Word passes through the crowd at the Valle Country Fair faster than the cold October wind blowing off the mountain. "Orville's telling stories!"

In a back corner by a barbed wire fence, past the cider press and apple butter pots, sits a man in faded Liberty overalls. His eyes grow large and callused hands fly as he shares the exploits of a boy named Jack.

Orville Hicks is a mountain of a man and a man of the mountains. Silvery whiskers cover his craggy ridges like trees on a mountainside. His body, barely contained by the overalls, is rounded by time, as are the peaks of his Watauga County home.

Hicks learned his tales from his mother, Sarah, while working the fields and woods with a herd of brothers, sisters and extended family. Electricity was slow in coming to the back side of Beech Mountain where Hicks grew up, so he and his family crafted their own entertainment of stories, music and homemade toys.

On this cold October day, hundreds hang on Hicks' every word and gesture. Children stare into his wide eyes as he tells of boy named Jack selling a pumpkin to a man from the city, convincing the tourist that it's a mule egg. Old and young howl in laughter along the way.

Many of Hicks' stories are "Jack Tales" and feature the doings of a trouble-finding boy who uses his wits to get himself in and out of trouble. "Jack and the Beanstalk" is one of those adventures, born centuries ago, and passed down through generations. Orville's cousin, Ray Hicks, who died in 2003, was a world famous teller of "Jack Tales."

As more mountain traditions are forgotten, Orville Hicks looks forward to the day, not far away, when he will bounce a new grandbaby on his knee, passing down almost several centuries worth of the exploits of Jack and the mischief that goes with them.

The sparkle in his eyes and the grin on his face show that Orville Hicks will pass along his own mischief along the way.

Watch and listen: See an audio slide show of Orville Hicks at www.newsobserver.com/postcards.