Image Source: Unsplash Amanda Winstead is a writer from the Portland, OR area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Growing up, she spent summers in Maryland with her grandparents, walking sections of the Appalachian Trail or visiting historical sites in the area. More recently, she hiked the trail in full for the first time and fell absolutely in love, especially with its rich history. She was especially taken by the trail’s natural history and the way it links together the American story, from the site of George Washington’s inoculation of troops against sma ..read more

Amanda Winstead is a writer from the Portland, OR area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Growing up, she spent summers in Maryland with her grandparents, walking sections of the Appalachian Trail or visiting historical sites in the area. More recently, she hiked the trail in full for the first time and fell absolutely in love, especially with its rich history. She was especially taken by the trail’s natural history and the way it links together the American story, from the site of George Washington’s inoculation of troops against smallpox to the last battl ..read more

Amanda Winstead is a writer from the Portland, OR area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Growing up, she spent summers in Maryland with her grandparents, walking sections of the Appalachian Trail or visiting historical sites in the area. More recently, she hiked the trail in full for the first time and fell absolutely in love, especially with its rich history. She was especially taken by the trail’s natural history and the way it links together the American story, from the site of George Washington’s inoculation of troops against smallpox to the last battl ..read more

Please welcome guest author Catherine S. Buck. Buck is the author of Granny Buck’s Dibs and Dabs: Appalachian Traditions and Magical Ways found on Amazon Books. A historian in degree as well as by nature, she is also a member of the American Folklore Society. Up until the 1960s, many areas in the Appalachian Mountains were still without electricity or phones. The hospitals and doctors who served the poorer or isolated areas of the mountains were almost nonexistent, and funeral homes were few and far between. The practice of homestead burial was still common in small mountai ..read more

Amanda Winstead is a writer from the Portland, OR area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Growing up, she spent summers in Maryland with her grandparents, walking sections of the Appalachian Trail or visiting historical sites in the area. More recently, she hiked the trail in full for the first time and fell absolutely in love, especially with its rich history. She was especially taken by the trail’s natural history and the way it links together the American story, from the site of George Washington’s inoculation of troops against smallpox to the last battl ..read more

Amanda Winstead is a writer from the Portland, OR area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Growing up, she spent summers in Maryland with her grandparents, walking sections of the Appalachian Trail or visiting historical sites in the area. More recently, she hiked the trail in full for the first time and fell absolutely in love, especially with its rich history. She was especially taken by the trail’s natural history and the way it links together the American story, from the site of George Washington’s inoculation of troops against smallpox to the last battl ..read more

Amanda Winstead is a writer from the Portland area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Growing up, she spent summers in Maryland with her grandparents, walking sections of the Appalachian Trail or visiting historical sites in the area. More recently, she hiked the trail in full for the first time and fell absolutely in love, especially with its rich history. She was especially taken by the trail’s natural history and the way it links together the American story, from the site of George Washington’s inoculation of troops against smallpox to the last battlegro ..read more

Please welcome guest author F. Keith Davis. Davis is a longtime newspaperman, author, and independent book publisher. His book titles include West Virginia Tough Boys; Images of America: Logan County, WV; After All These Years: The Authorized Biography of the Hoppers; and others. His newest revision is an ebook release of the state bestseller, The Secret Life and Brutal Death of Mamie Thurman, which is available on Apple Books, Barnes & Noble Nook, or Amazon Kindle. Over the years, he has penned articles and features for a number of national magazines, including Wild West Magazine; Golde ..read more

Please welcome guest author Amanda Winstead. Winstead is a writer from the Portland, OR area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Along with writing she enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and going to concerts. If you want to follow her writing journey, or even just say hi you can find her on Twitter. The Appalachian region is renowned for its beauty and its wilderness. Its forests and mountains are romanticized as an enclave of escape from the bustle of the modern world. And that’s why its breathtaking landscapes and quaint rural communities attrac ..read more

Please welcome guest author Amanda Winstead. Winstead is a writer from the Portland, OR area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Along with writing she enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and going to concerts. If you want to follow her writing journey, or even just say hi you can find her on Twitter. Appalachia is renowned for its rich culture and breathtaking landscapes. It has also played a key role in the development of the U.S. as an industrial nation. The boom of coal mining in the region following the Civil War helped serve the increasing demand f ..read more