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Kandy Ann Barnard is a native of Andrews, North Carolina, and was born on the corner of Locust and Main Street in the Rodda-VanGorder Clinic. She is a product of the Appalachian Mountains, and was one of two children born to her parents, Beatrice Birchfield and Leon Wallace Pugh. Peggy Rae was her older sister and they grew up with her Aunt Helen and Uncle Harold’s eleven children, who spent their childhood playing in the mountains across Tatham Gap, which was part of the “Trail of Tears.”
Kandy’s parents brought her home to a little house on the banks of Junaluska Creek that they rented from Neil Hay. The house was small and her mother did not have a crib so she made her a bed in one of the large drawers of their chest. In the 1950’s, it was hard to make a living in Andrews, so her parents, along with her Aunt and Uncle traveled to Florida to find work. Times were so bad that it took several years to get enough money to get back to the mountains. The young couples packed up the children in an old 1939 Chevrolet truck, and with a prayer and a promise, they hit the long stretches of road through the Georgia red clay, and never looked backed. They were going back home to the mountains to grub out a living or die.
Kandy is part of the Birchfield Clan, whose family can be traced back to the mountains for six generation. She believes that the hardships of living in the secluded valley helped to shape the character of the mountain people and made them strong. Life in a small town holds many memories for Kandy, and growing up in the sixties gave her many insights, which she portrays in her poetry. The nostalgic themes of her poetry take you back to a particular place in time.
Kandy is known around Andrews for the many feature stories that she has written on the local folks in the Andrews Journal. She is proud of her mountain heritage, and by interviewing the older generation, she hopes to preserve the history of this area. She published a book of poetry in 1985 and is currently working on two books, a book of short stories called “The Clan and the Kinsmen,” and a book on the accounts of war from the veterans in the Andrews area. She was crowned “Andrews Poet Laureate” by North Carolina Poet Laureate, Fred Chappell, at the first Chautauqua AVE’ Celebration in 2002.
She has served on the Board of Directors for the Andrews Chamber of Commerce, the Valleytown Cultural Arts and Historical Society, the United Methodist Church Administration Council, and is currently serving on the Board of Directors for Chautauqua AVE!, and is chairperson for the Andrews Design Committee.
Kandy Barnard loves the Andrews Valley and the people who live there. Her appreciation for life is represented in the lines of her poetry and the stories of those who have made a difference in the rugged mountains of Western North Carolina. She said, “My life’s journey began in a little room overlooking Main Street here in Andrews, and will someday end in this beautiful valley, because I would never live anywhere else.”
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