Literature Appetizer
Ben Kusserow
A Northern Appalachian's Journey

Recently I just finished Appalachia North by Matthew Ferrence. In it, he recounts the complex relationship he still has with the land as a Northern Appalachian. Typically when I finish a book I write a Literature Appetizer to get people a taste of what they will find. Since his book is such a personal journey, I would not do it justice by recounting his life.

Many of his experiences reflect my own experience growing up in Western PA. So instead of condensing his journey, I thought I would condense mine.

The Hero’s Journey is a common literary structure where the hero of the story departs home to do a great act, and then returns victorious. My Northern Appalachian Journey is a bit different, but has a similar structure of three parts; Living in Water, Succeeding by Leaving, and The Mountains are Calling.

A Northern Appalachian's Journey

The Whiskey Rebellion by William Hogeland: Literature Appetizer

The Whiskey Rebellion by William Hogeland: Literature Appetizer

When I moved back to North Appalachia after three years journeying in other regions, I didn’t feel connected to Pittsburgh. Yes it was where my family was currently living, but we as a family didn’t discuss our personal connection with this area. It wasn’t until my father found a newspaper article titled “Family History: Reunited - Descendants of William Guffey Meet Sutersville, Westmoreland County, PA.”

The Guffey’s are my father’s, father’s, mother’s family. When my dad found this article and was reading it to me I was half paying attention. Most of it was “This person was the children of this person.” Very dry. But the part that stood out most to me was their canoe;

A Northern Appalachian's Journey

A Northern Appalachian's Journey

Recently I just finished Appalachia North by Matthew Ferrence. In it, he recounts the complex relationship he still has with the land as a Northern Appalachian. Typically when I finish a book I write a Literature Appetizer to get people a taste of what they will find. Since his book is such a personal journey, I would not do it justice by recounting his life.

Many of his experiences reflect my own experience growing up in Western PA. So instead of condensing his journey, I thought I would condense mine.

The Hero’s Journey is a common literary structure where the hero of the story departs home to do a great act, and then returns victorious. My Northern Appalachian Journey is a bit different, but has a similar structure of three parts; Living in Water, Succeeding by Leaving, and The Mountains are Calling.

Sacred Ground

Sacred Ground

I have matured greatly over the years. The area that I feel I have matured the most is empathy. As a kid I never really cared about how others felt. I didn’t wish anyone ill will, but I wasn’t able to internalize how others felt. Looking back, one of the most inappropriate times this happened was in forth grade.

September 11th, 2001. It was early in the morning and I was busy in class at Norvelt Elementary school. Some students were being dismissed early, unexpectedly. All the adults looked extremely stressed. After lunch we were all sent home. As Abby and I came bounding in the den both Mom and Dad were home (which was weird for the early afternoon), eyes glued on the TV. The news kept saying something about ‘towers’ and ‘planes,’ but I wasn’t paying too much attention. The footage of the planes hitting and the towers collapsing kept playing over and over.

Etymology of Appalachia

Etymology of Appalachia

Recently my good friend Ethan got me back into brewing. Unfortunately, since brewing whiskey is still illegal on such a small scale, we went with the second best drink; cider. Since I work in a Makerspace, I knew I had to come up with a fun label. What would be a fun apple pun/label?

For many of the Pittsburghers reading this, you might be wondering, “but isn’t it pronounced apple-lay-sha?” How you pronounce this mountain range shows a lot about your personal ideology and history.

The Animal's Lawsuit Against Humanity: Literature Appetizer

The Animal's Lawsuit Against Humanity: Literature Appetizer

This is one of my favorite pictures of my father. Last week while my family was in Florida Dad asked me if I wanted to go and see the animals he saw earlier that day. Being that I love exploring ecoregions with my dad, we stepped outside to the local pond.

We saw at least a half dozen types of birds (including egrets), fish, and mammals. But in the pond, my father told me, was a red eared-slider turtle that got close to him earlier that day. We went to the same location and within a minute this little turtle came up real close.

Ramp Hollow: Literature Appetizer

Ramp Hollow: Literature Appetizer

What’s the unifying story of Appalachia? What common theme can you find time and time again in these mountains? Many people would answer coal. And while that is a big part of the story, Ramp Hollow: the Ordeal of Appalachia by Steve Stoll showcases an even deeper story: one of the privileged taking from everyone else.

In terms of who has privilege, we often base the conversation around skin color and gender, and understandably so. Many people are denied jobs or pay based entirely on race and gender. But privilege can come in many other forms, and although hardships can be different, often they “rhyme.”

Can a native species become alien?

Can a native species become alien?

Last fall I was fortunate enough to visit the Association of Science and Technology Centers conference in Hartford, CT. While walking with some coworkers to dinner we found a beautiful owl stunned and walking on the road.

We did our best to guide it off of the road where it could rest on the sidewalk. Some local police officers came and told us they would make sure this owl got back “to where it belonged.”

I had been in this city less than 24 hours, but was I more ‘native’ to this cityscape than this owl? When does one become native? Can you lose that title?

The Tenacious Librarians of the Mountains

The Tenacious Librarians of the Mountains

How do you picture a librarian? Who I picture is the first librarian I knew. She was an old, small woman who had the biggest smile and warmest eyes. Even though I hated books, and even more reading, whenever I was dragged to the public library by Mom this librarian would give me the space I needed as an introvert. But after 15 or so minutes of me pretending to search for a book, she would walk over with one of those huge books with tons of pictures and short facts (mostly about dinosaurs). I would pour over those books, looking at timelines and how big the teeth were of each dinosaur.