Those Settlement Schools: Harmful or Benign? Three Responses to Harry Robie

Those Settlement Schools: Harmful or Benign? Three Responses to Harry Robie In our Winter 1991 issue, Harry Robie, a Berea faculty member, argued that the settlement schools in Appalachia had proved to be a major influence in the destruction of a distinctive mountain culture. The creators of these schools, said the author, "were clearly in the hills to intervene in the local culture," and therefore they inevitably hurt as well as helped the people they had come to serve. This article, titled "Resolved: That on Balance the Settlement Schools Were Harmful to the Culture of the Southern Mountains," has aroused a great deal of discussion, much of it strongly disapproving. We cannot claim to be surprised at this; in fact, we expected many readers to disagree with the author's thesis, and we hoped that some of the critics would write down their reactions and share them with us. We have not been disappointed. Alumni of the schools have shown themselves fierce in loyalty and relentless in argument. In the following pages we present three strongly felt responses to the Robie thesis. Since we are eminently fair-minded, we conclude this section with a rejoinderfrom the writer who started all the fuss. 1. My Settlement School—John H. Deaton Harry Robie's fallacious indictment of settlement schools must not be allowed to go unchallenged. It would be impossible for even a knowledgeable scholar to attribute identical goals and objectives to such a diverse group of institutions and evaluate the results collectively in an objective manner. His effort is a regurgitation of sterile gleanings from dubious sources. The Pine Mountain Story 1913-1980 by Mary Rogers is a source he should not have overlooked. I have drawn on it freely for the facts I offer in rebuttal. If Mr. Robie's logic were used to make stew, the meat, vegetables, and seasoning would be omitted, leaving the cook with nothing but hot water. It's too bad that apparently he neither visited a settlement school nor talked with anyone who either attended or worked at one. I accept the fact that my settlement school changed my cultural concepts 45 and exposed me to new and exciting things, such as indoor plumbing, central heating, and electricity. I have no doubt that my experiences parallel those of many of my classmates who were also refugees from the coal camps of southeastern Kentucky. I do not accept Mr. Robie's claim that my cultural heritage was harmed. Obviously, he has never spent a wintry morning hugging a coal stove and dreading a trip to a friendly but frigid outhouse. Doing homework by a smoky coal oil lamp was not all that much of a thrill either. During its seventy-seven years of service to the residents of both its contiguous and "fur off areas, Pine Mountain Settlement School has remained true to the charge of its founder, Uncle William Creech. He said: "I don't want hit to be a benefit just for my own grandchildren and the neighbors, but for the whole county, and the state, and the nation— and the people acrost the sea too, if they can get any benefit out of hit." He deeded his land to be used for school purposes as long as the Constitution of the United States stands. From its beginning, Pine Mountain Settlement School has attracted a staff of dreamers and doers. That tradition began in 1913 with Katherine Pettit and Uncle William Creech and it is very much alive today. Adults as well as children were, and are, part of the school's interest and concern. There was no attempt to substitute an alien culture for that which was present. Instead , there was an exchange of the best of both worlds. By example, the school encouraged better farming methods and stock management. Local adults taught both the students and the teachers how to spin, dye, and weave. The students were taught personal hygiene and manners. They, in turn, introduced their teachers to ballads and singing games. The existing culture was emphasized and encouraged , not harmed. Four separate and distinct core programs were developed in anticipation of and in response to changing needs. They can...