Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 01: HISTORIES
Pine Mountain Settlement School Histories
1913 – 2023
“The History of the Pine Mountain Settlement School: The Clothing of an Idea with Substance.” Page 1. [hist_pmss_idea_001.jpg]
TAGS: Pine Mountain Settlement School histories, chronologies, autobiographies, biographies, oral histories, photographs, Creech Family history, 1913-present, rural settlement schools, education, fund raising, Katherine Pettit, Ethel de Long Zande, Mary Rockwell Hook,
HISTORIES
The HISTORIES of Pine Mountain Settlement School include written, spoken, and visual material from a broad range of sources. Most often the histories represent familiar historical material, but the histories also include specific histories such as the following:
Histories written by former teachers to give students pride in their heritage
Histories written by nurses and doctors that trace the early medical programs at the school and, indirectly, the early medical history of Appalachia.
Histories written by students that deeply reflect their educational and personal growth during their years at the institution.
Histories written by administrators, Board members, and visitors, that capture personal reflections on the impact of the School on their personal lives and the world at large.
Histories written by researchers who have been fascinated by the region, the people, the flora, the fauna, the tall tales, the geography, the coal wars, the murders, the marriages, the families, the politics …
The “HISTORIES” are obviously not of one mind nor are they defining reflections of the School. The one defining ” History of Pine Mountain Settlement School” does not exist. There are many histories of the School that together begin to give shape to an institutional history as it relates to the reader of their “historic time.” That HISTORY is now well into its 112th year and still making remarkable contributions to our understanding of our own contemporary lives, no matter our geography.
…. And Lord knows we need it!
ABOUT PMSS HISTORIES PMSS GUIDE
The HISTORIES PMSS Guide provides links to the gathered material that can loosely be determined to be an attempt at an overview of the “history.” The histories of the institution as well as histories of specific to individuals, also found under BIOGRAPHIES are well linked and will guide the browser to related material. For example, the history of the Creech Family is in itself a history of the institution. Photograph collections when ranged chronologically can form a “history.” Formats include a variety of ephemera, the singular promotional PUBLICATIONS PMSS, by the School, that attempt to give an overview up until the date of publication, and include related Bulletins, flyers, institutional appeals, and personal reflections. PUBLICATIONS Related , abound in the archive of the institution and are just that. Publications that are written by scholars, visitors, news, books, and considerable ephemera. Annual mailings of the institution, such as Notes, or Dear Friend Letters of correspondence, if aggregated form a history. Documents that reflect changes in governance and in administration can form a history. Photography, if dated and documented can be a visual history of a period of time. Personal biographies, if joined by time or relation, can be rich in history. Histories abound in a collection of materials that, if aggregated, is the largest body of archival material and IS the institutional history at Pine Mountain Settlement School.
We have gathered some of the most recognized “HISTORIES” here, but we suggest that the user of this archival collection gather their own understanding of the institutional history through exploration of some of the sites highlighted above.
(Some listings may not be linked as yet because the related pages are still under construction.)
SHORT HISTORIES AND LONG HISTORIES
The histories of Pine Mountain Settlement School are very mixed. Some histories seek to be comprehensive with regard to the early history of the institution, such as Progressives in the Kentucky Mountains: the formative years of the Pine Mountain Settlement School 1913-1930, a doctoral thesis by James Greene III.
Other histories are more nuanced and cover more limited timeframes, perspectives, or specific periods of the School when the authors were residents at the School as staff or students or associated with the School as trustees or guests.
Histories can also be a part of the administrative cycle of the school and are often very descriptive inventories of the annual cycles of operation. The extensive Evelyn K. Wells Excerpts from 1918 Letters Home ….is a running account of life at the school pulled from staff working in the early years of the institution. The WELLS RECORD OF PINE MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL, PINE MOUNTAIN, HARLAN CO., KY. 1913-1928 is an Administrative record. It details of a long annual cycle during the Boarding School years.
Histories written by former students capture the memories of some of those students who were profoundly changed by their experiences at the School. Histories can be found in Scrapbooks such as the Tid-Bits Scrapbook, and in personal memoirs like that of Carrie Day, a student, and Dorothy Nace, a staff member, and in Grace Rood’s oral history interview — all awaiting transcription. These are special in time histories that contribute to the longer institutional history. Many of histories mentioned are autobiographical and cover specific years at Pine Mountain, but they also cover years that the individual was in residence at other locations, allowing for comparative work. Other histories associated with the satellite settlements of Little Laurel, Big Laurel, and Line Fork address very specific time periods and events during the early years of the institution as it sought to expand its medical reach.
Together, the large and small histories of Pine Mountain Settlement School contribute to what we now know and what we choose to imagine about Pine Mountain Settlement School over its long 100-plus-year history. And, in their volume, these histories allow us a rich body of information with which to form our own interpretation of the history of Pine Mountain Settlement School from a variety of viewpoints and standpoints.
It is hoped that scholars, former students, staff, and trustees will continue to contribute to the written, oral, and photographic history of this amazing institution. Not only have such history chronicles given writers a rewarding journey, but they have left considerable room for other histories that will become important additions to the Institution’s on-going archival collections.
For links to historical narratives on this site, go to:
Histories PMSS Guide
