In our first volume we're focusing on stories of Heroic Women to Remember. Chosen from the BRC archives that now go back almost 32 years, these stories give salute to just a few of the contributions made by women to our mountain region over the centuries, including:
• Mary Draper Ingles: "It was late November, 1755; a skiff of snow dusted the ground of Adam Harmon's cornfield near Eggleston's Springs, Virginia. Harmon and his two sons were gathering the last of their corn when they heard a faint ‘hallo.’” So begins Joan Vannorsdall’s riveting telling of Mary Draper Ingles' 800-mile walk home from west of Cincinnati over a six-week period, a walk marked by near starvation as well as more immediate threats to her life. But return Mary Draper Ingles did, arriving back home naked, skeletal and white-haired despite her age of just 23 years. (Originally published in our March / April 1998 issue.)
• Nancy Ward: “The Beloved Woman” is Sharyn McCrumb’s loving portrait of Nancy Ward (Nanye-hi), born in 1738 in the Cherokee capital of Chota (now in Monroe County, Tennessee), and her bravery both as a 17-year-old in battle and as a peacemaker who prevented the death of a white woman by exchanging her clemency for a pledge to teach butter-making and weaving to the women of the tribe. And those are only the beginnings of the heroics that marked a life that has been commemorated with a plaque recognizing her as “a friend of the American pioneer.” (Originally published in our Sept. / Oct. 2010 issue.)
• Anna Jarvis: Ever wonder where Mother’s Day came from? Well, West Virginia is the short answer. And the deeper context is Anna Jarvis, who as a 12-year-old learned a Sunday school prayer that stayed with her forever: “I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother’s day commemorating the mother for the matchless service she renders to humanity in every field of life.” The Sunday school teacher was Anna Jarvis’ own mother, and Anna committed her life to that wish. (Originally published in our May / June 1991 issue.)
• The Petticoat Mafia: A ladies’ garden club wanting to make things better for its home town is not so unusual in these southern mountains. But when an eight-person club decides to cast aside the likes of yard sales to finance their hopes, and instead takes over an empty town building as their own that starts pulling in $3,000 a month from the resulting thrift shop, how far can it be to a complete takeover of town council? Amy D. Clark’s story has all the details about Benham, Kentucky’s “Petticoat Mafia.” (Originally published in our Sept. / Oct. 2000 issue.)
• Belle Boyd: “She was a hundred years before her time.” That’s one way to characterize Martinsburg, West Virginia’s Civil War heroine Belle Boyd, who at 17 shot a Yankee soldier who threatened her mother, and who went on to more accomplishments, including being a successful actress in Europe. (Originally published in our May / June 2000 issue.)
Please note, we’ve digitized these pieces just as they appeared in their original print form. Please remember that as a result, all quotes and references to “present day” things such as artifacts and other items are contemporaneous to the time of publication rather than the current time.
And we're just getting started! This volume is just the first in our ongoing HEART OF THE MOUNTAINS series. Topics in the coming editions will include the Strange But True, the Best of Blue Ridge Parkway Dining, Famous and Infamous Crime Tragedies and Mountains’ Favorite TV and Showbiz Stars. Look for these collections and more in the coming months, right here, on BRC+.