FARM 1999 COMMUNITY Fair Day

Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 11: FARM & FARMING
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FARM 1999 Community Fair Day

Community Fair Day 1999. [fair_day_1998_019.jpg]

FARM 1999 COMMUNITY Fair Day
August 26, 1999

TAGS: 1999 Community Fair Day, Pine Mountain Fair Day, Pine Mountain Settlement School community, farm displays, crafts displays, garden displays, foodways, Fair Day games, quilt displays, Robin Lambert, Settlement Institutions in Appalachia conference, Pat Begley, Ben Begley, pottery demonstration

INTRODUCTION

The year 1999 was marked by Pine Mountain Settlement School to hosting a major conference at the School on the Settlement Institutions in Appalachia in 2000. It was a time to look back at the role Community Day, or Community Fair Day, has played in the life of Rural Settlement Schools.

The 1999 Community Fair Day is just one of the annual calendar events that focus on bringing community together. It started in 1917 as an extension of the Harlan County Fair and the School’s “Farmer’s Day.” It continues today as an annual event at the School.

While the fundamental program of the Fair has remained remarkably consistent, the scale and scope of the Fair have varied from year to year as interest in fairs waxed and waned in the School, the community, and the nation.

EXCERPT FROM “NOTES”: FARM 1999 COMMUNITY Fair Day

Robin Lambert, in preparation for the upcoming 2000 conference on Settlement Institutions in Appalachia, wrote about the idea of “Community” in the Fall 1999 NOTES:

Summer of 1999 saw a new wave of interest in southern Appalachia. President Clinton was in neighboring Perry County in July, and Jesse Jackson was in the region in the spring. This interest is prompted, in part, because the coalfield mountains — like much of rural America — have benefited little from the economic growth and opportunity generated in the 1990s.

In these circumstances the approaches of the Settlement philosophy become especially important. Since their beginnings in the late nineteenth century, Settlement institutions have sought to bring all kinds of people together in ways that helped everybody —community residents, Settlement workers, and guests — learn from and enjoy each together. They have worked to address interests and needs of neighborhood residents in ways that build on community strengths. Settlements encourage everyone — not just targeted groups — to participate, contribute, and benefit. They help create and celebrate beauty and they trust in the promise of interdependence and neighborliness. …

… Our activities at Pine Mountain reflect the Settlement approach. Fall Color and Wildflower Weekends, Nativity Play, Community Day Camp, the Intervention program, Homemakers Club, woodcarving classes, the children’s baseball league, and the environmental education program are some of the activities and programs which bring people together at Pine Mountain.
— NOTES From the Pine Mountain Settlement School, Fall 1999, Robin Lambert