DANCING IN THE CABBAGE PATCH
It’s a Dog’s Life
January 2024

“Lady”, the campus greeter and escort. (2022)  Photo by HHW. [P1130839.jpg]

IT’S A DOG’S LIFE

Over time many dogs have found a home at Pine Mountain Settlement School and many dogs have resided in the homes of community families. Whether an adopted dog, a gift dog, a pup from an older family dog, a stray, or “another”, these four-legged companions have mostly charmed the families, owners, visitors and head-scratchers — all … or, at least most.  The occasional stray dog has even been known to charm themselves into the campus community and also into the homes of the surrounding Community. These four-legged friends sometimes belong to no one and everyone — even many visitors have claimed temporary ownership.  This writer is one of those.

Dogs seem to know how to negotiate mutual relationships surrounded by their two-legged ear-scratchers and when to avoid those relationships.  Instinctively, they seem to know when to stay and when times are tough they instinctively move on and find their way into the homes and hearts of another family or person, or place. People live and thrive — or not, in relationships and communities, Dogs do this, and often better.

There have been many dogs at Pine Mountain and the surrounding community and a myriad of stories to go along with these canine companions. Names such as Franklin,  Jonah, Waggie, Pug, Flossie, No-No, Bothwell, Amos, Megan, Stefan, Russell, and more, have over the years melted into their forgotten times. Various Collie dogs, mongrels, Red-setters, and most recently the small Russell terrier and especially the larger herding greeter, “Lady”. As the current self-appointed chaperon of visitors to the campus, guardian of the playground, and night watchwoman, Lady is one of the most accomplished of Pine Mountain’s ambassadors

As the all-around Ambassador, Lady often can be found on the doorstep of the guest houses. At night she can be heard chasing coyote away from the sheep and goats, and when School groups arrive she can be found escorting hikers up the Summit Trail, and guarding the play-ground. Many full nights of guarding for bears and other night-explorers has also made her voice, well known.

Dogs at Pine Mountain often show up in family pictures. On campus and in the surrounding community dogs are of every sort.  One of this author’s favorite canine portraits is that of the giant hound on the porch of the Shell family who lived near the School early in the twentieth -century.  The stoic and solemn portrait of the hound’s owners matches the dignity of the solemn but guarded look of their dog that looks remarkably like “Lady”.  This trio is difficult to forget, once seen as they sit on their hickory-cane chairs “guarded” by their companion. All three sit before a doorway that reminds those who were born in the area that their past is never far from their memories. The open doorway and front-porch sitting, reminiscent of Aunt Sal’s Cabin, used to be an open invitation of “Come sit a spell.” Their doorbell — their dog.

The Shell’s dog of a type, often called a “hound-dog” was a familiar and valued family addition in most of the homes surrounding the Pine Mountain Settlement. Also called “coon-hound” and “bear-runners” these canines often had short but were the source of many conversations when porch-sittin’. There are a myriad of tall tales that continue to live on in the surrounding community related to a family’s “coon-hounds”. The stories live on, as well, though some have grown beyond their first telling.

HOUNDS  418 Boy and young man seated with two hunting dogs. Ship-lap wall behind them.

Perhaps the most famous and fantastical  “bear-runner” hunting-dog story, is the one that Ben Begley, a legendary Environmental Education teacher at Pine Mountain often shared with the school groups that came to Pine Mountain’s environmental education sessions. Ben captivated his audience with a tall tale that at first seemed to be plausible but then became more folk-lore and finally fantasy. But, it was certainly a captivating and memorable story. Perhaps more memorable than the story was the expression of the children as they listened to Ben’s tall tale.

The tale ran something like this –A man had a treasured hunting hound who was used as a bear-hunting companion. The man and the dog encountered a bear who fiercely went at the bear and the two had a violent and gory battle. Ben spared no detail of the bloody battle between the two which resulted in the dog’s body being ripped and sliced into two halves. The hunter then wrapped the dog to keep it together and took the dog home where he proceeded to sew the dog up and hoped he would live. After sewing the dog together the hunter wrapped the dog up again and waited to see if the dog would live after being sliced into two pieces —  from his head to his tail.

The dog was a fighter and after some time the stitches seemed to have saved the dog. The only problem — the hunter didn’t realize that he had sewed one-half of the dog’s body upside – down and the other right-side-up. One set of legs was up in the air and one set of legs was down on the ground.  The owner saved the life of the hound that had tangled with the bear but now he had a problem as two feet were in the air and two were on the ground leading to a most unique mental picture of the dog who could now run on two legs and when tired, flip and run on the other two! [I only wish I could remember Ben’s story in greater detail … or not!].

Ben, the storyteller, had a room full of pre-teens trying to imagine how that dog then negotiated the world. This improbable tale is similar to many such fantastic stories that get embellished by dog owners and can bring laughter, or sadness to an audience — even audiences that are “snookered” find it hard to erase the picture of that unique hunting hound from their visual memory.

EARLY CANINES 

Two of the earliest dogs on the Pine Mountain Settlement School campus included one owned by Ethel de Long who later married the stone-mason, Luigi Zande, and one owned by the early school staff member, Marguerite Butler.  The de Long dog, a long-haired and pert-eared companion, shows up in several photographs taken during the founding years of the School. The name of the Zande dog is sure to surface at some point, but it is not known by this author.

The second canine identified as an early campus dog, belonged to staff member Marguerite Butler. The dog, a Dalmatian hound, was named”Franklin”.   He or she has been identified as a faithful companion of Butler.

Early photographs have captured Ethel and her dog companion and Marguerite Butler and her sleek companion, “Franklin” in the very early days of the School in 1914 or 1915.

Like a familiar face the little Zande dog can be easily identified (sort-of) and shows up in several early photographs. It is fun to encounter a photograph and to recognize “Ethel’s dog,” like a familiar friend.

 

Why “Franklin” as a name choice for Marguerite Butler’s Dalmatian?  There is usually a history of some kind attached to naming a pet. It seems that there has been a long history associating the name  “Franklin” with Dalmatians … some of it credible and some of it not so much.

Several sources note the name “Franklin” given to Dalmatians has a high incidence. In fact it is quite common that Dalmatians find “Franklin” as their moniker, but, in fact, it is a favorite across breeds and also is found frequently in cat names.  This all seems to be based on the  “personality” associated with the name. For example, Franklin suggests strength, loyalty, trustworthiness, and a wise and gentle nature, so say many of the sources.  “Franklin,” many say is derived from the Old French word “franc” which means sincere, genuine, and free, and in Old  Eng. “frank”. One online source suggested it is a favorite name because “… In the US, Franklin is the 63rd most popular name for dogs, with over 4,000 r, —Benjamin Franklin.  The dignified name suggests a “dignified dog” … certainly a pedigree?  with which to identify. But let’s get the facts straight. The influence and personality of Benjamin Franklin rarely pan out.  Just because we might admire Groucho Marx does not call for naming our dog “Groucho”  — though I have known dogs that qualify. Well, so much for our National confusion/stupidity … it seems to be rampant today but I have never met a dog named “Groucho.”! Perhaps that is where AI can come in handy. It is an interesting journey to ask for AI help in naming your pet “Franklin”. Give it a try.

It is not known if Katherine Pettit had a dog. No reference to a Pettit dog has yet surfaced in the literature of the School or in the many letters of Pettit and her colleagues. Yet, in reading through the related material in the Pine Mountain Archive, it seems, to this writer, that Katherine, an agrarian at heart, loved farm life but kept any affection for animals partitioned or separated from any deep “pet” attention. Her concerns for children and their daily care and education were the center of most of her recorded reflections. Perhaps her possible disaffection for dogs was tied to her early life. As the oldest child, life on her father’s farm included many farm responsibilities, including caring for many animals, as well as her younger siblings following the death of her mother early in her life. She had little time for pets.

PETS & DOG SUBSTITUTES

In the Community, it was and still is common to find pets that were as important to the family children as were their dogs. Groundhogs seem to be the favorite dog substitutes,  Here a young girl shows off her two groundhog pets  …. a common garden raider that burrows beneath the ground much like prairie dogs.

The instinct to care for animals is with most of us but the level of care varies as do the animals we become attached to. Often the children in the community were successful in taming animals that many city dwellers might not even recognize. Yet, if you have lived in a relatively rural area and raised a garden you may recognize the alternate dogs in the arms of the community children below…. and also identify with the Mother’s expression. Really!?

Here two other children who hold “pets” they have tamed. One pet, a groundhog, and the other a lamb were not uncommon pets of mountain children. Grey squirrels, rabbits, flying squirrels, toad frogs, snakes, crows, and box turtles, could also be found in community homes as pets.

Mellie Day with her children who hold their family pets. Their mother does not look too charmed by their offerings. While girls favored the small pets and baby animals, the boys were always striking up relationships with their dogs — most often their hunting dogs.

Here a young boy holds his favorite pet dog who shares center stage with his siblings and friends.

THE GLYN AND GLADYS MORRIS – The Cairns

A second era of dogs at Pine Mountain Settlement appeared with Glyn Morris, who became the Director of the School in 1935. Dogs began to play an important role in the Settlement School campus life when Glyn Morris and his wife Gladys came to the School with two Cairn terriers. Glyn Morris, of Welch and Scots-ancestry was familiar with the Cairn terrier breed.  There is no doubt that Morris loved dogs, but he favored not just any dog. His dogs were pedigreed — no mongrel breed dogs for this city man. Glyn and his wife Gladys’s two cairn terriers were an instant hit with the students and the workers, pedigree or not.

The Cairn breed, highly popular in Scotland, is known for its tenacious hunting instincts,  The dog breed gets it’s name from the cairns (human stacks of rocks or rocky mounds of rocks on land formations) of Scotland and in the rugged and rocky farmlands of Wales, the ancestral home of Morris. Also, if one is privileged to hold a Cairn terrier, it is a bit like holding a stack of rocks with a warm heart and a wet tongue.

As favored additions to the farms of Great Britain, Cairn terriers are small and fiercely loyal working dogs at keeping the small vermin populations under control. As their reputations grew as defenders of small farm operations in the agricultural sections of Scotland, Wales, and England, they became a favorite breed for small farms across Europe. The Cairns introduced by the Glyn and Gladys Morris showed the same spirited hunting ferocity at Pine Mountain.  In the barnyard and on the hiking trails, the little dogs were ferocious and dogged hunters and protectors. The breed ferrets out small rodents, vols, snakes, and, at Pine Mountain, unfortunately, chipmunks and squirrels. In short, small critters don’t stand a chance against these fast and fierce little terriers.

The two Morris Cairn terriers soon had pups and these were spread around to various staff. A May Day photograph shows off a new 1945 litter of Cairn puppies as they are held by staff children on the May Day Green. I am second from the left. Stefan, the puppy’s “uncle”, and our family pet, was already five years old .. essentially our family’s “firstborn.”.

Earlier, in 1941 the campus newspaper noted the first litter of Cairn puppies — a trio of just born “show off pups”; —  these, the earliest pups of Director Glyn Morris’ little Cairn terrier dog called  “Flossie” were charmers.  Flossie, Stefan’s mother, had won many hearts at the School and when her pups were born they were celebrated by the campus students in their newspaper, The Pine Cone. An account of a visit by the Seniors to Zande House, the residence of Glyn and Gladys Morris, is found recorded in the school newspaper, the Pinecone.

PUPS “SHOW OFF” FOR SENIORS

Yelping sounds attracted the attention of the seniors at their Sunday night gathering at Zande House. Curiosity led to the showing off of the three puppies. No, no. Bothwell and Stefan.

Even Sears and Roebuck had had the privilege to become acquainted with the pups. For on February 3rd they were presented with a pen, a  “baby crib”, in fact, Flossy is rather fond of her children, but is always willing to lend them to visitors.

The Pine Cone  Feb. 1941 .

Stefan was quickly adopted by this writer’s parents and ten months later I arrived and grew up with Stefan by my side  — always looking out for snakes and other un-pleasant critters in my constant woods-roaming. He trained me well. Stefan left me with a life-long affection for dog companions and deep forests.

IT’S A DOG’S LIFE

“It’s a Dog’s Life” is a phrase that is often used to describe a sub-standard course of life.  But, at Pine Mountain, “it’s a dog’s life” is paradise regained for most canines. It has been rarely the case at Pine Mountain that dogs were subjected to the isolation of “It’s a dog’s life”. Further, the Settlement School must have looked like Paradise to many of the dogs who have been privileged to live there.  Unless they were too temperamental, or chicken-stealers, most of the campus dogs were allowed to run free and to greet friends and visitors alike. Some however never warmed to the responsibility of being part of a community. Those dogs did not last long at the institution. Nor, did dogs last long if they could not share their space with other dogs.

There is ample evidence that dogs were required to share multiple spaces on the campus and that they generally understood this amicable shared space. Miss Wilbur (Barbara Wilbur Spelman) with her dog “Jonah” is shown below in a picnic scene at the “Lean-To”, a favorite place on campus for community cook-outs. Jonah was also shared with Barbara’s brother John A. Spelman III, the art teacher at the School. The leftovers must have been quite good at this cook out.

Another dog of memory was the beautiful Collie that belonged to the Charles Creech family when the two worked at Pine Mountain.  Many children called the dog “Lassie” for the dog’s resemblance to the famous dog of filmdom. The dog’s real name is lost in the collective memory. “Lassie” was a beauty. … some of the time. However, Pine Mountain was not kind to long-haired dogs. The campus is rampant with sticky burrs, insects, tadpole pools, and mud-puddles, etc. and “Lassie” stayed “untouchable” much of the time and was also quickly banished to an “outside dog” life — much to her liking.

Contemporary canines, like  ” Waggy” the Rogers dog, and “Amos” the Director, Paul Hayes’ dog, were ambassadors. They both roamed freely and greeted most visitors though some were warned not to linger long on the campus.

To the left is Arthur Dodd, the PMSS Principal [early 1940s] and his companion [not identified by name ]. Does anyone remember the dog’s name?

A small dog belonging to the farm manager, William Hayes and family had only a short life at Pine Mountain before the family re-located to the log Forestry Station at Putney.  “Rusty” dog was a mut whose joints were brown and who looked to be “rusting” even in his youth. Like Waggy, Amos, and other dogs on the campus, Rusty had routines.  Like many Beagle derivatives, Rusty also ran — and ran. He was not a “please pet me character.” Rusty ran and my brother and I chased him.  He was a family dog of this author.

His life was short after we left Pine Mountain. He did not understand that cars run faster than he could outmaneuver and he was struck on the highway, or, —  as we sometimes wondered — had a neighbor shot him for stealing eggs from his chicken house? …  But, that thief was, most certainly, our pet crow. That is another story. I still mourn “Rusty.”

The loss of a pet is like a death in the family. This is true of dogs that have grown up with a family, with children, and those that adopt a place. to call their own.

The small dog, below just showed up one day at Pine Mountain in 1921-22. He quickly became a close companion of one of the most favorite of recent dogs at the School. His life, like that of Rusty, was also a short one. In this case, he vanished into thin air, Perhaps his previous owners found him, or, perhaps, new owners saw a delightful companion.  We can only hope his home is a good one.

 
“Russell” 2022 A short-term terrier visitor/boarder and friend of “Lady” Probably a “drop-off” and ultimately a disappeared dog. Information on his whereabouts is requested if known. [Photo: Eric Tomberlin, UNCA 2022]

 

Lady of the Meadow.

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While writing this essay, the following article caught my eye and signaled the opening of a new world where dogs may no longer be warm and fuzzy, but are robotic … no more dog food … companionship?  — Long life?

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/06/21/expert-essays-on-the-expected-impact-of-digital-change-by-2035/