Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY
Ruby Lanier, Staff 1942-1962(?)
(b.1897 – d.1978)
TAGS: Ruby Lanier, bookkeeper, secretary, weaver, arts enthusiast, vegetable-dyed yarns, crafts, Helen Viner Stone, Tryon North Carolina, Rev. Roland F, Pinke, Isaac’s Creek
RUBY LANIER Staff
Office Secretary, Bookkeeper, 1947-1962 (1963?)
A distant relative of the famous Southern poet and author, Sidney Lanier, Ruby Lanier came to Pine Mountain as the bookkeeper in 1947. Her initial contact with the School is not clear. Though her stay was not continuous, she remained as an intermittent employee until approximately 1962. While she worked mainly as a bookkeeper, she also assumed additional responsibilities such as assisting with the publications of the School (see especially the 1949 SUPPLEMENT of the PINE CONE) and also secretarial duties as required.
For some of her time at Pine Mountain, (the later years) she returned to assist with Office management and lived “off campus” in a small cottage just North of the School on Isaac’s Creek. The cottage belonged to the Rev. Roland F. Pinke, a well-known preacher in the area.
She was born in Athens, Georgia, in 1897, the daughter of Charles Algernon Lanier (1868-1907) and Stella Fleetwood (Wilson) Lanier (1868-1899). She was one of nine children.
RUBY LANIER After Pine Mountain
Ruby Lanier lived for a time in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but finally retired in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. A long-time weaver and admirer of the arts, Ruby Lanier continued her craft enterprises until late in her life. Particularly, she continued her interest in vegetable-dyed yarns and helped to mount an exhibit in the small museum in HIllsborough, NC. The exhibit included examples of weaving as well as explanations of the dyes used to create the specific colors found in the weavings. Lanier obviously derived much of her information from the small booklet produced by Helen Viner Stone, an early staff member (Housemother 1914-1922) at Pine Mountain. When Helen Viner Stone departed Pine Mountain in 1922, she left an extensive reputation for the understanding of natural dyes used in textiles. On departure from Pine Mountain, she established a small workshop for natural-dyed yarns in Tryon, NC, and produced the important booklet dedicated to Katherine Pettit — the rare publication entitled, “The Katherine Pettit Dye Book.“
As noted in a 2010 letter from Ruby Yocum Thatcher‘s son, Alan Thatcher: “A woman named Ruby Lanier who was, I think, staff at Pine Mountain, was my mother’s mentor at Pine Mountain and was later my godmother.” Ruby was a weaver and a communicator and kept up a robust correspondence and love of weaving until her death.
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Ruby Lanier continued her correspondence and contact with Pine Mountain and many former staff until her death in 1978.
She was buried in the graveyard of the Chapel of the Cross Episcopal Church in Chapel Hill, NC.
See Also:
RUBY LANIER CORRESPONDENCE (Pending)
Title |
Ruby Lanier |
Alt. Title |
Ruby Tipton Lanier |
Identifier |
RUBY LANIER |
Creator |
Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY |
Alt. Creator |
Ann Angel Eberhardt ; Helen Hayes Wykle ; |
Subject Keyword |
Ruby Lanier ; Pine Mountain Settlement School ; bookkeeper ; secretary ; weaver ; arts enthusiast ; vegetable-dyed yarns ; crafts ; Helen Viner Stone ; |
Subject LCSH |
Lanier, Ruby, — 1897-1978. |
Date digital |
2013-11-18 hw |
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 |
Language |
English |
Relation |
Is related to: Pine Mountain Settlement School Collections, Series 09: BIOGRAPHY |
Coverage Temporal |
1897-1978 |
Coverage Spatial |
Pine Mountain, KY ; Harlan County, KY ; Athens, GA ; Chattanooga, TN ; Chapel Hill, NC ; Hillsborough, NC ; Tryon, NC ; |
Rights |
Any display, publication, or public use must credit the Pine Mountain Settlement School. Copyright is 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 Ruby Lanier; clippings, photographs, books by or about Ruby Lanier ; |
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 |
2013-11-18 hhw ; 2015-09-09 aae ; 2016-04-23 hhw; 2020-08-22 aae ; 2025-01-13 hhw ; 2025-01-14 aae ; |
Bibliography |
Viner, Wilmer S, H E. S. Viner, and Katherine Pettit. The Katherine Pettit Book of Vegetable Dyes. Saluda, N.C: Excelsior Printers, 1946. Print. |
Return To:
BIOGRAPHY – A-Z
See Also:
RUBY LANIER Correspondence [pending]
HELEN WILMER STONE VINER Staff
Rev. ROLAND F. PINKE Staff
Rev. ROLAND F. PINKE Correspondence
RUBY YOCUM THATCHER Staff
RUBY YOCUM THATCHER Photographs