Southern Highlanders (1947)

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The Southern Highlands of Appalachia stretch across eight states as ancient, mist-shrouded mountains, crisscrossed by scenic roads like the Blue Ridge Parkway that wind through wildflower-filled forests and sparkling streams. The region was settled centuries ago by Cherokee people, then European immigrants — Scots-Irish, Germans, and Huguenots — who carved out a rugged, self-sufficient life in isolated hollows, passing down values of courage, faith, and simplicity to their descendants. A mountain schoolteacher narrates the lives of these highland people: families like John McDow, who still makes his own sorghum sweetening, and communities that weave, forge iron, and square-dance as their forebears did. Yet change is arriving — electricity, modern farming techniques, county farm agents, and new industry are gradually transforming highland life, giving young people opportunities without forcing them to abandon their homeland. The teacher’s dream is to help these mountain children embrace the future while remaining rooted in the land, traditions, and deep spiritual faith that have defined highland culture for generations.