Mountain Preacher Stories

Book excerpt: Over a period of forty years, Ben Fisher collected stories illustrating the humor of the Southern Highlander. English, Scotch, Welsh, and Irish immigrants to the Appalachian region of North Carolina brought with them a rugged individualism and a sense of humor and dignity which have been characteristic of the sturdy yeoman farmer. Most mountain preachers and many of the old time mountaineers had a real talent for telling stories. While the "tall tale" is a staple of mountain storytelling, more often the tales relate to something that happened, not something just dreamed up. Mountain humor, like all folk humor, typically arises out of a life situation. Fisher's work, edited by his wife Sally following his passing, relates many of the stories and tales that he had heard over the course of his life.