Miracle in the Hills

Book excerpt: Dr. Sloop and her husband began their lifelong dedication to the mountain people when they rode horseback into the remote hill region of North Carolina in 1909. The conditions they encountered were shockingly primitive. The people had neither doctors, nor schools and were suspicious of medicine and "larnin’." Electricity and running water were unheard of, roads were rough mountain paths and the diet consisted of "hog meat, greens and grease." The main industry was moon shining. Dr. Sloop declared a personal war on moonshiners, tracking down hidden still with a reluctant sheriff in tow. She fought against child marriages and in a region where girls often married at the age of fourteen. With the help of the mountain people, she reinvigorated the weaving trade, built a church and a modern well equipped hospital. Her spirited support of education resulted in a modern twenty-five-building school. An amazing story of a unique crusade in the hill country of North Carolina.