Book explains families’ connection to their mountain lands

For people who live here, but whose families did not own land in Appalachia, the mountains are beautiful and a great place to hike, fish and vacation.  For families who owned mountain land for generations, Clemson University notes the earth beneath their feet is as much part of the family as their own parents. John Coggeshall, cultural anthropologist, writes about the connection to the land in his new book, ‘Something in These Hills.”  According to a Clemson news release, the book stemmed from a simple request from the Department of Natural Resources to document stories of people who used to live where Lake Jocassee and Lake Keowee are now.  To form the two lakes, thousands of acres were flooded when Whitewater, Thompson, Toxaway, and Horsepasture rivers were impounded to create Lake Jocassee and Little and Keowee rivers were impounded to form Lake Keowee between 1965 and 1973.  The lakes were made by Duke Energy for hydropower and for cooling the nuclear reactors at the Oconee Nuclear Station.  Royalties from the book will be donated to Upstate Forever, a non-profit dedicated to helping Appalachian families preserve their family’s land.