CONVERSATIONS - North Carolina Humanities Council
Transcription
CONVERSATIONS - North Carolina Humanities Council
2013 Winter/ Spring N o r t H C a r o l i n a C O N V E R S AT I O N S A PUBLICATION OF THE NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL FR O M T HE CO R NE R O F E L M A ND F R I E N D LY Shelley Crisp, Executive Director Carl Sandburg spent the final twenty-two years of his life working and living at Connemara, the farm outside Flat Rock, North Carolina, that Sandburg and his family purchased from the family of Edward Adger Smythe in 1945. During his years at Connemara, Sandburg composed a third of his literary works (including the address to Congress reprinted as “The Last Word” on page 46), received his second Pulitzer Prize, and was granted lifetime membership into the NAACP. Upon his death in 1967, his wife Lillian sold their home to the National Park Service. In 1974, the home of the “People’s Poet” opened to his beloved people as the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site (www.nps.gov/carl/index.htm). Find out more about Carl Sandburg and his connections to North Carolina in “From the Field” on page 6. Carl Sandburg at his typewriter at Connemara. Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. Photo by W.C. Mutt Burton. N orth Caro lina Conve r s ation s Volu m e 7, Issue 1 W inter / Spring 2013 North Carolina Conversations (ISSN 1941-3165) is published biannually by the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. 122 N. Elm Street, Suite 601 Greensboro, NC 27401 (336) 334-5325 (p) | (336) 334-5052 (f) nchc@nchumanities.org | www.nchumanities.org N orth Caro lina Human ities Counc il Staff Shelley Crisp, Executive Director Lynn Wright-Kernodle, Associate Executive Director and Director of Teachers Institute Anne Tubaugh, Associate Executive Director and Director of Development Darrell Stover, Program Director Debbie Gainey, Finance and Grants Officer Donovan McKnight, Program Officer Carolyn Allen, Program Officer Kristen Jeffers, Public Affairs Officer Chrissy Kaykho, Database Assistant Harlan J. Gradin, Scholar Emeritus De sign Kilpatrick Design, Inc. | www.kilpatrickdesign.com ISS N 1941-3165 ©2013 Table of Contents Last winter I had the privilege of attending two Council-supported programs just around the corner from each other in Raleigh. Both programs addressed memoir and autobiography. They couldn’t have been more different, yet each was uniquely invaluable. The Friends of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences began a series of events examining Science from a Personal Perspective: How Life Stories Help Us Learn. Offered as a “Global Town Hall” at the recently opened Nature Research Center in Raleigh, world-renowned entomologist Dr. E.O. Wilson anchored a three-story stage with multimedia simulcast around the world via the Internet. The event, however, was remarkably personal as Wilson discussed his life’s work, answered questions from audience both ten feet away and thousands of miles distant, and established a dynamic relationship through memory and example of the interconnections between science and the humanities. The second program, a week later, at Saint Paul AME Church, offered Road Scholar Ella Joyce (E.J.) Stewart discussing “Writing in the Familiar,” using texts from the Harlem Renaissance to exemplify the value of personal observation set in writing. Stewart’s audience, much smaller and more local than Wilson’s, was equally rapt and inspired by the power of autobiography to focus a life’s work and worth. I was reminded in both instances of the power and value of public humanities programs. And I was reminded again in December by staff from the Cape Fear Theatre in Fayetteville. It turns out a discussion series that took root two decades ago through support from Humanities Council funding still invites audiences to respond to their theatre experience through discussion and feedback sessions held concurrent with productions. And then again in January, the Jonkonnu performers kicked off the 12th annual African American Cultural Celebration at the N.C. Museum of History which took as its theme “Defining Freedom” in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation written by Abraham Lincoln in September 1862 and signed in 1863. Until 2000, the African American tradition of Jonkonnu — found only in North Carolina in the United States — was performed only once between the 1890s and 1988 until Tryon Palace Historic Site, with support from a Humanities Council grant, revived the celebration. Later this spring, the North Carolina Freedom Project, Inc., of Durham, in association with the history museum and the National Archives, will offer The Emancipation Proclamation: Freedom for All, a two-day symposium, curriculum development, and traveling exhibition based on the Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation symposium too will use Council grant funds. It is humbling to consider how far reaching the Council’s funding has stretched and how long lasting the harvest of public humanities can be. From seeds planted one or even two decades ago come continually challenging conversations, the preservation of culture from our state’s deepest roots, the celebration of historic texts whose promise has unfolded in front of the very eyes of our audiences and their great-grandchildren. And whether North Carolinians are privileged to experience the humanities courtesy of the most cutting edge technology or through the oral histories whose wisdom and experience offer the most timely advice and lessons, the Council is privileged in its work to bring all participants to the table — the many peoples and myriad voices of our one and wonderful state. 2 John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities Betty Ray McCain Honored with 2012 John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities Wherever Betty McCain Has Been, She Has Done Good Work by Robert G. Anthony, Jr. 6 From the Field The Day Carl Sandburg Died: Re-Examining the Man, the Poet, the Activist by Donovan McKnight In the Words of the Filmmaker by Paul Bonesteel Revisiting Sam Greenlee’s The Spook Who Sat by the Door by Sheila Smith McKoy 12 14 16 22 36 Road Scholars A Message of Relevance by Randell Jones Let’s Talk About It Statue of Daniel Boone at Appalachian State University. Courtesy Appalachian State University. 40 Have Books, Will Travel by Lucinda MacKethan The 2012 Annual Report to the People An Invitation to Host Hometown Teams 44 Seminars Inspire, Encourage Educators by Jonathan Permar Educator Develops New Appalachian Literature Unit by Tammy Young Alumni News Teachers Institute Summer Seminar: Muslim Journeys: Islam and Its Many Roads North Carolina Humanities Council Call for Trustee Nominations Executive Director Shelley Crisp to Retire in 2013 Teachers Institute Teachers Institute Seminars Enrich Teaching and Learning by Lynn Wright-Kernodle The Harmony between MoMS and Destination Cleveland County by Emily Epley Journey Stories: A Dream Comes to Fruition by Kim Proctor Linda Flowers Literary Award Semper Fi of Appalachia by Angela Kelly Museum on Main Street 46 49 The Last Word Address of Carl Sandburg before the Joint Session of Congress, February 2, 1959 Events and Deadlines Ode to Betty Ray C AL DWE L L AW AR D Betty Ray McCain Honored with the 2012 John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities In February 2012, Governor Jim Hunt told The Wilson Times, “the basis of Betty Ray McCain is her deep caring about people and working to help them be successful and all that they want to be….She’s willing to work her head off to help people.” This statement echoed an earlier description by H. G. Jones who referred to McCain as a “North Carolinian who loves her state and its people and who has dedicated a distinguished career to their interests.” The John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities, the North Carolina Humanities Council’s highest honor, pays tribute to North Carolinians who have strengthened the educational, cultural, and civic life of North Carolinians through the humanities. With this award, Mrs. Betty Ray McCain is recognized as the 2012 Caldwell Laureate and is honored for her deep caring and dedicated service to the citizens of North Carolina. Born in Faison, NC, McCain graduated as valedictorian from Faison High School, attended St. Mary’s School, and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in music and Columbia University’s Teachers College with an MA in music. The mother of two children and five grandchildren, McCain moved with her husband, physician Dr. John McCain, to Wilson, NC, in 1956. Although working as an ambassador for numerous causes throughout the state, she continues to Winter/Spring 2013 make her home in Wilson where she serves on the Board of Advisors for Barton College, raises money for the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park, and compiles oral histories of World War II veterans in Wilson County. She is a member of Wilson’s First Presbyterian Church, where she sings in the choir, and is a former deacon and elder. Leadership and Service With intelligence, wit, grace, and good humor, Betty Ray McCain tirelessly celebrates North Carolina’s cultural heritage in its many forms. Perhaps best known as the Secretary of Cultural Resources, she was appointed to this position in 1993 by Governor Jim Hunt and served in this capacity until 2001. During her tenure as Secretary, McCain was instrumental in the building of the current North Carolina Museum of History; in securing additional land for the North Carolina Art Museum; in securing major funding for the building of Meymandi Hall, home of the North Carolina Symphony; and in securing major funding for the excavation of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, the ship of the pirate Blackbeard. In addition, she helped to create and coordinate the cultural component of the Israel/North Carolina Exchange, the most comprehensive exploration at that time of Israeli culture outside of Israel. Active in political work, she became the first woman to chair the North Carolina Democratic Party. As such, she became a primary advocate for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in North Carolina and a proponent of recruiting women to run for political office. She also served several terms on the Democratic National Committee. McCain has served North Carolina in many roles, including as a fourterm member of the UNC Board of Governors and as an advocate for numerous cultural groups such as the North Carolina Symphony and the North Carolina Museum of Art. She has chaired the Board of Trustees of UNC-TV and the Board of Visitors of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and is a member of the board of WilMed Hospital Foundation. Currently, she sits on the Board of Directors of the First Colony Foundation, most recently celebrated for its work with the British Museum in uncovering a map of the possible destination of North Carolina’s famed Lost Colony. Honors McCain is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, among them the UNC General Alumni Association Distinguished Service Medal, the Design Guild Award from the NCSU College of Design, and the Distinguished Citizen of the Year Award from the Wilson Chamber of Commerce. In 2006, McCain was awarded the North Caroliniana Award from the North Caroliniana Society and is the 2009 recipient of the North Carolina Award, the highest civilian award bestowed by the state for public service. In addition, she is a 2010 inductee into the North Carolina Women’s Hall of Fame. McCain is also a member of the Faison and Duplin County Halls of Fame. She holds honorary degrees from UNC at Wilmington, UNC at Chapel Hill, UNC at Greensboro, Wake Forest University, and Barton College. Betty Ray (just a girl From the swamps, She’s said of herself, With something of an interest in politics) Invites her entire state To the Mt. Olive New Year’s Eve Pickle-drop, Saying, “Come early — we do it at 7 p.m., ‘cause we just can’t Stay up till midnight!” Speaking with endless pride Of homes, shops, fields and mills, Where dreamers and doers Once lived and worked, With somber respect of spots Where soldiers once stood, engaged, Betty Ray is just as serious As history is — yet she makes us smile, laugh, Fall out of our seats when She tells of people and places she loves: From Duplin County to Deep Gap, From Brunswick Town to the Balsams, Sly merriment this great teacher’s tool. Betty Ray McCain with her granddaughters Emily and Elizabeth McCain at the 2012 John T. Caldwell Award for the Humanities ceremony in Wilson. Photo by Keith Tew Photography. Caldwell Laureates The John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities, the Humanities Council’s highest honor, has been presented annually since its inauguration in 1990. Named for its first recipient, the late Dr. John Tyler Caldwell, former chancellor of North Carolina State University from 1959–1975 and a founding member of the Humanities Council, the award pays tribute to individuals whose lives and work illuminate one or more of the multiple dimensions of human life where the humanities come into play: civic, personal, intellectual, and moral. ~ Bland Simpson 1990 John Tyler Caldwell† 2002 Reynolds Price† 1991 John Hope Franklin† 1992 Doris Waugh Betts† 2003 Wilma Dykeman† & Hugh Morton† 1993 Samuel Talmadge Ragan† 2004 Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans† 1994 Anne Firor Scott 2005 Louis D. Rubin, Jr. 1995 John Marsden Ehle 2006 Benjamin Eagles Fountain, Jr. 1996 William W Finlator† 2007 Emily Herring Wilson 1997 Charles Bishop Kuralt† 2008 Walt Wolfram 1998 Dorothy Spruill Redford 2009 Marsha White Warren 1999 William C. Friday† 2010 Fred Chappell 2000 Thomas J. Lassiter, Jr.† 2011 David Price 2001 Houston Gwynne (H.G.) Jones 2012 Betty Ray McCain † deceased Photo courtesy of Brendan Greaves for the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park Project. Commissioned for the celebration, “Ode to Betty Ray” was created as a bookmark to commemorate the event. NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 3 UNC-TV Board of Trustees, the North Carolina Mental Health Association, the Tryon Palace Commission, and General Alumni Association of UNC-Chapel Hill. Betty Ray McCain and fellow student leaders at St. Mary’s College in 1949. Courtesy St. Mary’s School. Wherever Betty McCain Has Been, She Has Done Good Work Robert G. Anthony, Jr. On the evening of the 2012 celebration for the John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities, Bob Anthony introduced the Caldwell Laureate. • Four terms on the University of North Carolina Board of Governors • State Chair of a political party (in her case the North Carolina Democratic Party) and the first woman to have that position • Co-chair of two gubernatorial campaigns and one U.S. Senate campaign It is my pleasure and honor to introduce the John Tyler Caldwell Award recipient for 2012 — Betty Ray McCain. It’s also a problem and a challenge as she is one of the most energetic and enthusiastic civic and cultural leaders ever in North Carolina. Betty’s achievements and accomplishments include • Service as the first female member of the North Carolina Budget Advisory Committee Winter/Spring 2013 • Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources for eight years • A leader in numerous organizations such as the North Carolina Medical Society, the Bland Simpson has described Betty as “one of the most energetic, generous, and creative public figures of our time or any time — and one so effective because she has almost intuitively married her astonishing theatricality, tending toward humor, with her deep, serious, and abiding concerns about every area of our state’s public life and policies.” And, as Betsy Buford observes, Betty McCain is “one of the funniest human beings on this earth.” But you know all that, about her accomplishments and her wit and good humor. I’m sure you’ve all heard Betty tell stories of her growing up in Faison — her childhood was one of close family and friends, of fun and frivolity. She excelled as a student, was valedictorian of her high school class. From Faison, Betty headed to St. Mary’s Junior College in Raleigh, an institution that had been attended by several generations of women in her family. She’s always been a shy person — so it took her about two hours to get comfortable at St. Mary’s. Her ever-present smile and warm personality quickly won her many new friends. She soon emerged as a campus leader. Then it was off to Carolina — for two years of studies and student leadership in Chapel Hill, and as at St. Mary’s, she exhibited her leadership skills, especially in the YWCA. With her degree in hand, Betty headed for New York, to Columbia University, where she obtained a Master’s degree in music education in 1953. She returned to Chapel Hill for a job as assistant director of the Campus Y. While working in Chapel Hill, she met John McCain, a resident in internal medicine. Soon the wooing began, followed by a grand wedding in Faison, after which the young couple settled in Wilson, where Dr. McCain began a clinical and solo medical practice that would continue for more than 49 years. The McCains quickly joined their new friends and neighbors in church, civic, and cultural activities. They began their family, with two children, Paul and Eloise, bringing new joys to the household. With John McCain dedicating himself to his growing medical responsibilities, Betty focused on family and civic and cultural work. She took literally the City of Wilson’s slogan — “Wide Awake Wilson.” If some good cause needed attention, she was willing to step forward and help. She accepted leadership roles in church and cultural organizations. And she moved into the largely male-dominated world of local and state politics. Through the 1960s and early 1970s, she established herself as a leader in her party, a woman of grace and wit — and also of strength and backbone in fighting for the causes she believed in. Betty was and still is a skilled political leader and activist, but I would argue that her most significant and longest-lasting contributions have been as a cultural arts leader. She is a “small d” democrat when it comes to the humanities. She has worked and continues to work enthusiastically and tirelessly in support of good causes anywhere and everywhere. Through hard work and dedication, she has enriched the lives of all North Carolinians, regardless of their political leanings. During her eight years of service as Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, Betty worked tirelessly to build and strengthen the state’s archives and history and historic preservation programs, state library services, the North Carolina state Symphony, and the many and varied organizations and institutions that offer study and appreciation of the humanities in every corner of the state. There are two public spaces named for her: the Betty Ray McCain Art Gallery at the Progress Energy Center in Raleigh and the Betty Ray McCain Amphitheater in the John L. Roper Heritage Park in Roper, Washington County. My late great-aunt Margaret — who at one time lived in Wilson — had a saying: “Your front yard is your reputation, but your backyard is your character.” Betty has always known that. She doesn’t devote herself only to major projects with starring roles. She accepts the often hard, behind-the-scenes work — the fundraising, the recruitment of volunteers. And no project is too local or narrowly focused for her if she believes it a good one. This example will be familiar to the Wilsonians in the audience tonight. Several years ago the Wilson County Historical Society wanted to preserve the record of Wilsonians who had served their nation during World War II. Who stepped forward to lead this project which required collecting documents, clippings, photographs, and reminiscences from men and women, many of whom no longer lived in Wilson County? Betty McCain and her good friend John Hackney stepped forward. They led an effort that has resulted in a remarkable resource for anyone interested in the history of Wilson County and of North Carolina during World War II. When Betty came to the North Carolina Collection to talk about her project and ask how this information could be preserved and distributed widely, we were delighted to collaborate with her and John and the Wilson County Public Library on a digitization project that provides access to these materials to anyone anywhere with Internet access. Center-stage. Back-stage. Front yard. Backyard. Wherever Betty McCain has been, she has done good work. And we thank her for it. Robert G. Anthony, Jr., is the curator of the North Carolina Collection and director of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center, located in Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Gov. James B. Hunt, Jr., delivered the 2012 Caldwell Lecture in the Humanities. He has been a member of the law firm of Womble Carlyle, Sandridge and Rice, PLLC since 2001, after completing the last of his four historic terms as Governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, 1993–2001). Among his successes, Hunt’s early childhood program, Smart Start, has been a model for the nation. Governor Hunt and the Carnegie Corporation of New York created the National Board for Professional Standards which he chaired for ten years. Hunt established the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina, and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. He founded the Hunt Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy at UNC at Chapel Hill and the Institute for Emerging Issues at NCSU. Governor Hunt earned his BS and MS from North Carolina State University and his JD from the University of North Carolina School of Law. Photo by Keith Tew Photography NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 5 F RO M T HE F IE L D The Day Carl Sandburg Died: Re-Examining the Man, the Poet, the Activist Donovan McKnight Today, if you bring up Carl Sandburg’s poetry in academic circles, some accuse it of being “period poetry,” “too simple,” or even “propaganda.” His poems are not being taught in schools as they once were; many have been removed from anthologies. There is a fairly consistent record of him being criticized both before and after his death in 1967 for any number of reasons. But if you do a “blog” search, you’ll see thousands of references to Sandburg and his poetry in people’s thoughts and postings. People who read him remember the imagery and ideas. His work does still resonate today. ~Paul Bonesteel Born in Galesburg , Illinois, in 1878, Carl Sandburg lived much of his life in the American midwest, but moved to North Carolina, to the farm known as Connemara, with his wife, daughters, and grandchildren in 1945. Connemara is a 246-acre antebellum estate in Flat Rock, North Carolina, where Sandburg would write over a third of his published work until dying of natural causes in 1967. But more than 40 years after his death, Sandburg is still very much in evidence in American culture. In 2005, filmmaker and Asheville native Paul Bonesteel ruminated on the legacy of Carl Sandburg, the twentieth century Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and Lincoln biographer who is said to have embodied the modern American spirit more authentically than any other writer. The quote above is taken from Bonesteel’s blog, a series of informal musings, anxieties, and questions that Winter/Spring 2013 chronicles the seven-year process of making The Day Carl Sandburg Died. The film aired in September 2012, as a PBS nationally-syndicated documentary film and part of the American Masters series, what the industry considers the pinnacle of biographical storytelling through film. As Bonesteel and his team worked through the film’s creation, they applied for and received grants from three state humanities councils: Illinois, Nebraska, and North Carolina. These grants gave Bonesteel access to a star-studded national slate of Sandburg’s contemporaries, protégés, friends, family, and scholars whose perspectives populate the film with intimacy and analysis. The work grounds Sandburg in flesh and blood while asking big questions that cast his spirit and legacy into the atmosphere where they hang suspended, calling on the viewer to determine its direction. In June of 2007, Bonesteel and The Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara, based in Flat Rock, applied for and received funding from the North Carolina Humanities Council to produce the public humanities project Carl Sandburg: Contemporary Perspectives and Criticism. The project consisted of a one-day lecture series and panel discussion, including three prominent Sandburg scholars from across the United States, who would, each from a corner of Sandburg’s world, “address the fascinating arc of Sandburg’s career.” Bonesteel would use this opportunity to gather these experts in Sandburg’s late home, involve the Flat Rock community in a critical public discourse, and capture interviews and footage of the scholars for The Day Carl Sandburg Died. The scholars included Dr. Sean Wilentz of Princeton University, who specializes in U.S. social and political history as well as contemporary historical perspectives of Sandburg and his Abraham Lincoln biographies. Wilentz provided a unique look at Sandburg’s scholarship on Lincoln and its resounding effects on the art of the biography. Also on the panel was Dr. Evert Villarreal of the University of Texas-Pan American, who wrote Recovering Carl Sandburg, “an attempt to articulate and understand the factors that have contributed to Carl Sandburg’s declining trajectory, which has led to a reputation that has diminished significantly in the twentieth century… [and] clarifies how Carl Sandburg, in various ways, was attempting to re-invent or re-construct American literature.” Joining Wilentz and Villarreal was Dr. Philip Yannella of Temple University who authored The Other Carl Sandburg which delves into Sandburg’s most politically active years, from his days working with the Social Democratic party to his experiences covering World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution. The book includes detailed information about the resulting investigations into his personal and professional activities by the Military enduring legacy of Sandburg and his vast and prolific work as a quintessentially American humanist in the adolescence of Modernism. Carl Sandburg at his typewriter at Connemara. Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. Photo by W.C. Mutt Burton. Intelligence Division and the impact that had on Sandburg’s writing career. These scholars were joined by Sarah Perschall, chief of visitor services at Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. Comments about the program indicate “the presentations were lively with one prominent point of debate being the exact nature of Sandburg’s poetry: was it ‘modernism’ or not? If it was, why did it change? Was his poetry less successful for its propagandistic qualities? And if so, is that problematic? How this perception affected Sandburg’s literary legacy is undeniable and central to the evolution of Sandburg’s ‘recovery,’ if that is indeed happening.” Following the program, the scholars toured Sandburg’s home and archives, and Bonesteel conducted extensive interviews with each scholar. These interviews contributed greatly to the development of the film. It was one of the many ways Bonesteel worked towards the completion of the film while also bringing interactive poetry events to the public. The Day Carl Sandburg Died reveals the complexity of Sandburg’s life as much more than the poet most know. Using the esteemed American Masters framework, the film shows Sandburg’s beginnings as a child of Swedish immigrants who struck out on his own as a young man, eventually finding work at a Milwaukee newspaper. Using modern interviews with Lillian, Sandburg’s wife, the film chronicles Sandburg’s early struggles as an aspiring poet in Chicago and then the breakthrough publication of Chicago Poems, which articulates with stark imagery the plight of the working class in the early twentieth century. Detailing his family life and work on the popular children’s work The Rootabaga Stories; his role as musician and songwriter of American folk tunes; and his multivolume, Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of Abraham Lincoln, the film details the great breadth of Sandburg’s writing as well as his controversial methods — which some say contributed to his decline in the literary and historical realms of academia. Also portrayed is Sandburg’s staunch support of socialism and the I am with all rebels everywhere. Against all people who are satisfied. ~Carl Sandburg Bolshevik Revolution, which earned him an FBI file. Rare and intimate historical footage coupled with contemporary interviews with scholars, protégés, contemporaries as well as family, The Day Carl Sandburg Died explores the On completion of the film, Bonesteel began initial distribution to dozens of film festivals and media outlets, but also to those closest to Sandburg and his family. Responses came back with a resounding affirmation and celebration of the film, its honest treatment of Sandburg, and a resurgent trumpeting of the man, the poet, the activist. From the film’s premier in April 2011 at RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem, local screenings at Asheville Wordfest, and the Black Earth Film Festival in Sandburg’s hometown of Galesburg, Illinois, Bonesteel presented the film with discussion at sold-out auditoriums for months leading up to the PBS airing on September 24, 2012. The culmination of the film’s tour de force was in Chicago at the Poetry Foundation’s centennial celebration, the institution and publication that first thrust Sandburg into the public eye in 1914. From local media publications The Mountain Xpress and the Galesburg Register Mail to the New York Daily News, all have hailed the film as a “masterfully constructed and inspirational visual essay on the legendary poet, writer and folk singer.” John Steichen, Sandburg’s grandson, wrote to Bonesteel on first seeing the film, “Outstanding! Beautiful! You were able to pull the man committed to total anarchy into the man who was a poet, musician, and family man. I am so happy that you showed him to be a revolutionary.” Steichen went on to describe his mother, Helga, as being “delighted and totally captivated” by the film. Pulitzer Prize winner Studs Terkel conjures the gestalt of the film with a quote from Sandburg’s swansong, The People, Yes. “Where to? What Next?” Terkel suggests that Sandburg’s work — so too the film — reminds us, “What other questions can we ask today?” NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 7 Bonesteel Films Bonesteel Films is a team of video craftspeople. The president, Paul Bonesteel, has been a director and camera operator for over 25 years. His passion for film and video production is deeply rooted in the craft of documentary films, and he has produced eight nationally-distributed feature documentaries. This documentary skill set has translated into uniquely authentic and refined commercial and corporate projects. Documentary filmmaking has been woven into the company’s work for many years. The search for stories and authenticity informs the many ways they continue to produce media today. Since 1990 Paul Bonesteel has created provocative documentary films. His subjects reflect a diversity of interests and experiences, from the story of an American icon in The Day Carl Sandburg Died to a mysterious Japanese photographer in The Mystery of George Masa. Earlier films delved into the fall of communism in If the People Will Lead and the complex family dynamics of fathers and sons in Caribou Bones. Consistent in all the films is a story where art and expression weave in and out of the human experience. For more on Bonesteel Films, visit www.bonesteelfilms.com. Paul Bonesteel. Photo by Rimas Zailskas. In the Words of the Filmmaker Paul Bonesteel Paul Bonesteel was introduced to Carl Sandburg by way of his mother, the famous quilter Georgia Bonesteel, who volunteered as a cataloguer at Connemara where Bonesteel grew up roaming the hills and halls of Sandburg’s late home. During his conversation with Donovan McKnight for the article on the previous page, Bonesteel expressed the following thoughts: Sandburg then was a distant grandfatherly figure in photos, unfathomable to some extent. But the goats were real, the cats were real, the hippie poetry teacher was real, and the place seemed to have a magic about it. Sandburg seemed to me then as some sort of magician, capable of both the simplest poems and enormous books that I wouldn’t read for many years. There were cigar butts and papers still where he left them. Guitar strings that he had casually strummed. All of it rich with history and importance, but yet humble and tangible. The Day Carl Sandburg Died premiered as part of PBS’s American Masters series on September 24, 2012, and was viewed by 1.3 million people. The full film can be viewed online at any time by visiting http://video.pbs. org/program/american-masters/. Throughout my adult life, I started reading Sandburg more deeply. He’s a fascinating man. And I couldn’t believe that someone hadn’t done a modern film about him. He’s too interesting and too amazing an artist. He’s such a great voice to celebrate. His ideas, for me, tied into a lot of contemporary discussions, especially his interest in fighting for the working class and poor people. What is the middle class? What rights should workers have? Are unions good or bad? These are all topics that Sandburg was dealing with, as was America, in the early part of the 20th century, in a volatile artistic and political environment. It was really exciting to me that Sandburg could reflect some interesting thoughts on our current situation. So, I never really feel like I’m truly lost or back in time when I’m doing a historical piece, because all of it relates to me in the present tense. Democracy. Creativity. Study. Music. Reality. Optimism. Fantasy. Expression. Struggle. Truth. I think about these ideas and what we can learn through Sandburg’s experience. I think about my early childhood visits to the big white house with goats and books and guitars... and I think about expressing those things forward to the next generation. When people of any generation read Sandburg, they are inspired in some way. His rags-to-riches story is a testament to the possibility life holds. In the making of this film, I found references everywhere to Sandburg, mostly little quotes, little excerpts which convey so much of him and his ideas: “I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m on my way.” They have been dispersed like from a crop duster. And they keep coming back. You can see references to The American Songbag in contemporary music. I wanted this film to raise the waterline of popular awareness of Sandburg. As Pete Seeger says, everybody that’s working for good in the world, it’s like a teaspoon of sand in a bucket. A thousand years go by, and at one point, the whole thing shifts, and the great calamity comes, and people ask, “How did it happen so suddenly?” We all have to do our part for the pursuit of truth, democracy, and justice. And that’s what this film is: A way to bring Sandburg a little bit higher in our awareness. I really believe he’s on his way back to our greater appreciation. He belongs there. The [Humanities Council] grant allowed me to spend real time with these scholars, so my comfort level with the material increased, because I was really able to understand their study of Sandburg. This shored up my filmmaking desire with substance and gave me confidence that this subject matter was as important as I initially thought. All this led to a larger portrait of Sandburg as more than just a poet, but many-faceted. Good filmmaking is about expressing these ideas, not just having a book about it. All these scholars brought passion, personality, and a commitment to telling the story. The most motivating thing for me as a filmmaker is finding people that care about the story. From Pete Seeger to Studs Terkel to these scholars, they were all very enthusiastic, “Yes, let’s do this!” These voices were essential to film. I went to NC State and got a BA in communication. It was so valuable. I appreciate it now more than I did then: the value of having a broad humanities experience in school. People ask me where I went to film school. And that would have been nice. But I wouldn’t trade that for the English classes I had at State, or the sociology classes. I’m not a fan of the one-track, learn-to-be-an-editor, art school model. Looking at the world more broadly was more important to me. I draw on those things with my work now. Sandburg too would have appreciated the Humanities Council model of the expression of academic work in a public venue, especially literature and the humanities. He was literally on a train or a stage doing his thing, performing, his whole life. He loved the interaction with the public. As his poetry indicates, he wrote to be heard, not just to write. He wanted to be heard. He wanted to share it with the people. For a project director and filmmaker, the involvement with the humanities councils is a pat on the back, it’s a kick in the butt; it’s a motivation to have this expectation placed on you to achieve and to get the scholars involved. You can make a lot of films without that involvement, but they don’t hold as much water, they don’t have as much weight. The work of Democracy. Creativity. Study. Music. Reality. Optimism. Fantasy. Expression. Struggle. Truth. I think about these ideas and what we can learn through Sandburg’s experience. the humanities councils is facilitating. Filmmaking is collaborative, and I needed to have these scholars reaffirming the work. I want to encourage the public to keep digging and exploring. It’s easy to discount the humanities. But if we are a democracy, you have to fund the humanities. There must continue to be vehicles for encouraging the pursuit of knowledge and truth. History, literature, storytelling, and cultural preservation shouldn’t be minimized. It’s too important. Looking ahead, I’ll continue to look for subjects that make good, entertaining films, but also I’ll search out the subject matter that is culturally significant. There have to be people out there making nutritional film. It’s not easily done. The Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara The Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara, Inc., is an independent, volunteer, nonprofit support group to the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, NC, managed by the National Park Service. Founded in 1988, it is the mission of The Friends to educate the public on the enduring legacy of Carl Sandburg through free educational programs for school children, promotion and support of Sandburg-related events, and the preservation of artifacts. Past Friends-supported activities include events such as performances by Sandburg’s Vagabond Players, in residence at the Flat Rock Playhouse. The Friends also support a poetry celebration, a folk music festival, and a Lincoln series throughout the year. Each of the activities is offered to the public free of charge thanks, in part, to The Friends’ support. The Friends generate primary financial support through fundraising and membership dues. Additionally, members of The Friends volunteer their time supporting the National Park rangers, providing guide service and information to visitors, and helping to catalogue and preserve documents and Sandburg memorabilia. To find out more about The Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara, visit www. friendsofcarlsandburg.org. The Sandburg home at Connemara in summertime. Courtesy Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 9 Revisiting Sam Greenlee’s Novel and Film The Spook Who Sat by the Door Sheila Smith McKoy On September 30, 2012, at the Carl Sandburg playing his guitar. Photo by William A. Smith. Courtesy Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. A Select Carl Sandburg Bibliography Sandburg, Carl. Abraham Lincoln: The War Years. New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1939. ---. Chicago Poems. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1916. ---. Rootabaga Stories. San Diego: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1922. ---. The American Songbag. New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1927. ---. The Chicago Race Riots of 1919. New York: Harcourt Brace and Howe, 1969. ---. The People, Yes. New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1936. In addition, American Masters posted a tribute to Sandburg’s The American Songbag on its website. It is complemented with a Spotify playlist of Sandburg singing everything “America,” from the mountains to the boll weevil. It can be found at http://www.pbs. org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/ carl-sandburg-sings-america/2181/. Winter/Spring 2013 Hayti Heritage Center in Durham, the Southern Black Film and Media Consortium, with the support of a large grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council, presented a film and a panel discussion focused on the independent documentary film Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat by the Door (2011), directed by Christine Acham. The documentary chronicles the story of the controversial 1973 film The Spook Who Sat by the Door, which was based on the ground-breaking novel by the same name that was published by Sam Greenlee in 1969. The novel tells the story of the first African American in the FBI who counters plots against the black community by his employer through his direct organizing of gangs in urban centers. The film presents a very different view of black life from that presented in the Blaxploitation films that defined the era, is considered one of the most important black productions of the era, and now has a major cult following. Infiltrating Hollywood reveals how Greenlee and North Carolina native Ivan Dixon used the film industry’s biases about black-themed films in the 1970s to attract industry support. Although United Artists signed The Spook Who Sat by the Door, the studio was surprised to find that the film did not conform to the stereotypical stories and portraits that defined the Blaxploitation era. Instead, the film portrayed black activists who were willing to fight for freedom. For these reasons, United Artists elected not to produce the film. But it was this combination of protest and challenge to racism that drew actor, director, and producer Ivan Dixon to the project. Greenlee wrote a screenplay based on his novel and worked with Dixon to produce the film. Dixon, who graduated from Lincoln Academy in Gaston County, NC, and from North Carolina Central University in 1954, directed the film. Both Dixon and Greenlee used personal funds to finance the film. The filmmakers also depended upon a group of private investors, black and white, whose belief in the project made it possible, including the full support of the city of Gary, Indiana, in cooperation with the city’s first black mayor, Richard G. Hatcher. These grassroots efforts made it possible for Greenlee and Dixon to make The Spook Who Sat by the Door. In a panel discussion after a showing of Infiltrating Hollywood, humanities scholars contextualized The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat by the Door in the early 70s and addressed the challenges of the film adaptation of the highly acclaimed and controversial novel. The panel included Dr. Joseph Jordan, Director of the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black History and Culture at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Dr. Charlene Register, Associate Professor of African and African American Studies at UNC at Chapel Hill; Mr. Dante James, a three-time Emmy Award winning filmmaker; and myself, Humanities Council grant project director, director of the African American Cultural Center and the Africana Studies Program at North Carolina State University. The program drew a capacity audience of scholars, students, and members of the community, all of whom engaged in discussion about the impact of Greenlee’s novel and the film he co-produced with Dixon. The panelists’ comments focused on the history and production of the film, the wide-reaching impact of Greenlee’s work, and Sam Greenlee himself, who — like Dan Freeman, the novel’s main character — trained as an intelligence officer in the 1960s. As Joseph Jordan noted, Greenlee and Dixon capitalized on the blindness of American racism in the process. Even Greenlee’s use of the term “spook” asked his audiences to consider looking at the project from multiple perspectives. In the slang of the era, “spook” referred to both black Americans and to spies. As importantly, the term asks audiences to consider the fact that race has been haunting American culture since its inception. In using the word “spook,” Greenlee connects the spy novel with a wide body of African American literature focused on how racism makes individuals invisible. This invisibility allows Greenlee’s protagonist to mount a guerilla campaign against American racism, while never being seen as having the intelligence, cunning, or capacity to do so. The Spook Who Sat by the Door has had wide-reaching impact for those conversant with the era and for contemporary students, scholars, and the public interested in how race impacts American culture. Universal Pictures had agreed to distribute the film; however, the company — similar to United Artists — thought it was buying the rights to yet another Blaxploitation film, many of which became blockbusters by the then industry standards. The studio, with the added influence of the FBI, quickly pulled the film out of theatres. It was re-released on DVD in 2004. Many of the audience members remembered seeing the film advertised in 1973, only to find it was no longer screening when they went to see it. Daniel Choi, a student from North Carolina State University, noted that the documentary and discussion opened his eyes to a view of American history that otherwise would have been lost to him. Thus Infiltrating Hollywood tells the story about the life and legacy of Greenlee, his novel, and the film for both the audience denied the original opportunity to see the film and contemporary audiences who can discover through the history of The Spook Who Sat by the Door an alternative reading of race in 1970s America. Too ill to attend the panel discussion of the documentary, Sam Greenlee, even at age 82, is still contributing to the conversation about how race operates in American culture for a new generation. The panel discussion and screening of the documentary was the inaugural program sponsored by a unique collaborative called the Southern Black Film and Media Consortium. The SBFMC is a partnership linking the NCSU African American Cultural Center and the Original film poster for The Spook Who Sat By the Door. Courtesy Monarch Home Entertainment. Africana Studies Program; the UNC Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History; the Mary Lou Williams Black Cultural Center at Duke University; film/media/Africana Studies programs at Bennett College, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Shaw University, St. Augustine’s University, and North Carolina Central University; and the Hayti Heritage Center. In future, the SBFMC will continue to engage in conversations about the importance and impact of black film and filmmakers. The consortium welcomes anyone interested in or engaged with films focused on African, African American, and African Diaspora cultures and experience. For more information, visit http://sites.duke.edu/ trianglefilmconsortium/. Dr. Sheila Smith McKoy, a native of Raleigh, NC, is the director of the African American Cultural Center and of the Africana Studies Program at North Carolina State University. An associate professor of English and Africana Studies, Smith McKoy is also the editor of Obsidian: Literature in the African Diaspora. NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 11 ROAD SC H O L AR S A Message of Relevance Randell Jones “I never knew that.” “Why don’t they teach that in school?” “That’s the most amazing story.” I hear those responses quite often after speaking to audiences gathered to take in one of my programs as a scholar for the North Carolina Humanities Council’s Road Scholars program. It has been my good fortune and honor to serve the Humanities Council as a speaker since 2007. I offer four different programs to audiences across the state, all of them having to do with North Carolina’s fascinating history. I have found North Carolinians to have a real love for their heritage, and they always seem to enjoy hearing something more about stories they already know as much as they do stories they never suspected to be true. And, I have found that newcomers to the state have become enthralled with our heritage as well. My presentation on “Famous and Infamous Women of North Carolina” is a real crowd-pleaser, especially with audiences who have a lot of experience with marriage. The laughter and elbowing of spouses tells me the audience is resonating with the true tales that sound too much like fiction. The stories for that talk come from the book Scoundrels, Rogues, and Heroes of the Old North State, a work I edited in collaboration with the stories’ author, Dr. H.G. Jones, former director of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History. Many of my audiences have been captivated by the story of the Overmountain Men of 1780 as recounted in the awardwinning book Before They Were Heroes at King’s Mountain. Too few people even know that the American Revolution was fought in the South, much less won here; and this heroic tale is a great North Carolina story, too. In fact, most of the 330-mile Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, a unit of the National Park Service, lies in North Carolina. After my talks, some in the audience immerse themselves in the larger story of the American Revolution, and others start looking for their own Revolutionary War ancestors. Another book, A Guide to the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, gets people outdoors and onto the trail, exploring some parts of North Carolina and a story they may not have known well before. Daniel Boone has been my perennial opportunity for speaking, both in North Carolina and in several other states. People know his name, but too few, even North Carolinians, know that America’s pioneer hero spent 21 years in our state. I share his life story by putting his life on the landscape, taking readers to 85 Boone-related sites spread across 11 states. People delight in Boone’s North Carolina heritage, and they especially value being able to touch the land he trod as a way of connecting with him and his era. I eagerly mention Daniel Boone because the anniversaries of two other Daniel Boone stories of keen interest to North Carolinians are about to unfold in 2013. Randell Jones is an author and a storyteller. A Road Scholar since 2007, Jones speaks throughout the southeast on the history and heritage of the Colonial and Revolutionary periods. He has published seven books and one DVD. In the Footsteps of Daniel Boone received the 2006 Willie Parker Peace History Book Award, and the companion DVD, On the Trail of Daniel Boone, received a 2006 Paul Green Multimedia Award from the North Carolina Society of Historians. With his daughter in 2004, he co-edited Scoundrels, Rogues and Heroes of the Old North State by Dr. H.G. Jones (no relation). A second edition was released in 2007. He has most recently released Trailing Daniel Boone, the story of the Daughters of the American Revolution marking Daniel Boone’s Trail from 1912–1915. The Daniel Boone Wagon Train–a journey through ‘the Sixties’ was released in March 2013. Complete information about all his work can be found at www. DanielBooneFootsteps.com. Jones holds two engineering degrees from Georgia Tech and an MBA from UNC at Chapel Hill. And, as do his audiences, he always enjoys hearing a good story. Winter/Spring 2013 Sometimes, I have people tell me at one talk that they heard me speak somewhere else on another topic. I like to think that I am carrying a message of relevance to people, one audience at a time. I hope they glean from the talk that history matters and consequently that our actions now will have an impact on the lives of those to follow. That is certainly one key lesson to be learned from looking back in time. Most of the Q&A sessions are about dispelling historical myths and legends, or they involve audience members sharing a story about their North Carolina ancestors. Often several people will express in different ways how profoundly surprised they are to learn the whole story I just shared. Statue of Daniel Boone at Appalachian State University. Courtesy Appalachian State University. One hundred years ago, from 1913 to 1915, the Daughters of the American Revolution marked Daniel Boone’s Trail from North Carolina to Kentucky. They placed 45 cast iron markers across 400 miles of rugged terrain. The illustrious Mrs. Lindsay “Lucy” Patterson of Winston-Salem and Mrs. William Neal (Kate Bitting) Reynolds were the leaders of this national effort, and the North Carolina DAR are taking the lead in celebrating this historic accomplishment nationally during the next three years. Trailing Daniel Boone, recipient of a 2012 Kentucky History Award from the Kentucky Historical Society, tells the DAR’s story. The new year is also the 50th anniversary of the first Daniel Boone Wagon Train, part of the state’s 300th birthday celebration in 1963, known as the Carolina Charter Tercentenary. The stories of the annual commemorative wagon train expeditions into the Blue Ridge Mountains are captured in the book The Daniel Boone Wagon Train–a journey through ‘the Sixties’, 1963–1973. These stories, unfolding across 11 years against a backdrop of the social and political turmoil and the technological advances that occurred during the 1960s and early ’70s, will grab the interest of anyone who can remember the times. Historically, my Road Scholar audiences have been people coming to hear a program just because they are interested in the topic; they have not necessarily read any books on the subject beforehand. Many enjoy the storytelling presentation and want to know more. They are entertained for an evening, but their interest is also piqued. That’s the way it should work, I suppose. One talk sometimes leads to another invitation to speak elsewhere or to come back to the same group later with another program. Seldom do we have enough time to cover everything the audience wants to talk about; but each presentation, I think, is helping people appreciate the value of what a Road Scholar program might offer. None of us is going to live long enough to learn from our own mistakes everything we need to know about how to get along in this world. That’s why we study history and biographies, to learn from the successes and failures of others. Putting those stories in front of North Carolinians is the work of the Humanities Council. Sharing those stories in person and interacting with interested audiences is the brilliance of the Road Scholars Program. I am proud to be a part of that process. H o w t o S po nso r a R o ad S cho l ar s P r o g r am An application to apply for a Road Scholars program may be found at www.nchumanities.org. Questions about applying for a program or becoming a Road Scholar should be directed to Carolyn Allen at callen@nchumanities.org or (336) 256-0140. NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 13 L E T’S TAL K AB OU T I T Above Left: Madison County Library in Marshall, NC. Photo by Rob Amberg. Above Right: Detail of mountain man carving/sculpture, a community-driven and led effort, on side of the Madison County Library in Marshall, NC. Photo by Rob Amberg. Have Books, Will Travel Lucinda MacKethan Joining up to be a discussion leader for the North Carolina Humanities Council’s Let’s Talk About It (LTAI) book series program was an easy decision for me. I knew I would enjoy doing just what the series called for — talking about books — but I did not realize that I was also about to fulfill what had seemed an impossible dream. For many years I had been secretly envious of author friends who got to go on book tours. They would casually mention all the great places they had visited, the book stores and library Winter/Spring 2013 staffs who took such good care of them, and the fun they had meeting the people who went to hear them read — all those lovers and buyers of books. My problem was that I never wanted to work hard enough to write a book-tour-worthy book. Way too much blood, sweat, and tears involved. But now, as an LTAI scholar, I too can finally say things like, “If this is Tuesday, it must be Madison County,” as I head off to yet another exciting new gathering place for readers. All it takes is for Carolyn Allen, Council program officer for LTAI, to send out the word, and we scholars pack our bags and crank up the Subarus. Have book will travel: to Henderson, Marion, Tarboro, Gastonia, Edenton, Roxboro, Beaufort, and yes, the charming mountain town of Marshall, way up in Madison County, with its beautiful library and its small group of delightful readers, ready to wonder with me why Mrs. Bronson could never learn to like the small southern town where her husband, Aaron, so heroically ran the “Jew Store” in Stella Suberman’s memoir of that title. Reading over the lists of LTAI series to choose the books a scholar would like to talk about is like being told by a doctor to go to a bakery and sample EVERYTHING. Choosing the regions to which one is willing to journey is just as hard. Every North Carolina town — western, eastern, or piedmont — has a library that is uniquely worth visiting. All are buzzing with ideas and information, lively centers offering every kind of learning for every citizen. The librarians and their series participants also have hard choices to make: will they pick the Mysteries: Clues to Who We Are or The Journey Inward: Women’s Autobiography series; Imagining the Future: Scientific Revelations in Fiction or Explorations of Faith in Literature; Tar Heel Fiction: Stories of Home or Divergent Cultures: The Middle East in Literature; America’s Greatest Conflict: Novels of the Civil War or Destruction or Redemption: Images of Romantic Love; Mad Women in the Attic or Beyond the Battlefield: Alternative Views of War? There are libraries such as the Leslie Perry in Henderson that will probably make their way through every single series eventually; there are libraries such as the Richard H. Thornton in Oxford that have just begun with their first series ever. A lot of planning goes into creating and maintaining the Council’s twenty-five different series, each containing five books scheduled to be discussed over nine weeks with a different scholar visiting each time. Carolyn Allen and Kelly Brannock of The North Carolina Center for the Book work with librarians and scholars to select, renew, and expand the offerings, trying to attract diversified audiences while keeping fingers on the pulse of what is changing in the way books are written and published. One recently added series that has particular meaning for me honors a North Carolina State University political science professor who wrote the first, and still most highly-regarded, study of abortion and the US Supreme Court. Dedicated to Dr. Eva Rubin, the series, titled Law and Literature, includes five novels that dramatically engage the reader in questions of justice, legality, fact, and truth, from Herman Melville’s Billy Budd to David Guterson’s Snow Falling on Cedars. Every one of these books seems particularly relevant to questions of law bedeviling us today. In all the series, individual books connect in intriguing ways with all the others: reading them in sequence gives each one a wider dimension than it would have in isolation. In The African American Experience, each novel dramatizes a different historical challenge, from slavery in J. California Cooper’s Family to the Civil Rights era in Bebe Moore Campbell’s Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine. In spite of the differences across time, place, and circumstance, all of the novels come back to critical affirmations or disjunctions of intergenerational families. At any LTAI gathering, no one can predict what will happen when everyone settles Dr. Lucinda MacKethan is Alumni Distinguished Professor of English Emerita at North Carolina State University, where she taught courses primarily in Southern and African American literature. She is the author or editor of six books, including the co-edited Companion to Southern Literature, which was named a “Best Reference Work” by the American Library Association. A former chair of the North Carolina Humanities Council, she is a Road Scholar as well as a Let’s Talk About It discussion leader for the Council. She also writes curricula and leads seminars for the National Humanities Center’s online teacher enrichment programs. down and the talking begins. New Bern, for instance, has chosen the Affirming Aging series, and I arrive to talk about Water for Elephants, where the circus world of 1930 and the nursing home world of 2010 get tossed back and forth like balls in a juggling act. Surprise: the conversation turns away from both old people and young love, towards the bloody violence and cruelty that pervade the big top. One reader brings up horrific events in Afghanistan; several men talk of their experiences in the armed forces in Korea and Vietnam. Bes Spangler, another scholar who seems ready to go anytime, anywhere, reports having the same kind of serendipitous exchanges when she leads discussions of a book about Pullman porters, Rising from the Rails, included in another great series, Picturing America: Making Tracks. Often, she recalls, the discussion triggers memories of grandparents or parents who built round houses or tended engines, or who had to figure out how to ship cantaloupes before refrigerated cars came along, or who took the annual pilgrimage to New York for Christmas shopping. In Williamston, a reader drew a parallel between the labor practices employed by the early 20th century railway managers and those employed on cruise ships today. Nowadays, I am happily getting better “gigs” than my author friends. I don’t have to produce a novel or worry about sales and reviews, but I get to meander all the highways and byways, to have my say, and to relish discussing some of the most interesting books ever written, many of them right here in North Carolina. Best of all, I get to learn with and from folks who share some amazing opinions, none of them as “off the wall” as my own. As Aaron Bronson said in The Jew Store, “While you’re making a living, why not make a life.” From Marshall to Morehead City, we book talkers are doing just that. How to Sponsor A LET' S TALK AB OUT IT PROGRA M An application to apply for a Let's Talk About It book, poetry, or film library discussion series may be found at www.nchumanities.org. Questions about applying for or planning a program should be directed to Carolyn Allen at (336) 256-0140 or callen@nchumanities.org. Since 1999 the North Carolina Center for the Book and the North Carolina Humanities Council have partnered to manage the Let's Talk About It project in North Carolina. NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 15 L INDA F L O W ERS L I T ERAR Y A W ARD 2012 Semper Fi of Appalachia Angela Kelly Clogging Sister Ada Tap, stomp, kick heel and sashay, little girl. Reel, shuffle, clatter, little man. Whirl together, hands a tremble, heart of ash. Blood stomps down hard so Look away from that pretty child cousin. The Lord says Look away. Wheel off. There’s that picture of Jesus hung in the kitchen hall. Glass pane hard broken, dry wall busted alongside. The monthly bills are there, held inside the metal scallop frame: Carolina Power & Light, county water bill, Reeves Hardware, Shanks Feed, doctor bill from that female operation. And she’s still laying in the back room under her granny’s quilts, not saying a damn word. Buck Dance In the Buck Dance, the Male dances alone, Though given Women’s Lib, some women are now High falutin’ enough to seize attention, dance solo. Kick skirt high up the thigh. Milk skin. Always certain men will step right up to trouble, Bound to lay down later with a pallet of grief. Flat Footing Brother Amos It’s a-pretty, each turn high, tight. Sliding close in, no stepping away or out, This is home, rhythm riding true. See it, how there is jig beauty here, like how a lone jack-in-the pulpit stands pale, thrived by the rot of the stump. Seemed he’d always lived alone. In his last years he had that one-legged chicken, Carlos, claimed he was some kind of Spanish rooster. Amos kept trying to tie on a wooden leg, made them himself, out of oak, chestnut, dogwood, cedar. But that rooster would peck everything out from under, then he would fly at Amos like a demon. That old leathered man would say, there now, Carlos, there now, then give the fowl his daily feed and his coo hood every night. How his shit littered the shack. Then one morning, Carlos was dead, cold arc of feathered gold, black, crimson cockscomb. And Amos walked into the river in December. Hoe-Down Center stage show-outs, even the preacher man. He’s called out many a daughter, reared up sons, both Cain and Abel. Pentecostal dark as that crate of rattlers, yet stomping up straw and rooster name in a full moon Saturday barn dance. Semper Fi; also Winter/Spring 2013 Semper Fidelis: Semper (Latin) sempiternus Semper meaning always, + aeternus meaning eternal Fidelis (Middle English: fidelite, Old French: fidelitas) meaning faithful, of allegiance, devotion, fealty, loyality Etta Dean When she was sixteen, Elvis Presley came to town, posters in the drug store, ecstasy in the girls’ bathroom. She stole out the back door with Mary Ruth and those Cole brothers, the auditorium smelled of sawdust, Pinesol and rancid popcorn oil. But she and Mary Ruth had screamed and danced, drinking Coca-Colas laced with the Cole boys’ bourbon and after midnight, it was the Cole boys who kissed and fondled them going home, no matter if they dreamed of Elvis or not. And when her daddy whipped her, on the back porch, only five belt lashes, and he was silent as usual, she stared up at the spattered stars cresting the orchard, she breathed in apples, hornet glazed, ground rot, October. And she dreamed of her first heartbreak, the beautiful curled lip of a bad man’s mouth. Coraline Rat’s nests, what’re you doin’ with yourself? Her mama tries to drag a comb through her waist length red hair. Coraline bends her long neck, keeps her eyes closed because truth can leak right of your eyes. These is sweet gum leaves right here in your hair How far are you goin’ ? Her mama tugs even harder with the comb. I doan no sweet gum nearby here. Coraline doesn’t say I go as far as the old graveyard up beyond the ridge. She doesn’t say, I lay down beside that angel grave. The angel headstone has a broke off wing and the name of the dead, time has erased. It might be some of her kin, it might not. The dead are just dead. Don’t go too far, Coraline. There’s dangers in the woods. Coraline knows full well that danger, a tall boy named Cort Duluth, he’s tracked her sometimes all the way up the ridge, he won’t come past the graveyard markers. But he stays with her there the whole time, even in rain, he watches her from the stand of sweet gum, fierce, but silent, shy as a deer. Roscoe Deakins A-course I made moonshine, my daddy did, my uncles. Once I drove Daddy’s 49 Plymouth all the way to Madison County, I was maybe fourteen, it was about Christmas, snowin’ like blazes, I was cold as a witch’s teat ‘cause the heater never worked right. I’s scared them bottles in the trunk was jitterin’ loud enough to wake the dead. Another time when I was taking a load to Cullowhee, that new sheriff, Wainsley, put the blue lights right on me, I had to pop the trunk and he stood there thinking a while, then he give fifty cent for a dollar bottle and I had to nip with him, finally he said he ain’t never seen me. Better not again. That night, I was about drunk going back up Pritchard Creek. I reckon I was about nine that summer when Mama started getting’ me up even before the rooster crowed, I’d walk up the holler to the still in the grove to keep the fire goin’ so Daddy, Uncle Rev and Walt could go on home and sleep before the second shift at the mill. Lunch time my cousin Denny would come up, bring mama’s biscuits with sausage or ham, sometimes just sorghum molasses. I liked it just fine. I never did take to schoolin’ like Mae Ann or Buddy, but Mama taught me to read the Bible, she taught me her roots and herbs and medicines which we sold. On Saturdays I drove my sister Pearl into town and she always wore her good blue dress, it was light as sky, the skirt floated around her little bitty self just like some kind of cloud. And she could sell anything to anyone walked by, be it a scour wife, a tobacco man, or even a snake oil salesman. When she died of the TB, she was but twenty year old. I’ve took on seventy-eight years of age now, and I still see Pearl putting Mama’s wares in the basket and I swear to Jesus, the blue sky still don’t look right to me. NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 17 Angelita Burrows Preacher Dwayne Whiteside Right after Wink Burrows got killed in Korea, his brother Ramey went about crazy. There’s too many accounts of what all he got into to even be true, but it was known that Sheriff Milkey told him to leave the County. Maybe even the state. went into the Magnolia Nursing Home right after the Easter service, in the Year of Our Lord 1979. He’d been in need of retirement for some time, but that Easter, he misspoke considerably. Eating donuts on Good Friday would not send anyone to Hell. The Lord Jesus did not have a jet airplane and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse had not been sighted charging the Mayor’s house. So he went down to South Carolina, he was down there maybe about four, five years, said to be working the peach orchards. That probably oughtna been true, Ramey was the smart one of the Burrows, he coulda been a banker or a store keep, though his Aunt Wynona, who had prophetized before, dreamed on his birth night, he was gonna be a lawyer, she testified she’d seen thick books and the justice scale. Years passed and when Ramey came back home, he had him a wife, her name was Angelita, she was Mexican or some such and some didn’t like it, they’d didn’t cotton to the Cherokee women either, that Hoss Goodlow and Mac Earl had married, you was supposed to marry your own kind. But if you saw that woman on the street, Angelita Burrows, say outside Sup’s Diner, or the Merchantile, you’d fallen down in some kind of stupor. Nothing this side of the Garden of Eden should look that fine. Though some said her eyes and her heart was black. Eva Grace She liked to tell people she’d been raised in a brothel in New Orleans. It sounded better than that dirt shack up in coal mine country. She had a ruby on a silver ring in her navel, said that was proof, an homage to the red light district and her sweet mama, Evangeline, looking at such a jewel, any man would pull out his money then. Sometimes they weren’t lucky, she’d just play zydeco music on her record player, swaying across the room in a yellow dress, singing in her whiskey voice. Some was fine, paying for just that, their hearts was lonesomer than the body. what Thomas Earl kept talking about in the throes of his dementia That mutt collie dog I brought home that spring kept killing the chickens. That was food on the table on Sundays, Mama wringing their necks on Saturday, us kids plucking the feathers on the porch, the pieces floured, fried in lard in a cast iron skillet after church. I’d named her Lady, her head was high as a queen, coat cascading fine as silk, I brushed ever evening after chores. In real bad weather, we could let her in, she’d lay up in the bed between me and little George and he would get so tickled by her, it was really fine for us, that furry heartbeat. But one weekend, the coop was about torn down, feathers everywhere, floating like snow, though August. Mama said, “Earl, go get the shotgun, you gonna hafta lead her on up the holler. Once a dog starts killing chickens they ain’t no use. We can’t have this.” So I called Lady and Mama shadowed me up the lane. She said, “Call her out in front and put that muzzle to the back of her head.” I said, “Mama, I can’t do that.” She said, “Yes, you will. Ain’t no choice here.” My daddy was gone, on the chain-gang, we was alone. I did it, three, four times, put my gun up against that good blonde skull. I was cryin’ so hard, I was only eleven. I said it again, “Mama, I can’t. Don’t make me do this.” She put her hand against my back. “Thomas Earl, we ain’t gonna go hungry this winter. That’s a chicken Killing dog. What’s got to be done, has to be done now.” Finally I closed my eyes, pulled the trigger. I still feel it. When I looked up, Mama was long gone, she was high-tailing it down the lane, that red gingham skirt flying like a kite. She’d left me a handkerchief and a shovel on the ground. Winter/Spring 2013 Sister Bessie, who claimed to be a third cousin, recorded his removal thusly, “Unforgivable, the Church has voted for the dismissal of the Lord’s very arrow.” Sister Bessie had never married and she tended to the melodramatic. She’d written down most of the family history, though after she died, in the Year of Our Lord 1994, her journals were found to be an odd fiction, she was not well in her recollection, nor thought process, though everyone remembered her mama, Eula, the church organist, with great affection. But there was one entry in Sister Bessie’s journal about the last days of Preacher Whiteside in the Nursing Home that gave us all pause: “The nurses have complained about Preacher Whitesides’ horned toes. One called them “terrible little devils under the sheets” and they said, that even the strongest of nail clippers were useless against them. How, even seemingly unconscious, the Preacher Arthur Ray at his Mama’s Funeral would aim a foot at any person who approached and slice them open easy as a razor to an apple. Eventually, they had to call He hung up the phone, said to us, “Funeral’s Thursday.” Left the room. in a gardener with a pair of hedge shears, how everyone She was old, sick and his visits had trailed away somehow. on the hall heard the man curse the Lord as he clipped. And the Reverend, who had not spoken in nigh eighteen months, In other words, she’d been gone from him a long time. gave answer in a strange tongue, almost like the grunt of a hog. During the last year, he’d even spoken of her in the past tense. Always a broad stout woman, she’d shrunk down like a puppet He mumbled to himself, that ain’t even her in that box. He wore his only suit, which had grown tight across his belly, The room seemed full of strangers and whispers. Early on, he planted his back against the chipped wall of the hall Allowing no cousins, old neighbors or church folk to approach him blind. They were so gray, so old, full of the Jesus Pentecostal shit he hated. And when the preacher (certainly a stranger) called them to the parlor, Like an altar call, saying, “Brothers and sisters, let’s join hands to pray.” He laughed aloud, “Preacher, you ain’t never gonna jerk a tear outta me.” As most filed to the coffin, he walked to the filling station on the corner. The old man at the counter, had a familiar name and a Parkinson’s tremor. They had a cup of bad coffee, talked of the weather, the closed textile mill. When the dark hearse passed by, they fell silent, listening as a Mechanic in the garage cursed a Chevy transmission like the devil himself. NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 19 P re v iou s R e c ipie n t s Tara Lynn Mayes, 1975 You went away to a fancy Northern college so nobody could call you hillbilly. You lied to explain your corn-pone accent, said you were an army brat, had lived everywhere, all over the world. You’d studied your countries. Freshman, sophomore year, it worked out for you, perfect deception, but then that boy from Sevierville showed up with hound dog eyes, said he could smell mountain on you, said you was so lonesome. He was a drink of water, but you hid him, from everyone, even yourself, then he went back home to the farm, no degree to show, or even wanted. You graduated a year later, alone, a month after your mama died. You ain’t been home since, and twenty years later, you still remember that lanky Tennessee boy, Miller Coates, how he kissed you fierce, sharper than a toothache, and how you’re sitting in your big house now thinking about a dead time, a gone boy, remembering the Valentine card he shoved under your dorm room door, it was the best thing ever, that pink heart slip of paper: I love you better than the devil loves fire. Angela Kelly, of Spartanburg, SC, is the author of four poetry chapbooks, most recently Post Script from the House of Dreams (winner of the 2006 South Carolina Poetry Initiative Prize, published by Stepping Stone Press). Her full length poetry collection Voodoo for the Other Woman is forthcoming from Hub City Press in March 2013. Additional individual poems have been published in numerous journals including North American Review, The Bloomsbury Review, Nimrod, Kalliope, Rhino, Yemassee, Inkwell, Rosebud, The Ledge, and Rattle. In addition to the Linda Flowers Literary Award, Kelly was awarded the South Carolina Fellowship of the Arts from The South Carolina Commission of the Arts in 1999, received the 2011 Carrie McCray Nickens Fellowship presented by the South Carolina Academy of Authors, received the 2012 William Matthews Poetry Award from the Asheville Poetry Review, and has been awarded fellowships from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Vermont Studio Center. Karen Gilchrist (2001) Joseph Bathanti (2002) Heather Ross Miller (2003) Barbara Presnell (2004) Kermit Turner (2005) Kathy Watts (2006) Susan Weinberg Vogel (2007) Kristin Hemmy (2008) Katey Schultz (2009) LINDA FLOW ERS LITERAR Y AW ARD Jebbediah, Coming Home He’s an old man now, in suspenders. He won’t even say the years. There’s a shopping center now where Gran Pappy’s farm stood. But Aunt Lilith’s old home place is still backwoods, snake bait, house long burned down, but a righteous chimney still standing, Something of a hearth drowned in weed, rhubarb out back, blackberry bramble, crows cawing in the storm broke crabapples. The North Carolina Humanities Council invites original, unpublished entries of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry for the 2013 Linda Flowers Literary Award. Submissions should celebrate excellence in the humanities and reflect the experiences of people who, like Linda Flowers, not only identify with North Carolina, its people and cultures, but also explore its problems and promises. For complete submission guidelines and prize details, see the North Carolina Humanities Council website at www.nchumanities.org. Questions may be directed to Donovan McKnight, program officer at 336-334-4770 or dmcknight@nchumanties.org. DEADLINE: postmark date August 15, 2013 He remembers drinking whiskey behind the church at age thirteen, killing hogs before November frost, the charred smell of the smoke house. A Christmas dance in the Vance’s barn, the sharp clean of his new shirt, how Adeline pulled the collar off his neck and kissed the life out of him. The North Carolina Humanities Council was privileged to have Linda Flowers as one of its members from 1992 to 1998. That my book about Eastern North Carolina might touch a chord with some people... I had not anticipated. What [they] are responding to in Throwed Away, I think, is its human dimensions: the focus on real men and women having to make their way in the face of a changing, onrushing and typically uncaring world... This humanistic apprehension, I tell my students, is as necessary for living fully as anything else they may ever hope to have. ~Linda Flowers, in a letter to the North Carolina Humanities Council Membership Committee, July 1992 Winter/Spring 2013 Traci Lazenby Elliot (2010) Nancy Dew Taylor (2011) Read more previous winning submissions at www.nchumanitites.org/linda-flowers. 2 0 1 2 SE L ECTION COMMI TTEE Magdalena Maiz-Peña Council trustee and professor of Spanish at Davidson College Rebecca Black poet and assistant professor of creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Lenard Moore poet and assistant professor of language and literature at Mount Olive College Katey Schultz 2009 Linda Flowers Award recipient 21 2 0 1 2 : Th e y e ar in Discretionary Grant re v i e w WAKE $500 to the NC Dept. of Cultural Resources, Raleigh Connecting to Collections after Hurricane Irene $500 The 2012 Annual Report to the People Planning Grants Buncombe $700 to Flood Gallery Fine Arts Center, Asheville Architecting the Iranian Revolution — Paradox, Propaganda, and Persuasion $2,610 Grants The North Carolina Humanities Council awarded one discretionary grant, four planning grants, twelve mini-grants, and sixteen large grants to cultural and educational organizations to conduct humanities programs in 2012. Funded groups matched the Humanities Council grants with in-kind and cash contributions. (In-kind amounts as reported or estimated are listed below each project title throughout “2012: The Year in Review.”) The projects supported during this grant period are integral to the Humanities Council’s commitment to advocate lifelong learning and facilitate the exploration and celebration of the Main many voices and stories of North Carolina’s cultures and heritage. These programs, as sites where open discourse resides, contributed to the cross-fertilization of ideas and understanding vital to encouraging our citizens’ sense of self-worth and practice of public engagement. A wide range of formats included conferences and panel discussions that placed the public in contact with the most current historical and literary scholarship; exhibitions, documentation, and visual and archival testament to the state’s diverse cultural heritage; and performances and film presentations. In retrospect, the projects provided opportunities for deep personal and collective reflection on the human experience. Main Wake $693 to State Capitol Foundation, Inc., Raleigh State Capitol and Mansion Oral History Project$7,800 Watauga $750 to Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, Blowing Rock “Photography as Art and History” Exhibition$858 St Buncombe $1,200 to Buncombe County Library, Asheville Race, Truth, and Fiction in Thomas Wolfe’s “The Child by Tiger”$2,285 Carteret $1,200 to North Carolina Maritime History Council, Beaufort America’s Second War for Independence: The Naval War 0f 1812$2,851 Davie $800 to Davie County Public Library, Mocksville Elliot Engel — The History and Mystery of Wine$2,539 Forsyth $1,200 to Reynolda House Museum, Winston-Salem Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey$3,320 Guilford $1,200 to Elsewhere Collaborative, Greensboro Xsegregated$3,400 $1,200 to Summit Rotary Foundation, Greensboro Feed Festival$9,131 Halifax $1,200 to Roanoke River Regional Collaborative, Roanoke Rapids Cultural Arts Festival$1,700 Nash $1,200 to Nash Arts Center, Nashville Support for Theatrical Presentation and Panel Discussion of You Wouldn’t Expect$1,740 Orange $1,200 to The Paul Green Foundation, Chapel Hill Paul Green Festival $21,108 Transylvania $1,127 to Transylvania Heritage Coalition, Inc, Brevard Perseverence, Strength and Faith: The African American Experience in Transylvania County$4,737 Wake $500 to Department of Cultural Resources, Raleigh Connecting to Collections $500 Large Grants BUNCOMBE $5,152 to James Agee Film Project, Charlottesville (VA), Asheville Common Ground: People, Place and Food in the American South, the production of a documentary film which examines food origins and culture of the South. $7,135 $7,000 to Mountain Area Information Network, Asheville Asheville Wordfest, a multicultural poetry festival featuring poets and citizenjournalists from varied cultural backgrounds gathered to explore the theme of home. $19,800 $9,400 to North Carolina Folklife Institute, Durham Blazing the African American Music Trail, a project that provided digital training for members of eight eastern North Carolina counties in support of the African American Music Trail, a heritage tourism initiative. $47,000 Grant Multiple Grants Literature and Medicine Road Scholars Teachers Institute Multiple Road Scholars Let’s Talk About It Winter/Spring 2013 Mini-Grants Durham $1,200 to North Carolina Rastafari Union, Durham Parallel Trajectories of the Civil (Human) Rights Movement and The Rastafari Movement$1,807 Durham $9,916 to Durham Library Foundation, Durham Bull City Soul Revival, a collaboration of musicians and scholars showcased the history of soul music in Durham. $12,590 St Multiple Let’s Talk About It Yadkin $738 to Friends of East Bend Public Library, East Bend Earl Norman Collection Returns Home$738 Main St $3,500 to The Apprend Foundation, Durham Making the Union Tavern Mobile and More Meaningful, the development of a mobile tour of the Thomas Day furniture exhibition at the historic Union Tavern, home and shop of the acclaimed free African American cabinetmaker. $5,000 Gaston $5,402 to Gaston College, Dallas Celebrando America Latina, a speaker and film discussion series covering the Latin American experience in North Carolina and beyond with a special emphasis on culture and labor. $14,560 Guilford $9,540 to Touring Theatre of North Carolina, Greensboro Look Back the Maytime Days: From the Pages of Fred Chappell, a stage production of author Fred Chappell’s family stories in Western North Carolina. $23,735 $5,000 to University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro Past the Pipes: Stories of the Terra Cotta Community, a permanent exhibition that examines the African-American history and people of the Pomona Terra Cotta Company community five miles from downtown Greensboro. $6,986 Mecklenburg $3,800 to Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte Fight for Education Equality: A First-Hand Account, an interactive panel discussion that transported participants to the events of the mid-twentieth-century school integration movement. $10,691 $2,299 to University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte Without Sanctuary: A Conference on Lynching and the American South, with the Without Sanctuary exhibit at the Levine Museum of the New South, scholars and the public explored questions about American and southern culture, racial and ethnic violence. $2,299 North Carolina Stories M ain St Museum on Main Street NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 23 Grants continued Orange $6,560 to WUNC FM 91.5, Chapel Hill WUNC Pop-Up Music Club, pilot radio productions using a new format that captures live music and musicians in their cultural and historical context. $7,167 Person $10,000 to Hidden Voices, Cedar Grove None of the Above: Power, Priviledge and the School to Prison Pipeline, a collaboration examining the intersection of race, poverty, education, and incarceration. $195,225 Surry $5,000 to Mount Airy Museum of Regional History, Mount Airy Geocaching for History, a project that utilized GPS technology to provide a new way to experience regional history. $5,163 The Teachers Institute The Teachers Institute sponsored three seminars in 2012 with 74 participants from 25 counties. The first of these seminars was conducted in March, led by Dr. Benjamin Filene (UNC Greensboro, Public History), and was held at Barton College in Wilson, NC. Designed in collaboration with three sites chosen to host Journey Stories, a traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street, this seminar engaged teachers from Pender, Robeson, and Wilson counties who learned how to help their students become digital curators of stories and artifacts from their own families and communities. As a result of this workshop, teachers were able to work with their students to conduct oral histories, to collect and photograph illustrative artifacts for these stories, and to edit and upload this material on a Smithsonian Institute dedicated website. Caroline Courter, a first-grade teacher in Pender County, engaged not only her students, but their parents in conducting family oral histories. Her young students learned how to compose and ask questions as well as how to use a flip camera and other equipment. Winter/Spring 2013 Wake $4,900 to African American Cultural Center, Raleigh Infiltrating Hollywood: A Program Presented by the Southern Black Film and Media Consortium, a screening of the documentary film Infiltrating Hollywood: The Rise and Fall of the Spook Who Sat by the Door and a panel discussion by humanities scholars and filmmakers who contextualized and critically situated the film. $5,200 $9,649 to North Carolina Museum of History, Raleigh Al Norte al Norte: Latino Life in North Carolina, a year-long photography exhibition with bilingual descriptions that accompanied photographs by the Pulitzer Prize-winning José Galvez. $62,182 The second seminar, the annual weeklong Summer Seminar, was held in Chapel Hill. Led by scholars Dr. Anne Baxter (NC State University, English), Dr. Rachel Willis (UNC Chapel Hill, American Studies), and Dr. David Zonderman (NC State University, History), participants engaged in an in-depth study of railroads, Laying Down Tracks: A Study of Railroads as Myth, Reality, and Symbol. Participating educators reported in a sixmonth follow-up assessment the various ways they have used materials from this seminar to enhance their curriculum and meet required objectives. For example, Guilford County high school history teacher Sharon Sullivan reported that her students have “assessed the competing forces of expansionism, nationalism, and sectionalism” using many of her summer seminar materials. She added that the content knowledge she gained from the scholars also helped her revise and focus her lesson planning. Penny Freeland, a middle school art and drama teacher from Yadkin County, reported that she has designed an enrichment social studies class using materials and information from the seminar. And Cole Osborne, an English and humanities instructor at Guilford Technical Community College, reported that he used much of the seminar material to illustrate the theme of equality in America in his English classes and is using many of the digital resources from the UNC libraries presented at the seminar to bring his Southern Culture class new YANCEY $4,681 to Traditional Voices Group, Burnsville Singing the Blues: Considering the History and Practitioners of the Piedmont Blues, the fifth annual RiddleFest celebrating the life and art of Yancey County resident Lesley Riddle, African American musician of significant relevance to mountain music culture. $5,195 materials as well as additional primary sources. These examples are symbolic of the responses of many of the seminar participants who are working with new ideas and new materials in their teaching that they would not have had without the seminar experience. The third seminar, Journey Stories in Western North Carolina, was held in October at Cullowhee in collaboration with Western Carolina University’s Mountain Heritage Center which was hosting the Journey Stories exhibition at the time. Participants worked with Dr. Scott Philyaw, director of the MHC, to explore Western North Carolina journey stories. Paisley Cloyd, a high school art teacher from the Nash-Rocky Mount Schools, has begun a Cherokee Journey Story unit for her students, and is looking forward to the opportunity to expand and refine this work. Also attending this seminar was Dr. Ernest Johnson from the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching. He will lead these participants in a follow-up seminar at NCCAT in April 2013. This spring seminar is designed to assist teachers in additional research and curriculum design that they began at the October seminar. As these educators return to their schools and classrooms, they bring a refreshed perspective and level of engagement that will prove invaluable to their students and colleagues alike. Participants of the Journey Stories in Western North Carolina Teachers Institute Seminar at the Jackson County Library in Sylva in October 2012. Photo by Lou Nachman. 2 0 1 2 T e ac h e r s I n st itut e S e m in ar s 74 participants, 25 counties: Alamance, Brunswick, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Carteret, Cleveland, Davie, Durham, Forsyth, Gaston, Guilford, Johnston, Mecklenburg, Nash, Onslow, Orange, Pender, Robeson, Rowan, Rutherford, Stokes, Union, Wayne, Wilson, Yadkin Teaching Levels: 15 elementary, 26 middle, 26 high, 7 community college Courses Represented: English/language arts, reading, exceptional children, history/social studies, psychology, family consumer science, mathematics/algebra, sociology, computer skills, science/biology, journalism, technology, humanities, theatre/drama, creative writing, music, rhetoric/composition, art, French, woodworking, Spanish, physical education. Also participating were a librarian/media specialist, a school counselor, a technical facilitator, and an assistant principal. Special Scholarships: Three endowed scholarships awarded during 2012 sponsored the following teachers for the week-long Summer Seminar: 1) Evon Barnes, English, Chapel Hill Carrboro Schools, Alice Smith Barkley Scholarship; 2) Casey Campbell, Exceptional Children, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, Culbertson-Dagenhart-Hauptfuhrer Scholarship; 3) Jonathan Permar, History, Guilford County Schools, Moore-Robinson Scholarship. NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 25 Linda Flowers Literary Award Angela Kelly of Spartanburg, SC, has been awarded the 2012 Linda Flowers Literary Award for her collection of poems “Semper Fi of Appalachia.” Kelly is the author of four poetry chapbooks, most recently Post Script from the House of Dreams (winner of the 2006 South Carolina Poetry Initiative Prize), published by Stepping Stone Press. Her full-length poetry collection Voodoo for the Other Woman is forthcoming from Hub City Press in March 2013. Additional individual poems have been published in numerous journals including North American Review, The Bloomsbury Review, Nimrod, Kalliope, Rhino, Yemassee, Inkwell, Rosebud, The Ledge, and Rattle. In addition to the Linda Flowers Literary Award, Kelly was awarded the South Carolina Fellowship of the Arts from The South Carolina Commission of the Arts in 1999, received the 2011 Carrie McCray Nickens Fellowship presented by the South Carolina Academy of Authors, and received the 2012 William Matthews Poetry Award from the Asheville Poetry Review. Kelly has been awarded fellowships from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Vermont Studio Center. The 2012 John Tyler Caldwell Award For The Humanities Born in Faison, North Carolina, Betty McCain graduated as valedictorian from Faison High School, attended St. Mary’s School, and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in music and Columbia University’s Teachers College with an MA in music. The mother of two children and five grandchildren, McCain moved with her husband, physician Dr. John McCain, to Wilson, NC, in 1956. Although working as an ambassador for numerous causes throughout the state, she continues to make her home in Wilson where she serves on the Board of Advisors for Barton College, raises money for the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park, and compiles oral histories of World War II veterans in Wilson County. She is a member of Wilson’s First Presbyterian Church, where she sings in the choir, and is a former deacon and elder. Perhaps best known as the Secretary of Cultural Resources, she Betty Ray McCain holds her Caldwell Medal. was appointed to this position in 1993 by Governor Jim Hunt and served in this Photo by Keith Tew Photography. capacity until 2001. During her tenure as Secretary, McCain was instrumental in the building of the current North Carolina Museum of History; in securing additional land for the North Carolina Art Museum; in securing major funding for the building of Meymandi Hall, home of the North Carolina Symphony; and in securing major funding for the excavation of the Queen Anne’s Revenge, the ship of the pirate Blackbeard. McCain is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, among them the UNC General Alumni Association Distinguished Service Medal, the Design Guild Award from the NCSU College of Design, and the Distinguished Citizen of the Year Award from the Wilson Chamber of Commerce. In 2006, McCain was awarded the North Caroliniana Award from the North Caroliniana Society and is the 2009 recipient of the North Carolina Award, the highest civilian award bestowed by the state for public service. Winter/Spring 2013 Let’s Talk About It The popularity of the Let’s Talk About It library discussion series continues to grow. The interchange of ideas among participants, scholars, and sponsoring librarians makes the Let’s Talk About It experience rich and rewarding for all. Let’s Talk About It brings people together around thematic approaches to universal ideas and provides a safe environment for broadening horizons. Through a civil discourse on issues as broad as Picturing America: Land of Opportunity to Writers from North Carolina’s Literary Hall of Fame, audiences and scholars draw on each other’s knowledge to share a common experience through the framework of literature. Twenty one libraries sponsored series in fiscal year 2012, offering twenty seven series to over 3,000 participants. Let’s Talk About It is a joint project of the North Carolina Humanities Council and the North Carolina Center for the Book, a program of the North Carolina State Library/Department of Cultural Resources and an affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. ALAMANCE $1,000 to Alamance County Public Library, Burlington Not For Children Only$2375 $1,000 to Chatham Community Library, Pittsboro Journeys Across Time and Place $1,700 Brunswick $800 to Friends of the Southport Library, Southport Journey Inward: Women’s Autobiograpy$2,360 Craven $1,000 to Craven Community College — Havelock Public Library, Havelock Tar Heel Fiction: Stories of Home $1,826 Cabarrus $1,000 to Cabarrus County Public Library, Concord Picturing America: Places in the Heart$1,892 Carteret $1,000 to Carteret County Public Library, Beaufort Making Sense of America’s Civil War$1,900 $1,000 to Carteret County Public Library, Beaufort Picturing America: Land of Opportunity$4,376 Chatham $1,000 to Friends of the Chatham Community Library, Pittsboro Mysteries: Clues to Who We Are $2,432 $1,000 to New Bern Craven County Public Library, New Bern Affirming Aging$2,849 Cumberland $1,000 to Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center, Fayetteville Mad Women in the Attic $4,193 $1,000 to Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center, Fayetteville Mysteries: Clues to Who We Are $3,382 Davidson $1,000 to Friends of the Lexington Library, Lexington Mysteries: Clues to Who We Are $1,700 Davie $1,000 to Davie County Public Library, Mocksville Making Sense of America’s Civil War$1,500 Martin $1,000 to Martin Memorial Library, Williamston Picturing America: Making Tracks $3,800 Pasquotank $1,000 to Pasquotank-Camden Library, Elizabeth City Making Sense of America’s Civil War$1,225 Edgecombe $1,000 to Edgecombe County Memorial Library, Tarboro Altered Landscapes$1,122 McDowell $1,000 to Friends of McDowell County Public Library, Marion Tar Heel Fiction: Stories of Home $1,039 Person $1,000 to Person County Public Library, Roxboro Altered Landscapes$1,625 Granville $1,000 to Richard H. Thornton Library, Oxford America’s Greatest Conflict $1,267 Haywood $600 to Friends of Haywood County Public Library, Waynesville Novels of Jane Austen$939 $1,000 to Friends of Haywood County Public Library, Waynesville America’s Greatest Conflict $1,549 Iredell $1,000 to Iredell County Library, Statesville Altered Landscapes$2,540 $1,000 to Friends of McDowell County Public Library, Marion Making Sense of America’s Civil War$1,135 Vance $1,000 to Friends of H. Leslie Perry Memorial Library, Henderson America’s Greatest Conflict $2,468 Mecklenburg $1,000 to Beatties Ford Road Library, Charlotte The African American Experience: Looking Forward, Looking Back $1,400 Warren $800 to Warren County Memorial Library, Warrenton Picturing America: Making Tracks $1,475 Nash $1,000 to Braswell Memorial Library, Rocky Mount Mysteries: Clues to Who We Are $1,499 North Carolina Stories In 2012, the Humanities Council launched a new grant opportunity, North Carolina Stories, a grant of up to $2,000 to produce a digital public humanities project around the theme of “movement.” The Council supported two North Carolina Stories projects from The Friends of the Jackson County Public Library and Wake Forest University. The first examined local journey stories of western NC; the second hosted online videos of NC immigrants telling their stories of migration. The Council is proud to be a part of this new digital method of public humanities engagement, broadening audiences on an international scale, and expanding the life of these projects. Forsyth $2,000 to Wake Forest University, Ethnic Studies Program, Winston-Salem Where Are You From? Stories of Migration to North Carolina in Our Own Words $2,000 Jackson $2,000 to Friends of the Jackson County Library, Sylva In, Out, Through and Back Again: Smoky Mountain Journeys $29,504 NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 27 Road Scholars $271 to Piedmont Crossing Retirement Community, Thomasville North Carolina in a Bottle$440 Road Scholar programs were held in 54 counties in fiscal year 2012, with a total attendance of 7,098 people. Sponsoring organizations included historical societies, civic groups, community colleges, churches, libraries, retirement centers, museums, and universities, from the mountains to the coast. Discussions on history, music, literature, and religion led to exchanges of information and ideas, connections with neighbors, and an expanding sense of community. Civil discourse broadens horizons as program participants from widely diverse cultural backgrounds, academic levels, and beliefs come together to gain knowledge and new perspectives from scholars and from each other. ALAMANCE $350 to Alamance Community College Foundation, Graham Nazi POWs in the Tar Heel State $750 $347 to Alamance County Historical Museum, Burlington Hard Times in the Mill$473 $282 to Haw River Historical Society, Haw River God in Southern Story and Song $313 $309 to Haw River Historical Society, Haw River Race to the Dan$455 $350 to Mebane Historical Society and Museum, Mebane Nazi POWs in the Tar Heel State $455 $304 to Bladen Community College, Dublin Slave Voices in North Carolina $620 Brunswick $315 to Winding River History Group, Bolivia Outside the Frame: the Astonishing Life of Whistler’s Mother$1,295 Buncombe $304 to Handmade in America, Asheville Southern Craft: a Revival in the Mountains $2,385 Cabarrus $350 to Cabarrus County Public Library, Concord Long Legacies$878 $305 to Twin Lakes Retirement Center, Burlington North Carolina’s Long Civil Rights Movement$289 $350 to Eastern Cabarrus Historical Museum, Mount Pleasant The Culture of Bluegrass Music in North Carolina$651 Ashe $350 to Ashe County Public Library, West Jefferson Southern Cooking, High and Low $745 Carteret $350 to Bogue Banks Public Library, Pine Knoll Shores The Lost Light$3,185 $350 to Ashe County Public Library, West Jefferson Lost in Translation$878 Avery $326 to Havurah of the High Country, Boone Two Christian Responses to Hitler and the Holocaust$455 $350 to Havurah of the High Country, Boone The Biblical Windows of St. Stephan Church, Mainz, Germany $715 Bladen $250 to Bladen Community College, Dublin License to Snoop: the Making of Biography$755 $350 to Bladen Community College, Dublin God in Southern Story and Song $550 Winter/Spring 2013 Caswell $268 to Thomas Day House, Milton John Day in Liberia$390 Catawba $350 to Catawba County Library, Newton Slave Voices in North Carolina $930 $328 to Catawba County Library, Newton An Introduction to the Ancient Maya$863 Chatham $0 to Friends of the Chatham Community Library, Pittsboro Literary Trails of the North Carolina Piedmont$520 Cleveland $350 to Jacob S. Mauney Memorial Library, Kings Mountain The Jack Tales, North Carolina Heritage Tales$688 Craven $350 to New Bern Craven County Public Library, New Bern Slave Voices in North Carolina $1,050 $261 to Lewisville Historical Society, Lewisville Trailing Daniel Boone$579 Granville $281 to Granville County Historical Society Museum, Oxford Solving the Mystery of the Missing Cape Hatteras Fresnel Lens$890 $250 to New Philadelphia Moravian Church, Winston-Salem Life as a Moravian in Old Salem $95 $281 to Granville County Historical Society Museum, Oxford War Zone: World War II Off North Carolina’s Outer Banks$890 $350 to New Bern Historical Society, New Bern Outside the Frame: the Astonishing Life of Whistler’s Mother $1,000 $324 to Southside Branch Library, Winston-Salem Septima Clark, Citizenship Education, and Women in the Civil Rights Movement$1,606 $340 to Granville County Historical Society Museum, Oxford History of North Carolina in 45 Minutes$1,020 $350 to New Bern Historical Society, New Bern George Moses Horton$971 $250 to Walkertown Area Historical Society, Winston-Salem Do Not Toss Out Your Grandmother’s Letters$130 Guilford $278 to Alexander Martin Chapter NSDAR, High Point Before They Were Heroes at Kings Mountain$470 $332 to Winston-Salem Writers Inc., Winston-Salem Mosaic Writing: Using Fiction, Poetry and Memoir in Creative Nonfiction$665 $255 to American Association of University Women, Greensboro, Greensboro The Jack Tales, North Carolina Heritage Tales$195 Gaston $350 to Gaston County Museum of Art and History, Dallas Bryan Grimes: Soldier and Citizen $1,530 $325 to First Evangelical Lutheran Church, Greensboro War Zone: World War II Off North Carolina’s Outer Banks$565 $350 to New Bern Historical Society, New Bern War Zone: World War II off North Carolina’s Outer Banks $1,065 $350 to Twin Rivers Reading Council, Havelock The Jack Tales, North Carolina Heritage Tales$741 Cumberland $338 to Fayetteville Downtown Alliance, Fayetteville The Culture of Bluegrass Music in North Carolina$835 Dare $313 to Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, Hatteras North Carolina’s U-Boats: U-85, U-701, U-352$770 Davie $350 to Davie County Public Library, Mocksville The Divided Mind of Civil War North Carolina$358 Durham $316 to Durham Civil War Roundtable, Durham Heroes of a Divided Culture $370 $319 to Pvt. Lorenzo L. Bennitt-Pvt Robert F. Duke Camp # 773 SCV, Durham General Robert E. Lee: the Autumn of His Life$539 Forsyth $305 to Forsyth County Public Library, Winston-Salem Picturing America: Migration in North Carolina$288 $350 to Friedberg Moravian Church, Winston-Salem Fannin’ the Heat Away$615 $350 to Gaston County Museum of Art and History, Dallas William Henry Singleton’s Recollections of My Slavery Days $1,270 $320 to Gaston County Museum of Art and History, Dallas The Divided Mind of Civil War North Carolina$1,010 $350 to Gaston County Public Library, Gastonia Trumpet and Cornet: Influences of Jazz$1,515 $350 to Gaston County Public Library, Gastonia God in Southern Story and Song $1,385 $350 to Gaston County Public Library, Gastonia Lead Belly, the Lomaxes, and the Construction of America’s Musical Heritage$1,158 $350 to First Presbyterian Church, Greensboro God in Southern Story and Song $1,808 $340 to Piedmont Crossing Retirement Community, Thomasville The Tar Heel Traveler$590 $264 to Senior Citizens Resource of Guilford, Greensboro The History of North Carolina in 45 Minutes$228 Harnett $350 to Campbell University, Buies Creek What Happened to the Lost Colony?$790 $293 to Harnett County Public Library, Lillington The Tar Heel Traveler$630 Haywood $350 to Sons of Confederate Veterans, Sanford, Maggie Valley General Robert E. Lee: the Autumn of His Life$748 Henderson $350 to Agudas Israel Congregation, Hendersonville Discovering Elvis$682 Johnston $278 to Johnston County Community College, Smithfield Sit a Spell$310 Lee $347 to Sons of Confederate Veterans, Sanford General Robert E. Lee: the Autumn of His Life$400 $318 to Sons of Confederate Veterans, Sanford The American Tobacco Culture: Our Heritage$636 $350 to First Presbyterian Church, Greensboro Fannin’ the Heat Away$1,436 Lenoir $331 to Black Heritage Society, Inc. DBA Cultural Heritage Museum, Kinston Forgotten Rural Black Women $340 $266 to First Presbyterian Church, Greensboro, Greensboro Exploring Faith Traditions Through Parables and Teaching Stories$839 $346 to Kinston-Lenoir County Library, Kinston Septima Clark, Citizenship Education, and Women in the Civil Rights Movement$475 $250 to High Point Public Library Literacy Program, High Point Stories From the Underground Railroad$343 Mecklenburg $311 to Bethlehem Center Head Start, Charlotte Sit a Spell$910 $269 to High Point Quilt Guild, High Point The History of North Carolina in 45 Minutes$797 $255 to Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture, Charlotte Poetry Pickin’s$510 $329 to Piedmont Crossing Retirement Community, Thomasville The Changing South: Who’s Benefitting, Who’s Losing$655 $350 to Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture, Charlotte Slave Voices in North Carolina $970 $264 to West Mecklenburg High School, Charlotte Breaking the Silence and Healing the Soul$310 Moore $350 to Moore County Historical Association, Southern Pines Women’s Attitudes Towards Secession and the Civil War $585 $336 to Sandhills Community College, Pinehurst North Carolina in a Bottle $510 $302 to Sandhills Community College, Pinehurst Southern Cooking High and Low $657 $307 to Sandhills Community College, Pinehurst Carolina Jazz Connection $403 $255 to Sandhills Jewish Congregation, Foxfire Village The Biblical Windows of St Stephan Church, Mainz, Germany $330 $350 to The College Club, Pinehurst A Confluence of Remarkable Women$570 $322 to Winnie Davis Chapter #259 United Daughters of the Confederacy, Carthage Women’s Attitudes Toward Secession and the Civil War $800 Nash $350 to Nash-Rocky Mount Council of International Reading Association, Rocky Mount The Jack Tales, North Carolina Heritage Tales$754 New Hanover $350 to Bellamy Mansion Museum of History and Design, Wilmington Thomas Day, Cabinetmaker: Man in the Middle$820 $350 to Federal Point Historic Preservation Society, Carolina Beach War Zone: World War II Off North Carolina’s Outer Banks $925 $251 to Lower Cape Fear Historical Society, Wilmington America Without Indians$323 $250 to Stamp Defiance Chapter NSDAR, Wilmington North Carolina Indians Before the English$171 $301 to Winter Park Baptist Church, Wilmington Fannin’ the Heat Away$190 Onslow $350 to Friends of the Swansboro Library, Swansboro Still Cookin’$1,834 $325 to Tryon Fine Arts Center, $305 to Surry Community College, Tryon Dobson It’s Not Just a Game: Sports and Stories From the Underground Society in North CarolinaRailroad$195 $820 $350 to Surry Community College, Orange Dobson Robeson $268 to Orange County Public Samson and Delilah: From Pulpits $338 to Friends of the Library Library, Hillsborough to Pop Stars$310 UNC-Pembroke, Pembroke Sincere Forms of Flattery What Happened to the Lost $365 Union Colony? $676 $350 to Lois M. Edwards Memorial $258 to Orange County Public $300 to UNC Pembroke Mary Library, Marshville Library, Hillsborough Livermore Library, Pembroke The Language of Film$1,186 The Culture of Bluegrass Music in The African American Church in North Carolina$651 $273 to Union County Public Works by Ernest J. Gaines Library, Monroe Pamlico $805 Poetry Pickin’s$800 $350 to Pamlico County Public Rockingham Library, Bayboro Wake $279 to Rockingham Community Stories From the Underground $318 to Col. Henry K. Burgwyn College, Wentworth Railroad$585 Chaper Sons of Confederate Understanding Black History as Veterans, Wendell Pasquotank American History$390 General Robert E. Lee: the $350 to Elizabeth City State Autumn of His Life$650 Rowan University, Elizabeth City $288 to American Association of Stories From the Underground $250 to Eva Perry Regional Library, University Women, Salisbury Branch, Railroad$1,500 Apex Salisbury Southern Cooking High and Low $350 to Museum of the Albemarle, The Fabric of Hope and $464 Elizabeth City Resistance$430 Stories From the Underground $321 to Eva Perry Regional Library, $350 to Historic Gold Hill and Mines Railroad$1,662 Apex Foundation, Gold Hill Stories From the Underground Pender The Culture of Bluegrass Music in Railroad$510 $286 to Historical Society of Topsail North Carolina $1,734 $341 to Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Island, Topsail Beach $293 to NC Transportation Museum, Church, Cary North Carolina Indians Before the Spencer The American Tobacco Culture: English$805 Stories From the Underground Our Heritage$640 $350 to Historical Society of Topsail Railroad$520 $250 to Lake Lynn Seniors, Raleigh Island, Topsail Beach $290 to Rowan Museum, Salisbury War Zone: World War II Off North The American Tobacco Culture: Before They Were Heroes at Carolina’s Outer Banks$375 Our Heritage$1,377 Kings Mountain$260 $254 to Library for the Blind and Perquimans $350 to Rowan Public Library, Physically Handicapped, Raleigh $350 to Sons of the American Salisbury The Tar Heel Traveler$1,805 Revolution, Hertford The Language of Film$983 $250 to Meredith College Master Moving Into the Carolina of Science in Nutrition Program, Rutherford Backcountry$715 Raleigh $350 to Town of Rutherfordton, Person Southern Cooking High and Low Rutherfordton $350 to Mount Zion United $141 Before They Were Heroes at Methodist Church, Roxboro Kings Mountain$1,070 $342 to Meredith College Master Fannin’ the Heat Away$1,180 of Science in Nutrition Program, Scotland $264 to Walnut Grove United Raleigh $350 to Scotia Village Retirement Methodist Church, Hurdle Mills North Carolina in a Bottle$375 Community, Laurinburg The Culture of Bluegrass Music in Women’s Attitudes Toward $312 to Meredith College Master North Carolina$1,015 Secession and the Civil War of Science in Nutrition Program, $1,310 Raleigh Pitt Green Design and the Quest for $332 to Tar River Sail and Power Stanly Sustainability$50 Squadron, Washington $349 to Stanly Community College, War Zone: World War II Off North $250 to Mordecai Historic Park, Albemarle Carolina’s Outer Banks$1,251 Raleigh Gone With the Wind? Never: Sit a Spell$65 Polk Scarlett O’Hara and Southern Womanhood$225 $292 to Tryon Fine Arts Center, Tryon Surry Women in Traditional Song $287 to Mount Airy Museum of $625 Regional History, Mount Airy $350 to Tryon Fine Arts Center, Tryon Native Americans and Their Use of the Environment$950 Race to the Dan: The Retreat That Won the Revolution$678 $350 to NC Museum of History Associates, Raleigh Tango! The Song! The Dance! The Obsession!$1,029 $346 to North Regional Library, Raleigh Do Not Toss Out Your Grandmother’s Letters$955 NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 29 Road Scholars continued $341 to North Regional Library, Raleigh Fannin’ the Heat Away$750 $255 to St. Matthew AME Church, Raleigh Sit a Spell$155 $286 to North Regional Library, Raleigh Still Cookin’$845 $350 to St. Philip Lutheran Church, Raleigh Scoundrels, Rogues and Heroes of the Old North State$310 $350 to Olivia Raney Library, Raleigh Writing Family and Local History From Genealogical Data, Oral History and Family Lore$540 $350 to Parkview Manor Senior Housing Center, Raleigh Poetry Pickin’s$975 $298 to Raleigh Sail and Power Squadron, Cary A North Carolina Icon Brought to Life$423 $328 to Raleigh Sail and Power Squadron, Cary The History of North Carolina in 45 Minutes$423 $250 to Raleigh Sail and Power Squadron, Cary How Shipwrecks Shaped the Destiny of the Outer Banks $325 $322 to Sons of Confederate Veterans, Wake Forest, Wake Forest General Robert E. Lee: the Autumn of His Life$646 $255 to St Paul AME Church, Raleigh Sit a Spell$130 The 2012 Harlan Joel Gradin Award for Excellence in the Public Humanities $350 to State Library of North Carolina, Raleigh Writing Family and Local History From Genealogical Data, Oral History and Family Lore $3,275 $250 to West Regional Library, Cary War Zone: World War II Off North Carolina’s Outer Banks $1,155 Sunday School Picnic, Penderlea Homestead, 1937. Photo by Ben Shahn. Courtesy Library of Congress. $273 to Whitaker Glen Retirement Community, Raleigh Women’s Attitudes Towards Watauga Secession in the Civil War$329 to Watauga County Library, $730 Boone $273 to Whitaker Glen Retirement Community, Raleigh John Charles McNeill: Poet Laureate’s Home Songs$390 Warren $314 to Warren County Memorial Library, Warrenton Southern Cooking High and Low $897 $300 to Warren County Memorial Library, Warrenton Thomas Day, Cabinet Maker: Man in the Middle$995 In the Footsteps of Daniel Boone $645 Wayne $318 to Old Dobbs County Genealogical Society, Goldsboro The Tar Heel Traveler$528 $333 to Wayne County Historical Association and Museum, Goldsboro North Carolina Indians Before the English$615 $320 to Wayne County Historical Association and Museum, Goldsboro Thomas Day, Cabinet Maker: Man in the Middle$395 $332 to Wayne County Historical Association and Museum, Goldsboro A North Carolina Icon Brought to Life$705 $288 to Wayne County Public Library, Goldsboro What If? Counterfactual Scenarios in the American Civil War$1,115 $350 to Wayne County Public Library, Goldsboro Stories From the Underground Railroad$831 Wilson $315 to Freeman Round House Museum, Wilson Thomas Day, Cabinet Maker: Man in the Middle$490 $284 to The Book Club, Wilson John Charles McNeill: Poet Laureate’s Home Songs$720 $345 to Wilson County Public Library, Wilson On North Carolina Waters $520 Wilkes $350 to Wilkes County Library, North Wilkesboro Carolina Jazz Connection$585 Museum on Main Street’s Journey Stories Museum on Main Street (MoMS) is a partnership between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the North Carolina Humanities Council that places exhibitions in rural and small community museums and libraries. By hosting a Smithsonian Institution exhibition augmented by humanities programs, participating host museums and libraries embrace new opportunities for professional training in volunteerism, philanthropy, marketing, and collections care and handling. Working with in-state scholars, the North Carolina Humanities Council also provides resources in the form of programming grants to help host sites prepare exhibition-related events for and about their communities. Three such grants were issued to the sponsoring organizations that hosted Journey Stories in 2012. This funding has resulted in Pender County communities pulling together to investigate and celebrate their immigration and transportation history at the library and throughout Burgaw. The citizens, public officials, and Rockingham County Historical Society leadership retrofitted a former courthouse, transforming it into a museum in Wentworth. The communities of Cullowhee and Sylva found ways through the partnership between the Mountain Heritage Center and the Jackson County Public Library (another former courthouse) to bring a multiplicity of people and their journey stories to the public ear and eye, mind and heart. Jackson $2,000 to Mountain Heritage Center, Cullowhee Journey Stories Exhibition in Cullowhee Winter/Spring 2013 $46,779 Pender $2,000 to Pender County Public Library, Burgaw Journey Stories Exhibition in Pender County $7,200 Rockingham $2,000 to Rockingham County Historical Society, Wentworth Journey Stories Exhibition in Rockingham County $2,577 The Harlan Joel Gradin Award for Excellence in the Public Humanities honors outstanding work that reflects, affirms, and promotes the mission of the North Carolina Humanities Council. Humanities Council staff and trustees presented the 2012 Harlan Joel Gradin Award to the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center for Workboats of Core Sound (2007) and Raising the Story of Menhaden Fishing (2009). Workboats of Core Sound, directed by independent scholar and photographer Lawrence S. Earley, offered the fishing communities of Carteret County opportunities to explore their history and cultures through personal experiences. In 2008, the Humanities Council cosponsored with the North Caroliniana Society the “Workboats of Core Sound Symposium and Photography Exhibit” at the Museum. In Lawrence Earley and Karen Willis Amspacher. Photo by Keith addition to the extensive photography exhibit, Earley contribTew Photography. uted material from thirty interviews with local residents and fishermen. Earley and Karen Willis Amspacher, executive director of the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum & Heritage Center, contributed to the publication of Salt in Their Blood: The Spirit of Community Down East, a Humanities Council Crossroads (2008). An expanded photography exhibit has been offered at the North Carolina Museum of History, the Burke Arts Council, and Tryon Palace. Earley’s work will be published in 2013 by the University of North Carolina Press. A 2009 Humanities Council grant supported planning for “A Collaborative Perspective of the Menhaden Fishing Industry of Carteret County, North Carolina,” which resulted in the project Raising the Story of Menhaden Fishing, a day-long symposium also supported by Council funding. A highlight was a presentation and performance by the Menhaden Chanteymen. This project explored history and culture through community documentation of personal experiences and discussion of major changes in coastal North Carolina. Both projects provided the foundations for a unique Humanities Council Teachers Institute Summer Seminar in 2011. Core Sound: A People and a Place of Change and Courage offered educators a learning laboratory as they met in the museum, studied the community’s collected histories, and talked with boat builders and fishermen. Literature and Medicine The Humanities Council is pleased to announce that the program has expanded to three concurrent medical facilities: Charles George VA Medical Facility in Asheville, Randolph Hospital in Asheboro, and New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington. In 2012, the Humanities Council conducted a training in Guilford County of facilitators and hospital liaisons participating in the 2013 program. In 2013, the Literature and Medicine program will reach approximately 75 caregivers, from chaplains to nurses and doctors, expanding the program’s reach throughout these facilities, helping to restore the heart and soul of healthcare, revealing the humanness of the industry at a time when it is needed most. NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 31 Ways to Give UNRESTRICTED GIVING – Unrestricted gifts support the Humanities Council wherever the need is greatest. Operational support is necessary for the day-to-day activities of the Council. Financial Overview Des ign a ted Gifts RESTRICTED GIVING – Gifts may be given to any of the Humanities Council’s programs or special initiatives, such as Museum on Main Street or Teachers Institute. These gifts allow donors to support those programs most closely aligned with their personal interests. Public Support Program Services A pledge of support over multiple years allows donors the ability to support the Council at a higher level of commitment while enjoying a more flexible payment method. MATCHING GIFTS – Many businesses and corporations offering matching gift programs that often match dollar-for-dollar charitable contributions given by their employees and, in some cases, former employees. Please consult your employer to see if your gift is eligible. GIFTS OF STOCK – Transferring shares of stock to the Humanities Council is a convenient way for donors to support the Council and often offers tax benefits to the stockholder. Typically, transferring stock helps the donor avoid capital gains tax on appreciated shares of stock and often allows for a larger gift to the Council. National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) $862,650 State50,000 Other gifts and grants 205,379 Loss on sale of fixed asset Interest income 2,605 Investment income, net 36,100 $1,156,734 Net Assets Change in net assets Program activities $221,702 Road Scholars 59,346 Teachers Institute 136,203 North Carolina Conversations42,687 Other Revenue Total Revenue HUMANITIES North Carolina Fund $57,475 Net assets: beginning of year 943,350 Net Assets: End of Year $1,000,825 Let’s Talk About It 16,725 Literature and Medicine - Museum on Main Street 50,351 Linda Flowers Literary Award For more information, contact the North Carolina Humanities Council at (336) 334-5325. Winter/Spring 2013 1,492 Regrants — NEH funds 60,340 Regrants — NC funds 83,027 Supporting Services Management and general $265, 216 Public Relations 26,338 Fundraising135,832 Total Expenses $1,099,259 Richard & Cindy Brodhead Robert S. Brunk Luis H. Peña Cabello & Magdalena Maiz-Peña Shelley Crisp & Myles Standish Ben & Norma Fountain Barnes & Cammie Hauptfuhrer Reginald Hildebrand Jonathan & Mary Howes Donovan McKnight Timothy Minor Margaret “Tog” Newman James Y. Preston Jane Preyer Jack & Cissie Stevens Pam Turner Reginald Watson Willis P. Whichard Lynn Wright-Kernodle Teachers Institute Endowment The Alice S. Barkley Endowed Scholarship John & Polly Medlin Bob & Sally McCoy Culbertson-DagenhartHauptfuhrer Endowed Scholarship Bob & Peggy Culbertson Larry & Sarah Dagenhart Barnes & Cammie Hauptfuhrer Hanes-Rubin Endowed Scholarship BEQUESTS AND PLANNED GIVING – One of the simplest ways to give to the Humanities Council is to name the Council in your will. For information on how to make a bequest, or to find out about planned or deferred giving, please contact the Humanities Council to help find the best plan for you. during the 2012 calendar year. This support is critical in funding the Humanities Council’s programs across the state and helps ensure that every program remains free and open to the public. The programs and initiatives represented here in North Carolina Conversations and in the 2012 Annual Report to the People would not be possible without our generous donors. Thank you. year ended October 31, 2012. The audited statement for fiscal year 2012 is available upon request. Expenses gift of cash to the Humanities Council is the most common gift. With deep appreciation and gratitude, we acknowledge those who contributed to the North Carolina Humanities Council Listed below are the balance sheet, revenues, and expenses for the fiscal Revenues GIFTS AND PLEDGES OF CASH – A 2012 North Carolina Humanities Council Donors Frank & Jane Hanes Michael & Debbie Rubin Please donate ONLINE www.nchumanities.org Moore-Robinson Endowed Scholarship Bill & Sandra Moore Russell & Sally Robinson The Lynn WrightKernodle Endowed Scholarship Annette Ayers Michael Corbitt Porter Durham Shelley Crisp & Myles Standish Mary Jo Edwards Larry Moore Lou Nachman Jeanne Tannenbaum Connie Whaley Tammy Young Literature and Medicine New Hanover Regional Medical Center Museum on Main Street Porter Durham Road Scholars Carolyn Allen Robert S. Brunk First Presbyterian Church, Greensboro Ralph & Vivian Jacobson Susan Ketchin William F. McNeill Mary Wayne Watson Spring 2013 Thomas Wolfe Society Program Anonymous Teachers Institute Scholarship Fund Howard L. Davis, Jr. Michelle R. Hunt Sherry Jolly Thrus & Patty Morton Deborah Russell Rebecca Summer Wendy Walker BENEF AC T ORS Shelley Crisp & Myles Standish Porter Durham Ben & Norma Fountain Frank & Jane Hanes Barnes & Cammie Hauptfuhrer James Y. Preston PAT RONS Richard & Cindy Brodhead Robert S. Brunk Luis H Peña Cabello & Magdalena Maiz-Peña Mark Costley Bob & Peggy Culbertson Larry W. Ennis John & Nancy Garman Jonathan & Mary Howes Thomas S. Kenan Tom & Donna Lambeth Michael McCue John & Grace McKinnon John & Leigh McNairy Thrus & Patty Morton New Hanover Regional Medical Center Jane Preyer Russell & Sally Robinson Michael & Debbie Rubin Lanty & Margaret Smith Jeanne Tannenbaum Pam Turner David & Libby Ward PART NERS Herb & Frannie Browne Roddey & Pepper Dowd Friends of the Person County Library Reginald Hildebrand Timothy Minor Jack & Cissie Stevens Willis P. Whichard ADVOCAT ES Becky Anderson Larry & Sarah Dagenhart Dick & Marlene Daughtery Emory & Martha Maiden Betty Ray McCain Nan D. Miller Keith A. Pearson Gregory A. Richardson Hephzibah Roskelly Richard & Sharon Schramm Robert E. Seymour Neva Specht George & Melinda Stuart Smedes & Rosemary York ASSOCIAT ES Carolyn Allen Robert G. Anthony, Jr. Jim & Jan Applewhite June P. Bair Joseph & Joan Bathanti John Beck Michael A. Berkelhammer Bob & Elanor Brawley H. David Bruton James W. Clark, Jr. W. Robert Connor Anne C. Dahle Kelly Dail Frederic G. Dalldorf Howard L. Davis, Jr. Jerome Davis Wayne P. Diggs John & Lexi Eagles Lawrence S. & Renee Gledhill Earley Janet Edwards John & Rosemary Ehle Mary Ann B. Evans Joseph M. Flora John W. Fox Friends of the Gaston County Public Library S. Hewitt Fulton Frank & Carole Gailor Kent Gardner Abbe Godwin Karl Gottschalk Paul & Anne Gulley John H. Haley Tom Hanchett & Carol Sawyer Robert C. Hansen Dr. & Mrs. John B. Hardy, Jr. Bett Hargrave Jim & Joan Hemby, Jr. Elizabeth M. Holsten Frances Huffman Robert E. Hykes Glen Anthony Harris Patricia Inlow-Hatcher H.G. Jones Betty P. Kenan Susan Ketchin David LaVere Sarah E. Leak James R. Leutze Timothy H. Lindeman Mary Louise Little Elizabeth H. Locke John & Lucinda MacKethan Nancy P. Mangum Vernon & Becky Marlin Darlyne Menscer Miranda Monroe Margaret “Tog” Newman Ron & Kathy Oakley Linda E. Oxendine Cecil & Vivian Patterson David & Lisa Price Richard & Sue Richardson Lorraine H. Robinson Michael Sartisky Todd Savitt Loren & Patricia Schweninger Beth Sheffield Wade & Ann Smith Ronald & Mittie Smith Howard & Juanita Spanogle Benjamin Speller Christopher A. & Marian B. Story James M. Tanner William H. Terry Eunice Toussaint Doug & Anne Tubaugh Harry Tuchmayer & Kathleen Berkeley Susan B. Wall Thomas & Mary Kennedy Ward David & Marsha Warren Bill & Ruth Williamson Lynn Wright-Kernodle James E. Young Nancy Young John Young & Winn Legerton FRIENDS Allen Adams Meghan Agresto Elliott & Ina Alterman Annette Ayers Hoyt Bangs Montine Barnette Rosann Bazirjian Clara Bond Bell Ellis & Ellen Berlin Jeri Fitzgerald Board Scott Boatwright Mike Bohen Mary A. Bonnett Raymond & Margaret Bost Jacqueline Boykin Sally Buckner Dorothea D. Burkhart Jan M. Carmichael Caswell Friends of the Library Pauline Binkley Cheek Samuel & Genevieve Cole Michael Corbitt A.L. Corum Bettie Richardson Dixon Diane Donovan The Honorable Katie G. Dorsett Karen J. Dotson Phyllis Dunning NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 33 Ralph H. Eanes, Jr. Mary Jo Edwards Linda Evans First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Greensboro First Presbyterian Church, Greensboro Stephen & Sally Fortlouis Friends of the N.C. Maritime Museum Friends of the Union County Public Libraries William T. Fuller Debbie Gainey Gean Gentry William & Rochelle Gibney Rebecca G. Gibson Delilah Gomes John L. Griffin Margaret E. Griffin Calvin Hall Jacquelyn Hall Deborah Hallam Jonathan & Nahomi Harkavy Christopher Harris The Honorable & Mrs. A. Robinson Hassell Anna Hayes Charlotte W. Hoffman Terry Holt Michelle R. Hunt Haywood & Cathryn Ingram Deane & Sandy Irving Ralph & Vivian Jacobson Kristen E. Jeffers Sherry Jolly Leah R. Karpen Frank Kessler Julia W. Keville Richard H. Kohn Elizabeth Kohnen Dana Borden Lacy Jan H. Lawrence Edwin B. Lee Sally Logan Peter Lydens Melissa Malouf Jane Marsh Brent Martin James Martin Ann Phillips McCracken Donovan McKnight William F. McNeill Elizabeth McPherson Larry Moore Richard D. Moore Lou Nachman Robert W. Oast Old Dobbs County Genealogical Society Outer Banks History Center Sharon Owens Leland M. Park Pasquotank - Camden Library Alan R. Perry Gina A. Phillips Piedmont Crossing Bill & Susan Redding Art & Jan Ross Deborah Russell Dr. & Mrs. William Sasser Steve Schewel & Lao Rubert Linda Seale Eve Shy Stephen R. & Elizabeth P. Simmons Bland & Ann Simpson Sandy Sisson Barry L. Solomon Lois M. Sowers Celisa Steele Darrell Stover John & Janice Sullivan Rebecca Summer Arthur W. Swarthout L.J. Sweeney Tarkil Branch Farm’s Homestead Museum The Research Club Joe & Amy Thompson Nancy Tilly Donald & Sherry Toler Benjamin Torbert William H. Towe Tuesday Study Club Twin Lakes Enrichment Committee Wendy Walker Peter F. Walker James M. Wallace Reginald Watson Mary Wayne Watson Susan Weinberg Connie Whaley Judith White Alethea Williams-King Tammy Young Paul & Jean Yount Walter Ziffer & Gail Rosenthal IN HONOR O F… Tom & Cherry Boswell Luis H Peña Cabello & Magdalena Maiz-Peña Fred & Susan Chappell Becky Anderson Alice & Jerry Cotton Robert G. Anthony, Jr. Shelley Crisp and the North Carolina Humanities Council Ben & Norma Fountain Edward Standish Shelley Crisp & Myles Standish Benjamin Eagles Fountain, Jr. John & Lexi Eagles H.G. Jones Linda & Shelby Stephenson Anne C. Dahle Harlan Gradin Lawrence S. & Renee Gledhill Earley A.L. Corum Louise Taylor Nan D. Miller The Staff of the Person County Library Calvin Hall Howard & Juanita Spanogle Friends of the Person County Library Jonathan & Mary Howes Shelley Crisp & Myles Standish Ben E. Fountain The Talented Artists in NC — Past, Present and Future Beth Sheffield Michele Y. Thomas Paul & Jean Yount H.G. Jones Humanities Council Staff Samuel & Genevieve Cole H.G. Jones Dana Borden Lacy Ben & Norma Fountain Tom & Donna Lambeth Shelley Crisp & Myles Standish Let’s Talk About It Scholars & Librarians Carolyn Allen Pam Thornton Dr. & Mrs. John B. Hardy, Jr. Holden & Patti Thorp Tom & Donna Lambeth Dr. Charles C. Todd Ben & Norma Fountain G. Vance Tucker Benjamin Torbert Dot Walker Margaret E. Griffin Towny & Jane Ludington Shelley Crisp & Myles Standish Betty Ray McCain The Honorable & Mrs. A. Robinson Hassell Jim & Joan Hemby, Jr. H.G. Jones William McNeill First Presbyterian Church, Greensboro Road Scholars Speakers Carolyn Allen Anne Whisnant Twin Lakes Enrichment Committee Emily Herring Wilson Nancy Young Lynn Wright-Kernodle A.L. Corum Sherry Jolly Joe & Amy Thompson Tuesday Study Club Jeri Fitzgerald Board Jim & Jan Applewhite Louise Averette Barnette Sue Fields Ross Art & Jan Ross Montine Barnette Dr. Todd Savitt Bill & Susan Redding Ali Standish Shelley Crisp & Myles Standish Pauline Binkley Cheek Virginia Yeager Bullock Mary Ann B. Evans Stephen Consor Ellis & Ellen Berlin Lynn Jones Ennis Hoyt Bangs Larry W. Ennis John & Lucinda MacKethan Willis P. Whichard William W. Finlator Haywood & Cathryn Ingram Linda Flowers Dr. & Mrs. William Sasser William C. Friday June P. Bair Julia W. Keville Elizabeth E. Griffin John L. Griffin Mary Frances Johnson Mary Wayne Watson Dr. Bobby Jones Mary Wayne Watson Z.Z. Lydens Peter Lydens Haynes McFadden Nancy Tilly John Medlin Shelley Crisp & Myles Standish David & Libby Ward Jerry Leath Mills Bland & Ann Simpson Dr. Thomas Parramore Deborah Russell IN MEMOR Y OF… Henry Applewhite Hepsie Roskelly Olin and Pauline Binkley Phyllis Barrett Elizabeth M. Holsten Joseph D. & Roselyn Bathanti The Late Chief Jessie W. Richardson of the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe Gregory A. Richardson Pearl F. Seymour Robert E. Seymour The father of Joe Nehman Ellis & Ellen Berlin Joseph & Joan Bathanti Betty Ray McCain T. Edwin Davenport DONATE ONLINE AT www.nchumanities.org Winter/Spring 2013 North Carolina Humanities Council Alumni Many gifted individuals from across North Carolina have served on the governing board of the Humanities Council since its inception. If you have the opportunity to do so, please thank these volunteers for their vision and leadership. Constituting Comm itt ee, 1971–1972 Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. Dr. George Bair† John T. Caldwell† Ben E. Fountain, Jr. H.G. Jones Dwight Rhyne Council Tr ustee Alumni Dr. E. Maynard Adams°† Dr. Robert L. Albright Dr. Annette Allen Mr. Harry Amana Dr. Douglas Antonelli Ms. Katherine Armitage Ms. Darnell Arnoult Dr. George E. Bair°† Mr. Donald Baker Dr. Barbara J. Ballard Dr. Richard Bardolph† Dr. Sydney Barnwell Dr. Gretchen Bataille Dr. John J. Beck Ms. Winnie Bennett Dr. Kathleen Berkeley Mrs. Sylvia Berkelhammer* Ms. Doris Betts† Dr. Barbara Birge Dr. H. Tyler Blethen Dr. Jeri Fitzgerald Board* Dr. Carol Boggess* Mrs. Jacqueline R. Boykin Mrs. Barbara Braveboy-Locklear Mr. Thomas Brewer Mr. James D. Brewington† Ms. Sue Ellen Bridgers Dr. Joseph R. Brooks Mr. Robert Brunk Ms. Elizabeth F. Buford Ms. Margaret Bushnell† Dr. Lindley S. Butler Dr. Barry M. Buxton Dr. John Tyler Caldwell† Ms. E. Thelma Caldwell Mr. James C. Cannon, Jr. Dr. Peter J. Caulfield Mr. Jack E. Claiborne° Mr. Edward H. Clement Dr. Alvis Corum Mr. Bob Culbertson Mrs. Peggy Culbertson Ms. Julie E. Curd Dr. Blanche Radford Curry Dr. Marvin V. Curtis Ms. Maggie B. DeVries Dr. Barbara R. Duncan Dr. John R. Dykers, Jr. Dr. Jean Eason° Dr. Eugene A. Eaves Mrs. Linda Edmisten Dr. David Eliades† Dr. Lynn Jones Ennis*°† Dr. Don Ensley Mrs. Helen Wolfe Evans† Ms. Georgann Eubanks° Ms. Janice Faulkner° Ms. Joyce Fitzpatrick Dr. Linda Flowers† Dr. Ben E. Fountain, Jr. Dr. Bernard W. Franklin* Mr. L. B. Frasier Mrs. Shirley Frye* Mr. Laney Funderburk Ms. Ellen W. Gerber Mrs. Edna D. Gore* Dr. Daniel Gottovi Dr. Sandy Govan Ms. Jaki Shelton Green Dr. John V. Griffith* Ms. Elisabeth G. Hair Dr. John H. Haley Dr. Calvin Hall Ms. Linda Harris* Ms. Hazel Harvey Ms. Dana Hay Dr. James B. Hemby, Jr. Dr. Karla Holloway Hon. Richlyn Holt° Ms. Ann M. Hooper-Hudson Dr. Suellen M. Hoy Dr. Austin T. Hyde, Jr.† Dr. Blyden Jackson† Mr. James W. Jackson Dr. Jimmy Jenkins Dr. Harley Jolley Dr. H. G. Jones Mr. Walter B. Jones, Jr. Dr. Joseph Jordan Dr. Bennett M. Judkins Dr. Ruth Kennedy Mr. Michael Lee King* Dr. John W. Kuykendall* Mr. Tom Lassiter† Mr. Tom Lambeth Ms. Carol Lawrence Dr. Sarah E. Leak Dr. James S. Lee Dr. Sarah Lemmon† Dr. Susan Levine Dr. Henry S. Levinson°† Mr. Richard D. Levy* Mrs. Lydia Lockman* Dr. Charles Long Rev. Jane Ann Love Dr. Clifford Lovin Dr. Lucinda MacKethan° Dr. William J. MacLean* Mr. Isaiah Madison Rev. W. Joseph Mann° Mr. Bill Mansfield Mr. James Marsh Ms. Joanna Ruth Marsland* Mr. Joel K. Martin Mr. Joe C. Matthews Dr. Lena Mayberry-Engstrom Ms. Easter Maynard* Mr. Arche L. McAdoo Mr. Robert McCoy Dr. James McGowan Mrs. Pat McGuire† Dr. Melton A. McLaurin° Dr. Neill McLeod Dr. David Middleton Dr. Heather Ross Miller Dr. Charles Milner Dr. Elizabeth K. Minnich° Mrs. Memory F. Mitchell† Mr. James R. Moody† Ms. MariJo Moore Mr. William M. Moore, Jr. Ms. Betina Morris-Anderson* Dr. Sydney Nathans Dr. John Oates°† Dr. Jean Fox O’Barr Dr. Linda Oxendine Mr. Roy Parker Dr. Cecil Patterson Ms. Nancy J. Pekarek* Dr. Patsy Perry Dr. Barbara A. Phillips† Dr. Della Pollock Dr. William S. Price, Jr. Dr. Judith Pulley Dr. Jeff Rackham* Mr. Sam T. Ragan† Ms. Glenis Redmond Mr. Addison Reed Ms. Mattye M. Reed*† Rev. Rebecca Reyes Mr. Dwight Rhyne Mr. J. Peyton Richardson Ms. Nancy Doggett Rigby Mr. Donald R. Roberts Mrs. Sally Dalton Robinson Dr. Ruby V. Rodney Dr. William R. Rogers* Dr. Sue Fields Ross Mr. Robert C. Roule* Dr. Thelma Roundtree Mr. David Routh Dr. Lynn Veach Sadler Mr. Robert L. Savage, Jr. Mr. Todd Savitt Dr. James A. Schobel* Ms. Beverly E. Smalls Dr. Ronald O. Smith Mr. William D. Snider† Dr. Richard A. Soloway Mrs. Marge Sosnik Mr. Alex Spears† Dr. Samuel R. Spencer, Jr.* Mr. Carl Stewart, Jr. Dr. Joan Hinde Stewart° Mr. Maurice Stirewalt Dr. George Edwin Stuart Mr. Douglas H. Swaim Ms. Jeanne Tannenbaum Father Wilbur N. Thomas Mr. Clark A. Thompson† Mr. Bill Thomson† Mr. William L. Thorpe Mr. William J. Trent, Jr. Mr. Ruel W. Tyson, Jr. Dr. Lucila Vargas Dr. Valerie F. Villines* Mr. William H. Wagoner Dr. Alfred A. Wang Hon. Willis P. Whichard*° Dr. Judith White Dr. Cratis Williams† Dr. Dorothy Williams Dr. Edwin G. Wilson Dr. John Wolfe Mrs. Winnie J. Wood Dr. Robert F. Yeager° Dr. John Young *Gubernatorial Appointee °Chairperson † Deceased NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 35 TE ACH E R S IN STITU T E Teachers Institute Seminars Enrich Teaching and Learning Lynn Wright-Kernodle I believe that professional development is about encouraging teachers’ creativity, deepening their knowledge and understanding, and building working relationships with colleagues — and this seminar did all of these things. ~Participant, 2012 Summer Seminar Evaluation As a professional development program for public school educators in North Carolina, the Teachers Institute has for 30 years provided access to continued intellectual growth for the state’s teaching community. With its goal of creating the rigorous, stimulating environment found in the best graduate education, the Teachers Institute offers content-rich, academically stimulating, and interdisciplinary seminars where participants find their eagerness to inquire, to imagine, and to learn rekindled and sustained. As testament to the program reaching its goal, Quinn McLaughlin, humanities instructor at Guilford Technical Community College, reported in her follow-up assessment six months after her participation in the 2012 Summer Seminar: I am only five years into teaching, but at the beginning of the summer, I felt absolutely drained. I really needed something that would ignite my own passion to learn and teach. The seminar provided that passion for me. I did some major restructuring, and…had one of my most successful semesters this past fall. I do attribute this to the community of dedicated teachers and learners at the Teachers Institute. Warren Morrison, now a retired middleschool history teacher, once described his experience at a Teachers Institute seminar as one of “respect, renewal, and Teachers Institute scholars engaging in a roundtable discussion. Winter/Spring 2013 reward — the 3-Rs for teachers.” This past summer, a participant added a fourth R — “rigor” — for the amount of effort that is required for teachers to be life-long learners and stay as knowledgeable as possible. Another teacher noted that the major rewards from the summer seminar will be reaped “by our future students all across the state of North Carolina who will now benefit from the knowledge and resources that we gained this week.” Dorothy Spruill Redford, a scholar in the 2008 Teachers Institute Summer Seminar, recognized this in her own evaluation: “The combination of direct and indirect beneficiaries from just one of the extraordinary Teachers Institute seminars could — over time — benefit as many as 30,000 North Carolina students!” What impact does this program have? Responses from a ten-year comprehensive program assessment of the Teachers Institute indicated the following: The Teachers Institute • addresses teacher retention issues — 60% credit the Teachers Institute experience as a major reason for remaining in education; • creates better teaching, learning, and classroom planning — 81% report student success with higher-order thinking skills; • prepares teachers to become faculty resources — 90% specify ways they share Institute materials and knowledge; • moves teachers forward in their professional growth — 40% report work toward additional certifications and/or higher academic degrees. Every Teachers Institute seminar is designed to provide substantive humanities-based learning opportunities for educators. The design does not include “how-to-teach” sessions or lesson planning requirements. However, good teachers always find creative ways to incorporate into their teaching what they learn in the seminars. Time and again, teachers demonstrate their creativity, and their work has impact on their students. For example, second grade teacher Jessica Harrell, Gates County who participated in the 2010 Summer Seminar Appalachian Voices, created a unit of study based on the “Jack Tales” presented at the seminar. Inspired by the session on “barn quilts” in western North Carolina, art teacher Sylvia Wingler from Yancey County created a unit of study based on geometrical quilt design. As the Teachers Institute moves into its fourth decade of offering high-quality professional development opportunities to the state’s public school teachers, both staff and teachers are exploring what the professional development needs of educators may be in the next ten years and how the Teachers Institute can help meet those needs. Seminars Inspire, Encourage Educators Jonathan Permar At my magnet school, which targets at-risk students who have disengaged from the traditional high school experience, I teach social studies. Although relatively new in the profession, I take my work seriously and thoroughly enjoy who and what I teach. Yet, there are times when this work of education is draining — times when I lose sight of my commitment and goals. Teachers often feel over-worked and undervalued. An emphasis on accountability measures and testing encourages mere “coverage” of content and diminishes the time we can spend helping our students develop a depth of understanding. Most educators recognize that teaching requires us to make our content personally engaging and academically interesting for our students; and with enthusiasm we dive into the material together. Unfortunately, many required professional development workshops for teachers seem to ignore this basic tenet of teaching. Such “busy work” affords nothing but wasted time and becomes yet another drain on teachers’ commitment. The impact of such an experience is severe. If I am feeling defeated, how can I find the energy to engage my students, to educate them, to uplift them, to help them learn and succeed? There is an answer: the North Carolina Humanities Council’s Teachers Institute. In moments when teachers’ efforts may seem futile and we struggle with feelings of doubt or defeat, the Teachers Institute is a wonderful remedy. This year I have had the privilege of attending two Teachers Institute seminars, the week-long Summer Seminar and the fall weekend seminar. Both experiences have served to revitalize my spirit and my career. I left the seminars empowered by having engaged in an in-depth study of humanities content. I experienced respect from colleagues and university scholars who actively showed appreciation for and interest in my work. I was afforded the opportunity to do what I try to do with my own students — delve deeply into a subject, play with it, discuss it, work with colleagues to understand it, and figure out how it is relevant to my particular needs and interests. At these Teachers Institute Jonathan Permar. Photo by Lou Nachman. seminars, I made contact with educators from across the state. We bonded through our mutual love of learning and teaching; and we know we can rely on each other for help in generating new goals and new applications. What is the impact? I leave the Teachers Institute seminars inspired and excited about learning. This professional development program is based on the premise that when you inspire a teacher, you inspire a student. Learning is enhanced and change is encouraged. For me, the North Carolina Humanities Council’s Teachers Institute is a remarkable catalyst for change. It can renew a drained teacher and provide strength to a new one — thus helping to change the very world in which we live and learn. In his fifth year of teaching, Jonathan Permar holds a BA in history and additional certifications in Advanced Placement European history and English for Speakers of Other Languages. He currently teaches US history, African American studies, sociology, and journalism at Greensboro College Middle College with the Guilford County Schools. In this article Permar expresses the personal and professional impact he has experienced as a new-comer to the Teachers Institute program having attended the 2012 Summer Seminar, Laying Down Tracks: A Study of Railroads as Myth, Reality and Symbol, and the October 2012 weekend seminar, Journey Stories in Western North Carolina. NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 37 Educator Develops New Appalachian Literature Unit 2013 Teachers Institute Summer Seminar Tammy Young June 16–22, 2013, at the Friday Center for Continuing Education in Chapel Hill My participation in the 2010 Teachers Institute Summer Seminar, Appalachian Voices, spurred a year of exciting work for me. The seminar itself was enhanced by the setting — beautiful Ashe County; by the opportunity to develop collegial ties with other North Carolina educators; and by an intense week-long interaction with three lead scholars in the field of Appalachian studies. I returned to school with a desire to put to use the techniques and resources from the seminar. Especially because we live and work in western North Carolina, I had previously talked with an English III teacher about implementing Appalachian literature within her curriculum. We had not moved beyond talking, but when I began discussing the seminar readings and experiences with her, she “caught” my enthusiasm. I created an Appalachian Literature Moodle, and we began gathering resources for the development of a unit of study for Advanced Placement (AP) English III students. Working with the AP teacher, I created an introductory lesson for students incorporating part of the Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People PBS video series used at the Summer Seminar as well as an exercise in visual literacy using photos from a collection by Tim Barnwell, The Face of Appalachia. The students read the Ron Rash novel Serena in segments while posting questions and reacting to a class blog. Students spent time in class reading additional fiction, poetry, and non-fiction works exploring themes from the novel. As a team, my colleague and I applied for and were accepted to the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching Scholars-in-Residence seminar. There, during several work-filled days in February 2011, we expanded this unit beyond the AP class and adapted it for use with all levels of English III students using Appalachian studies in American Literature classes to achieve the following objectives: • To expose students to the rich literary traditions of the Appalachian culture; • To promote awareness of Appalachian culture and its relationship to American identity; • To promote an awareness of the cultural stereotypes and environmental issues that have historically confronted Appalachian people; • • To have students develop an inquiry-based project on Appalachian culture or literature using a variety of textual mediums that promote twentyfirst century learning. Without the Teachers Institute, the Appalachian Literature unit would likely have remained a dream. Instead, students have benefited academically and personally from this exposure to a neglected part of American literature. Because of the North Carolina Humanities Council’s Teachers Institute, I now have a new connection with my students, and together we have deepened our understanding of the interests and opinions of the Appalachian people. Given a curriculum colleagues and I will continue to use and refine, my own learning through the Teachers Institute seminar opportunity has had, and will continue to have, significant impact on the students in my high school. A 26-year veteran educator, Tammy Young, MEd, N.B.C, is a media specialist at Charles D. Owen High School in Buncombe County where she teaches media and information skills. A Teachers Institute alumna, she has participated in three week-long summer seminars: Listening for a Change: Learning about North Carolina through Oral Histories (2001); From Wilderness to Eden? The Place of Nature and Culture in History (2004); and Appalachian Voices (2010). In this article, Young outlines the ongoing impact of her participation in the Teachers Institute, especially as it relates to the students at Owen High. Tammy Young, right, with other Teachers Institute participants. Winter/Spring 2013 To enhance critical thinking skills through the study of a variety of Appalachian texts — nonfiction, fiction, poetry, images and film; and Muslim Journeys: Islam and Its Many Roads Islam, as religion and culture, is expressed in a great range of ways — from long-bearded men and veiled women to cell-phone carrying hip-hop artists, software executives, and Miss America. The 2013 Teachers Institute Summer Seminar will explore the multiple histories, cultures, and arts of Muslims from the religion’s seventh-century origins in the Middle East to its growth and development across the Indian Ocean and Atlantic worlds today. Scholars of Islam from a variety of disciplines will engage with teachers through primary source documents, paintings, literature, poetry, and music. Encompassing Muslims in Arabia, Persia, South Asia, North Africa, Europe, West Africa, South America, and the United States, scholars and participants will address such questions as: What does Islam have in common with “The West”? Who are Muslim Americans? What is the role of women in Islam? Why is Islam treated in monolithic fashion? And what are some of its current developments? The Summer Seminar will help shed light on Islam and the many roads taken by its adherents across time and the world through personal narratives, documentary film, and seminar presentations and readings. Turkey, Iznik, Tile, circa 1580-90. Courtesy Los Angeles County Museum of Art, www.lacma.org. If you are a lover of learning… AlumNews Jessica LeCrone (Wilson County) has been selected as the 2012–2013 Big Picture Teaching Fellow for the North Carolina Museum of Art. As such, she will conduct arts integration workshops at state and national professional educator conferences, work at three Educator Expos across the state to share ideas for using the museum’s resources in the classroom, and continue to refine her own practice of integrating the arts with the core subject areas. Up to 40 educators, K–12 teachers and community college instructors, will be selected to attend this seminar. Application requirements and the application form can be found on the Humanities Council’s website at www.nchumanities. org. Questions can be directed to Lynn Wright-Kernodle at 336-334-4769 or lynnwk@nchumanities.org . Ashley Smith (Cleveland County) has received her National Board Certification Renewal. She is certified in choral music through 2023. TI Alums: Share your professional news. Send information to the Director of the Teachers Institute at lynnwk@ nchumanities.org. And look for this information in a new feature on the Humanities Council’s website. If you see a personal challenge in thinking of things in new ways… If you enjoy intelligent interaction among adults from various backgrounds and experiences… Then you will find renewal at the North Carolina Humanities Council’s Teachers Institute. Karen Cobb Carroll, Ph.D., N.B.C. Guilford County Schools Teachers Institute Alumna NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 39 M U SE U M ON M AIN S T REE T The Museum on Main Street (MoMS) initiative, through its emphasis on the examination of regional history and capacity-building for local nonprofit cultural organizations, helped two communities in the completion of adaptive reuse projects. In both Shelby and Wentworth, historic county courthouses have been repurposed into cultural centers, and serving as host sites for MoMS exhibitions — New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music and Journey Stories — each has proven to be an inspiration to these communities that will benefit from sustained capacity-building long after the MoMS exhibition trunks have been packed up and moved on to the next host site. Project directors Emily Epley (Shelby) and Kim Proctor (Wentworth) relate how serving as MoMS exhibition host sites contributed to the future of their communities through the development of the Earl Scruggs Center in Cleveland County and the opening of the Museum and Archives of Rockingham County. The Harmony between MoMS and Destination Cleveland County Emily Epley, Executive Director, Earl Scruggs Center Destination Cleveland County (DCC), an award-winning, volunteerdriven, unique public-private partnership and 501(c)3 organization, is breathing new life into the historic 1907 Cleveland County courthouse. The courthouse was in operation from 1907 until the 1970s when operations relocated to a new facility. From 1976 through early 2004, the historic courthouse served as the Cleveland County Historical Museum, showcasing local history. In 2004, the doors were unexpectedly locked, the contents left abandoned and the building dark with no indication of plans to reopen. The neoclassical structure on the lush green court square at the heart of Uptown Shelby sat empty until concerned citizens took action. A task force came together to determine how to save the building and 10,000 Winter/Spring 2013 abandoned objects from the negative impacts of an unstable environment and pests. The task force soon realized these problems were symbolic of a larger issue: severe economic downturns due to loss of numerous industries and jobs in the surrounding community. After spending 2007 researching feasibility and potential economic outcomes, master planning, and meeting with the families of area natives Don Gibson and Earl Scruggs, the DCC established a goal to bring heritage tourists to the county and identified two supporting economic projects: a music performance venue, the Don Gibson Theatre with an opening planned for 2009, and the Earl Scruggs Center: Music & Stories from the American South, with an opening planned for 2013. continue to result in articles and interest about both of DCC’s projects. Information sharing across the six MoMS host sites added to the success of the exhibition as ideas and resources were identified and shared by everyone involved in the exhibition tour. The planning necessary for the exhibit enjoyed broader volunteer development, richer programming, and additional exposure to resources as well as new and strengthened partnerships. In September 2008, when DCC was notified the community would host the Smithsonian traveling exhibition New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music, the good news was announced at the groundbreaking for what would become the reception hall of the Don Gibson Theatre where the exhibit would be displayed. In other words, although the venue for the exhibition had not yet been built, DCC was committed to making sure that it was ready when the exhibition arrived. In fact, the theatre was ready and New Harmonies had an excellent and a significantly successful run because it also proved to be a wonderful training ground in preparation for the Earl Scruggs Center. For DCC, partnerships grew across both the community and the state with organizations such as the state’s travel and tourism departments, the local arts council, and Gardner Webb University. One of these played a prominent role later as part of the Scruggs Center’s mission to strengthen DCC’s partnership with Cleveland County Schools. DCC made education a priority during the New Harmonies exhibition by providing programming for and hosting over 2,100 Cleveland County students. That success provided exposure, confidence, and new ideas for further development of the educational plans for collaboration between the community and the school system. As planning progressed for New Harmonies, DCC built relationships across the state with other MoMS sites, and statewide exposure was provided for DCC by the North Carolina Humanities Council in publications such as the “North Carolina Visitor’s Guide” and Our State magazine. This early exposure and publicity were priceless and even now Dr. Martha Hill, Cleveland County School’s Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, recently wrote: Emily Epley has spent most of her career in the business and education sectors as a corporate and industry trainer presenting on and providing training in the areas of leadership, customer service, and employee development. She has served as the part-time executive director of Destination Cleveland County since June 2008. Emily recently accepted the position of full-time executive director of the Earl Scruggs Center in Shelby. A Cleveland County resident since 1997, Epley lives in Boiling Springs, NC, with her husband Mike and sons Andrew and Reed. In fall of 2010 over two thousand students visited the New Harmonies Exhibit. In March 2011, a representative group of educators from Cleveland County Schools created a “crosswalk” between the script of the Earl Scruggs Center exhibits and the North Carolina curriculum. The partnership between Cleveland County Schools and DCC has yielded high quality educational opportunities for students. We are proud to be partners, and are eager to see the efforts of DCC come to full fruition in the completion of the educational programs of the As a capacity-building venture, New Harmonies was opened with a Rhythm & Roots 5 K/10 K Run that is now in its third year as a fundraising event for Destination Cleveland County. Poster courtesy www.earlscruggscenter.org. Earl Scruggs Center. The future plans for partnership around the educational components of the Earl Scruggs Center will provide students, families, and other visitors with a rich cultural experience based in the arts and history of the region. As the historic Cleveland County Courthouse completes a successful transformation, the Earl Scruggs Center will tell the life story of legendary fivestring banjo master and Cleveland County native Earl Scruggs with the unique and engaging story of the history and cultural traditions of the region in which Mr. Scruggs was born and raised. It was in the nearby Flint Hill community that Mr. Scuggs learned to play the banjo and began the three finger playing style that has come to be known around the world as “Scruggs Style.” The Center explores Mr. Scruggs’s innovative career and the community that gave it shape while celebrating how he crossed musical boundaries and defined the voice of the banjo to the world. Mr. Scruggs embraced tradition while also adapting to the changing times and looking to the future — themes which resonate throughout the Center. Engaging exhibits, a special events space, and rich programming provide a unique experience for visitors. As DCC moves towards the 2013 opening of the Earl Scruggs Center, the strong foundations and building blocks set in place during the New Harmonies experience, the exposure to a statewide audience, and the confidence created across the community and state continue to support DCC’s ability to breathe new life into the historic courthouse as the Earl Scruggs Center. NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 41 Journey Stories: A Dream Comes to Fruition Kim Proctor, Executive Director, Museum and Archives of Rockingham County On August 11, 2012, the Rockingham scholarship, and personal stories to the County Historical Society opened to the public with fanfare and rave reviews for the Museum & Archives of Rockingham County (MARC), featuring the Smithsonian Institution travelling exhibition Journey Stories, part of the Museum on Main Street (MoMS) program. Hosting the Smithsonian Institution’s traveling exhibition Journey Stories was instrumental in moving the Historical Society and the community’s vision of opening a county-wide history museum from dream to reality. The work to implement Journey Stories furthered decades of work by scholarly and lay historians to bring to fruition the dream to present authentic, inclusive, relevant history to the public; to educate; to prompt memories; and to promote understanding between and among diverse people. The following story relates one example of the multitude of ways Journey Stories benefitted the Rockingham County museum project and moved a community. Society. The Society proved good stewards of the past, but the members were limited in their ability to share these treasures with the public. There was no suitable venue available until 2008 when the county decided to build a new courthouse to accommodate a pressing need for space. The historic Rockingham County courthouse was scheduled to close. Located precisely in the middle of Rockingham County on the same ground where its predecessors had stood since 1978, there was considerable concern by the Historical Society and the community that the history of the building, the land, and the once vibrant village around it would be diminished or lost as a result. Meanwhile, the county commissioners were looking for cultural projects with broad impact to embrace. And they were looking for a solution to preserve and use the historic building. In 2010, the Museum & Archives of Rockingham County (the action arm of the Rockingham County The opportunity to be part of the MoMS Historical Society) secured a letter of program was timely. Since 1954, when intent from the commissioners to lease the local Historical Society was formed, there was a plan to build a museum. Over the historic courthouse for the purpose of building a museum and were eager the course of almost sixty years, people from throughout the community entrusted for final approval. Feasibility studies artifacts, photographs, documents, and cost analysis were in progress, but other pressing issues often commandeered the county’s attention and delayed the process. Journey Stories “primed the pump.” When the commissioners learned that the opportunity to host a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition was available, they moved the process forward quickly with unanimous support. All the details were addressed, and the lease was executed. The promise of a first-class exhibition in a county-wide museum closed the deal and energized the community. There was a venue. Excitement prevailed. Rockingham County people remembered their passion for history, and the spark became a flame. Funders and volunteers stepped forward; the media took an interest; and excited community leaders garnered support and spread the word enthusiastically. In nine months time, office space was converted to gallery space, rooms were renovated and restored, eleven exhibits were created, programs were developed, and the opening celebration was planned. Journey Stories prompted movement. Approval of the MARC’s application and the support of the Smithsonian Institution and the North Carolina Humanities Council lent legitimacy Kim Proctor, a UNCG graduate with an MA in history/museum studies, is the executive director of the Museum and Archives of Rockingham County (MARC) in Wentworth, NC, where she has worked with the Rockingham Historical Society to open a county-wide museum. Journey Stories was one of the first exhibits as MARC opened for business in August 2012. to the museum project, imposed a deadline for opening the MARC, and helped make a dream come true. Clearly, the Smithsonian Institution and the North Carolina Humanities Council’s decision to bring the exhibition to Wentworth, North Carolina, made a significant difference in the lives of people in our county. This partnership will forever hold an important place in the MARC’s history. An irony and an aside: we requested a 2013 host date when we made application because in preparation we had to open a museum. However, it was the August 11–September 22, 2012, period that was available. Ironically, the date assigned to us was the anniversary of the incorporation of the Historical Society fortyfive years ago. It was one of those ironies that let you know you’re on the right path. Marguerite Holt watches as students engage with the Accelerated Mobility interactive display. Courtesy Museum and Archives of Rockingham County. An Invitation to Host Hometown Teams A Smithsonian Institution Museum on Main Street Traveling Exhibition Coming to North Carolina in 2015 Few aspects of American culture so colorfully and passionately celebrate the American experience as sports. ~Bob Santelli, curator, Hometown Teams The North Carolina Humanities Council is bringing Museum on Main Street’s Hometown Teams to North Carolina in February 2015. Rural museums, libraries, historic sites, and historical societies are invited to apply as host sites by July 10, 2013. Sites will be determined by September 2013. Sports are an indelible part of our culture and community. For well over one hundred years, sports have reflected the trials and triumphs of the American experience and helped shape our national character. Our love of sports begins in our hometowns — on the sandlot, at the local ball field, in the street, even. Americans play sports everywhere. And if we’re not playing, we’re watching: in the stands, on the fields with our sons and daughters, or in our living rooms with friends in front of a television. Hometown Teams combines the prestige of the Smithsonian Institution, the program expertise of the North Carolina Humanities Council, and the remarkable volunteerism and unique histories of small rural towns to invigorate communities with the opportunity to host popular public events and cultural projects. For full information and application, contact program director Darrell Stover at 336-334-5723 or dstover@nchumanities.org . Pinehurst High School Football, 1947. Photo courtesy Tuffs Archives. Winter/Spring 2013 NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 43 NORTH C AR OL IN A H U M A N I T I E S Trustees C O U N C I L North Carolina Humanities Council Visit us on Facebook and Twitter Call for Trustee Nominations If you — or someone you know — can help advance the work of the Humanities Council, please consider making a nomination for membership on the Council. Visit www.nchumanities. org for details on the roles and responsibilities for Council trustees as well as information about where to send a nomination letter and résumé. Mission Statement The North Carolina Humanities Council serves as an advocate for lifelong learning and thoughtful dialogue about all facets of human life. It facilitates the exploration and celebration of the many voices and stories of North Carolina’s cultures and heritage. Executive Director Shelley Crisp to Retire in 2013 announced that executive director Shelley Crisp will be retiring, effective June 1, 2013. Crisp has served as executive director since 2007. During her tenure with the Humanities Council, Crisp brought the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street traveling exhibition series into North Carolina, launched the Council’s biannual magazine North Carolina Conversations, and inaugurated the North Carolina Stories digital grant program. Towny Ludington, past chair of the Council who worked closely with Crisp for the last three years, commented: “Shelley’s service has been truly excellent. I’d even call it superb. Working closely with the Council’s Winter/Spring 2013 Crisp holds a BA in English Education from UNC at Chapel Hill; an MA in English from North Carolina State University; an MFA in Creative Writing Linda E. Oxendine Pembroke Richard R. Schramm, Vice-Chair Carrboro Jonathan Howes* Chapel Hill Jim Preston Charlotte Townsend Ludington Chapel Hill Gregory Richardson Raleigh Magdalena Maiz-Peña Davidson Hephzibah Roskelly* Greensboro Michael McCue Asheville Neva J. Specht Boone Timothy A. Minor Greensboro Reginald Watson Greenville Miranda Monroe Fayetteville L. McKay Whatley, Jr. Franklinville Joseph Bathanti Vilas Mark O. Costley Durham John T. Garman Durham Trustees Towny Ludington, Tog Newman, Jonathan Howes, Vice-Chair Richard Schramm, and Chair Cindy Brodhead at the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in Wilson. capable staff, she has greatly expanded the many programs the Council offers to all the people of North Carolina. She has directed the Council’s budget wisely during difficult economic times, has overseen the beginning of a vital capital campaign, and has been a major public voice in the state for the humanities. I know I speak for all the Council trustees when I express profound thanks for her work and best wishes for whatever she next chooses to undertake. Fortunate indeed will be the recipients of her talents. The Humanities Council will miss her sorely.” Reginald F. Hildebrand* Durham Joseph Porter Durham, Jr. Charlotte Nominations are due annually by April 15. North Carolina Humanities Council chair Cynthia Brodhead has Cynthia Brodhead, Chair Durham The North Carolina Humanities Council is committed to from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; and a PhD in English Literature from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Prior to joining the Humanities Council, she served as Associate Director of the College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC) Resource Center. Before CFNC, she directed the First Year Program at Guilford in Greensboro. As a career college teacher, she has taught writing, literature, poetry, and interdisciplinary studies courses at Guilford; UNCG; UNC at Charlotte, where she headed the Women’s Studies Program; and NCSU. She has served as visiting faculty for the Master of Liberal Arts program at UNC at Greensboro and is currently a volunteer docent at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. • an interdisciplinary approach to the humanities • dialogue • discovery and understanding of the humanities — culture, identity, and history • respect for individual community members and community values • humanities scholarship and scholars to develop humanities perspectives • cultural diversity and inclusiveness • informed and active citizenship as an outgrowth of new awareness of self and community. Support the Council’s work by donating online www.nchumanities.org Glen Anthony Harris* Wilmington Cammie R. Hauptfuhrer Charlotte Margaret (Tog) Newman* Winston-Salem * Gubernatorial Appointee Advisory Board Tom Lambeth, Chair, and Donna Lambeth Winston-Salem Bill and Marcie Ferris Chapel Hill Donald and Deborah Reaves Winston-Salem Henry and Shirley Frye Greensboro Tom and Susan Ross Chapel Hill Harvey and Cindy Gantt Charlotte David and Jenny Routh Chapel Hill Frank and Jane Hanes Winston-Salem Mike and Debbie Rubin Winston-Salem Jim and Mary Joseph Durham Lanty and Margaret Smith Raleigh John and Grace McKinnon Winston-Salem Sherwood and Eve Smith Raleigh John and Leigh McNairy Kinston Wade and Ann Smith Raleigh Polly Medlin Winston-Salem Jack and Cissie Stevens Asheville Patsy Davis Washington, D.C. Bill and Sandra Moore Chapel Hill Jeanne Tannenbaum Greensboro Roddey and Pepper Dowd Charlotte Thrus and Patty Morton Charlotte David and Libby Ward New Bern Beverly Eaves Perdue Bob Eaves Chapel-Hill Paul Rizzo Chapel Hill Jordy and Ann Whichard Greenville Wyndham Robertson Chapel Hill Ed and Marylyn Williams Charlotte Russ and Sally Dalton Robinson Charlotte Robert and Joan Zimmerman Charlotte Ed and Mary Martin Borden Goldsboro Herb and Frannie Browne Charlotte Paul and Jean Carr Raleigh Hodding Carter and Patt Derian Chapel Hill Bob and Peggy Culbertson Charlotte Larry and Sarah Dagenhart Charlotte Robert and Mary Ann Eubanks Chapel Hill Jim and Judy Exum Greensboro NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 45 The Last W o r d The first poet to do so, on February 12, 1959, Carl Sandburg addressed a joint session of Congress in honor of the 150th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. As the Humanities Council has recently supported projects on the sesquicentennial of the Civil War and the upcoming celebration of the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Sandburg’s address remains a strong statement of the conflicts in Lincoln’s era and the response to them of one of the nation’s greatest leaders. A film version is available on YouTube. Address of Carl Sandburg before the Joint Session of Congress, February 2, 1959 Not often in the story of mankind does a man arrive on earth who is both steel and velvet, who is as hard as rock and soft as drifting fog, who holds in his heart and mind the paradox of terrible storm and peace unspeakable and perfect. Here and there across centuries come reports of men alleged to have these contrasts. And the incomparable Abraham Lincoln born 150 years ago this day, is an approach if not a perfect realization of this character. In the time of the April lilacs in the year 1865, on his death, the casket with his body was carried north and west a thousand miles; and the American people wept as never before; bells sobbed, cities wore crepe; people stood in tears and with hats off as the railroad burial car paused in the leading cities of seven states ending its journey at Springfield, Illinois, the hometown. During the four years he was President he at times, especially in the first three months, took to himself the powers of a dictator; he commanded the most powerful army still then assembled in Winter/Spring 2013 modern warfare; he enforced conscription of soldiers for the first time in American History; under imperative necessity he abolished the right of habeus corpus; he directed politically and spiritually the wild, massive, turbulent forces let loose in Civil War. He argued and pleaded for compensated emancipation of the slaves. The slaves were property, they were on the tax books along with horses and cattle, the valuation of each slave next to his name on the tax assessor‘s books. Failing to get action on compensated emancipation, as a Chief Executive having war powers he issued the paper by which he declared the slaves to be free under “military necessity.” In the end, nearly $4,000,000 worth of property was taken away from those who were legal owners of it, property confiscated, wiped out as by fire and turned to ashes, at his instigation and executive direction. Chattel property recognized and lawful for 300 years was expropriated, seized without payment. In the month the war began, he told his secretary, John Hay, “My policy is to have no policy.” Three years later in a letter to a Kentucky friend made public, he confessed plainly, “I have been controlled by events.” His words at Gettysburg were sacred, yet strange with a color of the familiar: “We cannot consecrate — we cannot hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far beyond our poor power to add or detract.” He could have said “The brave union men.” Did he have a purpose in omitting the word “union”? Was he keeping himself and his utterance clear of the passion that would not be good to look back on when the time came for peace and reconciliation? Did he mean to leave an implication that there were brave Union men and brave Confederate men, living and dead, who had struggled there? We do not know, of a certainty. Was he thinking of the Kentucky father whose two sons died in battle, one in Union blue, the other in Confederate gray, the father inscribing on the stone over their double grave, “God knows which was right”? We do not know. His changing policies from time to time aimed at saving the Union. In the end his armies won and his nation became a world power. In August of 1864, he wrote a memorandum that he expected to lose the next November election; sudden military victory brought the tide his way; the vote was 2,200,000 for him and 1,800,000 against him. Among his bitter opponents were such figures as Samuel F. B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph, and Cyrus H. McCormick, inventor of the farm reaper. In all its essential propositions the Southern Confederacy had the moral support of powerful, respectable elements throughout the north, probably more than a million voters believing in the justice of the Southern cause. While the war winds Carl Sandburg as he addresses a Joint Session of Congress in 1959. Courtesy Paul Bonesteel. howled he insisted that the Mississippi were found who made war as victorious was one river meant to belong to one war has always been made, with terror, country, that railroad connection from frightfulness, destruction, and on both coast to coast must be pushed through sides, north and south, valor and sacrifice and the Union Pacific Railroad a reality. past words of man to tell. In the mixed In the mixed shame and blame of the immense wrongs of two crashing civilizations, often with nothing to say, he said nothing, slept not at all, and on occasions he was seen to weep in a way that made weeping appropriate, decent, majestic. While the luck of war wavered and broke and came again, as generals failed and campaigns were lost, he held enough forces of the Union together to raise new armies and supply them, until generals shame and blame of the immense wrongs of two crashing civilizations, often with nothing to say, he said nothing, slept not at all, and on occasions he was seen to weep in a way that made weeping appropriate, decent, majestic. As he rode alone on horseback near soldiers home on the edge of Washington one night his hat was shot off; a son he loved died as he watched at the bed; his wife was accused of betraying information to the enemy, until denials from him were necessary. An Indiana man at the White House heard him say, “Voorhees, don‘t it seem strange to you that I, who could never so much as cut off the head of a chicken, should be elected, or selected, into the midst of all this blood?” He tried to guide general Nathaniel Prentiss Banks, a Democrat, three times Governor of Massachusetts, in the governing of some 17 of the 48 parishes of Louisiana controlled by the Union armies, an area holding a fourth of the slaves of Louisiana. He would like to see the state recognize the Emancipation Proclamation, “And while she is at it, I think it would not be objectionable for her to adopt some practical system by which the two races could gradually live themselves out of their old relation to each other, and both come out better prepared for the new. Education for the young blacks should be included in the plan.” To Governor Michel Hahn elected in 1864 by a majority of the 11,000 white male voters who had taken the oath of allegiance to the Union, Lincoln wrote, “Now that you are about to have a convention which, among other things, will probably define the elective franchise, I barely suggest for your private consideration, whether some of the colored people may not be let in — as for instance, the very intelligent and especially those who have fought gallantly in our ranks.” Among the million words in the Lincoln utterance record, he interprets himself with a more keen precision than someone else offering to explain him. His simple opening of the house divided speech in 1858 serves for today: “If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending we could better judge what to do, and how to do it.” To his Kentucky friend, Joshua F. Speed, he wrote in 1855, “Our NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 47 they want? He had the idea. It‘s there in the lights and shadows of his personality, a mystery that can be lived but never fully spoken in words. Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. We will be remembered in spite of ourselves. progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation we began by declaring that ‘All men are created equal, except Negroes.’ When the knownothings get control, it will read ‘All men are created equal except Negroes and foreigners and Catholics.’ When it comes to this, I shall prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty.” Infinitely tender was his word from a White House balcony to a crowd on the White House lawn, “I have not willingly planted a thorn in any man‘s bosom,” or a military governor, “I shall do nothing through malice; what I deal with is too vast for malice.” He wrote for Congress to read on December 1, 1863, “In times like the present men should utter nothing for which they would not willingly be responsible through time and eternity.” Like an ancient psalmist he warned Congress, “Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. We will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance or insignificance can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass will light us down in honor or dishonor to the latest generation.” Wanting Congress to break and forget past traditions his words came keen and flashing. “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate for the stormy present. We must think anew, we must act anew, we must disenthrall ourselves. They are the sort of words that actuated the mind and will of the men who created and navigated that marvel of the sea, the nautilus, and her voyage from Pearl Harbor and under the North Pole Icecap.” Winter/Spring 2013 Abraham Lincoln, three-quarter length portrait, seated and holding his spectacles and pencil. Photo by Alexander Gardner, 1865. Photo Courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. The people of many other countries take Lincoln now for their own. He belongs to them. He stands for decency, honest dealing, plain talk, and funny stories. “Look where he came from — don‘t he know all us strugglers and wasn‘t he a kind of tough struggler all his life right up to the finish?” Something like that you can hear in any nearby neighborhood and across the seas. Millions there are who take him as a personal treasure. He had something they would like to see spread EVEN T S & DEAD L INES Our good friend the poet and playwright Mark Van Doren, tells us, “To me, Lincoln seems, in some ways, the most interesting man who ever lived....He was gentle but this gentleness was combined with a terrific toughness, an iron strength.” Lar ge Gr ants How did he say he would like to be remembered? His beloved friend, Representative Owen Lovejoy of Illinois, had died in May of 1864, and friends wrote to Lincoln and he replied that the pressure of duties kept him from joining them in efforts for a marble monument to Lovejoy. The last sentence of his letter saying, “Let him have the marble monument along with the well assured and more enduring one in the hearts of those who love liberty, unselfishly, for all men.” So perhaps we may say that the well assured and most enduring memorial to Lincoln is invisibly there, today, tomorrow and for a long time yet to come in the hearts of lovers of liberty, men and women who understand that wherever there is freedom there have been those who fought and sacrificed for it. Mini-grant applications must arrive at the Humanities Council office by the first day of the month and must be made at least eight weeks in advance of the program. Text from “The Report from the Joint Committee on the Arrangements on the Commemoration Ceremony in Observance of The 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Abraham Lincoln.” Washington, DC, United States Government Printing Office, 1959. Reprint permission courtesy of the Carl Sandburg Family Trust. Tr ustee Meetin g s For projects beginning after July 15 and December 15 • Draft proposals are due March 15 and August 15 • Final proposals are due April 15 and September 15 M ini Gr ants Pl anning Gr ant s There is no deadline for a planning grant. Road Scholar s Road Scholars applications must be made at least eight weeks in advance of the requested program. Let’ s Talk Ab out It Let’s Talk About It applications must be made at least eight weeks in advance of the requested program. Linda Flower s L i t er ar y Aw ar d Entries must be postmarked by August 15. • • • • June 14, 2013 September 20, 2013 November 15, 2013 February 15, 2014 Nominations for N ew T r u st ees New trustees nominations must arrive at the Humanities Council by April 15. everywhere over the world. Democracy? We can‘t say exactly what it is, but he had it. In his blood and bones he carried it. In the breath of his speeches and writings it is there. Popular government? Republican TEACHERS INSTITUT E S UM M ER SE M INAR Muslim Journeys: Islam and Its Many Roads William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education, Chapel Hill. June 16–22, 2013 institutions? Government where the people have the say-so, one way or another telling their elected rulers what NORTH CAROLINA HUMANITIES COUNCIL | 49 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION US POSTAGE PAID GREENSBORO, NC PERMIT NO. 705 N The North Carolina Humanities Council serves as an advocate for lifelong learning and thoughtful dialogue about all facets of human life. It facilitates the exploration and celebration of g Carolina’s cultures and the many voices and stories of North heritage. The North Carolina Humanities Council is a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. 2013 Winter/Spring MANY STORIES, ONE PEOPLE North Carolina Humanities Council 122 North Elm Street, Suite 601 Greensboro, NC 27401 Please recycle or share with a friend. www.nchumanities.org o r t H C a r o l i n a C O N V E R S AT I O N S