Dr. Ida Stapleton and Rev. Robert Stapleton
Line Fork 1927 – 1947

STAPLETON REPORT – LETTER – July 24, 1936
“Sorry the ‘antique’ had … “

TRANSCRIPTION courtesy of Gretchen Rasch, great-granddaughter of the Stapletons:

THE CABIN
GILLEY P.O. KENTUCKY
July 24 – 1936.

My dear K. P. [Katherine Pettit]

Sorry the “antique” had a spot – I didn’t notice it.

Yes, Elinor and family are here and we are a very busy merry household. Sunday was a gala day – nearly all the neighborhood came and John [Rasch] played a grand game of hand ball with the boys and girls on the lawn. Maxine came and took charge of the babies – tiny tots – so that I could devote myself to the ten next-size boys.

We went down to Cumberland in Almon Cornett’s truck to meet them and took Scott Wright to drive over the Mt for John. However, Elinor [Stapleton Rasch] said if they had been alone John would have said, when he saw the road at Sand Hill, “It just can’t be done” but with Wright along he drove himself and will not be afraid to go back alone. Yesterday R[obert] took John and Elinor to Pine Mt taking turn and turnabout on Mare Swallow – the children are having little rides about the yard to their great joy and delight. They were delighted with all they saw and blessed the vision that had inspired the erection of buildings and planned the grounds. The new building is going forward well. Hi Hall, Will Cornett and Cillas go over every day from her – and Cillas [Silas?] does such good work and has such speed he has been promoted to first place with an increase in wages. Will Cornett was a bit miffed that he was not given the preference but Cillas’ work was so evidently the better.

Ida Engle has had her third baby. I was with her on Wed. She has improved the house in neatness considerably since the first baby arrived less than three years ago but as for conveniences they were as lacking as at the first confinement – however I have quite a nice lot of baby things in my cupboard now and even a few sheets that help a lot to keep her bed sanitary –or perhaps plain clean is a better word.

Old Aunt Jane was quite sick too and a little four year old granddaughter was waiting on her. I got her (Aunt Jane) some glasses that give her much better service than the ones she has been trying to use. Alta’s little boy came running down the hill to open the gate for me. He said, “I seed you coming and knows you couldn’t open the gate.”

Boone Hall is still very sick and they telegraphed Frank to come home. He is here now and will not go back if he can find some work. The house is in quarantine altho the Co Health doctor said it was not the most contagious kind. It is so difficult for the family to settle down to patient nursing. I still think it is a case of sunstroke with complications.

He who has built a tower
Laughs at the wind-torn flower
Laughs at the dust-dry streams
But out of the flower’s sorry
Out of the river’s smart
Still may he build tomorrow

Yours
Ida Stapleton

[Date of transcription: 2014-03-07]

I really enjoyed this one – I remember my dad Arthur Rasch talking about this (he was 10 years old when they visited Line Fork). He was much taken with “Mare Swallow”, as was his cousin Elaine who visited a couple of years earlier and also has mentioned Swallow [Settlement horse] to me.
regards
 Gretchen Rasch [New Zealand]
[Email dated 2014-03-07 from G. Rasch that accompanied transcription]

Title	STAPLETON LETTER 1936 – July
Alt. Title	Dr. Ida Stapleton and Rev. Robert Stapleton Line Fork 1927 – 1947
Identifier	https://pinemountainsettlement.net/?page_id=7647
Creator	Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY
Alt. Creator	Ann Angel Eberhardt ; Helen Hayes Wykle ;
Subject Keyword	Dr. Ida Stapleton ; Rev. Robert Stapleton ; Pine Mountain Settlement School ; Line Fork Settlement ; John Rasch ; handball ; Almon Cornett ; Scott Wright ; Elinor Stapleton Rasch ; Sand Hill ; Mare Swallow ; horses ; Hi Hall ; Will Cornett ; Ida Engle ; Boone Hall ; telegraphs ; quarantine ; doctors ; sunstroke ; poems ; Pine Mountain, KY ; Harlan County, KY ; Line Fork, KY ; Gilley, KY ; Letcher County, KY ; Cumberland, KY ;
Subject LCSH	Stapleton, Dr. Ida S., — 1871 – 1946. Stapleton, Rev. Robert, — 1866 — 1945. Pine Mountain Settlement School (Pine Mountain, Ky.) — History. Line Fork Medical Settlement (Gilley, Ky.) — History. Harlan County (Ky.) — History. Education — Kentucky — Harlan County. Rural medicine — Kentucky — Letcher County. Rural schools — Kentucky — History. Schools — Appalachian Region, Southern. Rural health services — Appalachian Region — History.
Date	2014-03-07
Publisher	Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY
Contributor	Gretchen Rasch
Type	Collections ; text ; image ;
Format	Original and copies of documents and correspondence in file folders in filing cabinet
Source	Series 21A: Personal Narratives (Written) ; Series 14: Built Environment – Line Fork Settlement ; Series 09: Biography – Ruth Dennis, Katherine Pettit ;
Language	English
Relation	Is related to: Pine Mountain Settlement School Collections, Series 21A: Personal Narratives (Written) ; Series 14: Built Environment – Line Fork Settlement ; Series 09: Biography – Ruth Dennis, Katherine Pettit ; Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) http://www.kyhistory.com/ ; Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) Library, Ida Stapleton Letters to Friends SC 462 http://khscatalog.kyvl.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=8347 ; Morris, Glyn. Less Traveled Roads. New York: Vantage Press, 1977.
Coverage Temporal	July 1936
Coverage Spatial	Pine Mountain, KY ; Harlan County, KY ; Line Fork, KY ; Gilley, KY ; Letcher County, KY ; Cumberland, KY ;
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 Dr. Ida Stapleton and Rev. Robert Stapleton ; clippings, photographs, books by or about Dr. Ida Stapleton and Rev. Robert Stapleton ;
Acquisition	n/d
Citation	Line Fork Settlement School – Dr. Ida S. Stapleton and Rev. Robert Stapleton. Pine Mountain Settlement School Institutional Papers, Pine Mountain Settlement School, Pine Mountain, KY
Processed By	Helen Hayes Wykle ; Ann Angel Eberhardt ;
Last Updated	2014-03-07 aae :
Bibliography	Sources Pine Mountain Settlement School Collections, Series 21A: Personal Narratives (Written), Series 14: Built Environment – Line Fork Settlement, and Series 09: Biography – Ruth Dennis, Katherine Pettit. Pine Mountain, KY. Archival material. Bibliography Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) http://www.kyhistory.com/ (accessed 2014-01-06). Internet resource. Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) Library, Ida Stapleton Letters to Friends SC 462 http://khscatalog.kyvl.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=8347 (accessed 2014-01-06). Internet resource. Morris, Glyn. Less Traveled Roads. New York: Vantage Press, 1977. Print.