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The fall of 1966 found a young teacher arriving at RabunGap-Nacoochee School and entering his first classroom, only

to find himself not really prepared for the challenge in front ofhim getting the students interestedin learning English. EliotWigginton tried several approaches, but just could not get thestudents attention. With inspiration from the writings of JohnDewey, Wigginton asked the studentswhat would interest them

what could they do as a class to make the English curriculuminteresting. Several ideas were discussed, and the students choseto produce a magazine. The students would practice their basicwriting skills while creating content for their magazine. Someof the students decided to write articles based on informationand stories gathered from their families or neighbors stories

about the pioneer era of Southern Appalachia. Foxfire, thename of a glowing fungus found on rotting wood in the area,was the name the students chose for their endeavour.

At a time when the hillbilly stereotype was a targetfor ridicule, those first articles about the people of SouthernAppalachia gave a whole new light to the determination, faith,and joy of living that this vanishing mountain culture shouldbe remembered for. Those early articles about local eldersand their way of life struck a chord with the community andthe public at large, and the fledglingmagazine began to grow. By 1972,

the demand for current and backissues ofFoxfirewas so great thatan anthology book was producedThe Foxfire Book.

Along with audio recordings,the students often acquired artifacts from the contacts theywere interviewing, and the available classroom space wasgetting crowded. Looking for room to grow, property innearby Mountain City was purchased with book royaltiesin 1974, and the first of todays 20+ log cabins were movedand reassembled mostly by students to create the Foxfire

Museum and Heritage Center.In 1977, when the newly-completed Rabun County HighSchool was opened and Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School choseto transition to a fully private boarding school, the Foxfireprogram chose to move, feeling that its ties to the communitywould be better served by working with local students.

Foxfires next expansion began in 1986, when grant fundingmade it possible to explore whythe program was so successfulas a classroom experience. In less than ten years, The FoxfireApproach to Teaching and Learning was in widespread useacross North America. Not at all a pattern for replicating

Foxfires magazine product, the Approach is a distillation of


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howFoxfire succeeded that can be applied in any classroom,

to any subject matter at any grade-level. The Approach helpsteachers find ways to incorporate Foxfires basic foundationsinto their own individual classrooms.

Today, students at Rabun County High School arestill producing The Foxfire Magazine going out into theircommunity and preserving their heritage by interviewingtheir elders. Over 40 years worth of collected documentationabout the culture of Southern Appalachia exists through theefforts of the Magazine program. The 12 volumes of TheFoxfire Bookseries have sold nearly 9 million copies. Since1976, over $700,000 in scholarships have been awarded to

Foxfire students, with assistance from philanthropist Julia B.Fleet since 1989. Annually, the Foxfire Museum and HeritageCenter provides dozens of school, home-school, and privatetour groups with fun and educational exposure to this uniquemountain culture, while thousands of casual visitors takeself-guided tours of the Museum. College, high school, andelementary school teachers continue to visit northeast Georgiaand carry the knowledge and experience of The Foxfire Coursefor Teachers back to their classrooms across the country.

From its humble beginning in one rural classroom, Foxfirehas grown to be many things to many people, both to its local

community and to countless others across this country andaround the world. Thank you for your interest in and supportof the legacy our students have built.

Our

MissiOn Foxfire is a not-for-profit, educational and literary

organization based in Rabun County, Georgia.Founded in 1966, Foxfires learner-centered,

community-based educational approach is advocatedthrough both a regional demonstration site groundedin the Southern Appalachian culture that gave rise to

Foxfire, and a national program of teacher trainingand support that promotes a sense of place and

appreciation of local people, community, andculture as essential educational tools.


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The Foxfire Magazinehas been in continuous productionsince it was founded in 1966. Begun in an English class at

Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, the magazine operated thereuntil 1977, when the program moved to Rabun County HighSchool. It remained an English-credit class for many years, untilchanging staff and changing state curriculum guidelines forcedthe program to become a vocational elective. However, the goals

of the program remain unchanged: Student leadership directsthe day-to-day operation of the class with help from facultyfacilitators, the students use Rabun County and neighboringcommunities as resources for the information they gather, andeach finished Magazine issue is distributed to an audiencewell outside the classroom across the entire United States

and abroad. The students achieve their goal of preserving thevanishing culture of Southern Appalachia their culture whilemeeting state curriculum mandates and publishing deadlines.The Foxfire Magazineis no small achievement.

Student editors are responsible for training new studentson each step of the production ofThe Foxfire Magazine. Astudent begins by choosing a topic to research or a familymember, neighbor, or other local elder to interview. He orshe arranges to meet theircontact and record theinterview. Back in the

classroom, the interviewis carefully transcribedword-by-word into wordprocess ing software .Pulling information fromthe completed transcript, the student writes an article basedon the contents of their interview or pulls together information

Over 40 Yearsissue #1 and each 5th Anniversary issue since

then, including the 40th Anniversary issue on next page


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from several interviews. Articles can focus on a specific persons

life or stories, the lore of a specific town or community, detailsor how-to information on traditional crafts and skills, or anynumber of other things. The student editors assist the otherstudents on each step of the process, then proofread and offeradvice on content, and ultimately choose which articles will beincluded in the next Magazineissue. If an article is not chosenfor immediate publication, it is archived and can be pulled outlater when circumstances call for that particular topic or tocomplement more recent information.

Producing two double-issues of The Foxfire Magazineeach school year, all of the students in the program work to

develop their skills in writing, communication, collaboration,time management, decision-making, and problem-solving.Leadership, teamwork, self-discipline, and responsibility arealso fundamentals of the program. Through their hard workand the acceptance of the audience beyond the classroom(subscribers and readers), students gain confidence in theirown abilities, competence, and self-worth.

Two issues per yearof personalities, history,and how-to articles fromAppalachia, written byRabun County High

School students.

$12.95one-yearin U.S.A.

$24.95 one-yearinternational

above (large) is the 40th Anniversary issue ofThe Foxfire Magazine


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If youre headed near the mountains of northeast Georgia,

plan a visit to Mountain City and step back to a time when lifewas much slower and simpler, but just as fulfilling (if not moreso) than the rushed existence most of us lead today.

Here you will find the homes, tools, trades, crafts, andthe lifestyle of the all-but-vanished pioneer culture of the

Southern Appalachian mountains. Foxfire students beganinterviewing their families, friends, and neighbors in 1966.Many times, these folks wouldgive the students some old toolsor the finished hand-crafteditems they were discussing or

documenting. Very quickly,Foxfire was growing an extensiveartifact collection. When TheFoxfire Bookbecame a nationalphenomenon, Foxfire gained a

source of capital (book royalties)to grow from. In 1974, land onthe side of Black Rock Mountain

was purchased, and Foxfire created a physical presence in thecommunity. From the beginning, the students intended theproperty to be a place of interaction between themselves, their

work, and their community.Foxfires new homeplace opened up a whole new realmof possibilities for the students they could now collect andpreserve one very significant piece of endangered SouthernAppalachian culture that they had never been able to evenconsider before log cabins. About half of the 20+ log cabinsat the Center are authentic structures, standing basically asthey were originally built as much as 180 years ago. The restof the cabins are traditional designs, constructed from usablepieces of barns, homes or other buildings too deteriorated to bereassembled, and represent structures that could not be found

intact or would not be parted with by their owners.The Museums oldest structure is an authentic 1820s one-room log cabin that was home to three family generations with 10children each. Dog-trot cabins, known for their summertimecomfort, a replica chapel (the center of any mountaincommunity), an animalbarn, a blacksmiths shop,and a complete grist millshowcase other aspects ofliving and working in thebygone days of Southern

Appalachian. Collections


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of simple tools and furnishings complete the picture. The ZurawWagon, the only existing wagon known to have been used inthe Trail of Tears, is also on display. The Village Weaver, artist-in-residence Sharon Grist, is an accomplished spinner, knitter,

and weaver. Sharon usually has a wide range of woven goodsin progress on her many looms, and is more than happy toshare her art with visitors. Keep in mind that almost everythingat the Museum was collected or actually built by high schoolstudents who wanted to preserve their heritage.

Visitors can take a self-guided tour of the Museum along awalking trail that climbs the property, winding throughout thegrounds before returning to the gift shop. Some portions ofthe Museum are vehicle and handicap-accessible. Guided toursare available by appointment for groups of six or more andfeature plenty of information and more collections, including

woodworking tools, housewares, and a folk art gallery.The gift shop and Museum entrance are housed in theGate House, the first cabin visitors will see driving up FoxfireLane. Other cabins on theproperty provide archivestorage, conference anddormitory facilities forteacher-training classes andvisiting students, and spacefor heritage workshops orfolk-life demonstrations.

see maps inside back coverfor directions to the Museum

8:30am4:30pmMondaySaturday

(call ahead for hours near national holidays)

museum admission: $6 adults,children 10 & under FREE

we apologize but, at this time, the Center is not

accessible by large motor homes or tour buses


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As Foxfire grew and gained national recognition, beleagueredteachers all across the country looked at The Foxfire Magazine,and saw an opportunity to change things. They started producingtheir own magazines in an attempt to do Foxfire. Most of theseteachers met with partial or little success because they had missedthe very heart of why Foxfire succeeded student choice.

Kaye Carver Collins, an early magazine student and latera Foxfire staff member for 13 years, explained the problem likethis: It seemed that people couldnt understand the importanceof the difference between the magazine, which was the choice wemade, and the fact that we made a decision.

In-house research and later grant-funded exploration soughtto clarify the reasons for Foxfires success and give teachers thehelp they were looking for. The original classroom models threedriving factors student decisions directing the process, usingthe local community as a resource for learning, and providingan audience beyond the classroom for the students work weregrown and refined over time by practicing educators and Foxfirestaff, resulting in the eleven Core Practices that are the foundationof the Foxfire Approach to Teaching and Learning.

The Approach is neither a method nor a recipe for success.Each practitioner must be willing to rethink his or her own

teaching methods and adapt the Approach to their particularsubject areas, students, and curriculum requirements. Anintroductory program, A Taste of Foxfire, is a short class offeredto familiarize teachers and administrators with the Approach and

From Thinking To Doing

Detailed discussion by practicingFoxre teachers on each o the

eleven Core Practices, the buildingblocks o the Foxre Approach

to Teaching and Learning, grownrom the original Foxre classroom.

Considering Creativity

and ImaginationArticles from educators around the country,

supporting Core Practice 9, offeringinsights into and practical applications ofcreativity, imagination, and the aesthetic

experience for enriching learning.


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Considering Assessment

and EvaluationA third collection o articles, discussingCore Practice 11. Topics include Critical

Issues o Assessment, Perormance-Based Assessment, Portolio Assessment,

and Scoring and Reporting.

Considering Reflection

A second collection o articles, builtaround Core Practice 10, eaturing

sections on Teacher Refection and onStudent Refection, intended to support

any teacher wanting to strengthenrefection in the classroom.

determine its appropriateness for their classrooms or schools. TheFoxfire Course for Teachers is an in-depth examination of eachof the Core Practices and their applications. During the Course,teachers will identify their existing perceptions of the relationshipsbetween teachers, learners, and the curriculum. Those perceptionswill be challenged, and the teachers will begin to redefine theirown teaching philosophies to include the Core Practices andmerge them back into their own teaching practices.

Foxfire teacher courses are provided through a partnershipwith nearby Piedmont College in Demorest, GA, and can betaken for continuing education credit. Separate focused courses

are offered for K-12 teachers and for college professors. ContactHilton Smith, Secondary Education Chair at Piedmont College,for more information by email at [email protected] or bytelephone at 706-778-8500, ext. 1297.


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and showcase the simple faith, steadfast determination,the southern Appalachian Mountains, high school students

personalities, and lives of their elders for over four decades,

Te Foxfre Book: Tis Is Te Way I Was Raised Up w Wood ools

w Log Cabins w Chimneys w White Oak Splits w An Old Chair MakerShows How w Rope, Straw, and Feathers Are o Sleep On w A QuiltIs Something Human w Soapmaking w Cooking On A Fireplace wPreserving Vegetables & FruitwChurning ButterwHogs: Slaughtering,Curing, Smoking, RecipeswWeather and Planting SignswTe Buzzardand Te Dog w Home Remedies w Hunting w Dressing and CookingWild Animals w Snake Lore w Moonshining w Faith Healing

Foxfre 2: Sourwood HoneywBeekeeping wSpring Wild Plant FoodswOx Yokes wWagon Wheels and Wagons wub WheelswFoot-PoweredLathes w From Raising Sheep o Weaving Cloth wWash Clothes In AnIron PotwMidwives and Granny WomenwOld-ime BurialswBoogers,Witches, and Haints w Corn Shuckins, House Raisins, Quiltins, PeaTrashins, Singins, Log Rollins, Candy Pullins

Foxfre 3: Hide anning w Cattle Raising w Animal Care w Banjosand Dulcimers w Purple Martin Gourds w Dipper Gourds w Ginsengw Summer and Fall Wild Plant Foods w Smokehouses w Lumber Kilnsw Butter Churns w Apple Butter w Sorghum w Brooms and Brushes wCornshuck Mops, Dolls and Hats

Foxfre 4: Knie Makingw

Wood Carvingw

Fiddle Makingw

Plow-Stocks w Wooden Sleds w Gardening w Bird raps, Deadalls, andRabbit Boxes w Horse rading w Making ar w Logging w WaterSystems w Berry Buckets w Cheese Making

Foxfre 5: Blacksmithing: Blast Furnaces, Bellows, Fireplace Pokers,Forge Shovels, Froes, Cowbells, and Horseshoes w Gunmaking: Black

Powder, Barrels, Siler Locks, Flintlocks, Modern Gunsmiths, urkeyShoots, Te NMLRA w Bear Hunting: Habits and Habitat, Bear Dogs,Hunting and rapping, Honest John, Buck Fever, Hunting Lore

Foxfre 6: Gourd Banjos and Songbows w Wooden Locks wShoemakingwoys and Games w Uncle John Was In Te Crib StealingCorn w I Did Te Best I Could With Te Brain Nature Gave Me w

Memories O Te American Chestnutw

Te Homeplace


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Among the first recognized works to go against stereotypesand ingrained resourcefulness of the people who inhabitedof Rabun County, Georgia, have collected the stories,

preserving this unique heritage for the generations to come.

Foxfre 7: Religious Denominations w Baptists, Catholics, Church O

Christ, Episcopalians, Jehovahs Witnesses, Methodists, Pentecostals,Presbyterians w Te Camp Meeting w Te radition O Shaped-NoteMusic w I Love o Sing . . . wGospel Shaped-Note Music w Baptism wFoot Washing w Te People Who ake Up Serpents

Foxfre 8: Blacks In Appalachia w Southern Folk Pottery w MeadersPottery w Burlon and Irene Craig w Norman and Irene Smith w Wilson

Potteryw

Hewell Potteryw

Brown Potteryw

Cockghting: Breeds,Breeding, Selling, Raising, Combs, Conditioning, Fighting, Te Law wLet Me ell You About Tis Mule

Foxfre 9: Mushrooms Tat Glow w Remedies, Herb Doctors andHealers w Te General Store w Quilting-Te Joy O My Lie w CrazyQuilts w Catawba Indian Potter w Jud Nelson Wagon w Praying Rockw

Watchman On Te Wallw

Lie Is Goodw

Haint ales and OtherScary Stories w Puncheon Floors w Mauls w Broadax Handles w TeWorst Feeling Was Being Alone

Foxfre 10: allulah Falls Railway w allulah Falls Hotel Era, ClaytonBoardinghouses, Survivors wBurton, Clearing Te Land, Fontana Dam,Hard imes, Forest Service and Ranger Nick, Te CCC, Te WPA w

Craters: Te Woodys, Jimmy White, Clyde Runion, Jerry King, TeCrockers, Reuben A. Miller, Minnie Black

Foxfre 11: Te Old Homeplace w Wit, Wisdom, and Remembrancesw Gardens and Commercial Farms w Preserving and Cooking Food wWild Plant Uses wBeekeeping wechnology and oolswFarm Animalsw Hunting Stories w Fishing w Personality Portraits: Annie Chastain,

Billy Long, Lillie NixFoxfre 12: Te Goat Man, eacher and Country Music Bu, StillA-Dancin w Square Dancing w Craters: Steve urpin, Arthur Speed,

John Huron, impson Creek, ubby Brown w How o: Kenny RunionChair, Rose Beads, Wooden Con, urtles From Creek o Crock wWorld Wars I and II w Cherokee Stories w Summer Camps: Camp

Dixie, Red Barrons Camp, Camp Pinnacle


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"Although Aunt Arie died in 1978,her indomitable spirit is captured orever here..." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) Arie Carpenterwas one o the early contacts thatFoxre students interviewed, andshe welcomed them all into herhome and shared her lie withthem. Here is a loving portrait o

a ondly-remembered riend. Tisbook is not just about Arieitis Aunt Arie. In her own words,she discusses everything romplanting, harvesting, and cooking

to her thoughts about religion and her eelings about living alone.

estimonials rom many who knew her supplement the interviewsand the wealth o photographs gathered by Foxre students.

For our decades, Foxre books

have brought the philosophyo simple living to readers,teaching creative sel-suciencyand preserving the stories andcustoms o Appalachia. Builtaround three basic valueso southern Appalachianlie, Faith, Family, and theLand continues the Foxretradition in a unique wayreminiscences o church,

aith healing, and miracles;raisin', arming, and holidays;buying land, logging, andthe mountainselders' thoughts on thesetopics and "how things used to be" are shared through quotesdirectly rom the hundreds o contacts who have graciously

shared their lives with Foxre students since 1966. Filled withmemories, lessons, advice, and even recipes, Te Foxfre 40thAnniversary Book is a tribute to our decades o Foxreto thecontacts who shared their lives with the students who gatheredthe stories to pass on to kindred spirits who treasure the simple,steadast, and unique culture o southern Appalachia.


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For those who are tired o deadbatteries and beeping electronictoys, this book is a welcome and

entertaining guide. Part oralhistory and part rule book,here is a joyous collection omemories o playing indoorand outdoor gamesomaking dolls, homemade

board games, playhouses,and other toyseach withcomplete instructions andthe favor o southernAppalachia. Every toy andgame has been tested by

the Foxre students and is devised to make or play yoursel,without major expense, complicated parts, or electricity.

Tis enchanting book celebratesthe holiday traditions oAppalachian amilies as passeddown over many generations.Te memories shared here arerom a simpler time, whengits were ewer but vastlymore precious, and holidaytables were laden with avorite

traditional dishes. More than just reminiscences, includedare instructions or creatingmany o the ornaments, toys,and recipes that make up somany Appalachian holiday

traditionsrom chicken anddumplings to black walnut cake (delicious), candy pullsto serenading (not what you might think), corn husk dolls tohand-whittled toy cars (no plastic here), and much more.

To order any of these titles or browse other related

books we carry in our shop, please visit our website


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A redesigned version o theWinter 1981 issue o TeFoxfre Magazinea specialedition celebrating the

days and ways o cookingon wood-burning stoves.Foxre students collectedover 100 recipes romthe last generation oolks who grew up cooking on wood

stoves, like the Dickersons o Wolork Valley in the eaturearticle. In true Foxre tradition, the students later expanded thisproject into Te Foxfre Book o Appalachian Cookery (below).

More than an average cookbook,

this collection contains over 500recipes, combining unpretentious,delectable dishes with the witand wisdom o those who haveprepared and eaten such oods orgenerations. A sampling o avorites

includes rhubarb cobbler, sassarastea, ried quail, Brunswick stew,angel fake biscuits, seven-day cole

slaw, and lime pickles. Te book also explainstraditional methods o preparing and preserving oods, preparingwild game, and cooking with a wood stove or replace.

Winemaking contains stories romover 25 Foxre contacts, inormativesections on winemaking equipment,

ingredients, and procedures, andover 30 unique recipes or winesand juicesincluding blackberry,corncob, dandelion, elderberry, andrhubarb wines, many traditionalgrape wine recipes, and othersurprises. From the introduction:We gathered grapes or Bill Park,crushed blackberries or Harry Pitts, and gutted a pumpkin or Efe Lord. Weound that the various types o wine were endlessas John Bulgin

puts it, You can make wine out o anything but a rock.


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from US 441 in Mountain City:Watch for the brown State Park signs,

follow them to Black Rock Mountain Parkway

On the Parkway, continue up appx. 1.0 mile, watch

for the rst small brown Foxre sign

At the large Black Rock Mtn. State Park sign,

turn left onto Down Home Lane

Just over 0.1 mile, turn left at the stop sign

onto Cross Street (gravel road for a short time)

0.5 mile down Cross Street, watch for our

sign and turn right onto Foxre Lane

Stop at the Gate House, the rst log cabin youll see

Foxre is appx. 1.5 miles off of US Highway 441 in

Mountain City, just 1 mile north of Clayton, GAless

than 2 hours from Atlanta, Asheville, or Greenville.


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TheFoxfire

Fund,Inc.

POBox541/200

FoxfreLane

Mou

ntainCity,G

A30562-0541

Ch

ange

ServiCe

requeSted

(706)746-5828phone

(706)746-5829

fax

www.foxre.org

fo

[email protected]

w

ww.foxre.org


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title price qty total...

appalachian cookery $21.95 _______ _________

app. toys & Games $19.95 _______ _________

aunt arie $19.95 _______ _________

FoxFire christmas $16.95 _______ _________

Faith, Family, & the land $17.95 _______ _________

WinemakinG $14.95 _______ _________

Wood stove cookery $11.95 _______ _________

the FoxFire Book $16.95 _______ _________

FoxFire 2 $17.95 _______ _________

FoxFire 3 $16.95 _______ _________

FoxFire 4 $17.95 _______ _________

FoxFire 5 $17.95 _______ _________

FoxFire 6 $17.95 _______ _________

FoxFire 7 $17.95 _______ _________

FoxFire 8 $17.95 _______ _________

FoxFire 9 $16.95 _______ _________

FoxFire 10 $16.95 _______ _________

FoxFire 11 $17.95 _______ _________FoxFire 12 $16.95 _______ _________

FoxFire SetBookS 112 $200.40 _______ _________

FoxFire maGazine $12.95 u.s. _______ _________

From thinkinGto doinG $19.95 _______ _________

cons. reFlection $11.95 _______ _________

cons. creativity $11.95 _______ _________

cons. assessment $11.95 _______ _________

teaching Setall 4 titleS $50.80 _______ _________

suBtotal _________

Ga add 7% salestax _________

shippinG & handlinG _________

total _________

order form

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All orders must be prepaid in U. S. Funds. Please make

check or money order payable to Foxre, PO Box 541,

seechartinbrochure

QUESTIONS?

[email protected]

706.746.5828MondaySaturday

8:30am4:30pm