Rick, I'm pretty sure the Wests knew of Miles Horton's work. Don might have been a guest there. I know that Hedy would have know about it.

Don't know whether you're gonna' get Guy on a computer. Candie has one at work. I know they would love Mudcat if they had the time and the technical inclination or even if they had a personal PC.

There is a wire recording that Guy has of Ramblin' Jack, Guy and I during a summer (probably '54) when we were passing through. Nimrod has been recorded on Folkways I believe. I think Guy produced it. On it, Hazel Dickens, Mike Paxton (no relation to Tom I think) who wrote a great song called 30 Inch Coal and others. You'd want to check out also, recordings of Zylphia Horton, Miles wife who was an accordianist and singer of folk songs. She was a catalyst for the musical activities that ocurred there. I didn't spend much time there but I knew Miles and he is a personal hero. He did so much for the Civil Rights Movement if nothing else than acting as a mentor for Rosa Parks prior to her historical bus protest. "We Shall Overcome" was originated at Highlander as I understand it as an anthem for the tobacco workers union. (How it got started in the Civil Rights Movement is another story and one that will probably never be agreed upon.)

I don't think Lee Hays spent much time there. He was from another "Folk School", the Ccmmonwealth Labor School in Arkansas. BTW, Highlander was originally called Highlander Folk School but the distinction was clear. Miles thought of a folk school as a place for local people in the local culture to become activists in their community. I had quite a talk with Miles about this. I was talking about a folk music school and he had less interest in that. As he said, succinctly, one time, "Some of my best friends are musicians." The implication is that music was not a priority for him except as it acted as a social catalyst to employ activism in labor and social issues. Miles did more for this country than many people I have ever met.

Frank Hamilton