Smoke and Silence:
The Lives of Ol’ Mort
Smoke and Silence: The Lives of Ol’ Mort is a folk epic memoir built from memory, myth, and the stories passed down across generations in eastern Kentucky. Told in the voice of Mort’s great-great-grandson and rooted in tales shared by Mort’s grandson, this is the story of a man who lived hard and loved quietly—who survived a world war, outran federal agents, raised his family from the land, and became something larger than life.
God’s Oddling:
The title of this book, God’s Oddling, comes from something my father used to call me. For years he called me “oddling” because I had gone away to college and become a writer, and because I didn’t smoke the tobacco we grew or drink the mountain liquor brewed nearby. I was recovering from my heart attack when my father died. During those last days he often visited me at my house, and he still called me “oddling.” … —Jesse Stuart, Greenup, 1960
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Allan Eckert’s Winning of America Series
This Jesse Stuart Foundation best-selling series details accounts of frontiersmen and Native Americans and many dramatic events of the time period. Many years of research went into this popular series that also tells the story of wilderness America itself, its penetration and settlement.
Shop any of the 6 books in the series below, or BUY THE WHOLE SET!
Jesse Stuart Junior Books
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Latest JSF News
Mr. Gallion’s School
The recent death of Jesse Stuart Foundation friend and board member Ron Cartee prompts me to write about Ron’s relationship with Jesse Stuart and the JSF. Jesse was almost always willing to help young people from Greenup County gain admission to college or find a job, and Ron Cartee was one of his favorites. Ron’s father, Russell Cartee, worked for Jesse for twelve years, and Ron worked on Mr. [...]
An article dedicated to Lew and Barbara Nicholls
In keeping with my plan to recognize other JSF writers, I dedicate this article to my good friends, Lew and Barbara Nicholls. Lew, a retired Judge, is a renaissance man with a broad range of interests and accomplishments. Barbara is a retired educator and a former member of the JSF board of directors. They are both devoted to improving the quality of life for the citizens of northeastern Kentucky. [...]
Thoughts of Jesse, by Billy C. Clark
I have served this community faithfully and professionally for forty years. Among my many donations to literacy and learning are more than 500 articles I have written for the Daily Independent. In 2025, I intend to include material from several of my writerly friends among my every-other-week essays. Nearly twenty years ago, my late friend, Billy C. Clark, noted Appalachian author and educator and a native of Catlettsburg, wrote [...]
Special Gifts for Women
Every day is a good day to give a gift to a woman you love. The Jesse Stuart Foundation Bookstore contains thousands of potential gifts, and I suggest several that are especially meaningful.“Women” a powerful photography collection from the celebrated National Geographic archive, explores the history, challenges, and triumphs of women across 130 years and more than 50 countries. From those first documented by National Geographic photographers in remote villages [...]
