News from rural America.

This week, we’re catching up on what midterm results mean for rural America with Daily Yonder reporters Sarah Melotte, Madeline de Figueiredo and Julia Tilton. Next, we have an interview between Skyler Baker-Jordan, Editor in Chief of the Glasgow Courier, and Haylie Shipp, host of the podcast Desolate Dating, about what it means to be single and dating in a small town. We’re recognizing Veterans Day this week with a conversation with Army Captain Robin Peterson and Army veteran Ryan Chae, both featured in an episode of American Creed: Citizen Power, out on all PBS platforms now. Then we head to western North Carolina where the Brasstown Carvers and John C Campbell Folk School have been spreading woodcarving knowledge to the community for nearly 100 years. Finally, Arts Midwest reporter frankie felegy brings us to the Midwest where folk schools bring together rural residents to learn crafts that otherwise could be lost. Our musician this week is dreamy Appalachian folk band Woodbine.

TRANSCRIPT

Hey, I'm Jared Ewe, the host of Yonder Radio.

Every week we bring rural conversations with national reach to listeners around the country.

This week we have for you midterm results, the information you desire.

We'll be talking about that and desolate dating.

You didn't hear that wrong.

That's a podcast and we'll be discussing the host and what she is doing for people looking for a rural date.

And then for Veterans Day, we're teaming up with PBS, that incredible show, American Creed Citizen Power.

Ryan Che, he is an Army veteran.

They're also going to talk to Robin Peterson, an Army captain, and get their perspectives on being in the Army and out of the Army and what it means.

And also, the Brasstown Carvers are showing up from North Carolina.

They're a group that is growing.

And Arts Midwest, their reporter Frankie Fallegi, always brings great information.

And she's going to talk about folk schools and how there are a growing number of them.

You can find all that and more on Yonder Radio, Rural Conversations with National Reach.

We'll be right back.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yonder Radio, rural conversations with National Reach.

Hello, my name is Jared Iwi, and big show today, of course.

I mean, it goes without saying, because we have midterm coverage.

Potentially just as harrowing, desolate dating.

That's on the way in trivia and music from a great band, Woodbine.

But we're starting out by hearing from Daily Yonder reporters Sarah Mallott, Madeline DeFigurado, and Julia Tilton, who are here to talk about what happened during last week's midterm elections and what it means for rural America.

Beginning with Sarah Mallott, the data editor for the Daily Yonder, you were in the Carolinas.

And what happened?

Let's start with South Carolina.

What happened there?

Hey, Jared.

Yeah, we saw a really crazy midterm cycle this year in South Carolina, my home state.

South Carolina elected the first Democratic senator that we've had in almost 30 years.

And every county in South Carolina shifted blue in this race.

Some rural counties even totally flipped from red to blue.

So it's a huge change in trends that we've seen in recent years in rural places.

Did you find out as to why?

Were there some reasons given as to why this traumatic flip took place?

I mean, I think it had something to do with the fact that Darlene Graham was not a compelling candidate.

Also, lots of places across the South and across the country shifted blue this year.

There were only a handful of counties that did not shift blue.

So this is not a trend that's isolated to South Carolina.

It's really hard to pin down an exact reason why this has happened.

If I had to take a guess, it probably has something to do with affordability and economic crises and Donald Trump being just generally unpopular. him telling voters to pretend like he's on the ballot.

It seems like people showed up and actually maybe voted that way.

But it's kind of hard to pin down an exact cause.

I think there are several.

Did you see the same thing happening in North Carolina then?

Yeah, we saw a similar trend happen in North Carolina.

Democrat Roy Cooper, who was the former governor of North Carolina from 2017 to 2025, he won almost 60 percent of the vote in the state.

In the House race as well, rural counties in North Carolina shifted blue with the rest of the state.

Madeline DeFigueredo, you were in Texas.

We talked to you recently about what was happening there.

What eventually happened in Texas?

How does that story go?

When we last talked, things were still emerging.

It was the day after the election.

And what we now can see is that Texas flipped the state House of Representatives.

And we saw that down ballot, Democrats won across the board.

There is a Democratic attorney general elect in Texas, a Democratic comptroller elect, as well as State Board of Education officials, Supreme Court judges, all down ballots, Democrats won in Texas.

And a lot of that came out of rural communities and rural counties along the border that shifted very heavily compared to what we saw in the 2022 midterm race, as well as the 2024 presidential race.

Like you said, rural areas, there was major flips to blue and there was local reasons to why people were doing it.

Yeah, all 171 rural counties in Texas shifted blue.

And along the border where there has been immigration enforcement, border wall construction, food insecurity growing in the past few years, we saw the border counties in Texas shifted left about eight points.

And in Georgia, the same story?

In Georgia, a very similar story.

I've been looking at the gubernatorial election there, which Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms won.

And one thing that's really interesting about Georgia is that nine counties flipped from red to blue compared to the 2022 midterm races, and five of those were in rural counties.

So more than half of these flipped counties are in rural communities.

And we're taking a closer look to what voter turnout is looking like among different demographic groups.

The Brennan Center for Justice found that compared to 2022, Black voter turnout jumped almost 10 points in this gubernatorial election.

So it was about nine points total that this gubernatorial election jumped.

And we're seeing that trend emerge in rural communities as well, with a higher share of voter turnout coming from Black voters in this election cycle.

And now contributor to Daily Yonder, Julia Tilton, you were covering the data center angle in Texas, Georgia, and Ohio.

What did you see in those three states?

Data centers were directly on the ballot in 41 municipalities and counties across 10 states, including Ohio.

In every municipality except one, voters expressed their opposition for data center development and deregulation.

With the exception of Harwood, North Dakota, which is a town of about 850 residents on the outskirts of Fargo, that was the only community to vote in favor of data center development.

Now, of these 41 municipalities and counties with data center ballot measures, 39 percent were in rural areas and in metropolitan and rural areas alike.

Between 72 and 75 percent of voters cast their ballots in opposition to data centers.

Was there a burning issue, something specific about the data center that may be aligned with all the reporting you've done over the past year that brought people out?

It's hard to say, particularly in these states that flipped control of their governor's mansion.

So Ohio is a good example where in the lead up to the election, data centers were certainly a hot topic between the two candidates.

Democratic candidate Amy Acton won by eight points against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.

But voters in counties with hyperscale data centers, so large data centers with more than 100 megawatts of power consumption, shifted 15 percent to the left compared to the 2022 midterm elections.

And that compares to Ohio counties without hyperscale data centers where voters shifted 14 percent to the left.

Voters with hyperscale data centers in their counties shifted 1 percent more to the left than their counterparts. in counties without hyperscale data centers.

But it's hard to say across the board whether the presence of hyperscale data centers in counties in Ohio, Texas, and Georgia had a uniform impact on how voters shifted to the left.

Any thoughts on what some of these newly elected politicians need to follow up on with regards to data centers, perhaps regulation, transparency, bans, moratoriums?

The three governors that were elected in Georgia, Texas, and Ohio that flipped their governor's mansions all ran on some version of data center regulation, whether it was pledging to sign a moratorium on the first day in office or to look into different policies that could regulate data center development.

And so I think in the months to come, it will be a matter of seeing how those governor elects follow up on the promises they made on the campaign trail.

Well, Sarah, this is like a renaissance for data people.

Definitely.

Are people now claiming to be data people that aren't?

I don't know if I've seen any stolen valor data people, but I've seen some very fun maps and graphics.

We're going to publish a kind of roundup of some of my favorite maps and graphics that I've crowdsourced from my colleagues.

Then eventually, when we have all of the data back, we're going to do a national level analysis on national trends instead of some of these state by state analyses that we've been doing in the days following the election.

And Madeline, when we last spoke, we were talking about people on the ground.

Is there going to be more efforts to tell some stories as far as how they moved the political earth?

Absolutely.

I think that the reporting that Julia, Sarah, and I have been doing this week is trying to understand what happened.

And the work that we have cut out for us ahead is to understand why it happened.

Well, the midterms were really quite just a political earthquake.

It's so cool to have your insight.

Sarah Mallott, data editor of The Daily Yonder, Madeline DeVigureta, reporter of The Daily Yonder and Daily Yonder contributor, Julia Tilton.

Thank you so much for coming on Yonder Radio.

Thanks for having us, Jared.

You can find more rural election coverage at dailyyonder.com.

And now, as we musically sail away from political coverage, thanks to Woodbine, a West Virginia dreamy folk band, lead singer Brittany McGuire is here today to talk about their songs and what's next for the band.

Lately I've been feeling like my zest for life is waning Don't want to become one of those folks always complaining We're about to go on a cosmic journey through the Appalachian Mountains.

But first, I need to ask, Brittany, you are in the band Woodbine.

Yes.

And is it named after vines?

Is it named after things like Virginia Creeper?

Yes, it is.

I wanted a plant name that was native to West Virginia.

So I had this giant list of native West Virginia plants, and I just kept kind of looking them up and looking at pictures and looking up different symbolism that went with different plants.

And it's actually another word for honeysuckle.

Oh, woodbine is?

Mm-hmm.

It's a West Virginia plant, and it symbolizes community and friendship.

So I thought that was fitting.

I have this admission.

I'm in Colorado, and in the third quarter of Bronco Games, we always sing Country Roads, and we change West Virginia to Colorado.

Do you really?

We do, yeah.

And I feel like we, I think we take some ownership for John Denver.

As you should.

I always thought it was Colorado, and then I realized it was West Virginia the whole time.

That's great.

That's great.

So you are defined as dreamy Appalachian folk.

I see you playing some pretty big rooms, and I see these big audiences in the lights, and they are wrapped, and they are on your cosmic journey.

If somebody shows up to a woodbine show, where are they going to go?

The journey I hope to take people on when they come to one of our concerts is just really, I'd like for them to feel something, whether it be some type of emotional release or joy or, you know, I just want them to feel something.

And the cosmic part, I don't know if you know much about Appalachia or have you been to Appalachia?

I mean, just driving through, no, I'm just a guy who steals your music and sings it at Bronco games.

But there is kind of like a cosmic magic feel here.

There's so much folklore and just like legends and there's just something magic about this place.

So I really hope that our music captures that and that when we perform, we can make people feel that.

I love this here.

You blend elements of folk, country, soul and blues with the ambient soundscapes and mindful lyrics.

What are some of your favorite mindful lyrics?

In the song Full Moon, there's a line that says, your thoughts are like clouds.

They float, observe with honor, then let them go.

And that's straight out of meditation.

Yeah, I was going to say, that's almost therapy session stuff.

Yeah.

I was a yoga teacher for a while.

I did the yoga teacher training and taught some different classes.

And a lot of that has helped with the anxiety that is talked about in Full Moon.

The other mindful lyric is the entire song pretty much, Beneath the Pines, the last song on the EP.

It's really just about being present in the moment, taking time to appreciate the time that you're getting with those that are around you, your loved ones, even just the person next to you.

I appreciate the new lines on my face One thing we can count on this change And I see you've got some dates coming up in the Appalachia area.

Is that the plan?

Tour for a while?

That's the plan.

And yeah, we're going to tour kind of regionally for a while because we all still have day jobs.

We're booking out every weekend that we can and kind of going out a little bit further each time to hopefully get some new listeners in there, reach some new people.

Okay, what is your day job?

I am an education specialist for public broadcasting.

What does that mean?

Are you on the air talking about education?

I'm occasionally on the air, but I'm mostly going out in public, like libraries, schools, and doing different educational activities and trainings with teachers.

You're a dedicated storyteller for West Virginia.

I mean, are you a West Virginia kid?

Oh, yeah.

Born and raised in West Virginia.

A coal miner for a dad, coal miner for a grandpa.

And I'm very proud of West Virginia.

I love it.

What does the world need to know about West Virginia that's just not getting out there?

Louie has something to say and that's important.

Okay, I think he's good.

Oh yeah, but what I would like for people to know about West Virginia is a really good question.

I genuinely believe West Virginia has some of the kindest, most hardworking and resilient people that you'll find.

And that's really our greatest asset is our people.

And also beautiful landscapes, just absolutely stunning.

And our folklore is so rich and interesting.

You've spoken well of West Virginia.

You have talked of the cosmic journey.

Your music is beautiful, dreamy Appalachian folk.

And it is just awesome to talk to you.

And you could go to Woodbine, spelled how it sounds, wood and B-I-N-E-W-V.com and listen to their new extended play, How Lucky.

Thank you so much for having me and thank you for giving some new people a chance to hopefully hear our music.

It meets the world.

It really hurt when I realized that John Denver was not singing about Colorado, but listening to Woodbine is a soothing salve.

Later in the episode, more Woodbine.

Stick around.

But first, this week's trivia clue.

What place was built by the United States Navy in 1956 as part of Operation Deep Freeze?

And if you are, this could be a terrible segue, looking for human warmth, we're going to talk about desolate dating.

That is on the way, along with more trivia clues and music on Yonder Radio. guitar solo guitar solo guitar solo Yonder Radio, Rural Conversations with National Reach.

Hello, I am Jared Iwi, and there is plenty of room to gather around and listen to Skylar Baker Jordan and Haley Shipp.

They live in Glasgow, Montana, and it's a place sometimes considered one of the most remote places in the U.S. This summer, Haley started Desolate Dating, a podcast about dating in rural areas.

And Schuyler, the editor of the Glasgow Courier, the local paper, he interviewed Haley about the podcast and what it's like dating in small town Montana.

Haley Shipp, it is great to have you here.

And my first question is a little personal.

I remember seeing a video where you were traveling 150 miles for a date.

Was he worth it?

Good question.

Maybe.

Good date, good lesson learned, which once you get dating for a while, you realize that that's part of the glory is just figuring out those little nuggets that you've learned within a date, not potential for the future.

You make a good point with desolate dating.

And the reason I led with that question was because I think it highlights the thesis of your podcast, which is in rural America, you really do have to travel down those long, desolate roads just to find someone.

What made you want to start a podcast about the challenges of dating in rural communities?

So dating in general is a huge broad topic and of course one that people love to always discuss.

Recently this element of rural dating has gained in popularity even on a national scale with shows like Farmer Wants a Wife.

Who is ready to fall for a farmer?

It's hard to meet people when you don't leave the farm much.

Hopefully I find true love.

People are starting to really love this idea of the West and agriculture and farmers and ranchers, but nobody's telling the real story.

It's all these stories that are like this Hollywood version of reality.

And Skylar, you well know, you've been out in rural Montana for a while now.

You go on those shows and people have 20 head of cattle and, you know, they might run them on 50 acres or, you know.

And when you're out here in this big, huge open space, we have just over 200 head of cattle that we run on 8,000 acres because it just takes so much land to do what we do.

And subsequently, you end up with a space in between.

And it's that space in between that can make people in rural America, but make you feel extremely isolated.

So you started the podcast earlier this summer.

What has the response been?

The rural listeners have been really excited.

They've grabbed on.

And both males and females.

I was really worried with this being a female-facing podcast that it was going to turn off men immediately.

And there is very much an undertone of emotional health and the type of discussions that can sometimes especially turn away your more macho men, which is what small towns seem to be so full of.

And so I've been pleasantly surprised already that I'm hearing from men that are gentlemen that say that they've learned a lot from the podcast, that it's caused some introspection.

And I think that that is just phenomenal because the underlying thing that I want to achieve is making people feel less alone in the loneliness that comes with being single and doing it with humor, but really pointing out to them in the situation that it's not their fault.

It's not because they are undesirable.

It's because it's a numbers game and there just simply aren't the numbers there for them.

Is it just in our head that it's harder in rural America?

Or what are some of the unique challenges that rural folks face when trying to find love, other than like you did, driving 150 miles, which in Montana is sort of just another day?

Just being from a town of 2,700 people, half of which are married, Then you get into how old or how young can you actually go?

And you start really narrowing this field down.

Then also, I've been away from home.

I've come back to it.

But I spent a good 15 years or so away from my hometown.

And I come back to it.

And if there's relationships I would have, they're likely with people that I am solid friends with.

And so you have to decide whether or not it's worth jeopardizing a friendship for a potential match.

Likewise, many of those individuals have also been in relationships with female friends that I am close with.

And so then you have to say, this person would be okay with me with their ex, this person that's probably an unwritten rule, then there is the familial element, I am a fifth generation rancher in this space.

And so there's a lot of relatives that are around.

And so you have to like figure out, okay, is that we're our grandma's cousins, or, you know, it's just, it starts to drill down the number.

I do think if you were in an urban space, there's just more opportunity there to meet people.

Another huge aspect of this is that when you are in a small space, pretty much everything that happens to you, by you, for you, from you is public.

It is all public information.

If I am dating John or going out on dates with John, people might see us five or six times.

There's only two nice restaurants, three nicer restaurants in town that you would sit down and go to dinner at.

So people are going to see you out and about.

Then when suddenly, okay, that was John.

Now, suddenly you're with Steve next month.

Well, there's going to be scuttle about what happened to John.

It must make dating that much harder when you can't have that level of privacy, especially in the early days where you're just getting to know one another and you're not even ready to, as the kids say, soft launch.

I, um, yeah, I, I have a date that, uh, we've been working on lining up and, um, only an 80 mile distance, but there is a border between us on this one.

And so, uh, we've been trying to figure out, you know, do I go to Canada?

Does he come to the United States?

And then what's neutral ground?

Because if I go to his small town, they all know what's going on.

If he comes to my small town, everybody knows what's going on.

How much of an effort do you put to make this into something that can be a little bit more private?

I wonder, have you had any LGBT people reaching out to you saying, this is resonating with me, this is an experience that I'm having?

You know, and that's one of the things that I brought up when I was first running the numbers for Jordan, Montana, which is a super small town, 320 people.

When I was going through the numbers for the couple that I had in Jordan, at that moment, the gentleman who I was talking to who has since found a wife, but between the ages of 18 and 64 in Jordan, Montana, there would have been 32 possible people for him to date women.

So we're assuming heteronormative between the ages of 18 and 64.

So yeah, you add any element of narrowing that scope.

And it is, it's impossible.

I mean, 32 is impossible.

And then you, you know, it's, it's impossible.

That discussion is something I'm excited about eventually fleshing out along those lines to, you know, just looking at marginalized groups, just close to us, we have a lot of indigenous communities.

And my fourth largest town for downloads right now is Poplar, Montana, which is a small community of around 650 people, I think.

And I've got like 150 downloads from Poplar.

Yeah.

And for those listeners who aren't aware, Poplar is one of the major towns on the Fort Peck Reservation, which is right next door to where Haley and I are right now.

So there's clearly a lot of indigenous interest in your podcast, which tracks because they're struggling with the same issues that the rest of us in rural America are.

That's a really good point to make, which is that this isn't necessarily a white person problem or a straight person problem.

This is a rural problem that crosses demographics and touches different communities.

We've sat here and we've discussed for the last little bit the challenges of dating in rural America.

What have you found are some of the benefits and some of the joys of dating in a rural area?

You know, I think that in any rural area, the sense of community is so much stronger than the urban areas that I have lived in.

Now that said, my urban areas are extremely relative.

The largest city I've lived in is a hundred thousand.

Yeah.

That sense of taking care of your own is huge.

And so when you are dating in this atmosphere too, people are well-intentioned.

You do have people that are like, you know what, my son might be a good fit for this person or this person maybe should meet this person.

And so you have that network of people that I think is truthfully, you know, they are authentically interested in your wellbeing.

If you could say one thing to those who are listening to this other than after you've listened to this, go listen to Haley's podcast, which is something that all of you should do.

But if you could say one thing, give them one piece of encouragement, one piece of hard-earned advice or that you have learned in your dating exploits, what would you tell people to encourage them in the pursuit of love in rural America?

It takes a lot of time to find somebody.

We talk about the apps a lot, but that's, you know, the reality when a lot of us are tied to place and we don't get to travel a whole lot to go find other people, you know, and it is, it's a part-time job.

And I find myself going through stages where I'll do it for a little bit and then I just get tired.

And then I just have to retreat into myself for a little bit until I feel like, okay, now we can do this again.

But I think you just have to acknowledge that this is not something that's passive.

Then the other part is that, and I always go back to it, but you are not alone in your loneliness.

There are a ton of attractive, driven, tremendous people that are also single.

And they are people that you would not look at and be like, oh, what a screw up.

They can't find that person.

They're undesirable.

That's not what it is.

It's that it's just, you have not even been exposed to the person that is going to do that for you.

And so you can't beat yourself up over that fact.

It's about finding the right one, not the one right now.

Haley Shipp, thank you so much.

Absolutely.

Thank you for this, Skylar.

You can listen to Desolate Dating wherever you get your podcasts.

And if you are single and looking for a date in a small town, Desolate Dating is hosting a blind date style dating show called Stranger Sessions.

Contestants will have on-air blind date conversations before meeting in person in Glasgow, Montana for a photo shoot.

Apply to go on a date or learn more at tinyurl.com slash desolatedating.

And now another great song.

I'm getting some Fleetwood Mac vibes from Woodbine.

Take a listen and see what you think.

Here's Pine Warbler on Yonder Radio. guitar solo Time is the most valuable currency Said I hope you don't mind That you wasted so much with me Time's never wasted its spin Toes on the paths where we went Small feet for the lessons we learned Realizing where we are To be, to be, to be, to be.

That was Pine Warbler, a song from Woodbine, a dreamy Appalachian folk band from West Virginia.

And this next interview, are you kidding me?

PBS, American Creed Citizen Power.

It's a PBS series featuring young Americans from around the country sharing their stories.

This week, to recognize Veterans Day, we have Ryan Shea, an Army veteran and current student at Columbia Business School, and Robin Peterson, a captain in the Army, currently based in Arizona.

So this series, it follows you as you leave the home and make decisions on your next steps, and both of you go to the Army.

And Ryan, I'll start with you.

In the beginning of this series, you're sitting at a table with your mom and your brother, and you are talking about success and the future.

And I mean, your mom, she is hardcore in her belief in her boys because you show a little bit of skepticism.

And she's like, no.

And I'm wondering if you know what your mom sees in you.

Honestly, it's a tough question, Jared, because you're almost asking me to describe a mother's love for her sons.

And I don't think I'm really qualified to answer that question.

What I can do, though, is offer, I guess, a bit more context on her.

She immigrated to the States to pursue higher education, didn't really speak English well, and she didn't really have family over here.

She's a very resilient woman, probably more resilient than I am, coming from someone who experienced a lot of loss and a lot of hardship in her life.

I think her seeing me and my brother succeed and do well in our lives has been always a very heartwarming part of her life. and then Robin your story starts with you in Winter Park Colorado with your dad and working at Subway and I'm wondering did that help inspire you to leave for the army yes I think absolutely my dad was a huge influence as to why I joined the army and just having that experience working hard with him and seeing him get up every day and do the same exact thing and he was he's always been a huge influence on how I see the world and my ultimate goal of giving back to those who gave so much to us.

And I think that the military is a great stepping stone to do that and like giving back and serving that time for your country.

Yeah, my dad's selfless service in his own way, I think, made me want to serve in my own way.

You are still in the army.

And how is that?

How is that going?

You're a lieutenant.

That must mean you have responsibility.

Is this it?

Have you found your place?

Yeah.

I mean, being in the Army, there's a lot of moving.

I've moved from Maryland to Arizona to Alaska.

I've really enjoyed it.

Like I met my husband through this, but it certainly has, it's like ups and downs.

Sometimes you just don't have a lot of control of where you are, but I feel lucky with all the people that I've met along the way and the experiences that I've had.

Well, and Ryan, your time with the military was finite.

You did your five years and then it came to an intersection where you could choose to stay or go.

And you decided to that you've served your time.

What went into that decision?

I will say first and foremost that I really loved my time in the Army.

I was an infantry officer and I spent most of my time at Fort Campbell, Kentucky and Fort Benning, Georgia.

And then I spent like the last year of my service over in California at the Stockton recruiting station.

I think I believe you can see it in the video.

It was a different lifestyle.

And then I kind of had to ask myself whether I saw myself going back to what an infantry officer does and moving on to next.

I think there was a part of me that was itching for something else and a little bit more freedom.

I know Robin was talking about moving around all the time and it's kind of getting a little sick of that.

I wanted to settle down and build my roots somewhere.

So that was a factor as well.

Well, I am sure you're proud nonetheless.

And I know people are thankful for the time you did serve.

Because there's this moment in the documentary, and it's a black tie party for veterans.

And I'm wondering, what does it feel like for you?

How do you feel as a veteran?

Experiences as a veteran vary for sure.

Speaking for myself, it's been good.

I like to tell a lot of my friends who didn't serve and are curious about what that means.

I like to tell them that the most valuable thing I got from the Army was perspective.

I like to think that every day I'm a little more grateful than I would have been without my time in the Army.

I think now having been out for some time, I hope that perspective does not change over time.

But so far, coming into civilian life with that perspective has given me a lot more joy.

Robin, he brings up some downsides in the military, and you're living those, the moving, maybe less flexibility.

But this is it.

Is this your spot?

It's a good question.

There's certainly some downsides.

When Ryan brings that up, I think of having to poop in a bag while you're in the field.

I think that I'm in here for a little bit longer.

I think that it's important to have good people in tough places.

And especially on the echelon that I'm at going into as I promote to captain.

I think we have a lot of power on the lower echelons to protect our people and make sure that we're providing good leadership to our soldiers.

So I think I'm in this for at least a little bit longer.

It is easy to, I think, think of the world as black and white and there's these rigid definitions of things.

But what to you is patriotism?

Is there this rigid line where it is to serve or you're not serving?

Or what have you discovered on your journey, especially through the army?

Patriotism is such a broad term.

I think we're all capable of feeling pride in our country and also disappointment.

I think that patriotism is not just feeling pride in our country, but being able to criticize it when necessary.

And I think being patriotic is exercising the rights that we, like Ryan veterans, active service members fight to protect, which is, you know, the right to vote and the right to free speech and to public assembly.

Like, I think that it's important that for someone to be a patriot, they participate and they get involved in whichever way they can.

You don't have to serve in the military to serve your country.

You can serve as a teacher, as a nurse.

Just giving back to your community is the real thing.

So that's what patriotism means to me.

It means giving back to our communities and giving back to the country that's given so much.

Well, Ryan Shea, Robin Peterson, part of PBS and their series American Creed Citizen Power.

It was great to actually see this beautiful documentary.

And now to get to meet you is incredible.

Thank you so much for the time.

Thank you so much for having us.

Thanks, Sharon.

This was great.

You can find more of Robin and Ryan's stories on the final episode of American Creed Citizen Power, now out on all PBS platforms and PBS learning media.

Well, it's time for our second trivia clue.

With around 1,200 residents during the summer and fewer than 200 during the winter, what community is the largest in the most remote region of the earth?

So this is like the big city in the no-city area.

What is this?

More clues on the way.

And we're bringing in the Brasstown Carvers.

You made me do it.

You pushed me to the point.

I've got to bring in the Brasstown Carvers next on Yonder Radio. music The On The Radio Rural Conversations with National Reach.

Hello, Jared Ewee here.

And when I say the phrase Brasstown Carvers, I think Camp Town Races, and they could turn that into a theme song.

The Brasstown Carvers, they're a multi-generational collective of wood carvers that have been in existence since the 1930s, hosted and supported by the John C. Campbell Folk School in Western North Carolina.

Caroline Teal is the folk school's ventures manager and the chief steward of Brasstown Carvers.

Catherine Bratton is the youngest carver of the current group.

Who would like to be the spokesperson to explain what the Brasstown Carvers are or what it is?

Is it an are or an is?

I guess it's an are.

I guess you would say the Brasstown Carvers are.

Okay, thank you.

Yeah, I get a little pedantic on the grammar and I was curious.

So you are and how would that continue?

I am the manager of the Brasstown Carver program and Catherine is one of our Brasstown Carvers.

She's actually one of our newest and also the youngest Brasstown Carver.

And the Brasstown Carving program started almost 100 years ago, and it was the brainchild of the John C. Campbell Folk School's founder, Olive Dame Campbell.

Well, let me just go ahead and wade dangerously into stereotypes here, because when I think of someone carving, it's an older gentleman in the woods, and he's sharing a tale about wrestling a coyote.

Is Brasstown Carvers attracting a whole new audience?

Are you the new generation of Brasstown carvers?

I think the Brasstown carvers can look like anybody.

We do have some older gentlemen who have been carving since they were, you know, knee high, old enough to hold a knife.

But we also have a lot of different types of people who come in.

We have two free community workshops, and I found a great community there that is a range of ages, genders, different backgrounds, all of that.

When I started with the Folk School in 2022 and I took on this program, we had five Brasstown Carvers.

At this point, so 2026, we have 18 Brasstown Carvers.

And that's really fantastic because when I took the project on, I was really concerned that I might see it end.

So you can come and carve as anyone.

You don't have to be a Brasstown Carver to come and sit and enjoy the community.

And really, I think that Community Night is a great gateway into becoming a Brasstown Carver.

Well, Catherine, I want to ask you about how you began and what you're doing now.

But I should bring up that the history here is incredible.

I mean, the Queen of England got a piece from the Brasstown Carvers.

What is that story?

So Eleanor Roosevelt was a huge supporter of the Brasstown Carvers.

She reached out to then Murray Martin, who was the leader, kind of my predecessor.

She wanted to get some of the Brasstown carvings.

And the story goes that she bought an entire flock of keys.

So she bought quite a few carvings and then gifted one to the Queen of England, who was actually then the princess.

So their carvings, they exist in the White House.

They also exist in the Smithsonian.

I'm not sure what then Princess Elizabeth did with her goose, but hopefully it's still somewhere in Buckingham Palace.

A sentence I have never heard in my life.

I'm not sure what Princess Elizabeth did with her goose.

Incredible.

So getting started, Catherine, had you any experience?

or did you just go in completely fresh and they taught you what to do?

No, I had no experience going in.

I started working in the craft shop with Caroline in November of last year and was just looking for community, looking for things to do.

I've always been a dabbler in lots of different crafts.

And so I heard, oh, you should come to our carving nights on Thursdays.

It's free.

Just show up.

You know, you don't need anything.

And the people are just so kind and willing to share.

All you have to do is sit there and say, what do I do next?

They'll help you out.

And since then, I've loved it, really taken to it.

Caroline, what was your aha moment where you went from something basic to, oh my gosh, I'm an artist?

I think that a lot of artists would say that they suffer imposter syndrome.

I went to art school and graduated and still did not consider myself an artist, even with a degree.

And I call myself an artist now.

And really, I think that moment was the thought that no one else is going to tell me I'm an artist.

I just have to own it.

Catherine, it's hard to start new things.

That mountain is high.

Where are you?

Have you gone over the mountain?

Every new piece that I start, I worry that I don't know how to do it.

And I get to a point where I think I'm never going to be able to make this look like a sheep.

And then all of a sudden, it does look like a sheep.

Another sentence I've never heard before in my life. to crest the hill a little bit, but it depends on the piece that I'm making.

And really the support of the current Brasstown Carvers has been amazing.

I mean, I couldn't have done it without them.

They're just so encouraging and give great pointers.

And when I say, what am I supposed to do to make this look like a goat's leg?

They are able to tell me.

Another sentence I've never heard before in my life.

I love that A, it makes my early stereotypes completely inaccurate and B, it's all because you're coming together, right?

You know, going back towards that kind of stereotype of an old man sitting on a porch, that was true.

But even in the beginning, it was little old ladies or women raising children.

One of the things that the Brasstown Carvers did was allow mothers, stay-at-home mothers, to make some money while they're at home.

Now, back then, they would have to put down a five-cent deposit on their wood blank, and then they would return it and get 55 cents back.

But in 1936, 50 cents was quite a bit.

Wait a second.

So it was like a deposit project.

Has Brasstown Carvers thought about this process?

Is this still something that's in the club?

So we now offer the blanks for free and we don't require them to come back to us.

You can be a Brasstown Carver without selling your work back to the craft shop.

We've made it easier to be a carver, especially because it's much harder to make your money as a wood carver. now than it was almost 100 years ago.

Is the word whittling derogatory?

Are you whittling?

No, no, it's not.

And kind of the Brasstown Carver's joke is when someone asks you, oh, what are you making?

You just say, I'm making shavings.

That's amazing.

Catherine Bratton, Caroline Teal of the Brasstown Carvers in Brasstown, North Carolina.

Thanks for coming by Yonder Radio.

Yeah, thank you very much.

And the Brasstown Carvers host regular community carving nights that are open to all with all materials provided.

They are on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. at Keith House in Brasstown, North Carolina, and on the third Friday of the month at Olive's Porch in Murphy, North Carolina.

You may not be in the area, but maybe this inspires you to do your own folk activity.

You can find more information and more inspiration at folkschool.org.

And there are folk schools like the John C. Campbell Folk School across the country.

And Arts Midwest reporter Frankie Falleghi.

This week, you bring us news of a folk school revolution.

Is that saying too much?

Is revolution too strong of a word?

I don't think so.

It's appropriate.

It's happening.

I mean, you, in this article, and the headline is, Why are folk schools so popular in the Midwest?

You are here to answer that question.

Why?

Why, frankly?

Why, frankly, Frankie, are they popular?

Frankly, folk schools are becoming increasingly popular.

My work is based in the Midwest.

And in South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, and Wisconsin, more than a third of the population lives in rural areas.

The folks I talked with at the Folk School Alliance, which we'll get into, are basically like, in rural areas, you need more community.

Folk schools are likely to have originated in Denmark, and they're founded on the idea of lifelong intergenerational holistic learning.

And as we know, many Danish and Scandinavian folks settled in the Midwest.

So if you look at a map of the U.S. and where all the folk schools are, at least in the Folk School Alliance, a lot of the dots are in the Midwest and are in rural areas of the Midwest.

So you talked to Mari Sanborn, who's with the Folk School Alliance, and she has seen since 2023, at least 10 folk schools that have opened.

That's impressive.

It's a lot.

Our times are super fast paced and demanding right now.

And it's nice to be able to slow down and be together and work with your hands, especially in rural areas where, you know, the questions pop up of where are we getting together?

Where are we learning craft and where are we learning in community and folk schools are increasingly an answer for that for a lot of people.

People are understanding, oh, hey, this makes me feel really good.

I want to figure out how to start my own.

Yeah, this is almost like soothing ASMR here, what Julie McGarvey says.

She, from your article, says, the folk school tradition itself is unplugged, hands-on, slowed down.

I almost need a Barry White voice for this.

And it's about exchange of knowledge versus a dissemination of knowledge from an expert down.

And that really hits me.

We're kind of off in these lonely receptacles instead of communal sharers.

And folk schools, are they changing that?

Are people finding that they are part of a community?

Yes.

So, you know, late stage capitalism is taking place and people understand that frustration and that inhumaneness and that lack of sustainability in a lot of our structures remind us that the Midwest and especially Minnesota is really rich with outdoor recreation, wildlife, lakes, flora fauna and is also especially supportive of education and arts and culture.

The Midwest already has this sort of unplugged attachment to the land and with agriculture and with farming.

And so when you take that history of folks, you know, listening to the land, living with the land and learning from our indigenous caretakers and combining that with a strong support for the arts, it's just a good thing.

I want to share a really lovely quote from Julie McGarvey.

She is a director of one of the folk schools in the Midwest.

And she says that, paraphrasing here, we live in quite an anxious world in terms of politics and the environment.

And people, she says, are turning towards each other, towards nature, towards creativity, towards the arts, towards healing so that when you leave the classroom, you feel better.

And that is unfortunately kind of rare sometimes today.

Well, thank you so much, Frankie Falaghi.

Artsmidwest.org brings the story.

Why are folk schools so popular in the Midwest?

And thank you for stopping by Yonder Radio.

Thank you so much.

Appreciate you, Jared.

Well, it's trivia time once again.

Here's our final clue.

Which scientific base is connected to the South Pole via 1,000 miles of ice highway, the most southern road in the world?

Did you guess it?

The answer, yes, McMurdo Station.

McMurdo Station is a United States research facility located on Ross Island in Antarctica.

Its nearest non-Anarctic neighbor is New Zealand, which is about as far away as New York is from Los Angeles.

McMurdo Station is populated year-round by scientists who conduct research on a range of topics, from glaciers and marine biology to astronomy and geology.

The base has around 150 buildings, including a post office, gymnasium, and now defunct bowling alley.

We really need, somebody needs to go back to McMurdo and open this up.

They actually had penguin-shaped pins.

Tourists aren't allowed at McMurdo Station, but you can tour the base virtually using the Street View feature on Google Maps.

And before actually you pour your nest egg into a bowling alley in Antarctica, we do have an ask.

The Daily Yonder is running a donor campaign.

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So thank you so much for donating DailyYonder.com slash Newsmatch.

And thank you for listening to Yonder Radio.

Thank you for listening to Yonder Radio, a production of the Center for Rural Strategies, publisher of the Daily Yonder.

I'm your host, Jared Iwi.

Thanks to Don Castle and the Tennessee Sheiks, Steph Gunno and the Lone Tones, Quincy Ponver, Leo Pozel, and Tim Merima for the great music.

Our editor and producer is Susanna Brown.

This episode was also produced by Ilana Newman and Will Wright.

Our executive producer is Joel Cohen.

The executive in charge of production is Adam Georgie.

Yonder Radio, rural conversations with National Reach. guitar solo