APPALACHIAN "MAKE DO" DOLLS

1940s CLOTH DOLL 

In Appalachia, as well as other parts of the country, cloth dolls have been part of the culture as long as there has been fabric around to make them. Cloth dolls were both hand-stitched or machine-stitched or both types of stitching were found in one doll. The cloth dolls in this post average about 15 inches in height. 

I found these dolls in the Appalachian area. They probably are indigenous to the area however they could also be migrants from other parts of the country. No documented history came with these dolls. 

The above doll is more than likely from the 1940's. She has both hand stitching and machine stitching on her body as well as her clothes. The fabric appears to be 1940s plaid. The buttons also speak out 1940s. She is in excellent condition given her age.

CLOTH DOLL CLOSE-UP OF HAND-STITCHED FACE

A close-up of the cloth doll shows her hand stitched face. Hair is sewn on yarn. 

HAND-STITCHED CLOTH DOLL'S SHOES

Her cloth shoes made with the same material as the dress are capped by swirling buttons. The maker of the shoes even used a white material to indicate soles. 

HAND-STITCHED RAG DOLL

I would consider the doll in the charming rose floral dress above to be a "rag doll." Some use the term cloth and rag interchangeably. To me a rag doll looks rather primitive in its structure I would consider them a piece of folk art. . I sometimes wonder if these loosely made dolls were made by children.

HAND-STITCHED RAG DOLL

This guy in the blue polka dot pajamas has a happy smile on his face -- another doll that I would classify as folk art. Both the rose dress lady doll and the blue pajama guy have early printed fabric as clothes. They could or could not be original to the doll. 

Folk art can be found in many types of material including fabric. The cloth and rag dolls are part of our "make do" culture. Our doll history can be traced back to when this country began. 

Take a look around -- attics, yard sales, and second hand stores. You might just find one of these pieces of our folk culture. 

ARE SMALL TOWNS BECOMING MUSEUM SITES IN SITU?

SMALL TOWN CUSTOM -- TOWN FOLK SIT OUT IN FRONT OF A STOREFRONT AND DISCUSS THE WORLD OR TOWN EVENTS

As we are aware, small towns are declining. In 1950 44 %. of Americans lived on farms or small towns -- now it has declined to about 23%. Small towns located near urban areas fare better as employment opportunities are near. Decline has been attributed to many factors -- farmers losing out to large aggregate farming (read, corporate industrial), movement by the young to urban areas for jobs, loss of transportation such as railroads and not being near new highway systems, all of which cause political and economic shifts benefiting larger cities. Result -- small town decline. Small towns have been fighting this, some have been winning. But most are not.

OLD THEATER SEATS POISED INSIDE THE OLD COX HARDWARE BUILDING, MT VERNON, KENTUCKY

As I travel around Kentucky and other states I always like to take the back country roads and ride through the small towns and places. They offer many opportunities to experience what you cannot find elsewhere. Two of my favorites are the local businesses and architecture. The less disturbed the town is from outside influences the better I enjoy it.

A VICTORIAN FENCE SITTING ON AN EMPTY LOT -- A REMNANT LEFT FROM A BURNT-DOWN HOUSE IN MT VERNON KENTUCKY.

I have noticed that many folks like to jump in their cars and take rides in the country and small towns. Do they stop? I don't know. Are they treating these small towns like museums? Could be!

Let me call these "jump in the car and take a ride" folks, small town travelers or STT folks.

As a suggestion, perhaps small towns in an area could join together and highlight what the area has to offer. Not the Motel 8 or the McDonalds but the different-- the unique -- what they have and don't realize it. How about the streetscapes in many of these towns that hold authentic buildings built in situ by locals using many local resources. A tiny Victorian building, a century old city hall built of native stone plus much more. Yes, the STT will say "oh, that's pretty," as they drive through, but never know what they are really looking at.

Let's do what some small towns are beginning to do -- have a tiny visitor center run by volunteers. Package the unique and different in little flyers and provide a walking tour map. Leave the commercial ads out. Get school kids involved designing a small town web site for their town, again leave out the ads. Maybe do this a few times a year. Not a festival -- just a plain ole appreciation of small towns event. Get the folks interested in the towns. Start a movement of BACK TO SMALL TOWN LIVING. With computers one can live and work just about anyplace. I'm not suggesting a tourist town or area but to introduce folks to what is and was the beauty of small town living. Just an idea to perhaps plug the leaking decline.

BEAUTIFUL LIMESTONE STAIRS TO NOWHERE -- SMALL TOWN BUILDING -- MISSING IN ACTION

Small towns and villages hold a history of settlement and offer individuals a chance to live life in non-pretentious ways. The photos on this post were taken in the small town of Mt Vernon. Their population is abut 2,592 according to the 2000 census. They are quickly losing their lovely main street vitality as storefront businesses leave -- the fabric shrinks.

These are just a few ideas that popped into my head -- I'm sure there are many more out there.

PLEASE PIG, GET OVER THE STILE

Riding down a Kentucky country road, I spotted this tubular metal object going up and over a wire fence. I stopped and looked it over and on closer inspection realized it was a stile. A stile for sure. It met the definition -- a device that allows folks to cross over a fence or low wall without letting animals to go through. In this case it was a metal type ladder stile.

It reminded me of a story, Old Woman and Her Pig, that many children hear and enjoy when they are young. It's an English tale that begins with an old women that finds a sixpence and decides to go to the market and buy a pig. She buys the pig and on her way home she comes to a stile and says:

Please pig, get over the stile
But the pig would not

The story continues on with how the pig finally gets over the stile. A fun tale for children.

When I was young I was always fascinated with this tale and wondered what the heck a stile was. No one seemed to explain it clearly. As an adult, I learned exactly what a stile was but had never actually seen a working one. That is why I was surprised to actually see a real one that day on the country road.

OLD HILL STILE -- SCOTLAND
PUBLIC DOMAIN WIKIPEDIA

Why the tale of the Old Woman and Her Pig mentions a stile is that it was the custom in Great Britain to have them over fenced or low walled areas. Country land was used commonly. Meaning that folks were allowed to walk the land to get to where they were going, using any path that they wanted to follow even if it meant walking over private land. It was customary to do so. As I understand, it is still customary. No need to open any gates, which might be left open allowing animals to roam outside the property, just use the stiles to get over the fence or low wall.

I researched stiles online and came up with several interesting examples in Great Britain. None in the U.S.

STILE INTO OLD CHERRY ORCHARD -- GREAT BRITAIN
COPYRIGHT -PENY MAYES
CREATIVE COMMONS LICENCE

Stiles come in all different designs. Some very decorative and some very plain. There have been some that are very elaborate with dates and initials.

ARNOLD'S FARM STILE -- GREAT BRITAIN
COPYRIGHT DAVID STOWELL
CREATIVE COMMONS LICENCE

The photographer that took the above photo explains it as follows -- "This particular stile is equipped with a lift up dog gate. The footpath associated with the stile heads straight across the field and the way has been marked by what appears to be tractor tracks."

As far as I have been able to research stiles, I would say that the U.S. might have only a few? It seems the idea of the commons has never taken hold in this country. Here, private property means just that -- private.

We adopted many of the English customs but this one we seemed to have overlooked.

I think we missed the boat on this custom as stiles offer charm and history to an area.

BILL BEST AND HIS PASSION FOR APPALACHIAN HEIRLOOM SEEDS

OVERVIEW OF THE SUSTAINABLE MOUNTAIN AGRICULTURE CENTER

BILL BEST -- APPALACHIAN SEED COLLECTOR

I first heard about Bill Best when I spotted his seeds for sale on a counter at a small shop outside of Berea, Kentucky. They were in small clear bags with a label of both the name of the seeds and the words Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Center. I asked the clerk about the seed packets and he told me, "oh, those are Bill Best's seeds." Since I was unfamiliar with who Bill Best was I asked the shop manager about Bill Best and was told, "oh, he is a collector of heirloom seeds." I wrote down the center's name from the seed packets so I could search for it online.

My search found Bill Best's site titled the Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Center. It contained information on books, articles, heirloom seeds and other agricultural information. A very worthwhile site to check out if you are interested in heirloom seeds.

I decided that I would like to know more about the man who collected all these seeds so I emailed him and we soon were setting up a date to meet at his center.

There is no roadside sign to indicate the center but I had good directions and had no trouble finding it. From the road one would not know of all the activities that go on at the place. It's located in a beautiful rural area in Madison County, Kentucky.

Bill had told me in his email that this is a busy time at the center and that he would be working until five so we made an early evening appointment.

When I arrived he immediately gave me a tour of his high tunnels (like high hoop houses) where he had tomatoes growing that were at least a foot high already. He uses soaker hoses to water them, keeping them in the tunnel during their entire growing period. He said he buys bumble bees for the tunnels to cross pollinate the plants. He then took me out to his blackberries and introduced me to his wife, Irmgard, who was weeding.

Unexpectedly some local young men showed up wishing to purchase some of Bill's heirloom seeds. The young men, Mark and Travis, told Bill how family members in years past had purchased seeds from him and now Mark was starting a garden of his own and wanted to use only heirloom seeds.

CUSTOMERS PICKING OUT APPALACHIAN HEIRLOOM SEEDS
TRAVIS ON THE LEFT AND MARK

Soon Travis, Mark and I were sitting in Bill's living room (he lives on site) and Mark was thumbing through packets of seeds to purchase. All the while, Bill was answering question from all of us.
Here are some of the things we learned:
-He concentrates his heirloom collecting on beans and tomatoes from the Appalachian area.
-That the Appalachian area food crops, historically, have been mainly corn, beans, and tomatoes .
-Bill's mother influenced his love of heirloom seeds as she saved the old open pollinated seeds she used for her next years crop.
-That Bill has 450 varieties of heirloom beans, not all for sale.
- Farmers markets are where he sells his crop of tomatoes and beans. He also visits other farmers markets always on the lookout for heirloom seeds.
- He has collected many of the stories behind many of his seeds and has two books in the works on this subject.
-He does not buy commercial heirloom seeds, he only collects primary seeds from folks that grow them in the Appalachian area.
-That heirlooms are open pollinators.
-That beans have been grown in the Appalachian area for about 1000 years.
-That heirlooms are not used in large-scale agriculture.
-There is a growing trend in growing heirlooms.

Bill, at 74, has collected seeds most of his life. That is between teaching at Berea College for 40 years and doing a bit of cattle farming. He has lived at his present place for 37 years.

I decided to try out one of his bean seeds. I have a very small garden patch but I thought it would help the cause of perpetuating heirloom seeds as I planned to save some at harvest time. I could not believe the array of names on the beans --Doyce Chambers Greasey Cut Short, Lazy Wife Greasey, Goose Beans, Barnes Mountain Cornfield, Bertie Best and Big John are but a few. My choice was Goose Beans.

Bill believes that the local Appalachian farmers markets can be conduits for maintaining the region's seed diversity. Gardeners and farmers can perpetuate the circular system of growing and saving to assure that seed diversity of the region remains. If the industrial crops were to fail we would have the heirlooms to fall back on.

People like Bill are an assest to our agricultural world.

RFD AND RURAL MAILBOXES

SPECIAL RECOGNITION STAMP OF RURAL FREE DELIVERY WHEN STAMPS WERE ONLY THIRTY TWO CENTS

At one time, I remember writing RR2 as part of the address for letters being sent to my cousins in the country. RR meaning rural route. I knew that RR had a connection to the words, rural free delivery -- but I was, "in the dark," as to what was the meaning of rural free delivery or RFD for short. So recently I did a little research and came up with the answer to my long ago perplexity. I thought, "better late than never," to find an answer to my childhood question.

RURAL MAILBOX WITH AN EARLY HAND PLOW ATTACHED

This is what I found. Up until about 1891 residents had to travel to the nearest town to pick up their mail at the local postoffice. If they wanted it delivered to their home they had to pay private carriers to bring it from that near-by post- office. After 1891 rural routes were slowly established across the nation by the U.S. post office that by law provided free delivery to rural homes. Thus was born the acronym RFD.

RURAL BLUE MAILBOXES -- BIG AND LITTLE -- SIDE BY SIDE

So why did I put RR in the rural cousin's address rather than RFD. Well, in the past rural free delivery service included both the rural route (RR) number -- such as, "RR 5, Box 123." Box being the number on the mailbox. Rural route being the route number established by the U.S. postoffice in their delivery system.

RURAL MAILBOX -- APPARENTLY A BIRD LOVER'S HOME

Today things are different for rural routes. No more RR designations. When the 911 emergency system was created RR was discontinued. House numbers were then used on mailboxes so emergency services could find the house.

RURAL MAILBOX WITH OLD FASHIONED HAND PUMP AS POST

So there you have it. From RFD to house address on the mailboxes of today.

I have been taking photos of Kentucky rural mailboxes over the last couple days in Madison and Garrard counties. I took shots of those that kinda made a statement about the people that live in the house.

Without RFD we wouldn't have rural home mailboxes -- or what has become a custom of accessorizing our mailboxes. I would consider many of the decorated mailboxes as a folk art type.

RURAL MAILBOX -- HORSE FARM

RURAL MAILBOX OF LLAMA FARM

SUMMER OUTDOOR FURNITURE 1928 CATALOG

THE BOOK OF LAWN FURNITURE

Over my adulthood life, I have always had an interest in old artifacts, especially those containing the written word. Perhaps twenty years or so ago I picked up this old 36 page catalog that dates from 1928. The distributor of the catalog was Barker Lumber and Fuel Company, located in Plymouth, Wisconsin. The publisher was The Long Bell Lumber Company located in Kansas City, Missouri.

Anyway, at the time, I thought it was a great illustrative catalog that could be of benefit to owners of old homes desiring to replicate the appropriate vintage look around their homes. Recently, I have thought that some of the catalog ideas could be used around heirloom vegetable gardens also.

The catalog was not selling outdoor furniture rather it displayed an item then gave a (sorta) building material list of lumber sizes needed for a woodworking project to complete the item pictured. In 1928 home and local carpenters were more prolific in the local community. This was the days when "industrial already made" outdoor furniture was still in its early stage.

Below is a representative gallery from the seventy-six black and white photos featured in the catalog. I would be glad to provide anyone with a list of building materials from the catalog for any of the items below; just ask for the list in the comment section. They are rather sparse lists.

CIRCULAR TRELLIS ARBOR
sparse material list

A STURDY LAWN CHAIR
sparse material list

LATTICE FENCE
sparse material list

TREATMENT FOR CORNER LOT WITH TRELLIS TRIM AND FENCE

no material list available

FENCE FOR SLOPING GROUND
no material list available

FLOWER BOX
no material list available

LATTICE ADORNED PORCH
sparse material list

TREE SEAT
no material list available

GRAPE TRELLIS
sparse material list

BIRDHOUSE
no materail list available


Perhaps these photos will bring back memories of vintage family photographs taken outside next to a wooden trellis or similar wooden structure. They do for me.

WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH OUR SEEDS?

CLASSIC BOOK ON HEIRLOOM SEEDS

I bought William Woys Weaver's book in 1997, titled Heirloom Vegetable Gardening. Since the time of its 1997 copyright it has become a classic for heirloom seed savers. In the book he provides in-depth research, cultural history, and personal stories related to the heirloom seeds that he is familiar with. He traces how family vegetable gardens moved to industrial gardening (gardening for profit) in the mid-nineteenth century. Weaver's book was and still is an important piece for people wishing to know more about heirloom seeds.

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Moving on from Weaver's well written book lets take a close look at heirlooms. Well, they are open pollinators and have adapted themselves to certain regions of climate and soil over eons of time. They often are resistant to local pests, diseases, and extreme weather. They are tough "guys" if planted in their regional domain. What they aren't is hybrid or GMO seeds. They contain strong genetic traits while industrial seeds or hybrids contain weak genetic traits. Heirlooms are important to the world as they can override many of the problems of modern day seeds such as disease and pests. Heirlooms are vital to the world's food system.

The South contains rich pockets of heirloom seeds saved from family to family, friend to friend over many years of growing vegetables, flowers and fruits. More so than other regions of the country.

COLLECTING SEEDS
Flickr Photo -- schill

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So why are we encouraging corporate, industrial farming when we know their genes are weak? A simple answer is, profit.

Corporations have been buying up many of the old seed companies that had heirloom seeds resulting in many of the seeds from these old companies being lost. The pool of seed diversity shrinks with the passing years.
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What are we doing about this shrinking cache of heirloom seeds? Many things. In the past decade part of the seed savers movement was about establishing world seed banks around the globe attempting to save this rich diversity. Actually there are 1,460 banks around the world. One bank, ICARDA, has 131,000 varieties within their stores of 5.4 million seeds. These banks need to keep the seeds in long term storage under ideal conditions -- where there are regional conflicts or little money the seed banks are at risk.
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The largest seed bank is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault that opened in February 2008 in Norway. It is the ultimate in safety for seed biodiversity and protection of our global food.
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Here is an idea how you can help save the threatened heirloom seeds. Start planting some (better yet all) heirlooms in your gardens and flower beds each year. Maybe even start trying to save seeds from these plants for next year's garden. You will be rewarded with hardy plants and you will make a difference to our world by saving a bit of our plant heritage.
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Below are some links on heirloom seeds, seed banks:
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Svalbard Global Seed Vault from the Decorah Tribune, Decorah Iowa.
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Seed Banks and the Global Crop Diversity Trust from World Changing: Bright Green Blog
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Bakers Creek Heirloom Seeds
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Seed Savers Exchange

CLOVER BOTTOM BARN

Today is St Patrick's Day and I thought it would be appropriate to put a photo on of the above barn that I found in Jackson, County Kentucky a few weeks ago. The sign stuck above the open doorway says, CLOVER BOTTOM. After all, a clover is a symbol of Ireland as well as one of the symbols of St Patrick's Day.

I, myself am half Irish. I call it my better half. My family came to Canada in the mid 1800s and formed kinship and Irish clans in the area. Many of this clan crossed over the border into Michigan at the beginning of the 1900s. Irish were a close knit group back then, keeping to themselves as they were regarded as second class during those early times. But the good thing is, it kept the Irish strain together as Irish married Irish. That is how I can claim that I am half Irish -- I know the genealogy trail.

Today, in the U. S. many St Patrick traditions have come about. On the "day of" one should wear green or expect a pinch, drink green beer, eat Irish food, or if you live in Chicago expect to see the river turn green. All fun and a day when everyone is looked upon as Irish.

The clover or the shamrock as it is called in Ireland, has a history dating back to the ancient Celts. Its original meaning was that the three leaves represented; gods, goddesses, and time and balance of energies.

And, oh yes, the Clover Bottom barn in the above photo -- it is actually a designated name for a "place" in Jackson County. I had heard of the area of Clover Bottom but when I went searching for the place I had difficulty finding it. The sign on this barn was the only hint that it did indeed exist. Maybe it is a mystical place like many of the old stories told by Irish leprechauns?

OLD POOSEY RIDGE FOLK CEMETERY

THE WROUGHT IRON VICTORIAN FENCE I NOTICED BEHIND THE POOSEY RIDGE COMMUNITY CHURCH -- IT SURROUNDS A FAMILY BURIAL PLOT

I needed to turn around and go back down the other way on a rural road that I was driving on. I spotted a nice turn around church parking lot and pulled up the hill and swung around to go back down and out -- heading back the way I'd just been. But, as I reached the top of the hill and glanced behind the church toward a small stand of trees I noticed some lovely Victorian fencing. I stopped. I got out. And, I walked over to take a closer look. I was now looking at a small folk cemetery that I quickly assessed as mid to late 1800s.

I had recently read a non-fiction book titled, Love Cemetery: Unburying the Secret History of Slaves, by China Galland. The book had certainly piqued my interest in folk cemeteries. It is a remarkable story of unearthing the folk stories of the families that were buried in Love Cemetery.

TOMBSTONE OF E & F FERRELL, DIED 1868, POOSEY RIDGE COMMUNITY CHURCH CEMETERY, KENTUCKY

But this post is not about Love Cemetery, it is about Poosey Ridge Cemetery located behind Poosey Ridge Community Church in Madison County, Kentucky. The name, "Poosey" was the name of the Native American tribe that lived in the area at the time of pioneer settlement. Today, the Poosey area is rural with a small population. Not an incorporated town but a "place."

In the photo above one can see the scarring of one the Poosey tombstones (markers) after years of rain reacting with its limestone causing an acidic reaction. Limestone was a local material of the area and readily accessible

SCATTERED TOMBSTONES IN THE POOSEY RIDGE CEMETERY

It is difficult to pick out the tombstones in the woods above. There were about eight that I could spot. These eight were located outside the Victorian fenced family plot (see photo at the top).

Terry Jordan and D. Gregory Jeane have written well researched papers and books on folk cemeteries. Also Southern Graves website provides information.

THE ONE AND ONLY FANCY TOMBSTONE IN THE CEMETERY -- IT IS LOCATED IN THE FAMILY PLOT

Southern folk cemeteries have certain traits. I have gathered the following from the writers I have mentioned in this post; 1) grave tombstones of a "make do" quality, 2) pine and cedar are sometimes found on site planted by the caretakers of the cemeteries, 3) contains a family plot/s that is surrounded by curbing, shells or fencing, 4) lacks creative ornamentation, 5) small size, 6) rural area, 7) tombstones face east, 8) wife buried on the left, husband on the right. A folk cemetery does not have to meet all these criteria, just a few will do.

"MAKE DO," ROCK GRAVE MARKERS AT POOSEY RIDGE ARE AN EXAMPLE OF A FOLK CEMETERY TRAIT

Poosey Ridge has five traits to verify that it is indeed a folk cemetery. they are; 1) has, "make do," markers 2) has a family plot, 3) small size, 4) rural, 5) lack of creative ornamentation.

To sum up what folk cemeteries supply to our understanding of our culture, I will quote from D. Gregory Jeane ----

. . . cemeteries are a good place to accumulate information that can provide insight into a community's social and economic structure, its religious tenants, and its ethnic composition.

Also, from a gravestone restorer ----

Graveyards contain within them priceless historical information. They are in essence open air museums. Gravestones are often the only thing remaining in its original location from previous generations . . . please treat them with the respect they are due. ~~ Jonathan Appell, gravestone restorer

And finally, a quiet walk through a cemetery can be meditative and reflective.

FARM AND GARDEN FOLKWAYS

FOR SALE -- CURED COUNTRY HAMS HANGING FROM THE STORE'S RAFTERS

Country stores were once found in all rural towns and villages across Kentucky. They were part of the community that gave it a sense of place. Here one could buy supplies of all sorts, usually pick up their mail, and also catch up on the latest news in the community. Today at the Montgomery Farm and Garden store one can still find many of the old country store folkways -- like hanging cured hams from rafters as they were sold years ago. Although the store is not an old country store it blends new ways with old ways that are authentic. Nothing contrived here.

OLD KITCHEN STOVE HAS A NEW USE -- DISPLAY OF JAMS AND HONEY -- PLUS

Its decor is eclectic with assorted shelving, an old large white enamel stove for displays, chicken wire, live baby chicks in the spring, and much in the, "can't find any other place," category.

THE OLD AND THE NEW... SEED DISPLAYS

An old green display case filled with very old store tins sits next to a newer seed rack -- combines the new way with the old way of selling seeds.

OLD STORE SEED TINS STILL IN USE

These tins are filled by Montgomery's with the same types of seeds each season. In today's world new seeds arrive in large heavy paper bags. From these bags of loose seeds they fill the tins. They measure out portions to their buying customers.

MORE OLD SEED TINS SITTING ON THE OLD DISPLAY FIXTURE

A close up of some of the old labels still on the tins. I did an internet search of the Puritan Brand seeds which were on several of the old labels and came up blank. Perhaps it was one of those small seed companies that are lost to the past.

AN OLD COUNTRY FOLKWAY -- MEN GATHERING TO SHARE THE COMMUNITY NEWS.

Gathered around a large black stove were men who all knew each other. The day I was there taking the photos for these posts, I found these men in good spirits. It seemed the topic of discussion was the local election and they were convincing me to vote for Jerry Combs for Madison County Sheriff. Two of the men above were his campaign managers.

HUNGRY?

Bennie Gay, part of the men that gather at Montgomery's, is just finishing up frying bologna and eggs for the hungry men. It's that kind of place where one can feel at home.

OLD ROCKING CHAIRS PROVIDED

By blending new folkways with old folkways, the store provides a welcome mat of warmth to its customers. Just like the old country stores used to do.