Southern food will find a new home in the Reece Museum when “Lens on the Larder: The Foodways of Southern Appalachia in Focus” opens Nov. 3.
“Lens on the Larder” was produced by Larry Smith and Fred Sauceman, both employees of ETSU. Sauceman collected the oral histories of the foods and Smith was photographer. Both men are a part of the Southern Foodways Alliance.
“This exhibit is a collection of oral histories and photographs of different unique ways of growing, collecting and preparing food throughout the Southern Appalachian Region,” Smith said.
The exhibit features over 70 photographic prints of over 40 locations along with the oral histories on CDs with places to listen.
“A big part of this is the sound of the places,” Smith said. “You need to hear the accents of the people and the enthusiasm of people.”
Sauceman and Smith tried to cover every aspect of Southern food. Barbecue, fried chicken, bakery goods, apple butter and ice cream are just some of the foods featured in the exhibit.
There will also be representation of foods grown and prepared on farms, such as corn and green beans.
“The Appalachians, even in the modern age of convenience food and rootless mobility, continue to grow green beans, bake cornbread, can apple butter, harvest black walnuts and cure hams,” Sauceman said in a press release. “While encroachment of chain food establishments threaten mountain cookery ., Appalachian fare has always been centered in the home and in the garden.”
The beginning of this exhibit goes back several years to when Sauceman and Smith worked on a cookbook for ETSU that featured recipes and stories from people connected with ETSU.
“With Fred it was sooner than that,” Smith said. “He was involved with foodways for several years to try to preserve the tradition of Southern cooking”
They have been working on this specific collection for a little more than a year. “We collected images for four or five years but they were not specifically for this,” Smith said.
Sauceman located the businesses featured in the exhibit. “Sometimes he just seen places and wanted to try them.” Smith said. “Other times people told him about places. These places have been there for years.”
While gathering information for this exhibit the men went as far south as Athens, Tenn., into Mt. Airy, N.C., which was made popular by the Andy Griffith show, and as far west as the Falls Mill and Country Store in Belvedere, Tenn.
Sauceman has visited places all across the southeast. “He researches this while on vacation,” Smith said. “If he’s down in Mississippi and finds a place he will go to it. He’s really dedicated.”
The exhibit will be on display in the Reece Museum from Nov. 3 to Dec. 21. An opening reception will be held on Thurs. Nov. 3 from 6 to 8 p.m.
For more information contact the Reece Museum at 439-4392 or at www.etsu.edu/reece.

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