She told me that the neighborhood at the time “was largely poor white and poor black.

Melinda Grisco grew up in Madisonville in the 1960s. I got the opportunity to talk to Melinda Grisco about her urban Appalachian experiences growing up in Cincinnati and about her new book, Strawberries of the Road: From the Hills of West Virginia. Her story is archived in the Story Gathering Project, and she is a professional storyteller with a new children’s book out that is set in Appalachia. Melinda Grisco is an urban Appalachian who has quite a few stories to tell. The National Association for Interpretation (the professional organization of park rangers, naturalists, museum curators, etc.) gave him the Master Front Line Interpreter Award for his “mastery of interpretive techniques, program development, and design of creative projects” celebrating the natural world and our human connection to nature.ĭoug Elliot is one of the people who make Firefly what it is, and we treasure the depth and range of skill he brings to this community.Ĭheck out Doug’s Website, and download more of Doug’s music and stories from Bandcamp.Everyone has a story tell, the Urban Appalachian Community Coalition’s Story Gathering Project would like to hear that story and document it. The National Storytelling Network (the largest storytelling membership organization in the world) inducted him into their Circle of Excellence for “exceptional commitment and exemplary contribution to the art of storytelling.” The International Herb Association presented him with the Otto Richter Award honoring his work with herbs and useful wild plants.

In recent years, Dough has received a variety of honors. Named harmonica champion at Fiddler’s Grove Festival in Union Grove, N.C, Doug’s creative talents have also led to the writing of five books, many articles in regional and national magazines, and a number of award winning albums of stories and songs you may have seen on PBS-TV and the History and National Geographic Channels.

The ranger training sessions for the National Park Service and guided wilderness experiences he’s led have taken him from down-east Maine to the Florida Everglades. Doug Elliott is a featured storyteller at the National Storytelling Festival, and has lectured and performed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and conducted workshops for the Smithsonian Institution.

Download appalachian storyteller