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EXPLORING
KENTUCKY- May 2001 by Katherine Tandy Brown A Mountain
Treasure Just 22 miles east of Hazard lies an institution that has been educating Kentucky’s mountain children and preserving Appalachian folkways for nearly a hundred years. If you’ve an interest in either, head your vehicle to the hills, to the town of Hindman, population 1,200, for a visit to the Hindman Settlement School, where you’ll discover the heartwarming story of how regional people have been, and continue to be, served by this gem. And amid all that gorgeous mountain scenery, you might even hear some old-time music, learn a traditional craft or shake a leg to a fiddle tune, to boot. Legend has it that Solomon Everidge of Knott County walked 22 miles barefoot to the Hazard area to invite teachers May Stone, a long time member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), and Katherine Petit to “come over and do for my grands and greats what you done for these (Hazard) children.” The following summer, the ladies came and set up tents on a hillside, while local folks donated lumber and began construction of the first rural social settlement school in the United States. In 1902 Stone and Petit opened the Women’s Christian Temperance Union School, which in 1915 became the Hindman Settlement School, located at the forks of Troublesome Creek in Knott County. Many early instructors came from prestigious Northeast schools, such as Vassar, Wellesley, Smith and Mt. Holyoke, to give a year or two to the mountain children, and its academic program became outstanding in the region. Its first graduate, Josiah Combs, was an early pioneer in the field of folklore, going on to study at the Sorbonne and teach at several major universities. Far more than a school, the facility grew to become an intellectual center for the county, a community in its own right dedicated to preserving mountain cultural heritage for its students, and a gathering place for people from across the country to learn about Appalachia in a positive light. Because the Settlement’s philosophy is to meet needs not met by other agencies, its programs have changed with the growth of area public schools. Today, the mission of the non-profit, nondenominational school one of only six in the U.S. supported by the DAR is manifested in a number of educational and cultural offerings. Begun 22 years ago by Lois Combs Wineberg, the Settlement’s program for bright students with dyslexic characteristics provides remediation skills through After-School Tutorial Programs in four counties, a six week summer school (attended by 54 children with 40 staffers in 2000), and as of 1992, a full time elementary school for 32 children with this “learning difference.” “Kids can learn if their learning styles are met,” said executive director Mike Mullins, a Floyd County native and Berea College graduate. “Four parents and four children began the dyslexia program about 20 years ago, and now it’s a third of our budget. To date 1,500 kids and parents have been through the program.” “Hindman Settlement School,” said Lexington businessman and former elected official Joseph C. Graves, who has been on the HSS board of directors for 28 years now, “has helped increase the self esteem not only of the students it’s taught, but also the parents.” Not only have those parents seen their kids conquer learning problems, but the school has helped them to do the same. In 1980, a woman called Mullins to say she wanted to learn to read the Bible and write her own checks. She can now do both, as her phone call inspired the creation of the Adult Learning Center, which now helps 200 to 250 adults each year with basic literacy skills and their GED. In the past 15 years, 900 adults have earned a GED in Knott County. Preservation of traditional Appalachian arts and culture is Hindman Settlement School’s other focus, one which brings participants from across the country for two annual summertime events, both in their 24th season. June 10 through 15 this year, Appalachian Family Folk Week gives individuals and families the chance to participate in traditional music, dance, crafts, storytelling and instrument playing under the tutelage of such eminent artisans as native Eastern Kentucky singer and songwriter Jean Ritchie, who is also a Settlement School board member, old time banjo player Lee Sexton, woodcarver Minnie Adkins, storyteller and original member of the Roadside Theater Angelyn DeBoard, shape note singer and old time fiddler Ron Penn, and master potter Michael Ware. The following month, around 75 folks will attend the prestigious Appalachian Writers’ Workshop, July 29 through August 3, which centers on writers from, and writing about, the Appalachian region. The week is filled with seminars and one on one conferences, as well as public evening readings by workshop staff, which this year will include such noted authors as Sharyn McCrumb, Chris Holbrook, Paul Brett Johnson, Linda DeRosier and George Ella Lyon. To many of the facility’s supporters and attendees of both its classes and cultural events, the name Hindman Settlement School has become practically synonymous with that of its executive director Mullins, who came to the position 24 years ago when he “saw a place with a wonderful history that had done remarkable work in the area.” Mullins has continued that tradition tenfold. “I believe divine providence was looking over our shoulder in selecting Mike because he’s turned out to be just the right person for the job,” said Graves. “He really understands the region, and really wants to move Eastern Kentucky to a different level in terms of making it a good place to live and a good place to work. He has that hard to define quality of leadership that’s so vital to an organization.” Visitors can tour the campus of his organization, get information on evening folk dances and peruse the selection of exquisite juried works of 110 local and regional craftspeople at the Marie Stewart Crafts Shop, housed in a lovely log cabin. “We’re trying to establish a quality of crafts as opposed to flea markets,” Mullins explained. “We give tourists the whole 25-cent tour,” added Sam Linkous, the school’s program coordinator. “Students and teachers are used to people coming and going, and they’ll stop to answer visitors’ questions.” In 2002, Hindman Settlement School will celebrate its 100th birthday with the release of a scholarly account of its history and a number of on-campus activities. Contact the school at (606) 785-5475 for details. If you want to stay in these peaceful mountains a few days, hang your hat at the Quiltmaker Inn, right on Main Street in Hindman. Or trailer your horse to Knott County in May to ogle elk and Canada geese on a ride through an abandoned strip mine. Come in December for
old-fashioned Christmas on Caney Creek at Alice Lloyd
College, with caroling and horse and buggy rides. Or just
after Labor Day, see the world’s largest gingerbread
man (20 feet tall!) at the Knott County Gingerbread Fest,
born of a mountain tradition to bribe folks to get out
and vote by rewarding them with this homemade treat. Katherine Tandy
Brown is a staff writer for The Lane Report. |
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Copyright 1996-2001, by Kentucky Business Online. All rights reserved. Editorial
content is copyright 2001, Lane Communications Group The Lane Report is a trademark of Lane Communications Group. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. |
