Storytelling
Heritage Tours and Group Receptive Services
Read more about Heritage Tours and Group Receptive ServicesOrchard at Altapass Saved by Carson Family
Master storyteller Bill Carson tells how his family saved a century-old apple orchard from development and turned it into a heritage attraction on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Read more about Orchard at Altapass Saved by Carson FamilyDonald Davis
Read more about Donald DavisWillard and Ora Watson
Read more about Willard and Ora WatsonWillard and Ora Watson
Woodcarver, dancer, musician, storyteller and quilter
Watauga County, NC
Willard Watson and his wife Ora were among the extraordinary traditional artists in the Watson family of Watauga County, who were recognized with a 1994 North Carolina Heritage Award. Willard, a first cousin to famed guitarist Doc Watson, was widely known as a flatfoot dancer, storyteller, banjo player, and especially a woodcarver.
Read more about Willard and Ora WatsonMary Jane Queen
Read more about Mary Jane QueenMary Jane Queen
Old-time singer and banjo player, storyteller, traditional gardener
Jackson County, NC
Mary Jane Queen lived in the Caney Fork section of Jackson County near where she was born in 1914. She was descended from some of the earliest Irish-American settlers in the valley who, for three generations before her, scratched a living in the rocky soil. In a variety of practical ways—her reservoir of traditional knowledge, her gardens, her songs and stories—she communicated the values and traditions of her upbringing to modern audiences.
Read more about Mary Jane QueenStanley Hicks
Read more about Stanley HicksRay Hicks
Read more about Ray HicksStanley Hicks
Instrument builder, woodworker, dancer, musician, storyteller
Watauga County, NC
Stanley Hicks was born in 1911 in Watauga County, and raised on Spice Creek along with his eight siblings. He and his cousin Ray Hicks, also a famed storyteller, shared the same great-grandparents. Life for the Hicks family was hard; there were few jobs in the mountains, and families struggled to get enough food. Growing up, Hicks took what jobs were available. During the Depression, he worked for the Works Progress Administration for 75 cents a day.
Read more about Stanley Hicks
