Foxfire 3

The Foxfire Series #3

by Eliot Wigginton (Editor)

First published in 1972, The Foxfire Book was a surprise bestseller that brought Appalachia's philosophy of simple living to hundreds of thousands of readers. Whether you wanted to hunt game, bake the old-fashioned way, or learn the art of successful moonshining, The Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center had a contact who could teach you how with clear, step-by-step instructions.

Volume three of this series covers animal care, banjos and dulcimers, wild plant foods, butter churns, ginseng and more.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, History, Survival, Gardening, Crafts, Nature

512 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Eliot Wigginton (born Brooks Eliot Wigginton) is an American oral historian, folklorist, writer and former educator. He was most widely known for developing the Foxfire Project, a writing project that led to a magazine and the series of best-selling Foxfire books, twelve volumes in all. These were based on articles by high school students from Rabun County, Georgia. In 1986 he was named "Georgia Teacher of the Year" and in 1989 he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship.
Wigginton was born in West Virginia on November 9, 1942. His mother, Lucy Freelove Smith Wiggington, died eleven days later of "pneunomia due to acute pulmary edema," according to her death certificate. His maternal grandmother, Margaret Pollard Smith, was an associate professor of English at Vassar College and his father was a famous landscape architect, also named Brooks Eliot Wiggington. His family called him Eliot. He earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in English from Cornell University and a second Master's from Johns Hopkins University. In 1966, he began teaching English in the Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, located in the Appalachian Mountains of northeastern Georgia.
Wigginton began a writing project based on his students' collecting oral histories from local residents and writing them up. They published the histories and articles in a small magazine format beginning in 1967. Topics included all manner of folklife practices and customs associated with farming and the rural life of southern Appalachia, as well as the folklore and oral history of local residents. The magazine began to reach a national audience and became quite popular.
The first anthology of collected Foxfire articles was published in book form in 1972, and achieved best-seller status. Over the years, the schools published eleven other volumes. (The project transferred to the local public school in 1977.)
In addition, special collections were published, including The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Cookery, Foxfire: 25 Years, A Foxfire Christmas, and The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Toys and Games. Several collections of recorded music from the local area were released.

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I borrow a house in the mountains and this is on the bookshelf: these are my people. The banjo and dulcimer section was extra fascinating. I’ve been reciting a steady stream of these facts and stories for two weeks. Now I’ve got to fill in the gap with Foxfire #2 that’s on my own shelf.

[Michael Swanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this volume less interesting than the first two. The banjo and dulcimer chapters were of especial interest, but lacked detail that someone who had no experience building would have trouble finding value in. They did however have some entertaining and inspiring anecdotes.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Series on how on people use to do thing when they were mostly self sufficient, and not store dependent different volumes cover everything from snake handling. to log cabin building to planting by the seasons, a must for DIY'ers and survivalists. Check out amazon.com for individual contents.

[Dudley Stadler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book. It could be used as a reference book or just a comfortable read. The people presented in the book are interesting but I just skimmed through some of the how to make things. Instructions are both in writing and pictures. I believe I could make an object, such as a butter churn but I would need materials and tools.

[RD Starmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the stories told by old-timers in this book! Filled with know-how and life knowledge! I always thought these books were just a series of “how-to’s”. But the folklore gathered and told here by students is just a pleasure to read!

[Bear Paw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really like all the old tales and old ways of doing things , in these books.. well worth the price!

[SteFF · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read several in the series. These are MUST reads!

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great and informative read in the Foxfire series

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another interesting collection of Appalachian folkways from the Foxfire folks. I found the instructional sections in this section to be better written than those in the first two volumes. I walked away from this volume feeling that if I had the materials, the tools, and the time, I could follow the instructions in this book to make a banjo, a cornshuck doll, or a broom. In the previous volumes, I couldn't possibly have made anything using the instructions. (That's not to say that they couldn't be useful to the right person.)

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series holds up very well; this volume is every bit as interesting (and practical) as the first two. I once read a science fiction novel in which a group of people were setting out to settle a new planet - knowing that they would be operating in many ways on a pre-Industrial-Revolution level, one of the characters brought along the Foxfire collection. Some of these activities would also make great projects for students and teachers or for children and parents to do together.

[David Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foxfire 3: Animal care, banjos and dulcimers, hide tanning, summer and fall wild plant foods, butter churns, ginseng, and still more affairs of plain living (The Foxfire Series #3) by Eliot Wigginton (Editor), Foxfire Students (Anchor Press 1975) (917.58). More transcribed interviews by the students at Rabun County High School in Georgia with their rural elders. My rating: 7.5/10, finished 1975.

[Hannah DN · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was either deliriously quaint or mind-bogglingly long. This is basically part of an Amish Living encyclopedia set; the part about identifying wild plants was particularly informative and useful, but since I have no future plans on making a dulcimer, I probably could have spent my time better elsewhere.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is totally sweet. The stories of people are the real strength of the book - the how-to's are good too, but the people and the lives they lead are what make for good reading. I'll be getting more of the Foxfire series!

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent series of books. Very informative. Gives me a very nostalgic feeling of growing up in the country when I was a kid. Makes you miss the feeling of community togetherness that is practically extinct today.

[Nick Klagge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much to add beyond my review of The Foxfire Book, except to say that I especially enjoyed Eliot Wigginton's introduction discussing the challenges of handling the fame surrounding the Foxfire project.

[Blast · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to know how to live without electricity then these books are for you!

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love all these books. They bring back the memories of my grandparents, and their parents and the "how-to" survival of their times.

[Taylor W. Rushing · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very practical and interesting. The spirit of the South holds true.

[Ron]

The Foxfire Book by Eliot Wiggington (1972)

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

An oral history collection from the Appachian Mountains region. Tells what life was like in the early 1900s. Wild plants used by the residents are among the oral histories.