Appalachia

HIGH FIELD "You would remember, I believe, When I rented newground Up on Dead Mare Branch And raised a master crop of corn, And I'd take my three sons with me— Tadwhackers they were then, Too young to work, too old to shirkAnd we'd grub and sow and till; And one morning here you came Climbing up to my high field And stood squarely among us And told us your name But not why you were there, And you grabbed up a hoe And matched us row by row As if I needed a hand, and I did, And you not accepting pay. Well, I never understood that, Not to this day." —James Still APPALACHIA Appalachia is that somewhat mythical region with no recognized boundaries. If such an area exists in terms of geography, such a domain as has shaped the lives and endeavors of men and women from pioneer days to the present and given them an independence and an outlook and a vision such as is often attributed to them, I trust to be understood for imagining the heart of it to be in the hills of eastern Kentucky where I have lived and called my home and where I have exercised as much freedom and peace as the world allows. —James Still *-» f Sl, a 15 ...