Letters

LETTERS A few years back I wrote in an introduction that one of the rewards of being an editor is the unexpected, but hoped for, exciting manuscript. Another reward, of equal importance, is the gratuitous letter of appreciative interest, understanding or comment. There have been many of these, but selections from them have never been used until now, although consideration of doing so is of long standing. The selection from the Betty Payne Janes letter was particularly appealing because it states so well what Appalachian Heritage has tried to accomplish these eight years now. "Just a note to tell you how much I enjoyed the Spring 1974 issue of Appalachian Heritage. Each issue is seemingly better than the last. I admired everything I read, and especially like the John A. Hicks piece. Better than any historian's social history. —Harriette Arnow, Michigan Author, The Dollmaker ". . .Your work, Appalachian Heritage, is a sensitive portrait of life in Appalachia. It is a very human magazine, a messenger which helps to explain the ordeals and triumphs of our people, and yet, it retains an aesthetic elegance. A difficult balance." —Russell Maraño, Chicago June 1975 "I had delayed sending my renewal as I felt I could scarcely afford it—but I do miss it—so here is my check. —Mrs. Helen, Collins Iowa, 1977 "It is such a privilege to read Appalachian Heritage. God Bless you all." —Mrs Helen H Allen Florida, 1977 "The Fall 1977 Appalachian Heritage arrived in yesterday's mail, and I think it is just about the most beautiful work I've ever seen! There is such a completeness to it. . .indescribable. All the parts fit together so beautifully and gracefully—your mind and your eyes seem to flow with it. I can only say that—speaking as a (former) editor —I wish that I had even one such work to my credit. And yet you do it every time. What a wealth you are creating—a massive builded work that you are bringing together piece by piece, part by part, with grace and feeling and goodness of mind building a storied kind of edifice that represents the world of a particular People, the essence of them in the broadest sense—pulling together the history, the literature, the laughter, the music, the art, the feelings, the loss, the change, always combining the hardness, the stalwartness, the isolatedness , the endurance of the old times with the perspectives of the new times in such a way that one still hears the heartbeat of the old times beating on, beating on in the changing currents and rhythms of the new. —Betty Payne James, Kentucky November 30, 1977 "Your Spring issue is a particularly intesting one, and I wanted to tell you so. The article by Elaine Dillhunt—"No More Snakes in the Mountains"—was of special value in one aspect of my own work, and it should hold interest for staff people in foundations and in federal bureaus which are attempting to help people in the eastern mountains." —J\m Godard Southern Regional Education Board, 1979 "It is a good thing you are doing—especially for all of us who—for one reason or another—find ourselves separated from that blessed heritage. Thanks much —Jane Bishop Hobgood, Illinois, 1980 76 August 8, 1980 Dear Al, It may be that on a summer night you have gone through Property Gap. * August and September are good months to go through the Gap. October is a good month, the full moon in October is agood time. November and Decemberaregood months to visit the place, taking care, of course. Well, it's on the Chattaroy. And you know what ThomasJefferson said about the place. I had a relative who as a boy had the vivid experience of meeting a man named James who was on his way to conduct his usual business in those parts. My relative found that the man was a postmaster. But it was my mother who was careful to tell just right the story of the bank robbery in Huntington. She made the point that the load of the ill-gotten gain was heavy. The James boys did what the wicked sometimes...