That workshop was my first introduction to Elizabeth LaPrelle who sat in the back with her mother and grandmother trying shyly to insert a song. She finally wailed "I've got one" and we cleared a path for her.

Later at the mountain music workshop, I heard her sing fro real. I was in the presence of greatness. Do not miss a chance to hear her perform. A sad theme running through that workshop was the shame people were taught to feel about their backgrounds and accents. Some "cringed" when Mom or Dad chose to sing. So strange to me since I always saw an almost regal dignity in even the poorest of mountain women. To me they seemed to understand life and manage it on their own terms.