Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Students
Series 19: STUDENTS
Ruby Ayers Student 1935-1939
Ruby Ayers Warren (1920-2001)

Girls Octet on tour at Excelsior Springs, Missouri, 1938. Part of Octet: Ruby Ayers, Fern Hall, (?), Joan Ayers, Lucille Christian. [III_campus_life_0793.jpg]
TAGS: Ruby Ayers Warren, PMSS Girls’ Octet, The Pine Cone, poetry, pen sketches, Asheville (NC) College, correspondence, Cpl. John J. Warren, William D. Webb, Arthur W. Dodd, housemothers, birth announcements
RUBY AYERS Student 1935-1939
Ruby Ayers was one of six Ayers sisters, each talented and with an independent spirit. All were well-known among their fellow Pine Mountain Settlement School as accomplished in music, writing, drawing and dancing.
RUBY AYERS Student: At Pine Mountain
Three of the Ayers sisters, Joanna, Georgia, and Ruby, were members of the Pine Mountain Settlement School Girls’ Octet, a group that often toured for the School on promotional trips in 1936-1937. The PMSS Girls’ Octet was created in 1936 by PMSS Director Glyn Morris and largely focused on traditional ballads and dance common to the Southern Appalachians. The ensemble gave concerts in various eastern and midwestern cities, including a performance at the White House in Washington, DC, for U.S. President and Mrs. Roosevelt and at the Ford Motor Company headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, for Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ford.
Ruby Ayers began her studies at Pine Mountain Settlement School in 1935 and graduated with eight other students in May 1939. At Pine Mountain, she served on the staff of The Pine Cone, a PMSS student publication, from September 1938 until she graduated. Her poetry was often published by The Pine Cone, including:
- “I Am A Girl” – PINE CONE 1936 February, page 2
- “Organ Tones” – PINE CONE 1938 April, pages 2-3
- “Autumn Days Creep By” – PINE CONE 1938 October, page 3.
- “Sunshine” – PINE CONE 1939 November, page 6.

Pine Cone 1937 December, cover. [pinecone_1937_12_cvr.jpg]
Ruby’s talents as a visual artist were also evident while she as at Pine Mountain. Her pen sketch of a Kentucky homestead was featured on the back cover of the December 1937 issue of The Pine Cone. Also, the February 1938 Pine Cone announced on page 2 that the PMSS printshop reprinted Uncle William Creech’s famous 1915 letter in a booklet with Ruby Ayers’ pen sketch of a barn on Greasy Creek on the cover.
Ruby was among three PMSS students who won the Silver Jubilee poster contest, sponsored by Mrs. Leonard Elsmith of New York City, according to Pine Cone’s October 1938 issue (page 5). The other two winners were Wilbur Wilder and Christa Bell Creech.
In November 1940, The Pine Cone‘s “Alumni Notes” recorded the following on page 4: “Ruby Ayers ‘39 is now attending Asheville College, Asheville, North Carolina. Ruby was at Pine Mountain last year for her post-graduate work.”
**********
Ruby Ayers’ parents were Henry Gilmore Ayers (1894-1959), a coal miner from Twila, Kentucky, and Ethel Elizabeth (Oaks) Ayers (1893-1979). Ruby had five sisters: Bonnie, Georgia, Joanna, Ellen, and Evelyn. Ruby married Cpl. John J. Warren.
RUBY AYERS WARREN: Contents of Correspondence 1944
[warren_john_ruby_001.jpg] February 12, 1944. Carbon copy of typewritten letter to Mrs. Ruby [Ayers] Warren from PMSS Director William D. Webb.
“In conversation with Mr. [Arthur W.] Dodd just now I was reminded of my neglect in not getting an official invitation off to you to join us as relief-housemother on campus for the rest of the term.
As Mr. Dodd has told you, we would be glad to have you with us to relieve in houses four times a week and to pay you full maintenance and twenty-five a month. You would have a room in West Wind, meals in Laurel House, and laundry service (reasonably limited) with four pieces iron each week. …”
PMSS Collections, image titled [warren_john_ruby_001.jpg]
[warren_john_ruby_002.jpg] Birth announcement of Lydia Robinson Warren, born May 30, 1944, to Cpl. and Mrs. John J. Warren.
GALLERY
- The Ayers sisters: Bonnie, Ruby Warren, Georgia Dodd, Joanne, Ellen Hayes, Evelyn. [nace_1_040a.jpg]
- Girls Octet on tour at Excelsior Springs, Missouri, 1938. Part of Octet: Fern Hall, Joan Ayers, Lucille Christian, Ruby Ayers. [III_campus_life_0793c.jpg]
- Girls Octet on tour at Excelsior Springs, Missouri, 1938. Part of Octet from left; Lucille Christian, Ruby Ayers, ?, ? . [III_campus_life_0793b.pg]
- Girls Octet on tour at Excelsior Springs, Missouri, 1938. Part of Octet: Lucille Christian, Ruby Ayers, [?], Fern Hall (Hayes), Joan Ayers. [III_campus_life_0793a.jpg]
- Girls Octet on tour at Excelsior Springs, Missouri, 1938. Part of Octet: Ruby Ayers, Fern Hall, ?, Joan Ayers, Lucille Christian. [III_campus_life_0793.jpg]
- PMSS Octet members, 1937. (l-r) Lucille Christian ; Fern Hall ; Lela Christian ; Nan Milan ; Georgia Ayers ; Ruth Christian ; Joan Ayers ; Ruby Ayers [octet_01a001_mod.jpg]
- PMSS Octet members, 1937. (l-r) Georgia Dodd, Lucille Christian, Nan Milan, (seated) Fern Hall, Joan Ayers, Ruth Christian, Lela Christian, Ruby Ayers. [pmss_ser31_oct_001a.jpg]
- Newspaper Clipping: Pine Mountain Settlement School Octet, 1937. [fern_0012.jpg]
- 68 Ruby Ayers with cup. [burk_people_068.jpg]
- Ruby Ayers Warren Correspondence. [warren_john_ruby_001.jpg]
- Ruby Ayers Warren Correspondence. [warren_john_ruby_002.jpg]
Title |
Ruby Ayers |
Alt. Title |
Ruby Ayers Warren ; Mrs. John J. Warren ; Ruby Warren ; |
Identifier |
RUBY AYERS WARREN Student |
Creator |
Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY |
Alt. Creator |
Helen Hayes Wykle ; Ann Angel Eberhardt ; |
Subject Keyword |
Ruby Ayers Warren ; The Pine Mountain Settlement School ; PMSS Girls’ Octet ; The Pine Cone ; poetry ; pen sketches ; Asheville (NC) College ; correspondence ; Cpl. John J. Warren ; William D. Webb ; Arthur W. Dodd ; housemothers ; birth announcements ; post-graduate work ; |
Subject LCSH |
Warren, Ruby Ayers, — 1920-2001. |
Date |
2020-02-11 aae |
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 – Students |
Language |
English |
Relation |
Is related to: Pine Mountain Settlement School Collections, Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Students and Series 19: STUDENTS. |
Coverage Temporal |
1883 – 2001 |
Coverage Spatial |
Pine Mountain, KY ; Harlan County, KY ; Asheville, NC ; |
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 Ruby Ayers Warren ; clippings, photographs, books by or about Ruby Ayers Warren. |
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 |
2022-08-26 aae ; |
Bibliography |
Source “Ruby Ayers Warren,” Series 09: BIOGRAPHY – Students and Series 19: STUDENTS. Pine Mountain Settlement School Institutional Papers. Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY. Internet |
Return to BIOGRAPHY – A-Z
SEE Biographies:
BONNIE AYERS Student
ELLEN “MATTIE” AYERS HAYES Student Staff
GEORGIA AYERS DODD Student Staff
JOANNA (JOAN) AYERS Student Staff