In this week’s episode of Inside Appalachia, we explore stories about the power of memory and tradition. Listeners across Appalachia share some of their favorite traditions, and our reporters and hosts share some of our family traditions, too. We’ve got recipes for things like cranberry salad and sorghum gingerbread. Reporter Zack Harold tells us how his family began a unique tradition of hunting for Easter eggs on Christmas Eve. We travel to a farm in Bluefield, Virginia, where goats sing along to Christmas carols, played on an organ.  

Co-host Caitlin Tan shares her grandmother’s recipe for stollen, a special German sweet bread that she makes each Christmas. And co-host Mason Adams sits down with his mom to talk about baking cookies during the holidays. 

Singing Goats

There is a tradition in Appalachia of observing “Old Christmas” on January 6. Folklore suggests that animals speak in the middle of the night on Old Christmas.

But it turns out, you don’t have to wait till Jan. 6 to hear goats singing to Christmas carols. 

We heard about these music-loving goats through Connie Bailey-Kitts, who lives in Bluefield, Virginia. Her goats love to listen to a church organ she keeps on her property. The organ dates back to the 1920s. “If they hear the music playing, they'll come down from the field when the organ’s playing," she said. "And the organ’s really, really powerful. It’s got a really big sound, and they're drawn to it."

Bailey-Kitts said her goats will lift their ears up like they're trying to catch more of the sound of the organ. 

“I think they don't know quite what to make of it," she said. "It doesn't intimidate them either. It's just amazing.”

Gingerbread

Folkways Corps reporter Connie Bailey-Kitts brings us a story about her family’s gingerbread recipe, using homemade sorghum.

The recipe is passed down from her grandmother, Alice Bailey, who was widowed shortly before the stock market crashed in 1929. Sugar was expensive and scarce, but sorghum was easy to grow on their mountain land. You could boil down its juice to a thick sweet syrup. It technically wasn’t “molasses” (which comes from sugar) but it looked so much like it, it was called sorghum molasses.

Our Inside Appalachia theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Ritchie Collins, The Ritch Collins Three-O, Bortex, Blue Dot Sessions, Ross Hollow and their song “Appalachian Love Song”, written by Stuart and Annalee Johnson-Kwochka, and Josh Ritter and Corey Chisel as heard on Mountain Stage. 

Roxy Todd is our producer. Our executive producer is Andrea Billups. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Zander Aloi and Eric Douglas also helped produce this episode. You can find us on Twitter @InAppalachia. You can also send us an email to [email protected].