From Morning to Evening, What a Fine Birthday

Today started early--I was on the porch at dawn, hoping to see that moment when, as my friend Dianne Hackworth reminded me, the sun stands still. But fog and clouds hid old Sol from my view--and that was all right because the rain last night was most welcome.

We left at 8am to go back to the West Virginia Folk Festival for a second day in the Oral Traditions Tent. We were there yesterday for my performance time in the tent. It was hot, hot, hot, but the audience was pretty cool and into the stories, poems and ballads I shared.

For the past few years, the festival has occurred on my birthday weekend so I am usually there and not having cake and ice cream at home. It's well worth it to hear such good stories and poems and to see people I may not see again for months, and to be surrounded by music and crafts in a small community nestled in the West Virginia hills (and home to the state song by that name).

 Two friends collaborated to surprise me this year with not just a cake, but a cake topped with a fizzing sparkler! What fun that was! I am still smiling from the surprise and laughter of that moment.

The cake was mighty good too. We shared pieces with everyone in the tent, a sweet treat on the first day of summer.

A highlight this year was Kirk Judd's presentation of poems in his new book, My People Was Music. Kirk doesn't read his poetry, he performs it, and his poems tell stories--stories of mountain hikes, of heritage and music, of friends and family and life in these hills. Not all easy words, but all worth hearing. The tent was full to capacity and beyond for his performance. Afterwards we visited with a fiddle player from Cincinnati who told me a few ghost stories. He was curious about the story behind the name of the small community of Burnt House, so I told him the story of the murders and the supposed appearance of the girl who burned to death in a fire there (a story you can find on my CD, Beyond the Grave).

I visited the historic Holt House to see a fellow Two Lane Livin' writer, Karen Pennebaker. While there I toured the house--built in 1901, the same time period as the house I grew up in, it had much of the same woodwork and trim. I especially loved the kitchen, though, with its "border" of aprons. What a fun way to display them.

I had another reason for my visit to Holt House--lemon ammonia cookies! They are delicious, and I look for them every year. This is NOT household ammonia, this is baking ammonia, and old time ingredient used to make the cookies rise. This link will take you to a recipe that looks and sounds much like the cookies I bought today.

The rain held off almost all day, but late in the afternoon the skies opened and dumped torrents of rain. Susan Sheppard of Parkersburg forged ahead with her reading, even though water was pooling at her feet.

Judi Tarowsky followed, and her husband of 44 years provided shelter for his wife. That's love, friends. (And believe me, both of them were a lot happier about it than the photo appears--what happens when I grab a quick snap with my phone sometimes.) I have to give props to Judi and Susan--real troupers, both of them, and great storytellers.

Now I am home and packing again for a week away at the fantastic Allegheny Echoes Music and Creative Writing Workshops (with a little break to do a program for the library in Lost Creek, WV). I have done some of my best writing at Echoes, and am looking forward to a week of evenings in a cabin on the banks of the Greenbrier River and days working with other writers to craft new work.

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

A Little Catch-Up Time

I've been posting about our trip for the past month, but there's been a lot going on while I've been writing about England and Ireland. Here's a few of the more recent happenings.

October 19th: Home--the leaves have been breathtaking this year--as they are most years, actually. This was taken about two weeks ago.

October 20th: Beechnuts! I have never, ever seen or tasted them before. But we saw some along the roadside a couple weeks back and stopped to pick them up and taste them. Larry says that the squirrels get them fast and no wonder. They're absolutely delicious.

 October 26th:The Ohio River, early morning as I traveled to Ohio to present a storytelling workshop.

 It was a frosty morning on the river; the little houses along its banks looked snug and cozy despite the cold.

 October 27th: We drove back to Boone County, WV to visit my husband's family cemetery again.

October 30th: Then later in the week, we drove to central West Virginia for a storytelling day at a school in Richwood, WV. It was a day of ghost stories, and the mist rising from the hollows certainly played to the theme.

 October 31: The following day I was in Roane County at an elementary school, again telling ghost stories. I took the back way home and came through Duncan, WV. The old general store is still standing but just barely. I remember when it was still in operation, back when I was a rural mail carrier on the route close to this store.

October 30: While I told stories in Richwood, Larry visited Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park. This is the park's museum. There are many ghost stories connected with this location--sightings of soldiers, sounds of battle and much more, reported over the past century or so by many people who have no connection or contact with each other.

 The tower at the park. Larry climbed it, and said it was quite an experience.

October 20: Two weekends ago, we went to my son's house for our annual cider-making.

 We made 16 gallons in less than two hours, had a fine cookout and lots of good conversation.

 October 21: I took part in a performer's showcase for the Pennsylvania Library Association near Washington, PA. The countryside was simply beautiful--high, gently rolling mountain ridgeland.

October 21: the sun setting over the Monongahela River near Morgantown, WV as we drove home from the PA showcase.

 November 3: the beechnut trees on Joe's Run, as I returned from my trip to Kentucky, for the Keentucky Storytelling Association'conference.

 Homeward bound on Joe's Run.

That's just a few of the places I traveled last month. It was a busy month, full of beauty, people, performing and learning.

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

West Virginia Storytelling Festival, Jackson's Mill

I intended to write more about Grantchester this evening, but after a long day of driving I am going to take a rain check on that post and instead share photos of last week's storytelling festival at Jackson's Mill, WV. The Mill, as it is called by those who love it, was the boyhood home of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and today is operated by WVU's Extension Service as a Conference Center and 4-H camp.

This was the 17th year for the storytelling festival, making it the oldest one in West Virginia. I've been a teller at all but two of those years--I was a listener the first year, just getting my feet wet with storytelling, and had another engagement another year (I believe it was 1999). Being part of this festival every year is something I treasure: the faces, the familiar staff, the lovely grounds, and the knowledge that I am walking on historic ground combine to create an atmosphere that is positive and forward-looking while still acknowledging and respecting the past.

The Extension Services staff are excellent to work with. The event goes smoothly; all I need to worry about is being ready with new stories and getting there on time. The rest is taken care of.

4-H agents from around the state come to help with crowd control and logistics. They know and love kids and bring high energy and enthusiasm to the festival.

Early morning at the mill before the buses arrived:

 

In the assembly hall, all is in readiness:

And here they are! One entire school, that fills the room corner to corner. Did we have fun? Yes we did! Hmm, I look like the Headless Woman in this photo.

 

 

Nope, still have my head. Whew.

 

Millstones are everywhere at Jackson's Mill. Wonder why?

One of two log cabins on the property. This one has a kitchen attached by a dogtrot, a wise move in the days of frequent kitchen fires.

The McWhorter cabin, reflected in the mill pond:

 

Fall color was just beginning to peak.

March Harshman, West Virginia's Poet Laureate, ramps it up wit the kids. He's an excellent storyteller and presenter. How many poets do you know who love being around children?

At the West Virginia building, the buses line up:

And inside everyone is ready for a story.

Some members of the Jackson family rest in this peaceful graveyard; looks quiet here, but there is actually a busy road bordering one side.

After the rains on Thursday.

Looking forward to another great festival next year!

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

Catching Up on the Last 10 Days: Spencer, Shepherdstown, Antietam, Morgantown, Charleston, Jackson's Mill

I did almost nothing the last two days, and after reviewing the photos on my camera, I see why. It's been a wild ride. Here's a video diary of where we've been:

Spencer, WV, October 5: Tamarack Foundation's Artisan Fair. This is just one of the many artists who came to display and demonstrate their craft. I was there telling stories and selling my books and CDs.

The event included an evening dinner and presentations and music by the Carpenter Ants.

October 9: Shepherdstown, WV: Telling stories for the WV Library Association's annual conference, with my good friend, storyteller and retired coal miner Fred Powers. We presented a program of coal stories, songs, poems and artifacts, the first time we'd ever tried this presentation. It went very well, and I hope we will have opportunities in the future to do it again. Attendance was disappointing, especially considering this was a free performance and Fred and I had both traveled over 6 hours to be there. Usually my presentations for the library conference are well attended, but it's the luck of the draw--and the librarians seemed more drawn to the karaoke downstairs! (And some of those singers sounded pretty good, too!)

October 10th: My friend Liz's home near Antietam in Maryland. This home has something really unique: a picture of the man who built it, and a handwritten history of the house and its owners. When do you ever find something like that? The tree is a pecan, which surprised me--pecans this far north? This tree is huge!

October 10: The War Correspondents Memorial near Antietam Battlefield. It was raining so hard I could only take a few shots and duck back in the van.

 The park was closed due to the government shutdown so we could not visit the visitors center, but we were still able to drive around the park. On this rainy day, the somber mood reflected the history of the place, site of the Civil War's bloodiest battle, with over 22,000 killed, injured, or missing in one day's fighting.

 Antietam Creek, history says, ran red that day. Today it was calm and clear, with no sign of the horror of that day of battle.

 A lone sentinel still stands watch.

 Saturday, October 12: Morgantown, WV. Telling ghost stories with Jason at the Morgantown Library. We had a great crowd with friends, fans and new faces. My sister Theresa and her husband were in attendance, as was my good friend Susan, a folklore student at Fairmont and soon-to-be, I am sure, storyteller. We had lunch and lots of conversation, then headed to Fairmont for my son Aaron's 40th birthday party. We had so much fun there I forgot to take pictures!

 Saturday, October 12, evening, Charleston, WV: We got to C harleston just in time to see the incredible Liz O'Connell and Daithi Sproule in concert. Irish music at its best! And better than anything we heard in Ireland during our brief stay. This long day started at 5:30am and ended at 12:30am.

Sunday and Monday, October 13 and 14: Catch-up time! Rest, laundry, cleaning, rest, writing, rest, writing, rest, work on stories, rest, work on songs, rest. And repeat.

Tuesday, October 15: Work on stories, pack, drive to Weston, WV for the Jackson's Mill Storytelling Festival. Tonight's moon over Jackson's Mill. What a beauty.

Tomorrow and Thursday: Stories, stories, stories!

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

Busy Storytelling Times Ahead

Today was another work-on-the-booth day. I was in Athens, Ohio, adding new items to my booth and getting the accounting of my sales straightened out. Thankfully it proved to be an easy task, and in the end I was well pleased with the results. This booth is really doing well.

Tomorrow is the start of three days of storytelling. I'll be in Clendenin, WV tomorrow night with my musician friend Jeff Seager, presenting stories and songs in celebration of our state's 150th birthday. If you're in that area, stop by the library around 6pm and say hello.

Friday I'll be in Glenville, WV to tell stories in the Oral Traditions Tent at the West Virginia State Folk Festival. This is one of the best oldtime festival around--small enough to be enjoyable, with a stunning array of musical talent lined up along with dancing, a spelling bee, shape-note singing and much more. It's a step back to a better time.

Then Saturday is the real hoopla: The Sesquicentennial Celebration at the WV State Capitol in Charleston, WV. I will be one of four storytellers on the Capitol grounds, telling stories for our state's history and culture. It will be a grand day, make no mistake. I am so excited about being part of it.

So if I'm quiet here, you know why. The gardens continue to bless us with goodness, the new truck is finally home, and all is well at chez Holstein. I hope the same is true for you.

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

Getting Ready to Travel, and Thinking about Stories

I have a short trip on tap this weekend, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. I'm heading to the fair city of Philadelphia to wallow in stories with 5 storytelling friends. The plan is to work intensively on our work--crafting stories, discussing technique, character development, framing and all those details that make a tale memorable and worthy of being told.

So today I'm packing. It's been at least 8 years since I last flew, and now I am learning about all the new restrictions and figuring out what I can pack and what I can't. That means a trip to the store to get the right sizes of toiletries, something I hadn't really thought about. I remember now why I decided I didn't want to fly anymore, but that decision doesn't make sense if I want to go places outside of driving distance, so I need to learn the new ropes. Because this fall, we're planning a trip to England and we'll most certainly be flying there!

I have been thinking about what story to work on too. There are so many in my mind that I want to develop. I realized that in recent years I have been moving more and more towards telling stories from history--both factual and legendary tales, most of them centered in my state of West Virginia and in the Appalachian region. I still tell many folktales, certainly, and have not lost any my love of those, but the stories of my home state really call to me and there are amazing tales that need to be told before they are forgotten or only recorded in archives, hidden from view and ear.


So do I bring one of those stories with me? Or should I add to my store of folktales? Or work on one of my stories for this summer's library programs? So many choices, and which will be most worthy of this rare opportunity of time and colleagues who can provide the much-needed feedback? I think I will bring both stories, and let the one that speaks loudest to me at the time be the one that gets attention.

So the story that comes home may be of salvation via a flaming Christmas tree in the early frontier days of these mountains, or it may be of a girl who loves a white bear, or the strange Welsh tale of King Arthur's cave? Such a richness of choices! Which would you choose?



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