Joe Brown was a hell-raiser, thug and violent alcoholic who terrorized the town of Whitmer, West Virginia at the turn of the 20th century.

He did, that is, until he went a step too far.

That, folks, is our story today.

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On January 3, 1921, a massive fire broke out at the West Virginia state capitol in Charleston. Not a big deal, you might be thinking, fires happen all the time.

This one, though, had a twist or three, as you'll find out.

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On December 30, 1881, 30 convicts, along with their guards, were shackled and deposited on the banks of the Tuckaseegee River near Dillboro, North Carolina, with a job to do: cross the river in a boat and then start digging out the Cowee Tunnel for the Western North Carolina Railroad.

19 of the 30 didn't make it across alive.

Today we tell that tragic story.

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In the early 1900's a young mother in Polk County, North Carolina, had a decision to make. She had separated from her abusive husband and had several young children to feed, house and clothe, with very few job prospects. So she started her own business...moonshining. Bettie Simms was good at that chosen profession but, as so often happens, she had a run-in with the law.

Today we tell the story of the woman the press dubbed "The Queen of the Moonshiners," another one of the Stories of Appalachia!

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With Christmas fast approaching, Rod and Steve talk about the history and the folklore behind Christmas in Appalachia...

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Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, y'all!

David Crockett Beaty was a farmer in Fentress County, Tennessee...until the start of the Civil War.

He became a guerrilla fighter in that war, on the side of the Union, with his most well-known rebel counterpart being Champ Ferguson, with whom he had a running war all its own.

Today we tell the story of Tinker Dave Beaty, Union guerrilla/outlaw.

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In 1902 coal miners struck the mines along the New River, seeking better wages and better working conditions. The strike continued until February 25, 1903, when a massive gun battle broke out between miners and coal company men, including detectives from the Baldwin-Felts agency and local law enforcement. The battle was fierce, with both sides exchanging gunfire for approximately five minutes.

Many of the miners, faced with overwhelming firepower, rushed out of the building and surrendered. However, some fled into the woods, where they were pursued and arrested.

This conflict was a precursor of the West Virginia Mine Wars, which would begin in earnest ten years later at Paint Creek and Cabin Creek.

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In 1843 a prominent man in Jamestown, Tennessee, distributed a broadsheet, under an assumed name, accusing the wife of a tavern owner of being, among other sordid things, a "witch of the most extraordinary power."

That, as you can imagine, led to legal action in the Fentress County courts.

Today we tell the story of the Fentress County witch, another one of the Stories of Appalachia!

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Granny women were the healers and caretakers of folks in Appalachia, dispensing folk remedies, serving as midwives, and even dousing for water. These women were essential in rural Appalachia, where doctors and hospitals were scarce.

Today we tell the story of one of these women, Orlean Hawk Puckett, from Carroll County, Virginia, known for being a midwife responsible for helping to bring over a thousand Appalachian babies into the world!

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At the turn of the 20th century a wealthy and politically connected man from Grainger County, Tennessee, lost a lawsuit filed by a widow and was ordered to pay her a sum of money. Failing to do that, the court ordered a sale of some lumber this man owed, which was bought by a blacksmith in the community of Thorn Hill.

Out of this came two murders, a prison sentence, a feud, and a deadly gun battle at the blacksmith's shop five years later.

That, dear listeners, is our story of Appalachia this week!

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Thanks for listening and for sharing our stories with your friends...