Stifling Stress

Last week a young college friend misplaced a notebook with important college work in it and panicked. We've probably all been there. Situations come our way, we react, and before we know it, we've let stress take over. Worry and anxiety make up the other two

in this set of triplets. And, sometimes they come from anticipating what might happen in the future. "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things" (Mattew 6:34a).

This set of triplets (stress, worry, and anxiety) is really a choice we make, although, when we're in a problem situation, we don't usually recognize it. Just like we can choose happiness, we can also choose to not become stressed out. The way we interpret the circumstances and respond to it determines these. Our attitudes are what controls our lives. A little stress can be useful to make us do our best, but we don't want it to take control or get out of hand. It will take a toll on health and can cause high blood pressure, heart disease, mental illness, possibly some cancers, and a multitude of other sickness.

The real cure, as the Bible tells us, is trust in God. The more we trust Him, give Him control, and believe He'll take care of us, the less stress, worry, and anxiety we'll have. This is that peace which passes all understanding the Bible talks of. Do you have it? You can. You just have to really want to turn your whole life and self over to God and ask Him to help. Pray and pray some more.

Some verses to remember (NKJV):
Is anything too hard for the Lord.?
Genesis 18:14a
Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling. For he shall give His angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways.
Psalm:91:9-11
The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?
Psalm 118:6
For the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
Deuteronomy 20:4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
Psalm 23:4

Stressed out, worried, anxious? Turn to God and keep your focus on Him.

Tapping Oil at the Roots of a Family Tree

Out of the mountains of North Carolina and the plains of Texas comes an intriguing tale of a black sheep, oil fortunes, and poor mountain families. The story begins with Pelham Humphries, who had been born out of wedlock in the Watauga Settlement area of North Carolina, which would later become part of Tennessee. His mother married a Gragg when he was just a boy, but his childhood must have been rough, and I imagine he was called many names. His adulthood seemed to be rocky, too, because he tended to be drawn into fights. 

Greene family members related to Pelham Humphries

Pelham married Sudie Bell, but got into a drunken brawl and stabbed a man. Thinking he had killed someone, Pelham took his wife and a friend, J. William Inglish, and fled to Texas using a flatboat on the Watauga River. He fought in the Mexican Army in 1829 in their war for Mexican independence and was given a land grant for 4,000 acres on the Nechos River in 1835, but Sudie Bell died of a fever not long after they were deeded the land. Later, Pelham was shot to death at a Jefferson County boarding house in a fight between him and Inglish. Pelham's family back in the Appalachian Mountains knew nothing about what had happened to him, and he and Sudie had no children. Information on exactly what happened in the ownership of the property becomes very muddled and confused at this point.

What we do know is that in 1901, long after Pelham's death, oil was discovered on this land. Ever heard of Spindletop, the first oil discovered in Texas and the biggest producer of oil for years? Spindletop got its name from the heat waves rising in swirls from the prairie that made a grove of trees look like spinning tops when viewed from a hill above them. From here, many of the big oil companies got their start -Texaco, Gulf, Sun Oil, and Mobil. Today its owned by Chevron.

To find out who got the money for Spindletop, the controversy and questions that still exist today, and what happened when the mountain relatives tried to file a claim in the 1980's, read Monday's blog. I found out about all this and some more interesting information in my family tree by being one of those distant descendants. Read Monday's blog for more details.

To be continued....

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Making Lye Soap

Making lye soap is a skill from history that has almost been forgotten as a home craft. Soap making is believed to have been accidentally discovered in Rome around 1100 BC, when grease from sacrifices hardened in the ashes around the altars. The skill proceeded through the Middle Ages and beyond. Even up through colonial times, men who made soap and candles professionally were known as chandlers.

For years in American history, soap making usually took place outside in a big black iron pot, where the fat and alkali solution from ashes were boiled down. The maker stirred the mixture slowly with a wooden paddle or large stick.

Some people mistakenly think lye soap is stronger than other soaps or is not as good. It doesn't normally lather much, but it does clean well. It's also as gentle as any regular soap.

Two ingredients are essential to making soap - fat or oil and an alkali. Homemakers first used ashes to obtain the alkali solution, and an ash hopper often stood near the back door to collect the

ashes. Later, beginning in 1836, lye would be manufactured for

soap making. Today, however, readily available lye has been taken

off the market. A few homemakers had continued to make lye soap into the 70's and 80's, but I don't know of anyone who still makes it today. Commercial soap production began much earlier, but the bars of soap didn't appear in many places, including North Carolina, until after the Civil War. 

Home soap making has almost died out. However, those interested in history, folk studies, and crafts still find it interesting, and some make soap as a experiment to experience the past. Also, sites like facebook still show some interest.

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Quilting Tradition Down Home

The first time I had anything significant published was back in 1986 in The State magazine, later to become Our State. The article told about quilting in North Carolina. I photographed two of the quilts shown in the article. This was the first manuscript I sent out, and it was published right away. I had plenty of rejections afterwards, but the fact that I had one published kept me going and likely gave me an advantage when querying other editors.

Here is a condensed, revised version of that article:

When we think of quilts, we usually picture a peaceful, cozy, comfortable home where quilts were used for warmth. North Carolina and the southern states are certainly rich in their quilt heritage, but the history of quilting differs in the different regions. In areas that were settled early, quilting bees became a regular social activity and were often church related. In more remote areas and areas that were settled later, such as the mountains, solitary quilting or quilting between family members became more common.

The majority of early quilts were made to be practical and provide warmth. My Grandmother Cole felt this way. She could never see the sense in "cutting cloth into all those little pieces just to sew them back together again." She preferred to sew together the larger pieces of cloth, often feed sacks she'd saved, and quilt them quickly in straight lines. However, women also made some "best quilts" to keep for gifts, special occasions, or guests, and it was these quilts that were handed down and remain with us today. The utilitarian quilts were well used and wore out.

Quilt patterns were collected, swapped, and handed down in much the same way as recipes. Yet, many quilters used several basic patterns they liked for most of their quilting. Appliqued quilts often became the ones kept, because they usually required some purchased cloth. Patchwork or pieced quilts were common, because they could be made from small scraps "on hand." There's some evidence that woman began housekeeping with enough bed covering from gifts or hope chests. Eventually, these wore out, and many quilters often tended to be approaching middle age and older.

The actual quilting or sewing the three layers together was done on a large quilt frame, where the entire quilt was stretched out and rolled from the sides as it was stitched. These would either be hung from the rafters where they could be pulled up out of the way or, more likely, set up on straight chair backs or specially made stands.

For a period of time around the eighties, there was a resurgence in quilting and renewed interest in quilt history. Many states, including North Carolina, had quilt projects to document quilts and quilters. Today quilting may not be as popular, but the quilts themselves are often even more valuable.

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Appalachian Heritage

(photo by Amber Speight)

Most of my ancestors lived in the Appalachian Mountains. The majority came from Watauga County, North Carolina, but a few had pushed west into the Trade, Tennesee area.

Some of my branch of the Cole family lived in Meat Camp in northern Watauga County, and my father was born there in 1919. Late in the Depression, my grandfather had saved up enough money from his saw mill business to buy over 500 acres in eastern Wilkes County, when the bottom fell out of land prices. His sons moved also, including my father.

(My mother's parents, Chilo and Martha Hamby Greene)

My mother came from the Stony Fork section of eastern Watauga County. Her mother had died when my mom was eleven, and Mother worked keeping house for anyone who would have her. Some of her situations were good, and some weren't. As a teenager I learned that I was born         

on the same day as this grandmother I had never seen.  

My parents met and were married during World War II, when Dad was on leave. He served in the Pacific. 

I have some great memories of visiting or staying with relatives in the mountains. I grew up listening to family stories, especially from my mother and Grandma Cole. This may be where I caught my love of history and folk studies. 

Although my immediate family had moved to what we called "the foothills" by the time I was born, in many ways we still kept much of the culture and speech patterns of the mountains. I certainly drew from this background when I wrote Cleared for Planting and the other books in the Appalachian Roots Series.

Cherokee Characters

The Cherokee played an important part in the history of Western North Carolina. In Part One of Cleared for Planting, there are several Cherokee secondary characters. Emma doesn't know their names, and she has a hard time pronouncing the Cherokee words, so she makes up names of her own for the four braves she first meets. None of them speak English.


The leader (later Hawk) - although young, he's already emerging as a leader among his people. He's fit, intelligent, and honorable. In many ways he acts older than his late teens. Emma learns to trust him, and he tries to protect her.

Scarface - sided with the leader most of the time. He followed orders and doesn't seem to be a problem.

Sliced Arm - got his name when Emma cut his arm trying to defend herself. He seems to resent the leader but feels he'd be defeated if he challenges him openly. He seems bitter, especially toward the white settlers and anyone who favors them.

Square Head - follows Sliced Arm most of the time, although he doesn't look for ways to cause problems.

In Part Two of Cleared for Planting, Sarah, one of the main

characters, is half Cherokee. Her mother is Cherokee and her father is American Irish. She comes to the Moretz farm with her parents for a visit and decides to stay there until spring.

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A Writer Reflects

I have always loved to learn. I think it may have been a trait passed on by my father. He had to work instead of finishing high school, but he educated himself. He would pick up a book and read it in any spare time. When he worked as a school custodian, he would often go to the library during a break and read the encyclopedias.

I became a teacher, in part because of my love of learning. It is also why I enjoy traveling so much. To me, going and

seeing is an exciting way to learn. I've been blessed to have gone to all fifty states and over forty foreign countries. In addition, I have also been a life-long student. I like to continue to take university classes that interest me.

Writing pulls all of this together and uses everything I've learned and everything I've experienced. The extra research I need to do for my writing just adds to my learning. My plots, characters, and stories come to me in a way that compels me to write them. For me, an important part of who I am includes my relationship with God. I can't separate my experiences from my walk of faith, because they blend together. In fact, one of the main reasons I write is to glorify God.

Karen Ball summed it up very nicely when she wrote, "More and more I believe God plants the love of writing deep within the fabric of who we writers are. That it’s there from the

moment we come to life in our mothers’ wombs. That He nurtures and refines it through our life experiences. That we write because He looked at us at the moment of conception and said to the heavenly hosts, 'There. That one will tell My truths to a weary world. That one will use the beauty of words to shine My light into the darkness.'”

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