JOHN A. SPELMAN III Correspondence Set II

Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Staff
John A. Spelman III Correspondence Set II
Art Instructor, Artist-in-Residence 1937-1941

01a. “On Big Laurel” Christmas card to Arthur Dodd and to PMSS staff, n.d. [1940s?] . [spel_corrsp_001-1.jpg]

TAGS: John A. Spelman III correspondence, artists at Pine Mountain Settlement School, education, art instruction, arts education

JOHN A. SPELMAN III Correspondence Set II

The correspondence of John A. Spelman III, is spread over 3 SETS (I, II, III). The greatest volume of correspondence is that held by the Pine Mountain School in their staff record (Set I) for John A. Spelman III.

The material in Set I is that associated with his application for a position at Pine Mountain and the supporting recommendations and correspondence related to his placement as an Artist in Residence and later as house counselor and staff worker. The record follows his hire and relates to his work at Pine Mountain. It particularly reflects a struggle to balance his personal art with his instruction of art in the classroom. Further, the later house-parent demands and the many art-related tasks assigned to him pulled his sensitivities and his artistic talents in many directions. His letters to supervisors and friends capture the tensions of these many demands on Spelman. Frustration is a common theme in much of his internal correspondence and is seen particularly in the exchanges with Glyn Morris, Director of the School while Spelman was employed there.

Because many of the letters in Set I and Set III are of a very personal nature they require access by password. If you require access to Sets I and III, please direct all inquiries to the Pine Mountain Settlement School Office. See “ACCESS” below for contact information and requirements for a USE AGREEMENT.

The second body of correspondence covered by Set II is very personal and is often found in association with other staff members at Pine Mountain in their archival record or in private correspondence. These letters span many years and include some years following Spelman’s departure from Pine Mountain. The correspondence is of a personal nature and sheds light on John Spelman’s reflections on art, his lingering fondness for eastern Kentucky, the staff at Pine Mountain Settlement, and his intermittent turmoil in charting a course for his life as an artist and a teacher while at the School and following his departure.

Spelman kept in touch with his colleagues at Pine Mountain following his departure. Fred Burkhard and Esther Burkhard and William Hayes and Fern Hayes correspondence is the largest body of material in Set II of this type.

Set III includes personal correspondence related to Spelman and is aggregated from his Pine Mountain Settlement School record as well as his personal correspondence. Set III contains information on Spelman’s personal life, his reflections of work while at the School, his activities as an artist and general reflections on his years at Pine Mountain Settlement School. Set III is comprised largely of later donations from the Fred and Esther Burkhard and William Hayes and Fern Hall Hayes families and exchanges between Spelman and Director Glyn Morris.

Set III correspondence follows Spelman’s professional work and his later career through a series of intimate letters. The letters include his personal reflections of his struggles with teaching at Pine Mountain and the balancing of that demanding job against the challenge of maintaining his focused art interests and career development as an artist. The demands placed on him to produce promotional and school-related literature, to be an effective teacher, counselor, and participant in the many shared responsibilities of the School, stretched his talents and his patience, and is covered in both Set II and III. Set III, however, carries deeper personal reflections and seeks advice from friends regarding how to address personal decisions and life decisions related to his determination to maintain his life as an artist. [HW]

SETS I & III: Access

Many of the documents in Set I and Set III are quite personal and for that reason, they are made available only to serious scholars and are not available openly on the website. Access may be granted by contacting Pine Mountain Settlement School and by submitting a request that outlines the need and the proposed use of the material.

Please direct your inquiries to the Pine Mountain Settlement School Office if you require full access to the John A. Spelman III correspondence for the purposes of a publication or public presentation.

Any public use of Pine Mountain Settlement School materials requires a USE AGREEMENT (Commercial) or a USE AGREEMENT (Non-Commercial) to be signed and returned to the Office at Pine Mountain Settlement School either via email or by regular mail. Specific use must be described in the agreement and be signed BEFORE THE USE. If used for multiple public purposes, the agreement must detail those uses, which may require separate AGREEMENTS.

USE AGREEMENT (Commercial)

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36 Highway 510
Bledsoe, KY 40810
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CONTENTS: JOHN A. SPELMAN III Correspondence Set II

[Note: Letters from PMSS staff in the PMSS Collections are carbon copies, typewritten, unsigned, and meant for the Office files. The original signed documents were sent to the correspondents. The unsigned letters in Set II were apparently from Glyn Morris, then-Director. Letters from John A. Spelman III were typewritten originals unless specified otherwise. The following list of contents is in chronological order and not necessarily in the order of the image numbers.]

No Date

001-003 N.D. [1940s?] “On Big Laurel” Christmas card to PMSS staff via Arthur Dodd from Spelman. [001] Cover featuring a colored print. [002-003] Two-page handwritten message and mention of a donation. “I still have the interests of the school close to my heart, wishing too to return before long.”

014-015 N.D. [1940s?] Two-page handwritten letter to Morris from Spelman, who describes an incident in the classroom and how it was handled. He writes details concerning his efforts at being a houseparent. Receives advice from other staff regarding workplace behavior.

JOHN A. SPELMAN III: Applying to Pine Mountain

1936

023 January 1, 1936 [sic, 1937]. To Spelman in Oak Park, IL, from [truncated], informing Spelman that his December 28 letter of inquiry about a PMSS position has been received. As Spelman’s suggestion, a letter will be sent to Dr. Randolph, asking “whether or not our environment and program would be receptive to your talents and abilities.” Encloses PMSS literature and application blank.

024 January 6, 1936. To Dr. H.S. Randolph, Superintendent, Asheville Farm School, Swannanoa, NC., from [unsigned, apparently Morris], who thanks Randolph for the Spelman reference and tells Randolph that PMSS will offer Spelman a chance as a volunteer worker for the semester. If his performance is good he will be offered a position next school year. Morris thanks Randolph for the original Christmas card designed by Spelman.

025-026 December 28. 1936. Two-page letter to Morris from Spelman, requesting employment at Pine Mountain Settlement School. Describes his qualifications and eagerness for the position at PMSS. He lists Randolph and Bannerman from the Asheville Farm School, as references.

1937

018-019 January 4, 1937. Application for PMSS position completed by Spelman.

016-017 (n.d.) Photograph of Spelman sent with his application for a position, with handwritten message on reverse side: “My application pictures are mislaid – Kindly accept this informal one taken on the Asheville Farm School campus last March. J.A. Spelman III.”

028 January 5, 1937. To Morris from Randolph. Reference letter about Spelman, who was a “semi-volunteer worker” at Asheville Farm School for a year.

029-030 January 6, 1937. Two-page letter to Spelman from [unsigned], who, based on Randolph’s letter and PMSS needs, offers Spelman a proposition: Fill an upcoming vacancy as an art teacher next year at a salary of a little over $20 a month. Also, he suggests that Spelman “come to Pine Mountain for the rest of this year on a purely volunteer basis.” He then advises on Pine Mountain’s position concerning smoking: “Several of the men smoke, but always in the rooms and usually at night. [T]here is no smoking on the campus.”

031 January 10, 1937. To Morris from Spelman in Oak Park, IL, who is pleased he could “be of service to you and your school.” He accepts Morris’s proposition but asks for a little delay in deciding and that he can arrive at PMSS about February 1. If he would decide to volunteer, he asks for $5 a month plus maintenance for the rest of the school term, and possibly transportation. First, he needs to finish his schooling at the Art Institute. He asks about appropriate clothing, additional information, what to bring, and how to travel to PMSS.

032 January 14, 1937. To Spelman from [unsigned], who answers Spelman’s questions. He agrees to Spelman’s arrival date and that Spelman receives $5 a month. He provides travel directions. Art supplies can be ordered from Louisville or Cincinnati. Spelman will teach English, social science, and art, and be involved with “other obligations of a miscellaneous sort.”

033 [n.d] Handwritten Western Union telegram to Morris from Spelman, reporting a delay due to flooding and illness.

020 January 15, 1937. Reference form with entries by George R. Hemingway, Oak Park, IL, describing “Spelman’s ability to fill the position of teacher at Pine Mountain.”

021-022 January 15, 1937. Reference form with entries by Mr. A.M. Bannerman, Asheville Farm School, Swannanoa, NC, describing “Spelman’s ability to fill the position of teacher at Pine Mountain” with a message on the reverse side. [Arthur M. Bannerman was the President of Asheville Farm School and later Warren Wilson College for many years.]

034 January 22, 1937. To Morris from Spelman, who thanks Morris for responding and tells of his travel plans and arrival on January 30; asks whether to bring linens.

035 January 26 [27?], 1937. To Spelman from [truncated], who gives the address for telegrams (Putney, KY), which are delivered at PMSS in the morning mail. “We have no telephone, and there is none on this side of Pine Mountain.” Linens are furnished.

036 February 2, 1937. To Morris from Spelman. Due to flooding and his illness, his arrival at PMSS has been delayed, possibly for a week.

037 February 6, 1937. Handwritten note to Morris from Spelman, stating his plans to arrive at PMSS on February 28 on the L&N train.

038 September 29, 1937. Note to Spelman from [unsigned], asking “How soon can you get the plaque finished.”

027 December 1, 1937. To Dr. Randolph from [truncated], requesting information about Spelman’s work at Asheville Farm School. “You know what we have here, and the kind of person we need to work constructively along progressive lines.”

039 December 28, 1937. Handwritten letter to “Office” from Spelman in Oak Park, IL, asking for accommodations for his two guests and his father. They will arrive on New Year’s Eve.

040 December 28, 1937. To “whom it may concern” from Dr. M.B. Murray, Maywood, IL, confirming that Spelman’s health is “considered normal.”

1938

041 March 25, 1938. To Dean, College of Education, University of Minnesota from [unsigned], assuring the Dean that Spelman, who was been employed at PMSS for over a year and is an excellent artist, “could pursue graduate work effectively.”

042 March 28, 1938. To Dean of College of Education, University of Minnesota from “Principal” [apparently Arthur Dodd].

I consider John A. Spelman III a serious and gifted young man. His works have already won for him an enviable reputation in this section of the country. His linoleum cuts have been commented upon by Mrs. Roosevelt in her column “My Day”; the Boston “Christian Science Monitor” carried one of them last month. … I believe that he would pursue graduate work if it were along artistic lines with an unflagging devotion. We value him highly and would be loath to see him give up his work here.

JOHN A. SPELMAN III: Staff Member at Pine Mountain

043 [n.d.] Memorandum to Mr. Spelman from Fern Hall, Secretary, with “notes from staff meeting held in Laurel House, April 2nd” concerning conduct in the dining room.

044 May 13, 1938. To Spelman from Morris, thanking Spelman for his “part in making this morning’s program so lovely. And too, for the art work you have done this year. I truly enjoy it.”

045 May 14, 1938. Spelman’s response to a request for his professional reading list for this semester: The Art Teacher by Lemos, and three periodicals.

046-047 June 12, 1938. Two-page handwritten letter to Arthur Dodd, PMSS Acting Director and current Business Manager, from Spelman in Oak Park, IL, who reports on the graduation ceremony for his younger sister Barbara and that he served as an “Auditor” for the 894 high school graduates, He notes that “…If you have ever doubted my intelligence, we have some in the family,” as his sister ranked number 6 in scholarship at the school and received scholarships to attend Beloit College the following year. [Barbara eventually came to Pine Mountain and worked as a Secretary.] Spelman tells Dodd that his parents are leaving their Oak Park House and want to come South and be near him, perhaps by October or November of 1938. They are considering Harlan County if John can find land to buy. “I would like them as near to Pine Mountain as possible,” writes John. He asks Dodd if they can rent Old Log on the School campus from October to June 1939, “… until we could make definite arrangements about living in those parts?” He further asks if Old Log is not an option, could they ship some household belonging to PMSS for storage until they can locate housing.

048 June 14, 1938. To Spelman from [unsigned], who gently tells Spelman that he cannot give a definite answer to housing at Old Log but that it looks impossible due to staff needs. He further relates that it will not be possible for storage on campus as there is no space available. He leaves a door open saying that the living arrangements for the next year are not yet settled but room must be left for guests at the School, as well. He ends with the following:

On the whole, I think that your idea of having them move to Harlan county so that they would be in the country and near you would be a splendid plan and I hope that it can be worked out to the comfort and satisfaction of your parents. Good wishes to you and you may look for a personal letter later when I get your Minnesota address.

049 June 18, 1938. Western Union telegram to Spelman from Dodd, asking him to “Send exhibit immediately, cuts and watercolor, … Hotel Elms, Excelsior Springs, Missouri.”

050-051 July 3, 1938. Two-page letter to Morris from Spelman at Spruce Point Lodge, Grand Marais, MN, who tells about his move from Oak Park and plans for his book of woodcuts. He asks about accommodations for two of his father’s artist friends, Mr. and Mrs. L. Conwell, who plan to visit PMSS for two weeks. A handwritten postscript asks about the deadline for two woodcuts for a September publicity sheet.

052 July 11, 1938. To Spelman from [unsigned]. Thanking him for his July 3rd letter and enclosing all the literature about the school. He is still trying to find a copy of “Machine Age In the Hills” to send. He welcomes Spelman’s guests (Mr. and Mrs. Conwell) but cannot charge special rates for them or put them in Pole House.

053 August 22, 1938. To Spelman from [unsigned], requesting that he return from his vacation in time for “a series of informal conferences on September 8th and 9th.”

054 September 3, 1938. Handwritten note to Morris from Spelman, informing him of the date and time of his arrival.

1939

055-056 February 27, 1939. Two-page letter to Morris from Spelman, regarding the text on the Verda page of a book of his prints, At Home in the Hills, and Morris’s objection to language representing the area. Spelman details the complications of publishing if revisions are needed.

057-058 March 4, [no year]. Two-page letter to Spelman from [unsigned], responding to Spelman’s February 27th letter, explaining why he felt that the caption on the Verda page of his book “might do the school considerable injury” and that the community would hold Morris (instead of Spelman) and the School responsible. Morris also explains why Spelman’s works did not sell well when Morris took them to NYC and why a revision of the caption would be worth it in the long run. Morris also gives his opinion concerning Spelman’s reference to his salary. In the end, Morris asks for Spelman’s patience.

059-060 June 9, 1939. To Morris from Spelman at Grand Detour, IL, enclosing a clipping from the “Oak Leaves,” Oak Park’s main weekly publication, to indicate what his “own town has to say about a product of Pine Mountain – both book and person.” Mentions a review in the New York Herald and asks for a copy of the Christian Science Monitor’s review. Spelman asks that the School send books to the Chicago Daily News and Chicago Tribune and a copy to Mr. and Mrs Holdger Jensen, Grand Detour, IL, with whom he is staying en route to Grand Marais. Plans for the 1940 calendar are in progress, with help from his sister, Marguerite. Recently, Spelman and Mrs. Morris were “speaking of the very real need Pine Mountain had for a man who could spend all of his time on the grounds and planting.” Spelman recommends Mr. Jack Neault of Oak Park who would be a good employee in that position.

061 June 14, 1939. To Spelman in Grand Marais, MN, from [unsigned], responding to his June 9th letter, assuring Spelman that the books are being sent to his contacts. He answers jokingly about whether he has continued smoking. There is nothing left in the School’s budget to hire a gardener, writing “…anyway, John, I think landscape gardening…would be good for your soul….”

062 June 24, 1939. To Glyn Morris from Spelman, who describes his activities in the summer and inquiries about work associated with the Summer calendar at PMSS. He mentions reading Rachel Field’s All This and Heaven, Too!, essays, and other books.

064 June 26, 1939. To Spelman from [unsigned], asking him to read the “Progressive Education Magazine for May which has to do with art in education. I think that it is Dr. Hatcher‘s wish that much of our [Guidance] Institute…will emphasize the use of art.” Therefore, two other artists are invited to the Institute.

063 June 29. 1939. To Spelman from [unsigned], who sends a dozen summer calendars.

MISSING IMAGE 010-011 July 24, 1939. Two-page handwritten letter to Morris from Spelman

065-066 July 25, 1939. Two-page handwritten letter to Morris from Spelman, who responds to Morris’ letter of July 19th and tells him he will return to campus on August 1. He has been working on the instruction of art methods for elementary teachers and has consulted Progressive Education, May 1939. He notes that blocks for the Fall calendar were sent to the Print Shop. Chopping wood for winter. Preparing for an exhibit, tea, and talk at PMSS.

1940

067-068 January 14, 1940. Two-page letter to Morris from Spelman, who feels overloaded by work demands and describes the load. Asks for direction on setting priorities so he can “breathe and dream.”