Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 04: ADMINISTRATION
Glyn Morris Correspondence
Letter to Alice Cobb
1976
Laurel House (left) and Chapel (right). Photo: H. Wykle. [P1050554.jpg]
TAGS: Glyn Morris letter to Alice Cobb 1976, building repairs, West Wind, Laurel House, Industrial Building, Chapel, organs, William Hayes, Dorothy Nace, alumni
GLYN MORRIS Correspondence 1976 Letter to Alice Cobb
The following letter, dated August 17, 1976, was written by Glyn Morris to Alice Cobb, following his visit to the Pine Mountain campus for the 1976 Homecoming. Miss Cobb was a member of the School’s board of trustees and close confidant of Morris’s while he was director of the School.
This was Glyn Morris’s last journey to the School where he served as director during the formative ten years from 1931 to 1941. It is clear he continued to find it difficult to disengage from the process of planning for the School and caring about the region. His many letters to later directors and conversations with Harlan County schools continued from 1941 forward. This one is particularly poignant and thoughtful.
TRANSCRIPTION: Glyn Morris Letter to Alice Cobb 1976
August 17, 1976
Dear Alice,
It was wonderful to see you again surrounded by so many of our old friends and the lovely environment at Pine Mountain. I tried to find you before we left but was unable to do so. I’m glad you are going to be at Scarritt [Scarritt College, Nashville, Tennessee] this fall.
We needed much more time to talk.
I talked at some length with [Arthur] Dodd and Bill Hayes. I make the following suggestions to you as part of what we would have talked about had we had the time to do so.
Some of the buildings are badly in need of repair on the outside. West Wind especially ought to be scraped and repainted.
Much of the shrubbery and trees need to be trimmed. The entire place is too damp.
The slate roof at Laurel House is guaranteed for 100 years. I understand part of it has already been replaced. It is apparent that the moss under the shingles will do considerable damage. Laurel House is not getting enough sunshine.
I wish the facade of the Industrial Building could be returned to its former beauty.
All of the creeks need to be cleaned up of over-growth and weeds.
I should mention that the little porch outside the second floor of West Wind is in a state of collapse.
The shrubbery in front of the Chapel window facing mountains should be cut so that the view of the mountains is clear.
The Chapel needs to be intensely heated from time to time to preserve the organ. There are leather parts in it that are effected by the dampness.
I was sorry to see A. leave before the ceremonies were over. I don’t see how he can run a church and adequately take care of property at Pine Mountain.
I found Bill Hayes as well as [Arthur] Dodd much disturbed by the neglect of the property. Bill has already done some work on this but the place needs to have a lot of trees cut down and much of the shrubbery trimmed.
All of this is none of my business and I pass it on to you confidently. Bill Hayes can tell you much more about this than I can, but from the practical standpoint. I think it is all valid.
I am sending you a copy of the last thing I wrote in Lewis County [Pennsylvania]. I hope you enjoy it.
I have sent Dorothy [Nace] birthday greetings.
All of the above is going to take some pushing but it is all very important and neglect will mean serious consequences. No more now but best wishes and love.
As always,
[Glyn]
P.S. It is conceivable that a crew of former Pine Mountain people could come down there and do some of this work — but only conceivable. With Bill Hayes’ knowledge, the right trimming could be done despite objections of ecologists, without any harm to the school.
There will be considerable resistance to the above, but I strongly urge. Pine Mountain need not be a jungle: its beauty can still remain intact.
copy: Bill Hayes
See Also:
ALICE COBB Staff Trustee – Biography
ALICE COBB – PMSS NOTES, November 1927 [Issue edited by Alice Cobb]
ALICE COBB Report to Trustee Dorothy Elsmith 1944
ALICE COBB Travelogue 1941
ALICE COBB Travelogue 1942
ALICE COBB Travelogue 1946
GLYN MORRIS Director – Biography
GLYN MORRIS “Philosophy of Secondary Education”
GLYN MORRIS Study and Recommendations See parts I – X.
