From the time I can remember first learning, then loving, to read, I was drawn by some compulsion to topics about abuse, neglect, incest . . . . I really did not know why. I just knew that for some reason, the topics resonated with me. I always felt horrible after reading about some terrible things that happened to the protagonist or character that suffered the abuse, and I had nightmares ab...

Andy, Opie, and Barney; Jed, Granny, and Ellie Mae; Junior, Lulu, Nurse Goodbody, and Buck; The Dukes, Boss Hogg, Cooter, and Daisy; Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy; Duck Dynasty . . . . It isn’t difficult for most to recall portrayals of Southern Rurals on television shows or movies. All of them seem to poke fun at the characters as dim wits in hokey clothes (like flannel...

“Home culture” is more a part of who we are than a description of where we live. Just as the impact of “place” is far more than the address at which we live; it speaks more to who we are as a bonded group of people. Consider the differences of the long-ago historical territorial, almost warlike, cave-dweller hunters as compared to the isolated, independent, nomadic farmer-gatherers, o...

It was in my final few years of teaching, having served as principal, at the Department of Education as a Distinguished Educator; as a School Transformation Consultant; as a teacher at every level, from pre-school through college; within multiple curricular areas, from Homebound and Disabled to Gifted and Talented; that I learned something new—and critical to my teaching. Through reading research into how t...

My husband (I will call him, Sidekick) and I make a very good team for illustrating the contrasting aspects of culture—a rather interesting, juxtaposed team. Consider this: I was born and reared in the Rural South. I’ve lived there practically my whole life—67years. Yet my language patterns and vocabulary are more reflective of the academic cultures of the Midwest....

Within my extensive rural family, most of the males drive green tractors that pull green equipment. Farming has been a part of the American landscape since the beginnings of our country when almost everyone had a connection to the land and to farmers. Today, the estimate of farmers to the rest of the American population is about 1-2%. Not hardly a majority. But, in the Rural South...

So, what is this cultural filter of place? Is it what Mom or Dad taught me? Is it what Mom or Dad believe? Or is it what Mom or Dad lived without saying anything? It is all of that.

     For example, most of the Democrats I know come from homes where the parents were Democrats. Same for the Republicans. In addition, most of the Baptists I know came from Baptist...

In the early days of this blog, it’s probably a good thing to establish a common thread among the readers and writer(s) of Southern Rural Culture—considering the fact that culture is what the blog is about.

     Culture, refers to the beliefs, arts (visual art, literature, music, performance art), principals, and values of a group of people that...

Most people mistakenly think Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky, is actually in western Kentucky. It isn't. West Kentucky includes Paducah, Murray, Webster County . . . and Dixon. You don't have to go to places like Webster County to get to anywhere else, so we are pretty much left alone. Kind of like we like it.

     While we don't...