Life In Appalachia: Stories, Poetry
"Raised Poor but Rich as a King"
Welcome to the website of Mary E. Preece where you can see
Mary's Books as they become available.
Presenting:
In This Valley I Grew, Life on Blacklog and Happy Hollow
I pray the faith I have in God comes through as you stroll through the pages.
Please sign my guestbook while you are here. I enjoy reading your comments,
they are important to me as is your visit and I'd like to know who you are.
Email me at akpreece@hotmail.com
or kksmom55@yahoo.com to place an order and I will give you a quote for
one or more books ordered directly from me.
When ordered from me books will be shipped at only two dollars
shipping each with a discount on multiple books.
Mary E. Preece P.O.Box 607 Inez, Ky. 41224
Be sure to check out other great books or to order mine
at all the following locations :
In This Valley I Grew is my own story of growing up in the fifties and sixties in a small
Appalachian neighborhood on the outskirts of a town called Inez, population 500.
It is a story of hardships, innocence, and faith. It describes the people who lived all
around me who in some way or other helped shape and mold my life into what it is
today.I can honestly say truthfully, that there isn’t one person in my childhood that left
such a negative impression on me that I’d rather not remember him or her.
It is my prayer that those of you who read my stories, get the feeling that
I am just talking to you face to face, in a relaxed way,
recounting the events of my life, as I remember them and that you find
yourself reliving them with me, or better yet that they bring back to your memory,
things that you had long forgotten, and that a smile
might cross your lips, and make your day a little brighter.
If you don’t like sentiment then you probably
won’t like this book for that is the only way I know how to tell it,
through the eyes of love as I saw it
and through my heart’s emotions as I felt them. God Bless!.................
Excerpts:
Happy Hollow and Isaac’s Store
When I was a little girl growing up on Blacklog Road there was a little
country store at the mouth of Happy Hollow. It was only a few feet from the state
road and was almost leaning against the hill behind it.
It was owned by a big, happy, man named Isaac and his small,
jolly, wife, whose name was Margaret.
All the children in the neighborhood liked the man and his wife,
and spent every penny they could get at their store.....
It Was Elementary
In 1957 when I was 7 years old we lived in the house on the hill across
from Ollie and Ike’s house, Mommy and Daddy called it the Claude place,
and it was straight out from Mamaw Stepp’s little white-washed
house, and just guessing, I’d say about 500 ft. from our bridge to Isaac’s store.
I loved this house and so did my sisters. There was a lot of land around it and
it was such a wonderful place to enjoy the outdoors.
There was a bottom beneath the hill where we played stickball with the
neighborhood kids. Sometimes Daddy let it grow for hay and there would be a
couple of haystacks in the corner of the bottom where we could hide inside,
when playing hide and go seek. Never worried about allergies or spiders or snakes,
just hollow out a little place and sit back in there like we were snug and safe as could be....
_______________________________________
A very special review from Andrew Huddleston.
I was so honored to have this wonderful review below posted on the
Publish America Message board that I wanted to share it on my front page of this website.
A very special thank-you to Andrew Huddleston author of Heart & Iron ISBN 1-4137-5397-3
Review: In This Valley I Grew
Author: Mary Ellen Goble Preece
ISBN: 1-4137-9399-1
In her superb memoir Mrs. Preece takes you on a heart to heart journey into Appalachia. By Appalachia, I mean her people of course, the hearty souls whose courage, God-fearing belief system and gritty determination assured survival in an area of America where people had to be self-sufficient, able and genius resourceful. “In This Valley I Grew” is a book about foundations. It is about mountain people. It holds no trickery for the reader, no false starts and no phoniness. It is honest, real and Mrs. Preece reveals her story—the story of Martin County—as if she’s talking to you. Her style is a warm, glowing talk—she tells you about people, what they willingly and happily endured and the hope their deep faith provided without prejudice. You want to listen.
And her conversation with you far more than holds your interest. You want to be there. You want to go back in time and be there too—maybe to help some of the folks a little who desperately needed help. But in Martin County everyone did help those who had less. Those who had more in those days did not have much. Some passages are difficult to get through smoothly because of the continuous pressure on your eyes to tear up before you know what is happening. Nothing can stop something that natural from the combination of your physical and emotional self—and owners of this book know well. Tears interfere with the act of reading for a while.
The author caused me to remember things about the fifties and childhood long ago put aside—pleasant things, from the games children (we) played to the snacks we enjoyed. It is the story of America in perhaps her purest form told in a special brand of language. Words are used that came out of the author’s world; they provide color and depth, meaning and truisms. Truths that are still the same today. I am in awe and profound respect for these folks—for this book. My writing seems cheap now and irrelevant. It is evident Mrs. Preece didn’t write it for that purpose but the book had that affect.
She remembers preachers, neighbors, family members, teachers—many people of the county; her ability to recall details must be at the genius level. There are elements about life in the fifties and through the seventies that are forgotten by most people but Mrs. Preece brought them back somehow. It does not matter if you don’t know her—when you read “In This Valley I grew,” you will come to know a dear heart, a true friend who loves the Lord and one who thankfully has shared a wonderful American story with you. I highly recommend Mrs. Preece as an author to acquire as soon as you can. “In This Valley I grew” is a must for your library. It is an excellent chronicle of this area in Appalachia with the true story of her people within its pages.
Andrew O. Huddleston
_________________
Heart & Iron ISBN 1-4137-5397-3
History, faith and God's blessings.
I want to thank Wanda Maynard Reviewer for Simegen Reviews.com for the kind review of my first book:
In This Valley I Grew by Mary Ellen Goble Preece
Reviewed by Wanda Maynard In This Valley I Grew by Mary Ellen Goble Preece is about a by-gone era that brings to mind a glimpse back to a happy childhood. Back to a time of innocence. Back even further to a time when sweet things to eat were only valued at a penny, nickel, or dime.
Let us wander back with her as she takes us through time to the 1950s, to a life on Blacklog and Happy Hollow. A time when things were simpler, and childhood games took place mostly outside in the hot summer days and cool summer evenings.
As this four star, sentiment-filled book of events unfold, we see through her eyes, what could only be told through what she saw and felt at that time. A time of visits with neighbors, friends, and family. Of walks to the store or church and back. To a time when moms and dads sat on the porch after supper in the cool of the evening and told their own stories of growing up, while watching the children at play.
Let the words of Mary Ellen Goble Preece inspire you to read this heart-felt story of an Appalachian neighborhood of long ago in Martin County, Kentucky. Maybe, just maybe, a spark of a forgotten memory of that era may yield a sunshiny day into someone's life.
I want to thank Wanda Maynard Reviewer for Simegen Reviews.com for the kind review of my first book:
In This Valley I Grew by Mary Ellen Goble Preece
Reviewed by Wanda Maynard
Publisher: Publish America
http://www.publishamerica.com
ISBN: 1413793991
Genre: Non-fiction
Subgenre: (Auto)biography
Release date: Nov 2005
Format: Paperback
Pages: 108
In This Valley I Grew by Mary Ellen Goble Preece is about a by-gone era that brings to mind a glimpse back to a happy childhood. Back to a time of innocence. Back even further to a time when sweet things to eat were only valued at a penny, nickel, or dime.
Let us wander back with her as she takes us through time to the 1950s, to a life on Blacklog and Happy Hollow. A time when things were simpler, and childhood games took place mostly outside in the hot summer days and cool summer evenings.
As this four star, sentiment-filled book of events unfold, we see through her eyes, what could only be told through what she saw and felt at that time. A time of visits with neighbors, friends, and family. Of walks to the store or church and back. To a time when moms and dads sat on the porch after supper in the cool of the evening and told their own stories of growing up, while watching the children at play.
Let the words of Mary Ellen Goble Preece inspire you to read this heart-felt story of an Appalachian neighborhood of long ago in Martin County, Kentucky. Maybe, just maybe, a spark of a forgotten memory of that era may yield a sunshiny day into someone's life.