Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Staff
James C. Livengood, Mechanics Teacher 1937-1938
James Cooper Livengood (1917 -1986?)
Margaret Ann Livengood, English Teacher 1935
Margaret Ann Livengood (1913-1999)
“Light Plant.” [bishop_07_005.jpg]
TAGS: James C. Livengood, James Cooper Livengood, Margaret Ann Livengood, MIT, mechanics, engineers, Sue Bennett College, Mount Hermon School, U.S. Forest Service, Camp F05, light plants, coal mines, mining, heating plants, James L. Faulkner, Harlan Fuel Company, mine surveying
JAMES C. LIVENGOOD Staff
Mechanics Instructor, May 1937-1938
Applying for PMSS Position
James C. Livengood apparently first learned about Pine Mountain Settlement School through his sister, Margaret Ann Livengood, when he accompanied her on a visit to the School in the summer of 1935. She was applying for a position as English teacher at the School, a position she held from September to December 1935.
By November of that year, James, at 19 years of age, had completed one year of college work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge. However, he was running out of money to continue his studies and was looking for a way to build up his savings for a year or two before returning to MIT. After his visit to the School, which he and his sister both enjoyed, James decided that working there as a teacher, mechanic, or engineer would provide a sufficient income and the experience he needed for his future career.
At Director Glyn Morris’s suggestion, James submitted an application to Pine Mountain, listing his credentials and his background. His home address was Berea, Kentucky, where he had lived all his life. His mother died in 1927. Before MIT, he had attended Sue Bennett College in London, Kentucky, and Mount Hermon School.
In his application, James also described the training and experience that he could bring to the PMSS position:
Most of my knowledge of things electrical and mechanical has come from study and practical work which I have had as my hobby since I was ten years old. As a result of both my scholastic and my outside studies, I have a thorough understanding of gasoline engines and their ailments, electrical circuits as complex as those in most radio sets. I can make drawings and read blue prints.
Morris also suggested that James study coal mining before he arrived. James responded that he already had some mining experience. His father had previously worked for the Harlan Fuel Company at Yancey (Kentucky coal town) and James spent a couple of summers there. He also worked for two months during a summer with a mining engineer doing mine surveying in Jackson County, Kentucky.
It took over a year of correspondence with Director Morris before a mechanic position opened up for James. By this time, James was working for the U.S. Forest Service at Camp F05 in London, Kentucky, but decided to leave it for the PMSS position.
At Pine Mountain
He began in his new position on May 15, 1937, at $60.00 a month which included “maintenance.” According to Morris, his duties were to include “care of the light plant, the coal mine, teaching of mechanics, supervision of all heating plants, and any other mechanics work which may be necessary.” Morris asked James to arrive early in order to receive training from James L. Faulkner, a mechanics employee from 1933 to 1937 whom he was replacing.
At the end of his time at PMSS, James was described in an apparent letter of recommendation, dated August 1, 1938, as follows:
[James C. Livengood] is unusually capable in his field of interest. He is creative and ingenious. During his stay here he made many improvements in the light plant and in our lighting system. His work in this respect was always thorough and well done. … [H]e leaves here with our sincere admiration for his ability as a mechanic and engineer.
**********
James Cooper Livengood was born in 1916 to Frank Merle Livengood and Anna Belle (Cooper) Livengood, both from Ohio. James’s sister, Margaret Ann, was three years old at the time. By the year that the 1920 U.S. Census was taken, the family was living in Berea, Kentucky.
See Also:
JAMES C. LIVENGOOD Correspondence
MARGARET ANN LIVENGOOD Staff – Biography
|
Title |
James C. Livengood |
|
Alt. Title |
James Livengood ; James Cooper Livengood ; Jimmy (or Jimmie) Livengood ; |
|
Identifier |
|
|
Creator |
Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY. |
|
Alt. Creator |
Ann Angel Eberhardt ; Helen Hayes Wykle ; |
|
Subject Keyword |
James C. Livengood ; James Cooper Livengood ; Jimmy (or Jimmie) Livengood ; Margaret Ann Livengood ; Margaret Livengood ; Pine Mountain Settlement School ; teachers ; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ; mechanics ; engineers ; Sue Bennett College ; Mount Hermon School ; U.S. Forest Service ; Camp F05 ; light plants ; coal mines ; mining ; heating plants ; James L. Faulkner ; Harlan Fuel Company ; mine surveying ; Frank Livengood ; Anna (Cooper) Livengood ; |
|
Subject LCSH |
Livengood, James Cooper, — 1917 – 1986[?]. |
|
Date |
2014-11-03 |
|
Publisher |
Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY. |
|
Contributor |
n/a |
|
Type |
Collections ; text ; image ; |
|
Format |
Original and copies of documents and correspondence in file folders in filing cabinet. |
|
Source |
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Staff. |
|
Language |
English |
|
Relation |
Is related to: Pine Mountain Settlement School Collections, Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Staff. |
|
Coverage Temporal |
1935-1975 |
|
Coverage Spatial |
Pine Mountain, KY ; Harlan County, KY ; Cambridge, MA ; Berea, KY ; London, KY ; Yancy, KY ; Jackson County, KY ; Ohio ; Clearfield, PA ; Willkes Barre, PA ; |
|
Rights |
Any display, publication, or public use must credit the Pine Mountain Settlement School. Copyright retained by the creators of certain items in the collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. |
|
Donor |
n/a |
|
Description |
Core documents, correspondence, writings, and administrative papers of James C. Livengood and Margaret Ann Livengood ; clippings, photographs, books by or about James C. Livengood and Margaret Ann Livengood. |
|
Acquisition |
n/d |
|
Citation |
“[Identification of Item],” [Collection Name] [Series Number, if applicable]. Pine Mountain Settlement School Institutional Papers. Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY. |
|
Processed By |
Helen Hayes Wykle ; Ann Angel Eberhardt ; |
|
Last Updated |
2014-11-03 hhw ; 2015-09-11 aae ; 2017-12-03 ; 2022-11-13 aae ; |
|
Sources |
Sources Family Tree on FamilySearch.org. Accessed 11-13-2022. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/GWW9-S4N “James Livengood” and “Margaret Livengood.” Staff Directory 1913-present Box 26 Director’s Office Files and The Pine Cone 1936. Series 09: BIOGRAPHY. Pine Mountain Settlement School Institutional Papers. Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY. Internet resource. “United States Census, 1920,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHGR-M5D : accessed 11 September 2015), James C Livengood in household of Frank Livengood, Berea, Madison, Kentucky, United States; (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). Internet resource. |
Return To:
BIOGRAPHY – A-Z
