Ruth Anne, who now leads the work at Community Happens Here in Pleasant Ridge, grew up without a single place to call home. Her mixed city/country lifestyle nurtured her imagination, her life skills and her adaptability

Sheldon, a native of Greenville, Ohio, has learned that sometimes chosen family can provide life-shaping and life-inspiring connections.

Possum recalls family camping trips and other traditions that shaped their family memories in the hills of southeast Ohio. The photo depicts the end of an era—family members removing the sign from a street with a familiar name.

Patricia Ann’s extended family’s holiday celebrations were always a highlight of her growing up years. She remembers her aunt cooking a lot of the food, but everyone who came brought a dish. For them, the point of getting together was never about the gifts, it was about the time spent with family members from near and far.

Warren’s love for making music comes naturally. After playing in a swing band during high school, he bought his first guitar. The new instrument prompted his father to offer him the claw-hammer banjo featured in this picture, which was passed down from his grandmother.

Matt shares his distinctively urban Appalachian background, his love for story, and his plan to pass on his love of the mountains and the river to his daughter.

Kenneth recalls his family’s migration story through the lens of his father’s experiences leaving Corbin, Kentucky, first to join the military and second to join his wife and her sister in Covington, Ky.

As Ma Crow holds pictures of her two now-grown sons from early in their childhoods, she reflects on the generations past and the journey that fueled her work in music and life.

Growing up, Karen Schrock’s house was always filled with music. While she played multiple instruments throughout her childhood and teen years, her standout instrument was always her voice.

Elizabeth Keller lives in Cincinnati today. She remembers family reunions and the importance of music in her life. Her grandmother taught all of her grandchildren—close to 100 of them—how to play piano. For her, holding on to that tradition just feels natural.

Queen City Balladeer Dennis Allen has traced his roots back to pre-Revolutionary Days in Virginia. After four generations of Allens made their homes in Tennessee, though, he wears his ‘old country hillbilly boy’ badge with honor.

Morgan Davenport is a regular at the Fraley Festival for Traditional Music at Carter Caves, Kentucky. It's always the first Saturday of September. She loves being with her fellow square dancers — her festy-besties. Despite their age differences, they camp and listen to music and dance together, a testament to the power of Bluegrass to bring people together.

Nancy Laird, son Stephen Joseph Laird, and daughter Shannon Laird Faeth are a warmly connected throughout many generations: children, grandchildren, and Nancy’s husband, who is passed, but still very active amongst them.

Melissa English has I lived in the same house in Northside since 2002.  Her strongest focal point for family is how her mom's family made time for her and nurtured her. She was born and raised in Evanston, Indiana, down river from Cincinnati. That river culture is real, and a seminal part of her conception of home

Robin Roland lives in Cincinnati’s Westwood neighborhood. He has learned the importance of family connection through the hard work of keeping close to family members despite divorce and other separations. He says, “A family can be torn apart, but still you arise to the occasion to preserve your family.” The stories of where we came from, where we are, and where we're going helps maintain the integrity of family ties.

Sherry Cook Stanforth is part of a multi-generational family of musicians. She tells us, the gourd dulcimer given to her as a young girl has become the symbol of the “harmony and care that crosses from generation to generation and those seeds walk within me and move me to want to be a steward for other people who come after me.” Like the gourd dulcimer, this can be “as simple as gathering people into a circle to express themselves and spend time together.”

Shavonna Gilbert’s mother, Phyllis, was involved with the Urban Appalachian Council since before Shavonna was born and throughout her life. Shavonna grew up on the west side, Over the Rhine and in Kentucky. She keeps the next generation involved with trips to the Appalachian Festival.  “I think it's good to keep that going and just have that support system that they may not get other places.”

Theresa Marcum’s parents moved from Jackson County, Kentucky to Norwood, Ohio, which is where she was born. The family kept ties with family in Kentucky, traveling every weekend to her grandparents in Gray Hawk. Though her parents are now gone, Theresa and her extended family remain connected, and Theresa’s recent cancer diagnosis has brought the family even closer together. Theresa continues her involvement with Appalachia through volunteer work with the Christian Appalachia Project.

For Kelly Domka, music is key to connection and safety. An adoptee working through her own family’s fracturing, she found community in Cincinnati through the Queen City Balladeers, where she loves lifting her voice in singing circles.

All it takes is the sound of a wind-up music box to take Kyra Liedtke back to memories of her grandmother. From listening to music to making crafts, her time with family helped root her in the idea of an unapologetic love, one that includes, but is not limited to, blood relatives.