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Celebrating all things Appalachian
Welcome to Simply Appalachian!
The purpose of this online magazine is to present stories, facts and trivia about the people and places that make Southern Appalachia unique. This website serves readers both in Appalachia and elsewhere seeking to learn more about life here. Simply Appalachian provides news and views about local goings-on, new places to eat and special events — as well as stories about the people and businesses that make the area special.
Simply Appalachian hopes to serve as your source for all things Appalachia — the culture, businesses, travel destinations, activities, food and more that reflect the traditional and modern Appalachian lifestyle. You will find articles about interesting places to stay and fascinating things to see.
We will uncover the many treasures in Southern Appalachia — from the towns to the events, from the flora and fauna to the human communities, and from the businesses to the charities. We will review local restaurants and provide delicious recipes to make yourself. We hope you won't miss a single article.
What We Cover
While the Appalachian Mountains run from Maine to the southern tip of Georgia, the geographic boundaries of Southern Appalachian, the magazine, primarily will focus on portions of Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and all of West Virginia.
The Southern Appalachians are diverse in many ways. They are urban and rural, rich and poor, country and cultured. You’ll find mountain folk living beside city folk. Businesses rely on a diverse workforce that includes everyone from coal miners and food servers to farmers, teachers and healthcare workers. Churches are filled with ministers, priests and rabbis. Poets and artists thrive in the shadows of the Appalachians and build communities right beside professionals, politicians and professors.
The Southern Appalachians are home to people who are by no means all alike. You will find a unique, traditional subculture in the mountains. While all its residents may not participate in those mountain folk traditions, most everyone who calls Appalachia home has a deep and abiding respect for the culture that cherishes harmony with nature and neighbors alike.
About the Founder and Editor
Becky Rogers is a true Southern Appalachian belle. She grew up in South Hominy, an agricultural area that’s part of Candler, North Carolina. She’s always had a dream of putting all her notes and stories about the mountains she loves together in one place to share with the world. Simply Appalachian is the culmination of that dream.
Becky wasn’t always a farm girl, though she’s lived in the Appalachians all her life and experienced a very Appalachian lifestyle. Her father was a logger who taught her about the forest and mountains. The family grew tobacco, raised farm animals, killed chickens and hogs at home, canned, made jellies and lived a typical rural community setting — Appalachian-style.
Becky became a nurse and for 18 years, visited many rural homes as a home health nurse. During that time, she connected with her patients because she understood their backgrounds and their ways. Since the mid-1990s, she built businesses with her husband. She feels fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel to all the states in Central Appalachia, with family living in many of them.
Becky wants to share her appreciation of the region and her heritage, as well as highlight the many educated and talented people here. Becky provides the impetus and the final say behind every issue of Simply Appalachian. She writes most of the articles herself with help from family and the professional writers and editors at Ray Access, an Asheville-based content provider.