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COLLEGE MAGAZINE SPRING 2010

AppalachianVoices

SPR ING 2010 : Vo l ume 80 Numbe r 4

4 Editor’s Note

30 Campus News

34 News from Faculty, Staff, and Trustees

35 Alumni Connections

37 About Berea People

40 In Memoriam

DEPARTMENTS

FEATURES

Student Managing Editor: Deb McIntyre, ’11

Contributing Writers:Jay Buckner, Maggie Hess, ’13, LibbyKahler, ’11, Monica Leslie, ’11, MichaelLorrus, ’09, Robert Moore, ’13, MeganSmith, ’11, Morgan Smith, ’12, BishenSen, ’13, Julie Sowell, Ahmad Shuja, ’11,Kate VanEchaute, ’11, Hannah Worcester,’13

Meet Mister Appalachia—Loyal Jones

22

Front Cover: Loyal Jones, ’54, photo by O’NeilArnold, ’85Inside Front Cover: Top to bottom: JonathanCarman, ’12, Brian Easterday, ’12, and Ben Comin,’12, photo by LeAnna Kaiser, ’12Inside Back Cover: Dancing Wheels company per-formers at convocation in April, photo by AaronGilmour, ’12

BEREA COLLEGE MAGAZINE www.berea.edu/alumni/CONTENTS

5 The Writing Life:An Interview with C.E. Morgan

6 The Mountains – They Are Callin’

8 Extension Agents Extenda Hand in Appalachia

10 “Swarping” with the Best of Them

13 Karen McElmurray:Hearing What the Heart Says

16 Vicky Hayes – A CompellingAppalachian Voice

18 She Taught Lessons for Life

21 Building a Better Appalachia

26 Guy Adams Comes Full Circle

28 Honoring the Pioneers

4

Two of my favorite topics intertwine in this issue: Appalachia and writing. Here, wefeature a few of the notable, talented, and thought-provoking authors from our region.Chief among them is the prolific icon Loyal Jones, ’54, sometimes known as “Mr.Appalachia” (p. 22). He was among the first to welcome me and my husband David Hurtto Berea more than five years ago.

Loyal Jones is wise and generous, and it is a pleasure to feature him in thismagazine. He has influenced nearly every Appalachian scholar, author, and old-timemusician; including memoirist and novelist Karen McElmurray, ’80, who visited Berea’scampus recently (p. 13), and Mike Mullins, ’71: director of the Hindman SettlementSchool and its annual Appalachian Writers Workshop (p. 10). We also spotlight threeother exceptional writers: C.E. Morgan, ’02, whose first novel received the WeatherfordPrize in Appalachian Literature (p. 5); Vicky Hayes, ’99, who heads up the LearningCenter by day and writes full-throttle on her novel during weekends and evenings (p. 16);and memoirist Jane Powell, ’65, who chronicles the lives of her African American familyfrom the coal mining hills of West Virginia (p. 18).

We also note the contributions to Appalachia by those who serve the region,including extension agents Steve Duckett, ’89, Carmen Long, ’86, Renata Farmer, ’02, andBrandy Brabham, ’00 (p. 8). We note the efforts of faculty members Janice Blythe (Childand Family Studies) and Jason Coomes (Sustainability and Environmental Studies) whowork to find solutions to the pressing problems of health and housing that still exist inAppalachia (p. 8, p. 21). Guy Adams, ’81, returns to the region, bringing his skills inmanagement and philanthropy as the new director of the Christian Appalachian Project(p. 26).

The groundbreaking work of three alumni and their contributions to the founding ofthe Kentucky Human Rights Commission 50 years ago—the late Galen Martin, ’51, andDavid Welch, ’55; and the contributions of Carter Woodson (1903)—were the focus of acelebration that preceded a convocation by John Fleming, ’66, director of the NationalUnderground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati (p. 28).

Alumni events coordinator Jacqui Greene, ’93, offers us her insight into what itmeans to be an Appalachian and how she has embraced her heritage (p. 6).

This issue also brings to a close my time in Berea. I leave it with many fondmemories of my colleagues; of the friends and alumnicorrespondents who have written me with advice, story ideas,and congratulations; and of my brilliant, hard-working, award-winning, and fun-loving student photographers and writers. Ileave with a sense of having grown attached to this place thatis rich in history and vibrant with possibility.

It is time to begin to write the next chapter of my life—tofinish a book and to establish the PenHouse Retreat Centerfor contemplative writing and study. Know that it has beenmy pleasure these five years to shepherd into print your Bereastories.

People are hungryand one good word is breadfor a thousand.

— David Whyte, “Loaves and Fishes”

BEREA COLLEGE MAGAZINE : S P R I NG 2 010

EDITOR’S NOTE

Normandi Ellis, Editor

William A. Laramee, Vice President,Alumni and College Relations

Timothy W. Jordan, ’76,Director, Public Relations

Mae Suramek, ’95,Director, Alumni Relations

Correspondence and ReprintsIf you have comments, questions,or suggestions for the Berea CollegeMagazine, or would like informationabout reprinting any article appearingin the magazine, please contact:

Editor, Berea College MagazineBerea CollegeCPO 2142Berea KY 40404

or e-mail [email protected]

Berea College Magazine (ISSN 1539-7394)is published quarterly for Berea Collegealumni and friends by the Berea CollegePublic Relations Department.

POSTMASTER: Send address corrections tothe Berea College Office of Alumni Relations,CPO 2203, Berea, KY 40404.

Berea College is a 501(c)(3) charitableorganization under federal guidelines.

COLLEGE MAGAZINE

Web: www.berea.edu

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Mail: CPO 2203Berea, KY 40404

Phone: 859.985.3104Toll free: 1.866.804.0591

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our,’12

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!! BBeerreeaa CCoolllleeggee MMaaggaazziinnee:: What made you believe that one day you wouldwrite?

CC..EE.. MMoorrggaann,, ’’0022:: The day that I learned to read when I was seven yearsold, I knew I would be a writer. That never changed.

!! BBCCMM:: Describe how you developed as a writer.MMoorrggaann: I began reading very passionately as a young child and never

stopped—as my understanding of literature developed, my technical ability as awriter followed suit. That process makes a certain kind of sense; as you divineand analyze the how’s and why’s of a text, you carry that understanding intoyour own work. In other words, by learning how other writers constructmeaning and emotion in their work, you learn how to construct it in your ownwork.

So, close reading and rereading was the key to my growth as a writer—and Iowe much of that ability to my (Berea) English professor, Gene Startzman, who is arigorous reader himself.

I didn’t read much serious criticism until I was in graduate school, which wasprobably an aid: I was wrestling with the texts on my own, or within the context of classdiscussion. I value literary criticism now, and read it fairly frequently, but I think havingan early engagement with texts without the crutch of criticism is invaluable. It developsindependent thought and artistic autonomy, two things which are indispensable to the artist.

!! BBCCMM:: Who is your ideal reader?MMoorrggaann:: I think the ideal reader for my work would be someone as interested in ethics as

they are in poetry; sensitive to the religious life but more curious than dogmatic—someone trainedin a number of disciplines, not just literature. I admire a reader who is generous and thoughtfulwith a text, slow to judgment, and eager for aesthetic departures.

A good reader is a re-reader, someone willing to do the hard work of wrangling with meaning,or the multiplicity of meanings possible in a work. The best readers have trained themselvesthrough careful reading to look between the lines, to intuit; they’re emotionally sharp. A lot ofthese qualities are ones you would want in an interpersonal encounter; they’re fundamentallygenerous. To my mind, literature—the novel—is a very intimate seat of human consciousness; how aperson approaches a novel can be very telling.

!! BBCCMM:: The first book poured out in two weeks. Where did that voice come from?MMoorrggaann:: I can’t make any definitive claims about where the narrative voice in All the

Living came from. There was almost a kinesthetic sense of the book beingpoured into my mind, but at the biological level, it’s probably a matter ofthe frontal, logical mind being stilled or fatigued enough to permit materialto bubble up from those parts of the mind—often inaccessible outside ofdreaming—where image, sound, and memory reside. I think any number ofthings can break through, so to speak, the wall of logos: grief, trauma,drunkenness, meditation, or a certain kind of stillness and receptivity.

And dreaming, of course.

C.E. Morgan’s first novel, All the Living (Farrar Straus & Giroux,2009) received rave reviews from national media. It recently won theWeatherford Award for Appalachian Literature, was named one of the “5 under 35” by the National Book Foundation, and was a finalist for theHemingway Foundation/PEN Award. The next issue of AppalachianHeritage magazine is devoted to Morgan’s breakthrough novel.

5

An Interview with C.E. MorganThe Writing Life:D

eborah Payne


The Mountains – They Are Callin’

BY JACQUELINE J. GREENE, ’93

Igrew up in Bell County, Kentucky, and all I ever wanted todo was get as far away from Kentucky as possible. I playedin the mountains and the Kentucky River, but all I thought

about was growing up and moving to a big city. A big city iswhere I believed I belonged. I don’t really know the reason Iwanted to leave so much. My family and friends always seemedperfectly content being there. I was never told in school that Ineeded to get away, and I never felt ashamed of where I grewup. However, from an early age, I never felt that I belonged tothat culture.

I couldn’t wait until it was time to apply to colleges,because I desperately wanted to live out of state. I applied tocolleges in New Mexico, California, and Texas. Because of thehigh cost of out-of-state tuition, I chose to attend the Universityof Kentucky, knowing that even with in-state tuition I wouldhave to take out student loans to cover the cost. It was not myfirst choice, but at least it was a university that would eventuallyfacilitate leaving Kentucky.

Because of my financial situation, my guidance counselorsuggested a place that wasn’t familiar to me. That place wasBerea College. Ironically, the small campus appealed to me. Ithought it would be great to be in smaller classes with moreindividual attention available. After hearing about Berea, I knewit was the right place for me.

Almost fifteen years after graduating from Berea College, Iwas given the opportunity to apply for a position there.Although I had never thought about working at the Collegebefore, I jumped at the chance to give back to the institutionthat had given me so much. I was very excited when I wasoffered the position of alumni events coordinator at theCollege, but a part of me felt a bit perplexed about why Iseemed to be moving backwards.

After working for one year at the College, I signed up toattend the 2007 Appalachian Tour and Seminar for faculty andstaff. The tour provides staff and faculty a chance to get toknow one another and to learn more about the Appalachianculture in Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Virginia.

The first stop on our tour was meeting Daymon Morgan inLeslie County, Kentucky, to discuss mountaintop removalissues. This part of the tour had a tremendous impact on me.Listening to Morgan tell his story brought back vivid memoriesof my childhood. I remembered playing out in my yard whensmall rocks started falling on me from the sky. The coal miningcompanies were blasting out the mountain near the highwayabove our home, and debris was coming down everywhere.

Another thing that occurred to me as Morgan talked washow much my hometown has changed because of mountaintopremoval. It saddens me to see how many mountains have lost

their beautiful lusciousness and now just look desolate.Growing up, the mountains surrounding us were plush withbeautiful trees, and were so alive. Many of the mountaintopshave now been ravaged of their beauty and look barren. Theyare no longer inviting, but are stark and cold. Those mountainswill never be the same.

I was brought back to memories of my childhood homewhen we hiked the Lilley Cornett Woods in Letcher County,Kentucky. I grew up surrounded by the mountains and playedin them almost every day. I didn’t realize how connected I wasto the mountains until that hike. Lilley Cornett was veryreminiscent of the mountains from my childhood. They werenatural and undamaged by the ravages of man and machine.

I was fortunate to have grown up surrounded by all thatbeauty and with the mountains as my playground. Back then, itnever occurred to me that many people lived in places wherethere were no mountains. Until that moment in Lilley CornettWoods, I never really knew that I had grown up in a very specialand unique place.

While hiking in the mountains, a colleague asked me whyanyone would feel such a connection to the mountains. Beingthere was like returning home and gave me a feeling ofbelonging and security. It was like finding shelter from a storm,and it took me back to a more innocent time. It was as if therehad been some magnetic pull between me and the mountains. Irealized maybe the mountains had been calling to me all along.

During my childhood, I believed it was a mistake that Iwas living surrounded by mountains in Kentucky. Dr. WayneDyer states, “In a universe that’s an intelligent system with adivine creative force supporting it, there simply can be noaccidents.” I believe this to be true, and it was no accident I wasborn and raised in Appalachia. I have the privilege of beingfrom the mountains, but not totally of the mountains.

My connection with the College and my reconnection tomy Appalachian past have made Berea my home. It is a placewhere I feel comfortable and where I fit. I finally have a senseof belonging I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else.

Will I ever grow to have a penchant for Southern cookingand bluegrass music? I probably won’t, because at the end ofthe day I am who I am. I am the person created by my ownunique personality and all the experiences I have had in my life.I hover somewhere between my love for the mountains and mylove of fashion and classical music. We are all uniqueindividuals and we define who we are—not negative stereotypesin movies or documentaries. I am still growing and ever-changing, but one thing always remains the same—I am proudto say I was born and raised in Appalachia.

I wasfortunate to have

grown up surroundedby all that beauty and

with the mountains as myplayground. Back then, it

never occurred to me thatmany people lived in places

where there were no mountains.Until that moment in Lilley Cornett

Woods, I never really knew that Ihad grown up in a very special andunique place.

The 2010 Appalachian Tour for Berea faculty and staff will be held August 4-11.

7

The Mountains – They Are Callin’R

ay Davis, ’11


Berea College has a longstanding reputation ofeffecting positive change in the Appalachian region.It is no surprise then, says Janice Blythe, professor ofChild and Family Studies, that many Berea College

graduates go on to become part of what she calls one of thebest-kept secrets in the country—cooperative extension work.

The federal Cooperative Extension System is designed toimprove quality of life by providing useful, practical, andresearch-based information to agricultural producers, smallbusiness owners, youth, consumers, and others in rural areasand communities. To accomplish a widespread dissemination ofknowledge, cooperative extensions operate through the land-grant universities in each state. The individual states set updifferent county offices staffed by extension agents. It isthrough this infrastructure that extension services have pavedthe way for positive changes like bringing more women intoagriculture, not only in production roles, but also as industryleaders. Extension agents have also been instrumental in

establishing and coordinating local foodinfrastructure in different states.

The recent financial crisis that hasgripped the country has likewise affectedextension services. Steve Duckett, ’89,extension director in BuncombeCounty, North Carolina, says thatfunding levels are the mostchallenging he has seen in his 18years with Extension. Rather thanbeing discouraged by these economic issues,

agents have instead looked at new ways to improve the qualityof life in their communities.

As a family and consumersciences extension agent for SurryCounty, North Carolina, for morethan two decades, Carmen Long,’86, recently noticed changes in theway people participate in extensionactivities. One program, “SummerExplosion,” offers several different daycamps, workshops, and overnight activitiesfor children. In past years, classes in

horseback riding and canoeing have been the first to fill. Thisyear, however, “Fit and Fun Day,” designed to promote ahealthy active lifestyle, was the most popular program.

“I think that parents are more aware that kids need theopportunity to learn how to take better care of themselves,”says Carmen. Parents are interested not only in helping theirchildren learn healthy habits, but in learning how theythemselves can be healthier, too. Weight management classeshave always been popular, but programs that focus onprinciples like basic cooking and nutrition have grown. In fact,North Carolina State University recently developed a basic

cooking program, the first Carmen hasseen in her 22 years with the extensionservice. “People really want to get back tothe basics. They are interested in eatinglocally. They want to know where their foodcomes from and how it is grown.”

Renata Farmer, ’02, 4-H agentfor Knox County, Kentucky, alsosees a movement back toward thebasics in her county. She often fields

MORGAN SMITH, ’12

Steve Duckett, ’89

Carmen Long, ’86

Renata Farmer, ’02

Extension Agents Extend a Hand in Appalachia

Dr. Janice Blythe Steve Duckett, ’89 Ashley Williams (Director of ConsumerInformation with the NC Cattlemen’s BeefCouncil), and Carmen Long, ’86, cookingtogether during an Extension Office program

O’N

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Monroe G

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www.berea.edu/alumni/ 9

questions on home gardening and food preservation becausepeople are growing their own food to improve health and savemoney. To assist families with these goals, Knox CountyExtension Service sends a monthly newsletter called PennyPincher Press to the families of 4-H participants. Penny PincherPress is filled with research-based information for inexpensiveprojects such as mask making with kids; healthy, low-cost recipes;and tips for saving energy.

Steve worked on basic food issues in his county as well. InJanuary he announced that, despite recent increases in local foodinterest, only 1% of the food consumed in Buncombe Countycomes from western North Carolina. If enough food could beproduced to meet the demands of consumers in that area, asmuch as $452 million in revenue would return to the localeconomy. Increasing that number is a complex project thatrequires developing enough of the right products in addition tocreating a well-developed infrastructure for getting those productsto the public. Despite these challenges, Steve is committed toincreasing the availability of local food with programs rangingfrom farm production workshops to urban horticulture programs.

Trying to meet the needs in a community is difficult enough.Having graduated from the University of Kentucky College ofAgriculture with a degree in animal science with an emphasis onnutrition, Janice has witnessed Extension’s efforts up close. Totheir credit, Janice says, extension agents understand not only theneeds in their communities, but what the community wants.“Extension agents really have their fingers on the pulse of theircommunities,” she says. Staying in tune with the wants and needsof complex and diverse communities requires a great deal ofcreativity. New technologies have been instrumental indeveloping creative ways to continue the mission of the extension

service. When he began his career with Extension, Steve says,word processors were the norm and the one computer located inthe office ran the budget program on five-inch floppy disks. Sincethe explosion of the Internet, extension agents have become moreinformation interpreters than information providers. Thistechnology has allowed faster communication with communitymembers and better program advertisements. Steve sees a shifttoward a more home-based model of extension due to theincreased availability and affordability of technology to helpagents make connections with their communities.

Brandy Brabham, ’00,agriculture agent for Roane andCalhoun counties in West Virginia,found her own solution to stayingconnected to her community. Aftergraduating from Berea, Brandy worked inextension while she completed her master’sdegree in communication from WestVirginia University. Then she changed jobsand worked for the West VirginiaDepartment of Agriculture as a statistical

assistant. While she enjoyed the work and the travel that camealong with it, she began to feel disconnected from hercommunity. Thus, she returned to extension work.

“It was an hour drive to work from the community I livedin to my job. I didn’t have those day-to-day interactions withpeople. If you don’t know what your neighbor is going through,you can’t be a good neighbor,” says Brandy. “It takes us all tomake our community strong, not just one individual. Oneindividual can make things better, though, and that’s what I tryto do. Extension gives me a way to do that.”

Brandy Brabham,’00

Extension Agents Extend a Hand in Appalachia

Renata Farmer, ’02, teaches third graders at West Knox Elementary School healthyexercise using popular dances.

Brandy Brabham, ’00, representing the WestVirginia University Extension Service inCalhoun County.

Steve Patton

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10 BEREA COLLEGE MAGAZINE : S P R I NG 2 010

The atmosphere of community at Hindman is especiallyobvious in mid-August, during the week of the writingworkshop. Returning staff and participants renew bonds, whilenewcomers are welcomed with humor and kindness. Attendeesand staff sit together over meals and work elbow-to-elbow in thekitchen washing dishes, and talk on the porch long into thenight—sometimes into morning. Many of the writing instructorswere once attendees themselves, including Silas House, Karen

McElmurray, ’80, and Sydney Saylor Farr, ’80, among others.Over the years, many illustrious Appalachian writers haveshared with the 80 –85 participants their expertise, jokes,writing, and personal stories on the porch during “swarping”time—a low-key, back-porch opportunity for conversation, highspirits, and singing. Although the workshop draws staff andstudents from all over the country, and sometimes from aroundthe globe, Appalachian literature is the purpose of andmotivation for the workshop.

While he was a student majoring in history at Berea, Mike“fell into” a brand new class called “Appalachian Studies”taught by recent hire, Loyal Jones, ’54. Jones would become thefirst director of the College’s Appalachian Center, which nowbears his name. For Mike, attending a class geared specificallyto study Appalachia was an exciting experience. “That coursewas pivotal in my life in that I realized I had a history,” he said.“I realized I had a literature. I realized I had a separate culture.”

Loyal introduced his students to such Appalachian authorsas John Fetterman, (Stinking Creek), and Harriette SimpsonArnow, Cx ’28 (The Dollmaker). The exposure to voices andstories similar to his own gave Mike a new appreciation for hishome and fed a growing inner resistance to the forces at work in

“Swarping” with the Best of Them

Hidden in the mountains of eastern Kentucky, the Hindman

Settlement School sits in a valley shrouded in kudzu and defined

by the boundaries of Troublesome Creek. If you’ve come for the

Appalachian Writers Workshop, your first stop is the office of Mike

Mullins, ’71, director of the school and guiding force behind the workshops

since 1977. Don’t be nervous. The staff will get to know you over a supper

of soup beans and cornbread, and Mike will make sure you find your way

around. After all, his hand-drawn map of the area brought you this far.

LIBBY KAHLER ’11

Loyal Jones and Mike Mullins wash dishes together at the HindmanSettlement School in 1991.

Mike Mullins, ’71

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Appalachia that weredestroying mountains,people, and culture. Thisdestruction was somethingMike had grown up withand accepted to someextent. He gives Loyalcredit for “ignitingsomething inside me thatsaid, ‘I’m not going to takeit anymore.’”

After completing hismaster’s degree in American

history at the University of Cincinnati, Mike accepted aposition at Alice Lloyd College, where he was assigned to teachan Appalachian history course. When he protested that he’dnever taken an Appalachian history course himself, the directortold him, “No one else has, either.” Mike launched into theproject, soon expanding to teach classes on Appalachianliterature as well as history. He wasn’t alone, however. Poets,authors, and pioneers of Appalachian studies and literature hadalready begun the movement toward understanding, preserving,

and promoting Appalachian heritage writers. Two of theforemost among these, Jim Wayne Miller, ’58, and James Still,would become contributing instructors and central personalitiesof the workshops at Hindman Settlement School.

After just one visit to the settlement school, Mike knew hewanted to be a part of the struggling institution. When, one yearlater, he was invited to become the director, he packed to leaveAlice Lloyd College and, with his wife and daughter, moved toHindman. Mike’s first experiences as director involved moreleaking pipes, flooded ditches, and familiarity with a shovel

“Swarping” with the Best of Them

Herb E. Smith (co-founder ofAppalshop), Harriette SimpsonArnow, and Mike Mullins.

Jim Wayne Miller jokes with Bill Best and Loyal Jones in 1986.

Mike Mullins talks with participants in a July 2007 writers workshop at the Hindman Settlement School.


than he might have expected. His hard physical labor toimprove the school buildings, some built at its inception in1902, expanded into dedicated fundraising and lobbying forchanges that reignited community interest and participation inthe School. The main program of the School creates severalmuch-needed learning opportunities for dyslexic students;including an after-school program, summer school, and readinglabs with three Knott County Public Schools. The School alsoworks with the teachers and parents of dyslexic students to helpthem create an environment where learning differences areunderstood and students’ opportunities for academicachievement can be maximized.

The summer before Mike began as director, Al Stewart,’36, member of the Hindman Settlement School board ofdirectors, had begun a writers workshop week and a folk lifeweek. Both were under-attended, but Mike recognized theirpotential, and he worked with Al for the next four years to

improve the participationand focus of the events.When Al moved on afterthe fifth workshop, Mikewas on his own, fine-tuningboth the staff and the goalsof the workshop.

Among those whobecame staff members wasHarriette Simpson Arnow,whose work Mike haddiscovered in Loyal Jones’class. Jim Wayne Millerbecame, Mike says, “theheart and soul” of theweeklong workshops. JamesStill, Kentucky poet laureate

and author of River of Earth, among other works, lived most ofhis last 25 years on the Settlement campus. Mike says he “addeda presence to this gathering that will never be duplicated.” Thelate Jim Wayne Miller is remembered by many for his unfailingwit and presence at “swarping time,” his dedication to the fieldof Appalachian studies, his support of fellow writers, and notleast, for his brilliant and original poetry. Says author RobertMorgan of Jim Wayne Miller’s works, including CopperheadCane and Briar: His Book, “No one has been able to betterdescribe and enact the sense of loss and the paradoxes ofidentity in the mountains.”

When the workshop seemed to draw more onlookers thanwriters, Mike changed the policy to require participants tosubmit a manuscript. Interest became so great that, currently,would-be participants may send in a manuscript in one of fourgenres—fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or playwriting. Workshopleaders review the submissions and choose their students;others are put on the waiting list. There are no prima donnas atthe workshop—unless, Mike jokes, it’s himself. Mostly, he seeshis role during the week as a background one. “I like for thestaff and the participants to come here and then takeownership,” he says. “All I do is make sure they’re fed, thecommodes work, and the water is running.”

Actually, he prepares all year for the event, reviewingfeedback from staff and participants to keep improving theworkshop—improvements that have paid off for many. Whenasked how many participants have gone on to publish, Mikereplies, “dozens and dozens.”

Sidney Saylor Farr discovered the workshop series whileattending Berea College as a nontraditional student. As areturning native to the region, Farr found that the Appalachian

voices and stories of theworkshop’s participantsencouraged her to rejoin acommunity that she had beentaught to disregard. Havingcome home again, she hasn’tleft since. She became theeditor of Appalachian Heritagein 1985, and for 14 yearspromoted Appalachianauthors, some of whom alsoattended the writingworkshops in Hindman. “Icame to the workshops at

Hindman Settlement School hoping to learn how to write in away that would please the outside world,” she says. “Theworkshops instead gave me the courage to write about what Iknew best—people, places, social actions, and nature. Themountains nurtured me and taught me just about everything Ineeded to know. My people taught me the rest.”

Workshop participants appreciate the same things Sidneyfound there—they gain the opportunity to experience a placeand environment that accepts them and values their stories. Thechance to discover their heritage and learn from its literature,both modern and historic, creates a place in Hindman thatmany of them say feels like home.

As for Mike’s reward, he says, “I wanted to be part ofsomething that gave back to the region rather than taking fromit. Being part of the Hindman Settlement School has given methat opportunity.”

Mike Mullins and James Still.

Students, including Libby Jones (r) of Berea College, work on assignments during the 2009 Appalachian Writers Workshop.

Silas House coaches a student atthe 2009 Appalachian WritersWorkshop.

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“What is a moment of light or awareness?” she asks.“Begin a scene that is about such a moment.” Pencils go totown as attendees scratch in their notebooks. She tells us todraw our writing to a close, and I scramble to get those last fewwords on the page. Written in large red letters on the board is aquote by Dorothy Allison: “Until you are willing to go there, tothe difficult places, your writing won’t be worth a damn.” Oursketches about light suddenly make sense.

Karen is the author of both fiction and nonfiction (StrangeBirds in the Tree of Heaven, University of Georgia Press, 2004;The Motel of the Stars, Sarabande Books, 2008; and Surrendered

Child: A Birthmother’s Journey, University of Georgia Press,2004). Upon graduation from Berea College, Karen entered thegraduate program in fiction writing at the University of Virginia,where she started penning a draft of her debut novel StrangeBirds in the Tree of Heaven. That draft and some personal essaysshe’d written about her relationship to her own mother andgiving up a child for adoption were reviewed by novelist LeeSmith (On Agate Hill, 2006). Although Lee liked her work, sheasked Karen why she wasn’t writing a memoir.

“Even when we completely make something up,” saysKaren, “there is some part of memory that we don’t even know

Karen McElmurray:

Hearing Whatthe Heart Says

Berea students, professors, and staffgather around a wide oak table,light glinting off its glossy surface.

The seats are filled and some individualsare left sitting along the wall in the DraperHall conference room. Karen McElmurray,’80, associate professor of English atGeorgia College and State University, isleading a workshop on fiction writing co-sponsored by the English, Theater, andSpeech Communications Department, theLoyal Jones Appalachian Center, and theLearning Center.

MEGAN SMITH, ’11

Aaron G

ilmour, ’12


that resides in the situation.” In her novel, part of the story isabout a woman who, during the Great Depression, runs away tobe a dance instructor for a traveling road show sponsored by theWorks Progress Administration. She leaves her daughterbehind. “That mother who relinquishes a child was the realstory of my own life, told ‘slant’ in fiction,” says Karen.

At age sixteen Karen gave birth to a son and gave him to anadoption agency. Twenty-five years later Karen suffered frompost-traumatic stress disorder, dreaming about her son and tryingto recall the day she gave birth. Feeling pangs in her womb,Karen says, “My body told me I had to do this, I had toremember.”

With a residency at the Hambidge Center in Rabun Gap,Georgia, Karen was able to write for ten hours a day. Digginginto her darkest memories, Karen was also led to reflect on theemotional abuse she experienced as a child. She says the moreshe wrote, the more she healed. Karen compares this time to ametaphor by Plato, “The Allegory of the Cave.”

Karen had to ascend from the dark cave of her past inorder to find what she calls light. “In writing this memoir,Surrendered Child, I hope that what I’ve done is reclaim mymemories, bring them up into the world of light, make givingbirth a reality,” says Karen. “Often birth mothers surrenderchildren and are urged to forget about the past, surrendermemory as well as their babies.” She hopes that her workencourages other women to claim their own voices, too.

In her workshop she talks with students about what lightis. She squiggles a list in red marker on the board: “awareness,consciousness, understanding mystery, enlightenment,moments of being, heart, and revelation.” Karen says,“Although fiction is not absolutely true, it must have some truthof the human experience in it.”

“I hope that writing memoir has pushed me deeper intoideas about emotional truth, the need to contact souls, spirit,the need to ask hard questions about my life, about the world,”says Karen. When she turned back to fiction with her novelMotel of the Stars, Karen found it easier to shape the work interms of characterization and structure. She says going deeperinto her own life has taken her deeper into the lives of hercharacters and the genre of fiction. More importantly, writingher memoir allowed her birth son to find her. Before the bookwas published, he found her on a website that discussed it andcontacted her.

For Karen, writing is a spiritual path that she says helpsher connect with something greater than herself. It leads her tofind truths in the human experience in which everyone canrelate. “I think of art and writing as a way to give voice to spiritand to our own spirit,” says Karen. “I see it as a vehicle for andembodiment of the human spirit.”

Because Karen grew up in a restrictive childhood, writingbecame a source of sustenance. She was first inspired to writeduring one of her annual summer trips to Johnson County tovisit “Granny Salyer,” where Karen was introduced to VickyHayes, Cx’74, ’99. Reading poetry to her and playing a six-stringguitar, Vicky became Karen’s idol and friend. Not being able topaint or play an instrument, Karen took to writing poetry, too.Karen says those summers were the times that she came alive.

Coming to Berea College was another time when Karensays she came alive. Both bright girls from small towns withlimited funding, Karen followed Vicky in her choice to attendBerea College. Karen continued to pursue poetry as an Englishliterature major. She credits her English professors RichardSears and Carol Gesner and her philosophy professor JamesHolloway with having a profound impact on her as a writer. With

Karen (center) is flanked by a room full of aspiring student writers, anxious to share and improve their craft.

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Karen McElmurray, ’80, signs copies of herbook Strange Birds in the Tree of Heaven.

the help of the late William Schafer, professor of English, Karenwas able to study poetry independently. Karen says, “I can stillhear him asking me about the word ‘man’ in the final line of apoem. ‘Mankind? Particular men’?” A double major inphilosophy and English literature, Karen credits philosophyprofessor John Walhauser with helping her to believe in the sheerpower of thought itself.

But Karen says, “It was the whole package that shaped meas a younger student. Berea, the town, the community, the placeitself, was an experience I have yet to recapture.” Karen learnedthe value of labor as she made toys in Woodcraft and worked inthe garden raising tomatoes. She experienced joy in hiking thePinnacles and Sunday afternoon potlucks. Calling herself “ayoung hippie” in a town with like-minded spirits, Karen fell inlove with the community as they created music and pottery andpoetry. She describes it as a magical time—a time that she stillsavors and loves.

After three years of working as an adjunct professor andtaking supplemental part-time jobs to get by, Karen went back tograduate school and eventually earned a doctorate in creativewriting at the University of Georgia. She now serves as associateprofessor of English at Georgia College and State University,where she is creative nonfiction editor of the literary magazineArts and Letters. In addition to her work in academia, Karendoes numerous workshops and readings throughout thecountry. In Kentucky, she has taught at the AppalachianWriters Workshop in Hindman, at the Kentucky Retreat forWomen Writers in Owensboro, and at Carnegie Center forLiteracy and Learning in Lexington.

Her busy teaching and professional life were interruptedthree years ago with a diagnosis of colon cancer, but she chose tosee the illness as her own moment of light—as a gift of awarenessas much as illness. In remission for three years now, Karen

decided to take this past year off from teaching. “I’ve always hadthis feeling that I need to keep getting more and more security,”she said, “but really security is here in the heart, and my heartcannot be still, truly, until I say that ‘writing comes first.’”

Currently Karen has written 237 pages of a new noveltentatively called Wanting Inez. The main character is a girlnamed Waydean Loving who grows up under the care of hersister, Ruby, who is a fortune teller. Waydean later leaves hersister to pursue her own life on the road. For a while she worksfor a version of Ripley’s Freak Museum called Willy’sWonderama. Karen says, “It’s about being out of place and outof time. It’s about being a freak in your family and in your job—and eventually understanding your own ghosts.” In the future,Karen also wants to write about and bring light to theexperience of having cancer.

Karen has received numerous writing awards. StrangeBirds in the Tree of Heaven received the 2001 Lillie D. ChaffinAward for Appalachian Writing. Surrendered Child: ABirthmother’s Journey won the Association of Writers &Writing Program’s Prize for Creative Nonfiction. Other honorsinclude a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, theSherwood Anderson Award, the James Purdy Prize for Fiction,and the 2005 Georgia Author of the Year Award. Her newestpublished work, a novel called The Motel of the Stars, was afinalist for a National Book Critics Circle Award and anEditor’s Pick for Oxford American.

In the Draper Hall conference room, the pencils stopscratching. “Who would like to share their writing?” asksKaren. There is some hesitation, but upon Karen’sencouragement, words and moments of awareness, mystery,epiphany, and being are shared—moments of light.


Ihope this is going to be the year that Ipublish something substantial,” saysVicky Hayes, ’99. “I hope.”

Although Vicky’s novel, Wake Up, Little Maggie grewout of her recent thesis at Appalachian State

University (ASU), one could argue that she’sbeen working on it for most of her life.

As an eleven-year-old girl in Hager Hill,Kentucky, Vicky developed what shecalls a “huge interest in literature.”Warmed by the coal stove in her two-room school, Vicky spent much ofher days reading while the othergrades were in class. Imaginative andnature-loving, she enjoyed books such

as Wuthering Heights, butsomething was missing. It was

not until she attended theHindman Writers

Workshop that shediscovered

what itwas.

Surrounded by Harriet Arnow, Cx ’28, Jim Wayne Miller,’58, and James Still, Vicky encountered writing centered in theAppalachian Mountains for the first time. She recognized thespeech patterns, the focus on family ties, the pull between thetraditional and the contemporary, and even a hint of familiarmusic. She saw herself and the people she knew, finally, fully, in books.

At that time, what Vicky calls “that British fiction or NewYork fiction mode” still reigned over the publishing world. Itwas hard for regional authors to get published, but she knewthat for her work to be authentic, she had to stop imitating thebooks she had grown up with and find her true voice. To dothis, she had to learn more about where she was from and thenexpress it in the written word.

She began with an internship in Knott County, Kentucky,in 1977. Here, Vicky investigated how history, environment, and

industry in eastern Kentucky were interrelated andhow residents were affected. She reported for a smallweekly newspaper and carried forward a desire to

address political and environmental issues inAppalachia.

From there, her love and concern for theregion led her to teach at the David School in

David, Kentucky; to study at AppalachianState University (ASU) for a year; and to

continue journalism. Shealso wrote and

performed musicinfluenced bytraditionalAppalachian

forms andbegan

publishingher

Vicky Hayes – A Compelling Appalachian VoiceBY RACHEL DORROH, JANET GOODING, ’09, ANNA STUKENBERG, ’12

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Vicky Hayes – A Compelling Appalachian Voice

poetry and nonfiction. Her work has been included in multiplebooks featuring regional writing and has appeared inAppalachian Journal, Kentucky Monthly, Mountain Life andWork, and Mountain Review.

In 1999, Vicky and her husband, Clarence, whom she metat the College in 1971, decided to come back to Berea. “Wewanted to finish what we started,” Vicky says. She had been anEnglish major with a creative writing focus before she took abreak from school during her senior year. Now that she knewshe could write in her own voice and had amassed a wealth oflife experience from which she could draw, she was ready tofinish her degree. At about this time, she began writing fiction.

During the next ten years, Vicky drafted several novelswhile advancing her education and career. She finished herbachelor’s in English at Berea, obtained a master’s degree inAppalachian Studies from ASU, and then returned to Berea towork as the program coordinator of the College’s LearningCenter.

“It’s tremendously daunting,” Vicky says of writing a novel.“I don’t know why anyone would do it,” she laughs. Sheexplains that it takes a lot of time to put all the elements offiction together effectively. Making connections with otherwriters has helped.

In 2008, Vicky applied to the highly competitive BreadLoaf Writers’ Conference, using a draft of Wake Up, LittleMaggie as her writing sample. When she was accepted, theCollege funded her attendance. There, she received enthusiasticfeedback and was introduced to agents and publishers. She tookthe novel on to the equally prestigious Sewanee WritersConference in 2009 and received valuable advice on how torestructure it.

Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, WakeUp, Little Maggie explores Appalachian identity through thefictionalized story of Mary Jane Brooks. For her thesis at ASU,Vicky studied the life of this gifted writer and compassionateadvocate for mountain people. Vicky read Brooks’ work,researched her genealogy and family history, and interviewedpeople who knew her. The novel that grew out of this researchreflects a deep awareness of Brooks’ environment andcommunity.

One chapter begins with a description of a locale similar toVicky’s own origins: “At long intervals, vehicles rattled down

the gravel road. A line of dust rose atop the trees. That isthe only thing that moved on the mountain. Dust.”

In writing about her native region, Vickydefines herself and her home in her own

words, thereby dispelling harmfulstereotypes. She learned about the

often-negative perception ofher culture when she lived

briefly in Ohio as a young girl. “People made fun of my accent,”she says, “and called me a hillbilly and all those other things.”She explains that non-standard English, or dialect, is ofteninterpreted as lack of intelligence and that it has “been that waythrough time.”

However, the pronunciation and word choices thatdistinguish one variation of English from another are actuallyremnants of older forms of the language. Thus, dialect preservesheritage. Like a strong root system, Vicky’s culture grounds andnourishes her. “In the mountains,” she says, “we have such astrong sense of identity, of who we are, that we are not lost. Wemight be set upon by a number of outside forces, but we aren’treally lost.”

Although Vicky describes all of her writing as regional andis clearly proud of her home, she doesn’t want to romanticizeher life growing up in Appalachia. “There was muchthat was beautiful about it and much thatwas very difficult—particularly economically.Appalachia has its dark and light side. Infact, the extremes are what created my lovefor literature.”

While Vicky waits for an opportunity to add her novel tothe public discourse on Appalachia, she guides student writersat Berea College. At the Learning Center, she creates asupportive atmosphere similar to Hindman and regionalconferences, where students can exchange ideas with peers andfind their authentic voices as writers and individuals. “Iunderstand writing holistically,” she says, “how it works in aperson’s life, not just in a classroom.”

Colin Cloud, ’10, a student in Vicky’s College compositioncourse, testifies to the power of Vicky’s mentorship. “She is thetype of woman who makes learning an endless search, whetherit is academics or self-realization,” he says. “She is why Berea isa special place.”

Vicky Hayes writes during a gathering of Berea’s campus writing group—where faculty, staff, and students meet to practice their craft.

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She Taught Lessons for Life BY DEB MCINTYRE, ’11

On the stoop of hersuburban home, JaneMatney Powell, ’65,

enjoys the summer sunshinewhile chatting on her cellphone. From time to time an

excited child’s voiceinterrupts the conversation,

begging for attention,asking her questions.

With patiencegarnered from

nearly 40 years ofteaching, Jane

attends to thechild’s needsand thenreturns toher caller.

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Jane lived most of her life in Ohio, but her heart still lies ina tiny town along the Big Sandy River. Jane’s great-grandfather,a former slave, chose to settle in Fort Gay, West Virginia, acrossthe river from Louisa, Kentucky. “His father called him inshortly after the end of the Civil War and said, ‘Son, you’ve gotto take your family out of here. I’m getting old, but my familywill never let you inherit this farm.’” With the wagon, farmtools, and the bit of money his father gave him, the young manheaded west with his wife and children.

Why the family separation? Because Jane’s great-great-grandfather was a white farmer who lived in the mountains ofwestern Virginia. Her great-great-grandmother was a runawayslave (according to family lore) from western North Carolina.She’d found shelter on that isolated farm and later died inchildbirth. The farmer raised his son and taught him to farmalong with six other runaways whom he passed off as his slaves.

More than 80 years later, when Jane was born, herextended family was sprinkled throughout the area where theTug Fork in West Virginia and the Levisa Fork in Kentuckyconverge to form the Big Sandy River. All the blacks in the areawere distantly related, most migrating from the same area ofVirginia. Fort Gay’s population totaled about 800 during Jane’schildhood and remains the same size today. Her high schoolenrolled about 250 students in grades 7–12. Most people worked

for the railroad or coal mines. The power company employed Jane’s father. The youngest of three children, Jane washomeschooled by her stepmother until age 11.

“I can’t remember any point in my life when somebodywasn’t teaching me something,” she says. Jane learned mathconcepts at age four from her grandfather, a man born in 1865.“In those days you lived close to your family and the oldermembers spent a lot of time with the children.” She read“anything and everything I could get my hands on.” Hergrandmother and mother, bothformer teachers, and otherfamily members kept a widevariety of books throughoutthe house. “If I was actingespecially antsy, my grand-mother would say, ‘Well, gofind you a book to read!’” Allthat reading rubbed off. Janedecided she wanted to be awriter and became a voluntarystringer for the formerHuntington Herald Advertiser.

When it came time tochoose a college, Bereaappealed to her because of itsassociation with Carter G. Woodson (1903), the father of blackhistory. “He is a significant person, especially in the blackcommunity—someone to be respected and admired. The factthat he went to Berea was the icing on the cake.”

When she enrolled, African Americans had begunreturning to campus a decade earlier, after the repeal of the DayLaw. About 120 blacks attended Berea in the early 1960s at theheight of the civil rights movement, led by Martin Luther King,Jr. During her senior year, Jane and other Berea Collegerepresentatives participated in the final leg of King’s marchfrom Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to protest restrictions onblack voters.

She spent more than three years honing her writing skillswhile reporting for The Berea Citizen, which was thenpublished by the College. “The experiences at Berea were veryimportant to the person I grew into. I’m glad I didn’t goanywhere else. The other places I’ve gone—none of themcompare to the culture at Berea in the ’60s. Berea has been animportant influence in my life. I wouldn’t trade that foranything.”

She Taught Lessons for Life

In this family photo, Jane’s great grandparents are front and center;her grandfather is standing on the far left; and her mother, ElsieLizisay, is one of the children on the roof.

Jane Matney Powell’s seniorpicture in The Chimes.


After graduation Jane moved to Washington, D.C., whereher sisters lived, to find a job that would help pay for graduatestudies in journalism. There, she learned of a pilot programcalled the Cardozo Project in Urban Teaching. The programtrained former Peace Corps volunteers and college graduates toteach disadvantaged inner-city youth and earn certificationwhile on the job. It was the model for the National TeacherCorps (NTC), later reestablished as the current Teach forAmerica program.

One key component of the NTC was communityinvolvement, says Jane. Recruits lived in their communities,made contact with the students’ families, and got to know themand their problems. “It was a big shock to take a kid out of themountains and drop her in the middle of Washington, D.C. [Itwas] like a whole different world. There were some hugecultural differences,” says Jane. The years she spent at Berealearning about diverse populations helped to prepare her forsome eye-opening experiences.

The first time she walked into a student’s apartment, shesaw a rat running across the floor. “I couldn’t believe it. Athome, you’d take a .22 [gauge rifle] and shoot the rat, but urbandwellers had no other way of living. They lived the best theycould. I thought I had known poor families at home—and Ihad—but it was nothing like the urban poverty. It totally blewmy mind, and it took a lot of getting used to.”

Despite the early shocks, by the time she completed hertraining, Jane chose to continue teaching. An inner-city D.C.school hired her, and she taught there until 1969. “Because ofthat experience, I’m able to take a step back, look at people andnotice the strength they bring to their living situation,” saysJane. Those pivotal years in the late 1960s placed her on a pathof service through teaching that she followed for the next fourdecades.

She taught English and Spanish in inner-city high schoolsin Toledo and Dayton, Ohio, as well as in a rural school—allwhile raising seven children, including autistic twin sons. Thepatience she had learned helped her to meet the challenges ofparenting them and their siblings. “God knows exactly who togive special children to,” she says. Her faith got her through thedeath of the twins, both in separate house fires, and keeps hergoing today as she assists her husband in undergoing kidneydialysis and opens her home to a godson and his family.

Jane spends time writing her memoirs about her mountainfamily, and she has started a blog at the insistence of her family.“My children got after me. They kept saying, ‘Mama, you’ve gotto write this stuff down.’” Her cousins also urge her to continueresearching the family’s history and genealogy. The last of sixgenerations of her family to live along the Big Sandy River, Janehas no close relatives left in the area. She keeps in touch with acouple of childhood friends through a social networking websiteand says the years spent in the hills are filled with goodmemories. Despite being away from the mountains for more thanforty years, “It’s still home because that’s where my roots are.”

Over the years Jane has noticed both differences andsimilarities between the children from the northern cities and

those from Appalachia. So many of them have seen dreams diewithin the limits of their experience. “There’s a fear of steppingoutside. My husband calls it a ‘high fear of failure.’” I, on theother hand, think it is because many students don’t know howthey can pull the resources together to make the outside worldwork for them.” She often had difficulty getting students to signup for class trips to Mexico or to apply for college because ofthe fear that support networks would fall through.

More than once she pushed college applications in front ofpromising students and made them fill them out and followthrough to get scholarships. She recalls a particular young,single mother—a brilliant student who lacked family support—who had a good chance for a college scholarship. Jane told herthe name of the admissions representative to call, but the teenfroze in fear, saying, “I can’t do it. I don’t have the money [to goto college].”

“I put her on the phone in my classroom and told her tointroduce herself and tell them her grade point average.” WithJane hovering over her like a mother hen, the girl made the calland, with Jane’s help, faxed her high school transcript afterhanging up. The young woman got the scholarship and attendedthe university.

This scenario repeated itself many times during her career.Recently, she was thanked by a former student who had justgraduated from medical school.

“You have a lot of kids who don’t have any idea that theycan make a change in their own lives—that they can have a lifedifferent from their parents or grandparents. There are timeswhen you really have to push kids. That’s one of the best thingsthat a teacher can do is show a kid how to break the mold.There are so many kids that have the potential but don’t knowwhat to do with it.”

Jane at the Montgomery March memorial in 2005 during a trip withother Bereans to key sites of the civil rights movement in Selma andMontgomery, Alabama.

Norm

andi Ellis


Among the sketches of houses and nearly illegiblescribbles on the classroom marker board, JasonCoomes, Sustainability and Environmental Studies

(SENS) professor, has drawn two boxes, heavily outlined andaccented by oversized exclamation points. The first exhorts hisstudents to produce “More Work NOW!!!”, and the othercontains Jason’s philosophy—oft-repeated, and familiar to all ofhis students: “Under-promise and over-deliver.”

A professional artist, architect, and Kentucky native,Jason, his wife Michelle, and their son, Jackson, moved toBerea in 2008 so that Jason could accept the Compton Chair ofEcological Design. He came to Berea with a model for studentlearning that requires real work and gets students’ hands dirtywith field experiences.

This is a model Jason first encountered as anundergraduate art major at the University of Kentucky (UK)when Samuel Mockbee of Auburn University gave a talk at theschool that gave Jason a new sense of direction. “All of asudden, I knew exactly what I wanted to do,” said Jason.Mockbee had created a program at Auburn called Rural Studio,an immersion design/build experience for architectureundergraduates. In the program, students design and build witha real budget, work with real clients, and use power tools andheavy machinery to take their designs through construction.“People were sort of shocked that students could go out andlearn how to run these machines,” says Jason, “but I think weunderestimate what our students can do.”

After graduating from UK with a master’s degree inarchitecture, Jason taught at Rural Studio for two years—a goalhe set after his first exposure to the studio during Mockbee’stalk. Leaving Rural Studio to accept the Compton Chair at

Berea, Jason came with a commitment to creating hands-onlearning opportunities like those offered in his upper levelSENS courses—Ecological Architecture, an in-deptharchitectural design course; Deep Renovation, a course thatuses architectural skills to redesign and renovate energy-wastingbuildings; and the newly added Appropriate TechnologyDesign, in which students research Appalachian issues such asstraight pipes and design solutions. He also came with a visionfor a Rural Studio-inspired experience for Berea students—anidea further since developed with other SENS faculty andnamed the Community Design Studio.

Like Rural Studio, the Community Design Studio wouldimmerse students in a rural Appalachian community for asemester at a time. Needs would be assessed, and solutionswould start small, says Jason. “What’s great about a model likethis is that you get students from Appalachia going toAppalachia and doing this work, and then they have a muchbetter mindset about going home, knowing what they might beable to do there.”

When asked how he intends to implement his plans, hesays, “You have to under-promise and over-deliver. Keepexpectations low; don’t go out there saying you’re going tochange the world, because you have no idea what you’re goingto do.”

Building a Better AppalachiaBY LIBBY KAHLER, ‘11

Jason led his ecologicalarchitecture class in creatingecologically inventive housemodels.

Alena Gordienko, ’13, Katie Bellnier, ’11, and Ruhiyyih Young, ’11,view presentation models produced by James Coomes’ design students.

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When Octavia Sexton, ’91, entered Berea College, shewas convinced that her mountain upbringingneeded to be erased. “I came to college with the

idea that I’m going to get an education so that I can besomebody,” she says. Many people told her to lose her accentand move beyond Appalachian culture.

After becoming acquainted with her teacher Loyal Jones,however, Octavia heard a different voice. “He made me realizeI was already somebody, getting an education. He asked,‘What’s wrong with who you are? And where you are? Andwhat’s wrong with developing the natural talent that you have,and letting an education help open doors for you?’”

Loyal challenged Octavia’s belief that “unless you acquireall these degrees and all this status, and all this recognition inacademia, that you don’t amount to anything, that you don’tmatter.” Octavia discovered reasons to be proud of her heritageand upbringing, with Loyal as an example.

“He actually pointed me in the right direction. Not bysaying, ‘This is a vocation you can go after,’ but, ‘there arepeople doing this.’”

Now a storyteller, Octavia makes her living tellingtraditional tales from the same hills and hollows she wasonce urged to forget. She cites Loyal with instilling inher an unshakable courage to defend her culturalidentity with humble assuredness.

Meet Mr. Appalachia—Loyal Jones

Loyal Jones: In His Own WordsOn Establishing theAppalachian CenterMy main mandates were tocoordinate the Appalachiancommitments of BereaCollege and to create ameans whereby faculty,staff, and students wouldlearn more about theregion through courses,research, convocations,and other special events.

On the Changes in AppalachiaI see the need for a proper balancebetween tradition and change. Thingschange and we have to change, also.Since Appalachia has been seen largelyin negative ways, some of us may havedeveloped a latent sense of shame thatcan lead us to exchange solid and validregional values for those that undermineour sense of who we are. Bereagraduates have shown that they canachieve in the world without changingtheir basic identity.Loyal Jones (top right) and his class in 1979 on a field trip

to a coal mine.

BY MICHAEL LORUSS, ’09

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“I was definitely trying to be somebody else,” she admits.“And then, there was Loyal. ‘It’s good to be from Appalachia.You should be proud. And you need to speak standard English,but you don’t have to throw away your dialect. There’s a placefor that.’ And so I ended up not leaving. I’m still right where Iwas, still telling stories.”

For Octavia, the key to understanding the communities sherepresents in her art, as well as audience members unfamiliar

with the oral history ofAppalachia, is found in beingtrue to herself. She says thatLoyal “never lostsight of where hecame from, themountains, and thevalue of it. Justtalking to him, Irealized it’s okay to bewhoever you are.”

Nearly twenty years ago,Chad Berry, conductingresearch for his graduate

dissertation, approached Loyal for information regarding thesteady migration of Southern and Appalachian Mountain

populations into cities such as Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit.Today, serving as the fourth director of the recently rededicatedLoyal Jones Appalachian Center, Chad is aware that hisresponsibilities follow not only the cumulative efforts of thecenter’s other past directors—Dr. Helen Lewis and Dr. GordonMcKinney—but specifically Loyal’s personal connections withthe region. “I have fairly large shoes to fill,” Chad confesses.“Canoe-sized.”

When Chad travels through the region, people never fail toask him how Loyal is. “He really personifies Berea to a numberof people,” Chad says. “He’s really a grand old man ofAppalachian culture. I guess if you live long enough, certainpeople become encyclopedic. But Loyal also matches hislongevity with great wisdom and experience.” With a lifetime ofservice dedicated to underrepresented groups and individuals,Loyal’s efforts have never strayed into condescension.

Chad says that Loyal accepts people for who they are,whether they’re students, coal miners, or farmers, whetherthey’re single parents or belong to large families. “He refuses tojudge people,” Chad says.

Chad notes that this type of accessibility among teachersand scholars is rare—although he attributes it to the best in bothfields. “Loyal makes teaching seem so subtle and unobtrusivethat you never know you’re being taught when you’re beingtaught.”

Meet Mr. Appalachia—Loyal Jones

On Appalachian MusicI’ve long appreciated the great musical legacy in theregion based on the ballads, folksongs, hymns, andfiddle tunes our forebears brought with them from theold countries. Doing the annual Celebration ofTraditional Music was a great delight for me. I admirethe talent of those who make music, and we’ve broughtin a variety of gifted folk musicians, some of whom hadlittle in the way of formal education. The festival offers achance for the Berea community to experience thesetalented artists, attracting a faithful audience from farand near each year. Many of the performers are nolonger with us, but their recordings are available inBerea’s Sound Archive as well as online.

On ReligionIt seems to me that the Christian stanceshould be a modest one. We shouldapproach with humility and tolerancethose who have cultural values andreligious beliefs different from ours.

We need to approach themysteries of creation also with deephumility, seeking answers from religiousteaching, literature, science, and ourown experiences. To cut ourselves offfrom any source of knowledge is toshort-change ourselves.

Loyal served as the foundingdirector of the AppalachianCenter from 1970-93.

Octavia Sexton, ’91

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Like countless others who have met Loyal, Chad isconvinced that there is nothing like hearing one of his stories orhaving him tell you a joke and pat you on the back. “I wouldurge readers to try to get to know him,” he says. “I think one ofthe best ways to do that is through his writing.”

One of Loyal’s greatest works, according to Chad, is hisbook Faith and Meaning in the Southern Uplands. “I can hearhim speak through his writing,” Chad says. “I can hear his voice.”

Aside from Loyal’s extensive literary contributions onAppalachian humor and history, he also offers advice andencouragement—or simply a knowing presence—for the BereaCollege community, particularly the Appalachian Center thatnow bears his name. Whether for readings by Appalachian

authors, film screenings, orexhibit openings featuringregional work, Chad feels that “his support really isinvaluable to all of ushere in the Center. Henever hesitates tocome out to one of ourevents, wheneverthey’re going on. Andit’s really wonderful tohave that support.”

The initial impressionsthat Karen McElmurray, ’80,

has of Loyal were formed in an Appalachian Studies class,which he pioneered early in his career at the College. Throughthe class, Karen was introduced to making quilts, homemadecasts, and herbal salves and to the various barn styles that dotKentucky’s landscape. “That class made me first glimpse,somewhere down in me, why I wanted to be a writer from themountains,” she shares.

In early adulthood, Karen doubted her own abilities. Shebelieves that Loyal helped her develop self-confidence. “He gave

me faith that I could come fromthe mountains, be proud of that,and write about my experi-ences.” Karen has since becomea prolific writer and esteemedprofessor, yet she sees atroubling pattern in academia.Often in places in which she hastaught Appalachian literature,the subject is rarely considereda serious course of study. Forinspiration and reaffirmation,Karen recalls the wellspring ofvibrant cultural history and theself-identification that manystudents were able to tap thanks

to Loyal’s Appalachian Studies class.“I go back to books I have—books of essays, photographs,

and stories. I find the name of Loyal Jones and I remember myfirst taste of the mountains, in words, in that class. I believeagain in the mountains, its music, dance, art, and its soul.”

Motivated by his faith in her work, Karen knows that she iscarrying Loyal’s legacy oflearning toward a newgeneration of promising youngminds. “I admire hishumbleness,” she says. “He never, in mymemory, cast himselfon some loftyacademic plain. Hewas real, available,and genuine. In allthose things, I counthim a fine mentor.”

Loyal during the Center’srenaming ceremony.

On Mountaintop RemovalThe current mountaintop removal method of coal mining is toogreat an environmental price to pay for energy. We can’tabandon fossil fuel all at once, but we have to find alternativemeans of obtaining such fuel in the short term and newsources of energy for the future. We’ve built a colossalindustrial behemoth in our developed countries which theThird World is swiftly extending, primarily with energy fromcoal, gas, and oil. It has degraded the land, water, andatmosphere, and we must cut down on and begin to heal thedamage. Clean water will be of critical importance in thefuture, so it’s madness to bury and pollute living streams withmountaintop removal.

Loyal with friends at the Little Dove Church of Old Regular Baptist.

Chad Berry

Karen McElmurray, ’80

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Looking back across four decades, Mike Mullins, ’71,reflects upon the impact that Loyal first had on his life duringMike’s senior year at Berea. The history major enrolled inLoyal’s course on Appalachian Studies, which he says opened anew understanding of his own cultural heritage. “Loyal Jones isthe first person to get me to realize where I came from and thekind of values that I have.”

In his previous history classes, Mike says, no one evermentioned Appalachia or its people. But in the late 1960s andearly ’70s, a great deal of social and scholarly emphasis began toenvelop the region, and Loyal was in the vanguard of thismovement. Under Loyal’s guidance, Mike found himselfimmersed in folk traditions from local mountain communities,

which ignited a keen interest inlearning.

“That light is still burning,and it was lit by Loyal Jones.

He is a wonderfulteacher, but he alsogives you plenty oflatitude to discoverthings on your own.”Because of Loyal’s intellectualsupport, Mike says, “I rankhim up there with two or threepeople who have had thegreatest influence on my lifesince I left the College.”

Loyal’s approach to teaching, Mike believes, not onlyallows students to establish personal relationships with learningbut it also allows Loyal to learn from whom he teaches. Loyal isalways intently listening, rather than solely speaking, he says.“He takes most things that people would tell as kind of a sittingaround shooting the bull, and he records them, remembersthem, and writes them down. He has this great ability to listen.”

After serving at Alice Lloyd College for five years, Mikebecame the fifth executive director of the Hindman SettlementSchool. Immediately, he added Loyal Jones as the boarddirector. Loyal went on to serve on Hindman’s board for nearly29 years—19 of which he spent as chairman. After his retirementfrom the position, Loyal was appointed member emeritus. “Hehelped provide an even keel for me,” Mike says. “Loyal was verythoughtful and always lent an ear.”

Mike affirms the influence that Loyal has had on the workof many others. “In life, if you’re lucky, there will be people whowill make you a better person. And Loyal Jones is one of thosepeople.” When Appalachian scholar Dr. Cratis Williams diedseveral years ago, Mike says that the title of the region’s mosthighly accomplished advocate was handed to Loyal Jones.

“In my estimation, he is the most well-known and the mostwell-respected person in Appalachian studies in the entireregion. He is, in my opinion, Mr. Appalachia.”

Loyal is a familiar face on campus, often found chatting with friendsat Berea Coffee & Tea.

On Storytelling, Tales, and BalladsAll stories, even jokes, are important because they are abouthuman experiences. They bring a sense of wonder to ourchildren, teach vital lessons about good and evil, right andwrong, and reflect important sentiments of the heart.

I’ve done a lot of public speaking, usually starting withhumorous stories to get the audience laughing—a quick way toform a relationship. Laughter is a pleasant emotion that openspeople up to other emotions and ideas. When I proceed withmy serious message, I often use humorous stories thatillustrate points I am making as a way to keep them connectedand listening.

Loyal has received many awards: the President’s Medallion, the BereaCollege Service Award, and the W.D. Weatherford Award.

Mike Mullins, ’71

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Guy Adams, ’81, keeps more than addresses and phonenumbers on his BlackBerry™ smartphone. He hoardsinspirational quotes and passes them around like candy.

“They’re all important to me for a different reason,” saysGuy. As an expert in public relations, marketing, fundraising,and leadership, he uses the quotes to motivate colleagues,clients, friends, and family. This winter, one quote, long-keptbut never shared, motivated him to make a major change in hiscareer and brought him back home to serve the people ofAppalachia.

Guy was raised in a working-class family in a Louisville,Kentucky, suburb. When he was about to graduate high school,his father, a tenth-grade dropout whose family had migratedfrom Harlan County, surprised him by saying, “You knowyou’re going to college.” Guy hadn’t planned on it, but hehonored his father’s wishes and entered Morehead StateUniversity that fall.

A year later he moved back in with his parents. This timehis father said, “You’re an adult now, and if you’re coming backhome, you’ll pay your mother $50 a week.” For about tenmonths Guy worked the graveyard shift at a factory grindingsaw blades—a repetitive, exhausting task. When a friendsuggested he visit Berea College, Guy jumped at the chance toturn his life in a new direction.

“I hadn’t been at Berea ten minutes before I thought, ‘I’vegot to be here—this feels like home,” says Guy. “My heartwas alive when I was on this campus. Ithink sometimes our souls know what weneed, and I knew I needed Berea.”

Guy became a fixture in campus life, memorable for hissignature bib overalls; active in theatre, tennis, and studentgovernment. Guy’s engaging personality and natural leadershipwon him election as president of the Student Association(forerunner to the Student Government Association) his

sophomore year. In an interview with The Pinnacle, he listedhis top priorities as expanding the service activities of theassociation, improving campus communications, and getting astudent representative on the board of trustees.

Guy learned the power of giving when then-vice presidentof development, Cy Young, asked him to write donors thank-you letters on behalf of the students and to give occasionaltours to financial supporters. A short-term course inInstitutional Advancement in January 1980 allowed him totravel and meet many donors face to face. The experiencenudged him in the direction he has traveled ever since. Guyrefers to it as his calling into ministry—the ministry ofphilanthropy.

Since none of Berea’s majors fit him, Guy became anindependent major in public relations. For his independent studycourse on interviewing, he wrote about Clyde and Elsie Jones,who ran the College’s candy kitchen in the 1930s, Englishprofessor Jerome Hughes, ’75, and former Berea president Dr.Francis Hutchins. “Telling the story of this College that servesneedy students was impacting my life,” he says. Also changing hislife his senior year was the arrival of a freshman, Beth McKenzie,’84, from Ashland, Kentucky. They married in Danforth Chapelafter Guy graduated and settled in Berea.

Though he’d never lived in the mountains, Guy’s fatherraised him on bluegrass music and tales of his coal-miningancestors. “It wasn’t really until I got to Berea and startedlearning about and meeting people from [the region] that Ideveloped a deep love and appreciation for the people andcultures of Appalachia,” says Guy.

While he wanted to work for a faith-based college, his firstjob offer came from the Christian Appalachian Project (CAP),

Guy Adams Comes Full CircleBY DEB MCINTYRE, ’11

Guy and other Student Association officers in 1980.

The Berea College 1980 tennis team with Guy at front row, far right.


Guy Adams Comes Full Circle

a nonprofit organization that provides “physical, spiritual, andemotional support” through programs focused on helping needyAppalachians help themselves.

As the assistant director of development, Guy gaineda deeper insight into poverty while delivering Christmasbaskets to some of Appalachia’s neediest citizens. “Iwent in homes with dirt floors and where you couldlook right through the walls in cold weather to theoutside.” It was far from his suburban roots, but hestill felt a bond with those he served. “Myknowledge of God tells me I’m a very, very smallpart of his world but that I’m connected toeverybody.”

After more than three years with CAP, Guyworked in Texas; at Mary Holmes College inMississippi; at Lees-McRae College in NorthCarolina; at Lindsey Wilson College inKentucky; and at Gonser Gerber TinkerStuhr, a national consulting firm in Chicago,Illinois, that advises nonprofit institutionsand organizations.

Guy had met Cal Stoney, a partner inthe firm, while taking InstitutionalAdvancement. When Stoney told him,“You could do this work someday,” itinspired Guy. “I thought, ‘Gosh, it’s onething to help one mission, but what if, asa consultant, I could impact manymissions?’” Working for the firm becamehis ultimate career goal.

By the fall of 2009, Guy was in hisfifth year with the Chicago firm,traveling the country and helpingnonprofits. A father of three daughterswith Beth, whom he calls his “perfectmatch,” he planned to stay put untilretirement.

That’s when CAP trustees, seeking anew president and chief executive officer, contacted Guy. Hetold them “no” three times before his wife said, “You’re crazynot to consider this position. Look at what they’re searching for.It’s as though every job you’ve ever had has prepared you to dothis.” While weighing the pros and cons, that long-held quotetipped the scales in CAP’s favor.

“We must be willing to get rid of the lifewe’ve planned, so as to have the life that iswaiting for us,” mythologist Joseph Campbell wrote. “Igot very emotional reading that quote,” says Guy. “I told Beth,

‘Now I know who the quote is for. It’s for me.’ That’s prettypowerful when it hits you smack in the face.’”

Content as a team player, Guy had never desired to headan organization, but the opportunity to once again help thepeople of Appalachia won him over. Guy feels God hasprepared him to lead CAP. He believes he has returned to thecalling he first felt here thirty years ago. “I want to encouragepeople to know the joy of giving and to experience how givingimpacts others.”


We welcome all of you to kindred soil,” said BereaPresident Larry Shinn to those gathered February25 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the

Kentucky Commission on Human Rights (KCHR), the stateagency that enforces civil rights law. The College hosted aKCHR meeting at Lincoln Hall in the morning, then aluncheon presentation at Boone Tavern to honor three alumni:Galen A. Martin, ’51, David O. Welch, ’55, and Carter G.Woodson, 1903.

“Honoring Galen Martin and David Welch at BereaCollege is as natural as having the Kentucky Derby at ChurchillDowns,” said William “Bill” Turner, the National Endowmentfor the Humanities Chair in Appalachian Studies, whoorganized the tribute and served as master of ceremonies.Turner’s first job after graduating from the University ofKentucky in 1968 was as a KCHR investigator.

Keynote speaker John Fleming, ’66, a president of theAssociation for the Study of African American Life and History(ASALH) from 2007 to 2009, thanked Martin, Welch, andWoodson for their “… groundbreaking and lifelong commitmentto civil rights.” As a student, he took part in the 1964 March onFrankfort before being recruited into the KCHR by Martin.

“We were breaking new ground,” Fleming said. “We werepioneers.”

Many other attendees had been recruited into the KCHRby Martin as well, including David Welch and current KCHRexecutive director John J. Johnson.

“Galen Martin was always on the right side of justice,”said Johnson.

Martin (1927–2006) was born in the segregated mill townof Rainelle, West Virginia. While attending the University ofWisconsin at Madison, he organized tests to see if white

landlords would rent toblack students. As theKCHR’s first executivedirector, he is responsiblefor both the Kentucky CivilRights Act (1966) and theKentucky Fair Housing Act(1968) and was a founderand director of theKentucky Fair HousingCouncil.

“Galen Martin hasdone more for civil rights inthis commonwealth thanany other white man,” saidhonoree David Welch, whospoke of the seismic shifts inAmerican race relations thathave occurred in his lifetime.In 1954, Welch, as president of the Student Association at BereaCollege, asked President Francis Hutchins to put pressure onCollege Square businesses to serve newly arriving AfricanAmerican students after the overturning of the Day Law.

Thanks to his Harvard law degree, Welch chaired thecommonwealth’s first discrimination hearings in 1967. When hethought a defendant was lying, he used the only power he had:his gavel. “I hit the gavel hard enough he had to tell the truth,”Welch said.

A former mayor of Ashland, founder of the AshlandHuman Rights Commission, and a Berea trustee since 1986,Welch, according to KCHR Commissioner V. Ann Newman, is“Kentucky’s long-distance runner for civil rights.” Despite all hehas seen, Welch reminded the audience that “the work is notdone.”

“Mr. Welch reminded us that we have advanced greatly incivil right issues but that we still have a way to go,” said JuanPeña, ’98. The continuing bond between Berea and the KCHRis represented by KCHR field supervisor Peña, who overseeseducational and outreach programs, investigates policecomplaints, and translates KCHR literature into Spanish. “The work of these three outstanding individuals can easily be connected with the historic mission of Berea College,” Peña said.

Berea’s historic mission also was lauded by civil rightsleaders Benjamin Hooks and Julian Bond. KCHRCommissioner Samuel Coleman Jr. read a letter ofcongratulation from former NAACP director Hooks, whosegrandmother, Julia Britton Hooks, and great aunt, Mary E.Britton, both graduated from Berea in 1874. “Berea has played aremarkable historic role in Kentucky and the United States,”

Honoring the PioneersBY ROBERT MOORE, ’13

David Welch, ’55, and President Larry Shinn

“

Robert Martin, son of GalenMartin, ’51, speaks at the KCHRrecognition ceremony.

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Hooks said. “The Commission could utilize no better backdropthan this lovely old place.”

KCHR Commissioner Duane Bonifer read a letter fromformer Congressman and outgoing head of the NAACP JulianBond. Bond’s grandfather James Bond, 1892, a Berea trusteefrom 1896 to 1914, helped found the Lincoln Institute after thepassing of the Day Law. “It is important for the young people ofKentucky to become aware of the history of Berea College,”wrote Bond.

A large figure in that history is Carter G. Woodson, knownas “the Father of Black History.” Born in New Canton, Virginia,less than a decade after the emancipation of his parents,Woodson taught himself to read while working on the railroadand in the coal mines of West Virginia. After earning hisliterature degree from Berea College, he earned his doctorate inhistory from Harvard in 1912, the second African American todo so, after W.E.B. Du Bois.

Noting that African Americans’ cultural contributionswere “… overlooked, ignored, and even suppressed by thewriters of history textbooks,” Woodson founded the ASALH toresearch, preserve, and disseminate information about blacklife, history, and culture. In 1926 he created Negro History

Week (later Black History Month), choosing February becauseit contained the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and abolitionistFrederick Douglass.

Today Berea College celebrates his achievements with theCarter G. Woodson Professorship, the Carter G. WoodsonStudent Service Award, the Woodson Math and ScienceInstitute, and the Woodson Weekend, an event designed torecruit students of color to the College.

Woodson’s poster, the forty-eighth in the Gallery of GreatBlack Kentuckian series, was unveiled by KCHR commissionersVirginia Burton and Timothy Thomas. Past honorees includeBerea alumni James Bond and Mary E. Britton. Woodson wasinducted into the KCHR’s Civil Rights Hall of Fame in 2005,the same year as John G. Fee.

“This event was so extraordinary in terms of linkingBerea’s past and contemporary graduates in interracialeducation and justice,” said President Shinn. “The KentuckyCommission on Human Rights and the civil rights statutes thatit inspired were primarily the inspiration of Galen Martin andhis colleagues from Berea.”

Honoring the Pioneers

Bill Turner speaks after the unveiling of the Carter G. Woodson signboard, forty-eighth in the Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians series.

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A Boon for the Humanities

Berea College received two generous grants from the AndrewW. Mellon Foundation totaling more than $600,000 to create,promote, and sustain interdisciplinary programs in thehumanities; to fund two faculty positions for two years each;and to assist the faculty in its academic restructuring. Thegrants will fund a yearlong study of the role of liberal arts andcreate development opportunities for faculty. The proposal willhelp the College maintain its humanities offerings in the faceof several upcoming retirements.

The second Mellon grant supports Berea faculty in thestudy and implementation of their reorganization into largeracademic units. Said President Larry Shinn, “This award fromMellon is a tribute to our faculty’s and the College’s academicreputation among the nation’s private liberal arts colleges.”

CAMPUS NEWS

Jason Howard and Ben Fellowsresearched Appalachianmusical traditions this spring in the College’s SpecialCollections and Archives.Howard researched“contemporary roots music” for his book in progress, One of Us: Kentucky Musicians and Sense of Place. Howardconnects such modernmusicians as Naomi Judd andPatty Loveless with theirhistoric, and less familiar,counterparts.

Fellows, a student ofOxford University’s HarrisManchester College, exploredthe experiences of musiciansfrom the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. Hisfindings may determine howmusical history reveals thethinking of Americans duringperiods of upheaval, a line ofinquiry for his undergraduatedissertation in politics andmodern history.

Four other researchprojects were completed.Auburn literature professorErich Nunn researched raceand American roots music fromthe 1920s through the 1940s;Tammy Clemons, ’99, and TimiReedy documented the careersof Harlan County bluegrassmusicians John and FrancesReedy; Meredith Dosterresearched the music of Baptistchurches in Watauga County,North Carolina; and PeterWinne researched Appalachiansacred music vocals and styling.

All fellowships werefunded with the help of theAnne Ray Charitable Trust.

President Shinn Receives Honorary Degree from Centre College

In January, President Larry D. Shinn received an honoraryDoctor of Humane Letters degree and delivered the keynoteaddress during Founder’s Day at Centre College. The degreerecognized his “… active role in the Energizing Kentuckyinitiative, as well as the strides he has made towardssustainability at Berea.”

Energizing Kentucky, an ongoing initiative to improve the commonwealth’s energy and economic situations, wasorganized by Shinn in collaboration with presidents JohnRoush (Centre), Lee Todd (University of Kentucky), andJames Ramsey (University of Louisville). Three conferencesthus far have brought together industry and business,government policymakers, and higher education leaders. Shinnhas been a catalyst to green renovations of campus buildingsand the establishment of the Ecovillage residential learningcomplex.

Over his career, he has been recognized by manyinstitutions, including the American Council of LearnedSocieties, the Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion atthe University of Chicago, the National Endowment for theHumanities, and Princeton University.

Appalachian FellowsResearch Musical Roots and Meanings

Larry Shinn receives his honorary degree from Centre College’sPresident John Roush during their Founder’s Day ceremonies inJanuary.

Jason Howard

Ben Fellows

Erich Nunn

Timi Reedy and TammyClemons

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Berea Is One of the Best

Forbes Magazine and the Centerfor College Affordability andProductivity (CCAP) choseBerea College as one of the bestcolleges in the South and one ofthe best colleges in the country.CCAP ranks only the top 15percent of the more than 4,000college campuses in the U.S.Ranking factors include studentsatisfaction, postgraduateemployment success, estimatedaverage four-year student loandebt, student graduation rateswithin four years, and studentsand faculty academic andresearch grants and awards.Only two other Kentucky institutions made the list—CentreCollege and Transylvania University.

“One of the strongest indicators of healthis your zip code. … If your water is pollutedwith PCB or dioxins, it doesn’t matter whatcolor you are. It will make you just asdead.”

—Robert Bullard, director of Environmental Justice

Resource Center“Strategies for Creating Healthy and

Sustainable Communities” convocation, February

“We’re used to [the idea that] ‘you needmoney to get food.’ That makes us ananomaly in the world.”

—Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global

Trade Watch division“Gender and Democracy:

The Globalization Debate”Peanut Butter & Gender,

March

“In understanding any sort of change, it isimportant for us to understand how powergets enacted.”

—Susan Marine, assistant dean for student life at

Harvard College “Navigating Discourses of Discomfort”

Peanut Butter & Gender, March

“You are required by your religion to standup for those who are being oppressed,especially if they are different than you. …The first thing an interfaith leader does issee the world in a different way—as a placeof bridge building, as a place ofbrotherhood.”

—Eboo Patel, director of Interfaith Youth Core

“Acts of Faith: Interfaith Leadership inan Era of Religious Crisis” convocation,

March

“Cancer is not a random tragedy....Through (groundbreaking) bio-monitoring work, we now know withcertainty that there’s a whole kaleidoscopeof chemicals that are linked to cancer thatexist inside all of us.”

—Dr. Sandra Steingraber, author and cancer survivor;

“Ecology and Cancer” convocation, March

“I wanted to make a film depicting how thenational appetite for power is affectingpeople. … To meet the rising energydemands, the United States would have tobuild one new power plant each week forthe next twenty years.”

—Tom Hansell, director of The Electricity Fairy,

Kentucky premiere, Loyal Jones Appalachian Center film,

March

Phelps Stokes Chapel Needed a Lift

This winter as painters preparedto work in Phelps Stokes Chapel,deep wall cracks revealed anunderlying structural problem.While classrooms and otherspaces in the building remainedopen, the auditorium was closedfor repairs. The historic PhelpsStokes Chapel, built by studentsin 1905, traditionally houses theconvocation series that includesconcerts, performances, andspecial lectures.

Union Church of Bereaoffered its building to house thesemester’s convocations, andBerea students gratefully packed its pews until Phelps Stokeswas repaired. The auditorium was reopened in time for theApril 15 convocation with Kentucky author Silas House, butwill close again for further renovation this summer.

Phelps Stokes Chapel

Students take part in activelearning during RalphThompson’s botany class.

Heard around Campus

Robert Bullard Lori Wallach Eboo PatelSusan Marine Sandra Steingraber Tom Hansell

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Boone Tavern Earns LEED Gold Status

The U.S. GreenBuilding Councilawarded the newlyrenovated BooneTavern theLeadership inEnergy andEnvironmentalDesign (LEED)Gold certification,making it the first green hotel in Kentucky and one of the few inAmerica to attain LEED Gold status. Boone Tavern won praisefor sustainable site work, water and energy efficiency, materialsand construction methods, use of recycled materials, indoorenvironmental quality, and innovation in design processes.President Larry Shinn calls the historic landmark BereaCollege’s “front door” to guests and friends of the College.

SIFE Students Win Regional Championship For the second consecutive year, the Berea College Students inFree Enterprise (SIFE) team excelled at the regionalcompetition held this spring in Cleveland, Ohio. SIFE is aninternational nonprofit organization that mobilizes collegestudents to work for their communities and develop the skillsnecessary to become socially responsible business leaders.

Berea was one of thirty two teams qualifying for the SIFENational Expo held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in May. Theteam won second runner-up (in 2009, SIFE Berea becameregional champion and advanced to nationals, where it won firstrunner-up in the first round). The Berea team is known formaking efficient projects with a limited budget. Economics andbusiness professor Mark Roselli is faculty adviser.

Bobby Cain Recalls Desegregation and the“Clinton 12”

On Martin Luther King Day, President Shinn presented BobbyCain with a President’s Medallion in honor of his experience.Cain was one of twelve African American students whoattended an all-white school in Clinton, Tennessee. The Clinton12 became the subject of a 2006 documentary narrated byJames Earl Jones. During his convocation speech, Cainrecounted his memories of that experience in 1956.

Other events celebrating MLK’s life included a carillonconcert of King’s favorite songs performed by John Courter.The College held several gatherings for prayer, songs, andpoems in remembrance. The day began with the annual marchon City Hall, a community gathering to remember the civilrights struggles of the past and to voice a hope for the future.

The renowned American Spiritual Ensemble opened this year’scelebration of Black History Month. Performers for theStephenson Memorial concert included music professor KathyBullock, Tay Seals, and Anne Grundy, ’65. Seals’ grandparents

Bereans joined together outside City Hall to celebrate the workand memory of Martin Luther King, Jr.

graduated from Berea just before thepassing of the Day Law prohibitedintegrated schooling. Grundy keeps closeties to Berea through her work with theAfrican Student Association and theBlack Student Union.

Included in the month-longcelebration were two convocations.Robert Bullard, director of theEnvironmental Justice Resource Centerat Clark Atlanta University, delivered theCarter G. Woodson convocation thataddressed global environmental justice issues in the poor South.Berea trustee John Fleming, ’66, spoke of his experiences asfounding director of the National Afro-American Museum andCultural Center and as director of the National UndergroundRailroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati.

Music, Memories, and Convocations Showcase Black History Month

John Fleming, ’66

Members of the Ensemble dance as they sing at their Februaryconvocation.

Aaron G

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Ellie Rung, ’10

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Aaron G

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Turner Named Player of the Year

Mountaineer Mikah Turner,’10, is the Kentucky Inter-collegiate Athletic ConferenceMen’s Player of the Year. A 6-foot 3-inch senior forward fromMaysville, Kentucky, Turnerled the Mountaineers to a19–10 record while averaging27.6 points per game, third inNAIA Division II. He had 14games in which he scored 30points, with a career-high 45points in the OSU–Mansfieldgame in December of last year.

Turner, a former standout athlete at Mason County HighSchool, shot 55.4 percent from the field, 41.7 percent from 3-point range, and 65 percent from the free throw line, and hepulled down 8.6 rebounds per game. He also had 50 steals, 25blocked shots and 12 double–double performances during the2009–10 season.

Turner’s career stats at Berea include 2,083 points and 673rebounds in 113 games.

Berea Students Take Center Stage

Berea students excelled at the 42nd Kennedy Center AmericanCollege Theatre Festival. The Region IV festival includedworkshops, readings, and auditions for the prestigious IreneRyan Acting Scholarship. “The competition was fierce,” saystheatre professor Shan Ayers. He and visiting assistantprofessor Velicia Daniels accompanied ten students to MiddleTennessee State University in Murfreesboro.

Ashley French, ’10, won Best Performance of ClassicalLiterature for her scene from Medea. She and fellow studentsEdwin Schiff, ’11; Anthony Nathan, ’11; Jonathan Johnson, ’10;Christian Honce, ’10; Stephanie Radford, ’10; Traci Sisson, ’11;and David Bellnier, ’12, competed against 400 other studentactors. Adina Ramsey, ’11, and Kathryn Newquist, ’12, workedbackstage as part of the stage management fellowship program.

Certificates for Excellence went to Berea faculty membersDeborah Martin (directing) and Shan Ayers (scenic design) forThe Rocky Horror Show, and to Mary Ann Shupe (costumedesign) for August Wilson’s Seven Guitars.

Students Plant 7,000 Trees

Students from Berea Collegeand the University of theCumberlands planted 7,000trees on reclaimed mine landnear Williamsburg onKentucky Hwy. 478. On awindy, and wintry Saturday,nearly 100 volunteers plantedfoot-tall saplings into thesnow-covered ground,working for almost sevenhours. Among the treesplanted were saplings of thealmost extinct Americanchestnut, once among themost plentiful in theAppalachian forests. Alltrees were provided by theAppalachian RegionalReforestation Initiative.

The Home Run Tour Uplifts Through Song

Berea students took learning, labor, and service off campusthis spring break. Taking their musical talents to the streets,seven students performed their “Home Run Tour” in severalsouthern cities. The tour is the brainchild of industrialtechnology major Breon Thomas, ’10. Calling themselvesS.E.E. Him (which stands for Serve, Encourage, andEntertain), they hoped to inspire audiences at homelessshelters, high schools, and other community locations.

In addition, the students contributed to the communitiesthrough roadside clean-ups and spent time with youth and theelderly in Knoxville and Chattanooga, Tennessee, and inLawrenceville, Georgia. Inspired by the time he spent living ina homeless shelter, Breon hoped the tour would bring theaudiences the kind of hope and encouragement he once foundthrough a shelter volunteer’s uplifting songs.

Matt Callo, ’12, participates inthe tree-planting effort.

Jonathan Johnson, Ashley French, Anthony Nathan, KathrynNewquist, and Adina Ramsey all represented Berea at theKennedy Center American College Theatre Festival.

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Ellie Rung, ’10

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Terrell Horton, ’13, Wayne Cox, ’13, Megan Norris, ’13, ChiayimBurney, ’12, Breon Thomas, ’10, Markesha Dunham, ’13 andTony Bill, ’13


NEWS from FACULTY, STAFF, and TRUSTEES

Foster Translates Ancient Chinese Text

For the past year history department chairRobert Foster has been translating anancient Chinese text that outlinesstrategies for the board game GO. Thiswill help scholars and fans understandGO’s earliest roots and provideresearchers with cultural insight into oneof the world’s oldest board games. Thescroll is a half-foot wide and 8 feet long. “Ifind it fascinating to think about someone(in antiquity) playing this game andthinking about the same sort of strategies.And now I have a teacher from 1500 yearsago who’s helping me think about how I need to study thegame,” Foster said.

Libby Jones’ New Book Published

English professor Libby Falk Jones’ poetry chapbook, Above theEastern Treetops, Blue, was published in March by Finishing LinePress. The book’s cover features a watercolor by former Berea artinstructor, Dorothy Tredennick, ’46. Writer Marilyn Kallet calledJones’ poetry “unique in contemporary literature.” Jones has givenreadings at venues including the Southern Women WritersConference, Kentucky Women’s Book Festival, Madison CountyPublic Library, and Berea Arts Council. Her poems have beenpublished in anthologies including Connecticut Review, NewMillennium Writings, and New Growth: Recent KentuckyWritings.

Ceramics MonthlyFeatures the Work of Tina Gebhart

A lobed porcelain, salt-firedteapot by Tina Gebhart,assistant professor in art,graces the cover of theDecember 2009 CeramicsMonthly. In the essay that discusses herwork, Gebhart says that she likes makingteapots because “the teapot form …exemplifies taking time. Each morning, Idrink a full pot of tea, and do so in slowtime. This may be the only slow time ofthat day, and I take it first, not last, inpreparation for the business that willalmost inevitably occur.”

Broadhead Publishes Jewish Ways of Following Jesus

Associate professor of general studies EdwinBroadhead recently published his researchon the ancient evidence of JewishChristianity and its impact. He suggests thatJewish Christians have been vastlyunrepresented and undervalued in ancientand modern times. The diversity and varietyof its appearance may require the making ofa new map of religions in antiquity.Furthermore, Broadhead suggests that thehistorical development of Judaism andChristianity is interrelated.

Julie Hruby Receives Research Grant

Assistant professor of art Julie Hruby hasrecently received an Institute for AegeanPrehistory grant for her research project,“Plainware Pottery from the Palace of Nestorat Pylos.” She continues her research inGreece this summer. Dr. Hruby, a graduateof Duke University, joined the Berea facultyin 2008. She completed her master’s anddoctorate degrees at the University ofCincinnati.

David Shelton Appointed to Borders Group Board

Borders Group, Inc., one of the nation’sleading book, music, and video retailers,recently appointed Berea trustee DavidShelton, ’69, to its board of directors.Shelton has worked for Lowe’s CompaniesInc. for 36 years, most recently as seniorvice president in real estate, engineering,and constructions. After graduating fromBerea College, Shelton earned hismaster’s and doctoral degrees from theUniversity of North Carolina,Greensboro.

Robert Foster

Edwin Broadhead

Julie Hruby

David Shelton, ’69

Tina Gebhart

Ray D

avis, ’11A

aron Gilm

our, ’12D

amian B

uttle, ’11

Libby Jones

O’N

eil Arnold, ’85

Ray D

avis, ’11Ellie R

ung, ’10


ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

With more than 17,000members around the world,the Berea College AlumniAssociation represents adiverse, yet connected,extended community. Weencourage all our alumni todevelop strong ties withfriends and to Berea byengaging in our manyprograms, services, andactivities.

Berea is Coming to You!Berea College Clubs areall over the country. Oneis probably meeting nearyou!

To find alums in yourcommunity, contact theOffice of Alumni Relationsat 1.866.804.0591 or visitwww.berea.edu/alumni/

Alumni Association Executive Council 2009-2010

James “Bones” Cecil Owens, ’66, PresidentCeleste Patton Armstrong, ’90,

President-ElectRob Stafford, ’89, Past President

Larry D. Shinn, Hon ’09William A. Laramee, Hon ’09

Mae Suramek, ’95Alumni Trustees – 6-Year Terms

Vicki Allums, ’79Lynn Blankenship Caldwell, ’78

Janice Hunley Crase, ’60Jim Lewis, ’70

Members at Large 2009-10Jennifer Jones Allen, ’01

Joe Brandenburg, ’71William Churchill, ’70Jason Von Cody, ’94

David Cook, ’85Ronald Dockery, ’70Lowell Hamilton, ’61Timothy Jones, ’94

Peggy Mitchell Mannering, ’71Bob Miller, ’58

Jason Miller, ’98Larry Owen, ’61

D. Wesley Poythress, ’89Willie Sanders, ’69Edward Seay, ’95

Cara Stewart-Green, ’03Karen Troxler, ’80Larry Woods, ’75

Young Alumni Advisory CouncilBrandy Sloan Brabham, ’00

Dwayne Compton, ’01Steven Goodpaster, ’03, President-Elect

Destiny Harper, ’06David Harrison, ’01, President

Jonathan Johnson, ’99Markesha Flagg McCants, ’03,

Executive SecretaryChristina Ryan Perkins, ’98

Jeremy Rotty, ’05

Our BEREA EXPERIENCE didn’t endwith graduation and neither should yours...The Berea College Young Alumni Advisory Council serves as a resource forour fellow alumni by facilitating communication, supporting development andrecruiting efforts, and serving as a resource for the Office of AlumniRelations. This exciting and growing all-volunteer organization is seekingalumni who wish to foster the great tradition that is the BEREAEXPERIENCE. Will you join us?

To learn more about the Council and how you can become a member,visit http://www.berea.edu/alumni/youngalumniprogram/ or contact NolanOberg, Coordinator of Alumni and Student Programs, [email protected].

LONG LIVE BEREA!


HHOOMMEECCOOMMIINNGGNNoovveemmbbeerr 1122--1144,, 22001100Celebrating the Special Reunion Classes of 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010

FFRRIIDDAAYY,, NNOOVVEEMMBBEERR 1122

AAlluummnnii AAwwaarrddss RReecceeppttiioonn6:00 p.m.Baird Lounge, Alumni Building

AAwwaarrdd RReecciippiieennttss::

Distinguished Alumnus Award:Dr. Robert Ling, ’61

Outstanding Young Alumnus Award:Dr. Ronnie Nolan, ’95Joshua Powell, ’97

Honorary Alumnus Award:Linda DurandJeff Amburgey

BBeerreeaaFFeesstt11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.Enjoy fun and festivities on the lawnsof Fairchild and Alumni.

CChheeeerr oonn tthhee MMoouunnttaaiinneeeerrss!!5:30 p.m.Main Arena, Seabury Center

AAlluummnnii MMiixxeerrAfter men’s basketball gameBaird Lounge, Alumni Building

AAlluummnnii WWoorrsshhiipp SSeerrvviiccee10:30 a.m.Union ChurchSpecial performances by theAlumni Chapel and ConcertChoir, directed by Dr. StephenBolster

SSAATTUURRDDAAYY,, NNOOVVEEMMBBEERR 1133 SSUUNNDDAAYY,, NNOOVVEEMMBBEERR 1144

photos by LeAnna K

aiser, ’12, and Chris H

ayes, ’08


Class Notes1939

Melba Wilson Wash is thelibrary director at First Baptist Churchin Martin, TN, where she resides.

1942Roberta Larew Allison is a

contributor to the book Coal Campsand Castor Oil. She resides inCharleston, WV.

Frances Barr Cargill plays thedulcimer with a local group at localfunctions, weaves weekly with fellowweavers, and is active in her church.She resides in Franklin, NC.

1945Bette Allison Todd and John

Todd celebrated their 51st wedding

anniversary in 2009. They reside inNewark, DE.

1946Raymond A. Bradbury, Acad

’46, and Claranelle BlackburnBradbury,, ’52, celebrated their 58th

wedding anniversary in November2009. They have been retired 17 yearsand have travelled extensively. Theyreside in a retirement- life communityin Matthews, NC.

1947Mary Lou Keener Finlayson and

Kier Finlayson reside in Garden SpotVillage, a retirement community, inNew Holland, PA.

Lucile Crumpler Stewart andEdwin P. Stewart celebrated their 60th

wedding anniversary on September 3,2009. They reside in Tallahassee, FL.

1948Dr. Reedus Back retired as

president of the Back-BachGenealogical Society. He served aspresident for the first 15 years and wasrecognized for leading a small localgroup to found the nationwidegenealogical society. He and Carrie,his wife, reside in Morehead, KY.

1949Peggy Johnson Duncan, MD,

Cx ’49, is retired from her medicalpractice. For 40 years, she and herhusband offered medical services totheir community through their familypractice, Drs. Duncan & Duncan, P.A.Dr. Stacy Duncan, her husband, diedin May 2009. Peggy now spends hertime visiting her children, reading,traveling, and swimming. She residesin Nunn, NC.

French E. Rogers, Jr. andBarbrea Hill Rogers celebrated their60th anniversary on August 28, 2009.They are retired teachers and reside inHendersonville, NC.

1950Foster F. Burgess resides in

Freeport, FL, with Aurora, his wife,

and Kenneth and Mary Ann, theirnewly adopted children from thePhilippines.

1951Gene Rice, PhD,, retired in May

2009 after 51 years as professor of OldTestament language and literature atthe Howard University School ofDivinity. He and Betty Jean SmithRice, Cx ’53, reside in Washington, DC.

Stan Shrader is part of the dailypickup basketball games at the YMCAwhich features players as young as 20.He has played basketball for sevendecades and won two medals at SeniorOlympics. He resides in Fort Worth, TX.

1952Claranelle Blackburn Bradbury

and Raymond A. Bradbury, Acad ’46,celebrated their 58th weddinganniversary in November 2009. They have been retired 17 years andhave travelled extensively. They residein a retirement-life community inMatthews, NC.

1953Phyllis K. Lisi is a retired

educator. She resides in Las Vegas, NV.

1954John “Kenny” Gwinn and

Lynette Gwinn celebrated their fifthwedding anniversary in Hawaii in2009. They have visited 50 states sincetheir marriage. They reside inGreencastle, IN.

Philip M. Hampton sold hisengineering company, HamptonEngineering Associates, Inc. andstarted a new company, HamptonEnvirotech Associates, LLC, in orderto take on and complete a two-yearroad project that ends in July 2010. Hehas received numerous awards duringhis career and resides in Clarkston, MI.

Nancy Biddix McKinnis is aretired elementary school teacher andBill McKinnis is a retired chemicalsalesman. This past summer theytravelled to Labrador, Canada. Theyreside at The Estates at Carpenters, a

continuing care community inLakeland, FL.

Dr. Joe L. Morgan was inductedinto the Hall of Fame of the NorthEast Republican Party in 2009. Heattended his first statewide GOPConvention in 1958. He resides inMarshall, NC.

1956Wendell Powers and Laquita, his

wife, celebrated their 46th weddinganniversary on June 29, 2009. Theyraised their four daughters in Taiwan,People’s Republic of China, wherethey were missionaries for 15 years. Heretired from a hospital in Beaumont,TX after 10 years as staff chaplain. Henow works part-time as a hospicechaplain in Huntsville, AL, where theyreside.

1959Dr. Jack Justin Turner is a

retired professor emeritus at MiddleTennessee University. He has writtentwo highly acclaimed novels about thepeople and places of his nativeKentucky mountains: The Sheriffs’Murder Cases and The Foxes and theHounds. He resides in Lexington, KY.

1960Liz Tester Davis is a retired

nurse and Vance Davis, ’61,, is a retiredchaplain. They spent June of 2009 inIreland and Scotland. He is teachingand supervising five ministers fortraining in hospital internshipchaplaincy. They reside at MilliganCollege, TN.

Dr. Nathan Greene is a retiredresearch scientist and Lynn EasterGreene, Cx ’61, is retired from a realestate career. They live on 15 acres inBullard, TX and enjoy traveling andgardening.

Emma Lou Deaton Lowee andDonald L. Lowe reside in Laurel, MS.They have a son, two daughters, andseven grandchildren.

Mary Jane Miller realized along-held goal this past July when she moved from New Jersey toWilliamsburg, VA. She would like to hear from Bereans.

1961Marlene Ellis Payne is a retired

professor from Berea College. She isstudying carillon under John Courterand plays in a local string quintet.Husband John Vandaveer Payne, ’62,is a retired physician. He worksoverseas at least twice a year inmedical mission work. They reside inBerea, KY.

ABOUT BEREA PEOPLE

The Berea College Alumni Associ-ation enjoys hearing from Bereansfrom all over the U.S. and theworld. The “About Berea People”section of Berea College Magazinereports verifiable news that hasbeen sent to the Association by thealumni. BCM reports the news youwish to share with your alumnifriends and associates. “AboutBerea People” reports careers,weddings, retirements, births,changes in addresses, and otheritems of importance to our alumni.Please include your class year andname used while attending Berea.Notes may be edited for style andlength. Our print deadlines maydelay the appearance of your classnews. While we will make every effort to put your information intothe next issue, due to printingschedules, some delays are typical.We appreciate your understanding.For more information on how tosubmit class notes and photographs,call 1.866.804.0591, [email protected], or log onto www.berea.edu/alumni.

Gene Rice, ’51Foster F. Burgess, ’50, wife Aurora,and children Kenneth and Mary Ann

Marlene Ellis Payne, ’61 John Vandaveer Payne, ’62


1962Celia Hooper Miles, ’62, is co-

editor and contributor to an anthology,Clothes Lines, from 75 western NorthCarolina women. She resides inAsheville, NC.

1964Thomas Coomer, Fd ’61,, and

Barbara Coomer reside in Versailles,KY and enjoy attending reunions atBerea and welcoming Berean visitors.

Dr. Alma L. Watson is anassistant professor in the college ofeducation at East Tennessee State University. She resides in JohnsonCity, TN.

1966Dan R. Bush retired last year

from New York Life insurancecompany after nearly 30 years. He andSandi, his wife, relocated to thePensacola, FL area.

Bonnie Riddle Carriker andJames E. Carriker, II, Cx ’65, areretired. She earned a master’s ofeducation, and a master’s of libraryscience degree, and completedNational Board Certification as amedia specialist. They reside inMassanutten, VA.

1967Robert Pinney and Ann

Francisco Pinney, ’68, are retiredschoolteachers. He runs a summer golfinstruction program for youth and sheenjoys quilting and sewing. They residein Logan, OH.

1968Constance Spencer-Ackerman is

the director of the Adult EducationAcademy For Professional Developmentat Morehead State University. Sheresides in Morehead, KY.

Paul W. Chappelll would like tohear from classmates of his and AngelNetto Chappell, now deceased. Heresides in Cape Coral, FL.

1969Mary Knight Keller, Marie

Tychonievich, Linda Pratt Orr, ’71,Linda Helleson Appanaitis, and JanHill Reid were reunited at the Berea

College 2009 reunion.Rita Murray Storie retired in

2001 after 32 years teaching scienceand math in North Carolina. Shestarted a second career teaching sixthgrade in Mountain City, TN and ownsA Plus Realty near Boone, NC. Sheresides in Sugar Grove, NC.

1974Jessica Wrenn Ellis is a

disability manager at EvergreenPackaging, Inc. and V. Carson Ellis,Cx ’74, is a grocery manager at Ingle’s.They have three sons and twograndsons. They reside in Candler, NC.

1977Sumit Ganguly is a professor of

political science and director of theIndia Studies Program at IndianaUniversity. He took leave from thisposition to be the Ngee Ann Professorof International Politics at the S.Rajaratnam School of InternationalStudies at Nanyang TechnologicalUniversity in Singapore during Spring2010 term. His book with S. PaulKapur, India, Pakistan and the Bomb:Debating Nuclear Stability in SouthAsia, was published in February. Lastyear he received the Pravasi BharatiyaSamman Award from the governmentof India. He resides in Bloomington,IN.

1978John I. Alexander is principal of

Grayson Highlands School. Theschool’s music program promotesBluegrass and old-time mountainmusic. Susan McGuffin Alexander isa Title I teacher at ProvidenceElementary in Grayson County. Theyreside in Independence, VA.

Eunice Hall is president of theHumane Society of Cobb County. Forthe past 25 years she has beenemployed with Dow AgroSciences.She resides in Acworth, GA.

Denise Marrs Shafer has beenteaching early childhood specialeducation since 1978. She has two sonsand two grandchildren. She and Jerry,her husband, reside in Grundy, VA.

1979Rita Baisden King and Kevin

King are proud grandparents of three

grandchildren. She is retired and theyreside in Galloway, OH.

1980Married: Jackie Collier to

Larrey Riddle on December 29, 2009.She is director of alumni relations atEastern Kentucky University and heworks in non-profit management. Theyreside in Richmond, KY.

William A. Lozier is a technicallead software engineer for the Ares IUpper Stage avionics development atthe NASA Marshall Space FlightCenter. He was awarded a TechnicalFellowship at Jacobs Technology Inc.He resides in Huntsville, AL.

Tandy McConnell is a professorat Columbia College. He resides inCharlotte, NC.

1984Gaitley Stevenson-Mathews is

part of the Scottish music duo TwoMen In Skirts. They recently releasedtheir CD, Two Men In Skirts: the Musicof Scotland (www.TwoMenInSkirts.com).Eric Crowden was involved in creationof the cover art, with photographs byJon Pickow, a folk musician and son of folk legend Jean Ritchie, whoperformed at Berea in the 80s. Gaitleyand Jim Stevenson-Mathews reside onLong Island, NY.

1985Margaret Walker Herren is

employed at Park Community FederalCredit Union in Berea, KY. She hastwo sons, five stepsons, and sevengrandchildren. She and Gary M.Herren, her husband, reside in Berea.

1986Dr. Donna Fick is an associate

professor in Penn State’s School ofNursing. She was inducted into theAmerican Academy of Nursing as oneof its 2009 fellows for her outstandingachievements in the nursing profession.She resides in Boalsburg, PA.

1988Marisa Christman Dungan is

manager of Sunlink Solar, LLC, agrowing solar products and installation

company in Somerset, KY. She residesin Nancy, KY.1992

Menelaos Karamichalis is asystems engineer at WildblueCommunications, Inc. in GreenwoodVillage, CO. He and his family residein Denver, where they enjoy themountains and good weather.

Troy Sanford is principal ofHorizon Academy in Ocala, FL, wherehe resides. He earned a master’sdegree in education leadership fromNOVA Southeastern University andbegan his career as a Spanish teacher.

1996Married: Shelley Fort Oldham

to Ben Oldham on September 12,2008. They reside on a small farmoutside Ripley, WV with their animals.

1997James Clay Carrier was one of

three finalists for the KentuckyElementary Teacher of the Year. Heteaches primary math and librarymedia at McKinney ElementarySchool in Lincoln County, Kentucky.He and Amy Kathleen McCrayCarrier, ’00, reside in Waynesburg,KY.

Kevin K. Saechao is employed insocial services at Alameda CountySocial Services Agency. He andStephanie V. Tang, his wife, reside inOakland, CA with their three children.

John T. Webb is a vice presidentin human resources for Credit Suisseand manages the retirement plans andbenefits for the Americas. He is anenrolled retirement plan agent with theInternal Revenue Service, a QualifiedPension Administrator with theAmerican Society of PensionProfessionals and Actuaries, andaccredited pension representative withthe National Institute of PensionAdministrators. He resides in Cary,NC.

1998Birth: a daughter, Isabella Ann

Hess, to Ryan Hess and Libby Hess onNovember 10, 2009. The family residesin Berea, KY.

Mary Knight Keller, ’69; Marie Tychonievich, ’69; DonnaDean, ’69; Linda Pratt Orr, ’71; Linda Helleson

Appanaitis, '69; Jan Hill Reid, ’69

Sumit Ganguly, ’77 Gaitly Stevenson-Mathews, ’84(r) and Jim Stevenson-Matthews

Menelaos Karamichalis, ’92, and family


1999Birth: a daughter, Emma Ruth

Tucker, to Linda Lawson Tucker andCraig Alan Tucker, ’01, on November4, 2008. Linda is a sales specialist atLowe’s and Craig is employed by thestate of North Carolina. The familyresides in Webster, NC.

2000Married:: Rebecca A. Haynes to

John G. Paull in May of 2009 in OchoRios, Jamaica. They reside inColumbus, OH.

Birth: a daughter, Alivia LynnJackson, to Amy Cotter Jackson andGary Jackson on May 8, 2009. Amy isa teacher and the family resides inMorristown, TN.

Melissa Gassman Kaiza receiveda master of science in appliedinformation technology from TowsonUniversity in January 2010. She residesin Baltimore, MD.

Almah LaVon Rice won the 2009National Ethnic Media Award fromNew America Media. She resides inSanta Fe, NM.

Birth: a daughter, ArianaGabrielle Willis, to Asala McCoyWillis and Aaron Willis on August 11,2009. The family resides in Ashland,KY and includes a son, Zion Aaron.

2002Birth: a son, Elijah Nicholas, to

Renata Montgomery Farmer andAdam Farmer, ’04, on October 11,2009. They have another son, Gabriel,and reside in Girdler, KY.

Birth: a son, Parker KuenstlerWeiner, to Patricia Bryant Weinerand Mike Weiner, on October 8, 2009.Mike is a systems analyst at BereaCollege. Patricia teaches in Berea. In2008 she received a master’s in arteducation from the University of theCumberlands and an Excellence inTeaching Award from CampbellsvilleUniversity. The family resides in Berea,KY and includes another son, Austin.

Birth: a son, Alden ObieWilliams, to Obie Williams andKatherine Webb Williams, ’03, onSeptember 27, 2009. Obie is a graphicdesigner with the Department of Fish

& Wildlife. The family resides inFrankfort, KY.

2003Married: G. Marian Cooper to

Patrick McLaughlin on December 15,2007. She is the executive assistant atWalters Power International, aninternational electric power generationcompany. He is a firearms examinerwith Oklahoma City PoliceDepartment’s forensic laboratory. They reside in Oklahoma City, OK.

2004Crystal Baldwin is an outreach

specialist at the Attorney General andthe University of Vermont’s CommunityAssistance Program. She resides inMontpelier, VT.

Married: Novruz Bashirov toNarmin Musaeva on August 19, 2009.He graduated from the Wharton Schoolof the University of Pennsylvania inMay. They reside in Philadelphia, PA.

Dustin Busler is a specialeducation math teacher at MadisonSouthern High School in Berea, wherehe resides. He also coaches footballand track.

Married: Christina Caul toDonté Jackson on October 10, 2009.She is an equal employmentopportunity specialist and he is anassociate minister and employed withWest Virginia State University. Theyreside in Charleston, WV.

Married: Renee Lamance toZach Kilmer on October 17, 2009. Sheis employed at Cutshaw ChiropracticCenter in Andrews, NC. The coupleresides in Murphy, NC.

Birth: a daughter, Christina E.Settles, to Carl J. Settles III andNikkiah C. Williams, ’05, on May 17,2009. Carl is a banker and Nikkiah is a special education high school teacher.The family resides in Conyers, GA.

2005Traci Bray and C.J. Bloomer,

her husband, own and operate SilverWheel Yarn, a weaving studiospecializing in handwoven heirloomquality textiles, delicate hand-spinning,knitting pattern design, and education

in these crafts. Their work can be seenin local Lexington and Frankfortstores and on the Web. They reside inLexington, KY.

2006Birth: a daughter, Noel Celeste,

to Bradley Fletcher and CarrieWatson on December 28, 2009. He isan assistant county attorney in EstillCounty and an associate in Davis Law,PSC in Irvine, KY. The family residesin Berea, KY.

Married: Seth Stair to ChelseaPetersen on September 19, 2009.

2007Holly Branscum received a

master’s degree in education from theUniversity of Louisville in December2009. She resides in Louisville, KY.

Melissa Sherell Kennedy is ateacher assistant and has worked inthis position for three years. Sheresides in Hueytown, AL.

Princess Nash is in the PeaceCorps and is working with communityhealth education and promotion inGuyana, South America.

2008Married: Allison Butts to Carl

Wargo on August 29, 2009. Theyreside in Annapolis, MD.

Married: Ashley Williams Edgeto Dustin Jace Edge on July 11, 2009.She is a bilingual teller for BranchBanking and Trust. They reside inOwensboro, KY.

College Officers: 2009-10David E. Shelton, ’69

Chair of the BoardNancy E. Blair

Vice Chair of the BoardLarry D. Shinn

PresidentCarolyn R. Newton

Academic Vice President and ProvostStephanie P. Browner

Dean of the FacultyGail W. Wolford

Vice President for Labor and Student Life

Steven D. KarcherVice President for Business & Administration

Jeffrey AmburgeyVice President for Finance

William A. LarameeVice President for Alumni and College Relations

Judge B. Wilson II, ’78Secretary

College Trustees: 2009-10David E. Shelton, ’69

Chair of the BoardNancy E. Blair

Vice Chair of the BoardLarry D. Shinn

President of the CollegeVicki E. Allums, ’79Charlotte F. Beason, ’70Vance Blade, ’82Lynne Blankenship Caldwell, ’78David H. ChowJan Hunley Crase, Cx’60M. Elizabeth Culbreth, ’64Chella S. David, ’61John E. Fleming, ’66Glenn R. FuhrmanJim GrayHeather Sturt HaagaDonna S. HallScott M. JenkinsShawn C.D. JohnsonLucinda Rawlings LairdBrenda Todd LarsenJim Lewis, ’70Eugene Y. Lowe, Jr.Elissa May-PlattnerGeraldine F. McManusHarold L. Moses, ’58Douglas M. OrrThomas W. Phillips, ’65William B. RichardsonDennis R. Roop, ’69Charles Ward Seabury, IIMark StitzerDavid O. Welch, ’55Dawneda F. WilliamsEugene A. WoodsDrausin F. WulsinRobert T. Yahng, ’63

Honorary Trustees: 2009-10Alberta Wood AllenJohn Alden Auxier, ’51James T. BartlettJack Buchanan, ’46 Martin A. CoyleFrederic L. Dupree, Jr., V-12 ’45Kate IrelandJuanita M. Kreps, ’42Alice R. Manicur, ’54Thomas H. Oliver Kroger PettengillDavid S. SwansonR. Elton White, ’65

Narmin Musaeva and NovruzBashirov, ’04

Allison Butts, ’08, and Carl Wargo Ashley Williams Edge, ’08, andDustin Jace Edge


IN MEMORIAM

Faculty & StaffDewey Allen of Berea, KY died

December 24, 2009. He worked manyyears in Woodcraft before his retire-ment in 2009. He is survived by BettiePowell Allen, his wife, a son, twostepdaughters, and a stepson.

Dave Bowman of Berea, KY diedDecember 4, 2009. He taught in theGeneral Studies Department forseveral years. He is survived by LeeWilley, his wife of 37 years, a daughter,and a son.

Teddy Burke of Berea, KY diedNovember 10, 2009. He was a U.S.Army veteran and an electrician inFacilities Management for many yearsprior to his 2001 retirement. He issurvived by Theresa Collins and TedBurke, his children.

Vinson Carpenter of Berea, KY died November 8, 2009. He was a paint supervisor in FacilitiesManagement and retired after 40 yearsof employment. He is survived byRodney E. Carpenter, his son.

Cherie Boshers Isaacs of Berea,KY died November 16, 2009. Sheworked as an administrative assistantin Information Systems and Servicesfor many years. She is survived byMason Isaacs, her husband, twodaughters, and a son.

Lou Lakes of Berea, KY diedNovember 3, 2009. She served as

director of Planned Giving for manyyears prior to her retirement in 2002.She is survived by Fred Lakes, herhusband, a daughter, and a son.

Dr. Harry Robie of Berea, KYdied December 3, 2009. He taughtEnglish from 1985 to 1995. After hisretirement from Berea College, he andLaura, his wife, founded Robie andRobie: Fine Books in Berea. He issurvived by Laura Rector Robie, hiswife, three sons, and Sarabeth BrownRobie, Cx ’92, his daughter.

Leona Wilkinson, formerly ofBerea, KY, died December 26, 2009.She and her late husband owned andoperated the Ben Franklin Store inBerea and she retired from FoodService several years ago. She issurvived by Dawn Freeman and Linda Jones, her daughters.

1930sMary Frances Whiteside Hayes

of Dallas, TX died August 3, 2009. Sheplayed the organ, taught piano, andgave voice lessons. She was the widowof Dr. E. Russell Hayes, Cx ’30,, and issurvived by Carolyn Ball and AnneLacy, her daughters.

Dorcas Ferguson Campbell, ’32,of Tuscumbia, MO died October 1,2006. She is survived by Lois MarieAkers, Wallace Campbell, and JimCampbell, her children.

Betty Adams Kazee, ’32, ofWarren County, OH died December 5,2009. She was a school teacher for 35years. She is survived by Glenda SueHall, her daughter.

Eleanor Martha Miller, Cx ’32,of Sun City, AZ died November 3,2009. She was employed with the U.S.Department of Defense, and her workduring her career took her to 72countries. She retired in 1975 fromHeadquarters Pacific Air ForceCommand in Honolulu, HI. She issurvived by James M. Gratz, Jr. andMichael B. Gratz, Sr., her nephews.

Avaleah Lafferty Combs, ’35, ofThousand Oaks, CA died July 18, 2009.

Polly Lengfellner Wyatt, Acad’35, of Berea, KY died September 29,

2005. She is survived by Charles E.Wyatt, her husband.

Charlotte Allie Ray Playforth ofLancaster, KY died December 24,2009. She was a member of theGarrard County Hospital Auxiliary.She is the widow of the late Dr. O.S.Playforth, ’36, and is survived by GeriDecker and Saundra Poces, herdaughters.

Roy Estes Brockman, Jr., ’37, ofSaint George, UT died November 3,2009. He taught English and was aninspector at Atlantic Smokeless CoalCompany, a distributor for Shell OilCompany, and assistant clerk of thecircuit court for Seminole County asstatistician until his retirement in 1986.He is survived by Glenna Brockman,his wife of 68 years, and a daughter.

Clay Alton Colson, ’37, ofBrodhead, KY died October 12, 2009.He served in the U.S. Navy Reserve.He was a Rockcastle County soilconservationist for 31 years. Afterretirement he farmed full time andserved as an officer of the KentuckyCattleman’s Association, and on theboard of directors of various farmassociations. He is survived byWilliam, Robert, Charles, and DavidColson, his sons.

Nancy Lambert Williams, ’37, ofBerea, KY died January 11, 2010. Shewas a retired Rockcastle County Boardof Education director of pupilpersonnel services. She is survived byJudy Cummins, Dotty Parsons, andWesley Williams, her children.

Doris Grotewohl Baker, ’38, ofGalveston, TX died September 15,2009. She is survived by George R.Baker, her husband.

Dr. Claud Scroggs, ’38, ofRichmond, VA died November 1, 2009.Career positions he held were directorof economic research, collegeprofessor, and agricultural economist.He co-authored a textbook referencedby states and universities today andcontinued to publish throughout hiscareer. He received numerous awardsand honors.

Ruth Litton Shepherd, Cx ’38,of Ypsilanti, MI died October 9, 2009.She was a schoolteacher in Kentucky.She is survived by Stanton, Marilyn,Jannette, Douglas, and Bradley, herchildren.

Josephine Jackson House, ’39,of Gainesville, FL died October 20,2009. She was a fourth-grade teacherfor many years and traveled widely.She danced with her nephew at her70th college reunion at Berea in June2009. She is survived by Steve(Marsha) Tilden, her nephew; KristaTilden, her niece; Zachary and

Jonathan House, her grandsons; adaughter-in-law; and three other nieces.

1940sFred William Brown, Jr., ’40,,

of Erie, PA died September 20, 2009.He was a U.S. Army veteran of WorldWar II. He retired as a chemist fromSherwin-Williams Company inChicago after 30 years. He is survivedby Robert Edward Brown and JimBrown, his sons.

Judy Martin Gaston, ’40,, ofGastonia, NC died November 8, 2009.She was employed by the GastonCounty Schools for more than 20years and the majority of her workinglife was spent as a guidance counselor.She is survived by Henry Gaston Sr.,’39,, her husband of 68 years, two sons,and a daughter.

Mr. Kay P. Hoffsommer, Cx ’40,of Buffalo, NY died November 25, 2006.

Theodora “Ted” SkeanRobertson, Cx ’40, of Knoxville, TNdied November 6, 2009. She was aregistered nurse and retired fromnursing to raise her children. She issurvived by her children.

Harold D. Rosenbaum, MD,’41, of Lexington, KY died January 3,2010. He was a U.S. Army veteran ofWorld War II and chairman emeritusof the Department of DiagnosticRadiology at the University ofKentucky Chandler Medical Center.He performed the first heart catheteri-zation done in Kentucky and was thefirst chairman of radiology at theChandler Medical Center. He issurvived by Doris Fooks Rosenbaum,his wife of 39 years, three sons, andthree daughters.

Harold S. Walters, ’41,, ofKeyser, WV died November 20, 2009.He was a major in the U.S. Air Forceand retired after 10 years of service. Hetaught school for more than 32 yearsand served as the first state parknaturalist in West Virginia atBlackwater Falls State Park where thenature center is named after him. He issurvived by Edie Forsythe Walters, hiswife of 56 years, three sons, and threedaughters.

Glendon Lewis Crow, ’42,, ofTuscumbia, AL died January 6, 2010.He was a metallurgical engineer in thechemical development laboratory atTennessee Valley Authority and retiredin 1981 after 35 years of service. He issurvived by Evelenia P. Crow, his wifeof 63 years, and two sons.

Eugene F. “Gene” Smith, ’42,of Barefoot Bay, FL died December23, 2009. He was a U.S. Army veteranof World War II and received a PurpleHeart. He worked for the Jewel Tea

The “In Memoriam” section of theBerea College Magazine honorsBereans who have passed away. Ifyou know of a Berean who has died,please let the Alumni Associationknow by sending a copy of the obituary to CPO 2203, Berea, KY40404. Or you may e-mail [email protected]. We makeevery effort to put your informationinto the next issue. Due to printingschedules, some delays are typical.We appreciate your understanding.Please include the person’s classyear or connection to Berea, and theday and place of death.

Harry Robie Ruth Litton Shepherd, Cx’38

Josephine Jackson House,’39


Company in Salem, VA. He is survivedby Virginia Cooper Smith, ’43, hiswife of 67 years, and a son.

Ann DeJarnette Donnally, ’43,of McMinnville, OR died November29, 2009. She worked with the RedCross during World War II andmarried an officer in the Navy. Theylived in many places, includingSouthern France and Greece. She andher husband owned a prize-winning 60-acre tree farm in Oregon. She issurvived by Elizabeth DonnallyDavidson and Mary DonnallyLamoreux, her daughters.

Virgie Herrin Fuller, ’43, ofSomerset, KY died November 3, 2009.She taught college preparatory mathclasses. In 1960 she introduced the pre-college math curriculum to theSomerset High School system. She issurvived by Hugh Kenneth Fuller andMarilyn Fuller Burns, her children.

Robert Scott Jones, Jr., Navy V-12 ’43-’44,, of Hampton Bays, NY diedJune 11, 2009. He and George Tetzel,his partner, owned Ada’s Attic, anantique and collectibles business, for35 years. He is survived by GeorgeTetzel and a sister.

Marc T. Campbell, Navy V-12’43-’44, of San Diego, CA diedDecember 4, 2008. He was a U.S.Navy veteran of World War II and anacademic librarian for 38 years. He issurvived by Leslie Anne Campbell andMarc Bradley, his children.

John A. McGovern, Jr, Navy V-12 ’43-’44, of Bayville, NJ diedDecember 15, 2008. He was a U.S.Navy veteran of World War II. He wasemployed 35 years in the office of thecomptroller for Public ServiceEnterprise Group and was an adjunctprofessor of accounting. He is survivedby Jack McGovern, Jeffrey McGovern,Mark McGovern, and Lisa Pirozzi, hischildren.

Floyd Ayres Thomasson, Jr.,Navy V-12 ’43-44, of Lexington, KYdied October 15, 2009. He was a U.S.Navy lieutenant and veteran of WorldWar II and spent his entire career withAshland Oil, Inc. He is survived byJoan C. Thomasson, his wife of 60years, and three sons.

Mitchell H. Mankosa, Navy V-12 ’44-’45, of Weirton, WV died May10, 2009. He was a U.S. Navy veteranof World War II and worked as anelectrician for Weirton Steel for 38years before his retirement. He issurvived by Pauline Sobol Mankosa,his wife, and two sons.

Emmet “Kay” Keyser, Cx ’44,of Simi Valley, CA died September 3,2008. He was a tool and die maker atLockheed, watchmaker, builder, realestate broker, financial manager, anddecorated World War II veteranreceiving the Bronze Star. He is

survived by Jean Lannin Keyser, hisformer wife, two sons, and twodaughters.

Jean Dodson Stewart, ’44, ofLexington, KY died October 26, 2009.She was a teacher for 21 years in theBourbon County School System. Sheis survived by Keith and Tony, her sons.

James D. Thomason, Cx ’44, ofDallas, GA died January 1, 2010. Hewas a U.S. Navy veteran of World WarII and an educator for more than 30years in Alabama and Georgia. He issurvived by Fidelia Thomason, DougThomason, Sharon Thomason, HughThomason, and Judy Spencer, hischildren.

Tillmon West of DeWitt, ARdied September 14, 2009. He was aU.S. Army veteran of World War II.He was a farmer and also worked for awholesale grocery. He is survived byEllen Hillman West, ’44, his wife of64 years, two sons, and one daughter.

Betty Swanson Doddridge, Acad’45, of South Shore, KY died October30, 2007. She was a homemaker. She issurvived by Charles H. “Herb”Doddridge, her son.

Mabel B. Ingraham, ’45,, ofNashville, TN died April 21, 2009.

Anne Winifred Coates Nichols,’45, of Elkhorn City, KY died October14, 2009. She is survived by NancyNichols Jones, Cathy NicholsFrancisco, Kim Nichols Smith, andDavid N. Nichols, her children.

Corsie Croucher Collins, ’48, ofWhitesburg, KY died August 21, 2009.She was a retired teacher. She issurvived by William M. Collins andKathryn Cook, her children.

Winifred Garvin Lueking, Cx ’48, of Clearwater, FL died May 16, 2008.

Dr. Jack Kenneth Hale, ’49, ofAtlanta, GA died December 9, 2009.He spent many years teaching anddoing research in mathematics atBrown University in Rhode Island andGeorgia Institute of Technology.Throughout his career he receivednumerous awards. He is survived byHazel Reynolds Hale, ’48, his wife of60 years.

Etta Cundiff Manning, ’49, ofColumbus, OH died April 23, 2003.She was a retired special educationteacher and a pioneer in her field. Sheis survived by Michael Manning, JerryManning, and Catherine Manning, herchildren.

1950sDr. Beech F. Hollon, ’50, of

Cornersville, TN died November 8,2008. He was a U.S. Army veteran ofWorld War II. He was a scientist withthe U.S. Department of Agricultureand retired from the University ofTennessee Dairy Research and

Education Center. He is survived byNan Brumback Hollon, his wife, andtwo sons.

James D. Kessinger ofWilliamson, WV died February 18,2009. He was a U.S. Navy veteran andretired as a clerk from the U.S. PostalService after 37 years of service. He issurvived by Mary L. Shultz Kessinger,’50, his wife, a daughter, and a son.

Bernadine Murphy Lewis, Cx’50, of Laguna Woods, CA died May28, 2009.

Elizabeth Ann “Lib” AikenPace, ’50, of Hendersonville, NC diedJanuary 20, 2010. She was a nurse in aprivate practice during the ’50s andlater was employed at PardeeMemorial Hospital in intensive careand as a second-shift supervisor. Sheretired from full-time employment in1994 and worked part-time for sevenmore years. She is survived by StuartLee Pace, her son.

Jane Elizabeth Parker of PenneyFarms, FL died December 10, 2009.She was a homemaker, clerk, andassistant store manager during herchildren’s college years. She issurvived by Richard Parker, ’50, herhusband of 55 years, two sons, and twodaughters.

Virginia Colleen WheelerSandridge, Cx ’50, of Millwood, WVdied April 27, 2009.

Jeane Cochran Gorman, Cx ’51,of Mount Prospect, IL died November11, 2009. Early in her life she was acontract player for RKO Studios inHollywood, CA. Later she became acommercial illustrator in Chicago andwas a talented artist. Most recently shetaught the English language tostudents at the Des Plaines PublicLibrary. She is survived by WilliamGorman, her husband, a son, and adaughter.

Mary Ann Ledbetter Mobley,’51, of Orlando, FL died November 10,2009. She was a registered nurse and adedicated caregiver, providing thehighest quality of nursing to herpatients for 42 years. She is survivedby Dual D. Mobley, ’53, her husbandof 55 years, and a son-in-law.

Lois Ann Abels Pike, ’51, ofParkersburg, WV died January 10,2010. She was retired from the WestHartford, CT school system, where sheheld support and administrativepositions for nearly 20 years. She issurvived by Laura Coombs, herdaughter, and Morris D. Pike, herformer husband and dear friend.

Theodore W. Price, Fd ’51, ofBellevue, NE died July 21, 2001.

Margaret Smith McDonald, ’52,of Pueblo, CO died November 9, 2009.Early in her career she tested variationsof what would become marketed as“White Out,” and she also worked at

North American Aviation as an editorof flight manuals of experimentalaircraft, which required a highgovernmental security clearance. Sheis survived by Tom McDonald, herhusband, two sons, and a daughter.

Dr. Lewis C. Bell, ’53, ofMorgantown, WV died November 9,2009. He was director of purchasingfor the Commonwealth of Kentuckybefore beginning his career asprofessor of business and economics.He was widely published in his fieldand the recipient of numerousacademic honors. He is survived byDolores E Bell, ’54, his wife of 58years, and three sons.

William F. Ross, Cx ’53, ofZachary, LA died October 15, 2008.

Claude George Tisinger, Jr, ’54,,of Dover, DE died December 29, 2009.During his career he taught highschool science and biology, and was ascience supervisor, curriculumsupervisor, and administrativeassistant to the superintendent ofschools. He is survived by MaryEmma Childers Tisinger, ’55, his wife, a son, and two daughters.

Dr. Ying N. Chiu, ’55,, of SilverSpring, MD died July 18, 2009. He issurvived by Dr. Lue Yung Chow Chiu,his wife.

John Harris, ’55, of BocaRaton, FL died October 9, 2009. Heserved in the U.S. Army and ArmyReserves. He worked for the NationalEnquirer and was once interviewed by“60 Minutes.” After retirement hefreelanced for several newspapers inthe Boca Raton and Miami, FL area.He is survived by his mother, twosisters, and extended family.

Gladys Mae Sanko Telesca, ’55,of Raleigh, NC died November 13,2009. She was an elementaryschoolteacher and, more recently, areader at Measurement Inc. inDurham. She is survived by Chris,Maria, and Michael, her children.

Lenial Brown “L.B.” Cox, Fd’56, of Elkin, NC died October 6,2009. He was a retired tool and diemaker. He is survived by MichaelaGabbard Cox, Fd ’56, his wife.

Jimmy Lee Bailey, ’58, ofFairfax, VA died November 29, 2009.He is survived by John CarltonCorbin, his lifelong partner, andMargie Bailey Andrews and GenellBailey Clements, his sisters.

Dr. Bob Gene Raines, ’58, ofAbingdon, VA died December 18,2009. During his career he was a highschool physics and mathematicsteacher, college instructor andprofessor of mathematics, director ofadmissions, assistant superintendent,deputy superintendent for instruction,superintendent of schools, andprofessor emeritus of Emory & Henry

42

College. He received numerousawards. He is survived by JuanitaRaines, his wife, two sons, and twostepsons.

Clarence D. White, Cx ’58, ofKnoxville, TN died January 11, 2010.He was a U.S. Air Force veteran andretired from Radford University asassociate dean of applied science aftermore than 30 years of service. He issurvived by Helen Bledsoe, his aunt.

1960sAnna Mae Childers, ’60, of

Russell, KY died July 30, 2008. Shewas a retired social worker. She issurvived by John M. Childers, Jr. andJ.C. Childers, her brothers, andMildred Goff, her sister.

James “Big Jim” Hawthorne,Cx ’60, Fd. ’56, of Rogersville, TNdied July 15, 2009. He was a U.S. AirForce veteran. He retired as vicepresident of BASF Corporation after32 years. He is survived by HelenCarty Hawthorne, his wife of 52 years,and four daughters.

Donald H. Higgins of LakeWorth, FL died October 6, 2009. Hewas a U.S. Army veteran of World WarII and a retired public relationsdirector. He is survived by ConnieCompton Higgins, ’63, his wife of 42years, and two sons.

Dr. Sam E. Cecil, ’64, ofStanton, KY died October 24, 2009.He opened his family medical practiceoffice in Stanton in 1970 and servedthe Powell County area until his death.He is survived by Anne Hadley Cecil,’66, his wife of 43 years, and two sons.

Wanda C. Hopper of FloweryBranch, GA died August 31, 2009. Sheis survived by Gerald Peter Hopper,’64, her husband.

Phyllis Dean Ward Stidham,’64, of Hazard, KY died August 10,1988. She is survived by Fred Stidham,her husband.

Dr. Daniel Frederick Daniel,’66, of Winfield, KS died December13, 2009. He taught English literatureat Southwestern College in Kansas for

39 years before retiring in 2008 andwrote a weekly column for theWinfield Daily Courier. In 1992 he wasthe originator of an integrated studiesprogram for freshmen andsophomores which gained nationalattention and was adopted by othercolleges. He is survived by RachelDaniel Green, his daughter, and L.Marshall Daniel, his father.

Terry Taylor Mull, ’68, ofTucson, AZ died December 21, 2009.She retired from Tucson NewspapersInc. after 19 years of service, and shewas the chair for Berea’s ArizonaClub. She is survived by Rev. ChuckMull, her husband, and Farrah, herdaughter.

Patricia Severson Forst, ’69, ofSwannanoa, NC died October 5, 2009.She was a county home health nurseand was employed at the Drug andAlcohol Rehabilitation Center as aregistered nurse. She is survived byJim Forst, her husband, a daughter,and a son.

Mary Knight Keller, ’69, of East

Chester, PA died December 2, 2009.She was a medical technician at DukeMedical Center for 13 years. Sheattended her 40th reunion at BereaCollege in the summer of 2009. She issurvived by Paul M. Keller, herhusband of 36 years, and two sons.

1970sPeter Michael Gillstrap, Cx ’72,

of Campton, KY died November 15,2009. He opened Lexington’s firstcomedy club, “Comedy on Broadway,”in 1987. He is survived by SheilaBumgardner Gillstrap, his wife of 39years, and two daughters.


p. 8Cooperative Extension Service

www.extension.orgp. 10Hindman Settlement School

www.hindmansettlement.orgp. 26Christian Appalachian Project

www.christianapp.org

p. 28Kentucky Commission on Human Rights

www.kchr.ky.gov

@

WEB LINKSForgotten Links to Berea’s HistoryBy Robert Moore, ’13

What is the connection between the Robert H. Williams CulturalCenter� in Lexington, Kentucky, Camp Nelson in Nicholasville,Kentucky, and Berea College?

The answer is Eliza Belle Mitchell Jackson, born December31, 1848, in Perryville, Kentucky. Her parents, Mary and MonroeMitchell, bought their freedom before the Civil War. In 1865 shewas hired by Reverend John G. Fee to teach at Camp Nelson.

She was the first and only African American teacher at theCamp, which was being used to educate African American soldiersand their families. The other teachers, members of the AmericanMissionary Association (AMA), refused to share living quarters oreat with her. When an Army officer tried to remove her fromFee’s table, Fee said, “I will suffer my right arm torn from my bodybefore I will remove the young woman.”

One Saturday when Fee was absent, the camp commanderordered her to leave. Mitchell coolly replied that her wash was outand she wouldn’t travel on the Sabbath. Despite the best efforts ofthe AMA, Mitchell was forced out of Camp Nelson.

In 1866, she became one of the first students at the reopenedBerea College. She left school to marry Lexington, Kentuckybusinessman Jordan Carlisle Jackson, who was also a trustee atboth Wilberforce and Berea colleges. His brother, John, was one ofBerea’s first African American graduates.

In 1892, a group of African American women led by E. BelleMitchell Jackson created the Colored Orphan Industrial Home inLexington, where they distributed food, shelter, and clothing todestitute children. The Home also served as a nursing home, ahospital, a lending institution, and a school.

Belle served on the board of managers of the Home for 50years. The facility continues to serve the community to this day asthe Robert H. Williams Cultural Center.

COLLEGE MAGAZINEPeriodical postage paid at Berea, KY and additionalmailing offices. Send address changes to BereaCollege Magazine, c/o Berea College Alumni Association, CPO Box 2203, Berea, KY 40404

Daniel Schlagel, ’10, Josh Best, ’13, Rodney Goodson, ’11, and John Kossack, ’11, intramural flag football game on Alumni Field. photo by Aaron Gilmour, ’12

appalachian voices - magazine€¦ · with a text, slow to judgment, and eager for aesthetic...

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