European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 07, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse By Tom Minehart associated press e l. Air Stuart the Kuppu mra Najr Mucy around 1h tray if a her of l. Or Avuis ii \ \ and out with n m the no unt Ains of . N c. Inv in Iraj for anti Pantton. But Hur to a t i Nadr a Kcjr in m Palm fron furn Florida and so i it up in Cleved 1 id. Ohio not App Lachi i torn mindful no i to traditional any but Thi r. Not intended to to ,1 Tvr chirp of Pici a rna Rui Jor of the John c a irn Boft Folk shoo. Where Stu irl and about 30 oth or students from around the country Winro i i Nuu Basket weaving pottery. Vood or Irvind i Ilmi. Idalmy in other appalachian Art North Carolina is particularly Rich m Folk art1", and Craft with or without the help of a jtvcjor1." nut Only Tro Iho custom of or eth Fri apr White till i . But to Are cd a a can variety of other culture1. Honor Ign. Fri in the Mountain of Laos follow their frat Onnel lifer Tyl ? a the Mountain of Burke cr.unl/. Lumber1ind Cherokee Indiana practice their inc int religion the of markers Island build Bents from plans in their Heads Black musicians Piny he bluer in Durham and iric of dutch Sot tiers farm Flowers and Mhz hymn j in dutch in Tho no i Forl county town of to franc a. The Campbell school or Iho Border of Clay and Cherokee counties in the mountainous tip o North Carolina was founded go years ago by new englander Olive Damn Campbell. It was originally based on the danish Foik schools which sought to Leach modern farming and other techniques to Rural people while encouraging their native Folk nov but Campbell has evolved into a school that teaches crafts inspired by those of the area along with entirely foreign arts like English country dancing classical music and Batik to people from outside the area Spicer says Many local residents maintain a close relationship with the school including woodcarvers whose parents also Learned the Craft with the help of the school. But some locals scorn the operators of the school for trying to teach ersatz appalachian crafts in an area where outside help is not needed. Some people who be lived Here All their lives say i be never had anything to do with the school " Spicer says the school was criticized in a Book written by David e. Whisnant and published to 1983 by the University of North Carolina press. In Alt that is native and fine.1 the politics of culture in an american Region. Whisnant says the school is imposing its own inaccurate interpretation on appalachian culture. Spicer says the criticism was generally fair but that the school has had to evolve with the times to Berve its adult students who pay More than $200 a week for tuition room and Board. Ironically he said. The founder mrs. Campbell stipulated in the school s charter go years ago that the school would i 60 years later. I think she foresaw the danger that you could get in a rut Spicer says. About 50 Miles across Chunky Gal Mountain to the East the Macon county school system is using a different approach to encourage traditional folkways a program thai brings Folk artists to the schools to talk to pupils one of them is Kate Rogers an 80-Yoar old woman who still treats her friends and neighbors in Franklin with traditional herbal medicines and sings ballads that can be traced Back to 17th-Century England a lot of these Are Indian says Rogers. Walking through a Garden that contains 100 varieties of plants including pennyroyal for colds Boneset for broken Bones and Peppermint Lor Colic she Learned herbal Medicine from her Grandfather one of the first White settlers in Macon county. She also has several routes through the wooded Mountain in Back of tier House to collect other remedies such As White Pine tips for arthritis which she maintains Are much belief than modern Medicine of. Lordy. Yeah 0he smiles they Don t Cost you As much. Never hardly a doctor come to our House unless we were real aided by Barbara Reimensnyder. Director of the Macon county school Ollife program Rogers is writing a Book on herbal Medicine and taping some of the ballads and hymns she Learned As a child. The John c. Campbell my i Mimi a in Mem a my my my my i Folk school traditions thrive in a Appalachia i want 10 think the program i m involved in is More a real representation of Mountain culture than Tho Campbell school Reimensnyder said. She said the program funded with a $28.500 Grant irom the National endowment for the arts seeks to show children that their own heritage appalachian White Black or Indian is a valuable alternative to modern Urban Lile. It is one of three such programs in the country the others Are in Trumbull county Ohio and Jacksonville la Reimensnyder is trom Pennsylvania but has lived in Macon county Lor live years i think they be accepted me As far As they accept anyone who has t lived he ?00 by in t concerned that the traditional ways May die out. I think they will change to accommodate the needs cd the next generation. People need tradition to connect their past and their future. To show that they Are members of a outside interests anti dollars a .1 helped maintain my traditional crafts such As Arving and quilling. But Many Mountain children grow up thinking Mountain crafts Are limited to the made in Taiwan moccasins and other souvenirs sold to tourists. Seimeni Snyder says. Her program s music festivals and classroom demonstrations by Wood Carvers and storytellers Are designed to counter that. Kids growing up Here have a real weird image of what they want to be. What it Means to come irom Appalachia to image on she says. But in this program in the schools you hear some kids say hey. Rny Mother did that they did t think it was that important because their a did it. They did t Rente How hard it wac " Fol Klonsos disagree on whether books tapes and other Media can really pass Down f Klore. Which by its very definition is passed on by word of Mouth and example. But radio and the recording Industry while they erased Many regional differences among Folk musicians probably helped Folk music thrive by enlarging its audience says George Holt director of the Fol Klile Section of the North Carolina ams Council. In october the arts Council sponsored a reunion of Page 14 the stars and stripes saturday a
