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Mountain Life & Work vol. 34 no. 4 1958

Mountain Life & Work vol. 34 no. 4 1958 Council of the Southern Mountains 400dpi TIFF G4 page images University of Kentucky, Electronic Information Access & Management Center Lexington, Kentucky 2003 mlwv34n41058 These pages may freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Mountain Life & Work vol. 34 no. 4 1958 Council of the Southern Mountains Berea College; Council of the Southern Mountains Berea, Kentucky 1958 $IMLS This electronic text file was created by Optical Character Recognition (OCR). No corrections have been made to the OCR-ed text and no editing has been done to the content of the original document. Encoding has been done through an automated process using the recommendations for Level 1 of the TEI in Libraries Guidelines. Digital page images are linked to the text file. 1 MOUNTA W ` MAGAZINE OF THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS MOUNTAIN VOL' XXXIV No. 4 LIFE & WORK ------------1958---------- PUBLISHED A T THE 0 F F I C E Q F THE COUNCIL OF THE SOUTHERN M OU N TA INS , SEALE BUILDING, MAIN STREET, BEREA, KENTUCKY. ENTERED AS SECOND CLASS MATTER AT BEREA, KENTUCKY. MANAGING EDITOR: Charles Drake, College Station, Berea, Ky. Associate Editor: Mardi Drake PUBLICATIONS COMMISSION: Miss Florene brooks, Chairman Mr. Mayes Behrman Mrs. Pauline Hord Miss Beulah Campbell Mrs. Helen Bullard Krechniak Mr. Richard Chase Mrs. Jac Lyndon Tharpe Mrs. Septima Clark Mr. Willard Trepus Miss Maureen Faulkner Mr. Jess Wilson STAFF ARTIST: Mrs. Burton Rogers Mountain Life & Work is published quarterly by the COUNCIL OF THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS, INC. Box 2000, College Station, Berea, Ky. Perley F. Ayer, Executive Secretary (on leave), Loyal Jones, Associate Executive Secretary. Subscription price: $1.00 per year to non-members of the Council. This subscription price is included in the membership fee of the Council. All members receive the magazine. Subscriptions should be sent to: THE COUNCIL OF THE SOUTHERN MDUNTAINS, INC. Box 2000, College Station Berea, Kentucky ARTICLES for this magazine should be sent to the above address in care of the Managing Editor. SIGNED OR QUOTED ARTICLES ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE EXPRESSION OF EDITORIAL OPINION. NOR DO ARTICLES APPEARING IN THIS MAGAZINE NECESSARILY CARRY THE ENDORSEMENT OF THE COUNCIL OR ITS OFFICERS. PICTURE CREDITS Page 7, Chad Drake; p. 9, Earl Palmer; p. 12, Ed DliPuy; pp. 21 and 23, Lin Canfield; pp. a7-31, Loyal Jones; p. 34, Gerald Griffin; p. 37, Loyal Jones; pp. 46, 47, 49, Chad Drok e; p. 51, Loyal Jones; p. 57, Chad Drake; pp. 60,-61, L. G. Kesteloo. IN THIS ISSUE THE PLUCKED DULCIMER CHRISTMAS WAS A LONG TRAIN . . . . NOW THE HOLLY BEARS THE BERRY . . NEW YEAR' S EVE A CHRISTIAN OPPORTUNITY . . . . CONCENTRATE ON THE POSSIBILITIES WHEN THOMAS BOLFE WENT HOME AGAIN EAST WIND, a poem . WRITING FOR EASY READING ISN'T EASY . GET YOUR POLIO SHOTS TODAY! . . . . THE RECESSION IS FAR FROM OVER IN THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS . . . . . WEST VIRGINIA FESTIVAL SPARKS NEW INTEREST IN FOLK ARTS . . . . BOOKS Neither Black Nor White Reviewed by Bright Future Make Your Own Musical Instruments Moccasin Tracks SUNDAY ON THE INSIDE . . . . . . . . Dorothy Matthews HENDERSON "PRETTIES" USE MOUNTAIN MATERIALS..Mardi Drake HELP PEOPLE TO HELP THEMSELVES . . . Marie Moody Foster Youth Section: IF I WERE SEVENTEEN AGAIN . . . . . . Jesse Stuart Sai0LARSHIPS ANNOUNCED CELEBRATE WATCH NIGHT IN YOUR CHURCH Furn Kelling HELP BIRDS TO WEATHER THE WINTER John F. Putnam George Scarbrough Old Carol Charlotte and Paul Reynolds 19 Betty Kirlin 21 Clifford Odets 26 Dora Read Goodale 29 Marilyn Estridge 30 Timothy Wiggins, M.D.32 Chad Drake Leslie Skeens Harry Ernst Gene Holdredge Suzanne ,Camp 36 38 41 42 43 43 44 46 48 52 56 58 60 LET'S MAKE OURSELVES KNOWN THIS EMBLEM OF A COMMON DEDICATION TO THE APPALACHIAN SOUTH MAY BE PURCHASED AND WORN BY COUNCIL MEMBERS . (See back cover for meobership) Sterling lapel button $1.50 Sterling pin 1.50 Sterling tie bar 5.00 Sterling bar pin 5.00 (Prices include tax) SEND ORDERS TO THE Council of the Southern Mountains, In c. College Box 2000, Berea Kentucky SEND FOR CATALOG 40-page catalog containing 12 sample and color cards of lin r. cottons and wools-and samples of the weaving. ~ ; described above - all for $1.00 postpaid, wh~c i be refunded on first order of $10 or more. %) ew~rg°wooG. oa WefVasA Golden Rule Products, always known for its vast stocks of imported linen yarns, has acquired the stock and exclusive sale of PATONS and BALDWINS Weaving wools from Scotland You weavers now can explore an excitingly new world of checks and plaids, using these glorious wools that made Scotland and Scottish weavers famous . . . the Golden Rule "Woodpecker" and "Tweed" from Scotland and lam O'Shanter "Worsted" made in the U.S.A. All of them offer almost limitless possibilities. They come in convenient tubes, ready to use. Suitable for both warp and weft. Send 10 cents for samples and prices All the leading looms: including "Missouri", "LeClerc" and others from belt looms at $2.98 up to 90-inch looms. RAO rs 34at1arPtt, ,'~Jnr. GOLDEN RULE PRODUCTS Dept. B, 115 Franklin Street, New York 13, N.Y. NAME* alod ;; HANDWEAVING YARNS AND SUPPLIES LILY Yarns, developed especially for handweaving, are used by discriminating weavers everywhere. Always the highest in quality and the newest in textures and colors. Ready for prompt shipment in any quantity-Cottons, Wools, Chenilles, Homespuns, Linens, Metallics and Novelties. Also Looms, including the Leclerc folding loom, warping frames, bobbin racks and winders, table reels and tension boxes. Price list FREE. Send $1.00 for complete color cards and samples. (This $1.00 can be applied to your next order of $10.00.) Write to Dept. HWB. dzdez ael yauz du'tAued ~xam , , , THE h1ANDWEAVER'S HEADQUARTERS LILY MILLS COMPANY Dept. HWB, Shelby, N. C. 6 CHRISTMAS COUNTRY DANCE SCHOOL BEREA COLLEGE, BEREA, KENTUCKY December 26, 1958 - January 1, 1959 DANCE THESE OLD FAVORITES American Squares Appalachian Dances New England Contras Morris and Sword English Country Dances Danish Country Dances OTHER ACTIVITIES Recorders Puppetry Old English Mummers Play Appalachian and English Folk Songs Play Party Games Tall Tales Discussion Topics A COUNTRY-DANCE PARTY EVERY NIGHT Write for full information 'Ethel Capps, Director after December 10, 1958 Box 287, Berea College Elizabeth Watts Berea, Kentucky 42 Jackson St. Berea, Ky. The following article is adapted from the author's forthcoming book dealing with the history of the dulcimer, its construction, people Yho make and play it, and instructions for learning to play the instrument. the section of the book dealing with people who make and have made dulcimers is incomplete. There is still much to be discovered and recorded about these craftsmen. It is hoped that this article will stimulate readers to bring to light information regarding dulcimers and their makers. ellve JO/acXed '~ic~cameli JOHN PUTNAM THE PLUCKED DULCIMER is a musical instrument which is truly American, having been developed in the Southern Appalachian mountains of the United States. It is distinguished by its long and slender form, its hollow raised fingerboard over which are stretched usually three or four strings, and a soundbox which bulges symmetrically on either side. Though it has European forebears, no instrument having the distinctive characteristics of the Appalachian plucked dulcimer has yet been positively identified as being of European manufacture. ,~,,,~ Who are the people who have developed and produced the plucked dulcimer? In general, it may be said that dulcimers have been made by a large number of men having a wide variety of skills, interests, and occupations. Brief biographies of several of the better-known makers of dulcimers are presented here as representative of the men who have produced this distinc tive musical instrument. James Edward Thomas (c.1850-1933), of Bath, Kentucky, was an early producer of what is now the most common of the dulci mer shapes, the hourglass shape. Allen Eaton, in his Handicrafts o f the Southern Highlands , has written an interesting account of Mr. Thomas' experiences with dulcimers: "Mr. Thomas, the most outstanding dulcimer maker of the Highlands, began making these instruments when he was 21, continuing with considerable regularity until shortly before his death in 1933, a working period of nearly 62 years. 8 He is said to have numbered the instruments. It is believed by some of his acquaintances that he may have made as many as 1, 500, all told. There is no record showing exactly what disposition was made of all of these, but probably Mr. Thomas' statement that 'they went to all other lands everywhere' is not too vague if we think of all lands as meaning the United States and England. Mostf of them, he is reported to have said, were sold in New York 'because there were more people there than anywhere else. ' "He sold a considerable number of instruments by mail, and these sometimes gave him trouble. His nephew at one time said that 'Uncle Eddie' had made a dulcimer for the Prince of Wales but had not sent it yet because he did not know the postoffice address. The instrument finally went, however, and Mr. Thomas related the agreeable news that 'the king' had written him a nice letter 'with a lot of gold and purple in it,' but that one of his children had burned the letter by mistake, 'so he couldn't show it to anyone any more.' "Mr. Thomas made his dulcimers usually of walnut, though sometimes of maple or birch, and a few from California redwood, which he said came from 'far over the seas.' His earlier ones were carefully put together, but time and weather have loosened some of the joints, and in his late years the craftsmanship did not come up to that of the early years. His favorite design for the holes in the body of the dulcimer was the heart shape. The decor, ation around the heart was painted in gold on a few of the instruments." Jethro Amburgey (1895- ) of Hindman, Kentucky, first heard the dulcimer when he was a boy. It was played by the nearest neighbor of the Amburgeys, Ed Thomas (aforementioned) who later taught Jethro to play. Jethro went to the settlement school at Hindman, where he became interested in woodworking. While he was in high school, at the time of the First World War, the woodworking instructor was called to serve in the army. Jethro was invited to take charge of woodworking at the school -and he has been there much of the time since. Jethro recalls seeing Mr. Thomas walking past the woodshop one day with a half-dozen or so dulcimers and going into a meeting of the settlement women. A while later, Mr. Thomas returned without a single instrument; he had sold them all. Jethro figured that if people wanted dulcimers so much, he too should learn how' to make them. He asked Mr. Thomas if he might buy a dulcimer for himself, but one with the pieces unassembled. Mr. Thomas, advancing in years, obliged young Jethro and helped him to learn A the secrets of fine dulcimer making. Jethro has been making dulcimers much of the time since, finishing a total of over 390 instruments up to the present time. After serving in the World War, Jethro alternated between school teaching, at one time in a one-room log school, and continuing his education at Berea College, Eastern State College, and Morehead State College, from which he received his bachelor of arts degree in 1937. Jethro is now back at Hindman once more, where he is working for the County Health Department. He is married and has a grown son. Dulcimer making continues to be his prime hobby. P,' a than Hicks (c.1896-1946) of Rominger, North Carolina., was another well-known maker of dulcimers. In the latter part of the last century a man named Oliver came through North Carolina's mountain country, carrying a dulcimer with him. He stayed one night at Brownlow Hicks's house on Beech Mountain. Brownlow was so impressed with the instrument that directly he went to the woods with a saw, hewed out some logs, marked out a pattern, and made himself a dulcimer. Brownlow, in his lifetime, made only this one dulcimer, but it was a very important instrument, the forerunner of those made by Nathan Hicks and Edd Pressnell. 10 Ben Hicks, Brownlow's brother, made an instrument patterned after the one that Brownlow had made. On this dulcimer four of Ben's five children learned to make music. The second son, Nathan, learned to play both the dulcimer and the banjo as a boy, favoring such tunes as "Barbry Allen," "Willow Garden," "Sour wood Mountain," "Johnson Boys," and "Red Wing." Nathan was a carpenter. He took along his dulcimer when he went north to work on houses in New York State, and played it frequently while he was there. When he returned to his mountain home and his ten children, he would do some farming and make dulcimers. In all he made about ten instruments. Nathan died in 1946, only a few weeks after the death of his father, Ben Hicks. Ledford (1927- ) of Winchester, Kentucky, is the only craftsman in a farmer's family of three sons and a daughter. He has always wanted to make and play musical instruments y At twelve years of age he made his first guitar out of birch bark; others were made out of lard can bottoms. Homer's first trip away from home took him to the John C. Campbell Folk School at Brasstown, North Carolina. Here he saw 11 his first dulcimer, when he repaired for Mrs. Campbell an instrument which had gone to pieces. Edna Ritchie, noting his careful workmanship, asked Homer to make a dulcimer for her. Later, when an order for two dulcimers was sent to Brasstown by the manager of the Southern Highlands Shop in New York City, Homer was asked to make these. He was twenty years old at the time. Homer made his first fiddle in 1945 and another in 1947, the same year in which he produced his first dulcimer. He made an artist style mandolin in 1950. He has reconditioned three guitars. More than three hundred dulcimers have been completed on his workbench. After staying for two years at the Campbell Folk School, Homer went on to college, first at Berea and then at Eastern State College, Richmond, Kentucky, from which he was graduated in 1954. He now teaches industrial arts at the high school in Winchester, Ky. He is married and has one son. His hobbies, in addition to the prime one of making and playing all sorts of musical instruments, include working on a hi-fi set, raising tropical fish, carving, and making furniture for his home. Edd L. Presnell (1916- ) of Rominger (Banner Elk postoffice), North Carolina, is a farmer and a woodcarver. He is the father of four children, one now married and two away at school in Berea. Edd's farm, high atop the Beech, one of Western Carolina's most beautiful mountains, was once owned by Ben Hicks. Nettie Hicks Presnell, Edd's wife, was Ben's youngest child and the sister of Nathan. Early instruments made by Edd Presnell and Nathan Hicks were very similar, both being patterned after those made by Ben Hicks. Having found a market, Nathan even bought fifteen or twenty of Edd's early dulcimers to sell to outsiders. In the course of time, Edd has "improved" certain elements in the design and construction of his dulcimers. Edd recalls having seen, as a boy, a dulcimer played by Nineveh Presnell, a distant relation. When Edd was ten a group, including the preacher, was gathered at Nineveh's house for a Sunday birth day dinner. After the meal Nineveh picked up the dulcimer and began playing "Cripple Creek" and "Cindy. " This was too much for a preacher on Sunday. He left and there was no preaching. I Edd has made dulcimers since about 1935. The first ones were rather crude. They sold for $3. 00. But Edd made one for himself, a work of love having a finger board inlaid with mother of-pearl. Nettie's brother, Nathan Hicks, came by and asked v Edd the price. Edd thought up an outrageous price, $5. 00. To his surprise, Nathan paid the five dollars. Edd almost cried when the dulcimer went, it was so pretty. Edd's fine wood carving has won him blue and red ribbons at the State and Craftsman's Fairs in North Carolina and neighboring states. Most of his woodcarving and the work on his dulcimers is done with a hatchet or knife, his only commercial tool being a washing machine motor which turns a sanding disc. He has made more than one hundred dulcimers now, and has sent them to fourteen states. The highest tribute was paid to Edd's craftsmanship by Allen Eaton, the handicraft authority, who said that one of Edd's carvings was "one of the finest works of art, both to the eye and to the touch, that I have ever enjoyed. " The short biographies preceding are typical of thos prepared by the author for the following dulcimer makers: Samuel Allen, McMinnville, Tenn.; Charles Bryan, McMinnville, Tenn.; Martin Huff, Bledsoe, Ky.; A. W. Jeffries, Staunton, Va.; the Martins, Swannanoa, N. C.; Howard Mitchell, Lexington, Va.; John Jacob Niles, Lexington, Ky.; George Pickow, New York City; Raymond Ritchie, Ypsilanti: Mich, W. C. Singleton, Viper, Ky.; Samuel South, Tamarack, N.C.; Henry Steele, Belvidere, Tenn.; Clark Voorhees, Old Lyme, Conn. Insufficient information is available regarding the following makers of dulcimers: Dr. Atherton, Asheville, N. C.; Theodore Blevins, Marion, Va.; Bob Davis, Statesville, Tenn.; Frank Hall, Cumberland, Ky.; Lewis Hinkle, Volga, W. Va.; E. B. Honchell, ? ; Malen McEntire, Kap's Mill, N. C.; Reid Moxley, Allegheny County, N. C.; A. B. Russell and S. F. Russell of Marion, Va.; Bristol Taylor, Berea, Ky.; Charlie Wilson, Louisa, Ky. Dulcimers can be made with rounded, straight, or angular sides, as shown in the drawings at the right. In tracing down the historical development of the dulcimer information regarding the location of certain shapes, and the dates of their construction, is of great importance. Please send any information you have concerning the dulcimer makers mentioned, or others, along with a description of their instruments, to John F. Putnam, in care of the Council of the Southern Mountains. The Appalachian plucked dulcimer is shrouded in mystery. There are puzzling gaps in what is known about its development and propagation. It is hoped that through tracing down makers of dulcimers, and taking' special notice of the source from which they took their inspiration, it will be possible to join together more pieces of the dulcimer puzzle, and better understand its history. ## 14 George Scarbrough, one of the better-known mountain writers, shares with us these reminiscences of his boyhood... ekwtma *Jad I REMEMBER MY FATHER in the cloudy darkness of morn ing, moving between the heads and the heels of the mules, hitching them in. I remember my impatience, waiting for him to call, and my mother's saying that perhaps I should not go after all, it was sure to snow. I remember, with a sickening plunge of feeling, how my breath, suddenly expelled, made a cloud on the window pane, hid my father from sight, and how I scrubbed at the pane with a coatsleeve to find him again. He was still there and the hitching was done. He raised a hand, beckoning. My mother said nothing more; I was free to begin the journey with my father. We were going to buy Christmas for the family. I remember how, as I climbed into the wagon, I pictured the red apples and thco)), yellow oranges we would be bringing back; and the red-and-white candy; and maybe even the nut, big and hairy like an ape's head, and hard to crack but filled with the whitest meat in the world and cool with sweet milk. Raisins we would have, too, in their red boxes, and a sack of brown sugar. I remember that I was not aware of the cold, thinking of these things. The store was six miles away, my father said, across the river by the railroad tracks and-we might see a train. I remember wondering what a real train was like. I had heard train whistles late at night like a hail of stones hitting the countryside, and had covered my head for fear. It was the lonesomest thing in the world. But now the thought of apples, oranges, and candy took my mind away from the possibility of having a train for Christmas. When the snow began to fall, my father laughed and shouted in the wild flakes like one of his children. And as the whiteness grew the colors of Christmas deepened in my mind until every tree seempel to be hung with golden oranges and red apples, and every fence pok J) had a climbing spiral of red like a mint stick standing upright in the snow. I remember the river as we crossed it, the green water hissing as the flakes fell, and the hollow sound the planks of the bridge made under the wagon wheels. The station was just beyond, with the store beside it. And reaching both ways endlessly through the snow lay the railroad track itself, black and mysterious, filling me with a sense of uneasiness I could not understand. I told myself I would not look at the train when it came. And inside the store, surrounded by the sights and smells of plenty, the colors, the talk of weather and of Christmas around the warm stove, I very nearly forgot it. But my father heard the thunder of the wheels before the whistle came, and put me outside. I remember the look on his face, as if he had given me an inestimable gift, something splendid and unusual for Christmas. I could not tell him I was afraid of the train; so I pressed myself against the gray walls of the station and waited. Something from out there was coming in. I could feel it in my body, shaking, and in the house I leaned against, and in the earth itself as the train, gathering momentum on the down-grade, began to rush by. I saw it come like a roaring storm out of the north and shoot southward, heaving and shaking with a constant thunder, and over it ail the whistle shattering the last hiding place on earth with its sound. I turned and fled into the store howling, "The trainl The trainl" startling my father and stopping the laughter. No one said much. But my father gave me the biggest red apple in the sack, and we went home. ##### 16 WHILE THE SUBJECT matter of this lovely old carol would appear to link its use to Christmas alone, it seems to have been sung from December to Easter. It is sometimes called the St. Day Carol because it was heard and recorded on Saint Day, a Breton observance. It will be remembered that there is a closer connection between the folk song of the Bretons and the natives of Cornwall than with other parts of Great Britain sharing a Celtic background. This song would seem to be quite unrelated in symbolism to the Holly and Ivy carols, which are not generally of a religious type but are usually associated with merry-making at Christmas time. It is like the traditional carols in which the holly and its berries are connected by symbolism to Mary and the Holy Child. This carol is included in the revised edition of SONGS OF ALL TIME, the pocket-sized song book published jointly by the 1, Council of the Southern Mountains and the Cooperative Recreation Service. So popular has this edition been that the Council has recently authorized a reprinting. Interest has been expressed in a record consisting of selections from SONGS OF ALL TIMES. This would be a ten inch LP costing $3.00. If you would find such a record useful or desirable, please drop a postal to the Council office (no obligation involved), because the size of the edition will be determined in part by the volume of advance requests.. ANNO~~~6 Reused Edition of WHERE TO GET WHAT The National Directory of Sources of Supply for all crafts-invaluable to crafts workers, teachers, occupational therapists, vocational directors, recreation leaders, Boy and Girl Scout leaders, churches, schools, institutions, and hospitals. 35c per copy-in coin or stamps. PENLAND SCHOOL OF HANDICRAFTS Penland, North Carolina (Vow z~hc, fZoll~) ba.ar5 zize.$arry Now ch e, lzoll~ bc.ars rlZ ar barry as wlitt,, cis c]k zriilk, Hncl Mary bore Ta.sus who wa's wrG-20aa A --ii Ancl. Mary bore Ta.sus Christ ouSwaiour for co be-) I I - 1 a ~ ~ -cra-a. oS cha,~reanwood , It wan awa. Y2,olly , 1-Zolly,12oLly, Hnd dia. first crQ-e. of izi-1za- ~rvxr wood.,tt wo-s c3Aa., 1'?oLly, a, No.odxel'tolly boars duo berz',y as~r~ecv.~clm~rc~;~s~ Anl Mary bore 7asus who died. onaLe cross,,(Rqra)-" , ~~ 3 O)owd-LC houy beaxs clLa. bexry as rzd.as the bloocL, And (")ary bare TesAisjortb clo poor suu~axs c~ood;(Re~'ra:~n„ .4. cvowt~ hotly be,axs the betty as blackas c1,e coal, '4 - Arid (")nr9 bore,Tez us who diced 8 ocus -Al,..(Ref roa,-m. Red Bird Skyhooks 2AN INTERESTING OBJECT was whittled one day by a mountain boy attending a two-room school in the Cumberland Mountains. At the Red Bird Mission they call it the "sky hook. 11 Curiously, you can balance it on your fingertip by angingg a heavy belt on the notch or hook. As the belt, hook, and finger become rightly related, an amazing balance is achieved. The Red Bird Mission Student Craft program is now producing the "sky hook" for sale, in the form of colorful little cardinals. The card on which they are mounted suggests that the little object is both a toy and a symbol. In the Lord's work, opportunities and burdens can be shared by us without weighing us down and overwhelming us if we are in right relationship with the Master. Church groups and conferences may wish to order the sky hooks in quantity, at the group rate of 25y each. A single sky hook, with explanatory card, costs 35~, and would make an excellent stocking gift for some child on your list this Christmas. ##### ~~ IS THERE A COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS TREE where you live? If not, or if someone must cut a tree every year to provide one, perhaps you might like to follow the example of Berea, Ky. Tired of cutting a new tree each December, interested individuals planted a Norway spruce in a central park. It is only as high as this 5-year-old now, but within another 15 years it should be as high as the cut tree in the background. Plant a tree now for a more beautiful community I 19 f ~P.G~h~~ i i A Christian Opportunity CHARLOTTE AND PAUL REYNOLDS i A GROWING NUMBER OF CHURCHES are finding the evening before New Year's Day a time of special opportunity. Why should New Year's Eve be completely secular? The church can lead in making the evening a time of wholesome fun and fellowship, and of re-dedication to Christian purposes for the year ahead. This celebration may be a "Family Night." All ages may gather for recreation and fun. The games and entertainment can be so planned as to be interesting to everyone. At the Church Community Center in Merom, Indiana, for instance, we have seen all ages from five-year-olds to grandparents sharing in the grand march and simple folk games. Later the oldest and the youngest sat around the edges of the room while the young people entered into more active and intricate folk games. At the close of the evening came a worship service, so pitched as to be inclusive since small children were taking part. In rural areas where the whole family is included in such a church celebration (and where there are sure to be chores early next morning), it may be well to have the closing moments of worship at, say, ten o'clock. The old year is passing and the new one coming, and there is nothing sacred about the exact midnight hour. The Watch-Night program may be for the "young marrieds"the young adults of church and community. Grandparents may be willing and happy to stay at home with the babies so that these older young people may have a night of fun, relief from the care of small children, fellowship with their own age group, and of reverent worship as midnight approaches. Yet again, the evening may be given over to the youth group of church and neighborhood. In some cases two or three churches may plan for a united Watch-Night program. If this is not feasible, then a single church may lead in the activity. At Pleasant Hill, Tennessee, on the Cumberland Plateau, for the past several years such a New Year's frolic has been planned 20 by the young people, with the cooperation of the minister and his wife. The affair is not limited to church young people, but instead is open to any teen-alters in the community. On New Year's Eve the young folks gather at the church community house about 8 o'clock. Two sponsoring couples chosen fro the parents group are present to help with the festivities. While folk dancing is a central part of the evening program, other games are also carefully planned by the recreation committee. The big main room is beautifully decorated in keeping with the New Year's theme. Later in the evening refreshments are served. About 11:30 the group joins in a hymn sing, which leads into the worship service. This is so planned as to stimulate personal appraisal of the events of the past year, and encourage a hopeful look forward, with a re-dedication to the Christian way of life. The closing prayer comes at midnight. Then, with "Happy New Year" greetings, the young people go their homeward ways. It seems entirely fitting that at the close of each year there may be a special time of sociability and fellowship, reaching a climax in a worship experience which looks forward to the year ahead with Christian hope and purpose. # # # # # DR. AND MRS. PAUL REYNOLDS NOW MAKE THEIR HOME IN PLEASANT HILL. TENN., WHERE HE IS PASTOR EMERITUS OF THE COMMUNITY CHURCH. PREVIOUSLY DR. REYNOLDS HEADED THE NATIONAL FAMILY LIFE COMMISSION OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHRISTIAN CHURCHES. For sane other suggestions for a youth group Watch Night party, see p. 58. CHURCH FURNITURE By buying frorp Clear Creek Furniture Factory, you will beeuving . . . and serving a worthy cause. - Standard - Pulpit Chair OUR CHURCH FURNITURE is `"a. ,n a' - made from strong, native red oak, built with loving care by our students, and designed Owned and Operated by the for long wear. CLEAR CREEK BAPTIST SCHOOL PINEVILLE, KENTUCKY concentrate on the possibilities BETTY KIRLIN MOST OF US ARE GUILTY of saddling the physically handi capped children in our communities with handicaps far worse than physical limitations. We are not giving them a chance to develop self-confidence and to make friends by "belonging" to a group. In recent years, increasing numbers of physically handicapped adults have gained employment. The majority of these persons have been successful in these jobs and proved themselves capable workers. However, there have been job failures, and 90% of these were caused not by the individuals' physical limitations but by their inability to get along with other people. This inability has not been caused by the physical handicap. Rather, it is due to the failure of communities to meet their responsibility to offer to physically handicapped children opportunities for social and recreational programs which enable them to be with other people, to learn the give and take of a group, to help in planning and in making decisions, and to accept responsibility. 22 In addition, we are not expecting enough of the physically handicapped person. We are concentrating on his limitations rather than his capabilities. A blind man recently said that he felt he has a 25% disability-of which 24% is due to the attitude of others. Sister Mary Benedict, in an article entitled "The Crippled Child," stated, "Pity is not a good basis for acceptance. Respect is better, but genuine affection based on the individual's inherent worth is best." Often we let sentiment get in the way. We forget Abraham Lincoln's warning that, "You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could have done for themselves," and that "You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence." What the physically handicapped person really wants is opportunity, and acceptance for what he is rather than for what he is not. Increasingly, adequate medical care and treatment are becoming available to children with physical handicaps; and gradually educational opportunities are being extended. But lagging far behind are the opportunities offered to handicapped children for social and recreational experiences. We somehow expect them to leap the gap from childhood to adulthood without ever having been given a chance to have the normal experiences so necessary to every growing child. . belonging to a "gang," having friends one's own age, going campingl~% belonging to a church group, etc. Why are such opportunities so often denied the child with a physical handicap? The chief reason is that we have not learned to "concentrate on the possibilities," to quote the advice of Stig Guldberg, Director of Camps for the Physically Handicapped in Denmark. How can you and your community start to serve children with physical handicaps? 1. Think of them not as handicapped children but as children with physical handicaps. Remember, there are handicaps far more limiting than the physical. Many of us who have no physical handicaps are handicapped by our selfishness, irritability, thoughtlessness, and impatience. 2. As your community builds new schools, churches, and recreation buildings, see that the plans include ramps for persons who must use wheel chairs or crutches. Why shouldn't a person have an opportunity to belong to a Scout troop, go to church, or belong to a teen-age club just because steps present a problem to him? 3. Offer the physically handicapped opportunities as you offer them to other children. Learn from local doctors which i I I I i l I I a 1 children would benefit from your recreational programs. Seek guidance in understanding each person's limitations _and his abilities; then pave the way for that person to join the groups offered to other children in your community. Whenever possible, give him a chance to be a part of a "normal" group of non-handicapped children. For the child with severe multiple handicaps, or for the mentally or emotionally handicapped child, professional leadership and specially adapted programs are necessary. But there are many children in our communities whose lack of sight, or use of braces, crutches, or wheel chair should not be depriving them of "normal" social and recreational opportunities. If you fear that a person with a physical handicap will "slow up" your group or your program too much, talk to someone who has had a physically handicapped child in a Scout or church group with which he is working. His reply most often will be, "Slow up our program? Well, sometimes a little, but not much. But the benefits to the nonhandicapped children in terms of attitude, patience, thoughtfulness, and understanding far out-weigh the little bit of adaptation we had to do to include the physically handicapped child. " And remember, too, that the physically handicapped child must learn early to realize that he cannot do everything that "the other kids do." This is part of his growing up and adjusting. Being a part of a non-handicapped group, belonging, being accepted by that group for what he is-these things help him to grow nto adulthood as a selfsupporting member of a community who adjusts to his limitations, recognizes his abilities, and accepts his responsibilities. ##### BETTY KIRLIN IS DIRECTOR OF GROUP ACTIVITIES FOR THE KENTUCKY SOCIETY FOR CRIPPLED CHILDREN. M v V ~'~BDBMKOK J. lA11CXTT IMPORTED LINEN YARNS FOR IIANDLOOM WEAVING METLON NON-TARNISHING METALLIC YARNS LANE LOOMS PORTABLE - JACK TYPE COUNTER BALANCE Before you buy - see the new PURRINGTON FOLDING LOOM Write us for the name of your nearest sales outlet and demonstrator Send 35¢ for yarn samples FREDERICK J. FAWCETT, INC. Dept. M. 129 South St, Boston 11, Mass. This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the death of the most distinguished writer to come from the Southern Highlands. We refer, of course, to i` t Asheville's Famous Son THE PLACE OF THOMAS CLAYTON WOLFE (1900-1938) in American literary history is secure. His novels "Look Homeward, Angel," "Of Time and the River," "The Web and the Rock," and "You Can't Go Home Again," along with the short stories of "The Hills Beyond," and other collections earned him a permanent place among the literary giants produced by our nation. Tom Wolfe was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina -the "Altamont" of his first published novel, "Look Homeward, Angel. 11 His genius for writing was fused and fired from his earliest impressions of the people of the hill country of the Blue Ridge Mountains, who so influenced his thinking and writing. It is interesting to note, in the article by Clifford Odets which follows, how deeply imbedded in Wolfe was the idiom and inflection of mountain speech. Tom Wolfe wrote of what he saw and heard and comprehended. And like all artists, he also wrote of what he imagined and desired. His writings are a tumultuous torrent of scenes of his life, poured out in response to the driving need to communicate, to share, to tell a story, in his own strange and beautiful style. In "Look Homeward, Angel" Wolfe wrote with deep feeling of "Dixieland," the old boarding house. In reality, this was "The Old Kentucky Home," which since 1949 has been preserved as a literary shrine by the City of Asheville. There has been renewed interest in and an increased number of visitors to the house since the dramatization of "Look Homeward, Angel" by Ketti Frings last season was awarded a Pulitzer prize. The Asheville Pack Memorial Library has assembled a vast 26 collection of Wolfe's works and other memorabilia, which may be studied by the public. His grave may also be visited, close by that of short story writer O. Henry, in the City's Riverside Cemetery. ## Then Thomas Wolfe lent Home Again By Clifford Odets WRITTEN FOR The New York T111123 BY THE WELL-KNOWN DRAMATIST AND FRIEND OF WOLFE FOR THE TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LATTER~S DEATH. THIS IS LITTLE ENOUGH to write about a man of Thomas Wolfe's high gifts, but Tom is dead now a long twenty years, and being asked, I send along an impression of his burial, which I attended as an honorary pallbearer. It is perhaps a worthwhile impression to pass along, not only ;,,1 for its own sake but because most of Tom's friends said, having paid respects the night before at the house: "Only Tom himself could have written these scenes. They are right out of 'Look Homeward, Angel: " Tom alive I met for the first time standing in the back of the house at a New York performance of my play "Paradise Lost. " Two of his many by-now-legendary qualities were almost immediately apparent: he was a very big man and he was very stagestruck. Over a drink and a dish of olives he said that he had always wanted to be a playwright, not a novelist. Before he found his real metier he had been, he said, one of old Professor Koch's boys down in Chapel Hill at the University of North Carolina, but he had flunked out. Under Koch he had written some one-acters but, according to him, they always turned out wild and shameful regional melodramas.. Paul Green was the kind of playwright he admired. We met several more times in the few remaining years before Tom's early death. The world was his garden, and he liked conversation very much; so we talked, between us more drinks and more .,~ company-size olives. Most surprising was the regression in his speech after a few drinks; he would speak real hillbilly then. But if this added something grotesque to a man already inexplicably burdened by his own bulk (and he would look quite like a dark, embattled bison), it also added the stinging moral fervor of a country preacher. When I read one afternoon about Tom's death, I traveled all night by car and the next morning was clasping hands with Paul Green in Chapel Hill, knowing that he would go over to Asheville for the funeral. What pulled me to that long ride was to be there, to honor Tom, to show in some small way the confraternity of writing brothers; and to speak by my presence for the unspeakable loneliness that most writers know. It needed no specially gifted eyes to see how alone Tom was when Paul, Koch, and a few other university men, and I arrived at Tom's mother's house in Asheville that night. A barking, begrudging dog was tied to the sagging wooden porch; above his noisy head a shingle read, "My Old Kentucky Home. " Inside the house, furnished simply except for the incredible souvenirs that all mothers collect, two front rooms opened into the small central hall. Turning our backs on Tom in the right room, we entered the left one to meet and shake hands with Mrs. Wolfe, a dry, thin pioneer type of woman, slow moving but not weak. Mabel, Tom's sister, built in his very mold, greeted us with more energy; she was happy that other writers had come "to see Tom"; she had not been eating olives. A little later one of Tom's brothers arrived. Humble and shy, reminding me of Gary Cooper, he painfully explained that writing was much beyond him, that he was in 28 the ice cream business upstate. Tom was lying in the biggest burnished metal coffin ever seen on land or sea. Mabel said it took two days to find his size. So large and engaged in life, Tom was dressed now like a meek confirmation boy, in a blue suit with a red rose in the lapel. Mabel gigled, "Tom would just kill me if he knew that I put that rose there. " Then, as if reading my mind, she said, "That's a toupee Tom's wearing." Tom's head had been shaved. There had been a brain operation, that was the reason. Tom had been on one of his typical jaunts, looking over the country. In Wyoming violent headaches forced him to leave the train. Presently, in a coma, he had been rushed to Baltimore for examination by Dr. Dandy, the venerated brain surgeon. Tom died on the operating table, as Dr. Dandy had feared. In Asheville the next morning the honorary pallbearers gathered at the house, waiting for the professionals to tell us when and how to move. Waiting, brooding, Paul Green was moved to soft indignation. "I swear, what's the world like if the governor of state isn't here today? Not the senators, either, I swear. Not being here today for a man like Tom Wolfe. " But once we got going, there was a better sight outside. It seemed that every mortal soul in town was on that sidewalk across the way; and there was not one empty seat in the old roomy church. The man on the platform, a gentle pastor out of an Ibsen play, said Tom was a great and renowned writer. Tom, he said, had strayed, feeling that he could never get home again. Tom had somehow lost the path, perhaps even lost faith; but look, here was Tom amongst his family, with old friends, in his own town. Here today, as everyone could see, Tom had come home again. Thomas Wolfe with pest of his manuscripts and letters. 29 EAST WIND Looks like she's headed for fever, The pore littleun, And her a-crying for Betty! Tell her Betty's changing her garb Tell her I'll soon be there! I'll ride down on a snowfall Like them little dun birds with white in their tails ' That come along of a frost. Ay, 'tis the east wind of Trouble, Alays a-blowing Someun a-crying for comfort That's my life! But oh, it might ha' been my man Mashed his foot in the coal mine, And him wanting a nurse; Or it might ha' been my child Woke up franzied, Or me, tuck sick afore her time, If T hadn't. a; been horn hunchbacked! From MOUNTAIN DOORYARDS, by Dora Read Goodale. ne Council's most recent publication. Forty-three poems, illustrated by Mary Rogers. See listing p. 40. 30 " Over three billion dollars was spent by Communists for literature in one year. That is more than all Christendom has spent on literature in its whole history. The crying need is for Christian writers to follow up the literacy move ment with materials for the new literates.- Et. Laubach WRITING For EASY READING ISN'T EASY workshop report by MARILYN ESTRIDGE TWENTY-TWO PEOPLE from many parts of the country, including the Appalachian region, came together on the campus of Emory and Henry College at Emory, Virginia to attend a special sort of writers' conference this summer. The Workshop in Clear Writing for Easy Reading was sponsored jointly by the Council of the Southern Mountains, the College, and the Laubach Foundation. The ages of those attending the workshop ranged from the upper teens to the seventies, but the group was united by a common purpose: to study techniques of writing for newly literate and semiliterate people. These skills enable workers in various fields to present factual material in interesting yet easy form and thus to reach a number of people who could not understand or would not read the information presently available. Dr. Robert Laubach, professor of journalism at Syracuse University, taught the course in simplified writing. Dr. Laubach is the son of Dr. Frank C. Laubach, initiator of the world-famed "Each One Teach One" literacy program. In each of the daily Vy sessions (August 11 to 15) we studied the process of simplified writing, learned to think in a more easily-expressed manner, and exchanged ideas and suggestions with Dr. Laubach and other members of the group. Simple writing is much more difficult than it sounds, for mature thoughts are usually expressed in mature vocabulary. We were given a list of five hundred frequently used words and told that in writing our material we could use only these plus four new words per hundred words of text (and these new words were to be used at least three times.) Simple? The members of the class will all answer an emphatic "Noll' I' One of the real benefits of the workshop was the encouragement from fellow class members, not only for writing but also for the work to which each would return. Several were interested in simplyfying medical and health information for wider circulation. Some wanted to prepare simplified religious literature, others, articles on child care and homemaking. Some were interested in "just writing," and some good stories originated there. All who attended learned a great deal from the workshop, felt it worthwhile although altogether too short, and hope for other such opportunities. ### MARILYN ESTRIDGE. FROM RED BIRD. BEVERLY, KENTUCKY. IS A STUDENT AT TRANSYLVANIA COLLEGE. ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE is an easv reading health article written by a doctor who is living and practicing in the mountains and knows mountain people and their needs. The article is short, the sentences are also short, the style is conversational, and all words (except two necessary technical terms) come from the list suggested by Dr. Laubach. Do you know some adults in your community who are not advanced readers but who might be interested in this article? By loosening the staples the article may be removed from the rest of the magazine. We would like to hear what reactions you encounter, and any suggestions you may care to make. i 32 GET YOUR POLIO SNOTS NOW A Little Play by Timothy Wiggins, M. D. (Bette Lou has just gotten off the school bus. She runs into the kitchen and finds her mother there.) i BETTE LOU: Ma, they think our teacher, Miss Jones, is going to die. They took her to the hospital. She has polio 1 MA: Polio! However did she get that? She's all grown up. BET TE LOU: Because she didn't have her shots. Dr. Smith came to school today and told us. He says we should all have shots right away. Grown-ups, too. MA: Now, child, grown-ups don't get polio and don't need shots. BETTE LOU: They do, too 1 You know Uncle Willy, who got so he couldn't walk? Dr. Smith says that's because he had polio. MA: Well, I don't know. We'll talk to your pa when he comes in. BETTE LOU: Oh, Ma, you've got to. I don't want you and Pa to die or get so you can't walk. i (Later, Pa comes in from work.) PA: Hello, Ma, Bette Lou .... They came by today and said we should have shots for polio. Seems several folks in town are down with it. It looks bad. They think Judge Combs has it. And they took the school teacher to the hospital. MA: That's what Bette Lou said. Wonder why she didn't get a shot? 33 13ETTE LOU: She did get one last spring. But Dr. Smith says she never went back for the 2nd and 3rd shots, and one is not enough. PA: Well, I don't know. I never did believe much in shots. Maybe my arm would swell up so I couldn't work. BETTE LOU: Oh no, Pal Polio shots almost never make anybody sick. They are the best shots ever. Dr. Smith says they can give other kinds of shots right along at the same time, if you want. He says the baby and Billy and I should get the ones against whooping cough and diphtheria and lockjaw, too. MA: Lands, you mean they can give all those shots at once, even to little babies 7 BETTE LOU: Yes, Ma. Dr. Smith says so. But you and Pa need to get the ones against polio. MA: What do you think, Pa? PA: Well, I guess we better. We don't want any such sickness in the family. We'll get the first shot tomorrow. BETTE LOU: Oh, Pa, you're wonderful t It will mean making some trips into town to the doctor, but none of us will get polio or those other awful sicknesses. We'll be safe. Thanks, Pal SEE YOUR DOCTOR OR COUNTY NURSE RIGHT AWAY. . ,DON'T DELAY! 34 SAMPLING GRAPES from his Pike County vineyard is Francis M. Tackett, left, accompanied by Bob Wolfe, the County's agricultural-extension-service agent. Tackett believes that his vineyard, which he is Grope Growing Pays THE SALE OF GRAPES this fall added over seven hundred dollars to the income of one mountain farmer. Francis M. Tackett has been growing grapes successfully for the past nine' years on an acre of land at the foot of Abner Mountain, in Pike County, Kentucky. There are 387 grape vines in his vineyard, with a yield of about a quarter of a bushel to the vine. Using mod est machinery, he manufactures his own cartons from discarded card board boxes. Most of the grapes are sold at his attrac tive roadside stand, where Mrs. Tackett also sells jars of homemade grape jelly. Tackett's success points the way'' for other farmers who think they are handicapped by hillside acreage. Grapes grow best on slopes, where they receive more sunshine, which adds to their sweetness. constantly expanding by planting clippings from old vines, is in an ideal location on a steep hillside where it gets both morning and afternoon sun. The elevation there is about 2000 feet. Hackett cultivates his arbor early in spring, applies fertilizer, and keeps the grass and weeds mowed down. He uses five different sprays. "No spray, " he says, "no grapes. " Grapes best adapted to our southern highlands are Fredonia, Concord, Moore's Early, and Sheridan (a late, improved Concord.) The county agent nearest you can advise about securing cuttings, which should be planted in late winter or early spring. ##### Second Virginia Regional Meeting 35 (above) The Rev. Rudolph Schultz is shown speaking about the religious development of the area at the Second Virginia Regional Meeting of the Council of the Southern Mountains. Other members of the panel are Dr. Edgar Bingham, the Rev. Gene Holdredge, Dr. Donald Fessier, and Mr. J. C. Smiddy. (left inset) Dr. Fessler talks about community development; at upper right (inset) Mr. Robert Porterfield discusses aesthetics. KEEP THEM COMINGI The vitamins and medical supplies which some of you who have access to L -...~. ~ manufacturers' samples have sent to the Council have been forwarded to accredited clinics and medical personnel in needy areas. Please do not hesitate to send whatever samples you have, even though the quantity may not seem great. Better health for mountain children is our goal. There's still a lot of winter ahead! Our Covers The Schafer drawings on our cover appear through the courtesy of The Tennessee Conservationist. The Youth Section cover girl is Marilyn Estridge, of Beverly, Ky. , whose report on the writers' workshop begins on p. 30. Loyal Jones was the photographer. 36 THE RECESSION IS FAR FROM OVER IN THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS CHAD DRAKE "THE RECESSION wouldn't be so bad if it hadn't happened dur ing such hard times." This remark by an out-of-work coal miner seems to characterize the sentiment of the thousands of mountain workers who have flooded back into the highland area after being laid off their jobs up north. The flood started last winter and continued throughout the spring. Only a trickle had started back north by fall. The plight of many of the returning migrants is anything but good. Said a county school superintendent: "The tragedy is that most of our people believed the optimistic speeches and headlines about the recession's being merely a figment of the imagination. After they were laid off, they stayed on up north, hoping for a job that wasn't there. They had to spend what money they had saved, just to live while they waited; and then they came home completely broke, down to their last dollar. " The magnitude of the migration can be judged by the fact that' over 100 , 000 migrants left the Kentucky mountains alone, between 1950 and 1957. Similar numbers left West Virginia and Tennessee, with the other mountain states suffering smaller losses. Dr. Roscoe Giffin, head of the Department of Sociology at Berea College, estimates that there has been a net migration loss of 800, 000 people from the whole mountain area in the past decade. Returning migrants have tried in vain to find work in an already saturated labor market. Over three hundred people applied for twenty jobs recently, at one industrial plant. In another mountain town, the manager of the largest plant, a bakery employing 175 people, reported: "We've never had such a rush of people wanting jobs since we first opened as we've had this summer. I'd say that fully half of the applicants were folks laid off this spring or summer in Ohio. " According to the West Virginia Department of Economic Security, continuing claims for unemployment compensation in that state '~ jumped from 5,000 last year to 18, 000 this year. By fall the total h1 dropped only slightly, to 16, 000. In three counties on the Cumberland plateau, in Tennessee, T. L. Cunningham of the Farmers Home Administration reports there 37 has been a major increase in requests for aid. "This upturn in loan applications is almost entirely due to people who have lost the their jobs up north and want to make a new start on the farm," he a says. Just what is happening can be seen in Harlan County, Ky. Long famous for its coal mines, Harlan has nevertheless "exported" close to a thousand people a year since 1950. Public officials claim ° that all of the migrants have returned. "Five thousand out and five thousand back," is the rule-of-thumb phrase in Harlan County. So steady has been the migration that a regularly scheduled bus g starts daily from Harlan and arrives the next morning in Detroit. And the close relation between this county and the variable eco nomic system in Detroit can be seen in the fact that requests for surplus food in Black Mountain, near Harlan, went up 30% in the month following the first major auto industry layoff last spring. The picture is essentially the same in every other coal county in the region. Dr. James Brown of the Department of Rural Soci ology of the University of Kentucky, himself a native of the moun tains, believes that the massive migration will begin again as soon as there are economic opportunities in the north. "The returning migration is probably of a temporary nature," he says. "Most mountain people who have left the hills for indus trial cities have gone to stay. Their levels and standards of living have changed so that 'they can't go home again,' except on a va cation." Dr. Brown points out, also, that the area is experiencing a popu lation "back up" during the depression period. Not only are people coming back, but the normal out-migration is stopped. Many of the migrants are struggling to find some means of livli hood-without much success. Cutting "starvation sticks" (pulp wood) or working in a wagon mine is a poor substitute for a job. Those who will suffer most during the winter are the children. Mrs. Neureul Miracle, Superintendent of Schools in Rockcastle County, Ky. , estimates thhtt children from 200 families will not be able to attend school this winter unless shoes are found for them. The workers who are returning north to an uncertain job are appar ently taking no chances, for many are leaving their children behind with grandparents. Largely because of this new pattern, school en rollment in Knox County has jumped 20 °% above that of last year 1 In the fall a group of political leaders toured the eastern Ken tucky region to view the plight of too many people for too few jobs. Undersecretary of Agriculture True D. Morse urged farmers to make their farms more productive and prosper on a live-at-home program. The Undersecretary did not give any concrete suggestions as to how this might be accomplished. ##### 38 W.VA. FESTIVAL SPARKS NEW INTEREST IN FOLK ARTS SOUTHERN WEST VIRGINIA this summer experienced its first genuine folk festival in many years. Dr. Patrick Gainer, professor of English at West Virginia University, assisted by Miss Margaret Pantalone, music supervisor for Logan County schools, planned and directed the highly successful festival, which was held at the high school in Logan, West Virginia in June, 1958. Despite other things going on in town, such as a baseball gam,? and the Merchants' Home Show, the Little Theater was filled to capacity; those left outside crowded at the windows to watch. Fiddlers, banjo pickers, dulcimer players, lad singers, dancers, and a genus quartet participated in the Oldest entertainers were Mr. John Hunter, whose voice delighted the audience old hymns learned from note music and clever-witted Harmon, who played her rebec and sang old-time tunes. At Mrs. Harmon's performance rebec suddenly snapped. Losing none ~"'~'--'~of her poise, Mrs. Harmon merely remarked to the audience that this was the first time she had ever broken a G-string in public-and brought down the hou,9 The Rev. L. H. Skeens, of Danville, told the crowd two witch tales handed down from his parents. Another tale was told by his son, Leslie Skeens (former youth committee chairman of the Council), who also sang ballads and mountain hymns to the accompaniment of the dulcimer which he had constructed himself just this year. _tale tellers, balshaped note festival. 91-year-old still mellow as he sang shaped Mrs. Dora (dulcimer) 39 The Logan Square Dance Club demonstrated a number of squares for the appreciative audience. Children of the Ethel Grade School showed what fun singing games can be. The Carey Quartet held listeners spellbound by the beautiful harmony of old members are and spend gether. the school utensils, herbs, etc attention. rector of the spirituals. The Quartet's part of a family of eight many hours singing to There was an exhibit in cafeteria of old tools, spinning wheels, looms, which attracted much Dr. Gainer is also diMountain Folk Festival at Glenville, West Virginia, and is a well-known authority on ballads, folk songs, rebecs, and folklore. He feels that Southern West Virginia still holds in reserve a vast amount of folk art. Already several other counties have begun plans for their own festivals. "If a thing is good, it will continue in itself," says Dr. Gainer. "Folk tradition can and will continue to be a part of our mountain culture AVAILABLE NOW `~ Copies of the Study of the Appalachidn South, a transcript of the large group meeting of the 46th annual conference of the Council of the Southern Mountains, at Gatlinburg, Tennessee, are now available on request at the Council office, College Box 2000, Berea, Kentucky. i 40 ya ~~ Christmas Gift Suggestions BOOK S MOUNTAIN DOORYARDS, poems about mountain people by Dora Read Goodale, illus. by Mary Rogers $1.00 1 BOUGHT ME A DOG, tales, Leonard Roberts .50 NIPPY AND THE YANKEE DOODLE, more tales, Roberts .50 JACK TALES, Richard Chase 3. 75 GRANDFATHER TALES, Chase 3.75 AMERICAN FULK TALES & SONGS, Chase . 50 WICKED JOHN AND THE DEVIL, Chase 1.00 SINGING FAMILY OF THE CUMBERLANDS, Jean Ritchie, autobiography 4.50 SOUTH FROM HELL- FER-SARTIN, Leonard Roberts 3.75 FOLK SONGS AND SINGING GAMES FOLK DANCES OF TENNESSEE, Flora McDowell 1.00 THE SWAPPING SONG BOOK, Jean Ritchie, 21 songs 3.50 CIRCLE LEFT, collected in Eastern Kentucky .50 PROMENADE ALL, Helen & Larry Eisenberg 1.00 SONGS OF ALL TIME, revised and re-issued by the Council of the Southern Mountains .25 THE APPALACHIAN SQUARE DANCE, Frank Smith 3.00 RECORDS LET THE PEOPLES PRAT SE THEE, anthems and ballads sung by the Berea College Choir 4.25 APPALACHIAN BALLADS AND HYMNS, Berea Choir 4.25 JEAN RITCHIE, folk songs 5.00 AMERICAN FOLK TALES & SONGS, R. Chase telling tales, J. Ritchie and Paul Clayton singing 5.00 INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC OF THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIANS, i Chase, Presnell, and others 5. 00 UNUSUAL CRAFT ITEMS FROM THE MOUNTAINS WHIMMYDIDDLE, a toy with a mysteriously spinning propeller, handmade in and around Beech Creek, North Carolina. .50 Mountain Life & Work. A gift subscription will re mind the recipient of your thoughtfulness four times during the year. 1. 00 Order from the COUNCIL OF THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS College Box 2000,Berea, Kentucky BOOKS WORTH KNOWING ( A Contemporary Classic N_EITH,ER BLACK NOR WHITE,bv Wilma Dvkeman and James Stokelv, Rinehart & Co., Inc., $5.00. Reviewed 6v Harrv Ernst, reporter for the Charleston Gazette, Charleston, West Virginia. CONFLICTS MAKE HEADLINES. Quiet, constructive change seldom does. So both southerners and outsiders have come to believe the weary myth that there is one South... and to evoke the destructive stereotypes the myth sustains. In this beautifully written book, two southerners tell of the many Souths and the rapid changes that are transforming the region. They hold their homeland up to only one mirror-Albert Schweitzer's simple but profound philosophy of "reverence for life." Wilma Dykeman and James Stokely, a husband-wife writing team, have traveled through the thirteen one-time Confederate states since the 1954 Supreme Court decision outlawing school segregation. From their travels and varied conversations they have harvested an abundant crop of keen insights and impressions. Held up to Schweitzer's mirror, these insights help you to understand a proud people partially paralyzed by their own myths in an era ruled by change. With courage and reason, they can throw off the emotional chains that bind them and give the world a dramatic lesson in the necessity for brotherhood. Otherwise, they will destroy themselves in anarchy and hate. The richly diversified South's problems are "neither black nor white," because segregation-a subtle continuation of slaveryhurts southern Negroes and whites alike. If the Negro remains forever unskilled and impoverished, the region can't expand industrially and prosper. Segregation exhausts its limited resources, handicapping all southerners in their search for a higher standard of living. Many southerners, blinded by myth and custom from seeing the Negro as a human being, violently oppose school desegregation. Others openly favor it and often pay a heavy price for voicing their conscience. A region which boasts of its tradition of individuality is demanding absolute conformity on the issue of segregation. What of the great mass of southern whites who've neither joined White Citizens Councils nor opposed them? What of the millions of outsiders who move into the region each year with the 42 new factories and chain stores? From the pages of this perceptive book southerners with radically different points of view speak... in shades of black, white, and often gray. They discuss frankly the problems their region faces in its efforts to catch up with national standards of income, education and health. And unless their native South cultivates a reverence for life which would heal its forever festering racial sores, southern whites and Negroes will never achieve the good life they must seek together. The writers avoid the customary tons of obvious statistics, using them only to add depth to their analysis of a region buffeted by change. They offer no "capsule cure-alls," only the application of human reason and love to the same dilemma that is shaking the South, the nation, and the world. This dilemma is as simple and as involved as the remark of a transplanted Alabamian working at the Oak Ridge atomic center: "The question used to be _how people live. Now it's if. Actually I suppose the two are one: how we live determines if we live. " This book towers above any of the recent ones written on the South and segregation. Neither Black Nor White, with its deep compassion and probing insights, undoubtedly will become a con temporary classic on the problems and paradoxes of that baffling, illusive creature called the New South. ##### Things That Unite Us BRIGHT FUTURE by James McLeod Carr, John Knox Press, Richmond, Va. 1956, one hundred sixty-three pages. Reviewed by Gene Holdredge, Director of Town & Country Studies at Ferrum Jr. College, Ferrum, Virginia. ALTHOUGH Bright Future is about the Presbyterian Church (U. S. ), it is also the picture of the rural church in the South. As I read the book I had a hard time keeping in mind that Dr. Carr was writing about a different denomination than my own, for so much of what he says is a perfect description of my own denomination in town and country areas. This general application is the genius of the book. It presents ample proof that the various denominations have the same social situations, with the same possibilities for the future. It is Dr. Carr's thesis that although (to quote one chapter title) "All Is Not Well" with the rural church, "Yet The Future Is Bright," (title of the following chapter). The things which we hold in common, both in theology and church administration, are so much greater than 43 the things that divide us that we at last are learning that not only for the sake of the "Unbroken Body of Christ" but also for our own wellbeing we must work together. This does not, of course, mean an end to denominationalism, but it does mean an end to "rabid denominationalism. " Dr. Carr's book is based on statistical research, yet he writes in such a manner that facts and figures are alive with interest. Bright Future is a "must" for every person who desires to understand the rural South. ##### A Real "Find" MAKE YOUR OWN MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, by Muriel Mandell and Robert E. Wood, Sterlinq Publishinq Co., Inc., 215 E. 37th St., N.Y.C., $2.95. Reviewed by Suzanne Camp, Council Recreator Attention, craft teachers and music instructors 1 Also ail parents and anyone else who works with children. Attention, in fact, everyone who finds making music him or herself more satisfying than merely listening to that made by others. This unusual book tells how to make an amazing variety of musical instruday articles found For instance, you flute, flowerpots menu from everyaround the house. can convert a den hose into a into bells, assorted nails into chimes, pop tops into castanets, and a wash tub and clothes line into a bass fiddle. And these instruments make pleasant musical sounds. The book is attractively illustrated, and there are concise, easy-to-follow instructions, including simple lessons on how to play the instruments individually as well as in harmony. This is a book you will surely want to have in your collection) New Book For Boys by Juli a Mon tqomery Street, Dodd, Mead 6 Co, $3.00. Any American boy betwen the ages of 8 and 12 would enjoy this fast-moving and very readable story of a young white settler and his Indian friend. But the book is of particular interest to those living in the Southern Highlands because the action takes place in western North Carolina. at the time that the Cherokee nation was at the peak of its glory. The book is based on thorough research carried on by the author, and the portrayal of Cherokee customs and personalities makes this book one that the parents of any boy would find intriguing. Strong drawings add interest. Highly recommended. MOCCASIN TRACKS 44 This poign on t account o f the visit to soma one-room schools by a friend of the Save the Children Federation points up the hunger for color in many of our Southern Mountain schools. Sunday On The Inside DOROTHY MATTHEWS plus. by Mary Rogers THE NEXT TIME I VISIT any of the mountain schools, I will be sure to take with me a large collection of bright silk scarves-all I can gather from my relatives and friends. Furthermore, my wardrobe for the trip will not be the dark practical garments recommended for travel but my gayest clothes, for I learned in my first day of school-visiting the pitiful lack of color in the lives of many of our mountain children. "Drab" would be a complimentary adjective to apply to the first school I saw. Our director (the SCF area consultant) led us up a rocky path to a building darkened by weather. Inside only a somber picture of Washington and the gallant colors of a small flag interrupted the dinginess of the walls. I was glad to go outside wi ~~ the children while my friend talked with the teacher about applying for SCF sponsorship. Outside at least the sunlight was bright, although it showed up only too clearly the colorless clothes of the children, especially the little girls, whose dresses had been worn and washed and sunbleached to a pale sort of neutrality. Children seem to have an inborn love of color and these were no exception. The girls touched my pumpkin-hued suit, eyed my scarf and belt, saying again and again that they were "right purty. " When I impulsively tied the scarf around one child's throat, the others crowded near to slide their hands along its silky surface and exclaim over its soft colors. A hasty search through my purse and pockets made it possible to give each of the othh i , five girls some bright bit of color for her own. - The boys were content to stand well 45 away from this feminine nonsense, even though they watched each bright article being happily possessed and paraded for all to see. The children seemed so hungry for color that I yearned for a magic wand to produce for them the things which every child should have: bright clothes, paint, crayons, pictures, posters, illustrated books. It was comforting to know that some of these things would surely come with the development of a sponsorship. The next school at which we called was bright with new white paint, the first SCF project in the community. Once again, as a dozen or more little girls crowded around I was sharply conscious of the contrast between my colorful suit and the pallid tones of their faded dresses. For a moment I could only think unhappily that I was completely color bankrupt. Then I took off my pumpkin-colored jacket and invited one of the older girls to try it on. Immediately a number of the others tried to help her, just for the pleasure of feeling the material, especially the taffeta lining. For the next half-hour, first one child and then another put on the jacket to walk, stiff with delight and self-importance, all around the dusty school yard. The older girls were particularly impressed by the "noise" of the rustly lining, while a younger one wanted to wear the coat inside out so that the lining would show, thus provoking a heated discussion on the relative merits of showing or feel ing the silk. At last one youngster on whom the jacket hung knee length came slowly back to me, smoothing the soft lining as she said, "Look! It's Sunday on the inside, isn't it?" Next time I go visiting remote moun tain schools I will surely take all the bright silk scarves I can collect, so that every little girl can have a bit of "Sunday" for any day. # # # # # Do you know rural school teachers who are making their rooms bright and colorful ? If so, tell us about them and what they have done, in either a story or a letter. 46 Henderson "Pretties" Made From Mountain Materials MARDI DRAKE "CREATE WITH THE MATERIALS RIGHT AROUND YOU" is the philosophy of the handicraft program at Henderson Settlement, in Frakes, Kentucky. Seeds of all sorts, apples, coal, beechnuts, wood, and bits of cloth and leather are transformed by careful hands into pictures, dolls, sun bonnets, wood carvings, foot stools, and jewelry. The Craft Shop at Henderson is only a little over two years old, but already it has become a source-of income for more than one hundred people, both adults and children. Some of the finest products are made by Mrs. Nancy Collingsworth, who until two years ago had not exhibited or sold any of her handicraft work. This summer one of her "seed paintings" was a prize winner at the Handicraft Contest sponsored by the R. E. A. in Corbin, Ky. and was subsequently written about in Louisville newspapers. Though pictures created entirely MRs. NANCY COLLINGSWORTH, SEED " PAINTER" AND DOLL MAKER with seeds are not new, what makes these Henderson ones notable is not only the artistry with which the natural colors and forms of the seeds are blended but also the inclusion, in an envelope pasted on the back of the framed picture, of an identification of the seeds used. In even a small "painting" fifteen to twenty different varieties of seeds appear--sorghum, salsify, rhubarb, peronilla, and pepper, to name just a few. Mrs. Collingsworth herself received much of her education from the out-of-doors, spending long hours of her childhood observing the plants, birds, and animals in the woods around her home. Her parents taught her to read, write and spell, MRS. CARRIE OVALL ASSISTS YOUNG CRAFTSMEN 47 since she did not have the opportunity to attend school. Perhaps the most delightful of all the Henderson Crafts--and again Mrs. Collingsworth is the chief creator of these -are the Apple People. These remarkably life-like dolls have faces and hands made from dried apples, and resemble weather-beaten pioneers. Shiny "eyes," set deep in the wrinkled faces, give the uncanny impression that each old granny or grandsir is observantly alive and just about to speak. Eight inches high, the dolls are authentically dressed in old-time calico prints. The Henderson Settlement itself is a project of the Board of Home Missions of the Methodist Church and was founded in 1925 by the Rev. Hiram M. Frakes as a combined church and school to serve the people of the isolated section east of Pineville, Ky. , where he was then a pastor. From the beginning a cooperative effort, the Settlement was built with gifts of land and of labor from local people as well as donations from the Board. The first home was a log cabin, with a Methodist deaconess as teacher for 13 students. Today there are 500 students in classes ranging from first grade through high school. A large percentage of the graduates go on to college. The Settlement owns about 700 acres of land, 100 of them in cul,ivation. Most of the buildings have been built from lumber harvested from the wooded acres. During the past four years, more than 50, 000 new trees have been 48 planted on Settlement land. The Craft Shop, one of the newest additions to the Settlement, is largely the creation of Mrs. Carrie E. Ovall, who came to Henderson in 1956 as a retired Methodist minister. Now 75,Mrs. Ovall doesn't seem to know the meaning of the word "retired. " It was she who planted citron, Indian corn, and other plants in the Settlement gara to provide greater variety in the seeds available for pictures and jewelry. She also makes the frames for the seed "paintings. " Both Mrs. Ovall and the adults and children who bring their handiwork to the Craft Shop share pride in their "pretties"all made from materials found round about them. ##### Help People To Help Themselves MARIE MOODY FOSTER THERE IS A BRAND NEW SCHOOL in Berea. Its diplomas are not put away in a drawer or even framed on the wall, but are proudly and prominently displayed on a family bed, where they are keeping the new "graduates" or their children warmer this winter. Based on the philosophy that the best charity is to help people to help themselves, the Berea Sewing Training Center is teaching needy mothers how to sew and to make over used garments for their families. Before she "graduates," each mother also pieces a warm quilt. Although the Center was opened only this spring, it already has given instruction to some thirty mothers, while another sixteen are currently enrolled in its two classes. There is a waiting list of more than twenty other mothers. Like the colored quilts pieced by the advanced students, the Center is a composite achievement, the result of many groups' interest and work. The predominant colors in this "comfort" are Red (the Center is set up within the total program of the local Red Cross chapter) and White and Brown (it was Mr. Ralph White, then District Supervisor of the Save the Children Federation for this area, who first suggested the possibility of the Center, and Mr. Ralph Brown, his successor, who has helped it to grow.) But church groups, women's clubs, and interested individuals have all contributed to the total pattern. For some years the Civilian Relief and County Welfare branc :'i of the Red Cross has distributed clothing to needy children of southern Madison County, but since the only available source of this clothing was the donations made by community members, often the items were not of the particular sizes most needed. In many instances there was no one in the neediest homes who was able to cut and make over clothing. Mr. White promised the support of the Save the Children Federation if a program could be set up to teach mothers to sew. This meant that shipments of assorted clothing would be sent from the SCF office at Knoxville (the local Center to pay the freight) and a grant would be made to finance the purchase of five good used sewing machines. The local community met the challenge with enthusiasm. The Berea Red Cross arranged space for the "school. " One lady took a pick-up truck and went out in the community to get four additional used sewing machines which were donated by individuals; she also agreed to head up the sewing instructors' group. One women's group purchased a sewing machine, a steam iron, and other supplies. The women of a church gave the Center a shower, ~.onsisting of small items from buttons and needles to tape measures. Interested individuals came in with donations of thread, scissors, or cash. Now classes are held two mornings a week, with six students and two instructors at each session. The volunteer instructors are qualified seamstresses, who serve for a quarter of the year. Each mother enrolled learns how to cut out clothing and put it together correctly; how to patch and mend; and how to use and care for a sewing machine. Some sewing machines are available to be loaned out for home use on a 15 to 30 day basis. To help people to conserve what they have and to give them skills to become self-sufficient-that is the best charity. ##### MARIE FOSTER IS SECRETARY OF THE BEREA. Ky. CHAPTER OF THE RED CROSS. " I enj oy the magazine very much. Just a suggestion: more articles about weaving and weavers." Mrs. E. H. Lund Tallahassee, Fl a. "One dollar of the enclosed dieck is to enter a new sub scription for a good fried recently moved to North Carolina. Please begin this with No.3, 1958--an unusually interesting issue.m Mary A. Tippett Bronxvill e, N. Y. The editors welcome your letters and hope that many of you will write in giving your reactions to articles published in these pages. We are not looking for bouquets but rather wish to have your suggestions for improving the magazine. MOUNTAIN YOUTH One of Kentucky's outstanding personalities, author of "Eton with a Bull-Tongued Plow," "Taps for Private Tussie,""Foretaste of Glory,"and "The Thread That Runs So True," to name only a few of his many books on mountain life, here tells what he would value most if he could relive his youth... IF I Were Seventeen Again JESSE STUART IF I WERE SEVENTEEN again, I would want to live on a hill farm. I would want to grow up where there are trees, meadows, and streams. If I couldn't live on a large farm, a few acres would do. But I would want space to hunt over, with a stream or lake nearby where I could fish. I would want to mow the meadows with a span of horses or mules and haul the hay to the barn on a hay wagon. I believe that the boy or girl who hasn't ridden on a hay wagon has missed something in his youth. If he hasn't smelled new-mown clover, he has missed the finest wind a youth ever breathed. In the spring of the year, if I were seventeen again, I'd want to take long walks in the woods. I'd want to get acquainted with all kinds of birds, how they build their nests and the kind of materials they use, what color and size eggs they lay, from the hoot owl to the chicken hawk and the sparrow, and how they feedtheir young. I'd want to know all about the animals-foxes. possums, coons, rabbits, skunks, mink, groundhogs and all the others. I would want to know what they ate, where they lived, what animals were friendly to each other and which were 53 enemies. This is a world every teen-age boy should know. And I would protect each non--destructive animal, each nondestructive bird. I would want to know the hunting laws, abide by them, and help restock and protect the game so it would be here for the next seventeen-year-old when he came along. I would also learn the names of every kind of wild flower and plant that grows in the woods. This is a big undertaking) Few know more than a third of them. I would also want to learn the kinds of trees, so that when I touched the bark on the darkest nights I could identify the tree. I'd want to fox-hunt on April nights when the trees were leafing and to hear a pack of hounds running the fox. I would want to own at least one hound dog and have him in the chase. A boy seventeen who has not stood on a high hilltop under the stars or a bright moon and listened to the music of barking hounds has missed a really great experience. In summer, if I were seventeen again, I wouldn't want to miss working on a farm. I wouldn't miss plowing and harrowing land, planting seeds in the ground, hoeing vegetables, and plowing the young green corn. I would want to work shirtless, and whenever possible, barefoot. The feel of loose warm dirt to one's feet, and their not being imprisoned in shoe leather, are good things in one's growth. I would, if I were back at seventeen, learn all I could about caring for and building up the land. Beyond having a general knowledge of how to grow everything on the farm, 1 would want to specialize in growing one particular thing. I'd also specialize in raising a certain breed'of cattle or a particular kind of hogs, rabbits or chickens. And I'd want petz,, too-a coon, groundhog, or squirrel. Or I would want a pet hawk like one I once had that flew to the places where I fished and sat in a tree above me until I flipped a minnow from the stream. These are things which, after one leaves seventeen, he never forgets. I would try to build my body strong. I wouldn't drink anything intoxicating. I wouldn't smoke until I got my growth. While I was seventeen I would want 54 to build my body strong enough to accept the wear and tear of the years ahead. I'd want to build my body so strong that if I were ever forced to use my fists they would have the power of a kicking mule. I'd want to have the strength to lift the end of a small saw log or to carry 2 green crosstie or the hind carriage of a joltwagon. A young man rejoices in strength, and he can build strength by proper work and recreational exercises. And here is something I definitely would do. I'd go to high school. The boy or girl who hasn't finished high school has missed a great deal. It doesn't matter whether a person leads his class or not, whether he's the best athlete, or the most popular pupil. I never had these honors, and I failed three subjects during those years because I entered high school unprepared. But going to different classes, studying different subjects under different teachers, and getting to know the boys and girls in the school--these are things I am glad I didn't miss. I wish I could live over those four years again. I'd try out for all kinds of athletics until I found the one game where I could play best, if I were seventeen again. But I wouldn't miss athletics. This kind of experience builds men physically and teaches them sportsmanship and to give and take. Athletic games should teach them not to be overconfident in victory and how to accept defeat graciously. I wouldn't want to ride to school in a bus or car, either, unless I lived too many miles away. I would want to walk to school because it would build the muscles in my legs, because I could breath fresher air and my brain would be more alert for my studies. I could also meet people on my way, and see trees, flowers, bird.;, and animals, and all of these help in one's education. This was one way I used to get my themes. I'd sit down on my way to school and write a theme after I'd seen something that gave me an idea. There is a whole world of subjects for themes that one can get just walking to and from school. 1f I were seventeen and had not already done so, I would identify myself with the church of my choice and I would be there at least once each week. I once received a shocking report when I was pleading before a circuit judge for four of my ,schoolboys who had knowingly disobeyed laws. Said the judge: "Ninety-six per cent of the young men who come before me do not attend any church. " I learned that of the four boys with me, all from good families, not one was going to any kind of religious services. These boys had missed something important. I would be honest to the penny. Why build strong bodies at seventeen, and stunt the great growth of character? If I were to choose between a strong body and a strong, honest character, I'd certainly take the latter. I'd want to have a reputation for honesty. I'd want to be able to go to my home-town bank and borrow, if need be, without anyone else's signature besides my own on the note. When a seventeen-year-old can do this, he has character. And if he has character, he will pay that note if it takes his hide. If I were seventeen again, I would earn my own money, or most of it. I would take days of work for other people. And when I accepted a job from the other fellow, I would do it well-so well that he would want me to work for him again, and others who had seen my work would want me to work for them. I would do the work so that I would rejoice at the finished product and could sleep contentedly at night. We build character through work that we do with our hands. Do work well at seventeen and you'll be doing it well from then on. If I were seventeen again, I would stand up for my convictions. Instead of being a follower of something I didn't believe and knew was wrong, no matter how popular that thing might be, I would hold out. I would be myself. I would be guided by what I thought was right. Popularity fades as often as the wind changes, but character never fades. Seventeen may be the shortest year in your life. It was for me. It was a wonderful year in my life, a year for physical and mental growth, a year of beauty and spirit. All years are great years in which to be alive. But really, not too much happened before you were seventeen, if you will remember. You'll never again feel so 56 much as if you could turn the earth over to see what is under it 1 Most of us would trade fame, fortune, and achievements for what you now have. So hold seventeen and live seventeen while you can. It will never come again. ### CONDENSED FROM Country Gentlemen MAGAZINE. SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS ANNOUNCED SCHOLARSHIPS were awarded this year by the Council Southern Mountains to Appalachian young people interested in training for service in the fields of health and medicine. Although we hear much about the shortage of doctors, particularly for our mountain area, few people realize that there is a comparable shortage of trained auxiliary personnel, such as registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, X-ray and laboratory technicians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and dental technicians. The Health Committee of the Council, recognizing this need, offers financial assistance to especially deserving young people who are interested in one of these careers. Selected to receive scholarships this year are Sandra Moore, of Gretna, Va.; Betty Jo Combs, Bristol, Tenn. ; Sara Ellen Hubbard, Wise, Va.; and Shirley Harrison, Cedar Bluff, Va. The first three mentioned are training to become nurses, and the latter to be a medical secretary. Although all of this year's re- SANDRA MO ORE, WINNER OF cipients are young women, the grants ONE OF THE 1958 AWARDS, are also open to young men interested IS TRAINING TO BE A NURSE. in one of the medical auxiliary fields. Council members are urged to call the scholarships to the attention of promising young people who could make a contribution to the health of people in the Appalachian South. Applications are available at the Council office. ,,~i Patricia Roy, last year's scholarship recipient, who is studying at the Baroness Erlanger School of Nursing, Chattanooga, writes: '7t is difficult to express to you how much I have enjoyed the nine months of nurses' training just completed. My work is so 57 interesting! The dormitory life is wonderful, too, and I have made so many friends. "Our capping exercises took place at Patton Memorial Chapel on the campus of the University of Chattanooga. It was a beautiful ceremony, and all of us are very proud of our caps because we can honestly say that we earned them. "Although the studying has been hard and the road sometimes seemed almost impossible, I would not take anything for my education and experiences as a student nurse. I realize that all things worth having are to be worked for. There is no doubt in my mind that I am definitely in the most satisfying profession offered to women today. " The Challenge of Citizenship "There is a grave question whether the values we have been putting foremost will serve best to improve the lot of men," according to Dr. Erwin D. Canham, Editor of the Christian Science Monitor. In his keynote address, "Citizenship in a Changing World," delivered before the Citizenship Conference held in Washington, D. C. in September, Dr. Canham made a challenging and critical analysis of our strengths and our shortcomings. He pointed out that the deeper struggle in the world is one of ideals, and that the best way to achieve our goal is through voluntary social action. The Council of the Southern Mountains was represented at this conference by Robbie Mae Parsons, a student at the Foundation School of Berea College. Robbie reports that the concluding address, by Ruth A. Stout, President of the National Education Association, inspired the group to recognize that real freedom requires responsibility. "The frontiers of today are in the ROBBIE MAE PARSONS COUNCIL'S DELEGATE minds of men; and the only free mind is the educated mind. " Dr. Stout emphasized that essential to our way of life is the system of free public education, which it is our obligation to maintain. She concluded with the statement, "The responsibility you have undertaken is not a burden-it is a privilege." ##### 58 ee~e~e watch Vi gIft u r J-7, ire ?'ar~n el~ w FURN KE LLING IS THE YOUTH GROUP in your church planning an obser vance of New Year's Eve? Here are some suggestions for your Watch Night party, and the worship service at its close. Why not work up a skit around the theme "This Is Your Life, (NAME OF CHURCH) 11 ? You can divide the skit into two parts, perhaps: "This Is Your Life" and "A Look Into the Future. " List a series of events that have happened during the lifetime of your church. You may be able to find slides illustrating some of these. Others can be dramatized, either with speaking parts or with a reader behind a screen doing the narrative while the event is pantomimed. Messages from people once very active in your church, who may have moved away to other places, could be collected in advance and read aloud. And there is almost always someone in the community who will lend you costumes or clothes of other decades. Then list plans for the future of your church. These could be for one year but would probably be more effective in a long-range presentation. Your pastor or one of the deacons can help you with this part of the skit. Of course, your recreation committee will want to plan a variety of entertainment for the evening-games, folk dancing, and the like. Everyone should be able to join in the fellowship. Decorations ? Your fellowship room will look festive hung with many bells. These can be made quite easily from egg cartons, by cutting the sections apart, turning them over, and covering them with foil. Since they are light you can hang up long strings of these. A bell that really "rings" can be made from the tops and bottoms of tin cans. With tin snips make four equal cuts from the outside of the circle toward the center. Then at the center make ~~ a hole with a nail; through this a short string can be passed on which to hang the clapper (a bolt or metal washer). Just a little bending will now shape the can top into a bell. A possible schedule for your Watch Night would be: 59 8 p. m. - 10 Fun time, games, etc. 10 - 10:30 Refreshments 10:30 - 11:30 Singspiration, and "This Is Your Life" 11:30 - 12:05 Meditation, pastor's message, prayer. To begin your worship service, you might wish to use the -following arrangement of Tennyson's familiar hymn as a Choral Meditation solo: I heard the bells on Christmas day their old familiar carols play, and wild and sweet the words repeat of All: Peace on earth, goodwill to men. Solo: I thought how, as the day had come, the belfries of all Christendom had rolled along th' unbroken song of All: Peace on earth, good will to men. Solo: And in despair I bowed my head. "There is no peace on earth," I said, Dark Voi ces: "For hate is strong, and mocks the song of All: Peace on earth, good will to men." Solo :Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: 1/3 Dark Voices 'God is not dead, nor doth He sleep. 2/3 Dark Voi ces: The wrong shall fail, All Dark Voi ces: The right prevail with All: Peace on earth, good will to men." Light Voi ces:Till, ringing, singing on its way, the world revolved from night to day-A Light Voice: A voice, 2nd Light Voice: A Chime, All Dark Voices: A chant sublime of ,411: Peace on earth, goodwill to men. Of course, all the things mentioned here are only suggestions, just to start you thinking- and planning! Drop us a letter later and let us know what your group did at your church for Watch Night. WE ARE INDEBTED FOR THIS ARTICLE TO CHURCH RECREATON, JUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION. FOR AN ACCOUNT OF WHAT OTHER CHURCHES HAVE DONE TO OBSERVE WATCH NIGHT, TURN TO PAGE 19. 4 60 Help Birds To Weather the Winter THE LONG, COLD WINTER months are strictly not " for the birds." In fact, when snow is covering the ground many birds have a hard time finding any food. If you would like to keep songbirds coming to your yard through the year, here are some ways you can help them survive the win ter: From your butcher purchase a pound or tan of suet. At your feed store you can probably find bags of assorted seed, if you did not happen to harvest some from your own garden. Melt the suet and pour i t over the seed mixture. FImpty frozen food containers make fixture has cooled and outside in protected d good molds for your seed cakes. When the m hardened, the cake can be removed and place places. peanut butter, suet and seeds. Cracked corn may also be added. The food-laden cones maybe hung by wire from tree limbs. OFen pine cones make fine natural containers for a mixture of thanks to Virginia Wildlife for the ideas and pictures used in this article. An empty ice cream container provided the mold for the seed cake in this home-made feeder. A nuthatch is a regular customer at this feeder. Grapes, raisins, berries, poprorn, fruit sections, and pieces of bread are a few of the products found in every kitcher, which can be threaded on strings and hung on tree branches. An ear of corn wired to a tree trunk will attract many birds. Half-inch hardware cloth tacked to a block and nailed to a tree trunk makes a holder for your home-made seed cakes. Seeds knocked to the ground are soon found by such ground feeding birds as juncos. YOUR CONFERENCE HOME IN THE SMOKY MOUNTAINS Mountain View Rotel GATLINBLIRG. TENN. Gatl inburg's FIRST and STILL Favorite' MODERN RESORT HOTEL, OPEN ALL THE YEAR 63 Ayers In Ohio Perley F. Ayer, Executive Secretary of the Council, _. d~.. .._ ... . . now on sabbatical leave, and his wife, Katharine, who served last year as Associate Editor of this magazine, are living in Columbus, Ohio, for this year. Mr. Ayer has been appointed Visiting Fellow at Ohio State University, with headquarters in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology. In close association with his work on the University campus, he is also conducting a personal research project in the field of counseling, working with people in various centers in the city. The Ayers, address is 233 Charleston Avenue, Columbus 14, Ohio. COMING E'3Z3F_;'NTS rHRISTMAS COUNTRY DANCE SCHOOL, at Berea College, Berea, Ky. , December 26 to January 1. For information write to Miss Elizabeth Watts, 42 Jackson St. , Berea, Ky. 47th ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS, February 4 to 7, 1959, at the Mountain View Hotel, Gatlinburg, Tenn. 14th KENTUCKY RECREATION WORKSHOP. March 21 to 27 , at Kentucky Dam Village State Park. Open to all adult recreation leaders, regardless of age or race. For information, write to Mrs. J. T. Brookshire Box 209, Hardinsburg, Ky. If you would like to subscribe to this magazine, fill in your name and address on the form below and send with $1:00 to the Council of the Southern Mountains, Inc. Box 2000, College Station, Berea, Kentucky. THE COUNCIL OF THE SOUTHERN MOfJNTAINS,INC.,works to share the best traditions and human resources of the Appalachian South with the rest of the nation. It also seeks to help meet some of the social, educational, spiritual,and cultural needs peculiar to this mountain territory. It works through and with schools, churches, medical centers and other institutions, and by means of sincere and able individuals both within and outside the area. --Participation is invited on these bases Student membership $ 1.50 Active individual membership $ 3.00 t 4.00 Supporting membership 5.00 to 24.00 Sustaining membership 25.00 or more Institutional membership 5.00 or more --Subscriptions to MOUNTA1N LIFE & WORK included in all memberships (Please detach and mail to Box 2000, College Station, Berea, Ky.) 1st Issue 19,58 d9som~ire Subs crl'oei 01.1 1st Y issue s 1 f this ' N2 °~ corner i s L `° NOT turned - ,.j up, you are tn X, up to date. ~ ~' - - N For Members: According to our records, your membership and/or subscription appears to have expired as indicated. We are continuing to send you current issues in the belief that you do not wish us to drop you from our membership. May we hear from you?

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