Peggy Harmon was a fascinating woman who lived on her parent's farm with her husband, Nathan, where she raised goats, farmed, and worked preserving Appalachian culture at a nearby college. Some say she was born 100 years too late as she loved the traditional mountain ways and lived her life practicing and preserving the old ways of working and doing.
I first met Peggy’s parents, James and Portia Davis, and her Aunt Alice in 1983 and made photographs of them on their farm. When I went back to deliver prints, I met Peggy and her husband, Nathan. They all lived on a family farm in Madison County, North Carolina where they raised a garden, tended livestock, and made molasses. Peggy worked for many hears at the Appalachian Room and Rural Life Museum at nearby Mars Hill College helping to preserve Appalachian culture. Her boss once sent new students to find her on campus and told them to look for "the tall Appalachian woman in traditional dress."
Peggy and Nathan Harmon passed away in 2016 but their lives have had an impact on many folks even today. We hear stories about the Harmons from neighbors Don and Jean Pedi and hear a great dulcimer tune by Don (see link below to his website). We see images of Andy and Cathy Bennett using the mill on the Harmon farm to make molasses, and talk with Ellen Coomer, Peggy’s sister-in-law, about the family. After Peggy and Nathan passed, within months of each other, the farm was sold and the new owners, Chris Parker and Kat Houghton. They describe how they are preserving the farm while adapting it to their own needs (see link below to The Forest Farmacy).
In this episode we share images of the Harmon's, Davis's, and molasses making events on their farm from my Appalachian-themed books, The Face of Appalachia, On Earth’s Furrowed Brow, and Hands in Harmony (available in bookstores and at barnwellphoto.com). You'll also see images that have never been published, and videos I made of the Harmon-Davis farm today with its array of homes, barns, and outbuildings.
If you love Appalachia as we do, we hope you will come back often and consider subscribing to make it possible for us to create content you will enjoy as we to continue to honor the people, vibrant culture, and strong traditions of Appalachia.
Links:
Don Pedi’s website: www.donpedi.com
The Forest Farmacy website: www.theforestfarmacy.com
Peggy Harmon’s obituary: www.madisonfh.com/obituaries/...
4 май 2023
