AN ANCHOR BOOKS ORIGINAL, SEPTEMBER 2011 Copyright © 2011 by The Foxfire Fund, Inc. Cover Design by Cardon Webb Cover images: washboard © Bettmann/Corbis All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Anchor Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Anchor Books and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc. Some of the material in this work was originally published in slightly different form in Foxfire Magazine. Grateful acknowledgment is made to Alfred Music Publishing Co., Inc. for permission to reprint “Hello in There” words and music by John Prine, copyright © 1970, copyright renewed by Walden Music, Inc. and Sour Grapes Music, Inc. All rights administered by Walden Music, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Alfred Music Publishing Co., Inc. The Foxfire Fund, Inc. PO Box 541 Mountain City, GA 30562-0541 706-746-5828 www.foxfire.org Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The Foxfire 45th anniversary book : singin’, praisin’, raisin’ / edited by Joyce Green, Casi Best, and Foxfire Students. p. cm. eISBN: 978-0-307-74487-6 1. Appalachian Region—Social life and customs. 2. Folklore—Appalachian Region. 3. Appalachian Region —Biography. I. Green, Joyce, 1940–II. Best, Casi, 1991–III. Foxfire magazine. F106.F695 2011 974—dc22 2011007737 www.anchorbooks.com v3.1 Only Gone from Our Sight Words and Music by Reagan Riddle, Recorded by The Primitive Quartet God calls loved ones home, yet our pain He can feel, He always knows best, He can comfort and heal. Remember, my friend, weeping lasts for the night, We’ll see them again; they’re only gone from our sight. Only gone from our sight to the beauties of Heaven, Only gone from our sight to a city so bright, Where the flowers of God are blooming forever, Keep looking beyond; they’re only gone from our sight. This book is dedicated to the memories of Robert Murray, Foxfire curator extraordinaire, and Marie Carter, gift shop comanager, who are only gone from our sight. Acknowledgments Over a period of six months, a group of dedicated individuals have worked earnestly to see The Foxfire 45th Anniversary Book come to fruition, and so many people have contributed ideas, time, knowledge, and information toward the finished project. We would like to sincerely thank present and past students of Rabun County High School for much of the content you will read through the sections of this book. Due to his love of gospel music, we would also like to dedicate the music section to Mr. Mark Earnest, Rabun County High School principal, and thank him for his commitment to and support of the Foxfire program. We would especially like to thank students Brittany Houck, Alyssa LaManna, Katie Lunsford, Kayla Mullen, and Kelly Smith for their many hours of interviews and transcription. We would not have been able to meet our deadline without their help. We want to recognize Rabun Gap–Nacoochee School, Billy Joe Stiles, and William Thurmond for their information, input, and help with the history and information used in the Farm Family stories. We also thank Mrs. Dorothy Carnes for the picture she provided of the Woodard family, and the Clerk of Court staff of Habersham County and the Northeast Georgia Regional Library for their assistance with research on some of the crime stories. Former Foxfire book editors Margie Bennett, Kaye Collins, and Lacy Hunter Nix brought their expertise back to the mountain and provided knowledge and help that made this whole thing possible. They proved to be such valuable assets, and their contributions were enormous. Kaye Collins sacrificed her summer vacation from teaching and spent countless hours in the archives of Foxfire, training students, researching, writing, interviewing, and providing guidance to those of us who were new at this task. Lacy Hunter Nix stepped in to fill a void in the middle of the project, and her knowledge and dedication proved to be a godsend. Margie Bennett, longtime Foxfire teacher and ally, even worked from a hospital bed in Tennessee and was so willing to tackle any task, whether it was interviewing, transcribing, writing, or just securing permission slips from contacts to have their stories published. Sheri Thurmond worked extensively on the Farm Family section and conducted several interviews. Teresa Gentry was instrumental in getting this book project off the ground and also interviewed and edited several articles. Museum curator Barry Stiles and former student Ben McClain also provided expert knowledge and helped to organize and write many of the how-to articles. Special thanks go to Rev. Delbert McCall and Reagan Riddle, who allowed us to use the lyrics of their songs, and to all the musicians who allowed us to record their musical compilations for a CD. Lee Carpenter worked tireless hours to format tons of material and get it ready for publication. His creative ability and sense of design provided the needed touch in the book’s completion. Finally, our deepest appreciation goes to the contacts whose stories are featured within these pages. This book would not have been possible if they had not been willing to share their lives with our readers. And then there’s Ann Moore, Foxfire’s president and chief executive officer. Ann is a remarkable woman who remained calm during the most stressful times even though she carried the heaviest burden of us all. She sacrificed meals and sleep and worked through her vacation to provide the direction and guidance we desperately needed. She proofed all the copy numerous times and was definitely the glue that held us all together. I truly admire her dedication and commitment to Foxfire and our contacts and students. —Joyce Green and Casi Best, editors In addition to the acknowledgments from our editors, I, too, want to thank everyone, especially the writing staff, who played such a huge part in the compilation of this book. My appreciation to Lee Carpenter, as well, who spent many nights after his regular job, pulling the book together as a whole for us; the excellent design is also his work. Lee is a patient man! He always allowed us to make last-minute changes and rewrites, and though it may have been a bit stressful, he took it all in stride! I also want to acknowledge and say a special thank-you to the two editors for all that they have contributed to bring this book to fruition. As you can see, so much of the work that is included was accomplished by them. Casi is a former Foxfire student who made a huge contribution to Foxfire during her high school years, and she continues to do so. While a student, she contributed over three hundred volunteer hours to us, in addition to her classroom work. She is an intelligent, wonderful young Christian woman whom I think the world of. She is now at Piedmont College becoming a nurse, and she will be a great one! Joyce Green: What in the world can I say? She is so incredibly creative, as you can see from her introduction to the book, her section introductions, and the songs she wrote that we’ve included here. What you don’t know is that she is a wonderful person, a great teacher, a brickmason and carpenter, an interior decorator, a beautiful singer and talented musician, and a caring Christian wife, daughter, and mother. Joyce is so talented in so many ways! Without her dedication to this book and the untold (and unpaid) hours she spent writing at night, on weekends, and during the final stages of this draft, we would not have been able to put this manuscript to bed on time. With sincerest appreciation to Joyce, Casi, Lee, and our book crew members for this latest, terrific addition to the Foxfire collection. —Ann Moore, president and executive director Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Dedication Acknowledgments Banjo Ringing Loud and Clear, Mountain Music in the Air Introduction “People will forget our past if it isn’t recorded.” Foxfire’s History A Beautiful Life In the Good Ol’ Days “Praise the Lord, Sammy’s quit smoking!” An interview with Sammy Green “Don’t you ever stop by my house again asking for whiskey!” An interview with Madge Merrell “So that’s pretty well my eighty-nine years.” Jack P. Nix tells us about his career “But he was a stinker, that boy of mine.” An interview with Lillie Billingsley “He had his head stuck up, and Mama shot him.” Memories from David “Lightnin’ ” Callenback “I don’t feel like I’m Republican; I know I am.” An interview with Carlee Heaton “Most of the toys I had was homemade.” Coyl Justice shares childhood memories “The first airplane … we thought it was the Lord a-comin’.” An interview with Vaughn Billingsley “You either moonshined or you sold corn to moonshiners.” Memories from Allen English “Castro, he invited me to come see him.” Tommy Irvin on forty years as ag commissioner Knoxville Girl Crime Close to Home “A ripple of dramatic emotion swept over the courtroom.” The 1939 murder of Grace Bingham Brock Hell-Bent and Whiskey Bound: A Scaly Mountain Murder As told by Lillie Billingsley “Well, now, this is a true story.” A story of birth and death from Melissa Rogers Last words, in a choked voice: “Good-bye, men.” The hanging of Will Brown “Yeah, that stuff’s a-growin’ wild up there.” Life and times of former sheriff Marley Cannon “Machine Gun Bandits Hold Up Bank Of Clayton” 1934 bank robbery as recalled by Huell Bramlett “I ain’t made no liquor in a long time.” Bass Dockery, “the Wild Russian” “Let me tell you about Bass.” Bill White says, “We hit it off good” “Oh, Lord, if you won’t help me, don’t help them.” The legend of the Moccasin gang A Legacy Lives On Sam McMahan on the loss of the Woodards Barbara Allen Tales and Legends “This happened on a cold, windy winter night.” Family ghost stories from Melissa Rogers “Our cemetery is haunted. Did you know it?” Louise Tabor relates a tale for Halloween “If you believe in spirits at all, like I do …” Bob Justus talks about the “little people” The Legend of the Deer and the Witch Lillie Billingsley’s “tale that my daddy told me” “You may not believe this, but they say …” Numerous Rabun legends from several people “These old mountains have lots of magic.” Fairy tales and folklore from Clyde Hollifield “I wasn’t hallucinating.” Greg Stancil’s true encounter with the devil Echoes Mountain Music Fills the Air “We went to the Grand Ole Opry in 1960.” Curtis Blackwell “I like the ol’ brother-style duet stuff.” Wallace “Josh” Crowe A Story and a Song David Holt “It’s been real, and it’s been fun, but it ain’t been real fun!” LV and Mary Mathis A Family Tradition Mountain Faith Fishers of Men The Primitive Quartet A Band Is Born George Reynolds and The Foxfire Boys “Because He Loved Me” Morris Stancil and his son, Greg Stancil The Banjo Can Also Touch the Heart Dale Tilley “I’m a musician.” Gary Waldrep “Emergency services pronounced me dead at the scene.” Young Harmony Daddy Was a Farmer School Farm Families Rabun Gap–Nacoochee School Farm Family Program Dr. Karl Anderson “I think it was the people that made it so special.” Frances Fry Deal “Jack Acree … washed my mouth out with soap!” Jimmy Deal “What I’ve got now, I picked up from Rabun Gap School.” James Adams Farmer’s Daughter Jo-Anne Stiles Hubbs