Spring, a time for new beginnings and growth. For many mountain families it was also a time begin their planting of crops, vegetable gardens and livestock production. It was this production that sustained the family through the rest of the year.
The early families who settled the Big South Fork area depended on their ability to successfully raise animals, crops, and gardens to feed themselves. Most of the farming that occurred here was truly subsistence farming. The family often consumed the entire production of the garden. There was continued use of wild plant and animal foods, but the “kitchen garden” was vital to a sustainable food supply. This tradition continues with many families even today. It is not uncommon for local residents to have large gardens that provide a substantial amount of food.
Along with planning for their gardens and crops, families had a number of annual spring “chores” that were performed -- spring cleaning and airing out of the house and bed linens, repairing paling fences, livestock care and animal husbandry, and mending and making clothing for the spring and summer seasons. Various crafts and forgotten arts of today were skills of yesterday -- skills needed for survival in the area we now call the Big South Fork, Cumberland Mountains or Appalachia.
