Up Cutshin and Down Greasy: Folkways of a Kentucky Mountain Family

by Leonard W. Roberts

Overview

Along the isolated headwaters of the Kentucky River—Cutshin and Greasy creeks—folklorist Leonard Roberts found the Couches, a remarkable mountain family of gifted memory and imagination. For half a century they had preserved the traditional ways of their forebears—the farming methods, the household arts, and the games, ballads, dances, and tales that were their chief entertainment.

In Up Cutshin and Down Greasy, brothers Dave and Jim Couch, born about the turn of the century, recall clearly their childhood days on Sang Branch of Greasy and Clover Fork of Big Leatherwood. Dave, a professional moonshiner and bottlegger in his younger days, tells of his brushes with the law. Jim engaged in lumbering and coal mining, with a little moonshining on the side. His accounts of mine accidents, in particular the one that cost him his leg, give an insight into the minds of those who risk their lives underground for the sake of high pay.

First published in 1959, the book is available once again in paperback to pleasure a new generation of readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813187693
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	11/21/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Prominent folklorist and professor Leonard W. Roberts (1912-1983), authored numerous books, including South from Hell-fer-Sartin.

Prominent folklorist and professor Leonard W. Roberts (1912-1983), a native of Eastern Kentucky, began collecting these tales while teaching at Berea Foundation High School. He later taught at Union College, Barbourville, and was for many years head of the English department at Morehead State University.

Editorial Reviews

A classic about the life and culture of eastern Kentucky.

Library Lane

"A classic about the life and culture of eastern Kentucky." — Library Lane

From the Publisher