As you may recall, a day or two ago we talked about the weather signs and some old folk sayings.
Well, we got several e-mails from readers who chimed in with their own favorite family weather predictions. One even went so far as to forecast a tough winter for us here in the Southern reaches of the Mountain State.
A tough winter is ahead if cornhusks are thick and tight, apple skins are tough, birds migrate early, squirrels’ tails are extremely bushy, berries and nuts are plentiful, or if bees build their nests high in the trees.
If ant hills are high in July, the following winter will be snowy.
When leaves fall early, fall and winter will be mild; when leaves fall late, winter will be severe.
At the same time, according to some old-time prognosticators, a warm November is a sign of a bad winter to follow. And thunder in the fall foretells a cold winter.
Some lines of weather lore from ages past include the following:
- If animals have an especially thick coat of fur, expect a cold winter.
- When squirrels bury their nuts early, it will be a hard winter.
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The mountains have a way of keeping alive large patterns of old ways by simply isolating people.
We’ve lived to witness a re-kindling of interest in the state’s folklore and mountain culture.
Back in the day, people naturally talked about the old legends that had been handed down from generation to generation.
As time wore on, those traditions seemed to disappear. They were replaced by the computer, cell phones, CD’s, cable TV, VCR’s, and DVD’s.
Our students often were not taught about the Mountain State’s rich legacy of folklore and culture.
The idea prevailed that students should be taught standard West Virginia history, a kind of homogenized view of our past that “smoothed out” the sometimes-rough edges and burly character of folk art, folk speech, folk music, and folk literature.
Few teaching resources were available on the rugged people who settled the state.
When the West Virginia Humanities Council finally stepped in to develop a comprehensive curriculum guide to teach students about their diminishing cultural traditions, educators from around the state applauded.
In fact, you don’t have to look very far to witness a sense of place and pride in local history among those who grew up here in the mountains.
Folk arts and folk music are still very much alive and well in our region.
One folklorist, Ruth Ann Musick, is credited with having collected many of the old folk songs and oral traditions of Appalachia.
Still, many of our children and grandchildren are not having the subject of their family origins presented to them in a manner that would help preserve the oral tradition of storytelling.
Our ancestors were a repository of learning and culture. Make no mistake about that.
The old regional culture that developed out of the Anglo-Celtic migrations before and after the Civil War has a rugged significance for our psyche—even in the 21st century. It still draws us together when we talk about family ties, herbal remedies, weather folklore and planting crops according to the “signs.”
As for the people who settled here, they should be esteemed by us all. They stayed put and tamed the wilderness. In many ways, they defined our way of life for generations to come.
People lived close to the land, close to the change of seasons, and developed a strong work ethic—contrary to what others might say about our history.
Just to survive the cold winters and the hot summers was challenge enough.
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At any rate, you certainly cannot teach the subjects of history, literature, and music of Appalachia without putting these disciplines in the context of their time and regional folkways.
There is a certain romance and mystique about the “old tongue” of the mountain folk who reside along our hills and valleys.
The speech patterns directly reflect the “Old Scotch” dialects of northern England and low-land Scotland and are found in many folk songs and child ballads of West Virginia.
And yet, the competing mass popular-culture is taking its toll on our youth. As one Appalachian purist put it recently, “Our children are in danger of becoming culturally illiterate, not knowing why they speak, think, or see things the way they do.”
There’s no shame in the rich language and speech patterns of our state.
We ought to cherish them instead of trying to forget that we ever knew them.
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Top o’ the morning!
