"A Brief Introduction to Kentucky Mountain Literature" by The Eastern Kentucky Education Association--Book Review

Recently, I strayed into and bought a rare copy of this little thirty-two page pamphlet from 1948 which was compiled and published by the classroom teachers of the Eastern Kentucky Education Association.  Books like this which are originally published in small printings and in pamphlet form rarely survive.  I found it in the tail end of a large estate, part of which had been bought from the executor by a friend of mine who is in the antique business. (I told that friend and I am telling all of you: "Do Not Put Glued Stickers On Vintage Or Antique Books, Pamphlets, Posters, Photos Or Art Works.")  It is highly unlikely that any of my readers will ever see a physical copy of this piece.  If you do find one that is not already in a library or the collection of someone who will protect it and pass it on, then you should buy it, protect it, and make arrangements for it to be placed in a library special collections department when you no longer have a use for it.  I would go so far as to even suggest that if you find it you should place it in the Special Collections of the Allara Library at the University of Pikeville.  

Now, back to the literature in the book itself.  A committee of four people is listed in the foreword as having been in charge of the arrangements: Chairman William M. Justice of Hellier, KY; Dorothy Lewis of Sandy Hook, KY; Eula Norris of Ashland, KY; and, Margaret Preston of Ashland, KY.  It is highly probable that the works by some of the authors presented could be the only extant publicly available examples of their work.  The most notable writers to be included are James Still; Jean Thomas, the Traipsin' Woman; J. T. Cotton Noe, a former poet laureate of Kentucky and a professor at the University Of Kentucky; and Jesse Stuart.  I have chosen to include a full list of contributors to this work since it is likely that some of them may not have publicly available works in any other setting or format.  If you recognize a writer and have been unable to access their works, send me a message on my public e-mail account at rchicks@mrtc.com and I would gladly scan and send those works to you with the understanding that they would be handled under strict observance of copyright law.  The full list of names of contributors is as follows: William M. Justice; Bess V. Smith; A. A. Page; Mrs. Edgar R. Mays; Mark Hager; Ruby Dell Baugher; Truda McCoy; Rosa Messer Bradley; Jean Thomas; James Still; Sylvia Trent Auxier; Madge Ann Pinson; S. D. Osborne; Evalena Gilbert Spears; Woodridge Spears; J. T. Cotton Noe; Jesse Stuart; and Nancy P. Turner.  I sincerely hope at least one of you finds a writer here whose work you have been trying to locate and save.

From my point of view, the most important and informational piece of writing in the book is that by Jean Thomas, The Traipsin' Woman, of Ashland, KY.  I must confess that I knew who she was and that she had been an important musicologist who collected and preserved folk songs in the Appalachian Region.  But I had never read her works, done research about her, or written about her in my work about the Big Sandy River and its influence on American culture.   I promise my readers that I will correct those mistakes in the near future.  Jean Thomas was born in Ashland, KY, and lived the great majority of her life there until her death at the age of 100 in Ashland.

Jean Thomas, "The Traipsin' Woman"--Photo by the Thomas Family

Jean Thomas had grown up as Jeanette Mary Francis de Assisi Aloysius Narcissum Garfield Bell in Ashland, Kentucky.  She eventually had a brief marriage which produced no children, traveled America and, perhaps, the world until she went to work as a traveling court reporter in Eastern Kentucky where she became fascinated by the folk ballads and singing styles of the Appalachian mountaineers whom she met in the court house towns.  She went on to found the American Folk Song Society and the American Folk Song Festival which took place at Carter Caves State Park from about 1932 until 1972.  It is a real tragedy that neither the American Folk Song Society or the festival have survived to help perpetuate the unique balladry, the Appalachian balladeers, and the early folk songs which traveled with our ancestors from the British Isles.    But Jean Thomas did write several books which are now hard to find on used book sites and no longer in print.  If you find copies of her books, buy them, preserve them, and pass them on when you die.  They are a major part of the work Jean Thomas devoted her life to in an attempt to preserve this wonderful set of Appalachian cultural assets. 

William M. Justice is also an interesting member of this group.  The personal papers of his daughter, Alice Justice Kinder are in the aforementioned Special Collections Department of the University of Pikeville.  The description of her papers on their website contains this biography of William M. Justice:

"William McKinley Justice was a product of the eastern Kentucky mountains into which he was born on November 27, 1893. Although he did not attend school until he was a teenager and did not receive his high school diploma until his mid-twenties, William Justice thirsted not only for personal knowledge, but to educate others in the mountains as well. A tireless promoter for Pikeville College, her traveled to a number of cities in the mid-west and north to raise money for the local school and help educate the youth of eastern Kentucky. Graduating from Berea College in 1929, Justice spent the next thirty years educating the youth of Pike County. From 1940-1959, Justice served as the principal at Hellier High School.
Justice loved the written word, and published five volumes of poetry. Named a Kentucky Colonel in 1968, Justice had the honor of having one of his poems read by Adlai Stevenson before the United Nations Assembly. He also penned an unpublished biography which was later finished by Alice Kinder and published in Willie-Boy and The Call of the Kentucky Mountains. William McKinley Justice died on July 22, 1968, at seventy-four years of age." (Special Collections Department, University Of Pikeville)

The Jesse Stuart story which is included in the book is "A Penny's Worth Of Character" which is arguably the best known of his half dozen or so children's books which are still being published and sold by the Jesse Stuart Foundation.   It appears to have been an earlier or abridged version of that well known story and there is no notation concerning any previous publication. 

The essay "Our Beloved Hills" by Mrs. Edgar R. May of Langley, Kentucky, in Floyd County addresses the issue of prejudice toward Appalachians and is quite interesting for the time.  It begins: "Much has been written about Eastern Kentucky, but generally only the dark side is seen in print.  While it is true that many undesirable conditions do exist here, progressive citizens have a right to resent being judged by the lowest classes in the mountains.  This is no less unfair than if the slums of cities were regarded as typical of urban life."  While this opening does not clearly defend these "...lowest classes in the mountains...", it does go on the remainder of the essay and make several good points in defense of Appalachian people and addresses some of the negative aspects of the discrimination which has been prevalent against Appalachians for at least a hundred years. 

I know I am repeating myself but if you stray into a copy of this little book buy it, keep it, protect it, and pass it on to someone or some institution which will preserve it for the future researchers into Appalachia and Eastern Kentucky.