On the Road: Day 3--Franklin and Piedmont

Last Thursday I traveled to Franklin, WV and Piedmont, WV, with my two "sub-contractors" Grace and Clayton.

Two towns could not be more different. Franklin nestles against the side of a mountain and serves a rural population, many of whom who are of strong German descent.

The Corner Cafe in Franklin still boasts a soda fountain. Clayton and Grace enjoyed our lunch there, especially the ice cream!

Okay, Granny indulges them a little bit. Grace is a little wired after blue raspberry rock candy!

A young participant in Franklin helps tell a story.

The library in Franklin is exceptionally situated with a stupendous mountain view. We presented two programs there, one for preschool-age children and one for older children and adults. I liked this format because I was able to tailor the program specifically for each age group. it meant swapping out props quickly between sets, but definitely worth the effort.

Librarian Virginia Bates was on hand to help set up and was present for the programs as much as her workload allowed. As with so many small libraries, she wears many hats, and on this day was working the desk as well as being our host. The well-planned set-up and great volunteers made this a fun and easy performance for me.

Piedmont, on the other hand, is industrial. Historically a paper mill town, today it struggles to stay viable. Oddly, in order to get to Piedmont I had to leave West Virginia and go into Maryland! Piedmont was the setting for Henry Louis Gates' National Book Award-winning book, Colored People.

The librarians at Piedmont go all out to attract children to programs. They offer evening movies in the park, and had refreshments for my program too. Although a heavy rain preceded the program, about 10-15 children arrived at the park to listen. I think this was due to the librarians--they know the children by name, call to remind them of programs, and make a real effort to make it an event. In a town with so many challenges, I think the library is a real bright spot for the community. Kudos to those librarians who make things happen with few resources but a lot of commitment and ingenuity!

I've been working backward through the week, so that the posts read in order, top down, for the past week. I've missed a few things that will go into a catch-all post after I've got all the major events covered.

Mountain Geography: What the Words Mean

What the...? I would love to know where the name of this holler came from. 

Often when I'm telling stories, I find that I need to stop to define some term of mountain geography that is not familiar to someone from another part of the country. 

 I'll start with the top and work down: Ridge: mountain, usually refers to the top where it is suitable for a trail or even a road. This is where you get those long-range views. 

Head of the holler (hollow): where a small stream starts, beginning the valley or cut into the side of the ridge (or mountain, take your pick). There is usually a spring that is the source of the stream. 

 Spring: where an underground stream of water finds its way to the surface. Usually detectable by lush vegetation, soft ground, animal sign. The trees around a spring are sometimes different--willows, for example. 

 Run: the small stream that "runs" from the head of the holler and down the mountain. A neighbor once explained to me that it is called a run because "sometimes it runs, sometimes it don't!" Runs are often dry, especially in the summer months, but run very briskly after a storm. I saw a few good road names on these today: Whiskey Run, Cider Run, Cow House Run, Skull Run. The one on the sign above we saw while traveling to Twin Falls State Park. I passed Gamble's Run today, the scene of a murder in 1894, and the resulting ghost story. 

 Hollow (holler): small valley with a run or creek running through it. Flat: a piece of relatively flat land that is located on the side of a ridge. Not completely flat, but flatter than the land around it! 

 Creek: (and pronounced that way, not "crick" in my part of WV) When several runs join together as they head downhill, they form a larger stream called a creek. Creeks usually have water in them year-round. Some creeks are very large and deep. When creeks join together and form a large enough stream, they may be designated as a river. 

My favorite creek name in WV is Strange Creek, named for William Strange who got lost in that area in the 1790's and carved a poem into a tree saying ""Strange is my name and strange the ground, and strange that I cannot be found." His rifle was found propped against the tree where he died. 

 Bottom: the flat land alongside a creek. Usually very rich and desirable soil, but prone to flooding in downpours or periods of heavy rain. Many people in WV live in the bottomland, but most try to locate their houses in places less likely to be in the water's path. Some of these names are downright funny too--like Boomer Bottom, Roundbottom, Young Bottom, and Green Bottom. 

 Valley: the land along a river. Often wide, usually flat, and prime cropland--again, prone to flooding. River bottomland has always been the most valuable in the mountains. Even George Washington staked his claim to large tracts in West Virginia in his surveying days! Many towns and cities in WB are located in river valleys. 

 Lick: a place where the spring that reaches the surface has salt in it. Animals, especially deer, will find these places, and lick the ground to get the salt. Pioneers boiled the water down to get salt. Licks can have funny names too--Mud Lick, Gee Lick, Frozen Lick, Fork Lick. 

 I think that about covers it! I've probably missed a few, but these are a good start.