A Haven in the Mountains
Hazel Green Academy revives a tradition of arts education

“The Hazel Green Academy Life-Long Learning Center is committed to providing educational, artistic, cultural and spiritual opportunities for the people of Kentucky,” says Director Janine Musser.

Located in the geographic center of Eastern Kentucky, Hazel Green Academy has served as a center for arts, culture and education with a history stretching back to 1880.

There is a classic 1930s era gym, kitchen, cafeteria, 240-seat theater, pottery room, stained glass studio, second hand store, classrooms, and two dormitories. One of the dorms, Pearre Hall, is 100 years old this year. But Hazel Green Academy is so much more than its physical environment.

Founded in 1880 by three local citizens, Hazel Green Academy is believed to be the oldest institution offering formal education in Eastern Kentucky. The school closed in 1983 and Hazel Green Christian Church purchased the facility to save it from becoming a prison but was unable to prevent the buildings from falling into serious disrepair. The Christian Appalachian Project (CAP) began leasing and repairing the facility in 1998. That same year, the Wolfe County Arts Association received a grant to establish the Hazel Green Life-Long Learning Center.

The center’s classes and workshops have covered topics including stained glass, quilting, basket weaving, book making, paper marbling, pottery, stone carving, sculpting, yoga, aerobics, karate, table tennis, candle making, painting, music for adults and children, and dance. HGA also sponsors “Camp Create”, an annual summer art camp for children in the region.

“The jewel in our crown of programs is our educational field trips,” says Musser. “Students from 30 schools in six counties have attended a variety of professional, high-quality arts performances and hands-on educational activities. Our annual Science Day includes hands-on activities with UK Physics Professor Joe Straley, meteorologist Mike Lewis from the National Weather Station in Jackson and others. We have had performances by the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, the Lexington Children’s Theatre, Ballet Espanol and a host of other musicians, storytellers and dancers.”

“We are especially proud to offer top quality ballet classes to the children of the mountains,” Musser says. “Adalhi Aranda-Corn, director of the Kentucky Ballet Academy in Lexington, teaches ballet classes at Hazel Green Academy.”

In keeping with its mountain heritage, HGA offers Traditional Appalachian Music for Children, where they learn to play guitar, dulcimer, hammer dulcimer and bowed psaltery.

The Academy also holds annual “Writer’s Retreats” led by Kentucky authors such as Ed McClanahan, George Ella Lyon, Richard Taylor and Crystal Wilkinson.

Professional development workshops for teachers bring professional artists and classroom teachers together to develop ways to incorporate the arts in the curriculum.

While offering a host of educational and arts programs, the Academy offers practical support for area residents as well. The Academy’s second-hand store provides clothing and household items at low prices and for free to those in need. (Donations for the store are always welcome.) St. Joseph’s Hospital’s Mobile Health Clinic comes once a week to provide primary care to the people in the community. The Wolfe County Adult Education Family Literacy Program also provide services on that day to further meet the needs of the region.

The center also encourages educational groups, faith-based organizations and tour groups to experience hands-on Appalachian art activities at the Academy while they are in the area touring the Red River Gorge. “We offer overnight accommodations, meals, several hands-on Appalachian arts activities and an overview of things to do and see while they visit our area. From the Academy, it is an easy 20-minute drive to the “other end” of the scenic by-way, Rt. 715,” Musser says.

For more information about the Hazel Green Academy Life Long Learning Center visit www.hazelgreenacademy.org. If you have questions about events or want to book the facility for a group call Janine or David Musser at (606)662-4860 or e-mail hga@hazelgreenacademy.org.

 

Deanna Mascle is a staff writer for The Lane Report.
editorial@lanereport.com

Back to Spotlight on the Arts Index

Back to October Issue

 

Copyright 1996-2002, by Kentucky Business Online.  All rights reserved.

Editorial content is copyright 2002, Lane Communications Group
All editorial material is fully protected and must not be reproduced in any manner without prior permission.

The Lane Report is a trademark of Lane Communications Group.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.