Appalachia People How they prepared for Winter

#appalachian #appalachianhistory #appalachia #donnielaws Winter can be some hard times in these Appalachia mountains. This is look back at how our fathers and their families prepared for the cold had winters back in the day. God bless and Thanks for watching. NOTE: Picture are just to tell the story and not actual pictures of the events. SUBSCRIBE:: LIKE AND SHARE:: HELP GROW YOUR CHANNEL. THIS CHANNEL COVERS 9 DIFFERENT SUBJECTS ! All Videos are Copyrighted and used by permission only.

[@yvonnesmith1414]

Hello, I am a 56 year old black woman. I grew up in northwest Mississippi. My father and brothers built our house on 10 acres of land. I am the last child of 9. I remember us having chickens, cows and hogs. I remember hog-killngs in the fall. All our family would come and it would take all weekend long. So much hard work and yes it was tough for my daddy as a black man but I wouldn't take no amount of money for those memories. Adversity makes us stronger. Thanks for taking me back, sir.

[@donnielaws7020]

That's so awesome my friend. Thanks so much for sharing your memories. God bless you. Your very welcome.

[@bold810]

Yvonne, I am a 56 year old dude and I would have enjoyed meeting you back in OUR day- 😊🎉. There's not too many 1967s out there, now- so it's good to see some still out on the highways,☺️☺️👍👍🏿🎉

[@vickieelisa2248]

Beautiful testimony about what really matters if life, self sufficiency from eating the food from your labor, working as a family, ownetship of land and property, safety and laughter.

[@Jane-West]

Hard work but great memories!

[@sheilacape4794]

Those were the days, no trading that! God bless you!

[@melissakey7038]

My mammaw and pappaw met on the railroad tracks while picking up coal back in the early 1930s. She said that her and her sister went one day, and she was squatting down, picking up coal, and a shadow came over her. She stood up to see who it was and saw the bluest eyes she ever saw ❤. They were married for 63 years and had 9 kids. Even when they were in their 80s, she sat on his lap to give up a chair for someone to sit. They were truly in love ❤️

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. True love has no end. God bless you.

[@perijetton9275]

We picked coal on the tracks for my granddaddy every year.

[@kennethwood2089]

Miss Melissa--THAT is what Hill Folk shine at TRUE LOVE and the BEST MANNERS! These days and city folk take note!

[@trapped7534]

Beautiful story 💕

[@caramiaminou]

❤

[@georgeearls3338]

I've had my time going to the outhouse walking through the ice and snow. Spending the summer fall and winter cutting wood, watching my fingers change colors shelling peas. Standing by the old wood king, burning up on one side freezing on the other. Mom had an electric cook stove, but I can remember times it was too cold in the kitchen, and she cooked on the old wood king in the living room. We grew up poor, but we never ate the same thing for supper two nights in a row, on Sunday we ate beans and taters, on Monday we had taters and beans.

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks so much for sharing your memories. I understand. God bless you.

[@oldschool8292]

💜

[@sheilacape4794]

Lol... taters and beans! You stole my line, lol, taters and beans, beans and taters! Lol oh wow.

[@ernestwilliams268]

Same with me in the Smoky Mountains North Carolina, 1939 we had a saying about fatback it was called dear and bear meat DEER old fatback BEARLY enough of it. I remember corn meal gravy with biscuits when we could afford it.

[@donnielaws7020]

@@ernestwilliams268 God bless you my friend. Thanks for sharing this.

[@Idfkleavemealone420]

I’m 35, I grew up in a house with no furnace in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Splitting wood was something I had to do and loved doing growing up. Definitely helped condition me for football and boxing in school. I still head home in the summer and help my father and brother in law prep for winter.

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. It will sure give you a work out.

[@terryrampey617]

Yep ,been busting wood for over 45 yrs., & can still get r done & have never owned one or wanted a wood spliter Just these two arms ,it's a art really ,there is a technique to it for sure

[@richardkight4482]

Same story, in pa and will never leave

[@imanslotboom6121]

Aussum video harshwinter thesepeople are heroes welldone!!!!!!!

[@jamesfstump]

Eastern Kentucky no heat in my house didn’t get heat in there till I got a job in the coal mines

[@ricklove8588]

Grew up in McDowell County WV in a old coal camp. We would hit the strip roads cutting wood in the summer and stack it up. We burned some coal but mostly during the nights to keep a fire at night. We had a smoke house with our cured meats and canned food in the celler. Had a hole in the ground in the smoke house with a door in the floor we kept potatoes. Fill the hole with straw. I'm a true grew up poor Appalachian boy

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. I can remember that for sure. God bless you.

[@shirleyker2956]

The old strip was where my brother and I would pick blackberries to sell to “Sam the Peddler”. He came around every Saturday when the roads were clear to sell and buy fresh produce and other goods. We used the money from the berries to buy our school books. I am 74.West Virginia.

[@ricklove8588]

@shirleyker2956 sold black berries dug ginsain I know that is not spelled right. Cut weeds and grass found duck eggs for Mr Butler. Anything to make a dollar lol. I actually miss those days

[@agneslong2323]

Skills that may come in handy again if things keep going the way they are.

[@nonnieprice5827]

This story was like a memory from my childhood. Everything you talked about except raising tobacco, was a perfect example of how I was raised. Oh ! How I wished I had one of my mother's lard biscuits cooked on a old wood stove, and crackling cornbread with a cold glass of milk . Thank you Donnie for keeping memories like these alive. God bless.

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing your memories. God bless you. Your very welcome.

[@Cook-hb2nf]

It is a memory straight from my childhood. I can feel the sunburn from the long day of working in the 'baccar field and taste the crispy pone of hot crackling cornbread! I remember washing away the sticky sweaty grime from the workday out back of the house. Momma always had supper just about ready every time we came walking into the house!

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend.

[@garyteague9555]

Oh my Lordy you made me hungry

[@agneslong2323]

I read somewhere that cornbread and milk was one of George Washington's favorite suppers. So when some people think that we are eating poor people food, we are actually eating like a President.

[@MaineUSA]

That's how I grew up. We had no furnace we had two wood stoves. No shower or bathtub. I remember standing around the wood stove and how close we all fell together telling stories and such. We didn't even have a reg appliance for a cooking stove. A hot plate for the summer and refrigerator. I wouldn't change that for anything. I feel blessed 🙏 I love this channel. Thank you Mr Laws.😢

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. Your very welcome. God bless you.

[@chrisoakley5830]

I live in central piedmont of NC, my great grandmother lived to be 101 years old, she died in 1991 and she never had an electric stove, she always cooked and heated with an old wood stove. My Granpa often took me to visit with her when I was a young boy.

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW!

[@bignuts850]

Sorry about your Bad luck

[@lulatorrey6360]

THANKYOUKINGLAWS❤❤❤❤❤❤❤LOVEPEACEBLESSINGSALWAYS😢😢😢😢😢😢😢❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@debrawright9275]

I had to stop the video and count how many children were in that family photo! Goodness! My father was the youngest of 19 kids. My Grandpa was in his late 60's when he was born. I always heard that the reason for the big family's was to have more help on those farms! Totally different world now!

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW that's amazing my friend. Thanks for sharing this. Things sure have changed. God bless you.

[@MsCindyh]

I rewinded and counted also

[@arthurpeterson246]

Hard times make Hard men & women that's why they lived to be 100 yrs + by much prayer,Thanks Donny these videos make my day❤😊

[@donnielaws7020]

Thanks for sharing this my friend. Your very welcome.

[@cynthiaswearingen1037]

Hard times for sure, back in those days...but families were closer, and worked together. I'm a child of the early 60s, and I remember gathering wood and working in the tobacco fields, and canning vegetables and making jellies. Good times. Thank you, Donnie, for these wonderful stories. God bless you.🙏❤️

[@donnielaws7020]

Amen my friend. Thanks so much for sharing this. God bless you. Your very welcome.

[@donnamartz6361]

I live a long way from Appalachia, here in the outskirts of Seattle. But, we grew up spending most of our free time in summers up in the mountains fishing and camping. People were not as far from the woods back then, in the 1960s and 1970s. There were still old-timers living on acreage without modern conveniences so that we knew how they lived. Whether they were neighbors or family, we often visited. The best sweet corn I ever had was grown in the backyard of an older couple in Bellingham. He had an outdoor cooker right in the corn patch. We would sit outside and be waiting for our corn. The old man picked, shucked and boiled it and we would be revelling in the sweetness within just minutes. I still remember that scent.

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks so much for sharing your memories.

[@debrawright9275]

As a child, the woods were my magical get away and the winter snows made them even more magical! Thank you Donnie for the sweet memories!

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this. Your very welcome.

[@stardust949]

I really enjoyed your video of the old times in Appalachia---my Grandmother grew up in a log house, she was born in 1894 and she taught all of us about being independent and how it's no crime to "do without" when necessary. Thank you!

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks so much for sharing this. God bless you. Your very welcome.

[@dbsnyder4503]

As a boy we lived without running water in the house, and heated with a woodstove. Going to the outhouse in winter, was done as fast as possible! There were seven of us kids. Though now I live in a nice house, with all the modern conveniences. Those hard times being poor, in that little house. Were the best times of my life. I go back there in my mind quite often. To take a break from this crazy world of today. God bless you Mr. Laws. Keep telling the stories of us older people.

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. God bless you. Your very welcome.

[@gadsdenconsulting7126]

And it wasn't just preparation for winter, but preparation for every facet of life- teamwork, sacrifice, humility, gratitude, grace, building family, love, and loss. These folks, like I knew my grand parents to have, had sand in their bellys. Thank you for the video and God bless!

[@donnielaws7020]

That's so true my friend. Thanks for sharing this. God bless you. Your very welcome.

[@oldschool8292]

💜

[@oldschool8292]

We think of it has a very hard life these days due to progress. It was a wholesome life that was so much less toxic than the easy way of life we have now in a lot of the world. Of course they knew it could be hard at times but they had one another, family and friends who all came together helping one another. I just love all your videos Donnie. Much gratitude in my heart for what your doing. 💜

[@donnielaws7020]

So true my friend. God bless. Thanks for sharing this. Your very welcome.

[@wallacejeffery5786]

Amen from north Alabama

[@jen2076]

They were all about necessities of life.

[@richgouge4960]

Donnie, I really enjoyed this one. Didn't grow up down there, but in the early 70's after college, my wife and I drove 400 miles south and bought a parcel of wooded ridge land in Casey County, KY. We cleared some land and built a traditional log home with the freely offered help of a wonderful old neighbor. I got to experience felling trees, notching logs, riving boards, working tobacco, hunting 'sang, making molasses and so much more. But the best part was just getting to know the old man and his family. He lived into his 90's and never lived off the ridge. I would give a lot to hear one of his stories one more time. We had to go back North but our hearts found a home there. We still visit his family each year. I have retained many of his values and ways of looking at life. Still cut and split my firewood and help my children butcher. One of the worst things about getting old is realizing that that generation is truly gone. And almost all the next. Appreciate your work.

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks so much for sharing your memories my friend. God bless you.

[@sheilacape4794]

Thank you!!!

[@krystalaura5634]

Well, I'm gonna be honest. Growing up in the brushy mountains, my mom raised 5 of us. I dont know how she did it. My daddy was so lazy, he wouldn't even finish building an out house for us. Instead, i remember going in the cornfield. Momma must have been such a saint.

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend.

[@mimime5376]

A lot of people don’t stop to think about how folks lived back then and what they had to do to survive. I can only imagine how hard it was. Getting up early and working every day doing manual labor till it was time to go to bed and doing it all over again the next day. Couldn’t complain about it either. It just had to be done. Really appreciated this video and how I’m able to live now. 😊🙏🏼❤️🍁🍂🍁

[@donnielaws7020]

So true my friend. Thanks for sharing this. God bless you. Your very welcome.

[@Teaally1913]

My Grandmother used to tell me stories about living in the mountains and canning and sweet potatoes….that would last them for the year. She told me about them having a Big family. They had a younger sister who was about three and she died of Pneumonia. She said her Poor Mother cried for years. My Grandmother would see her mother washing dishes, washing clothes, Cooking and crying the entire time mourning her loss of their baby sister. Her poor Mother could not stop her life’s work. It was a very hard life. This was also during the Great Depression. She told me there was always work to be done. Never time to allow for loosing a child.

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks so much for sharing your memories. God bless you. Thank you.

[@lyallsmith6257]

Many thanks for sharing your stories of days gone by. It reminds me of the stories when I was growing up in rural Saskatchewan, hearing the stories reminds me of what my family did as well it is pretty much the same as what your family went through, I remember many of the old stories that my uncles and grand dad told us when their family arrived in the late 1800's and lived out of sod houses, till they could afford enough to build a house that the purchased from the Eaton's catalog around 1905. That was the house I grew up in the 50's and 60's till I move out and started a family of my own in the city of Moosejaw. Yes listening to this and watching this video brings back old memories and I thank-you, I hope all is well with you and your family. Thanks again take care be safe and happy trails.

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks so much for sharing your memories my friend. It sure gets cold there. God bless you. Take care my friend. Your very welcome.

[@paulaward2075]

My brother's second wife was from Tisdale Saskatchewan. Hello from Tyler Texas!

[@lyallsmith6257]

A hardy hello back to you and your family as well. Tisdale Sask. The land of Rape and Honey, was and may still be on the sign entering the town. However a lot of people want to change that name because of political correctness. Rape referring to Rape seed, kind of sad if you ask me, but that's what happens as time goes by. A tip of the hat from this ol plow boy ( farmer) to you all , take care, be safe and happy trails. @@paulaward2075

[@thomasfugitt3461]

You don't have to go too far to see this old man of 71 years cutting and splitting firewood by my lonesome. My grandsons don't have any interest in doing anything unless you are talking about computer games hard times are coming my friend thanks for the memories and may the Lord bless you

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. I completely understand that. God bless you.

[@marlenepopos12]

Your grandson will work hard as the time requires it. It will happen he will survive because it's in his DNA or in his heritage

[@donnielaws7020]

I hope so my friend. God bless you.

[@MarkWYoung-ky4uc]

Thank you Donnie for keeping the history alive. Much of what you just showed in this video was how people lived here in The northwestern Piedmont of North Carolina. The only real difference was we grew flue cured tobacco rather than burley. I hope you have a great weekend!

[@donnielaws7020]

Your very welcome my friend and. Thanks for sharing this. God bless.

[@Mimi1943100]

Growing up in the Piedmont, Alamance County formed from part of Orange but adjoined Guilford, Randolph, and Chatham, at 80 years old, I still remember about many of the things that you shared in this video. There wasn’t any coal but plenty of chopping firewood for a long winter. Thanks for sharing this part of history with everyone.

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Your very welcome. God bless you.

[@donnaregenauer2757]

Hello from KY love your channel ❤️.People could learn alot from these hard working honest people who never asked for anything from anybody.What an educational video.Thank you for sharing this.❤

[@donnielaws7020]

Thank you friend for sharing this. God bless you. Your very welcome.

[@arneservatius1982]

I grew up in a Sears & Roebuck house . Ordered thru the catalog much like the white farm house you pictured. $2500. 4 bedroom no bathroom that was outside.😊

[@donnielaws7020]

@@arneservatius1982 WOW!

[@hillbillytrucker8347]

My grandmother didn't have an indoor bathroom until 5 years before she passed. She would can always anything and everything. Used split and carry wood for heat. Done same thing for my parents when I was a kid. I also still can and put up for the winter. Also learned to care and raise chickens hogs and beef. Plus hunting which I still do. But my grandpa passed before I got to learn how to smoke and salt cure meat by his methods. Lessons learned from my elders that I still use and pass on to my kids and grandkids. Love the videos and the way you keep our past alive.

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. God bless her. Thank you so much.

[@jillconnelly8206]

Sadly, although my maternal Grandmother knew how to can, when she married and left the farm life in Iowa she never looked back and didn't raise my mother & her sister knowing these old ways, unfortunately. I'm 55 now and if I could ever find someone to learn under, would be a great longing of mine. I may have to resort to KZbin 😢 for lessons. I know a relative of ours sent big beef cubes & chicken in glass jars that had been canned, that was the first I ever knew that could even be done. YES the generations that came before us were tough,resilient, resourceful.

[@donnielaws7020]

God bless you my friend. Thanks so much for sharing this.

[@LoveIsBeautiful1910]

Thank you for warming my soul this morning. Ahh these times when people were happy , families together and respect of the elders, when the simple pleasures were monumental . Your voice and way of speaking is so comforting to me, I've told you this before but it is very true. God bless you Mr Laws and your family, Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.. I did here in Alabama.

[@donnielaws7020]

Thank you friend. Your very welcome. God bless you. HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

[@MichaelSmith-990]

I was born and raised up a coal mining holler and yes sir there sure wasn't alot of insulation in them coal camp houses. Cant beat cooking on an old wood stove thats for sure. God bless you brother Donnie

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this. Your very welcome. God bless you.

[@jamesmorrison1884]

Hello Donnie enjoyed your video. People were a better people then,they didn't sit idle they made there life by the sweat of there efforts. Have a great day.

[@donnielaws7020]

Hello my friend. That's so true. Thanks for sharing this. Your very welcome.

[@debby891]

Thank you for such a wonderful video Donnie❤. Winter, the season that touches my soul as the world slows down a bit, a bit more time for the warmth and coziness of home and family. They worked so hard all year long to prepare their homes for this, something we sometimes take for granted. Thanks for the reminder my friend

[@donnielaws7020]

Your very welcome my friend. Thanks so much for sharing this. God bless you.

[@tedcorey3054]

Good stuff , Donnie . If things keep up, we'll be going back to those ways .

[@donnielaws7020]

Thank you friend. Thanks for sharing this.

[@mistytroutt7211]

I just love hearing these stories about history back in the day. Thank you Mr. Donnie for sharing these stories with us. I really do enjoy hearing them. Take care and God bless❤

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. God bless you. Thank you so much for saying this. Your very welcome.

[@dorisadkins2464]

Love this video . We just don’t realize how bless we are these days. I can remember a lot of this hard work.Have a great day. God bless you and your family

[@donnielaws7020]

Amen! Thanks for sharing this my friend. God bless you.

[@mrwilliams6626]

Thank you donnie it's always nice when you take me back home God bless you and your family for the holidays and always

[@donnielaws7020]

Your very welcome my friend. Thank you.

[@kellyburnette1900]

Oh my, I feel like you're sharing my family's story! My grandma was the 2nd oldest of 14 children raised in a holler of WV. She would tell stories of how her momma taught them to read by using the newspapers pasted on the walls! Its no surprise that most of these 14 earned college degrees as while they were dirt poor, my great grandma made education a priority!

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. God bless you. Thanks so much for sharing your memories and story. That's so awesome.

[@EdwinAsh-hi6yv]

Thanks Donnie for another story and video about the past in our mountains and hills. Those photos you share are priceless and also tell a story in themselves.

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Your very welcome. God bless you.

[@CaroleLeamer735]

Thank you for sharing this Mr Donnie ❤ we have an outdoor furnace , so we have to gather wood to heat our home. My husband has a chainsaw , but he still splits the wood the old fashion way (with an axe and wedge) . As we are getting older, we can appreciate the massively hard work our parents and grandparents had to put in just to survive ❤ God bless you and your family ❤ iMuch love and respect ❤

[@donnielaws7020]

I understand my friend. God bless you. Thanks for sharing this.

[@johnkelley6278]

Thanks for the memories. Seeing those old pot belly stoves made me think of when we used to put potatoes in the ash door and eat them as a treat when they were done.

[@donnielaws7020]

Your very welcome my friend. Thanks for sharing this.

[@danielreynolds6946]

Thanks Mr Donnie! We’re still living similar to this here in Alabama! We just burn wood here in our home, no other form of heat! I’m still doing mine by hand as well, 46 years old. A chainsaw and splitting mauls!

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. God bless you. Your very welcome.

[@jillconnelly8206]

You are blessed to have that life ❤

[@deecooper1567]

I didn’t live quite as hard, but in the country, away from towns. Everyone had something to do or help with. After I married & had kids, cutting wood was a family thing. I thoroughly enjoyed it & when I’d need to vent some issues, I’d grab the splittin maul & go to town 😂. Gets rid of frustrations pretty quick😅. I cooked from scratch & learned to can.. everything that would can. I wasn’t from that time but it sure warms my heart hearing about it & great admiration for the people that did. Thank you 👵🏻👩‍🌾❣️

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. God bless you.

[@jimwinter3181]

A great video Donnie!! Our little farmhouse, 3 rooms had no insulation and in the winter time when it got frigid, we would have ice a quarter-inch thick on the INSIDE on the walls !!!

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. Thanks so much. Your very welcome.

[@PersimmonMorgan]

I live in the Appalachian Mountains of Rabun County Georgia there is no other place I’d rather be than in Gods beautiful mountains of Appalachia

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this. Me to. God bless you.

[@OverlandHer]

I love Rabun county Georgia! God's Country, it's beautiful!

[@PersimmonMorgan]

@@OverlandHer it’s a beautiful county, with some great people.

[@Tristannn303]

Thanks for the video Donnie! I always enjoy it! Also I can now officially say that this 14 year old boy from Oregon has been to Appalachia, I was just in West Virginia about 2 months ago during September. Appalachia is exactly how I pictured it. Much love my friend!

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this. Your very welcome.

[@garyglanville1158]

Dear Donnie. Thanks for the memories . These were. The days my great grandparents, and grandparents , and my parents, lived their lives out. This Thanksgiving was somewhat sad as we really felt the absence of our ancestors. I’m now 72 and all my huge family on my mother’s side from East Tennessee Mts and my dad’s side from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Maryland are gone. They did everything in your video. As a child in the 50s I saw all these things you showed us going on. This is how I feel, I know time moves on but I sure loved the old days. I would cut firewood with dad using a two man saw. We would build a fire in barrel in the woods to keep warm. Then we would start splitting it the same day with wedges. I could go on but you said it all. You bring a type of revival to many of our hearts when we view your videos. Thank you so much for blessing so many. Gary

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. God bless you. Thanks so much for sharing your memories. Your very welcome.

[@kelliejimenez6906]

I feel like we can still learn these things!! It’s something good to know, you never know when you may have to use these skills someday! Thank you for the video! I really enjoyed it!! You and your wife have a wonderfully blessed weekend! 😊

[@donnielaws7020]

That's so true my friend. Thanks for sharing this. Your very welcome.

[@joancruickshank7771]

hi donnie...great video....lived this way for years...between gardens/canning/root cellar/wood and all that goes with it ! i miss it all. it was work, but there are a lot of people who have no idea about this kind of independence...i guess i am sentimental ! hope you had a nice thanksgiving.

[@donnielaws7020]

Hello my friend. I understand that. Thanks so much for sharing this. God bless you.

[@charlesroberts6965]

An amazing look back to how folks worked together to make a living, my parents both grew up on farms and knew the values of hard work and did there best to pass those skills on to us. I being the youngest carry on those traditions and try to instill them into my nieces and nephews the very things I learned.. Appreciate you sharing as always my friend...have a blessed day😇🙂

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Glad you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for sharing this.

[@darrenupfield3539]

I'm in my 50's now, i grew up in southern England, our family were Carnival type travelers, never had more than an old caravan, we hunted and harvested the land of what she would give us! I grew up cutting firewood, and hunting / fishing for dinner in the early evenings, makes me cry when i watched your documentary!!!!!!! simply the best years of this old guys life! Thank you....

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. God bless you.

[@reecia3197]

Something magical about winter, especially winter in the mountains. Thank you for your stories and knowledge.

[@donnielaws7020]

So true my friend. Thanks for sharing. Your very welcome.

[@drtom5936]

Oh so many memories Bro. Donnie. Wonderful history and if people don't watch out they are liable to have to repeat it. Sad to say many would not survive without their modern conveniences

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this. So true.

[@DaveCollierCamping]

Great info - I remember growing up around the Virginia counties- it was a major effort to get ready - starting in late Summer

[@donnielaws7020]

Thanks for sharing this Dave. That's so true.

[@kennethboydsr3966]

Done all that growing up & so did my wife and we loved that way of life it was good but grew away from it over the years so I love these old story’s thanks so much for telling them !!!!

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this. I do understand that. God bless you. Your very welcome.

[@glennkemp6565]

This video makes me think of my grandparents. They worked so hard and were so thankful for everything they had. What a special generation. Thank you Donnie. God bless you.

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. God bless you. Thanks so much for sharing this. Your very welcome.

[@janapetty2806]

When I was a kid, I hated it when daddy would go outside and mess up that beautiful snow with his foot prints. I didn't think about how he needed to care for the animals, wood to bring in and a job to go to all before sun up. He worked hard so we didn't have to go out in the cold before we had to.

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend.

[@alligatorhorse]

One of my earliest memories was going into town to get groceries in my uncles horse drawn sleigh because they never plowed our road. The snow flying back from the horses hooves felt like bee stings on your face.

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing your memories my friend.

[@davidwiggings6951]

Ain’t no better thing to watch than a Mr Donnie Laws video!!!

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW, that's so kind of you to say my friend. Thank you so much. God bless you.

[@TennValleyGal]

Well, Donnie, you just covered my childhood. We were lucky - we had it all- the Warm Morning stove, wood stove, coal by the ton, working the garden, canning and drying food stuff, making lard and lye soap and, of course, tending the 'backer patch. Thanks for memories, Donnie. Blessings to all.

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW that's awesome my friend I know it was hard work. God bless you. Thanks for sharing this. Your very welcome.

[@TOWNCARBUBBA87]

Warm Morning wood / coal Stoves 👍

[@donnaheule5275]

Thank you Donnie,I so enjoy your history lessons. 👍😃

[@donnielaws7020]

Your very welcome my friend. Thanks for sharing this.

[@cadeevans4623]

Thanks for sharing this piece of information I'm sure the winters were cold and freezing needed to prepare for it

[@donnielaws7020]

Your very welcome my friend. That's so true.

[@cadeevans4623]

Thank you very much buddy absolutely buddy

[@RBGreer]

Before I ever started school, my mom and dad lived in a big old farmhouse that was cold, no bathroom. I could tell you a lot that I remember from my childhood. Everybody but a few family members are gone now that were the "old folk" when I was young.

[@donnielaws7020]

I understand that my friend. God bless you. Thanks so much for sharing this.

[@glendawelsh910]

I love your stories touches my heart every time😊

[@donnielaws7020]

Thank you friend. God bless you.

[@kentuckypride3802]

I absolutely love your videos. Hope your family had a great Thanksgiving.

[@donnielaws7020]

Thank you friend. God bless you. HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

[@dw6506]

This is what made our country such an unbeatable force. Thank you Mr. Law you have done it again bring tears to so many, not unhappy tears, tears that has brought a smile on so many peoples face

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. God bless you. Thank you. Your very welcome.

[@kennethwood2089]

Thanks, Donnie! Brings back old fond memories of our 1853 Farmhouse in Appalachia. We lived in a holler near the coldest spot in our state (-28*F) and let me tell you--we thought we went to Heaven when Pa put in a furnace in the basement! Sure--ice still formed on the windows inside and wind still blew through the walls, but it was tolerable. Feather quilts and many blankets were your best friend. Mom had to "find you" each morning buried under all that---but you knew she had piping hot grits, oatmeal, cornbread, even bacon if Pa had a good year or raised a hog. Snow--sure--but the worst was all the ice storms--ice is really nasty for horses or vehicles--especially going down steep hills or curves.

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing your memories my friend. God bless you.

[@roberthand6436]

Many thanks for these memories, brother Donnie! As a sharecropper's son, raised in the hills of Cheatham County, Tennessee, we lived very much the same, and it was a good, though hard life. I wouldn't swap childhoods with a Rockefeller! 😁 Hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving, brother. Much love to you and yours, brother, and G-d bless y'all richly! Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem. ❤

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks so much for sharing your memories. God bless you. Your very welcome. HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

[@bettyfeliciano7322]

Awww memories! That old wood stove was just like my grandma’s. She’d let me put a piece of wood in the burner hole bc she knew I loved that! We’d have to sneak around cause mom didn’t want me in near the stove & under grandmas feet. Thank you Donnie for showing the younger generation how we made do with what we had& stuck together as a family! Blessings always! ❤️✝️

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks so much for sharing your sweet memories. God bless you. Your very welcome.

[@KathysTube]

You're right about food tasting better cooked on/in a woodstove and I split a little wood back in my day... good memories! Thanks Donnie 😎👍👍

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing. God bless you. Your very welcome.

[@Marine-iu3ev]

Thank you Donnie for this film. I am 76 and it sure brought back memories living in the hills of Pennsylvania. There were nine of us kids, poor, but we didn't know how good we had it. thank again.

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing this my friend. God bless you. Your very welcome.

[@birdman9043]

Donnie you just brought back some wonderful memories from my child and teenage years. Thank You

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Your very welcome.

[@bev4155]

Thank you for sharing, brings back so many memories. Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season. God bless 🙏💙

[@donnielaws7020]

You to my friend. HAPPY THANKSGIVING. Your very welcome.

[@homesteadingpastor]

Thank you for sharing Mr. Donnie. I always enjoy learning and hearing more about the way our forefathers & ancestors lived back in the day. Thanks for preserving this precious history. 😇🙏🏻👍🏻❤️

[@donnielaws7020]

Your very welcome my friend. Thanks for sharing this.

[@belindapearson9183]

Thank ya Mr. Donnie for sharing with us. Love these stories.

[@donnielaws7020]

Your very welcome my friend. Thank you so much.

[@stephenmayne4886]

Morning Donnie for sharing another great story about Appalachia mountain. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family

[@donnielaws7020]

Good morning my friend. Thanks for sharing this. Your very welcome. HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

[@georgiawhitworth811]

Mr. Donnie, I grew up in the woods of Arkansas, totally off-grid. I can relate to all this.

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this.

[@highroad3580]

We live in Appalachia today and live pretty much this way, but with the modern machines like chainsaws and wood splitters. Some of the old places in this area were still standing 20 years ago, but are mostly gone now. I rode my horse all over these mountains. Our old hay man worked his tractor into his nineties and had grown up in one of the old homes. He’s gone now and it’s still cows out here. My family raised tobacco a hundred years ago. I love this life. There’s no better heat or food than what we put up ourselves.

[@beckyblevins9095]

Thank you for sharing the videos. This video reminds me of my childhood.

[@donnielaws7020]

Your very welcome my friend. Thank you.

[@jjsadventures]

Thank you for showing this. I love watching about how the people back in the day did things. I learn and try to apply that into daily life now

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this. Your very welcome.

[@AnniDunnan-ms7pz]

Great bit of history and culture there, thanks Donnie, much appreciated. Wishing you a nice weekend ahead, and say hello to Ricky and friends, when you're next up on the ridge! God bless 😀👍💚🍁🍃🍁🍃🍂🍃🍂🍁

[@donnielaws7020]

Thank you friend. Glad you enjoyed it. Your very welcome. See you Monday morning my friend.

[@robbill]

We lived in a house that looked worse than the one you showed in the video. We did have electricity and cold running water. No inside bathroom. We had to heat water to take a bath, wash dishes and wash our hair. Mama had to run a water hose from the pump house (in my bedroom) to the washer. We helped Daddy in the summer cut wood, haul it and stack it for our wood heater. There was an outside door in my bedroom with half inch cracks between the wood and you talk about cold! This was in north Alabama. I love your videos and people nowadays don't have a clue. But we can surely survive! God Bless you!

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW, God bless you. Thanks so much for sharing this.

[@bobbyosullivan1390]

It's incredibly fascinating when it comes to how different country and city life can be, quite literally miles away in terms of differences. The way the snow just covers every single tree branch in those woods is gorgeous as well truly a blessing indeed. Stay safe Donnie and have a great day, God bless you.

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this. God bless. Your very welcome.

[@JesusChristisgreat-pj6nd]

GOD Bless you brother Donnie Happy Thanksgiving from your neighbor on clinch mountain 🌄

[@donnielaws7020]

You to my friend. God bless you. HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

[@Phillip-yy4fr]

Mr. Donnie bringing back memories once again. Great video as always.

[@donnielaws7020]

Thank you friend. God bless you.

[@betharris633]

Our people came to PEI Canada in 1804 and lived in rural farmland here for 7 generations fishing and farming like the folks in this video. Same resilient, independent and God-fearing spirit of people who live close to the land and support one another.

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. God bless you.

[@paulaward2075]

My mom was born and raised in North Missouri, she was from the Trenton Laredo area. You do not want to be way up in North Missouri in the winter time! It's like being at the North Pole! I love your videos and story telling. Hello from Tyler Texas

[@donnielaws7020]

Hello my friend. Thanks so much for sharing this. Glad you enjoy the stories. God bless you. Thank you so much.

[@lezliehodge4556]

Wow! Its videos like this that makes me realize how fortunate I am. A reminder to always count my blessings. Thank you for this wonderful video!

[@donnielaws7020]

Amen my friend. Thanks for sharing. Your very welcome.

[@jennifer5725]

I love these stories and pictures. Thank you, Donnie! I hope you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving 😊

[@donnielaws7020]

Thank you friend. Your very welcome. HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

[@angiegirl7154]

A hard life full of love and respect for one another much of which is lacking today. Thank you for your stories.

[@donnielaws7020]

Yes it was my friend. Most of us lived it in these rural areas. Your very welcome. God bless you.

[@angiegirl7154]

@@donnielaws7020 God Bless you too.

[@JaredKingTV]

Yeah ole man winter is on us brother! One thing I don't miss is havin to swang that ole heavy wood buster hammer. Bout froze half ta death sometimes but, wouldn't trade them times for the world! God bless you for doing this Donnie. God bless and have a good'n my awesome mountain brother!

[@donnielaws7020]

That's so true my brother. Thanks so much for sharing this. God bless. Thank you so much.

[@Trouble2Bone]

Growing Up I Can Remember our old Wooden Shake had No insulation. And My Job During the Winter was to Keep the Old Wood Stove Stocked with Plenty of Wood . Callus on Both of My Hand until they Bleed and Froze in the Winter Chill.

[@MajesticMe429]

I really do enjoy these Appalachian videos. Thank You Donna for doing them for us to watch, & learn from them God bless you. 🙏

[@donnielaws7020]

Thank you so much. Your very welcome my friend.

[@nl212ep]

I love your videos Donnie. Nothing like hearing your stories ❤

[@donnielaws7020]

Thank you very much for sharing this my friend. God bless you.

[@arnoldseay9118]

Great story. Not only a hard life in Appalachia but in most of rural America especially if you lived where there were hard winters. I was born in Colorado and that was a similar lifestyle. I remember sitting around the old pot bellied stove in winter to stay warm and sleeping with a warm brick wrapped in a towel on my feet. I remember those old houses with no insulation. My parents moved to Alaska in 1960 and we spent a large part of summer cutting wood for winter,fishing and hunting for meat in winter. After I returned from Vietnam I moved my family to Homer Alaska. It wasn’t as cold as Fairbanks but work was hard to find. So my family and I would spend a lot of time cutting wood. There were rich coal deposits on the ocean floor and coal would wash up on the beach. I would take my old beach truck to the beach and we would spend the low tide picking up coal. Same thing hanging around the pot belly stove in winter. At least the house I built with my own hands was insulated. Again fishing and smoking and canning salmon. Hunting for moose and bear and putting away garden produce for winter. Potatoes and cabbage grew well there. It was a hard life but I raised 4 good kids all doing well. Now life is much simpler but sometimes I miss those old days.

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks so much for sharing this and your memories my friend. God bless you.

[@rickyparsons5573]

Good morning Donnie…Hope you and your family had a great Thanksgiving….Thank you for another great video….God Bless You 🙏🏻☦️❤️🙏🏻🇮🇱 Lord willing I will see you next time 👍

[@donnielaws7020]

Good morning my friend. Thanks for sharing. Thank you. HAPPY THANKSGIVING. God bless you.

[@j.polishboy4871]

Thanks Donnie. I always enjoy listening to your stories

[@donnielaws7020]

Your very welcome my friend. Thank you.

[@Susan71105]

I love seeing how they lived in the past. So glad I don't have to live like that.

[@donnielaws7020]

Thanks for sharing this my friend. You never know what's down the road.

[@jimelliott9486]

This brought back memories of my grandma in Illinois and my uncle on a tobacco farm in Kentucky. Thank you for sharing.

[@donnielaws7020]

Awesome my friend. Thanks for sharing this. Your very welcome.

[@jeller4313]

I grew up a lot like this. We grew everything and killing hog days stay with me to this day. Never went in the root cellar in winter that there weren’t potatoes, turnips and bags of apples. Never went in the well house that you didn’t see shelves lined with canned fruits and vegetables and hams in sacks hanging from the rafters. In the upstairs were bags of dried apples and strings full of leather britches. We worked hard all year but we ate good and stayed warm all winter. My children and grandchildren will never know what it was like but as bad as it seemed in sitting in the corn crib shucking/shelling corn for the hogs or hoeing and pulling weeds in the gardens, those were some of the best days of my life.

[@donnielaws7020]

WOW Thanks for sharing your memories my friend. God bless you. Thank you. Your very welcome.

[@kvonkirk2340]

I love the Appalachians so beautiful! truly God's country,,, in the summer time I get my butt back to Texas in the winter.

[@donnielaws7020]

Thanks for sharing this my friend.

[@user-xe7vg7zg2v]

I remember grandma and mom canning food for the winter I have never tasted anything so good and it got you through the cold winter and nothing tasted any better I promise you that

[@DirtExtractor]

I love mountain living in Tennessee. It truly is all about the season, not much time to get bored except when itvrains & you cant go outside. One thing for sure is you never stop cutting firewood. You go out & harvest new wood for the next year or during winter yer cutting kindling & axe splitting logs. Then it's time to get the ground ready to plant, then planting, caring for your crop, cutting up downed tree's, them birds has to get fed everyday and tending. It'll keep you outta trouble & closer to GOD

[@donnielaws7020]

Amen my friend. Thanks for sharing this. God bless you.

[@w96725]

Thank you for sharing this with us. The folks back then did hard labor, but also had great satisfaction working their own land for their food, housing, and warmth. They didn't depend on grocery stores and power plants. They had natural materials they took advantage of right on their own land. We have all seen how one thunder storm can knock out the power for miles in every direction. When this happens people are often left without heat in the winter. If a long term power outage ever happened on a large scale, many would be in a very desperate place in a very short amount of time. I have a feeling one day people are going to wish they still had land, knew how to utilize it, and were presently doing so, like our for fathers knew how to and did. Blessings to you in Jesus name, amen.

[@donnielaws7020]

That's so true my friend. Thanks for sharing this. God bless you.

[@w96725]

Your videos are always a blessing to me.@@donnielaws7020

[@terryschiller2625]

Everyone calls them hard times. These people knew what life was about. It was good times family meant everything you took care of and helped each other! You had a great respect for each other. A neighbor was a friend and helper. If they needed help everyone helped them. And vice versa. Yes those we're good times not hard times! Thank you Donnie Sir!

[@donnielaws7020]

Amen my friend. Thanks for sharing this. God bless you. Your very welcome.

[@terryschiller2625]

@@donnielaws7020 y'all have a Merry Christmas Sir.