 Our July, 2018 podcast begins a series of podcasts featuring Aletha Watson Barker, 97 years young. Her grandfather was the original owner of Roper Mountain in upstate South Carolina. Born in 1921, Aletha tells her own story with the drama beginning at the age of five…a story full of bravery, love, faith, and dedication to family. Listen now to one woman’s walk through the garden of life. > 

Stories of Mountain Folk

Aletha Watson Barker

Stories of Mountain Folk explore the nature and significance of oral history and storytelling to advance the understanding of the cultures of Western North Carolina. Featuring interviews, memories, discussions and stories from Caucasian, African-American, and Cherokee people living in the Great Smoky Mountains, the Interviewers actually go into the homes of the people to assure them a “safe” place to tell their stories. With a goal to save the heritage of the area and preserve its “sense of place,” Catch the Spirit of Appalachia, a nonprofit organization, is now in its eighth year of producing the contents of this podcast. Awarded the Mountain Heritage Award (2013) through Western Carolina University, the program has now produced the largest oral history collection in Western North Carolina.

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Stories of Mountain Folk