Folk School Aims At
Education Program In
Few educational institutions are j
aiming,' straighter at tne needs of the :
South than int Jj?hn C. Campbell Folk j
School on the borders 01 Cherokee j
and Clay Counties in southwestern
North Carolina. Stressing analysis oi
conditions here, particularly in the j
mountain South, and concentrating on
supplying stimuli toward doing something
about these conditions, the
School disregards the academic paiaphenali
ol credits and examinations, :
and emphasizes growth of character ;
and principles of cooperation essen ial
if a more intelligent agriculture
and a higher level of life are to be
achieved in this predominantly agri- j
cultural region. 2
The program of studies, handi- '
crafts, and work?the latter enabling i
students to earn their board and tui-j
tion?all center in the combination*1
of commercial farming and self-main- j1
tenance in live-at-home agricultude <
needed if the South is to come into J
its own. j i
Marking the last day in Jthe four '
months winter session of the Folk
School proper, March first was given
over to a celebration of the past vin- i
ter's achievements, with an exhibition
of student work and a program of entertainment
attended by students' pa- j
rents and friends of the school from |
places near and far. Among Isle visi- .
tors of over three hundred, were TVA ]
officials from a number of different !
centers, twelve students and two directors
from the Fletcher Sanatarium
near Asheville on an adult-education
field trip, and a number from the A.-hwood
Plantation, a federal govern (
ment rural rehabilitation project in J
South Carolina.
The program featured a short ad- j
dress by Airs. Campbell, the director,
describing the school's activities as
eye-openers and avenue-openers foi
young adults wishing to use their lives
well through an appreciation and development
of their talents and an un- ;
derstanding of the needs of their area;
speeches by two of the students, one i
describing the schoo'l activities, the
other challenging the rural popula- (
tion of the South to do something
about its deplorable conditions by us- ;
ing Cooperative methods of improvement;
a student-written play; and'
folk games in which guests as well as
the school 'family' participated.
Edward D. Smith, of Munsic, Geor- j
gia, made a stirring appeal to the
people of the South to wake up to the
problems confronting them and to do
something about intelligently solving
these problems. Some of the high ,
lights in his speech follows.
"The South needs aid. Not one ox
us can deny that when we sec the ,de- ;
plorable conditions surrounding us op
every side. But what form shall uiis
aid take? Surely we do not wish it to
help of the sort handed out by chari
table institutions in the form of food
and clothing. Isn't it pathetic enough I
to see honest men, women, and chil- !
dren going to various relief agencies |
for the bar necessities of life! No! I,
don't think that's the sort of thing we ]
wish for our fellow-men. But what is ]
? - jo ? < i
me assistance uesirea: isn't it son?c- |
thing that will make the Southern far-1
mer and laboring man self-supporting!
and possessed of. an education which
will lift him to a higher standard of
living?
"I think the person who said The i
people of the South just seem to be
asleep!' put it rather aptly. Then if
we are asleep are we not in desperate
need of awakening? It seems to j
me a pity that we haven't wokeup
sooner to the wonderful opportunities
and vast resources of this region.
A. stranger travelling through the
South might wonder, and justly so,
why this isn't one of the wealthiest i
and most prosperous section ir the
United States today.
"To be sure, the South -is not a
Utopia wherein all fault lies in the
people. Around us we see the soil j
slowly washing away before our eyes. ]
and the remains of forest horribly1
mutilated by man's greed for money
The Cherokee
Progressive '
i Western N. C.
The American farmer is sometimes
tpoiver. ??i as thn Mrousvst individuality
among men, and the southern fainter
is no exception. Our foiTathers
regarded the forests as an enemy to
Lc completed by the axe. This, and
tin fact that they saw such an abun
dance of fertile soil and virgin tia ber
that they saw no need to conserve
either, leaves the present generation
with a seemingly hopeless
struggle to revitalize our spent soil
and restore our once plentiful forests.
"But semthing can be done and is
being done to set this to rights. Our
federal government has stepped in
and through her various agencies is
striving to help people by arousing
them to the possibilities of what they
themselves can do. The Civilian Conservation
Corps are doing excellen
work in the way of reforestation and
through soil erosion prevention projects,
thus teaching ways to rebuild
soil and forest. A wealth of material
on the best crops for certain soils and
the get policy for rebuilding eroded ?
land can be had for the asking from
numerous agencies both federal and
state."
Pointing out two aspects of southern
life which cannot be overlooked
?tenancy, and industrial workers'
low wages?and dwelling chiefly on
the tenant-farmer problem most pressing
in the rural South, he said, "1 am
speaking of the tenant farmer who
ii-ouia 111-.? u;*.
who has 110 chance to do so because he
just can't seem to get that far a- 5
head*. Even worse off than the tenant
farmer is the share-croppci v. ho is
forced to raise only a money crop and
has no time for product ing the food 1
he needs for his family. Again the j
government has stepped in and is doing
a number of things that should \
put new hope in life for the small far- i
mei\ A man a ay now borrow money i
1 rom the government at a low rate oi i
interest and on long terms to eithes :
buy or improve a farm. This plan a ;
yet, however, may be modified to e?I |
vantage. It is such a pitiful thing that j
this money borrowed is not always us- [
ed to the best advantage! Also, there
are government resettlement projects I
on which a number of small farmers
are moved and allowed to purchase
the land which is cut into small tracts.
On these projects houses are built
for the people who are given some
work with wages as a "supplement to i
the farming. This seems to me tc be
a wonderful opportunity for the
younger men who has chosen farming ,
as his life work and wishes to start j
off as a land owner.
"Hand in hand with th?? iv?<
comes the activities of the TV A, the
rural electrification program ami the
rehabilitation program, extensive efforts
by the government to help the
southern man and to make life more !
pleasant for him.
"But all the answers to the problem
of the southland can not come from
the government alone. What can we, I
the people of the South, do to help
ourselves, and what are we going to ;
do?
"We arc a democratic people. What j
is more central in the principles of ]
a democracy than the effort of a
group to help the individual? With
this in mind, does it not seem most
logical for one to work toward the
good of his community and neighbors
rather than for mere individual gain?
In other words, it seems to me that
cooperation is the answer to a host
of the problems facing us. If, for example,
through cooperative the small
farmer is able to get better prices foi ,
his produce receives the same atten- i
tion as that of a large plantation >
owner, does it not seem that the
small farmer should back cooperation |
to the limit? That cooperation will j
work has been definitely proven by j
great forward-strides made by Denmark
through a thorough going net-,
work of specialized cooperatives. If j
it will do such things for another
country, cooperation will do as much
for us. Why not look into this matter
I!|| WHEN I BEGAN TO
LET UP_
LIGHT UP IS
B A CAMEL r
. ' x:> V-'" 'yy^.
Bib
immm
: &ljyUiS?liilS8
Scout, Murphy, North C
and give it our serious thought! ,
"another method by which the
small fanner nay help himself is'
through cart ful study and adoption of
the betUr ways of farming. i>ie lirst J
tring any farmer snou;d da ; raise;
at hor.K pia. ticaUy ail tne iood he will
|need inrouga ure year, ncxi, at
>hoold : opp onent ii.it Uu.iiuig v.'itii i
livestock, .-uch as chickens, caitic 01
nogs t-> bring him a cash income fci
i rung he cannot laise. Of gi eat importance,
too, is the adaption oi the
iarming to that most suited to his
particular farm. If much of a fanner's i
land is rather hilly and none too 1
fertile, then to switch to dai.ying or
tree farming is far the wisets policy J
trpfi/ faiTninty ?q for * -1: ?
? ?"* mocai ^ulicy.
prove his land by using: proper methods
of cultivation and rotation and by
planting a certain amount of soilbuilding
crops. I think, also, that intensive
farming is wiser than extensive
farming. That is, concentrating
on the raising of as much as possible
on a small amount of land so as to
rebuild the soil and conserve time and
energy."
Emphasizing thus principles of cooperation
and ways of intelligent
arming as the small farmer's great- |
est hope. Mr. Smith dwelt briefly on
"I think.'5 continued Miss Wilson, "it
a problem that must be contended
with, the question of the negro. "The
negro," he said, "is here and here to
stay, and such being the case we
should try to make of him an asset
rather than a liability. It is generally
known that the negro lowers the wage
rate because of his lower standard of
living. I think the proper way to
remedy this difficulty is to educate
the negro !o * higher standard d? living."
Concluding his speech, Mr. Smith
lepealcd that " all the answers to
l he problems of the southland cannot
givei; by the government ah ne.
Southern men. women and children
must be educated to practical things
lather than in mere facts and fi uics
urcs ,and they must have aroused in
then an earnest desire to raise themm.!vi.
and their land to a level equal
to the best, in the country. It can be
done, because the South has as great
minds as are to be found anywhere.
We are capable of putting ourselves
ahead; but are we going to do it?"
Speaking for the girls. Miss (jeraldine
Wilson, of Hemp, Georgia told
he large number of recreational fac
have been doing this past winter.
"One of the girls," she said, "made
this statement. 'My purpose in coming
to the Folk School was to have something
to do while not taking some
special vocational training, ami to see
what the school was all about. Much
! to my surprise, it was quite different
from what 1 had had in mind. In fact
it is more than I thought it could be.
She spoke of the whole group, staff
and students, as "a family group and
a happy one" in work and at play with
I r-m
ay '?
beek mr j
taxes n ci
M
j I THROUGH TEDERAl, STATE
' j AND LOCAL AGENCIES, A SHAI
OF TM? NATION'S HUGE *40C
I ; MILLION YEARLY BCf R REVENt
II comes back to benefit
j!
If Beer^ nation-wide tax*
| j a day make it possible f
j provide many things tha
| crease everybody's taxe
I j In preserving this re
j the brewers recognize
| beer must give no offeni
|l It is not of course, t
j I
arolina
, th? larg enun.ber of recreational fac
ilities at the school, as well as in tin
.urgv dining loom where al* gather to
getn-r at meals. She continued by
talking of tne work. "Th k.nd < !
work we do here is work mat we >nai
ail probably h: \ - to do when we s:arl
out. Our vitu ".vuy in the world'
?->u. ' i. i organized so as to give
u student a chance to learn a number
of things. For example, the giris
haw cooking, housework, laundry
.nd almost any other kind of house
a oik one can think of as pail of a
uval mountain home life, doing dif
icient things from week to week
1'ietty generally too, we consider il
all not so much work as a chance tc
learn. Work for tho boys is similarly
arranged so that they may find whal
they most wish to do. For many stuor,
n.ost students when they come
dents this school has been a path-findnot
knowing what they want to d<
with their lives, and feeling quite
differently when they leave.
"As far a? possible the teaching if
put into practice. For example, agri
cultural problems and methods dis
cussed in classes are actually tried oul
in the labor of the farm. Surveying
forestry, and simple buil dine? con.
struction are taught through doing.
"Most of the girls feel our 'homes
class is one of the most essential ones
We learn to appreciate values in sim
pie worth while things that will grac
our homes. Most of us have pretty
well planned out what we want to d<
in beautifying our future homes, ar.i
in making them convenient for al
kinds of life needs, as well as attrac
Live and pleasing to live in."
Kefei ring to uses to which flower:
ufiB be put, she said, "This bring-- m<
to something we make a lot of here a
: ho school?the quality of being abb
' create. We all should have the de
j -iie to create something beautiful. Ii
I tudyin^. through discussion, basii
j ;u eds in life, we all agreed that beau
1 y play a needed and helpful par
I 11 our lives." Speaking of the siuler.
j wojk on display, she -aid, "It vol
J noticed the weavings, paintings, carv
mg.-. word-work and iron-work exhib
jitcd in our craft room, you saw some
j thing of our efforts in creating thing
I were not especially attractive, stii
1' you must remember the pleasure w<
had in making these things and ih<
i eauty we who made them can not f?ii
j to see in them, made as they are fron
I ordinary materials always nvai a
I aand."
Continuing she said. "I hope yoi
j haven't gotten the idea that what i:
on display is all that we have accomu
1 ished heii'. These things are only J
smaller part. Wo have no cooking: 01
display, and that most important thin]
ill daily life is only one of the man;
things we experience through ou
daily chores. One of the girls sai<
this 'I think the expenrience we ge
in the kitchen is worth any girl*!
time that she can spend here."
?$[d)oooo Facts Thi
P SUPPOR"
r' ME STATE
$92
IN BEtk
* | (sOvJftCE Of OAT A
,?-?-PUBLIC
EDUCATION
es of ? million dollars nility to enforce
or the government tc ating with all <
it would otherwise in- to it that the la
s >bse rved
venue for the nation. May we *en<
that the retailing of forwarri-lookinj
je to anyone lustry ? ^ddre:
he brewers' response- foundation. TS
'leverage.oj model
Thursday, Mar. 9, 1939
- Miss Wilson concluded with an exi
cellent statement well sun marized in
- the remark to the effect that ""we
want t?> be pro;; lessee i the real
I s* isc. to bui t mo ?\v ..itelligently
1 and caieluliy. on u.< ov>i of yesteit
day. adding it the best we can and
. ceoper?tei??j to hotter use and undei'
standing ourselves and at s < tion oi
- the country."
- Written by the -tudi t. hi!
arious conuuy **lngren 'luni", .chier!
followed the spec chcs. rtu. enthusias1
tically rece:veu :.y tie- .a?/f and ap
preciative audience, t ecil Tipton of
Bra&stown, N. C., and Alice Holland.
L Andrews, a. t were tiic father and
' mother of the 'SludeT family of
' which Carol Deschan.ps, Brass*own.
N. C., and Monroe \v ilson. Hemp.
I Georgia were the daugiitei in love
and the mischievous son. Jeannie
James of Asnwood, S. C., and I). L.
> Martin of Blairsville, Georgia, were
' scheming grandmother and mooning
and loosing c-ranilsfin
1 lively. Sylvan Plott, Blairsville, Gcor
-jgia, was the successful suitor, a city
boy; Cleo Crone, Polk County, N. C.t
: and Ruth Martin, Martin's Creek, N.
, C., were friendly mother and daugh
ter; John Erwin and A. J. Woodring,
Blairsville boys, were stage managers;
' and in addition a number of students
. and ex-student took part a neighbors
_ of the Sluders who came in to make
a music with guitars and banjos and
f I mandolin. Particularly enjoyed were
y' the mischievous antics of tht von,
] Monroe Wilson, in overalls and with
1 bale feet, a bandaged toe, and color.
l'ul patche about his legs anu back.
Following the play the students
s den.onst rated folk games involving
p much team work and carefully coort
uinated thinking and action, conclud
ing with a mass-march game in which
- most of the guests participated.
i : Guests, mostly students' parents, at
|dinner prepared by the gi'I, were: Mr.
-land Mrs. W. G. Holland with their
t daughter, Helen. Andrews. N. C.; Ml.
t 'and Mrs. li. K. Wilson with two sons,
i' Hcmi. Ga.; Mrs. .!. R .Martin with
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Piatt from
- Blairsville, Ga.; Mrs. W. L Cobb, Blue
- i Uidge, Ga.; Mr. and Mrs. Carl Louds
ermilk with their son, Buzzy and Miss
1 | Mildred Martin from Isabella, Tenn.;
j Mi>. Fred (). Scroggs, Brasstown; Mr.
and Mrs. Leon Deschamps, Folk
1 School; Mrs. \\ . R. Posey, Murphy,
i NY A director; and from Ashwood, S.
i C.. Mr. J. P. James, Miss Bnima
Thames, Miss Ruth Lockman, recreai
tional director, Mr. Loren Yarbors
ough, Jr., and Mr. E. T. Berry.
For the aftenoon program, in addii
tion to a number from Murphy, came
i Mr. Hudson with a bus-full of And4
rows High School seniors, Mr. Arrant
/'with two carloads of students from
r the Ogden School, Clay County, and
1 a number of TV A officials from Nort
lis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Murs
nhv. as well as th?? nhnv?> moniiAm.fi
group from Fletcher, N .C.
it Concern
f THEM!
OF NORTH CAZZLCN*
COLlCCTEP
/. H 7 2.no
REVENUE rQR W3X ,
V OAR ft 9/ hltOHOLK. CO*T*Ol) |
? the law. But they are cooper?nforcement
officials. .. . to see
iws ycu have made are rigidly
i, you * booklet discussing this
a: program of the brewing inss
United Brewers Industrial
East 40th St., New York, N. Y.
b