The Enduring Music of the Mountains

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to join my friends and neighbors at the 1st Annual Bluegrass Saturday Night On the Road in Jamestown, Tennessee.  Now, we’ve talked here before about the timeless music that we now call Bluegrass.  It came with our ancestors from Ireland and Scotland, and we still enjoy it today.  Well the gathering Saturday night certainly reminds me that this musical tradition lives on.

Jamestown’s country music radio station, WDEB, airs a weekly show of bluegrass music known as Bluegrass Saturday Night and hosted by “Country John B.” Mullinix.  This week they did a live, remote show at the American Legion building inviting several bands to play and all the community to come out and enjoy good music, grilled burgers and hotdogs and great fellowship.

They honored all of the veterans in attendance, especially those who fought in World War II.  They played the national anthem and everyone stood with hat in hand.  We prayed.  Then we clapped and tapped our toes, laughed, chatted and maybe even sang along a little bit.

How exciting it is to get up a show like this and have almost all the talent be local.  And young – several of the groups had 20-somethings playing with them and I didn’t see anyone needing a cane to get up on stage.  Surely this is a sign that our music is not just surviving but thriving in our hectic twenty-first century.  There’s no question that one of the keys to the preservation of music that originated in the old country was the remoteness of our mountain home for a couple of centuries.  But today the world is at our doorstep with planes, interstate highways and the world wide web.  Still, we are drawn to these old sounds, many of the songs are familiar and the strains of the modern bluegrass songs are often as comfortable as the traditional ones.

It’s always fun to get out and see neighbors you don’t often get to talk to.  And this past Saturday evening was a pleasant time on the mountain with the rain clearing out in plenty of time for parking and setting up – probably in answer to Mr. Mullinix’ prayers.  Add in the talented picking and familiar tunes and you’ve got the best kind of Saturday night.

Yesterday’s Teddy Bears

Teddy Bears are a precious part of childhood.  I have a favorite bear that was handmade by my Great-Aunt Mary and loved nearly to pieces.  But I never gave much thought to the history of this snuggly toys until a friend told me of finding an old bear in an historic home I wrote about here. 

Leslie Gentry grew up across the street from the early 1900 home and his sister lived in this house.  When I began to ask him questions about the house he mentioned that he’d found an antique teddy bear in an old shed on the property.  My eyes popped wide open to hear that.  Then I got in my car one evening after church to find the furry friend in the passenger seat!  Now I just had to learn about him!

Stuffed bears may have been made by the original creators of toys – mothers – long before but the Steiff company began commercial production and sales in 1880.  About the same time, American toy maker Morris Michtom began marketing plush bears as well. 

The bears were instantly popular but it wasn’t until a cartoonist drew President Teddy Roosevelt with a cute old bear that the toys were named Teddy Bears.  And it was Mr. Michtom who first tagged his stuffed animals with the President’s familiar name. 

It seems that President Teddy Roosevelt was on a rather unsuccessful hunting trip in Mississippi in 1902.  Determined that the president succeed, some of the hunt’s organizers captured a bear which their dogs had wounded.  When President Roosevelt saw the animal tied to a tree he refused to kill him but because of his wounds he was ordered put down.  The American people loved their leader’s compassion and the title would stick to the plush toys from then on. 

As with all things, Teddy Bears have changed a lot over the past century.  Fur was originally made from Mohair, then silk and eventually synthetics were invented in 1938.  Stuffing was first “wood wool” which was long fine shavings and made a rather crunchy sounding bear.  After 1914 a tropical product called Kapok was used for stuffing, then textile waste or cork and rubber granules.  Even eyes and noses have changed with the first eyes being wooden and noses being sewn in thread. 

Well this adorable little animal that my friend shared with me seems to have all of the characteristics of the oldest bears.  He’s crunchy, has wooden eyes and a black string nose with felt pads on his feet an arms.  He’s not the softest bear but I can just imagine the child who is standing with his family in the earliest picture of the historic home playing endlessly with this little fellow.

A Passion for Picklin’

I’m not much a fan of pickles, but I realize I’m in the smallest minority – at least that’s the way it seems among all my family and friends.  Recently some friends were over for a meal and asked, “Do you make pickles?”  Well I’m not a very good hand at it but through more of that Christian compassion that brought last week’s beans, I’m well stocked with pickles.

It got me to thinking, is this passion for picklin’ everything a Southern thing?  Or are pickles universal?

Statista reports that in 2017 73 million Americans consumed at least 1 jar of pickles in a year, and nearly 4 million people consumed 6 jars or more.  The United States consumes 5.2 million pounds of pickles each year.

And a little research tells me that pickles are popular the world around.  Historians believe that the Mesopotamians first began pickling about 2400 BC.    At some points in history, pickles were thought almost magical in their benefits to the body.

Well, as with most things, Southerners claimed pickles for their very own and transformed the food.  I found this great article from the State Archives of Florida detailing a handwritten cookbook from the 1850’s or 1860’s with recipes for pickling everything from watermelon rind to cabbage (and that one was new to me).

Then there’s the protein-packed pickled pig parts.  Pickled pigs feet are probably the most popular of these foods but did you know folks also pickle the lips, snouts, ears, and hocks of the hog?  Now this just proves that you can truly use every part of the pig if you set your mind to it! Pickled eggs are also a great source of protein.

What strikes me among this list is the perishable nature of these foods.  Surely pickling was historically very practical.  Vinegar is easily created from fruits that will perish quickly.  And while smoked or salted pork can be made to last for months, it would be pretty hard to cure the feet enough to keep them.  So if you’re wanting to use a whole hog, pickling parts of it makes a lot of sense!

While we seal our pickles up tight in Mason jars, commercial producers actually cure them in open vats stored outdoors.  So even before self-sealing lids and glass jars were widely available, pickles could be put up and kept just in crocks. (Okay I’ve got to research what all you can actually preserve in crocks!)

My family tends to stick with cucumbers, but I can’t wait to hear what ya’ll pickle.  If you leave a comment – and I dearly hope you will – please be sure to tell me where you live or where you’re from as I’m very curious where the customs originate.

By the way, my friends around the supper table quickly put away half a quart of Grandma’s Bread and Butter pickles!  They were so excited by them I sent the rest of the jar home when they left.

Puttin’ Up Beans

Did someone teach you to put up beans?  I don’t know that I ever remember lessons per se, but I certainly remember breaking beans with Grandma.  And I watched both my Grandmothers canning all matter of things.  Well through nothing but Christian charity I found myself with 4 or 5 bags of beans so I turned in to get them canned.  And my Ruthie was very excited to help – in fact, she said she was “super excited.” 

Well, it’s a process… she couldn’t get the ends off the beans (I was thanking the Good Lord that they weren’t very stringy beans) and she really would only break them in half.  I’m afraid we lost a good bit to the scrap bowl because she would throw the broken beans into the wrong place.  And by the time I was finished she was sitting in the bowl. 

Canning beans isn’t a difficult task – sitting and breaking can get a little monotonous I suppose.  And I have to look up the pressure cooker settings every single time.  So what did I learn at my Grandma’s feet?  A love for preserving; a desire to prepare for the coming winter, a refusal to waste… there were so many lessons there!  And these are lessons I feel bound to pass along to my own children.  There will be more baskets of beans to break and as they get older I’ll be requiring them to participate.  Ruthie helped scoop beans into the scalded jars, she watched as I poured boiling water on top and tightened down lids.  I explained the pressure cooker gauge even though I know we’ll have that same discussion the next time we have some beans. 

I wonder how many times Grandma explained it all to me?  I wonder how many rust spots and worm holes she picked out of the pan after I’d helped her so much?  I wonder if she knew what a gift she gave me in her teaching?

October in Tennessee

Last week I shared several events around the region during September.  Today I want to give you some ideas for Saturdays in October.

October in Tennessee is a marvelous thing – I can hardly wait, although I sure don’t want to wish away these last weeks of summertime.  But October brings clear blue skies that’ll nearly break your neck for want of staring at them.  And cool temperatures that prompt leaves to turn colors that man will try the whole year to replicate in paint or fabric and we can never quite achieve the beauty the good Lord showers on His trees.

Hmmm.. okay, but what’cha gonna do on these beautiful weekends?  Let’s get out and learn something!  Let’s go see the kinds of things our grandparents were doing on beautiful autumn days.  Here are some ideas:

October 6, 2018 will find the good folks in Allardt, TN weighing pumpkins just as they’ve done for the past 26 years.  There will also be crafts and food,  beauty queens of all ages, a parade, races and a pumpkin-rolling contest.  Whew, can you really pack all that fun into just one day?

That same day Andrew Jackson’s home in Nashville will host their Fall Fest at The Hermitage.  Billed as a “spectacular weekend of art, music and history”, this event on the beautiful Hermitage grounds sound very fascinating to me.  Tickets to the event are free but you would have to pay the $20 admission to the museum to actually see the house or their regular exhibits. 

On October 13th Rogersville Heritage Days offers visitors a “traditional community celebration” complete with demonstrations of pioneer skills, antique quilts, cars and farm equipment along with Appalachian dancers and Civil War reenactments.  I’m particularly fascinated by Rogersville’s history because I keep seeing that town named when doing genealogical research.  It seems that a number of Plateau boys were taken captive from Rogersville during the Civil War so I’ve been wanting to visit the town anyway.  This one is definitely on my list for the season.

Rogersville is a bit of a drive so if you’re not keen on the road trip, Monterey will be hosting their Standing Stone Days that same weekend.  There is a train excursion associated with this day, but you do have to go to Nashville to board the train – there’s no boarding in Monterey.  You can see antique cars on display, crafts and food will be available as well as a flea market.  This is Monterey’s 125th year so the Standing Stone Day should be a great festival this year.

The third weekend in October doesn’t seem very popular with festival schedulers but there’s still lots to do that weekend.  Why not visit one of the area corn mazes?  Autumn Acres in Crossville has 10 acres of corn cut into 3 different mazes.  They also claim hay rides, a petting zoo and “kids corral” with slides, tunnels and a hay mountain.  For $17 VIP admission, everyone goes home with a pumpkin. 

In Sparta Amazin Acres of Fun offers 3 different mazes, a busy bee zip line and tire mountain.  Their admission is $12 each with additional cost for wagon rides.

Slipping into November, The Museum of Appalachia will have their annual Fall Heritage Days November 9th and 10th.  There’s a $20 admission to this event but it includes both the museum’s regular exhibits as well as the special weekend displays of hands-on activities like rag doll making or weaving, and mule and tractor contests as well as tons of pioneer demonstrations and bluegrass music.

Cody Hull band

As I said last week I didn’t mention any of the county or agricultural fairs that abound in the next 3 months.  And I only made a passing comment here or there about the music in these festivals.  There are dozens of bluegrass festivals all around the area during the fall and they are always worth a visit. 

I can’t wait to hear what y’uns do with your fall weekends.  I’ll try to post pix of my adventures on Facebook.