Wilma Dykeman Stokely (May 20, 1920 – December 22, 2006) was an American writer of fiction and nonfiction whose works chronicled the people and land of Appalachia.
On the strength of this Sidney Hillman Award-winning book, Dykeman and Stokely wrote approximately 20 articles for The New York Times Magazine durig the late 1950's and early 1960's, providing periodic reports on the state of the civil rights movement.
Because of her world-class speaking skills, and a boundless energy that took her to workshops, classrooms, and other venues throughout the region, Dykeman is sometimes referred to as "the mother of Appalachian Studies."
"[2] In addition to this, in honor of Wilma Dykeman who strongly advocated for linkage between economic development and environmental protection along the French Broad River, both the City of Asheville and Buncombe County in Western North Carolina have adopted the Wilma Dykeman RiverWay Plan - a 17-mile greenway and park system that intends to revitalize sustainable economic growth along the French Broad and Swannanoa River.
Return the Innocent Earth recalls the Stokely family's legacy, examining modern industry through a fictionalized Tennessee canning company.
The book portrayed the Clayburns, a poor but enterprising family who went into the canning business in a small mountain town called Churchill around 1900.
When introducing her as a new columnist, the paper's editor announced that Dykeman would write under the title "The Simple Life," which would be "a momentary turning aside, a glimpse down a different path, to see, hear, feel, ponder the common uniqueness of our lives" and communicate "the salt of humor, gnarled strength of old ideals, the variety of new ideas and the friendship of people well-known and little-known along the way."
During the period 1978 to 1982 she served as a consultant to the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge for its "An Appalachian Experience" public education project, of which her son James R. Stokely III was executive director.
The project resulted in the development of teaching materials on Appalachia and the 1982 publication of An Encyclopedia of East Tennessee, edited by James R. Stokely III and Jeff D. Johnson (ISBN 978-0-9606832-0-8).
In 1994, she received the Pride of Tennessee Award from Governor Ned Ray McWherter, honoring her commitment to community, education, and advancement of the humanities.
On March 23, 2021, the Asheville city council voted to name the 2-mile-long French Broad River East Bank Greenway after Dykeman.