Augusta Memories

I am home after an incredible week at Augusta, in Elkins WV. So many memories!

The stories! The video below is of my storytelling students telling the classic story, "No News." They adapted it to be a three-person story (it's usually a tale told by 2 tellers in tandem), and added some of their own comments to make the story uniquely theirs.

The people:

Listening and singing along at the Doowop evening! This was all kinds of fun. How do we remember songs we learned so many years ago?

Telling tales at the Augusta Festival! We had a nice audience for our early morning set. My students had the opportunity to tell the story they'd worked on all week on a festival stage.

Ellen Gozion explains the process of making crankies to me. The crankie in the
photo was made by the daughter of one of my storytelling students.

The music: On the last day, all of the musicians from all of the classes got together to play one last tune together; they had chosen "Over the Waterfall" at the beginning of the week to be their "camp tune" and everyone, from beginners to the pros, played together.

The place: Halliehurst, one of the two mansions on campus, on a full moon night, with the porch full of musicians. The nights echoed with music, and the laughter and pounding feet at the dance pavilion.

Some people just need to have things spelled out for them!

Below, Alan Jabbour, a renowned mountain fiddler, scholar and collector of old-time music, joins in a jam. Alan was always around playing music with everyone who wanted to join in, and was so approachable. The instructors were all the same way--approachable, friendly and helpful. I loved being part of such a great group of teachers.

Larry Staats, one of my class, on stage at the Augusta Festival on Saturday.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Come Tell Stories with Me August 3-8 at Augusta!

Once upon a time in the mountains, a family gathered by the fire and shared stories carried from one generation to another, perhaps even tales that crossed the ocean with their ancestors. Be part of the tradition of “passing it down” this week as we explore the Appalachian folklore, superstitions, and culture that weave together to create stories and a storytelling tradition that continues to be a lively part of life in the mountains we call home.

The class will be highly interactive with storytelling and lecture interspersed with class discussion. 

The Icehouse,  a unique pub on campus and site of much music.

We will view videos and listen to recordings of a variety of Appalachian region storytellers, take a nature walk to see native plants and learn about their uses and lore, 

Messages written by Civil War soldiers on the walls of the former
hospital are scattered throughout the building

take a field trip to historic Beverly to visit the house that was once used as a Civil War hospital and tour the Beverly museum. Students will be expected to work on one story per day for performance in class; this is not expected to be polished work but rather a beginning to putting flesh on a story’s bones. Class members will be expected to offer coaching and feedback as requested to help each other to a better understanding of their stories and to improve performance.

Cloggers competing during Old-Time Week.

The Appalachian region is a fascinating place. Expect to have fun, laugh much, talk much and listen, listen, listen as we immerse ourselves in the legends and lore of the mountains!

Hallihurst, one of two mansions on the Davis & Elkins College campus.

For more information about this week-long class and registration forms, visit the Augusta Heritage Old-Time Week page.

See you there!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Augusta! Come Write with Me!

Photo from Irish/Celtic Week 2010, taken in the Ice House, the unique pub on the college grounds

Time is quickly rolling by this summer and it will soon be time for the Creative Writing class I will be teaching for the Augusta Heritage Series at Davis & Elkins College in beautiful Elkins, WV. For more information about the class, visit Augusta's Irish/Celtic Week website.

We'll write, write, write. Lots of time for sharing, discussing, free writing time, and more. Come join us!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Augusta: Festival Day and Concert Memories

Saving and savoring today:

Soft rain in the morning, cool on my skin. A squirrel in the treetops outside my window.

Bright tents filled with arts and crafts, the smell of barbecued chicken and the sound of music and dancing feet as I entered the Augusta Festival. The rain was gone, the sun was out and the festival was in full swing.

Talking to a young mother who lost her husband suddenly last year; it never gets better, she said, looking at her two little boys. Her heart in her eyes.

Storytelling in the children's activity tent. There was lots there for the kids to do--dried flower arrangements, making drums, glitter painting, face painting, making bracelets, and me, telling tales. We had fun with participation stories, surrounded by those making crafts but still listening to the stories.

Listening to the fine music of Gerry Milnes and Dave Bing, two of the state's best old-time musicians, who collect tunes from elderly musicians and also do extensive research on the music they play. Listening to them discuss their songs is like a crash course in West Virginia music history.

I also heard Michael and Carrie Kline, with their songs of the working man, songs of home and songs of hope, as I waited my turn onstage.

Meeting a lady who introduced herself as a Two Lane Livin' reader. It pleases me so much when people tell me that they read and enjoy my column.

Storytelling on the main stage as the sun continued to shine. I sang Railroad Boy and told one of my favorite stories, the one about the headless woman of Briar Creek. A good, appreciative crowd.

Dinner with friends in the cafeteria, Boston Creme Pie for dessert, which always reminds me of the one my oldest son once made from scratch for me as apology for talking back to me the day before.

Anticipation waiting for the evening concert to start, the end of the festival and the end of 5 weeks of the Augusta Heritage workshops. Talking to two men in front of me, I learned a lot about edible mushrooms. One was a vet who had been in Vietnam in 1961-1963. We talked of wine-making, gardens, mushroom hunting, edible wild foods. Then the show started.

Music, music and more music as some of Augusta's best musicians took the stage playing old-time music--and flatfoot dancers joining them onstage; what excitement they bring! Then the Northern Kentucky Brotherhood Singers took the stage with astounding harmonies. After singing My Girl, the lead singer told the audience that if they had their significant other with them, to give him or her a kiss--and the Marine vet turned around and asked for a kiss. He got one too, :) At intermission he went out to his truck and brought in a Bradley mushroom for me, one they'd just gathered, so I could identify them myself. I used to know them but it's been 30 years since I hunted them.

And finally, Dr. Ralph Stanley and his Clinch Mountain Boys! Dr. Stanley is 86 but sang so beautifully. He needed reminding of lyrics here and there but his grandson Nathan (pictured to his right above) who now leads the band fed him lines as needed, and it didn't bother the audience one bit. This is Dr. Stanley's last tour, and it was a privilege to see him and hear him sing. His voice is haunting, memorable. No concert photos were allowed but you can see how the autograph table was mobbed afterwards.

Riding back to the dorms in the little golf cart shuttle through the soft night air, the music still ringing in my ears. We picked up a young woman looking for the dance pavilion along the way, and she told me she was from Turkey, had spent a year in Vienna, Austria, and there met her husband, who was from West Virginia, so now she lives here. Life twists and turns along the journey, endlessly fascinating.

Tomorrow I'll be homeward bound. I hate to see this week end, but I will be glad to see home again, filled with memories of music, faces and stories.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Augusta, Day 3: Family Stories and Listening

Today has been full of so many memories and impressions that will linger for a long time.

It started at breakfast. I have been sitting with the Road Scholars a good bit at meal times because they are so interesting and full of stories. This morning, something got them started on the topic of refrigeration. There are many people in this group approaching or past 8 decades and they remember things that most of consider having happened far in the past.

Take refrigerators. Many of them grew up without refrigerators or freezers and can recall when these became part of their family's kitchens. Some remembered cutting ice out of ponds and rivers and packing it with sawdust in concrete buildings to use for summer cooling. Iceboxes were a shared memory, some of wood, others of metal. Others remembered that after World War II large freezers were available in small towns and people could rent freezer space for storage of their meat, instead of having to salt and cure it in smokehouses. One man said his parents had one of those old-time refrigerators with the coils on top and used it for 45 years. What fridge will last that long today?

The ice man also visited; one lady said she was staying with her grandmother one summer. Her grandmother had a milk cow and promised that when the iceman came they would make ice cream. It was so hot every day, and all she could think about was the wonderful taste of ice cream, the coolness of it sliding down her throat. Finally the day came and the ice cream was made. But the cow had been in some bitter-flavored weeds and the ice cream was inedible. The disappointment on her face was as fresh today as it must have been all those years ago.

That conversation led to one about a ragman. One man said that not only did the iceman come, but the ragman was also a regular visitor at their farmhouse. He would buy anything from old pipes to rusty pans to old clothing--anything that could be resold to the war effort (this was during World War II). This man said that his grandfather had died so his grandmother was living with them for a while. Well, it seems the ragman got sweet on his grandmother and hung around their home for hours on his visits. They might not have minded so much but the ragman seldom if ever bathed and smelled pretty bad. He had a beard to his waist and was very short and round, and the grandmother wasn't too thrilled with his intentions. I did not know about ragmen so this conversation certainly gave me something to look into.

The refrigeration conversation led to another discussion, this one about winter funerals. One man said that in his area (South Dakota) bodies were simply wrapped and buried in snowbanks until the weather warmed up. Another said that someone in his family was a gravedigger and that in winter he used charges of dynamite to break up the frozen ground so the graves could be dug. I had to wonder about how that might disturb occupants of neighboring graves!

Which leads once again to the importance of listening. To be a good storyteller, one must be a good listener. It's not important to be someone who likes to talk--that's not it at all. Stories are found by listening, not by talking. In our class I talked about listening, and also about using prompts to find a story. For example, an apron, a teacup or a small metal toy might prompt memories of a specific person or event. A class member who is nearing 80 noted that, "At my age, everything reminds me of a story about something in my life." True words, there. The elders of our families and communities have much to tell us if we will just take the time to listen.

Tonight I was listening again, this time to the concert by the students here in the vocal (singing) classes. The range of songs was astounding, from opera to yodeling to folk songs, ballads,and Billie Holliday, from comic songs to touching songs to a Russian love song (sung in Russian). It was a magical evening and I just sat back and gloried in the music surrounding me. I suspect many of the singers have stories I would like to hear, and if time allows I hope to catch them and hear their tales. If not, I have the memory of their beautiful voices rising the the little round chapel on a dark, rainy, West Virginia night.




Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Augusta, Day 2

No pics of this week's activities yet, but they'll be coming. My camera has been in one place, the card somewhere else. I have finally reunited them!

It is not easy to describe the experience of being here. Musicians and singers are everywhere. Today I sat in on a session of singing old hymns, unaccompanied. The sound of many voices rising in harmony is like honey to the ears, and the chapel here at Augusta is the perfect place for both its ambience and its acoustics.

My class met for the second day. We're a small and varied lot, but that just makes it more interesting and more challenging at the same time as I strive to meet their needs, from the scholarship student who has never told a story to the museum docent to the experienced teller. We give and take, sharing ideas, experiences, and stories. Always stories. I arrived with a lesson plan and a schedule for the week, but it is constantly adapted to what my students need instead of what I think might benefit them. There is room for it all in the end.

Yesterday we talked about stories in general, what makes a story, the characteristics of Appalachian culture and its impact on the storytelling in the region. We explored some tall tales and discussed the structure of these kinds of stories. The Road Scholars (formerly Elderhostel) students came in the afternoon for stories; I told and talked about stories and one of my students told a tale.

I went to an evening ballad-singing concert with Brian Peters. Brian is from England and treated us to some excellent Child Ballads interspersed with his witty commentary that often had us laughing out loud. It was interesting to hear different versions of ballads I also sing. Following Brian were the crankies! Such simple fun. I was late to bed but it was well worth a little lost sleep.

Today we worked a bit on a story one of the students wanted feedback on, then moved on to ghost stories. I have each of them a story to learn--not perfectly, but the "bones" of the tale. They each told their story in rough form, then we discussed each telling. After lunch they came back and re-told the stories. The changes they had made as they let the story "sit" in their subconscience during lunch were remarkable and showed that they had a good grip on the story's structure. The Road Scholars arrived and I discussed ghost stories and why we tell them before launching into a ballad and then a few stories.

My students were up next. I was so pleased with the way they rose to the challenge; one of them retold a short funny tale I'd told earlier without a bit of rehearsal--he just added it to the story he'd practiced. They all got good applause and appreciations from the audience. We finished with more discussion and a few of the Road Scholars told short stories. Then they left and we reviewed each student's telling and our day was done.

There is much to do this evening: a concert, music jams, singing, probably dancing. The hills around Davis & Elkins College will be ringing with the joy of old-time music and dance, and everyone will go to bed tired, happy, and filled with music, song, and good conversation. And that's exactly why people come here from all over the country for this special week in the mountains.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Some Augusta Moments

 I wanted to share a few more memories from last week. I'll start with the crankies. There were two that were shown one evening in the chapel. How to describe them? Imagine a box with two wooden poles and a crank handle. A long piece of paper is wound from one pole to the other; on the paper are drawings of the images from a ballad. As a singer sings the ballad, the crank is turned and the images pass across the "screen" or "stage" created by the wooden box. You can see a crankie on youtube featuring ballad singer Elizabeth LaPrelle; just click here. The one below was for the ballad Pretty Fair Miss. I only got the singer/creator's first name-Ellen.

The images were beautiful, created of paper on a rice paper scroll.

 This crankie had a call for an encore, so we watched and listened to it twice. It's such a simple technology, and yet captivating, especially with the singer in the darkness as the images roll by. The "screen" is lit from behind by a simple gooseneck lamp. The second crankie was great too but unfortunately my pictures came out blurry so I won't share those. You can see an example of a storytelling crankie here. I just might have to give this a try sometime.

This is the view from the walkway leading to the library, where we had our class:

 I took my class to the small town of Beverly, which was at one time the county seat of Randolph county and the site of a Civil War battle (the Battle of Rich Mountain, where McClellan gained fame as a Union general). We visited the town's graveyard, where a sign proclaimed there were graves from all of the wars fought by the US. This stone was one of the older ones we found.

We also visited the Goff House, now an antique store but used as a Union Hospital during the Civil War. Soldiers who were patients there drew and wrote on the walls. The front rooms of the house were a new addition at that time, and the walls had just been plastered. Dr. Goff's wife was dismayed when she returned after the troops left (the Goffs were southern sympathizers and fled town when the Union troops moved in) to find her new walls all marked up so she wallpapered them--thus preserving the writing and drawings for posterity. Below is a haunting drawing done by an unknown soldier:

The front entrance to the house features a door that I think reflects the strong German heritage of the region.

One of many stained glass windows to be seen in Halliehurst, one of the two mansions that were "summer homes" of railway magnates Henry Gassaway Davis and Stephen Elkins, now part of the Davis & Elkins college campus. Both houses have stories of resident ghosts.

 

From the old to the new: when the cornerstone for the new science center on campus was split in 1973, the fossil seen on the left was revealed.The plaque describes the discovery and notes how fitting the find was to the occasion. 

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Catching Up

Well, I dropped right off the edge of the blog universe last week, didn't I? Friday, my last day of teaching my Appalachian storytelling class, was a strange day. There was a storm late Thursday evening, lots of thunder and lightning and flickering lights. We were singing in the chapel so other than a few leaks and blinking lights the storm didn't bother us. By the time I left the chapel it was after midnight and the rain was mostly over. Then I got to the dorm and found there were no lights in my room.

The outlet worked which was strange, and the hall lights and bathroom lights were thankfully on. There were still no lights in the morning so getting ready for class was a little harried, but I made it to the dining hall with plenty of time for breakfast--and made tracks straight for the coffee because I was pretty sleepy from the late night. And guess what? No coffee! Apparently the campus has 3-phase power and one phase was out. Some appliances worked, some didn't. The kitchen staff did a great job of getting breakfast for us anyway although there were some people shocked into wakefulness when they learned there was no coffee to be had.

I hustled down to the library where I met with my students--and found it was closed because they had no power at all. Our morning plans had been to do library research, and view a video and listen to clips from 3 CDs of different Appalachian storytellers so we could discuss the regional differences in their telling style. That wasn't happening so we reviewed the resource lists I'd prepared for the class at a picnic table under the walkway to the library. It made a nice, airy classroom. The Augusta for Kids class came and joined us for a while; their morning plans were to do some cooking but since they could not do that, they came to listen to stories. My students told the stories they'd learned this week and we had a good time telling ghost stories to the kids--and they had some to tell us. One boy told of lights that moved on the mountains near his home in Hardy county, and as it happened I knew the "rest of the story," the legend behind those moving lights. That was really neat.

The power came back on just before lunch so the rest of the day went smoothly and quickly. I was sad to see our week end. We'd talked in depth about so many aspects of storytelling and shared so many stories. The week ended with a flatfoot dance contest and porch party. I wish you could have seen those dancers! My word, their feet can fly. The youngest was about five, I believe, and the oldest over 80. There were both men and women dancing and I don't know how the judge was able to choose the winner because they were all so good. Here are a few pictures of the dancing, which don't convey the high energy of the dancers or the enjoyment of the watchers:

The youngest dancer, who got an award for "most promising."

And probably the oldest, who danced every night all week long.

The finalists in the last round.

And the winner!

In the evening the Augusta Festival began with singing in the chapel and dancing in the pavilion. Elizabeth LaPrelle's ballad class was there at first; I sat in and sang along since I knew most of the songs they were learning. Pardon the angle--my hand slipped!

I intended to sing for a while and then go watch the dancing, but tiredness overtook me suddenly so I went to my room to rest--and fell sound asleep again. I suppose all the running in July finally caught up with me.

Saturday was the Augusta Festival's full day. I had intended to stay most of the day to look at the crafts and demonstrations and listen to some music, but I got a sudden longing to be home with my hubby, and left early to drive the long miles home. By evening I was on my own porch in my favorite rocker, telling Larry all about the week and what we'd done. Warren, our new neighbor, came down to get some grapes; we have so many I'll never be able to put up all of them, and we sure don't need that much grape juice! (And no, I don't make wine; I just don't care much for wine made from the Concord grapes). I slept in my own bed that night--is there any bed quite as comfortable as the one you sleep in at your own house?

Yesterday we took it slow in the morning, then I unloaded the car, re-loaded it with things to take to my booth and headed to Ravenswood to do some re-stocking. That was about all I was good for! I came home to make a batch of peach jam with the 12 peaches from our little volunteer tree, the only one that had any fruit this year. It has great peaches--they're a nice size, and freestone. We ate a light supper and then we lit the firepit for the first time since mid-June--the weather has just been too hot to enjoy it. It was a beautiful evening. The dogs and cats were happy to have us outside with them and we just talked and watched the sky. We didn't stay up late enough to see the Perseid meteor shower, though. Maybe we'll get to see some shooting stars tonight if the clouds clear away.

Today was canning day, after I took care of some eBay business and packed some things to mail. I had a half-bushel of tomatoes and a bushel of corn to do and it didn't take long to get those taken care of. Larry has picked a bushel of Concord grapes so you know what I'll be doing tomorrow.

I think that catches up the news from this little house on the hill. I am looking forward to a slower pace for the next few weeks. No storytelling to do, just canning and taking care of my booths and enjoying the waning of summer.




Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Augusta, Day 4: Ballads and Stories, Poems and People

Today was a little more low-key than yesterday. I slept well last night and that was a blessing. I was up and out early to get to breakfast because mealtimes at Augusta are a great time to meet people. And I've met some great people. Like the couple in the Road Scholar program who have only been married 2 1/2 years and are traveling all over the place together, having a wonderful time; a librarian at the University of Maryland who talked with me about our mutual concern about the future of libraries as reference services fade and the e-books gain popularity; the dance instructor who, at 84, is as fit as anyone I know and dances all the time; the young girl who came to an impromptu poetry group and turned out to be a double major (English and Biology) as well as editor of her college literary journal; Sean who at 11 years old is as comfortable on this campus as a college student and equally at ease talking to adults or kids, the people from New England who were so curious about our culture and geography that we spent all of lunch talking and I almost forgot to eat...and so many others.

It would seem that Augusta is about taking classes and learning or developing skills and it is certainly that, but it is also about making connections and getting to know people from all over the country and all agers and backgrounds.

One of the most fascinating and nice people I've met this week is Bobby McCormick, a ballad singer and storyteller from North Carolina. He's plain folks, a man raised in the mountains who recognized the uniqueness of his heritage at a young age and has studied and preserved it as his life's work. Comparing ballads with him has been a joy. I took my class to a special session he held today so they could hear his stories and singing. He told a version of a story many storytellers know as The Great Hairy Toe, but told it in such a lively way, with details, colloquialisms, asides and droll expressions that the story was completely his own, a crafted and exceptional telling. His singing of Sweet Williams Ghost had about 34 stanzas! What a memory. What a treasure he is.

Another outstanding presenter is Elizabeth LaPrelle, who is coordinating many of the vocal activities and teaching a mini-course in ballads as well as holding a nightly song swap. Hmeat er voice is beautiful and again she also sings many ballads that are variations of ones I know.

Today my class worked on a story to tell. I selected stories for them short stories that I thought had enough meat in them to be easily visualized and learned. My students studied their stories, made notes and after about 30 minutes gave telling them a try. Their presentations were very good; we then discussed how to deepen the stories, what might need clarification, tweaking of presentations re more active language, using dialogue, adding description, and strengthening beginnings and endings, and identifying key points to give special emphasis in the telling. When the Road Scholars joined us, one of my students told her story to them and got an excellent response. We talked then about how to prepare a story for telling, what is different between telling and reading a piece, and then I told a story that is one I wrote and don't often tell, and we further discussed elements of telling that audiences often are unaware of. It was a good, relaxed afternoon, a conversation and sharing time, very like being on the porch and just talking. And yet, we covered so many interesting and important aspects of storytelling.

The poetry group today was a spur-of-the-moment idea. Several of us (about 6, I think), gathered to read poems and talk about poetry. As any poet knows, opportunities to read are rare and we tend to grab hold of them!

This evening I am resting; I may wander out later to listen or to find a singing group to share songs. Or I may just sleep! Tomorrow is our road trip to explore a historic little town and follow up with discussion of a story connected to that place. It will be my last afternoon hour with the Road Scholars and I am sorry to see it end. It's been a pleasure for me, and I hope for them as well.

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Augusta, Day 3:Nature and Family

Nature walk, old time Victrola, concerts, ghosts and geneology were the order of the day yesterday.

In the morning I took my class for a nature walk. Well, it was more like a stroll as we took our time just walking along the road and identifying useful plants. In truth, there aren't many that are not useful in one way or another. We identified about 40 plants and trees that could be used for food, medicine, basketmaking, etc. I suppose my favorite woodland plant is the spicewood wood, which I wrote about a couple years ago in this post. It is a pretty bush, the leaves have a spicy scent, it can be used for medicinal purposes and the red berries can be dried to make an allspice substitute.
After our walk we discussed how to incorporate such information into stories; I talked about weatherlore and other folklore that I've written about on this blog in the past. Check the folklore, weatherlore and wildflower labels to read more.

Early afternoon brought a concert with Junior Holstein, my husband's cousin and one of a dying breed--an old-time fiddle player who knew old mountain tunes and songs from the older days. It was an excellent concert and he played my favorite, Mockingbird, in which he incorporates bird songs played on his fiddle. I got to wondering just how he was related to Larry. Neither of them really knew, so during my late afternoon break I did some geneology. What I found was surprising. Even though they had the same last name, lived only a fe miles apart and knew they were related somehow, the last in-common relative I found in the straight line of descendancy was born in 1802! So how many times removed is that cousinship? There may be other links through marriages over the years but the blood relative they share is a long ways back. There is more to that story I will write later.

Before doing geneology, I had my afternoon session with the Road Scholars. Yesterday I focused on ghost stories and told several--and heard a couple good stories from the scholars themselves. Then after dinner was the Masters concert, featuring Junior. He was got a standing ovation, well deserved in my book. I also got to spend some time talking with Junior's nephew Gary Jordan, who looks after Junior as best he can--the man is an independent soul. Gary is a great guy; we exchanged contact information and I hope to get together with both Gary and Junior soon.

Another evening program featured an old crank victrola and 78 rpm records. It was an experience to listen to old songs played on the technology they were created for. Carter Family and other singers were on the recordings. I loved it. Talk about a green machine!

I stayed up a while longer to attend a song swap. One girl asked if anyone knew Silver Dagger, and do you know in that fairly small group (about 10 people) there were 5 different versions of the song? Fascinating to hear all the others, especially the Irish one.

I finally gave it up and headed for bed around midnight. Daylight seems to come quickly to start the next day. Today? All kinds of adventures ahead.

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Update: Found the Ballad Singers

I found them! I went looking for singing last night; everywhere there was music. The air was filled with a great cacaphony of sound as one group and another played on the porches, in front of the tiny campus bar called the Icehouse, and even in the back of a pickup truck. As I wandered and listened I ran into a couple other ladies who were also looking for singing, so we meandered to a stairwell known for its incredible acoustics and started singing.

It didn't take long for a few others to join us. And as usual with ballads, different versions were shared or one song reminded someone of another. A reference to a willow tree, the words "and the rocks melt in the sun" brought forth other ballads.

It was a great time. I made it back and to bed by 1:30 to be ready for today's class, and who knows what else might come?

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

At Augusta: Day One

Well, my word. There is wi-fi available all over the Davis & Elkins campus, so getting online is no problem, Finding time to blog might not be as easy as linking up, though. The schedule is full; there is so much to do here.

This is a combination of Old-Time Week, Vocals Week, and Dance Week, with traditional Appalachian craft classes and culminating with the Augusta Festival. The class I am teaching starts at 9 am and goes until 4pm. Within that timeframe, there is an hour or so for lunch, and the Road Scholars (formerly Elderhostel) folks come for a storytelling presentation. After class there are activities of all kinds: dancing, porch parties, special one-time classes, concerts, mini-courses and more.

I was up early today to shower and get to breakfast, then to the library to set up for my students. It's a small class but that doesn't impact planning. I hooked up the CD/cassette player (some of what I want to share with them was only available on cassette) and my laptop, rearranged the furniture and was ready to begin.

We started, as many things do in the mountains, with conversation. I wanted to get to know my students, their background, why they came and what they wanted to learn. We discussed what they thought "Appalachian storytelling" is and why. We watched some short video clips from Melissa Rogers' West Virginia Storytelling Project and discussed the storytellers and the material on the video. Then it was already lunch time.

After lunch we talked a bit more about storytelling, how to turn an anecdote into a story and I gave some examples. In no time, it seemed, it was 2:30 and the Road Scholars began arriving. What a fun group they are! We again started with a little conversation, and then I told stories, leading from my story of coming to West Virginia with such naive expectations, learning how to live in the old-time way, and leading into a few tall tales, a ghost story and a traditional Jack tale. The time passed swiftly and the hour was over.

My students and I finished the day discussing research techniques to find stories and variations of stories and how to find a story within an everyday conversation.

The first day of class was over. I took a walk along a nature trail to prepare for tomorrow when we will take a nature walk and discuss plant lore and folklore and the impact of environment on life in the mountains and the stories told here. After my walk I returned to my room to write some notes, catch up on email and  rest. Then I skipped dinner and walked down the hill to a class on Appalachian dialect. Fascinating! It was a casual give-and-take conversation between listeners and the instructor, and the room was full. I was glad to meet Bob McMillion who taught the class; he is a storyteller, balladsinger and folklorist from North Carolina, and an interesting man.

I have tried to find balladsingers here interested in getting together to swap songs but so far no luck. There is plenty of singing going on--group and harmony singing which is fun but I had hoped to find other balladsingers too. If they are here I have not found them, but this is only day one and I am still learning my way around.

Now I am resting a bit before going back out to hear some fine old-time music, maybe watch some dancing and then joining a late-night singing circle. Who knows? I may find the ballad singers there.

Copyright 2007 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Catching Up! Storytelling and Writing News

I have exciting news on three fronts: I'll be a presenter at both the OOPS Conference (that's the Ohio Order for the Preservation of Storytelling) in Mount Vernon, Ohio May 4-6, and for the Sharing the Fire Northeast Storytelling Conference in Albany, New York March 16-18. Can you say thrilled? That's what I am. It's been a while since I've been to either conference and I am looking forward to seeing many friends at each.My OOPS presentation will focus on short stories anyone can tell, and the Sharing the Fire presentation is a showcase on Appalachian ballads. Singing and stories, life doesn't get much better than that.

I have also been asked to teach a week-long Appalachian Storytelling class for the Augusta Heritage Series at Davis & Elkins College from August 7-14, 2012. Some of you will remember that I attended Irish/Celtic Week the summer before last. I made many friends there and went back to visit a bit this past summer. Augusta Heritage is a unique, weeklong immersion in a specific interest area (Celtic, Cajun,Old-Time, etc) with many opportunities to meet and listen to the best musicians, singers, and artists in that area. I will be teaching my class during Old-Time Week, a good fit for Appalachian Storytelling. I hope to see some friends in the class :) I promise a good time with lots of laughter and learning.

Storytelling world is a small world really, and over the years I've made friends all over the US and even overseas. We keep in touch through a listserve and through Facebook, and every so often I actually get to see some of them in person at conferences and festivals. This year I plan to do a little more traveling now that I am retired and beginning to figure out that I can relax a bit. The National Storytelling Conference is coming to Cincinnati this year, too, from June 28-July 1, and I am planning to attend it as well. I can't believe that it has been six years since I last attended the national conference, and I am so looking forward to seeing lots of friends from all around the country there.

I have some new gigs coming up, one tomorrow night for a local church and another next week for an elementary school in Columbus, Ohio. The schedule has certainly slowed down, but this is a good thing for three reasons: first, I won't have to travel in winter weather if I don't want to; second, I need to write some grants; third, I need to work on program development for the coming year; and lastly, I just need to write in general. So many ideas, now it's time to get them on paper.

On the writing front, my poem Olfactory Mystery was published in the Fall issue of Holler.  (I am very lax about submitting my work and that is something I need to correct. It does me no good just sitting on my computer.) I am also hosting an open mic at the local library once a month, helping with a new teen writing group at the library and meeting weekly with my adult writing group. Today I visited a writing group in another county and I'd like to go back again--new voices and new ears are always beneficial to a writer seeking input and ideas.  

The new year is looking bright for storytelling. I am already booking Summer Reading shows for libraries, and I will be doing more marketing of my ghost stories program and the Christmas carols program with Jeff that was new this year, with plans to expand the Christmas show to two programs, one for children and one for adults.

That's the update on what's going on in my storytelling and writing life. Now back to our regularly scheduled blog :)

Friends and Potato Soup

I am so excited! Catherine Crowe is coming to visit! Catherine is an amazing Celtic enameling artist and a beautiful ballad singer. I met her this summer at Augusta Heritage Irish Week, and we stayed in touch on Facebook. That's how I learned that she was coming to Cedar Lakes to teach a Road Scholar class on enameling. We've been emailing back and forth trying to find a time to get together.

What does this have to do with potato soup? I invited Catherine for dinner and since I work all day I thought I'd make something in advance that was simple and would be easy to heat up. With this cool fall weather, soup seemed like a good choice--soup, with cornbread made from the stone-ground meal I bought at Jackson's Mill , a salad, and poached pears with vanilla gelatto and drizzled with our honey for dessert. Add wine, good coffee and conversation. Stir well. Should serve three comfortably.

Here's the soup recipe. Talk about easy!

Peel and cut up about 4 cups of potatoes. You don't have to peel, of course, but I did.

Dice 3 stalks of celery and one or two onions. I'm not sure how much I used because I used my frozen onions--I put in a little less than half of a quart bag.

Chop up one large clove of garlic, about a teaspoonful.

Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a dutch oven--about a 4-6 quart pan. Add the chopped veggies and saute until the onions are clear.

Cover the sauteed vegetables with boiling water, add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt (optional) and 3 bay leaves (also optional, but I like them). and cook until the potatoes are soft.

At this point you can put the pan in the fridge and finish making the soup the next day, or continue to the next steps.

Here's where you can make some choices. You can put the soup through the blender for smooth soup, mash it with a potato masher for a chunky soup (my preference) or not mash the veggies at all. You can also add some milk to the blended soup and cook to a boil, adding a little more butter and some paprika. Or you can mash with a masher, add the paprika and maybe a little ground black pepper and no milk at all. I chose this last option. In the photo above, I had not yet mashed the soup so the vegetables were still pretty chunky.

Actually, I've made this soup twice in the past day. I made it Sunday night because I thought Catherine was coming tonight perhaps---we had not got it all figured out. I thought I was good to go for tomorrow but when I got home, I found that Larry had eaten a goodly portion of it for lunch! So I made it again. It's so simple it only takes about 10 minutes to chop the vegetables and another 15 or so to cook the soup.

Two other favorite potato soup recipes are potato-dill soup and potato-corn chowder (that is luscious!). I haven't posted the potato-dill soup recipe yet, but you can find the chowder recipe by clicking here. All are perfect for fall and winter meals. Comfort food at its best.

Wordless Wednesday: Halliehurst

This won't be an entirely wordless post this week!

This is where my class on singing and song performance took place during Augusta Heritage's Irish/Celtic Week. It was built by Stephen Elkins, who was a railroad developer and timber man during the boom days, at the turn of the last century. he built it for his wife Hallie and named the mansion Halliehurst.  Most of the materials used to build the house were from West Virginia.

Our class was held in the library. (Lots of orbs in this photo...hmmm...)

The fireplace in the library. The carvings around the top are the zodiac signs.

Detail of the fireplace carvings.

The front entrance hall.

The ladies' room.

Playing with the camera! Both images are reflections of me as I took the photo.

Front staircase. The woodwork was stunning.

The fireplace in the "Veteran's room."

Not a bad place to have class! There were, I think, three pianos in the house, or perhaps more. I did not take photos of the third floor ballroom with its fairytale stained glass windows; there may have been another piano in that room as well.

Halliehurst is supposed to be haunted, and a couple experiences we had there make me think there is some truth to the story. You can read more about the supposed hauntings of Halliehurst here and here.

The Icehouse

By day it's a quiet round stone building, hidden over the side of a steep hill. A hobbit house, almost.

But by night...

The little joint rocks! During Augusta's Irish week Thursday night is reserved for the "Country Roads" jam. Everyone piles in after the ceildh to play, listen, dance, sing and laugh. The Icehouse is three floors tall, with an open center so you can see all the way to the top ...

and all the way down to the bar on the lowest level.

Here is just some of the action last Thursday night:

Irish fiddler Liz Carroll and Bronwyn (don't know her last name) heated up the strings in one corner.

while Robbie O'Connell, Joanie Madden, Jim Flanagan, and others joined in on funny song, Then dancers hit the floor. Now we're talking about a very small space, but somehow they made room for two to dance. We were directly across the "well" from where the musicians and dancers were, so we had a front row seat for the evening's music.

What a night. What a night. One to remember.

If you'd like to enjoy some of the music of these fine musicians, check out these links: