NOTES – 1994

Pine Mountain Settlement School
Series 17: PUBLICATIONS PMSS
Notes 1994
Spring and Fall

NOTES – 1994

“Notes from the Pine Mountain Settlement School”
Spring and Fall 1994

GALLERY: NOTES – 1994 Spring

[Burton Rogers’] leadership [in the new elementary school program] served as a centrifugal force to hold the three partners [Berea College, Harlan County schools, and Pine Mountain School] together while also preserving Pine Mountain’s identity as an independent institution. – James S. Greene III

TAGS: NOTES – 1994 Spring, Burton Rogers, biography, boarding school, Berea College, Harlan County schools, elementary program, library, playground, health services, community activities, Environmental Education, Trustees, settlement, Mary Simkhovitch

TRANSCRIPTION: NOTES – 1994 Spring

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PINE MOUNTAIN
SETTLEMENT SCHOOL
PINE MOUNTAIN     HARLAN COUNTY    KENTUCKY
Telephone: 606-558-3571

Spring             Paul Hayes, Director            1994

[Featured color photograph: “Burton Rogers” at the Chapel organ.]

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AN EMBODIMENT OF SETTLEMENT SPIRIT

This spring, Burton Rogers leaves Pine Mountain to take up residence in Lexington, Kentucky. Burton came to Pine Mountain in 1942, accompanied by his wife and infant son, to teach and serve as counselor in the boarding high school. A native of Sherman, Connecticut, and a graduate of Yale, Burton had spent most of the preceding decade teaching in China. Forced out by war, he and his wife, Mary, came to Pine Mountain, seeking a place where educational work and community service went hand in hand. Except for a brief interlude in India after World War II, they were to spend the remainder of their professional lives here.

In 1949, Pine Mountain joined forces with Berea College and the Harlan County schools to create a new elementary program for the community. Burton was invited to serve as director. His gifts of tact, humor, compassion, and sensitivity to the subtleties of human and institutional behavior would serve him well. His leadership served as a centrifugal force to hold the three partners together while also preserving Pine Mountain’s identity as an independent institution. The resulting school stood in contrast to the five one-room schools it replaced. Students went about their work in pleasant, well-equipped classrooms. They had lunch in the refined environment of Laurel House. Their teachers were well-qualified college graduates. They enjoyed a library and playground and numerous enrichment activities – folk dancing, music, art, woodworking, sewing, basketball . . . More important was the underlying philosophy of learning by doing; to paraphrase Ethel Zande, the students were not merely preparing for life; they were living. The intangibles of the community experience are still felt by its alumni today though reports, posters, and textbooks have long since faded and been discarded.

Burton saw to it that the settlement side of Pine Mountain was not neglected during this period. Working closely with the community, Pine Mountain provided health care, engaged in recreational opportunities for adults, experimented with early childhood education, and cooperated with other agencies seeking to improve Appalachian life.

In 1973, during the second year of Pine Mountain’s present environmental education program, Burton stepped aside as director. However, his emeritus status has not been an excuse to stand and watch. He has ably assisted each of his successors in the way and to the degree that they have sought his help, and continues to make…

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…friends for Pine Mountain. We on the Board of Trustees have benefited from his wisdom as “elder statesman,” though Burton’s vitality is such that “elder” hardly seems the way to describe him.

Sometimes we forget the importance of the word “settlement” in the school’s name. It is not there as a quaint relic of a time when mountain youth had to struggle to get an education. It represents a living ideal, a way of working with the community based upon the idea of “a family living its life with its neighbors.” It assures, in Burton’s words, “that people are not subordinated to the dictates of a program, but that the program is adaptable to the needs of the people.” A national pioneer of the settlement movement, Mary Simkhovitch, once wrote: “Only through fellowship…can the Kingdom of God be possible. And fellowship means bringing together men of every class and group in the interest of a life worth living… And only as we live in loving association with the whole world, can the faith of democracy and Christianity be realized.” Burton Rogers, through the way he has lived his life and served his adopted community, stands as a shining exemplar of this philosophy. He has striven to draw from the community rather than impose upon it; he has sought to bring into contact the neighbors and the outside world; he has worked to facilitate true understanding of the region by those outside and to eliminate the barriers of stereotype and ignorance.

As the time comes to say farewell, let us remember these words from the commencement exercises of the Pine Mountain Class of 1944:

“So to each of us has come the unusual,
the ordinary, the beautiful, the common, the gay, the sad,
the forgotten, and the memorable things that
Pine Mountain holds for all who seek its guidance.

* * *

In our going from this valley these we shall take with us,
In the hope of passing to another what Pine Mountain has given so freely to us.”

In the spirit of Pine Mountain,
[Signed] James S. Greene III
James S. Green III

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS 1994

Elderhostel CANCELED
April 3-8

Black Mountain Weekend
May 6-8

Homecoming
August 13

Fall Color Weekend
October 21-23

Wildflower Weekend
April 22-24

Elderhostel
June 12-18

Elderhostel
September 11-17

Nativity Play
December 11

Most of our buildings date back to the early 1900’s when we had no electricity and numerous windows were the necessity for lighting. We find that we need to replace the drafty, single-pane windows with double-pane insulated windows. This will reduce our energy costs, cut down on plumbing repairs, and make the classrooms more comfortable for our students. We appreciate any help you can offer.

PINE MOUNTAIN SETTLEMENT SCHOOL
NEEDS LIST 1994

LIBRARY
65 BROWN VINYL INSULATED WINDOWS/INSTALLED      $17,780.00

FAR HOUSE
46 BROWN VINYL INSULATED WINDOWS/INSTALLED        11,193.00

LAUREL HOUSE
SIDING AND TRIM/INSTALLED/CLEANED UP                        10,800.00

FARM HOUSE
25 BROWN VINYL INSULATED WINDOWS/INSTALLED         6,024.00

ZANDE HOUSE
25 BROWN VINYL INSULATED WINDOWS/INSTALLED         5,859.75

COUNTRY COTTAGE
SIDING AND TRIM/INSTALLED/CLEANED UP                         5,670.00

OFFICE
17 WHITE VINYL INSULATED WINDOWS/INSTALLED           4,314.00

GALLERY: NOTES – 1994 Fall

Should you deem the [carved chestnut] deer acceptable, I only ask that it be a permanent acquisition for the School as long as William Creech’s vision and the dedication of the School’s officers ensure the School’s survival and growth…. – Gregory Adams, wood carver.

TAGS: NOTES – 1994 Fall, Big Log, deer carving, Henry Wilder, Little Laurel, Margaret Wilder Adams, chestnut, Gregory Adams, Karen Adams, Chapel, Creech, Otis Adams, Paul Leach, computers, Malcolm Leach, Elsie Creech Leach, handcrafted chairs and stools, Dr. Barney Junker, Old Log, Mary Rogers 

TRANSCRIPTION: NOTES – 1994 Fall

P. 1

PINE MOUNTAIN
SETTLEMENT SCHOOL
PINE MOUNTAIN     HARLAN COUNTY    KENTUCKY
Telephone: 606-558-3571

Fall             Paul Hayes, Director            1994

[Featured color photograph: “THE CREECH CABIN…WHERE IT ALL BEGAN.’

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THE RECUMBENT DEER

August 16, 1994

Dear Paul,

The resolve to carve a deer to suite your request to display one of my carvings on the mantle of Big Log jelled at our last conversation in October. Resolutions are one thing. I then agonized for about three months whether to undertake the task.

The ensuing three months required the meticulous extracting from the wood a deer reminiscent of the one you expressed an interest in. Such a deer had to fulfill these requisites: the prayerlike quality that had appealed to my brother, Gary: the restful, pastoral nature of the campus of Pine Mountain Settlement School; and the character of an institution that exemplifies the creed of craftsmanship and self-sufficiency. I hope I have succeeded in some measure in all three.

Once carving ceased, the process then entered the sanding stage. This is no small matter. Carving comes natural; sanding is a chore to be accomplished, but [perseverance] proved a winning ingredient.

Once complete, I confess, sloth and envy caused more delay. The one required that the deer be properly presented, which necessitated ordering the cover and base; the other involved my reluctance to part with it. As a saving thought, one consideration was that I might be able to deliver on the anniversary of the visit to Pine Mountain by Karen and I, but my son’s impending wedding that week this coming October precludes that.

The wood is from the barn built by Henry Wilder of the property on Little Laurel on which my mother, Margaret (Wilder) Adams was raised. It is native North American Chestnut.

Should you deem the deer acceptable, I only ask that it be a permanent acquisition for the School as long as William Creech‘s vision and the dedication of the School’s officers ensure the School’s survival and growth, that is, as long as the Constitution of the United States stands.

Karen and I send our best wishes to you and the staff of Pine Mountain Settlement School.

Sincerely,
[Signed] Gregory Adams
Gregory Adams

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Dear Friends of Pine Mountain,

Greg and Karen Adams of Beaverton, Oregon renewed their wedding vows on October 12, 1993, in the Pine Mountain Chapel. Greg is a great-grandson of Uncle William and Aunt Sal Creech. He is also the son of Otis and Margaret (Wilder) Adams, who attended Pine Mountain Settlement School.

Paul Leach of Cincinnati, Ohio has been a long time contributor to Pine Mountain’s computer system. He generously shares his time, and knowledge of computers, and keeps us supplied with the proper equipment and hardware to operate an efficient office. Paul is also a great-grandson of William and Sally Creech and the son of the late Malcolm and Elsie (Creech) Leach.

We marvel at the talent of those whose roots begin here.

We were presented with four beautiful oak chairs and foot stools that were hand-crafted locally during the early 1950’s. They were given to Pine Mountain by Dr. Barney Junker of Whitehall, Pennsylvania. Dr. Junker, who at one time lived in Old Log at Pine Mountain, gave these in memory of our Mary Rogers.

Contributions come to Pine Mountain Settlement School in numerous shapes and forms ranging from monetary gifts, to forms of art, to gravel for our roads. Each individual is as special as the gift given, and as unique as the reason for giving it. We gratefully accept each gift, and thank all of you for your generous support. We look forward to seeing you when you are able to come.

In the spirit of Pine Mountain,

[Signed] Paul
Paul Hayes, Director

[Image: Small sketch of a mountain range and figures at the top of Pine Mountain.]

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 [Image: Sketch of supervisor and children exploring the woods.]

In a time of constant change, I think of Pine Mountain Settlement School as an enduring institution and am comforted by the stability it provides.
From a friend and neighbor

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 1995

Wildflower Weekend
April 21 – 23, 1995

Black Mountain Weekend
May 5 – 7, 1995

Elderhostel
June 25 – July 1, 1995

Homecoming
August 12, 1995

Elderhostel
September 10 – 16, 1995

Fall Color Weekend
October 20 – 22, 1995

Nativity Play
December 17, 1995

Pine Mountain Settlement School
36 Highway 510
Bledsoe, Kentucky 40810

(606) 558-3571 or 3542
FAX (606) 558-3258

Previous:
NOTES – 1993
Next:
NOTES – 1995

See Also:
BUILT ENVIRONMENT Guide
HISTORY PMSS Summary 1993-1994
HISTORY PMSS Summary 1994-1995

Return To:
NOTES Index