{"id":14138,"date":"2014-08-01T22:40:44","date_gmt":"2014-08-02T02:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getitright.pmss.net\/?p=14138"},"modified":"2019-05-08T00:22:39","modified_gmt":"2019-05-08T04:22:39","slug":"weaving-at-pmss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?p=14138","title":{"rendered":"DANCING IN THE CABBAGE PATCH Weaving at PMSS 1930s-1940s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pine Mountain Settlement School<\/strong>
\nDANCING IN THE CABBAGE PATCH
\nWeaving at PMSS 1930’s-1940s
\nSeries: \u00a0By Topic – Arts & Crafts
\nWeaving<\/strong><\/p>\n

DANCING IN THE CABBAGE PATCH Weaving at PMSS 1930s-1940s<\/h2>\n

MARGARET MOTTER AND THE COLONIAL COVERLET GUILD<\/b><\/p>\n

Margaret Motter <\/a><\/strong>was a worker at Pine Mountain Settlement School in the 1920s and 30s and again in the 1940s. She served as Principal and teacher from 1928 until 1938, and as the Publicity Representative and Head of the English Department from 1946 until 1949.\u00a0 She was a prolific writer and a clever and persuasive speaker. \u00a0Asociated with those skills, was her\u00a0 importance to the School as a fund-raiser.\u00a0 Many times she was asked to represent the Pine Mountain Settlement and to travel to distant cities to speak to special audiences that might find the programs at Pine Mountain worthy of support. Many times she managed to bring her favorite subject into the talk. In one instance she found the perfect audience for her interests and for those of Pine Mountain —the Colonial Coverlet Guild of Chicago, Illinois.<\/p>\n

Weaving had long been one of Miss Motter’s favorite crafts and she found many ways to integrate comments on the weaving program at Pine Mountain into her public speaking tours. \u00a0When she shared her interests with the Colonial Coverlet Guild* <\/strong>in \u00a0Chicago, Illinois, <\/strong>where she spoke\u00a0<\/strong>on November 10, 1948, it was clear that her enthusiasm captured her audience. Miss Motter enjoyed this talk and so did her audience.<\/p>\n

To accompany the talk to some 80 members of the Guild, she brought along many of the coverlets and weaving samples from Pine Mountain. \u00a0She described the origins of the patterns, dyes, and some of the stories that came along with the individual pieces. She was able to build a picture of the community of mountain weavers.<\/a> She described how for many years weaving was a household necessity for mountain families and how that skill had been adopted by the School as part of the curriculum to insure the continuation of the craft.\u00a0 For many children in the community, weaving was even a new art as commercial fabrics began to dominate wardrobes by the turn of the century.<\/p>\n

Motter emphasized how the art stayed with a number of the graduates from Pine Mountain and in some homes in the Pine Mountain valley, families established their own looms and weaving as a cottage industry to provide additional income for the family. Pine Mountain’s efforts to encourage weaving was shared by the organized cottage industry known as the Fireside Industries\u00a0<\/strong>which broadly supported craft in the Appalachian mountains.<\/p>\n

When Margaret Motter addressed the\u00a0Colonial Coverlet Guild* <\/strong>she wrote out her talk in her unique abbreviated form and years later left Pine Mountain a copy of this talk and others, as well. Her talk is transcribed below. \u00a0Many of the abbreviations have been expanded in this version and individuals are identified, where known. \u00a0The talk is a window into weaving activity at the School and the role Miss Motter and others had in encouraging the continuation of this mountain traditional craft by integrating the craft into the Pine Mountain educational programs and offering it as a part of their Industrial Training program. \u00a0Further, the focus on weaving was melded to the social out-reach of the School and was used to engage the broader community and to stimulate the potential for economic independence for many women in the community. In many ways weaving and the values of the settlement movement were well paired.<\/p>\n

\n

TRANSCRIPTION OF MOTTER TALK<\/h2>\n

MESSAGE TO COLONIAL COVERLET GUILD<\/strong>
\nNovember 10th 1948
\nBy Margaret Motter<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many of you are familiar I am sure with the institution and the dramatic beginnings of Pine Mountain Settlement School, but any sort of message about our school is incomplete without mentioning the name of William Creech,<\/a> affectionately \u00a0known as “Uncle William.” Here was a man with a 3rd grade education but with great vision who dreamed for 30 years of a school which would “holp” his people.<\/p>\n

When he gave his land (all he had) [not quite!] he wrote some men in his un-lettered hand which we treasure. I want to give you the closing paragraph to remind you of the ever-recurring challenge from Uncle William to carry on —<\/p>\n

“I don’t look for \u00a0wealth for them ….<\/a><\/p>\n

So through the years Pine Mountain has been serving an isolated rural community as an extension, housing a secondary and a vocational high school and as a center of culture, and social and economic welfare.<\/p>\n

Uncle William believed it was “better for folkes children to learn how to work with their hands…” \u00a0In following this advice of Uncle William Pine Mountain has had from the beginning what we call a work program. Pupils pay $10.00 – $15.00 month if they can afford it and work 2 1\/2 hrs. per day and longer on Saturday. \u00a0This work program serves dual purpose. \u00a0Children are made to feel the value of the education that they are earning thru work. \u00a0[It] keeps [their] self respect, values and dignity of work itself and besides, through the work program the school is kept going. The children learn over a period of years and do all kinds of work connected with homemaking, farming and some trades or vocations. \u00a0All work is done under supervision and changed every 9 weeks. \u00a0Children have on [the] whole a fine attitude ….<\/p>\n

“One thing I don’t like is learnin’ but I like what hit makes you be…….” \u00a0[?] [Comment by Brit Wilder<\/a> one of the youngest students and the first to come to the school]<\/p>\n

Now, a very popular part of our work program as well as an elective study during school hours is our weaving. I want to give you a few details about this department since you \u00a0have been good enough to share in making this department function.<\/p>\n

Our weaving room has recently been enlarged and we have space for more looms and better looms. \u00a0We have by no means enough to meet the demand. \u00a0We have 9 looms and one small one owned by the teacher. \u00a06 of these were made at Berea, one at Pine Mountain after the Berea Style — 5 of the looms are 40″ and 4 are 22″-24″. \u00a0Since 6 of the looms were at Pine Mountain before 1924, I guess it is not an understatement [page 3] to say they have not the latest improvements!<\/p>\n

\"Weaving<\/a>

Weaving Room: Bess Taylor, Reba Blevins c. late 1940s. nace_1_061a.jpg<\/p><\/div>\n

Our teacher informed me that a Swedish weaver told her we are doing very well indeed with the equipment we have. \u00a0So you can see as time goes on we shall need to replace these older looms with better ones and to purchase a pair of badly-needed scales [?] for the weaving room.<\/p>\n

I have brought you some samples of weaving done by our girls. We use rags from feed-sacks which are dyed at the school and woven into rugs. \u00a0Old rayon stock and any kind of woven underwear can be transformed in the weaving room into lovely bags. \u00a0We have a neighbor who does some spinning for us and [the] other yarns we buy.<\/p>\n

I mentioned that our weaving is\u00a0very popular. \u00a0Some girls who learned to weave have been able to get a loom at home and have continued in their work. \u00a0Two of the senior girls\u00a0have been especially interested “in weaving and confided in the teacher that they hope they’ll get a loom as a graduation gift from their home folks. \u00a0The girls love to weave a skirt to wear on May Day<\/strong> and have a chance to participate in the colorful “Weaver’s Dance”.<\/p>\n

\"Weaving<\/a>

Weaving class in hand-woven skirts. Pearl Taylor, Ernestine Vitatoe, Bess Taylor, Jolene Lucas, Gladys Carroll, Reba Blevins, Margaret Slusher, Betty Huff — 1946. nace_1_022b.jpg<\/p><\/div>\n

\""Glorishears"<\/a>

“Glorishears” Morris Dance — 1946. Shirley Holbrook and Delores Scott in lead.\u00a0 nace_1_021a.jpg<\/p><\/div>\n

Weaving does go on in some of the homes (as I mentioned), i.e., sample curtain [cur. ?] material [mat.?] woven by one of our neighbors. [The] Swedish pattern sells for $1.95 a yard. \u00a0I am reminded at this point of the way I happened to get one of my coverlets when I was at Pine Mountain in the fall of 1928. \u00a0In the office welcoming children as they arrived — In came last years student with a younger sister by hand and [a] coverlet over [the] other arm. \u00a0“I brung —–[?] “<\/p>\n

\"fireside_indust_pg_001a_mod\"<\/a>

Della Hayes weaving at Pine Mountain. Probably in Old Log, c. 1940s.<\/p><\/div>\n

That coverlet was definitely a home product, brown from walnut hulls and dusty rose from madder. \u00a0Just as lovely today as when I bought it and I love to think that little Della [Hayes] — now a successful nurse — had her start at Pine Mountain because her sister had learned to weave at our school and had a loom at home.<\/p>\n

\"P1050096\"<\/a>Walnut and madder dye weaving<\/p>\n

[page 5] I am sure you are familiar with Dr. Allen Eaton’s book, Handmade in the Southern Mountains. <\/em>[this should read, Allen H. Eaton. Handicrafts of the Southern Highlands<\/em>],\u00a0One of the colored illustrations shows a striped blanket that we call Pine Mountain Blanket #16.<\/strong> I have one of these made by a mountain woman who was taught to weave by our teacher — wool from her own sheep and vegetable dye used. This is the type of blanket we always use for our prophets in the Nativity Play<\/strong>.\u00a0 You can see that the weaving even goes into something special like that.\u00a0 *[Note: This same Pine Mountain Blanket #16 was used as a cover for the plaque which was un-veiled at the Pine Mountain Settlement School Centennial celebration in August 2013.]<\/p>\n

\"P1050415\"<\/p>\n

I say something special, Christmas at Pine Mountain<\/strong><\/a> is an occasion that one never forgets. \u00a0With our sacrificial meals for our Charity Fund now we’ll have something to share with others; with our appealing drama of lovely carols in [Laurel House] dining room while decorated with garlands, wreaths, and tree; with our gay Mummer’s Play<\/a> ; with our charming Nativity Play<\/a> in the Chapel, it is an occasion for happy activity — [a] genuine pleasure. \u00a0It has its effect upon children “Love and joy …” —“Hit’s peacefulest –” [Motter probably describes the change from the earlier celebrations of Christmas that were know for their liquor and guns.]<\/p>\n

\"Boy's<\/a>

Boy’s House Wassailers and Lords and Ladies — 1946. [Good King Wenselaus ?] [In Laurel House] nace_1_025b.jpg<\/p><\/div>\n

Your share in our work is indeed heartwarming to the staff and the trustees. \u00a0May we ask for your continued interest so that we may not fail to make Uncle William’s dream come true \u00a0— I don’t want hit to be for this local. only —-” \u00a0——<\/p>\n

\n

*Swygert, Mrs. Luther M. \u00a0<\/span>Heirlooms from Old Looms A Catalogue of Coverlets Owned By the Colonial Coverlet Guild of America and Its Members<\/span> \u2013 R.R. Donnelley and Sons : 1940 (1955).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

See: \u00a0MARGARET MOTTER Biography<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n
\n

FIRESIDE INDUSTRIES<\/h2>\n\n\t\t