Start of the Adventure: May 22, 2012

          Today, we went to the town of Marshall, NC. Marshall is a quiet, quaint little town nestled next to the French Broad River. We started by checking out the Marshall Depot. Here, every Friday night there is local music and the public is invited to come and watch or even dance. Then we walked along the streets of downtown and basically window shopped. It was really nice, too! I’ve been in the area my whole life and didn’t even know some of the shops were there.

            After window shopping, we went and checked out the Madison County Courthouse. From what I’ve heard, it is a local historical icon. The Courthouse seemed to have a warm, antique feel to it. A sign told us that the road we were on used to be the main road that connected North Carolina and Tennessee a long time ago. We also saw the house where The Salt Raids started. During the Civil War, salt was worth more than money and people in the county fought over it; this incident lead to the Shelton Laurel Massacre, where thirteen men were killed. I have been in the area for quite a while and never knew that house had anything to do with the Civil War. Madison County is not only rich with culture, but history as well!

Close up of a barn quilt

            By chance, we found a brochure about things to do in Madison County and saw a beautiful barn quilt driving tour. There were four quilts in Marshall and four in Mars Hill. Since we were in downtown Marshall, we decided to see the four that were located around Marshall. To see the barn quilts check out our page on Facebook, www.facebook.com/appalachia2. We didn’t realize it at the time, but the tour made a loop back to Downtown Marshall. Along the way, there were many sights to take in; mountains, flowers (wild and domestic), cattle farms, goat farms, and beautiful mountain homes.

            Today was just the start! I wonder what else we will find on this great adventure?

Hymns through the Generations

          Having been in the Appalachian region my entire life, I wanted to take a moment and share with you one thing that I gained from the region. My grandmother and I were extremely close when I was a child. Every weekend, I could be found at my grandparents’ house. And from those weekends, I always remember one specific thing; singing. My grandmother would sing hymns. Whether she was cooking, doing laundry, working in the garden or playing with me. “I’m standing on the Rock of Ages, safe from all the storm that rages, rich, but not from Satan’s wages, I’m standing on the Solid Rock.” This is song that I remember the most. By the age of five, I knew the song by heart and could sing right along with my grandmother when she started to sing.
         I also learned many more hymns from church. I have my grandmother to thank for this too. She sang in the choir and took me with her every Sunday. I would sit beside her and watch how much she enjoyed singing in the choir. She would help me follow along by running her finger under the words. Looking back on my childhood, these memories are the sweetest I have.
          Soon after singing in the choir with my grandmother, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. But something amazing happened. Once the disease progressed so far, she couldn’t talk. But she could sing…for almost a year, all my grandmother did was sing the hymns she had taught me. It was magical. She couldn’t communicate but when she sang, she was so happy. You could see the joy on her face. In my mind, I like to think that, in her world, she was singing in the choir again, worshipping the Lord she loved.
          My grandmother passed away in 2008. At the funeral, you’ll never guess what song they sang…“I’m standing on the Rock of Ages, safe from all the storm that rages, rich, but not from Satan’s wages, I’m standing on the Solid Rock.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. It was such a bittersweet moment for me, since I had sung this song with her so many times. Now, on her birthday, our church still sings her song. And I still don’t know if I should laugh or cry.
          Passing religion on to the future generations has always been an important tradition in the Appalachian region. This story is just one of many. Ask around. No matter how old the individual is, they will have a story about what their grandparents taught them about the Good Lord.

Getting Started

We have been traveling in and around Madison County for almost a month now. But...I have failed to post anything about it. So I am starting today! Here's the plan- I'm going to have a separate post for every day of our adventure. The date of the original adventure will be posted as well. Maybe I can even manage to get a few pictures in there for everyone to see how beautiful this area really is. Let the adventure begin!