Fantastic article! I had great respect for country people before we moved here, but that respect increases with learning more about them.
Glad you enjoyed it! It’s one of the best articles I’ve read on any subject ... the depth, bringing history forward, & of course, one of my favorite subjects ... food. I have been in love with the concept of farm to table for a couple of years now & I do try to support our local farmers as well.
Both maternal & paternal grandparents lived on farms in the country. It’s interesting because both grannies canned, but in different ways. They were both good cooks, but with very different cooking styles. Both granddads butchered their own animals, but had different sausage recipes and ways of preserving the meat. Both sets had gardens ... if the garden didn’t “make”, then food was going to be scarce and more animals had to be eaten. Neither set was in Appalachia, although my paternal grandparents were in the Shenandoah Valley so there was some of what I would call “mountain culture” in the area.
Anyway, I loved that article .... I’m going to have to re-read it a couple of times to get everything out of it.