For some 175 years Haskel Skaggs' kin have lived in Edmonson County, Kentucky. "Hack" works as a guide at Mammoth Cave National Park, which now comprises about half the county, and employs many of the natives of the area. It's an area rich in traditional lore of all types and remained fairly isolated up until the Second World War, largely because of a lack of adequate roads. The county is split almost evenly in half by the Green River, and no bridge spanned it until a few years ago, with ferries carrying essential traffic up to that time. The population of the area has been stable for over a century, and many of the families have been in Edmonson County since the first settlement. The people are predominately Scots-Irish, and were all English speaking when they arrived. They are traditional, conservative people, in the best sense of the word.

I was lucky enough to have Hack Skaggs and his wife Bertha introduce me to a number of rich tradition bearers in the Mammoth Cave area.