Eric Gettings did a great job recording the oral histories and music. I also don’t want to forget Wade Spees, a wonderful photographer now based in Charleston, S. C., who was on the road with me when we met some of these folks. We had a blast.
"Folks Are Talking" is available for purchase as a two disc C.D. set. It costs $17.00 plus $3.00 shipping and handling. You can purchase the disc using your credit card using the "Buy Now" button below.
You may also make a check out to "Garret Mathews" and mail it to:
"Folks Are Talking" c/o Garret Mathews
7954 Elna Kay Drive, Evansville, IN 47715
In 1972, I left my hometown of Abingdon, Va., for the 80-mile drive to my first newspaper job in Bluefield, W. Va. I was greener than the keys on the manual typewriters.
When you find a woman who used to sleep with a pet bobcat and who eats her lunch while skinning a raccoon, there is no doubt you've met a certifiable fur trader. That's Mrs. Archie Caldwell.
"I can lob an old Pocahontas Fuel Company pop bottle over that hill just as pretty as you please. If I put enough gun powder behind it, I could fire a round over a mile, I reckon." - John Stout
Hear an original song about the route between Huntington, W. Va., and Bluefield, W. Va. written by MaryAnne Mathews.