Appalachain Foodways
The July session offered a powerful mix of storytelling, community connection, and real-world skill building. We blended the core tenets of all our PAGE programming - Appalachian specific life ways, oral history, and STEAM - to create a rich, immersive educational experience for our rising 8-12th graders.
Our first week was a crash course in all things documentary
2023 PAGE Summer Intern and current Shelton House Museum of Handicrafts Events Coordinator Darian Smathers joined us in her new and expanded capacity as a StoryLab Project Facilitator. As a Western North Carolina Native with a rich background in place-based history and storytelling, Darian was a fabulous fit for this summer’s Appalachian Foodways StoryLab.
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Equipped with the fundamentals of oral history and documentary work, our students were able to meet our community partners feeling empowered and prepared. Then, working in small teams, students collected stories about food, tradition, and resilience from different community members: Genia Peterson, owner of the Smoky Mountain Diner in Hot Springs; Rachel Elise, an organizer from the Marshall Relief Alliance, which provided, among other resources, meals for volunteers after Hurricane Helene; Maricel and Claudia, two women from La Esperanza, a local immigrants-rights advocacy group, who shared their traditional Mexican foodways; and Priscilla Boles and Teresa Decker, PAGE’s very own Kitchen Angels.
“As is normal for PAGE girls, they rose to the occasion and made everything happen...
The girls went into their communities and
successfully photographed and conducted interviews with four different organizations…
They were able to take whatever was thrown
at them and thrive.”
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- Darian Smathers
Building for Us, Building for the Future
"PAGE reminds me of the things I loved about growing up as an Appalachian girl.
I feel so lucky to partner with PAGE to share empowering skills to the next generation."
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- Amber King, Skill Set Project Facilitator
We’re grateful to have partnered once again with SkillSet, a program of UNCA’s STEAM Studio. In our second week, their amazing facilitators, Amanda and Amber, led us through a building project that was all-hands on deck. Students learned how to read design plans and safely operate power tools like drills, drivers, jigsaws and miter saws.
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In just three short days, our crew constructed two eight-foot-long picnic tables and assembled them in our Heritage Garden at the Madison Middle School. Not only did our students learn real-world technical skills in construction and engineering, but they also created a community resource that will be used for years to come.
"Our partnership with PAGE is an amazing example of the sort of collaborative community connection we seek to foster in our programming. I love the warm enthusiasm that the students bring each time and the genuine appreciation and teamwork they exercise."
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- Amanda Simmons,
Skill Set Project Facilitator