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Abstract A sociologist by training, Alan J. Crain taught at Allegheny College in western Pennsylvania. During the 1970s, he developed an ongoing interest in southeastern Kentucky through the Appalachian Semester at Union College in Barbourville. This was a summer-long program that introduced students to the culture and traditions of Knox County and the surrounding area. Over a period of about ten years he made extended visits to Knox County, at times living in homes of residents of the Trosper...