Book compiles local writer’s work

A beloved observer of local life spent three decades writing Dickenson County’s story as it happened for local newspapers.

Now, newspaper columns written by Anita Anderson Belcher have been compiled in a book.

Belcher wrote an estimated 700-800 installments of her “Mountain Echoes” column, published in the Dickenson Star and the Cumberland Times.

Anita’s family compiled volume one in a book bearing the column’s name, including stories and interviews dating back as far as 1984.

During an interview, Anita’s son, Kerry Belcher, remembered going with his mom to speak to schoolchildren in the 1970s. She worked with an extension service and was paid to go to public schools and speak to children, with the goal of getting them to express themselves and tell their stories freely. That series of talks, and a suggestion by a friend, lead Anita to start the “Mountain Echoes” column, Belcher said.

Many of the articles allow us a glimpse inside the lives of those who are no longer with us. The articles are pieces of people’s lives and experiences, forever preserved because of Anita’s love for people and the Appalachian mountains. Those local to Dickenson County will no doubt find some of their family members and friends scattered throughout Anita’s stories.

Wayne Rogers, who is married to Anita’s daughter Judy, said the family wanted to produce the book because so many people loved Anita’s stories. Rogers and the family wanted to preserve the history of those articles and continue to share the stories of the people Anita wrote about.

Rogers stressed the importance of sharing the articles with the next generations, which is the very reason Anita wrote them. Rogers said the family is working on publishing volume two and hopes to have it out by spring. A third volume may be in the works afterwards.

Not all of the articles have been collected, Rogers explained, and they are working on piecing them together. Rogers said it is a very arduous process.

Rogers said some articles have a part two, and those articles have been difficult to locate. Many articles were typed on a typewriter, long before floppy disks and Google Drive saved copies. Rogers said original articles had to be flattened with irons because of wrinkles, cut and pasted together, trimmed and aligned with glue, all done by hand. The articles have literally been pieced together like a quilt!

Anita wrote an article titled “Why I Write.” In it, she explained, “I write about ‘our people’ because they have a story to tell . . . it’s their history and it all becomes a part of our history and reaches out and touches our life.”

The article highlights the ways Anita paid attention to people and small details, noticing things others may not have; the way she saw people in a unique light; the way she recognized how special each one of us is and how we each have our own story to tell. Her love for people and the Appalachian mountains are evident in her writing.

“How blind we sometimes are,” the article reads, “and how wrong our older people are when they think their story isn’t worth telling or isn’t interesting. We write your story because we love and appreciate you but also because we need you . . . your common sense, your trust in God, your wisdom.”

“Mountain Echoes: Vol. I” can be found on Amazon, at Belcher Insurance agency offices and the Gift Shop in Haysi. Some local businesses also carry the book.