Black Mountain College

years? Is it something wrong with the name? After president McKinley passed away; the tallest mountain in North America named after him. Now president Obama is disgracing the McKinley Family and his home state of Ohio by changing the name after a hundred years. Mount McKinley is the tallest mountain peak in North America that reaches over twenty thousand, three hundred and ten feet tall. The mountain is located in the Alaskan range. In 1896 after President McKinley got assassinated at the…

Field Work Complete, Analysis Begins. Well over two years ago, preparations for a project to identify a heroic but largely forgotten engagement outside the community of Lexington, Massachusetts began. During the preparation and daily methodical work both in the archives and in the field a partnership would be forged which would place Minute Man National Historical Park on the frontline of research for the 21st century. Park service archaeologists would join in the effort of park management,…

“Rip Van Winkle”, written by Washington Irving, is about a man in colonial America named Rip Van Winkle, who falls asleep in the Catskill Mountains and wakes up twenty years later, having missed the American Revolution. The setting of “Rip Van Winkle” is in New York before and after the American Revolution. Irving uses historical allegory to create an American Romantic folktale that strengthens the national identity of the newly formed country. The main character and protagonist of the story is…

The year was 1997. Rip Van Winkle is lying in bed and dreading going to work. Rip was pay phone technician with Bellsouth. He was rather lazy so this job suited him perfectly. All he had to do was drive around and repair pay phones and collect the money. Rip had been married for fifteen years. During these fifteen years, he had been bossed around daily by his wife. Today wasn’t any different. His wife, Dame Van Winkle, stormed into the bedroom and demanded that he get up. Rip replied to her in…

In the video, “A Hidden America: Children of the Mountains”, news correspondent Diane Sawyer introduces the viewers to various families and individuals living in poverty stricken communities in the Central Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky. According to the program, the people living there are descendants of pioneers and legendary fighters in the American military. “They are brave, tough, wary of outsiders, steeped in family and faith” (20/20). This is an area of the country that is experiencing…

frequently makes a point to describe what it means to be a hillbilly. He says that hillbillies are white Americans of Scottish-Irish decent. He explains that “poverty is a family tradition” because for quite some time they have been people with no college degree and laborers extremely dedicated to their communities and traditions with little to no room for change. Even though they live in poverty and are isolated from others, they are very proud of their culture. In the memoir Vance goes…

Dian Fossey was a zoologist known for researching endangered gorillas. She researched the gorillas in the Rwandan Mountain Forest. She was murdered and nobody knew it was going to happen. Dian Fossey was only 53 years old when she was killed. She did not go to College to be a zoologist, she went to school to become a occupational therapist. Occupational Therapy is to help with mental, physical, and cognitive disorder. She had a great and unique talent. Though she was never assaulted, the…

Appalachia is a ticking time bomb! This is because the coal mining industry is on a constant downfall. The failing coal mine industry has brought about many new ideas to try and improve the economy. In the past the Appalachia was a very thriving economy it is like our modern-day Atlanta. Every and anyone need or used coal in some way shape or form. This kept all of the people in Appalachia having a job. But as the time went on the use for coal has dropped. People are reverting to alternate…

Mountain Men came to exist throughout the 1800’s, but were at their peak between 1830 to 1850 mainly because of the Fur Trade. There was never a large number of mountain men to exist. Who can blame them? Living this sort of lifestyle was never easy; even for those who have acquired the knowledge needed to survive. They faced many obstacles while traveling from place to place such as extreme temperatures, starvation, and attacks from Indians and Grizzly Bears. They played a large role in the fur…

Jack and Diane is a 1982 single off of the album American Fool by John Mellencamp, then going by the name John Cougar. The song is in the genre of Heartland rock, which was pioneered by Mellencamp, along with Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, and Bob Seger. The genre is characterized by songs that concern average blue collar American life and often carry a social message. Mellencamp grew up in Indiana, which is why many of his songs mention the Heartland (American Midwest). He is known for other…