Old South

The day after the arrival of the Gypsies, two of the women, along with a two-year old girl, began to visit homes. The presence of the child lessened a...

Nobody was truly native to Alabama. Many had English or Irish roots. The ancestors of Americans Indians arrived earlier than others. A large portion o...

Folks in North Alabama had to deal with dangers related to summer weather, such as lightning, floods and hail.

Each community was left to its own devices during emergencies. Some they must endure. Others could be combated. North Alabama rock faults occasionally...

Fields produced far less well in the Old South than they do today. Farmers strived to do what they could to increase their productivity. Some of the m...

Creating a “new ground” converted unproductive, wooded land to use for crops. The first step in the months-long process was to kill the trees.

At the balloon and dart game, players got three dulled darts and won by popping a single under-inflated balloon. Occasionally, a dart would hit dead c...

When the warm months of summer returned to North Alabama, a traveling carnival set up on an empty lot near the edge of town. It was a small operation ...

The unusually deep snowfall provided an exemption from work except for seeing to the needs of the animals. After that, the children could play. “Let’s...