This Side of the Mountain

This Side of the Mountain_____________ James Gage Welcome to the fall issue of Appalachian Heritage. We are pleased to bring you new fiction, poetry, articles and essays from throughout the region, as well as Marianne Worthington's interview with rising Appalachian writer Silas House. We are also delighted to include with this issue, as a Holiday Gift for our readers, a compact disc of music compiled from Berea College's Celebration of Traditional Music, held annually since 1974 on the last weekend in October. This is our way of thanking you, our readers, for supporting our efforts to publish the very best writing from and about the Appalachian Region. The drawing which accompanies this text is of the Doll Tree. My family and I came upon it in the mid-seventies, during a Sunday drive. East of Berea, in Bear Wallow, near the intersection of Log Cabin Road with Arthur Jackson Road—a pin oak festooned with dolls, Jack-olanterns , teddy bears, an Easter bunny and other curiosities. Ralph Price snapped a picture of it in 1976 and, twenty-five years later, worked from his photograph to produce this drawing for the fall Appalachian Heritage. Happy reading, happy listening, and a joyous holiday season. See you at next year's Berea College Celebration of Traditional Music, October 25-27, 2002. Appalachian Heritage CD Tracks Special thanks to Harry Rice, Sound Archivist at Berea College's Hutchins Library, Engineer Otto Helmuth at Spray Records, and Noah Arevalo, assistant to the CD project. 1 Darlin' CoryI.D. Stamper (1976). Stamper, who grew up in Letcher County, Kentucky, was a powerful dulcimer player. That he was also a strong drop-thumb banjo picker is reflected in his driving style. 2 Big FootBruce Green and Karen Collins (1977). Bruce learned this tune from the playing of legendary Magoffin County, Kentucky, fiddler John Salyer, whose sons permitted Greene to listen to recordings they made of their father during the 1940s. Karen Collins studied banjo with the Reverend Buell Kazee, who, as a youngster in Magoffin County, played with John Salyer. 3 1 Have NoGinny Hawker and Kay Justice (1989). These two Mother Nowcontemporary West Virginia singers draw upon their Primitive Baptist musical tradition. Hawkins also performs with her husband, Tracy Schwarz. 4 Hot Corn Asa Martin and the Cumberland Rangers (1975). Martin dropped out of college in 1927 to join a vaudeville orchestra. Perhaps best known for his partnership with Fiddling Doc Roberts, Asa Martin played in numerous settings over the years, including a stint in Gene Autrey's movie band. The Cumberland Rangers were his buddies in retirement—autoharpist Buzz Brezeale, fiddler Jim Gaskin (an emcee at Renfro Valley) and Gilbert Thomas on Mandolin. Martin wrote Hot Corn. 5 The Last Waltz Mack Snodderly (1978). Doc Snodderly is a dental health professional in Haywood County, North Carolina, and a favorite at Asheville's Mountain Dance and Folk Festival. 6 Barbara AllenBradley Kincaid (1978). A Garrard County, Kentucky, native, Country Music Hall of Famer Bradley Kincaid began singing the old ballads on WLS, Chicago, in 1924, 7 Why Should I Cry Over You? 8 New River Train 9 Birmingham jail and soon became famous all over the country as the Kentucky Mountain Boy. He died in 1989. Gem Sisters (1981). Carol Elizabeth Jones and Gay K. Kay (now Gingrich) sang together during the 1980s, before marriages and babies. The song is from South Carolina's Poplin Family. Byard Ray and the Appalachian Folks (1976). Fiddler Ray teamed up here with some of his Madison County, North Carolina neighbors, including Betty Smith and Vivian Hartsoe. Ray died in the early eighties. Cliff Carlisle (1978). Cliff Carlisle was interested in Hawaiian music and in black American blues styles, both of which are represented in his dobro playing. He recorded widely, beginning in 1930, often with his brother Bill as the Carlisle Brothers. 10 Cool ofthe Day Jean Ritchie (1975). This Perry County, Kentucky, traditional singer, graduate of the University of Kentucky and Fulbright scholar was at the vanguard of the folk revival of the 1960s. She remains one of the most traditional and influential resources in American folk music. This is her own composition. 11 Glory to...