Come All Ye Coal Miners

This video features images and songs that emerged from the coal fields of Appalachia. Through music and narration, this program tells of the human effort and sense of spirit that have long been part of coal mining in our region.

Video Length: 40 minutes
Teaching materials available? Yes

Country Music in the Tri-Cities

This video traces the history of radio and the music recording industry in Bristol, Johnson City, and Kingsport, Tennessee. It also explains the effects
of modernization on the instrumental and vocal traditions of upper East Tennessee.

Video Length: 43 minutes
Teaching materials available? Yes

Embreeville

Embreeville traces the economic and social history of this small mountain community in Washington County, Tennessee. From early settlement, through the "boom or bust" periods of iron, lead, zinc, and manganese mining, to recent times, this program reflects on quality-of-life issues. The story is told through narration and interviews accompanied by historical and contemporary photographs.

Video Length:25 minutes
Teaching materials available? Yes

Hands All Around

This video explores the role quilts and quilting
have played in the lives of Americans, from early settlement to the present. Quotations from nineteenth century sources, musical selections, and contemporary interviews are blended with historical and modern photographs to create a lively, colorful, and informative program.

Video Length: 21 minutes
Teaching materials available? Yes

Harvesting the Hardwoods:
Appalachian Logging Camp Life

This video looks at the lives of men and women
in the logging camps of south-central Appalachia in the 1920s and 1930s. Through interviews with workers, letters from logging company officials, and a wide range of historical photographs, the program explores working conditions, camp life, and the impact of the lumber industry on the people of the region.

Video Length: 30 minutes
Teaching materials available? Yes

Online version:
Harvesting the Hardwoods

Teaching material for
the online version of
Harvesting the Hardwoods
is under "Information
and Assignments."

Holston Country Houses:
Preserving the Past

This video looks at various aspects of historic preservation, its importance, and its benefits
to the community. The video includes contemporary photographs and interviews with people actively engaged in preserving the built environment.

Video Length: 25 minutes
Teaching materials available? Yes

Johnson City Album

This video combines the reminiscences of four local residents with photographs from the city's earliest days to modern times. The four stories illustrate important themes relating to Johnson City's development, including the influence of changing modes of transportation, evolution of educational institutions, changing styles of popular entertainment, industrial and commercial development, and the changing look of Main Street.

Video Length: 23 minutes
Teaching materials available? No

Long Steel Rail:
Southern Mountain Railroads

This video examines the history and development of railroads in south-central Appalachia. The program features many historic photographs of railway stations, trains, engines, and construction of the original lines. It includes many rare recordings of railroading songs, work crew chants, and interviews with people who worked for the railroads in by gone days.

Video Length: 28 minutes
Teaching materials available? Yes

Pat Alderman:
The Making of a Local Historian

This video focuses on the career of a noted local historian from Unicoi County, Tennessee. Through narration, interviews, music, and photographs, the program examines Alderman's work in the context of what history is and suggests ways in which others may further their own interest in community and local history.

Video Length: 25 minutes
Teaching materials available? No