Southern Seen: Meditations on Past and Present
While working at the University of Tennessee in the early 1980s, Larry T.McGehee was looking for a way to share the wealth of history, politics, art,and culture with the residents of the South's small towns. He hit upon theidea of a newspaper column that would run in the region's weekly papers. Through hisstories, McGehee encouraged people to look at the people, places, and things aroundthem with a fresh set of eyes.Southern Seen collects McGehee's numerous columns exploring the South's history,inhabitants, mannerisms, food, and foibles. The book is divided into eight categories: outdoors, place, education, people, conflict, food, play, and religion. His subjects range from the outdoors and the creatures that inhabit it to the Civil War and its battle sites to unique southern symbols and the South's particular culinary delicacies. The author celebrates the traditions and work of the harvest season and extols the beauty of migrating hummingbirds and the rare delight of a southern snowstorm. McGehee meditates on the drastic changes machines and inventions, such as air conditioning, have brought to the region, and he looks for lessons in the mighty floods that occur in the contemporary South.The columns, by turns funny and poignant, biting and sweet, celebrate the past andlook to the future. The wild turkey, once common in the backcountry brush, is now anexample of a vanishing forest population, and local farmers' markets strive to sustain the livelihood of embattled small family farmers. McGehee applies the legacy of the Hatfield-McCoy feuds to the regional and international strife of modern times and examines the sacrifice and contributions of the South's young men who served in the wars of the last century. He revels in the pride of each part of the region for its own unique barbecue and delights in the memories of the small-town drugstore, which offered everything from health advice to a cream soda.Through the stories of famous figures, local residents, and the folk traditions thatshape everyday life, McGehee celebrates the diversity of life in the South and offers irreplaceable insights into what continues to make the region unique.
1102965557
Southern Seen: Meditations on Past and Present
While working at the University of Tennessee in the early 1980s, Larry T.McGehee was looking for a way to share the wealth of history, politics, art,and culture with the residents of the South's small towns. He hit upon theidea of a newspaper column that would run in the region's weekly papers. Through hisstories, McGehee encouraged people to look at the people, places, and things aroundthem with a fresh set of eyes.Southern Seen collects McGehee's numerous columns exploring the South's history,inhabitants, mannerisms, food, and foibles. The book is divided into eight categories: outdoors, place, education, people, conflict, food, play, and religion. His subjects range from the outdoors and the creatures that inhabit it to the Civil War and its battle sites to unique southern symbols and the South's particular culinary delicacies. The author celebrates the traditions and work of the harvest season and extols the beauty of migrating hummingbirds and the rare delight of a southern snowstorm. McGehee meditates on the drastic changes machines and inventions, such as air conditioning, have brought to the region, and he looks for lessons in the mighty floods that occur in the contemporary South.The columns, by turns funny and poignant, biting and sweet, celebrate the past andlook to the future. The wild turkey, once common in the backcountry brush, is now anexample of a vanishing forest population, and local farmers' markets strive to sustain the livelihood of embattled small family farmers. McGehee applies the legacy of the Hatfield-McCoy feuds to the regional and international strife of modern times and examines the sacrifice and contributions of the South's young men who served in the wars of the last century. He revels in the pride of each part of the region for its own unique barbecue and delights in the memories of the small-town drugstore, which offered everything from health advice to a cream soda.Through the stories of famous figures, local residents, and the folk traditions thatshape everyday life, McGehee celebrates the diversity of life in the South and offers irreplaceable insights into what continues to make the region unique.
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Southern Seen: Meditations on Past and Present

Southern Seen: Meditations on Past and Present

Southern Seen: Meditations on Past and Present

Southern Seen: Meditations on Past and Present

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Overview

While working at the University of Tennessee in the early 1980s, Larry T.McGehee was looking for a way to share the wealth of history, politics, art,and culture with the residents of the South's small towns. He hit upon theidea of a newspaper column that would run in the region's weekly papers. Through hisstories, McGehee encouraged people to look at the people, places, and things aroundthem with a fresh set of eyes.Southern Seen collects McGehee's numerous columns exploring the South's history,inhabitants, mannerisms, food, and foibles. The book is divided into eight categories: outdoors, place, education, people, conflict, food, play, and religion. His subjects range from the outdoors and the creatures that inhabit it to the Civil War and its battle sites to unique southern symbols and the South's particular culinary delicacies. The author celebrates the traditions and work of the harvest season and extols the beauty of migrating hummingbirds and the rare delight of a southern snowstorm. McGehee meditates on the drastic changes machines and inventions, such as air conditioning, have brought to the region, and he looks for lessons in the mighty floods that occur in the contemporary South.The columns, by turns funny and poignant, biting and sweet, celebrate the past andlook to the future. The wild turkey, once common in the backcountry brush, is now anexample of a vanishing forest population, and local farmers' markets strive to sustain the livelihood of embattled small family farmers. McGehee applies the legacy of the Hatfield-McCoy feuds to the regional and international strife of modern times and examines the sacrifice and contributions of the South's young men who served in the wars of the last century. He revels in the pride of each part of the region for its own unique barbecue and delights in the memories of the small-town drugstore, which offered everything from health advice to a cream soda.Through the stories of famous figures, local residents, and the folk traditions thatshape everyday life, McGehee celebrates the diversity of life in the South and offers irreplaceable insights into what continues to make the region unique.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781572333598
Publisher: University of Tennessee Press
Publication date: 04/28/2005
Pages: 368
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Larry T. McGehee has been vice-president and professor of religion at Wofford College since 1982. His newspaper column, "Southern Seen," is currently carried by one hundred newspapers in eight states throughout the South.

Table of Contents

Forewordix
Prefacexiii
1Outdoors: "In Green Pastures"
Backroads1
Poison Ivy3
Kudzu5
Birddogs7
Night10
Fishing12
January16
Snow and Pecans17
Birds20
Floods23
Heat26
Three A.M.29
Swept Yards31
Machinery33
Migrations34
Animal Language36
The Mississippi38
Gardening41
Gullies43
Turkeys45
Hot Patches46
Farms48
Gingko Trees50
Deer51
'Possums53
Squirrels55
Skunks56
2Place: "Beside Still Waters"
Miss Rosalie59
Leadership61
Historic Sites62
BB Guns64
Hazing66
Southern Symbols67
Galoshes69
Movie Houses71
Pool Halls73
Iron Fences74
Neighborhoods76
Bridges78
Waving79
Rugby81
Valentine's Day83
Vicks Salve84
Woolworth's85
Men's Ties87
Southern Time Capsule89
Cemeteries91
Parlors93
Barbershops95
Confederate Monuments96
Americanized South98
Water Towers100
Baltimore101
Senior Prom103
Keys106
3Education: "In Paths of Righteousness"
A Few Words109
English Language110
English Teacher111
College Days112
Math Lessons114
Allusions116
Conformity117
Teacher Love119
Fountain Pens121
School Bells122
Typewriters124
School Taxes126
Bookstores128
David Matthews130
Southern Dialect132
Duke and Vanderbilt and Wofford134
Latin Lives!136
Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales137
Literary Societies140
Summer Reading142
Horace Holley143
Southern Festival of Books145
Kentucky Keats147
Grammar Grouch149
Final Exams150
Book Shelving152
A Few More Words154
4People: "For His Name's Sake"
Thomas Holley Chivers157
Thomas Jefferson's Nephews159
Fanny Wright161
William Maxwell Martin163
Julian S. Carr164
Cassius Clay166
Constantine Rafinesque170
Nell Waldrop171
Frank A. Rose173
Irvin E. Lunger174
F. A. P. Barnard176
F. W. Olin179
Firemen181
Joe Sutton183
Chance Encounters185
Laughing Lulu188
Drowning190
Oseola McCarty192
Sir and Ma'am193
Southern Asian Americans195
Will Campbell197
Paris, Tennessee198
Patrick Henry's Daughter200
Hatfields and McCoys202
Colonel William O. Snyder203
5Conflict: "Through the Valley of the Shadow"
In Praise of Irony207
Chief Joseph211
Gettysburg213
Lincoln214
Manners216
William Goebel and Edward Carmack218
West Point and the Civil War219
Jackson and Lee: The Last Meeting221
Earl K. Long223
James Johnston Pettigrew224
The First National Championship226
West Virginia and the USSR228
War Reparations230
December 7, 1941232
National University of World War II History233
Girl Scout Cookies and Taxes235
Interstate Flowers237
Confusing Conservatism239
Small College and Big-Time Sports241
Franklin Delano Roosevelt243
Confederate Flag Controversy245
The CSS Hunley247
Quest for Idealism248
Southern Black Conscription250
6Food: "Thou Preparest a Table for Me"
Pigs253
Mint Juleps256
Soda Fountains258
Country Cooking260
Coca-Cola265
Cookbook266
Mom's Birthday Cake268
The Bought Cake271
Hand-Me-Down Recipes272
Fruitcakes274
Jars276
Strawberries277
Peanuts279
Local Bottlers281
Pimento Cheese283
7Play: "My Cup Runneth Over"
Spitting285
Baseball's Ghosts286
Women's Softball288
Tied Game289
Camden Yards291
Ty Cobb292
Reforming Baseball294
Laced-Up Leather297
Organized Sports299
Golf301
Great Ball Parks303
Women and Football305
Professional Wrestling306
Model Trains310
Shoeless Joe312
Wooden Baseball Bats314
NASCAR316
Frontier Hymnals319
Christmas Orange321
Gingerbread Houses323
Christmas Trains324
Religions of the Secular326
Satan328
Pentecostal Exodus330
A White Christmas332
Snake Handling334
Mistletoe335
The Cane Ridge Revival of 1801337
Baptism339
Tenting341
September 11343
Sarvisberry Trees345
Appendix"Southern Seen" Subscribing Newspapers347
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