In 1987, Jesse Stuart’s youngest sister, Glennis Stuart Liles, called me at home one Sunday afternoon and announced that she had an idea for a new money-making project for the Jesse Stuart Foundation. “I want to do a cookbook.  I’ve wanted to do one for years, and all the family will participate!” By 1989, the compilation of “The W-Hollow Cookbook” was complete, and the JSF published 2100 copies of [...]

As a Thanksgiving present to our readers, the Jesse Stuart Foundation offers the following short story by Jesse Stuart. “Hold your rifle like this,” Uncle Wash said, changing the position of my rifle.  “When I throw this marble into the air, follow it with your bead; at the right time, gently squeeze the trigger!” Uncle Wash threw the marble high into the air and I lined my sights with [...]

The Big Sandy Valley, a geographical corridor approximately 120 miles in length, stretches from Pikeville to Catlettsburg along the Kentucky-West Virginia border. It is almost 5,000 square miles of mountainous land that includes the counties (going from north to south) of Boyd, Lawrence, Johnson, Floyd, Martin, and Pike counties, along with the southeastern sections of Magoffin, Knott, and Letcher counties. The Big Sandy Valley – sometimes called Kentucky’s last [...]