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A fictionalized account of the life of Jennie Sellards Wiley, who spent a year as an Indian captive in Kentucky and eventually escaped and returned to her husband in Virginia. SOFTBACK VERSION By Arville Wheeler -
Best known for his nonfiction work "Night Comes to the Cumberlands," Harry M. Caudill also wrote fiction, including “Dark Hills to Westward: The Saga of Jenny Wiley,” first published in 1969 and recently reprinted in a new softback edition by the Jesse Stuart Foundation. When Jenny was an old woman, a preacher had sat down with her and wrote out her captivity story. Although Jenny may have embellished it many times, it is the only first-hand account we have, and it’s the primary source for Caudill’s novel. Briefly, here is her story. Thomas and Jenny Wiley had pioneered land on Walker’s Creek in Bland County, Virginia. On October 1, 1789, while Thomas was away, a small band of Indians, seeking revenge for a recent defeat at the hands of white settlers, attacked the Wiley cabin and killed and scalped Jenny’s three older children and her brother. Jenny, seven months pregnant, was taken captive along with her baby son, Adam. SOFTBACK VERSION By Harry M. Caudill -
The Enduring Hills was the first of many novels Janice Holt Giles wrote in her lifetime. Based in part on her own experience with the Kentucky mountain country, this is the story of Hod Pierce, a young man who grows up on Piney Ridge, where generations of Pierces have made a living from stubborn soil. Hod loves his people and the land but longs for wider horizons, for more education, and for the freedom he imagines can be found in the outside world. It takes World War II to carry Hod away from the Ridge and out into the world, and it takes his city-bred wife to make Hod realize that Piney Ridge will always be home. SOFTBACK VERSION By Janice Holt Giles -
Miss Willie, first published in 1951, is part of Giles's Piney Ridge Trilogy. It tells the story of an earnest teacher who moves to the hills of Kentucky to teach in a one-room schoolhouse. Zealously, she tries to change the ways of the stubborn and proud Appalachian people, but to no avail. They listen to her ideas about sanitation and other foolishness because to argue would be rude. But in the end they quietly go about their accustomed ways. Ultimately, Miss Willie realizes that the hill customs have a beauty and dignity of their own and that some of her efforts to reform them were ill-conceived. Her warmth, generosity, and humor help her bridge the gap and find fulfillment in Piney Ridge. This is a story of reconciliation and the coming together of two different ways of life. Above all, it is a story of people and of the land to which they belong. SOFTBACK VERSION By Janice Holt Giles -
How to Build Your Dream Cabin in the Woods: The Ultimate Guide to Building and Maintaining a Backcountry Getaway This ultimate resource includes photos, blueprints, and diagrams, and covers the steps to constructing the cabin you've always wanted such as:- Selecting a site
- Gathering construction materials
- Deciding on a design that is right for you
- Managing your property
- Building add-ons, including shooting ranges, an outhouse, or an outside fire ring
- Installing cabin security
- And more!
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The Scotia Widows: Inside Their Lawsuit Against Big Daddy Coal On March 9, 1976, a violent explosion, fueled by high concentrations of methane gas and coal dust, ripped through the Scotia mine in the heart of Eastern Kentucky coal country. The blast killed fifteen miners who were working nearly three and a half miles underground; two days later, a second explosion took the lives of eleven rescue workers. For the miners’ surviving family members, the loss of their husbands, fathers, and sons was only the beginning of their nightmare. By Gerald M. Stern -
Look through the lens of this kaliedoscope of Kentucky women and prepare to be dazzled! The biographical essays of the 95 women featured in this book are as varied as the loose bits of colored glass in the kaleidoscope, and their stories are just as spellbinding. Thirty-one scholars and history aficionados who generously contributed essays to this book agree that women's contributions are part of this state's history and heritage. With its scrapbook of photographs and biographies, this book introduces only a symbolic few, an inspiring group who represent Kentucky Women. HARDBACK VERSION By Eugenia K. Potter -
"God knew that it would take brave and sturdy people to survive in these beautiful but rugged hills. So He sent us His very strongest men and women." So begins the heartwarming story of Verna Mae and her father, Isom B. ""Kitteneye"" Slone, an extradordinay personal family history set in the hills around Caney Creek in Knott County, Kentucky. SOFTBACK VERSION By Verna Mae Slone -
The Hunters of Kentucky: A Narrative History of America’s First Far West, 1750-1797 covers a wide range of frontier existence, from daily life and survival to wars, exploits, and even flora and fauna. The pioneers and their lives are profiled in biographical sketches, giving a rich sampling of the personalities involved in the United States' westward expansion. Author Ted Franklin Belue's colorful, vivid prose brings these long-forgotten frontiersmen to life. HARDBACK VERSION By Ted Franklin Belue -
SOFTBACK VERSION By Wilma Dykeman -
SOFTBACK VERSION By Wilma Dykeman -
Lydia Moore grew up in the Appalachian region before the Civil War and married Mark McQueen shortly after it began. Her husband went off to fight for the Union while her father and brother fought for the Confederates. While the men were gone, outliers raided Lydia's mother's home, assaulting her and stealing the livestock. SOFTBACK VERSION By Wilma Dykeman
