Work Films (Appalachia)

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River, Rails or Road

River, Rails or Road

River, Rails or Road

“River, Rails or Road” reflects singer-songwriter Tom Breiding’s admiration for his home state of West Virginia, his respect for the triumphs, hardships and dedication of the…

Company Town

The former coal town of Widen, West Virginia. Once a model of paternalistic domination, Widen had been sold to the Pittston corpration in 1963.

Ott Blair

Demonstration of and commentary on the mountain craft of building wooden farm sleds by Ott Blair, a native of Heaton, North Carolina. Discussion includes first selling sled and…

Alex Stewart: Cooper

Alex Stewart: Cooper

Alex Stewart: Cooper

A 1973 film of Alex Stewart, a mountain craftsman from near Sneedville, Tennessee, constructing a churn. Film includes discussion of the use of non-powered tools and skills handed…

Morgan Sexton

Eastern Kentucky's Morgan Sexton cut his first banjo out of the bottom of a lard bucket, and some seventy years later won the National Endowment for the Arts' National Heritage…

Being A Joines

John E. "Frail" Joines was a master tale teller from Wilkes County, N. C., on the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains. His hunting tales, stories from World War II, and…

Dreadful Memories

Dreadful Memories

Dreadful Memories

Born in the coalfields of eastern Kentucky, Gunning suffered a life of bitter poverty which became the fuel for dozens of moving songs about working people, the mines, and the…

Gandy Dancers 1973

Gandy Dancers 1973

Gandy Dancers 1973

This remarkable film features field recordings of work chants of Gandy Dancers including aligning songs and chants to knock out slack in the rail.

Edd Presnell: Dulcimer Maker

Edd Presnell: Dulcimer Maker

Edd Presnell: Dulcimer Maker

Edd Presnell, a mountain craftsman and native of Watauga County, North Carolina, demonstrates and comments on the construction of a dulcimer. Presnell learned his craft from his…

Handmade

Handmade examines the white oak basketry tradition in Cannon County, Tennessee, and the evolution of baskets from utilitarian gathering vessels to intricate, prized, works of folk…

While The Ages Roll On

While The Ages Roll On

While The Ages Roll On

Filmmaker Kevin Ballings writes...My interest in this topic is not religious, but cultural and ethnographic. The Old Regular Baptists are one of the most traditional religious…

Hazel Dickens

From the coalfields of West Virginia to the factories of Baltimore, Hazel Dickens has lived the songs she sings. Interviews with Hazel and fellow musicians such as Alison Krauss,…

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