Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 17: PUBLICATIONS PMSS
Dear Friend Letters
Fundraising 1911 to present
“Dear Friends” letter from Rebecca Caudill Ayers, December 1964, page 1. [1964RebeccaCaudillAyerstoFriend.jpg]
TAGS: Dear Friend Letters Index, fund-raising, newsletters, updates, group mailings, Burton Rogers, Director fund appeals, Mary Rogers drawings, new construction, new hires, community news, Director’s work, philosophical overviews, educational programs, new hires, staff departures, deaths, donations, needs, biographies, financial reports
DEAR FRIEND LETTERS Index (1911 – )
The DEAR FRIEND LETTERS of Pine Mountain Settlement School are used to keep former students, trustees, and friends of the institution informed regarding the activities of the School and to solicit financial support for institutional programming and physical facilities. The periodical letters generally written by the Director may also be “farmed ” out to others to touch special interests and appeals.
The letters, which most always begin with “Dear Friend,” generally contain a running account of additions to the built environment; additions of staff or departures of workers; donations; events of importance to the School or community; educational program updates; biographical information of individuals associated with the School; and economic indicators for those interested in the financial health of the School. Most importantly, they are tools for raising operational and endowment money for the School.
The letters or flyers are generally brief and their format is irregular depending on the Director’s guidance. The Dear Friend Letter is mailed in addition to the more broadly disseminated NOTES (Notes from the Pine Mountain Settlement School, 1919-2001). Also, like NOTES, the DEAR FRIEND LETTERS were mailed several times a year.
FREQUENCY AND FORMAT
While the frequency and format of the DEAR FRIEND LETTERS varies with the Director’s instruction, they remain a key document for tracing the history and development of the institution. The LETTERS were more frequent in the early development years of the settlement school and were largely written by Ethel de Long [Zande] until her death in 1928. These early letters reflect her ability to tug at the heart-strings of donors and are an intimate and often personal reflection of the early activity of the School. Later letters are more generic and often specific to programming and urgent needs. Also, in later years the Directors generally elected to use NOTES as the main vehicle for communication and fund-raising and some of the candid commentary found in the DEAR FRIEND LETTERS is lost in the more broad and generic reporting on the activity of the institution.
Personal correspondence of workers is generally not found here but many biographical details of staff and students can be found woven into the letter dialog. If biographical information of a staff member or a student is included it is brief and additional biographical material may be sought by consulting the individual BIOGRAPHY of the Director (sender), and/or the receiver of the correspondence (if indicated), or those mentioned in the letter. Yet, considerable information may often be gleaned about members of the community and the staff of the institution through the consistent publication of DEAR FRIEND LETTERS. Historical highlights of the year may also be found in the letter narratives.
THE LIST
The following list is a partial accounting of the DEAR FRIEND LETTERS and a few accompanying or associated mailings. Not all years are represented and these will be updated as additional DEAR FRIEND LETTERS are scanned and added. The years following the end of the Boarding School years are presently sparse, but more will be added as they are processed.
Letters prior to 1913, the year of the founding of the School, represent fund-raising efforts prior to and during the establishment of the institution.
DEAR FRIEND LETTERS Index
DEAR FRIEND Letters from Katherine Pettit (1911-1930)
and Ethel de Long Zande (1911 — 1928)
1911 [Ethel de Long from Hindman Settlement School] – An unusually early letter that sought money to begin Pine Mountain Settlement School. The letter, written by Ethel de Long while she was still at Hindman Settlement School, samples the climate for the creation of the new school in Harlan County.
1911 May 27 Ethel de Long from Hindman. The six-page letter describes a trip taken by Ethel de Long and Miss Butler, a nurse at Hindman, to look at possible sites for additional Settlement Schools in eastern Kentucky. “At last there is a chance to tell you about that beautiful trip ….”
1912 pending
1913 October & November – Letters by Ethel de Long and Katherine Pettit describing the early days of building the School and future plans that will need funding, particularly plans for hog-proof fencing. An enclosure titled, “Sammy,” by Evangeline Bishop is a narrative from the pigs’ point of view.
1914 January & November from Ethel de Long.
(PRIVATE – DEAR FRIEND Report and Letter 1914) November 21, 1914: “Miss de Long to Patrons” and Fall 1914: “Miss Margaret McCutcheon, after a visit.”
1915 June & November from Ethel de Long and William Creech.
1916 April & September (RE: the seven Callahan children; a letter associated with the September 15, 1916, mailing) from Ethel de Long.
1917 January from Ethel de Long.
1918 May & October from Ethel de Long Zande. Coal camps begin to impact the lives of families in Harlan County and education at PMSS.
1919
1920 June from Ethel de Long Zande.
1921 March from Ethel de Long Zande.
1922 [NO CONTENT]
1923 February from Ethel de Long Zande.
1924 April from Ethel de Long Zande.
1925 April – From Ethel de Long Zande
1926 May – [missing last page]
1927 April – From Ethel de Long Zande
DEAR FRIEND Letters from Angela Melville, Interim Director (1928-1930)
and Evelyn K. Wells, Interim Director (1931)
1928 April – From Evelyn K. Wells
1929 April- From Angela Melville
1930 April & May – From Angela Melville
1931 April – From Evelyn K. Wells “for the Board of Trustees”
DEAR FRIEND Letters from Glyn A. Morris (1932-1942)
1932 April
1933 March
1934 March
1935 April
1936 March
1937 April
1938 March
1939 [month not specified]
1940 March
1941 April
1942 April
DEAR FRIEND Letters From William D. Webb, Acting Director (1943-1944)
1943 May
1944 April
DEAR FRIEND Letters from H.R.S. Benjamin (1945-1948)
1945 April
1946 April
1947 April
1948 April
DEAR FRIEND Letter from James S. Crutchfield, Trustee (1949)
1949 June
DEAR FRIEND Letters & Brochures from Burton Rogers (1950-1973)
1950 April Letter (draft and final versions) and Brochure
1951 Louisville Courier-Journal Article about PMSS and Brochure
1952 April and December Letters; July Brochure
1953 November Letter and 3 Brochures (one is dated April)
1954 December Letter
1955 December Letter and Brochure
1956 May Letter
1957 April and December Letters
1958 June and Thanksgiving Letters
June – Burton Rogers reports on the upcoming closure of the Pine Mountain Hospital and the rationale for its discontinuance. He pays homage to the 45 years of service of the medical facilities at the School while noting that the new 20-mile blacktop road to Harlan allows more rapid access to medical services. Further, the shortage of nurses made staffing difficult at PMSS. He describes a plan for a new shared program with the Presbyterian Child Welfare Agency to house and educate a small group of children from the region in the School’s facilities.
1959 May and December Letters
1960 May and December Letters
1961 May and November Letters
1962 May and December Letters
1963 March, May, August, September, Thanksgiving Letters
1964 Jan, May, Nov (from Burton Rogers), Dec (from author Rebecca Caudill Ayars)
1965 May and November Letters & Brochures
1966 May and December Letters
1967 April and December Letters and a Brochure
1968 May and November Letters
1969 May and November Letters
1970 June and November Letters
1971 May Letter and December Brochure
1972
1973
DEAR FRIEND Letters from Alvin Boggs (1973-1983)
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
DEAR FRIEND Letters from James & Carol Urquhart (1983-1986)
1983
1984
1985
1986
DEAR FRIEND Letters from Paul Hayes (1986-1996)
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
DEAR FRIEND Letters from Mildred Mahoney (1996-1997)
1996
1997
DEAR FRIEND Letters from Robin Lambert (1997-2001)
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
DEAR FRIEND Letters from William Caudill (2001)
2001
DEAR FRIEND Letters from Nancy Adams (2002-2013)
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
DEAR FRIEND Letters from Penne Lane & Miriam Pride (2014-2015)
2014
2015
DEAR FRIEND Letters from Geoff E. Marietta (2015-2019)
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
DEAR FRIEND Letters from Preston Jones (2019-2023)
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
[ON-GOING]
