DEAR FRIEND Letters 1962

Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 17: PMSS Publications (Published by the School)
DEAR FRIEND Letters 1962

DEAR FRIEND Letters 1962 May and December

[Sketches by Mary Rogers.]

TAGS: Dear Friend letters 1962,fundraising letters,PMSS Director Burton Rogers,Mary Rogers’ sketches,Primary election,community telephone service,Community Council,Council of the Southern Mountains,weaving, Boy Scouts,library,Little Shepherd Trail,William Hayes,cooperative consolidated school program,

CONTENTS: Dear Friend Letters 1962 May 25

Page 1
Header: “Pine Mountain Settlement School
Pine Mountain, Kentucky
Affiliated with Berea College”

Sketch: Mountain range with small tree in right foreground]

“May 25, 1962
“Dear Friends .. Today we completed our 49th school year with the assurance that our cooperation with the public school system is needed and important. The children of this area will be back in the fall, to fill our classrooms (grades 1 – 10) and make good use of the Library, Laurel House (dining room), the playing fields and other facilities. The Chapel is always available for special occasions, such as the closing school exercises today. …”

“… It was the dream of the founders and early workers of Pine Mountain Settlement School that the school would serve as a center for community and civic functions. It would have been hard for any of them to anticipate our role in next week’s Primary election, when residents of this community will come to the school to use their first voting machines.”

DEAR FRIEND fundraising letter from PMSS Director Burton Rogers, May 25, 1962. [1962May25BurtonRogerstoFriend.jpg]

PMSS Director Burton Rogers continues with another example of a change since the School’s founding: telephone service in community homes, the result of the efforts of the Community Council and other parties. He lists other initiatives by the Community Council: adult evening woodworking classes, sale of beech bark syrup in the Harlan craft shop and a roadside picnic area on PMSS property.

In February, a delegation of youths and adults attended the 50th Annual Conference of the Council of the Southern Mountains. In March, the Kentucky Regional Group of the Council met at PMSS, with 200 in attendance.

Rogers writes of neighbors using the newly remodeled weaving room, taught by a teacher from the Southern Highland Handicraft Guild and a growing interest in vegetable-dyed yarns; the 4-H Club’s raising and selling plants to local gardeners, and several Boy Scouts achieving the rank of Life Scout and Star Scout. He mentions the possibility of resuming Girl Scouts through the formation of a Brownie troop.

Page 2
Rogers describes the popularity of the recreation room and multi-purpose playing court, softball field and swimming pool. The fourth and fifth graders made a tally of 9,641 books in the library.

“The commitment of the Pine Mountain Settlement School through the years has been to bring opportunity to this community, and particularly to its children. This opportunity must include understanding and appreciation of their heritage of resources, beauty, and a culture, as well as the development of abilities and responsible habits. It is a privilege to see our children, and adult members of our community creatively using this opportunity.”

“Sincerely yours,
[signed] Burton Rogers, Director

Sketch: Children taking books from the library shelves.

GALLERY

CONTENTS: Dear Friend Letters 1962 December

Page 1
Sketch: Mountain range “from a vantage point on the Little Shepherd Trail, a new road along the crest of Pine Mountain, passing directly behind and above the school. … This new road, not a highway, but a scenic trail, was constructed under the supervision of a Pine Mountain graduate who was for many years the School’s farm manager and is now with the Kentucky Division of Forestry [William Hayes].”

PMSS Director Burton Rogers continues with a description of the view from Little Shepherd Trail. Although few houses can be seen, nearly 2000 people live in the area which the School serves.

Rogers quotes from a specialist in Appalachian Kentucky and a PMSS friend, who states that the challenge is how to help the people of East Kentucky get ready for “life and citizenship” during the current “social and economic transition.” This is a summary of PMSS’s task and opportunity, according to Rogers. He then describes the cooperation between PMSS and the Harlan County Board of Education “to provide the best possible school for the children. …”

Page 2
Rogers gives examples of the services that are provided by the cooperative consolidated school program and its progress since the program began in 1949. He mentions out-of-school-hours education for youth, recreational opportunities, adult education, the School farm and forest programs, cultural events and Chapel programs.

Rogers concludes with appreciation for the help and support of “our friends” and sends Christmas greetings.

“Sincerely,
[signed] Burton Rogers, Director”

Sketch: Cabin on hillside with large fir tree and mountain in background.
“All gifts to the Pine Mountain Settlement School, Inc., are tax exempt.”

GALLERY

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