Charity's Children: The Tway it Was [Paperback]

Lois Carter Kelly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 2006

It was my fortune to be the firstborn of my mountain mother and my coal mining father in an exciting time of transformation and awakening. My childhood began in Tway Mining Camp, a small state-of-the-art coal mining camp just outside Harlan, Kentucky nestled in the great Appalachian Mountains. My formative years were spent in "Tways." In addition to my unusual mother and talented father, I was nurtured by those who lived in "Upper Camp." They were black. They were family. N'Jenny. Tom Becker and Mz. Becker, Mary Margaret Rose Delight, Johnny Warren. I grew in "wisdom, stature and favor with God and man.'' Did it really happen ? Yes, it did. Throughout this childhood were significant currents rolling: flu epidemic, tuberculosis, spinal meningitis, mine wars and Saturday nights with whiskey and guns. Also to be dealt with were the KKK and Communist Party. Pine Mountain Settlememt School, Berea College and good strong-spirited women with instinct for doing the right thing. Finally, as Hamlet said "there's a divinity that shapes our ends rough-hew them as we may." James L. Carter was 68 years old when he died of Black Lung from long years mining. Charity, my Mother who led us all with her religious comittment and adage commitment that "cleanliness is next to godliness", is a healthy 98-year-old woman living in Atlanta, Georgia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Wolf Creek Press (February 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977747808
• ISBN-13: 978-0977747801
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,987,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Appalachian roots, July 31, 2006

By 

John Krakauer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Charity's Children: The Tway it Was (Paperback)

IF you want an authentic sense of Appalachian roots, imagination, and human enterprise, read Lois Kelly's CHARITY'S CHILDREN or Lee Smith's ORAL HISTORY.