"Welcome The Traveler Home" by Jim Garland, Edited by Julia S. Ardery

Jim Garland (1905-1978), the author of this book, was born in Bell County Kentucky and grew up, like several others of his family, to become an underground coal miner. He was also a well known labor leader, union organizer, and folk singer who also happened to be the brother of Aunt Molly Jackson and Sarah Ogan Gunning both of whom were also folk singers and active in support of trade unionism and worker's rights. He organized and was a member of both the United Mine Workers of America and the National Miners Union. His organizing work was primarily in Harlan and Bell counties in Kentucky where he had worked at various times in several mines. He wrote this book, or at least, wrote most of the manuscript well before his death in 1978 but never published the book himself. At some point, his wife Hazel seems to have passed the manuscript on to the Kentucky writer Julia S. Ardery (1889-1977) who edite the work but also failed to get it published in her lifetime. Ardery wrote one other major book, " The Temptation: Edgar Tolson and the Genesis of Twentieth-Century Folk Art", which is a masterful biography and work of art criticism which was also not published in her lifetme. I have written about the Tolson biography at this link.When we consider that "Welcome The Traveler Home" was not published in the lifetimes of either the author or editor, it is a miracle that the book was ever published at all. However, Ardery was from a prominent Bourbon County Kentucky political family and the mother of a US Army Major General; a second son who worked for a time in Washington, DC, as a journalist before joining the University of Kentucky which published this book; and a third son who was an accountant who died by suicide four years before his mother's death. It seems likely that one of her sons was instrumental in the effort to have this book by Jim Garland published as well as Julia Ardery's book about Edgar Tolson. Rarely in the world of book publishing do manuscripts survive long enough to published after the death of the author. Yes, I acknowledge that it does sometimes happen, but it is as rare as hen's teeth. Garland's style of writing was exemplary of his lack of education but still strong writing. Ardery said in her Introduction that she had done as little as possible to alter Garland's original work with only minor edits for clarity of meaning, some organizational work since his manuscripts appears to have been less than well organized. But the content of the book is what makes it more than well worth reading. While I do believe it has some significant historical inaccuracies in it, it is still a fine first person discussion of the effort to unionize the Kentucky coalfields in the 1920's and 1930's. It also provides some interesting glimpses into the lived of he two famous folk singing sisters of Garland. But, sadly, it is devoted almost entirely to the time he spent in Eastern Kentucky as a coal miner and union organizer with minimal discussion of his life as a folk singer afer he was forced to leave the coal fields because he believed he had been targeted for death by coal operators. Two absolutely minimal references are made to two other very important figures in the effort to unionize the coalfields, Don West and Sam Reece. in the case of Don West whom Garaland says replaced him in the organizing effort when he was forced to leave Eastern Kentucky, the reference is only one sentence long. In the case of Sam Reece who was the husband of Florence Reece who wrote the classic labor ballad "Which Side Are You On?", Garland uses about three sentences to say that at some point in the union effort, he had borrowed Sam Reece's car to make a trip out of town. Both Don West and Sam Reece were major figures in the effort to organize the coalfields. I knew Don West quite well from about 1974 until his death in 1992 but never heard him mention Jim Garland in any of the many discussions I heard him give of his life as an organizer, miner,labor activist, and educator. I was also able to spend two days in the company of Florence and Sam Reece at Highlander Center in New Market, Tennessee, which Don West and Myles Horton founded. I spent roughly a year living at the Appalachian South Folklife Center in Pipestem, West Virginia, which was founded by Don and Connie West. It would have been very educational if I had been able to hear and cross reference all those people's memories of the organizing efforts Harland and Bell counties including their discussions about each other. Such complete knowledge from all of them would have vastly improved my knowledge about Jim Garland and his work. The book is full of references to Appalachian social customs, mores, and history as Jim Garland chose to describe it all. It is a fairly well written book, extremely well edited by Julia S. Ardery, and well worth the time to read by any student of American Labor History, Appalachian Studies, or Kentucky History. It is very minimal in its discussion of folk songs despite the addition of the lyrics of several songs across the length of the text. My particular copy which I bought at a Goodwill Store for $1.59 plus tax is also inscribed by Suzy Roy and Betty Garland Roy, the daughter of Jim and Hazel Garland. A third signature is signed simply "Mrs. Jim Garland". It appears that all three signatures were made with the same red fine point marker. Due to the length of Betty's inscription which refers to Jim Garland as "Daddy" and to Sarah Ogan Gunning as "Aunt Sarah", I believe the signatures are authentic. I have added a scan of the inscription page below. I hope you can find and read your own copy of the book if you are a student of Appalachian Studies, Union Organizing and History, or Kentucky History. It is a fascinating read!

"Hillbilly" Is A Cultural And Ethnic Epithet

 I suppose that with a title like the one above the first thing I should do is give you a definition for the word "epithet".  The website dictionary.com gives this definition of "epithet" which I believe is the most appropriate for our purposes here: "a word, phrase, or expression used invectively as a term of abuse or contempt, to express hostility, etc." And, as bad as I hate to have to, I suspect I should also give a definition for the word "invective".  The website dictionary.com gives this definition of "invective": vehement or violent denunciation, censure, or reproach;  a railing accusation; vituperation; an insulting or abusive word or expression."  While it might still be fairly common for natives of Central and Southern Appalachia as well as the Ozark Region to sometimes use the term "hillbilly" about themselves, it is also generally understood that the use of the word of the word to refer to such residents will usually result in its being interpreted as being insulting, abusive, a reproach, a censure, or an accusation. Other cultural, ethnic, or racial epithets are also sometimes used by members of the groups they denigrate and defame but, just like "hillbilly", those words are rarely accepted by members of those groups when use by outsiders and they should never be accepted or even used by members of those groups.  In my mind, the word "hillbilly" is no different from, just as defamatory, and just as damaging as any of those other words: the "k" word, the "q" word, the "n"word, the "f" word, or the "c" word.  These words all fall within a class of language which should never be used any more than the more common, but less defamatory, curse words should be used.  Being a member of the particular group in question does not make it any more acceptable for you to use those words than it does for a stranger.  

I have recently located a nineteen year old doctoral dissertation from Lousiana State University by Dr. Laura Grace Patillo entitled Appalachia on Stage: the *Southern Mountaineer in American Drama which due to its length (379 pages) I have not completed.  But the dissertation is intriguing for its content and intention to address the "scripting of America's hillbilly other" as well as for its dedication to "a strong Appalachian woman of faith, patience, and wisdom".  I firmly believe that if more native Appalachians such as Dr. Patillo, myself, and the mentors who taught us to seek positive self image instead of accepting cultural epithets and assumptions about us all natives of Central and Southern Appalachia would have benefited both directly and indirectly.  Without having ever known Dr. Patillo or her work, it is obvious to me that she was raised and mentored by the kind of Appalachian people who sought to emulate our strong, ambitious, and self-sufficient forbears and to pass those qualities on to every person they met in some direct or indirect fashion.  

I have also been able to locate a second refreshingly positively entitled doctoral dissertation by Dr. Casey R. White at South Dakota State University which states its intentions in the title:  "REDNECKS AND HILLBILLIES: A THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTRUCTION OF PRIDE AND HIGH SELF-ESTEEM EXHIBITED BY SOUTHERN CHARACTERS".   Its stated intent to examine the "construction of pride and self-esteem exhibited by southern characters" is exactly what I hoped to engender with this blog post.  I hope to be able to read both these dissertations fully and to report on them succinctly in later blog posts.  

I have also frequently directed others interested in the public image of native Appalachians to watch the AppalShop movie "Strangers And Kin: A History Of The Hillbilly Image".  It is an excellent and timeless examination of the creation and proliferation of the negative image of Appalachian people as "hillbillies".  In a sidelight to this discussion, I am also reminded of a former supervisor I worked under as a mental health therapist in a juvenile treatment facility.  This person was a native of Mount Sterling, Kentucky, and I will never forget the conversation in which he informed that he did not believe that there was such a thing as an Appalachian Culture.  When we consider the Appalachian Culture in the light of the commonly recognized elements of culture, it is strikingly clear that few cultures anywhere more clearly meet those elements.  Religion, Art, Politics, Language, Economy, Customs, Society, and Geography are listed among those key factors in culture on the website Quizlet.  As we examine each of those listed elements we learn that religion in Appalachia is strikingly unique with Old Regular Baptists, Freewill Baptists, Holiness, Primitive Baptists, and Serpent Handlers all being key segments of religion in Appalachia.  Appalachia is also the home of a truly unique group of folk artists including Edgar and Donny Tolson, Minnie Adkins, and Tim Lewis.  The language of Appalachia is also incredibly unique and traces its roots directly to the British Isles of the 15th and 16th centuries.  

If you are a native Appalachian, be proud of your heritage.  Do not allow anyone to denigrate, defame, or demoralize you because you are Appalachian.  Speak out both verbally and in writing in defense of the Appalachian Culture and history.  

 

"Appalachians Speak Up" compiled by Irmgard Best--Book Review

This wonderful book was compiled and produced by Irmgard Best in 1972 and reissued in 1973 in an updated version which, it is my understanding, she used in her Appalachian Studies classes at Berea College.  This book also served as a primary impetus for her husband, my friend Bill Best, to produce his later book, "100 Years Of Appalachian Visions", which I discussed in the post at the preceding link. This book will be very difficult to locate but it can be done.  I found my copy on one of the national used book websites.  If you decide you are actively interested in reading and owning it, don't pass up the first copy you find because you may well never find another.  The book is comprised of essays, poetry, and a rare piece of fiction from both some of the most well known experts of Appalachia and Appalachian Culture as well as some pieces from native Appalachians whose names will not ring a bell for anyone other than their occasional relatives.  The book was produced by Irmgard Best in a stapled paper format with a heavier paper for the covers and what I believe to be 20 pound paper for the 215 pages of paper content.  Due to the stapled format, do not expect to find a copy in "Fine" or "Very Fine Condition".  Count yourself lucky if you find one at all.

The book contains a one page introduction by Irmgard Best and a combination of essays, fiction, and poetry from about 25 people including some of the leading figures in the early development of Appalachian Studies.  The list includes Don West, Loyal Jones, Cratis D. Williams, Emma Miles, Wilma Dykeman, and Jim Wayne Miller.  For me, the most interesting piece is an early version of the essay which later became one of my favorite books, "Appalachian Values" by Loyal Jones.  I have written extensively on the topic of this work and Loyal Jones even blessed me with a copy of his forty year retrospective on that book which he wrote by request for the administration of Berea College. At the time Loyal Jones gave me that copy of his recent essay, he also suggested that I write my own response to it which is found at the link above.   The essay in Irmgard Best's book gives the scholar who is familiar with the Jones book an interesting insight into his thought processes concerning "Appalachian Values" as both he and the book aged. You can also go to the link on the bottom of the front page of this blog called "Links To Other Sites About Appalachia" and find links to two essays I co-wrote with Dr. Heather Ambrose, Ph. D., one of my former professors, about "Culturally Appropriate Counseling In Appalachia: The Need And How To Address It" and "Clinical Supervision of Counselors In Appalachia: A Culturally Appropriate Model".  Those essays are on the permanent online data base for professional counselors of the American Counseling Association and are frequently cited and quoted by other Appalachian professionals. They are based almost totally on the work in Loyal Jones' book. 

An essay by Wilma Dykeman called "The Professor And The Hunter" is also one of my favorite pieces in the book.  Without going into a long winded discussion of the essay it describes the relationship between a local mountain hunter in the Smoky Mountains and a professor from outside the region who worked in that area for many years and culminates in the hunter searching in the mountains for the professor until he was able to locate his body.  It is a powerful piece of writing and ties in strongly to works on Appalachian Culture and Values, especially those related to sense of duty, loyalty, and friendship.   There is also a quite interesting essay by Cratis D. Williams called "Mountaineers Mind Their Manners" which can serve as a great introduction to the work of the man many credit with being the most important early figure in the field of Appalachian Studies.  I have also written extensively recently on this blog about the work of Cratis D. Williams.  I strongly recommend "Tales From Sacred Wind" by Cratis D. Williams both for its authenticity and its humor. 

Admittedly, some of the essays in this book can be said to be a bit dated today due to the fact that the book is almost fifty years old.  But the book, and every essay in it are well worth reading if you are a student of Appalachia and Appalachian Culture.  I hope you can find a copy either in a good library with a focus on Appalachian Studies or locate your own copy on a used book site.  If you get your hands on a copy, please be sure when you are done with it that you make certain it is preserved for posterity by passing it on to a younger student of the region or to a library which will commit to preserving it.