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.