Grandma's Stories, Cures, & Fixings from the Blue Ridge
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My earliest remembrance of Grandma Horton, as I called her, was that I thought she was old. Her hair was long and black with a sprinkle of occasional gray. During the day she wore it in a large knot on the back of her head. At night she would undo the knot of hair with the many bobby pins and let it fall down to her waist and comb it until every hair was untangled and completely straight. Her skin was not wrinkled; actually her face was as smooth as someone half her age. Her hands were somewhat arthritic with small knots on the joints of her fingers. The skin on her hands was thin and had many freckles from the many years of working in the hot southern sun. She always had a slight smile. The smile lines seemed to blend in with her tiny wrinkles around her mouth. Her eyes were black and twinkling. She always wore an apron and used it for many household tasks. She made most of her aprons from loosely woven print material of feed sacks. Grandma had a soft, gentle slightly raspy voice. I never heard her raise voice, yell or express anger. She could tell us grandchildren to do something and we would always obey her gentle voice.
Grandma was the best storyteller of all times. She had grown up in a time when there was no radio and television for one to waste time with, so folks would tell stories. If they didn’t have a story they would make up one. Many of these stories are from my own personal grandmother. Others are taken from my collections of oral histories of the
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About the Book
Grandma’s Stories, Cures, & Fixings From The Blue Ridge is a collection of original stories that the author’s Grandma told him when be was a small child. Many of the stories she told are “ghostly” because she knew she could hold attention with just common stories. Some of the stories were actually experienced by Grandma herself, and others have been passed down from her grandparents. A reader of any age will find them interesting and original.
"Grandma’s Cures and Fixings" is a collection of many mountain treatments that were used during Grandma’s time, the early 1900’s. Some of the cures and fixings are practical and some are almost dangerous, however a reader will get a laugh from reading about the home cures for common illnesses. There are recipes that will make a reader chuckle and some that are actually delicious. The book contains some original Appalachian art by the author and a collection of photographs of mountain scenes which were taken in the areas where the stories were collected.
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About the Author
Dean Brown has been a collector of oral histories of the
He is a watercolor artist, painting folk art of the mountains. He has used some of his interpretations as illustrations in the writings of original folk tales of the mountains, lie is also known as a writer of humorous poems and historical articles in magazines and newspapers. Brown states that all his stories teach virtues and morals and are suitable for children as well as adults.
Brown is a retired teacher of forty-one years; most of his time spent as a Librarian in maximum security prisons for youthful offenders and alternative schools through out the South. He attended Mount Airy Schools and graduated in 1957. He is a graduate of Appalachian State University of North Carolina. Re completed graduate work in Criminal Psychology at the