity. Let me throw you a couple of links and quotes, let you make some judgments of your own.

“I take advantage of the pictorial vernacular of our culture to create work that by its nature communicates clearly. The ideas or events communicated, however, are unexpected, quirky, and ultimately amusing. I consider an assortment of artists and images in this pursuit, including comic artists ranging from George Herriman to Chris Ware, modern cartoons such as those produced mid-20th Century, graphic imagery seen in advertisements, and games and toys. My pieces require an authentic interaction by the viewer, either to untangle the visual cues in order to complete the story or to follow the directions in order to construct the object and solve the game.”

(Image by Daniel L. Maw)

Statement by Maw on the UTK Printmaking MFA site

"In my pieces, I seek to take advantage of the pictorial vernacular of our culture in order to create work that by its nature communicates clearly. The ideas or events communicated, however, are unexpected, quirky, and ultimately amusing. I consider an assortment of artists and images in pursuit of this end, including comic artists ranging from George Herriman to Chris Ware, modern cartoons such as those produced mid-20th Century by United Productions of America, graphic imagery seen in advertisements, and games and toys—especially those that are printed on paper and intended to be cut out, folded, pasted, or otherwise manipulated in order to complete. Both my 2D and 3D pieces require an authentic interaction by the viewer, either to untangle the visual cues in order to complete the story or to follow the directions in order to construct the object and solve the game."

Statement by Maw on the University of Iowa's The Daily Palette

(Image, Art by Daniel L. Maw)

Also, you can see quite a bit of Maw's art on his MySpace page (check out the blog, trust me, there is stuff worth seeing there), not to mention his photobucket page. Oh, and if you're anywhere near East Tennessee, you need some coffee. Or tea. Or maybe a delicious soda. So hit Old City Java and catch the show, by some work. Bam. Oh, and Daniel, if you read this and you're planning to do any larger editions anytime soon, well, let me know your prices - you've got a permanent fan.

Lesser Demons of a Minor Artist

Los Santos de los Estados Unidos, 2007

Hey everyone, forgive my impertinence, but . . . I want to drop you some knowledge about an upcoming show of mine entitled “Lesser Demons of a Minor Artist" which is opening at Andi's Gallery & Tattoo. Specifically, it is a collection of my paintings and drawings (my work is an agglomeration of expressionism and pop art with heavy influence from the symbolist movements and classical East Asian design) which will be for sale at extremely reasonable prices. If you want to check out some of my work ahead of time, just click over to my homepage . . . most of these pieces plus several others will be up for sale at reasonable prices at the show.

Ghost in Fez with Pipe, 2007

There'll be live music provided by the fantastic Ron Dunbar of Wilkesboro, NC (you can hear a few of his pieces at his homepage and/or at MySpace).

UPDATE 2: I forgot to list the date and time of this little shindig. Because it is just, like, really important (John Kerns, thank-you for the wisdom). The date is February 23rd (that's this upcoming Saturday) and the time is 7PM to Midnight. Awesome

Oh, and if you miss the show opening, please feel free to visit Andi's Gallery later - the show will be up through the end of March at least.

See ya' there, kids.

UPDATE: Okay, I'm an idiot - I didn't tell you the location of the gallery. Doy. Consider:

Andi's Gallery & Tattoo
7043 Maynardsville Pike
Northside Square Plaza
Suite 13
Knoxville, TN

Gracias mon amigos . . . e.-

Knoxville: The Body Farm

One of the Borders of UT's Body Farm
(Image from Jefferson Bass)

So I'm scrolling through the magic of the internet this morning and, what to my wondering eyes should appear? This article on the University of Tennessee - Knoxville's "Body Farm" forensic field lab and school (by the way, Damn Interesting is a great blog - worth a real look-see). That got me to thinking, golly, I should blog on that, you know, my usual link-list and so forth. I did a search to start the process, though, and whoa. . . tons of responses, like, tens of thousands. Well, I went through the top couple hundred of options and found these doozies - hope you enjoy (oh, and hats off to everyone, the volunteers who donate their bodies to science and the scientists themselves, who make this research facility - and all the good products thereof - possible).

University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Center

The Homepage of the Writing Team of Jefferson & Bass
(Photo & Movie Tours of the Body Farm)

CNN, October 31, 2000: "Pastoral Putrefaction Down on the Body Farm"

On three acres surrounded by razor-wire and a wooden fences near the University of Tennessee Medical Center, about 40 bodies rot away at any given time. They're stuffed into car trunks, left lying in the sun or shade, buried in shallow graves, covered with brush or submerged in ponds.

NPR, May 22, 2004: "Visiting Tennessee's 'Body Farm'"

WLTX (CBS), April 26, 2006: "The Body Farm"

And thanks to Dr. Bass, CSI teams also have access to a ground penetrating radar system. It can see bodies buried below concrete.

We can look through the concrete and tell which stage of decay the body is in," Bass says. "That's interesting and sophisticated type of research. "

It was that kind of research that was used at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the Pennsylvania field where Flight 93 crashed on September 11th.

"When you think of 9-11, that was an archaeological nightmare," says Dr. Murray Marks, an anthropologist. "Remains were not on the surface. There was a tremendous amount of debris and they were decomposing."

The Sevier County News: "Grave Talk From the Body Farm Guys: SCN Interviews Dr. Bill Bass, Jon Jefferson"

Salon.com, April 17, 2003: "Dead man decomposing: An excerpt from Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach."

The cadaver in the sweat pants is the newest arrival. He will be our poster man for the first stage of human decay, the "fresh" stage. The hallmark of fresh-stage decay is a process called autolysis, or self-digestion. Human cells use enzymes to cleave molecules, breaking compounds down into things they can use. While a person is alive, their cells keep these enzymes in check, preventing them from breaking down the cell's own walls. After death, the enzymes operate unchecked and begin eating through the cell structure, allowing the liquid inside to leak out.

Dr. Helen (blog), January 31, 2007: "Podcast on Forensic Science"

Utne Reader, May/June, 1999: "The Body Farm"

Once a year, Bass holds a memorial service for the people who donated their bodies to the Farm. This year I'm invited to attend. A cardboard box containing the remains of a randomly selected skeleton is laid on a large conference table in an anthropology department classroom. A simple white linen cloth covers the box. The gathering is small, just a few students and professors. Also present are James McSween and his son. McSween donated his wife's body to the Farm, something they discussed before she died. He has come here to find connection and comfort with the decision he made.

After the service is over, Bass huddles with the McSweens in a corner. His tone is that of a pastor after a Sunday service--calm, reassuring. He gestures toward the door, and father and son make their way down narrow halls and stairways to the skeleton-storage room in the basement. I follow at a respectful distance. There, several long tables and desks compete for space with rows of floor-to-ceiling shelving. On the shelves are some 2,000 cardboard boxes just like the one from the memorial service.

The three men work their way around a table and stop before a wall of boxes. Bass searches the labels. "Here she is," he says, and pulls down one of the boxes. He carefully removes the lid, reaches inside, and lifts out the skull. A small number is written on its base. The number matches the label on the box. Bass' tone is gentle, instructive, as if he were a gardener noting the details of a flower.

The Age, January 17, 2004: "Dead people do tell tales"

As Bass says in his new book: "We are organisms. We're conceived, we're born, we live, we die and we decay. But as we decay, we feed the world of the living: the plants, the bugs, the bacteria." When you kneel next to a rib-cage that has settled into the soil, and you can clearly see that bones are not people, and when your guide is a man who has walked so often in the valley of death, it is easy to feel comforted by that idea.

The Times, October 24, 2004: "A life in the day: Bill Bass"

Sheriff Hutcheson gunned down on Hwy 33 Bridge

The fine looking gentleman in the picture is none other than, Sheriff Lewis Bratch (L.B.) Hutcheson. The photo was sent to me by his granddaughter Linda Compton.

Just in case you aren't aware of exactly who Sheriff Hutcheson is, let me fill you in.

L.B. Hutcheson was born on June 14, 1884. At the age of 19 he married 15-year old, Della Lyons. They settled into their home just spitting distance from Norris Dam, in Maynardville, TN. At the age of 46, L.B. was elected sheriff of Union Co, where he served honorably, and was much loved among his peers and by the community.

Sheriff Hutcheson spent the first 4-years of his law enforcement career, keeping the citizens of Union Co. safe. It wasn't until his 5th year as Sheriff, that he would face the most difficult and deadly case of his career.

During the Spring of 1935, big trouble was brewing just a couple of counties over. Sitting locked up in the Cocke County jail were 3 no good for nothing's; Gus McCoig, John Campbell, and Clarence Bunch. The jail couldn't hold these three menaces to society, and they soon escaped. Campbell soon parted ways with McCoig and Bunch.

Hell bent on destruction, the motley duo of McCoig and Bunch, set their sights on cutting a pathway of crime through East, TN. Robbing stores, looting homes, stealing cars, and shooting at anyone or anything in their path. They would add other degenerates to their crime team, which would later be known as "The Bunch Gang."

Clarence Bunch ended up being gunned down in a battle with Knox County law enforcement officers on the front porch of notorious Claiborne Co. bootlegger, C.T. Epperson. McCoig was apprehended and sentenced to 15 years in the State Pen. Once again, prison bars couldn't hold McCoig, and he escaped with fellow inmates, George Moss, and Pete Dean. Moss was quickly arrested outside of Tazewell, TN, after he was spotted on the side of the road. Dean and McCoig picked up another partner in crime, Frank Hopson. On December 6, 1935, the three of them made their way to the Citizen's Bank in Tazewell, TN, where they held up the bank and got away with $2000.00 in cash. They made their getaway down Highway 33 toward Knoxville.

This is where Sheriff L.B. Hutcheson comes in. A cashier, at the recently robbed bank, called up the Sheriff's office in Maynardville, to alert them of the robbery. Sheriff Hutcheson and Deputy Austin Matthews, quickly jumped into the Sheriff's cruiser and roared off up Hwy 33 toward the oncoming getaway car. "About seven miles from Maynardville, and a short distance beyond the bridge over the Clinch River, the officers parked beside the highway. A car with three male passengers passed them at top speed. Matthews swung the car around and began a chase. The speeding sedan stopped at the south end of the bridge and turned sideways, blocking the highway. Dean remained in the car while McCoig and Hopson got out and stood on the roadway beside the car. McCoig was holding a forty-five caliber automatic concealed partly by his trousers. Matthews stopped his car a short distance away and he and the sheriff got out. In a soft tone Hutcheson began to speak to the boys but never finished the sentence. McCoig raised his weapon and opened fire. The first shot went wild, hitting the windshield, but the second struck Sheriff Hutcheson squarely between the eyes. McCoig then trained his weapon on Deputy Matthews, who was now out of ammunition, and ordered him to surrender. At that time a Greyhound bus pulled in behind Hutcheson's car and stopped. McCoig went to the bus with his forty-five flashing and told the driver and passengers that he had just killed the Union County sheriff. After boasting, he left the bus and paused a few moments to look at the body of the fallen sheriff before returning to the getaway car and heading toward Maynardville." -Source: Union Co. Historical Society

The gang managed to escape and a massive manhunt ensued. Frank Hopson was found and arrested within 24 hours. It wasn't until February of 1936 that police were able to apprehend the other two men. Pete Dean was picked up in Gainesboro, TN after robbing a bank in Whitley, TN. By that time Gus McCoig had settled in at a tourist camp in Crossville, TN, where he was arrested without incident...while singing and strumming a guitar.

After a 6-day trial, the 3 gang members were found guilty of the murder of Sheriff Hutcheson, and were sentenced to die by electrocution. After an appeal to the Supreme Court, the sentences of Dean and Hopson were reduced to life in prison. Gus McCoig's death sentence remained, and according to the state of Tennessee dept. of corrections records, he was put to death on April 3rd, 1937.

L.B. Hutcheson died on December 6, 1935. He was only 51-years old.

L.B. Hutcheson's wife, Della, took over the job of Sheriff of Union Co., and became the 3rd woman to be sheriff in the state of Tennessee. She passed away on June 3, 1960, at the age of 71.

Cross posted on Knoxville Trivia Blog.

More interesting links of related information:

Photo of L.B. Hutcheson and wife Della Hutcheson's grave in Loyston Cemetery.

Union County Historical Society - Probably the best write up, however, there are some wrong dates listed and a few misspelled names.

Metro Pulse article about Clarence Bunch

Joe Paynes Geneology page info about the Bunch Gang

A thread on Roots Web about the death of Sheriff Hutcheson

The Handmade Holiday Trunk Show (Part 2)

The Show
(This and all images photographed by
Justin Smith; actual art by a plethora of artists)

Okay Ladies and Gents - for those of you who haven't been to the Handmade Holiday Trunk Show (I know I have already dropped you that knowledge, but golly, I've got some good stuff for you, so let's get in the trust tree), you missed a great formal Opening for it tonight - - - the opening was a genuine delight. Great local beer; jazz, bluegrass, and punk music (not live, I can't lie, but you know, the kind of mix that gets a man to dancin'); a 5th story view of the Knoxville Christmas Parade; and, of course, tons of local and regional artists and craftsmen. That said, the party will continue - in fact, not only will it continue in the sense of the art being up for several more days, but furthermore on the Saturday the 15th there will be a Closing, essentially another chance for good-times, good beer, and general awesome. Oh, and the low-down?

Show Dates (Thursday - Sunday):
As of now: Dec. 8th – 9th, Dec. 13th – 16th

Hours:
Thursday & Friday: 4 - 8
Saturday: 12 - 6
Sunday: 1 – 5

Location:
424 Gay Street on the the Fifth Floor of the Woodruff Building
(home of the Downtown Grill & Brewery, home of delicious foods and brews)

I thought I'd share some details with you about it since, um, now I have a lot more. Consider:






















We didn't get quite everybody (apologies) but I hope this sample will do to convince you of the big dance. And dare I forget - - - -

Delicious Beverages a la Downtown Grill & Brewery's
Woodruff Brewing Company

Alright, all said, this show is great, the folks running it are great, and the beer is, um, delicious. I insist you visit it immediately. Danggit. Oh, also, some links from the resident artists - you know, so you can get a sense of the talent here (and of course so you can patronize them later) - dig on these links. Trust me - they are worth the mouse click. Ahem:

Amy Campbell {Illustration & Design}
Knoxville, Tennessee

Dot Iris Headware
Knoxville, Tennessee

Pseudopots Ceramics Studio
Knoxville, Tennessee

Michele Richards, Artist
Knoxville, Tennessee

Eric Drummond Smith (ahem)
Knoxville, Tennessee

Judy Stuecker, Fiber Artist
Asheville, North Carolina

Yee-Haw Industries: Letterpress & Design Company
Knoxville, Tennessee

That's the long and short of it - - - I hope it gives you a case of the happies, and I hope to see you on the 15th, if not before.

News

I just thought I'd post a couple of the more interesting stories I've found from the region - just dropping it like its hot. Bam.

Associated Press/Breitbart.com: "Bah-humbug! Tennessee Christmas tree farm finds tops chopped off large firs"

The Athens News: "What Can Athens Learn From Cleveland About Self-Promotion?"

Bluefield Daily Telegraph: "City Board Considers Vacant Building Ordinance"

The Charleston Gazette: "Manchin joins Massey, industry in mine ruling appeal"

Forbes: "Mountaintop Removal Permit Challenged"

HuntingtonNews.net: Good News: "Fenton Glass Lives On...For Now at Least"

The Parthenon: "Faculty Research on Appalachia Goes Beyond MU Campus"

The Tennesseean: "UT-Knoxville Receives Green Award"

WKYT-WYMT: "Beshear, Manchin Offer Proposal In Nurses' Strike"

The Handmade Holiday Trunk Show

The Woodruff Building in 2,000,000 BCE
(Image from the Downtown Grill & Brewery)

ATTENTION ALL KNOXVILLOI!

ooooo. . . . dramatic, eh? Hecks yes it is. Why? Well . . . it is art show time (support local art, dammit!), and you better get in there for the big dance. Here are the vitals, as passed on to me by show organizer Jill Colquitt. Ahem:

The Handmade Holiday trunk show opens this Thursday, November 29th at 4:00, make sure you stop in to check out all the great art and crafts, there are items for everyone on your list!
The reception will be on Saturday, December 1st, and the show will be open until 8:00pm, there'll be some music & great snacks for your holiday shopping.

The event features goods by Yee-Haw Industries, Dot-iris, Bird Dog Press, Duchess, & many other local & regional artists. Items include stationery, apparel, jewelry, accessories, pottery, tire planters, framed art, posters and one-of-a-kind prints.

Yeah. You're loving it, you're interested. You're giddy. But you need details - times, dates, places. Luckily I cut and paste them right below. Ahem (deuce):

Show Dates (Thursday - Sunday):
Nov. 29th – Dec. 2nd, Dec. 6th – 9th, Dec. 13th – 16th

Hours:
Thursday & Friday: 4 - 8
Saturday: 12 - 6
Sunday: 1 – 5

Location:
424 Gay Street on the the Fifth Floor of the Woodruff Building
(home of the Downtown Grill & Brewery, home of delicious foods and brews)

That's pretty much the ticket. I was up there on Tuesday and the space is incredible, not to mention the selection of art work (prints, paintings, pastels, clothing, pottery, the list is seemingly endless) of every conceivable style (that's right - modern to, um, less modern). And, if you're interested, I have some paintings for sale up there too (you can see a few of them here - - - my site is still being rebuilt, but I figured, hey, why not give ya'll a look-see; also, I don't have a good slide-taking camera, so apologies for the odd shots). Regardless, go in, take a look around, and if you have a little extra money, buy a piece or two. On the way up (and down) grab a local beer from the DG&B and stop in.

UPDATE:

Due to the SEC scheduling conflict, the reception has been moved to 1st Friday, Dec. 7th, for those of you that love football AND great handmade gifts. We will still have the wonderful Jessica Meyers tattoo event from 5-7 for those that will be shopping Saturday night!

Saturday, Dec. 1st: 12-8 Jessica Meyers skin transferable lithography/temporary tattoo event

Friday, Dec. 7th: 4-8 Reception featuring spirits from Downtown Grill & Brewery

And if you can't be there, not a problem! There'll be a similar event at the closing the show on Saturday, December 15th (same Bat-Time, same Bat-Place).

Back From the Dead (With Charon's Recommended Appalachian Assorted Links and Stories)

Bam. I am back. You may have noticed I have been AWOL for an age. Reason? Well, (1) I moved most of my stuff to Christiansburg, VA from Knoxville, TN, then moved it back (long story), (2) I finished editing and defending my dissertation, now rendering me Doc Smith, (3) I put together a fund-raiser to help fight cancer (concert/art show), and (4)have traveled up and down the length of the Southern Appalachians repeatedly (e.g. Radford, Virginia; Greenville, West Virginia; Bastian, Virginia; Kingsport, Tennessee; Salem, Virginia; and so on) for everything from weddings to job interviews. But as I (re)settle into my life here in Knoxville, opportunities to blog are more readily available. Which is awesome.

That said, I haven't gotten together anything too mind-blowing yet. Sure, I'm working on a football preview, and yeah, I have been reading up on native American political-economies and societies so I can write up some jibba-jabba on the great Shawnee culture, and I'm putting together a link on Islam in Appalachia, but let's be honest, those require sustained attention that I'm still not capable of. And stuff. So, in the interim I'm going to return to my tried, true, and relatively interesting method of putting together some contribution to this hodgepodge of hillbilly heuristics - a long list of links. Enjoy and stuff.

Paper that looks like one of my students
turned it in from the San Jose Mercury News

China, West Virginia, and Lawyers

Alligator (you can tell from the snout)
from Southwest Virginia Community College

The Community College I Can't Get a Cell Signal At

Sweet, delicious blueberries (not Gummi Berries)
from Virginia Tech's Virginia Cooperative Extension

Undermining Capitalism, Undermining Small Farmers,
Annoying Developmental Theorists (Cough.)

The Honaker mountains by Volker. B. Radek, a German bicycle enthusiast.

The Ghost That Smokes Cigarettes in an Educational Setting

Image from Ed's Old Blue Bus

Empathy For Humans Who Brave the Dark to Give Us Light

Repetition of negative word from swissmiss

The Swiss/New Yorker and the Knoxville Awesome


Birds on drawing of quilt from the Center for the Quilt

A Poem About Something Wooly and Un-Wooly Simultaneously

Devil Anse from Sid Webb

The Devil and the Breaks

Liquor and tomatos from the Purloined Letter.

Vittles in Ashevegas

LBJ in the E-KY from Time's Election 2004 "Campaigns in Time."

Hillbillies, Democracy, and Propaganda.

Mondale Escapes!

I was raised on lots of foods that are really, really bad for you but taste really, really good. We grew our own vegetables in the garden and we kept chickens, rabbits, goats, pigs, and anything else that we could get our hands on. Now all of that stuff isn’t necessarily “bad” for you. However, the way it is prepared can be. You see, in our minds, the only way that foods taste good is if you fry them. We fried practically everything. Fried chicken, rabbit, taters, tomatoes, okra (which we pronounce Oak-ree) sausage, bacon, ham, pork chops, and the list goes on and on and…well, you understand. In order to fry our foods, we made our own homemade lard (see the attached picture of my dad making lard), or we bought Crisco or Cloverleaf brand lard at the store. That’s one reason that, as an adult, I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and am overweight, but… this post isn’t about my health problems, it’s about Mondale.

My very favorite food in life is, without a doubt, sausage. I love it, love it, love it. There is nothing better than waking up to the smell of fresh sausage frying in the pan. Add that, along with the aroma of JFG coffee and buttermilk biscuits, and you have stolen my enlarged, grease-filled heart. We used to make our own sausage. We would raise pigs (or Hogs if you prefer) and around Christmas time, when they were all fat and sassy and the temperature was nice and cold, Dad would get out the old .22 and assassinate the pig. Then, we would commence to butchering. I would go into details of hog butchering. However, this post isn’t about that, it’s about Mondale.

My dad always had a knack for finding just the perfect name for any animal that we had. For example, we once had 3 beagles in which he promptly named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in honor of the 3 children of Israel who survived being thrown into the fiery furnace because they would not bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar or worship the golden idols. A few other names Dad bestowed upon our animals were Bob, Limb, Stranger, Sooner, and General Lee, but… this post isn’t about all of those guys either, it’s about Mondale. Yeah…I’m getting to it. Just hang on.

One year, Dad bought a new pig. It was a distinguished looking animal; it wasn’t the cute, pinkish-looking pig like Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web. No, this pig was black. Now, don’t ask me why but dad took one look at that pig and decided to name it Mondale after the former US Vice President, Walter Mondale. Whether Dad meant it as a compliment or an insult, I don’t know, but that is what he named it. That pig seemed to like the name. Any time that I was around him and called out “Mondale”, he seemed to perk up and listen.

Instead of keeping Mondale in the usual pigpen up on the hill on my papaw’s land, we decided to keep it out back in a pen that we had constructed beside the chicken house. If you know anything about pigs, then you know that they like to root. A pig will root itself right out of a pen in a hurry unless you take preventive measures against it. The very first thing to do is to “ring” its nose. No, this isn’t for high-fashion pig status; it’s to keep them from using their noses for rooting. For some reason, we had not gotten around to ringing old Mondale’s nose yet.

I remember this day just like it was yesterday. It was a Saturday morning, I was sitting on the couch watching cartoons, when I heard dad in the kitchen talking to mom. “The daggum pig is gone!” “Gone? How could that be?” “Ah, I guess he rooted his way under the fence.” “I wonder where he’s went?” “There ain’t no telling. He probably went up into the woods.” “Well, I guess we better go look for him.” I walked into the kitchen, “Mondale has escaped?” “Yep, let’s go see if we can find him.” So, the whole family set out to find Mondale.

We were all over the backyard and in the woods behind our house searching and calling out “Mondale, here boy, Mondale!” Not a grunt or a squeal was ever heard. We asked the neighbors if they had seen Mondale. Not a hide nor hair was seen by anyone. It’s as if Mondale had vanished into thin air. We never did find that pig and we had to go without homemade sausage that year. Perhaps it was old Mondale’s way of trying to help us eat healthier, who knows.

So, if you are ever out in rural Knox County, TN and you happen upon a distinguished looking, black pig, it could very well be old Mondale. Tell him that Tug says hi and that I am still upset from having to do without homemade sausage back in ’78!

Postcards from the Mountains

Frankfort, Kentucky
(ePodunk)

King College
Bristol, Tennessee
(Penny Postcards from Bristol and
Kingsport, Tennessee - USGenWeb Archives)

Johnson City, Tennessee
(Johnson's Depot)

Chattanooga, Tennessee
(University of Tennessee, Chattanooga; Lupton Library -
"Early 20th Century Chattanooga Postcards)

University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
(Penny Postcards from Charlottesville, Virginia - USGenWeb Archives)

Franklin, North Carolina
(Postcards of Western North Carolina)

Wheeling, West Virginia
(Wheeling National Heritage Area)

Blowing Rock
Avery County, North Carolina
(Boone Historic Archives)

Grandfather Mountain
Avery County, North Carolina
(Penny Postcards from North Carolina - USGenWeb Archives)

Hollins University
Roanoke, Virginia
(Penny Postcards from Virginia - USGenWeb Archives)

The University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
(ePodunk)

Johnson City, Tennessee
(Vintage East Tennessee Postcards)

Chattanooga, Tennessee
(CardCow.com)

Knoxville, Tennessee
(Penny Postcards from Tennessee - USGenWeb Archives)

Ashland, Kentucky
(CardCow.com)

West Virginia University
Morgantown, West Virginia
(wvpics.com)

Bluefield, West Virginia

(CardCow.com)

Charleston, West Virginia
(Penny Postcards from West Virginia; USGenWeb Archives)

Davis & Elkins College
Elkins, West Virginia
(ePodunk)

Note: Many, though not all, of the websites on this page have original postcards for sale - this is their operator's livelihood. I recommend that, if you enjoy the cards on display here it is worth considering a purchase. Thanks for your services, folks.