Appalachian Raconteurs

AR Story

2010-02-08T12:20:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone enjoyed their break. To start us off this semester we will be creating a story online. Samantha has provided the first part of the story which is being posted on Google Docs. So please click the link, read the story, and add the next part. The Doc has been set up so anybody can edit it. Please write your part with a different color and don't forget to save before closing the window.

Have Fun.

AR Story

Story Box Project

2009-04-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

The Story Box Project is a project that Kevin Cordi developed in 1995 that is a large decorated "Story Box" that travels around the world and comes back to the original place one year later. We will be having an event to share stories for the box this coming Friday. Meet us at the Starbucks in the library. Bring a story to share or just come listen. If you are unable to attend you can also email us your stories at appalachianraconteurs@gmail.com.

The Story Box Ambassadors for the Fairmont Box are The Appalachian Raconteurs.
If you would like to contribute a story, whether in print or non-print, please provide the following information:
Name of Story
Author
Contact Number and Address, include email address
Comments (In case you want others to respond to your story.)

Raconteurs- Samantha

2009-04-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

Hello ,
We would like to start introducing our members by featuring someone every day or so. We hope you enjoy getting to know our group of young storytellers, and because I made the suggestion, I get to go first!

Samantha Huffman
Hello my name is Samantha Huffman; I am a secondary education major, focusing on English and Oral Communication which means I will be able to teach English theater and speech, as well as a minor in Folklore. I have been lucky enough to study at Fairmont State University where Ruth Ann Musick taught and her collections are kept. I have done my studying with Judy Byers a folkloric giant in her own right.
I have always had a love of story. My family raised me telling stories. After church on Sunday afternoons my family would meet for lunch, and we would just sit around and talk. More often than not this meant telling stories about days gone by and family members. These are times that I cherish and want to preserve for future generations.
I generally tell folk tales from Ruth Ann Musick’s collections, but I also tell many Welsh and English Fairytales, along with personal family anecdotes. This is what is generally in my ready story range. With our group we try to have all members create a repertoire that includes at least one folk tale, a personal story, and a tale that is directed to children and is family appropriate, then whatever else we want to tell.
I hope to soon add the Wife of Bath’s Tale to my repertoire; my plan is to tell it in the original old English first then in modern English after. Other members of the group have expressed interest in also telling tales from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and I hope to put together a presentation to take into schools.
The art of storytelling is something that many people don’t realize is still around. This is the reason I started the Appalachian Raconteurs. I wanted other students who are interested in telling to have a place to do so. I hope that in my time served as President of our guild I will be able to make this group an enduring thread in our community. We have been blessed with much support from the storytelling community, and we hope to continue to grow and flourish!

New Video

2009-04-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

We've posted a new video on our youtube page. Michael Vozniak tells Captain Santos's Leg, a chilling ghost story. Be on the lookout for stories from other Appalachian Raconteurs.

Youtube Channel!

2009-04-10T07:42:00.000-07:00

Appalachian Raconteurs now has a youtube channel. Visit us at http://www.youtube.com/user/ARaconteurs. You will find this intro video and two stories performed by Samantha Huffman, AR president. We hope to record and post a story from each of our active members so check back for more.

Who are the Appalachian Raconteurs?

2009-04-08T11:05:00.000-07:00

The Appalachian Raconteurs are a group of students committed to the task of caring for the stories that have been handed down to us from others, and to add to the canon of oral tradition with our own anecdotes and adventures; be they actual events or clever tales woven to pass the time.
Love and Laughs
Samantha Huffman