Author: Alyce Faye Bragg

Soon will be Valentine’s Day, and flowers and boxes of candy will be flying through the air. Valentine’s Day is a special day dedicated to lovers, although the custom has been enlarged to sending greetings, not only to sweethearts, but to friends . . . Read More

The first week of our brand new year is already marching into the past, although the mild temperatures and blue skies seem more like the beginning of spring. It is such a change from last year at this time, when we endured a raging snow storm that . . . Read More

Recently was the anniversary of an infamous day in our American history; the day that Pearl Harbor was bombed. I was only six years old, and the memory is fuzzy in my mind. . . Read More

The warm days that we experienced in October may have been called Indian summer, but according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, it comes after a killing frost or hard freeze. We certainly have had that; three hard frosts in a row has blackened all the . . . Read More

This is a true Thanksgiving story, and one that is dear to my heart for we knew the principal characters featured in it. Brother Harry Craig was a traveling evangelist, and his wife Sister Myrtle Craig was his faithful companion. . . Read More

All day my heart has been on Hickory Knob. As I stepped outside and the rich, earthy smell of fall wafted toward me, I was transported back in time to a backwoods place that was a paradise to us. . . Read More

October is spinning out her days of gold under the deep blue skies of autumn. Summer is gone, taking with her the wildflowers that marked her days, and hot days of sunshine. . . Read More

I heard the katydids tolling your death knell last night. In fact, the lonely, haunting dirge has sounded out for weeks now. They are singing of change, and cold, and a white, creeping death that will come to summer and singer alike. . . Read More

I loved cold winter nights when I was a little girl. After the dishes were washed and put away, the zinc water buckets were filled up from the pitcher pump down at the Virginia office building (and I can still hear Mom saying, “Larry, have you brought . . . Read More

Fall weather is trying hard to enter our hills, with a few premature yellowing leaves drifting down from trees that are beginning to look tired and worn. Robed in regal purple, tall ironweed rules the meadows and fields, while wild sunflowers lend . . . Read More

The Katydids were hollering loudly last night, just as they have been for awhile. Their quarrelsome din echoes back and forth as they declare, “Katydid!” and the answering cry comes back, “She didn’t!” . . Read More

Autumn seems to have stretched forth her hand and is displaying her beautiful flowers in our hills. The official date on the calendar is weeks away, but you can see her in the bountiful patches of black-eyed Susan’s that grow on the road banks and . . . Read More

July 4, 2016 will be one holiday that will live on in the memories of many people. Some folks are calling it a thousand year flood, and I’ve never seen anything like it in my lifetime. . . Read More

The hot rays of the summer sun beat down upon us yesterday, as spring gathered her floral skirts about her and departed from our hills. The summer solstice began Monday as we experienced the longest day of the year-17 hours of daylight. . . Read More

It seems that the viney honeysuckles are always blooming on the banks of Clay at graduation time. Its yellow and white flowers, and sweet, unforgettable scent, still brings back memories of my own high school graduation. . . Read More

May has gathered her full green skirts about her and left our hills, allowing June to enter with her roses, brides and graduates. Each year brings a new crop of high school graduates; proud and tearful parents and relieved teachers. . . Read More

It has been 63 years ago, since I graduated from high school. The viney honeysuckle is climbing over the banks below the old school building again, just as it always does at graduation time. . . Read More

The waters of William’s River run swift and cold. It rushes around huge boulders, cresting in white spray and moves swiftly onward. It looks deceptively shallow, but is deep and very swift-moving. . . Read More

“LIFE BEGINS AT 80”—Author UnknownWe oldsters surely get away with a lot just because we’ve managed to keep breathing longer than most folks. I will celebrated my 80th birthday, and I’ve got it made! . . Read More

REMEMBERINGby Hazel Bias Browning(With apologies to Thomas Hood)Ah, I remember, I rememberThat company house where I was bornDeep in a coal camp hollowUpon a windy March morn. I remember, I rememberThe hardships that we knewThat only brought . . . Read More

The earth is waking up from its long winter’s sleep and is coming to life once more. Over the hills, and across the meadows and fields, the grass grows greener each day. . . Read More

The sun is shining brightly on this spring day, with a restless March wind blowing through the budding maple tree. Spring peepers announce loudly and persistently that spring has arrived. From pond and puddle, their shrill piping resounds in a jubilant . . . Read More

February has left the hills, and no one seems sorry to see her go. She has always been a hard month to endure, leaving behind dirty piles of leftover snow and muddy soil everywhere. . . Read More

The sun is shining brightly from a deep blue sky on another winter day, although it is cold and frost is lingering on the hills and meadows. It has been an extremely mild winter so far, with patches of green grass in the meadow where the cows still . . . Read More

Winter has opened February’s door with icy fingers and allowed snow and frigid winds to enter our hills. We shiver under the onslaught of cold wind that lowers our freezing temperatures even lower with a wind chill factor, and we long for warmer . . . Read More