Upchurch, old Preacher No-No, whose nickname 'pretty well summed up his opinion on most subjects' and Aunt Laura, who knew to listen for the crack of dawn. The characters are memorable: Miss Martha Anne Butler, 'the last surviving member of a failed Southern family', whose grocery deliveries always included two pints of gin the Reverend N.N. These stories of growing up in Appalachia in the 1950s are funny and true, nostalgic and bittersweet.

He grew up listening to his father and his Uncle Frank tell stories of their boyhood, all the while taking in the details of his own childhood experience. The National Association for Interpretation (the professional organization of park rangers, naturalists, museum curators, etc.) gave him the Master Front Line Interpreter Award for his “mastery of interpretive techniques, program development, and design of creative projects” celebrating the natural world and our human connection to nature.ĭoug Elliot is one of the people who make Firefly what it is, and we treasure the depth and range of skill he brings to this community.Ĭheck out Doug’s Website, and download more of Doug’s music and stories from Bandcamp.Donald Davis was born into a southern Appalachian mountain world rich in stories. The National Storytelling Network (the largest storytelling membership organization in the world) inducted him into their Circle of Excellence for “exceptional commitment and exemplary contribution to the art of storytelling.” The International Herb Association presented him with the Otto Richter Award honoring his work with herbs and useful wild plants. In recent years, Dough has received a variety of honors. Named harmonica champion at Fiddler’s Grove Festival in Union Grove, N.C, Doug’s creative talents have also led to the writing of five books, many articles in regional and national magazines, and a number of award winning albums of stories and songs you may have seen on PBS-TV and the History and National Geographic Channels. The ranger training sessions for the National Park Service and guided wilderness experiences he’s led have taken him from down-east Maine to the Florida Everglades. Doug Elliott is a featured storyteller at the National Storytelling Festival, and has lectured and performed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and conducted workshops for the Smithsonian Institution.

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