McFarland Publishers released my book, Southern Appalachian Storytellers: Interviews with Sixteen Keepers of the Oral Tradition in 2011. Collecting oral histories from those folks took me all over the mountains of the southern highlands, including Boone, North Carolina. That's where the Legend Lady lives. She and her husband oriented their home to ensure a prime view of Grandfather Mountain. The ancient mountain's profile is stunning in every season and a wonder to behold. The first time I consciously saw it, I had to find the likeness; now I see it and know it for what it is--part of my personal landscape--a place marker.
Charlotte, born to an Appalachian family in north Georgia, learned to find her way home using the peaks, ridges and valleys as her guide. Taught the skill by her grandfather, she stores the mountain-scape in an ancestral memory bank that goes clear back to the famous Native American, Nancy Ward.
On my last visit to Charlotte's home, we sat in her cozy den surrounded by objects collected throughout a life-time dedicated to all things Appalachian. Each piece held a precious bit of story within. The Legend Lady spun stories from them all afternoon in a rich, low voice--a whisper touched by the ancestral memories of general stores, pot-bellied stoves, corn pipes, long-houses and music made from mysterious flutes.
This remarkable storyteller, the repository of several thousand stories collected throughout her lifetime, came to my attention through Dot Jackson, storyteller, and former investigative reporter from Pickens, South Carolina. Friends for decades, Ross, Jackson and their friend Betty Smith, a revered ballad singer and teacher now living in Black Mountain, North Carolina, enjoy a friendship filled with the memories only long-term acquaintance can bring.
You can find Southern Appalachian Storytellers: Interviews with Sixteen Keepers of the Oral Tradition at www.mcfarlandpublishers.com, or Amazon.com.
About Me
- saundra
- Born in Tallahassee, the capital of Florida, I am a genuine Florida Cracker--a descendent of sturdy women and men who farmed their way south from North Carolina in the early 1800's. I am a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Social Science, and earned an MA in Education/Storytelling from East Tennessee State University. My work is deeply influenced by a love and reverence for the natural world and environmental issues and my love of story. Performance Photos by Valerie Menard, Silentlightimages.com.
