The Bunch GangThe Bunch Gang
In May, 1934, a man wanted for the robbery of a bank in Ewing, Virginia, made a daring escape from the Cocke County, Tennessee, jail. Thus started a summer of
Category: Personalities
The GovernorThe Governor
Today we tell the story of the first Republican elected governor of Virginia since the Civil War, who also happens to be the father-in-law of one of the state’s current
Pocahontas HalePocahontas Hale
In the 1860s a Cherokee witch doctor arrived in Bristol, Virginia, to assist in the local Confederate hospital with her salves and potions. After the war she invested her meager
Abijah AlleyAbijah Alley
Back in the 1800s a preacher named Abijah Alley from Scott County, Virginia, made a name for himself when he began traveling around the world. He also was a bit
Martin Van Buren Bates, The Kentucky River GiantMartin Van Buren Bates, The Kentucky River Giant
From Kona, in Letcher County, Kentucky, came one of the tallest men in the world, a true giant. Martin Van Buren Bates traveled the world as a circus performer, which
PicturemanPictureman
William Richardson Mullins made his living as a photographer in Eastern Kentucky and Southwest Virginia. Starting in the Great Depression, he traveled the mountains taking pictures until, eventually, he had
Virgil Q. WacksVirgil Q. Wacks
Appalachia is filled with unique and colorful characters. Today we tell the story of one of them: journalist, baseball entrepreneur, self-promoter and chronicler of life in southern Appalachia through the
Mother Jones, Part TwoMother Jones, Part Two
Today we continue the story of labor activist Mother Jones, beloved by generations of Appalachian coal miners. You can subscribe to the Stories podcast at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, RadioPublic, TuneIn,
Mother Jones, Part OneMother Jones, Part One
A woman born in Ireland who immigrated to, first, Canada, then the United States, became a schoolteacher and dressmaker. The tragic loss of her husband and children led eventually to
Wiley OakleyWiley Oakley
A boy’s search for the spirit of his late mother in the Smokey Mountains led to a career as a Great Smoky Mountains National Park guide and a life as