oral tradition in modern appalachia?

Subject: oral tradition in modern appalachia?
From: GUEST,Liz Simmons
Date: 09 Jun 04 - 12:53 AM

I'm doing some research for school on oral tradition in the Appalachian region, i.e., folksinging and storytelling, and am trying to find out how much of this, if much at all, exists today.

Subject: RE: oral tradition in modern appalachia?
From: Burke
Date: 09 Jun 04 - 11:57 AM

Sheila Kay Adams is a woman in North Carolina keeping the traditions alive.

Subject: RE: oral tradition in modern appalachia?
From: fretless
Date: 09 Jun 04 - 12:27 PM

There are lots of programs supporting the preservation and continuation of Appalachian culture and traditions. Take a look, for example, at the programs of Berea College (http://www.berea.edu/menumainabout.html), Appalshop (http://www.appalshop.org/), and Ferrum College's Blue Ridge Institute (http://www.ferrum.edu/) among many others.

One warning, folks on Mudcat occasionally get a bit snitty when confronted with broad requests for school project information that don't appear to reflect prior research on the part of the requester. They want to know what work you've done on the topic yourself before they are willing to step up to the plate and do the work for you. ;-)

Subject: RE: oral tradition in modern appalachia?
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Jun 04 - 05:25 PM

Thanks for the info. I know about some of these programs, i.e., I know there is a conscious effort to hold on to the songs and stories that were part of Appalachian tradition. However, my prior research of the history of Appalachia has led me to believe that in certain families these traditions were a natural, effortless part of the day to day routine. The songs and stories were family legacies-- for example, in Jean Ritchie's family. I was opening a discussion out of curiosity-- to see if I might discover whether or not families are still telling the same stories they were 100 years ago. You know, whether or not it still exists in some families in a more "effortless" fashion.
fretless: Boy, you mudcatters love to get snitty about every little thing! Somehow the anonymity of this form of discussion allows you all to cut loose with your opinions like mad. Fine with me, it's just that I wasn't asking anyone to do the work for me, and I've been researching Appalachia all semester. I just didn't want to phrase my question in a know-it-all "tone of voice", since I'm not actually from Appalachia. I like to stay humble, you know?
I'm just getting to contemporary Appalachia right now in my studies, and have been having a lot of dead-end research, that's why I posted this thread. I figured that it might spark a good discussion, which might help me along. Isn't that what this forum is for?
Studying a culture that one is not actually from is always a bit of a "touchy" thing. I'm trying to be really careful in the way I phrase things.                                              Liz.

Subject: RE: oral tradition in modern appalachia?
From: Burke
Date: 09 Jun 04 - 05:51 PM

Sheila Kay Adams is a wonderful story teller. It comes 'naturally' to her in the sense that she grew up around story tellers. She sings the old 'love' songs, but most of the stories she tells are her own. Get the recording: What Ever Happened to John Parrish's Boy? or her book: "Come Go Home With Me" for examples.

From her schedule I see an Annual Storytelling Festival in Pigeon Forge, TN, so the tradition is seemingly still alive.

I think story telling exists in some families & not others. To preserve certain stories you'd need to make a more conscious effort. Garrison Keillor makes his stories up, but his style is informed by both radio programs he heard & the story telling that happened in his family.

Glad you've done some research, one can never tell from a short query. I think we'd rather prefer to know what you already know that we can add to, instead of spending time giving you information you already have.

Subject: RE: oral tradition in modern appalachia?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 09 Jun 04 - 06:06 PM

Is new material being added to 'oral tradition'? Preservation, or just keeping the body warm through reheating the old material, is not enough. Guest, I think, is trying to get a response to this point. Much of what I see that purports to be new is aimed at the market, not really a continuation of an 'oral tradition'.

Subject: RE: oral tradition in modern appalachia?
From: Teresa
Date: 09 Jun 04 - 06:21 PM

Hmmm, I may get in deep doodoo for this but ... I'd say Jeff Foxworthy is carrying on a tradition in some ways. I really mean to be serious. IMO, he is funny and talks about modern Appalachia.

I am not from those parts, but I would say that the oral tradition has changed a lot in order to reflect our media-saturated society. I do notice that some in my family are very good storytellers, just as a matter of course. My grandparents told some neat stories, and so does my older sister. But it's not quite as ubiquitous as it used to be, I wouldn't think.
Teresa

Subject: RE: oral tradition in modern appalachia?
From: michaelr
Date: 09 Jun 04 - 07:02 PM

There's 90-year-old Mary Jane Queen of Caney Fork, NC, whose Queen Family Band keeps alive the songs she learned through oral tradition. Here's an article about her, and another tidbit, with mention of S. K. Adams.

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: oral tradition in modern appalachia?
From: GUEST,Russ
Date: 09 Jun 04 - 07:18 PM

Check the Augusta Heritage Apprenticeship program.
http://www.augustaheritage.com/apprentice.html

Dwight Diller is working to keep alive the music and stories of the Hammons family of Marlinton, Pocahontas County, WV. He more or less considers himself an adopted son.
http://www.dwightdiller.com/

Subject: RE: oral tradition in modern appalachia?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 09 Jun 04 - 07:30 PM

The above posts are about keeping the old stories and songs alive, or just keeping the body warm. The Jeff Foxworthy mentioned by Teresa may be adding something new, but is he continuing the 'oral' tradition? He is a Grammy winner, so he must be creating material to make money.

Subject: RE: oral tradition in modern appalachia?
From: Teresa
Date: 09 Jun 04 - 07:45 PM

Ok, I'm on the edge of quicksand here, but i'm going to negotiate carefully ...

My point in mentioning foxworthy is that he does reflect what the average middle-class folk are doing in their lives today.

And like anyone else around here, I very much appreciate the old stories and songs, and I don't think the old and new ways are mutually-exclusive. The real question might be ... what is the bridge between the old and the new, and how do family traditions cross it.

And just as people make money nowadays, there were those who toured on the Vaudeville circuit, most likely telling stories that they'd learned from their own family traditions.
Teresa

Subject: RE: oral tradition in modern appalachia?
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 10 Jun 04 - 12:35 AM

Frank Proffitt, Jr. (Franklin) sings and plays the music he learned from his father down in the northwest corner of North Carolina. Frank (the father) had his songs and ballads from his father and from his aunt Nancy Prather. This is clearly a continuing family oral tradition.

One (at least) of Ray Hicks' children is, I'm told, carrying on the family tradition of telling the old "Jack Tales." Ray, the father, was a superb Appalachian tale teller (brother-in-law of Frank Proffitt, Sr.). There, too, a family tradition going back many generations is being continued.

Colleen Cleveland, to move a bit farther north in the "Appalachians" -- all the way to the Adirondacks, is singing the songs she learned from her grandmother, Sara Cleveland. Sara had an outstanding repertoire of traditional ballads and songs, hundreds of them, from her own family and regional traditions.

The beat goes on....

Sandy