Who else loves the Foxfire Books?

judsoncarroll4
judsoncarroll4 Posts: 5,490 admin

I grew up on the Foxfire books! My mother discovered them when she was a college student in the Appalachian mountains, and my grandfather loved them, because he was building a living history museum and restoring an old homestead that his grandfather had built. I've recently begun reading them again. They are a wonderful documentation of Appalachian mountain crafts, homesteading skills, herbal medicine, hunting and foraging, cabin and instrument building, gardening and livestock care, instrument building, moonshing, quilting... you name it. Some of the old mountain folks who taught me herbs, music, storytelling, etc are featured in the books. It was a project by a school teacher in Georgia. He and his students started a magazine to document the vast amount of knowledge and culture of the Appalachian people, that was quickly fading away. IT became a series of more than 12 books, a museum and a cultural center in Blue Ridge, GA. Unfortunately, the Foxfire legacy was badly damaged due to the teacher being a pedophile. That really put an end to the publishing and furtherance of the project, but the museum is still there. I think the books are really invaluable!


Comments

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    I had a couple of Foxfire books years ago but wasn't able to replace them after our house fire. I agree. Great books. I din't know about the teacher. That is too bad. We need more books like this for all areas.

  • judsoncarroll4
    judsoncarroll4 Posts: 5,490 admin

    Hmm, maybe you and @LaurieLovesLearning could write a Canadian version? There is a New England version, "The Salt Book" that was inspired by Foxfire. George Herter's Professional Guide Manual and How to get out of the Rat Race included a tone of info on homesteading and living off the land in Canada - might be worth a look.

  • Jannajo
    Jannajo Posts: 173 ✭✭✭

    @judsoncarroll4 know nothing about foxfire, but wld like something alike abt Canada or Quebec, gd stuff-however, I did have a fire and lived through the trauma-perhaps it helps me right now in present situation.....

  • VickiP
    VickiP Posts: 586 ✭✭✭✭

    I have a couple of them, they are great! They have a selection of them on EBAY they used ones are affordable.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin
    edited July 2020

    @Judson Carroll I may have heard of these but have never read them. I will have to check into them, I guess! I am not sure how the following might fit these books' feel...

    I wish that I had my grandpa's information. I thought that writing a book on what he knew would have been great. I have a small source through some Old Time Ontario Mennonite/Amish. They talked to my grandpa & wrote down a little of it. I wonder if I could find out more somehow. It could prove difficult now though due to some family circumstances, although some members might still be available with stories.

    I do have a memories book that I had family submit memory stories for. Memories of them growing up in the backwoods. I am not sure if it might have any pertinent info like that though.

    I am starting to get close to some families in another more progressive Mennonite group. The Mennonites were historically known to make do, & live on less due to persecution & being pushed around. They were creative, made something out of nothing, greatly improved the farming in an area (more than one govt. put them on some pretty worthless farming land), & gardening, etc. was highly regarded. Recording historical information related to their life and journeys is also an important part of the culture. All this to say, much knowledge will still exist.

    Now I have some thinking to do. Maybe I have some inquiry to do.

    It would be fun to create something special with @torey! She is so knowledgeable!

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin
    edited July 2020

    Well, they certainly look interesting and I think that anything similar would be easy to compile, actually.

    We have another series of books (US based) in our possession. It is quite similar to the focus of Foxfire books, yet still a bit different.

    A link to one of them on Amazon.ca https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1558217274/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+lyons+press%2C+farm+conveniences&qid=1595722069&sr=8-1

  • Linda Bittle
    Linda Bittle Posts: 1,518 ✭✭✭✭✭

    With all my garage sale and thrift store hunting, I've only ever been able to add Foxfire 2 to my shelves. People don't give them up.

  • Cornelius
    Cornelius Posts: 872 ✭✭✭✭

    I will have to look into these books. I wonder if a similar project features Native Americans as they also lived off the land for centuries before colonialism. I think that information would be invaluable as well.

  • naomi.kohlmeier
    naomi.kohlmeier Posts: 380 ✭✭✭

    I had a couple of older versions about 35 years ago. I loved reading through them! I have no idea what happened to them. After moving so many times, they probably got donated or gifted to someone. Wish I had them now.

  • silvertipgrizz
    silvertipgrizz Posts: 1,990 ✭✭✭✭✭

    These books are awesome...even I as a young one about 18 realized when I first saw them that the were important books. From time to time I remember them but have yet to look into getting them again... Thank you for opening this door!

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    @Cornelius You are right. The books written by or about Indigenous cultures are some of the best books to have.

    There are individual Indigenous Nations that have written books about their specific traditions when it comes to plants and other materials. I have several of these from First Nations in BC. If you check with Band/Nation offices, they could tell you if there are any members who have written books like this or maybe one was done as a community project. Mine are some of my most prized books.

    The Jessup North Pacific Expedition (early 1900s) included two members, Franz Boas and James Teit, who did a fantastic job of recording many of the traditions and culture of First Nations in the Pacific Northwest close to the time of First Contact. These books are very old and out of print but might be available at libraries. I have exerpts of some of the material and it is fascinating.

    Alma Hutchens has a book called "A Handbook of Native American herbs". Michael Weiner has an excellent book called "Earth Medicine, Earth Food". Robert Dale Rogers has written "A Cree Healer and His Medicine Bundle" along with over 40 other books, many including Indigenous knowledge. Dr. Nancy Turner is one of the foremost ethnobotantis in North America and has documented traditions and cultures in over 20 books. I would recommend her books as some of the best on traditional Indigenous uses of plants and other materials. Well worth seeking out.

  • moreyshadypines
    moreyshadypines Posts: 72 ✭✭✭

    @judsoncarroll4 , I do have a collection of the Foxfire books, given to my by an older lady friend in TN. I have 8 maybe 10, of them. They are so straight forward in their teaching. The cool part is the story telling that accompanies each craft / art. Thank you for reminding me about them, and yes, @LaurieLovesLearning the Mennonites have brought their home crafts and home remedies, I have been to some of their stores in TN as well. Good, hard working folks.

  • judsoncarroll4
    judsoncarroll4 Posts: 5,490 admin
    edited July 2020

    @Cornelius and @torey I grew up with at least two tribes - Cherokee and Lumbee being the biggest. We have about a dozen small, eastern tribe remnants in my area, so I've been around Native Americans all my life, and have a little Indian blood, myself (Chicora and probably Waccamaw). Unless you are talking about primitive skills, there really is not much difference, at all between mountain folks and Indians... mountain folks are usually, at least, part Cherokee or Catawba. Actually, the only person I know who lives in a teepee (which is really not an eastern tribe thing) is a white guy whose become pretty famous on tv.... and the teepee is just for show, he actually has a cabin. Most of the tribe members I know are Southern Baptists, who work regular jobs, serve in the military and live pretty average southern, American lives. Sure, we get together for powwows and such and enjoy wild foods, drumming and dancing and all. But other than that, country folks are just country folks...

  • SherryA
    SherryA Posts: 314 ✭✭✭

    I have probably 10 Foxfire books. They are fascinating. I found many of them at thriftbooks.com. You can put them on your wishlist and they'll let you know as each one becomes available. And since they're used, prices are very good.

  • dimck421
    dimck421 Posts: 203 ✭✭✭
    edited July 2020

    How I never heard of these books, I do not know! I live in Appalachia. Thank you @SherryA for letting us know where they may be found! I wonder if the local library may have them. Thank you @judsoncarroll4 !

    I just looked on Amazon. One included "moonshining". Not that my family was involved...but...our farm was once known for its "shine".

  • ceriridenour
    ceriridenour Posts: 52 ✭✭✭

    I love the Foxfire Books. I learned many valuable survival skills from these books and incorporated them into my home schooling.

  • EarlKelly
    EarlKelly Posts: 230 ✭✭✭

    They are great books. Have about half of them when I started collecting them many years ago. You guys have inspired me to finish getting the rest so I have them on hand. Thanks and stay safe.

  • Acequiamadre
    Acequiamadre Posts: 269 ✭✭✭

    I have an old collection that i found at a garage sale (happy dance).

    So many interesting stories and wisdom for country folk--and beyond.

  • I have found that the cheapest place to buy all of the books new is at the Foxfire Foundation website itself, where they are $231 (August 2020) for the full set. Amazon is $20-50 more, but you do get faster shipping.

    The great thing about the Foxfire project is that it was originally a High School journalism class. So the seeds of how to replicate it in your region are built right into the books from the beginning, as the students describe exactly how they went about interviewing the elderly residents of Rabun, Georgia, to create the book. It is a blueprint of how to do it for any other area, the techniques for doing it nestled in among all the local Appalachian stories.

    Many libraries throughout the country stock these books. Also, if you are OK with digital editions, they are out there, too. I won't give any direct links, but bloggers like Ray Gravitt have made at least the first five volumes available for you to look at. His name plus Foxfire in a search engine should get you there. I still advise people to pay the foundation for the books directly, though. Nothing beats a physical paper book for this sort of thing.

  • frogvalley
    frogvalley Posts: 675 ✭✭✭✭

    The Foxfire books are great! They were one of my first purchases once we started homeschooling. Sad about the teacher.

    There are places one can go to learn things such as those in the book. Here is a link to the John C. Campbell Folk School https://www.folkschool.org in Brasstown NC. My husband has wanted to go for years, but now that he's retired we can't because of CoVid. Hope we are still physically able once we can get down there.

  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    This site has several of them in digital versions for free. might be helpful until we can find paper copies for us all. lol


    http://gen.lib.rus.ec/search.php?req=foxfire&open=0&res=25&view=simple&phrase=1&column=def