History Burgoo

Exploring Kentucky’s Craft Industry

In 2009 and 2011, the Kentucky Oral History Commission, administered by the Kentucky Historical Society awarded funding to support oral history documentation of specific aspects of the craft industry in eastern Kentucky. Amanda Fickey, the project's director highlights below this project and her Ph.D research. The interviews for this collection are housed at the University of Kentucky Nunn Center for Oral History and will abe available to the public in 2015.  - SM

 

Since the mid-twentieth century, Central Appalachia’s regional economy has suffered due to decreases in extractive industries. As jobs have been lost, many individuals have turned to alternative economic practices, such as small-scale agriculture and craft production, to make ends. Such practices however, are not new. Woodland agricultural methods prevalent among Native American tribes and early European  settlers were comprised of numerous economic activities. Though such activities may have lessened with the rise of industrialization and wage-labor throughout the region, small-scale craft and agricultural production continues to be important economic practices that allow people to make a living and remain in their homeplace.

My dissertation research, titled “Redefining development: Exploring alternative economic practices in Appalachia,” seeks to better understand the economic decisions that craft producers make in their everyday lives and the diverse practices that exist within the context of Eastern Kentucky’s craft industry. For example, some craft producers strive to own an individual studio, while others explore cooperative production and distribution methods. Craft organizations are diverse as well, relying on wage-labor, barter, and volunteerism.

Exploring both capitalist and non-capitalist practices allows us to broaden the sorts of economic activities might be recognized as development worthy. This project also seeks to better understand the work biographies of both craft producers and arts-related organizational leaders through oral history. With funding provided by the Kentucky Oral History Commission (Phase I Grant, 2009; Phase II Grant, 2011) I have conducted interviews with craft producers, arts-related organizational leaders, and state representatives associated with the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program. The study includes interviews from throughout the region of Eastern Kentucky as well as materials gathered from individuals at regionally and state-based arts organizations. Interviews are triangulated with archival and historical research.

This project is part of my much larger research agenda which seeks to find a new path forward for the Appalachian region. Having grown up the daughter of a coal miner in Letcher County, I have experienced, first hand, the difficulties of growing up in the mountains. My work, teaching, and service are dedicated to reimagining what is possible for the future of the region and redefining the ‘good life’. This requires exploring new development possibilities (including capitalist and non-capitalist practices) and reevaluating old growth-based economic development strategies.

I am personally interested in the use of language by policy makers and development practitioners to render economic development practices technical and devoid of contextual specificity. In 2011, my paper: “Rendering Regional Development Technical: An Examination of ‘Appalachia: A Report by the President’s Appalachian Regional Commission, 1964,’” received the Carl A. Ross Paper Award from the Appalachian Studies Association. Throughout this paper, I argue that policy documents produced by the Appalachian Regional Commission have often limited economic imaginings through the perpetuation of regional stereotypes and short-term, decontextualized strategies. In all of my research pertaining to development and anti-development, I seek to counter such approaches and aid in the creation of long-term strategies that address broader structural issues.

Furthermore, I think that to offer new economic strategies in the region we have to take into consideration political economy and ecology. For example, despite state and regional-based efforts to provide financial support for craft production, arts and development organizations must also take into account ecological concerns. Raw materials that crafters use (such as hardwoods) often face ecological threats which are rarely if ever recognized by arts-related organizations. In an effort to explore both economic and ecological concerns, I partnered with Dr. Lynne Rieske-Kinney, Department of Entomology at the University of Kentucky, to create an on-line database – specifically for craft producers – with images and information pertaining to ecological threats facing the Central Appalachian region.

Much work remains to be done. Further analysis of the craft industry must take place and new economic development practices, beyond resource extraction, are yet to be fully explored. In a region plagued with a history of resource extraction, which has resulted in diseases such as Black Lung and a significant increase in the number of infants born with birth defects near mountaintop removal sites(1), the search for new development strategies is both critical and urgent.

--- Amanda Fickey

 Author Amanda Fickey is a PhD Candidate in the department of geography at the University of Kentucky. Amanda has authored papers in the Journal of Appalachian Studies, PRISM: A Journal of Regional Development, Geography Compass, and disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory. She is also the author of a new foreword in the paperback edition of The Handcraft Revival in Southern Appalachia, 1930-1990, available now from the University of Tennessee Press. To learn more about Amanda and her work, please visit her website: http://amandafickey.wordpress.com.

References

1. Ahern, M., M. Hendryx, J. Conley, E. Fedorko, A. Ducatman, and K. Zulling. 2011. “The association between mountaintop removal mining and birth defects among live births in central Appalachia, 1996-2006.” Environmental Research 111(6): 838-846.

Images

1. Photographer: Amanda Fickey. Event: Kentucky Craft Market, 2012, Lexington, Kentucky. Artist/Organization: Bountiful Baskets by Jan.

2. Photographer: Amanda Fickey. Event: Kentucky Craft Market, 2012, Lexington, Kentucky. Artist/Organization: The Weavery

3. Photographer: Amanda Fickey. Event: Kentucky Craft Market, 2012, Lexington, Kentucky. Artist/Organization: http://www.jamisonbrumm.com/home.

 

 

Muster on the Kentucky: A Bicentennial Commemoration of Kentucky’s Role in the War of 1812

During the War of 1812, the Commonwealth of Kentucky made an extraordinarily disproportionate contribution to the war effort: 64% of the entire war’s casualties were Kentucky citizens.

The Kentucky National Guard and the City of Frankfort’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Sites are putting on a commemorative event June 22-23 to highlight the critical role Kentucky’s troops played in the War of 1812.

“Muster on the Kentucky” kicks off at 1:30 p.m. Friday, June 22, when state officials will lay a wreath in memory of Kentucky’s War of 1812 veterans at the Kentucky Military Monument in the historic Frankfort Cemetery. The modern-day Kentucky National Guard’s ceremonial artillery battery will fire a salute, as will reenactors armed with Kentucky Rifles. Later that afternoon, Frankfort officials will name a trail in the Leslie Morris Park on Fort Hill for a British-Canadian officer who died in Frankfort while he was a prisoner of war.

A gala dinner at the Capital Plaza Hotel Friday evening will feature a special presentation about Kentucky’s role in the war. On Saturday, June 23, several authors will speak and sign books at a day-long program at the recently restored Grand Theatre in downtown Frankfort.

A living history camp depicting Kentuckians on campaign during the War of 1812 will be set up at Kentucky River View Park on Saturday. Frankfort was where several units organized before marching northward to take part in the war’s campaigns along the Canadian border.

The Kentucky Historical Society is the administrative agency for the War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission, an 18-member body established by the Kentucky legislature in 2010. For more information, visit the War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission page at www.history.ky.gov. 

MUSTER ON THE KENTUCKY
Kentucky’s Bicentennial of the War of 1812
All events free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.

Friday, June 22, 2012
1:30 p.m. Opening Ceremony, State War Memorial at Frankfort Cemetery, 215 East Main.
3 p.m. Dedication of Sailing Master James Miller Trail, Leslie Morris Park at Fort Hill.
3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Living History Demonstrations, Leslie Morris Park at Fort Hill.
7 p.m. Dinner, Capital Plaza Hotel, 405 Wilkinson Blvd. (Reservations required, please contact Robin Antenucci at 502-875-8687 or rantenucci@visitfrankfort.com.)

Saturday, June 23, 2012
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Living History Encampment, Kentucky River View Park, off Wilkinson Blvd.
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lecture Sessions, The Grand Theatre, 308 St. Clair St.
10 a.m. Frank Kuron “Thus Fell Tecumseh”
11:20 a.m. Harry Smith portraying Private William Greathouse
Noon to 1:30 p.m.  Book signing (next to the theatre)
1:30 p.m.  Glenn Stott, “A Different Kind of War: An Uneasy Time in the Thames Valley”
2:35 p.m.  Bonnie Strassell, “Brothers at Dudley’s Defeat: A Mother’s Story”
3:35 p.m.  Eddie Price, “Widder’s Landing: A Novel inspired by Kentuckians’ sacrifice in the War of 1812”
4:30 p.m. Summary and conclusion
5 p.m. Book signing following conclusion (next to the theatre)

 

What did you learn at Camp ArtyFact?

Chloe Warfield, a 10-year-old Spring 2012 Camp ArtyFact participant, blogs about her experiences in classes “3-D and Beyond” and “Graphics, Graffiti and Calligraphy,” and about anticipating Summer Camp ArtyFact.

In 3-D class I did 3-D art paper cubes. This is interesting because it seems like a game.  You can roll to a picture or a number and find a matching picture or number.

You will notice that I love owls and I will probably talk about owls a lot in my blog.

The second thing I did was owls in a coffee shop. This is fun because I love creating things with clay and especially owls. This is how I made my owl out of clay. You draw or do the clay in a Pac-man ghost. Then for the eyes you draw two big circles, and then in the middle of the eye you draw two smaller circles. You draw a rectangle for the nose and for the wings you draw two triangles. The toes are two or three zig zag lines depending on the size of the owl.

We also created 3-D pillows. Of course since I love owls my 3-D pillows were owls. One was the mommy and one was the baby owl.

Chloe's clay owls and Native American vest

The fourth thing I did was Native American headband and vest art. The Native Americans put a red dot on their headdress or vest to symbolize how many enemies they killed successfully and I added a hundred red dots to my vest and headdress.

In blog class we cut pictures out of a magazine and blogged about the subject.

We also did graffiti monsters. We had wet ink and put dots all over the paper. We blew the wet ink and then drew around the dots to make monsters or things. The things that I made were a witch, a scary face, flying skateboards, more owls, wolf and a hairy leg with a shoe on its foot.

We went to the permanent exhibit, “A Kentucky Journey,” and we looked at writing because we were writing like they would have written in past times and we were making posters about the UK ballgames. My poster said, Kansas vs Kentucky at 9:30.

Chloe can often be found deep in thought in coffee shops, because bloggers love to blog there.

We also went to an exhibit called the “Hall Of Governors.”  We were suppose to write about one of them. I chose Martha Layne Collins. She was the first woman governor. I learned that Martha Layne Collins was born Dec. 7, 1936. She was the state of Kentuckys 56^th governor from 1983 to 1987. Prior to her election as governor, she was the 48^th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, under John Y Brown Jr.  As of 2012, she is the only woman to have been a governor of Kentucky. Her election made her the highest-ranking Democratic woman in the US.  I wrote about her using calligraphy writing.

I really want to do this again because I really loved it. I loved doing the graffiti monsters and the calligraphy pens. I would recommend this camp to everyone who reads this blog.

Camp ArtyFact is a series of week-long camps for children ages 5 to 13 offered on the KHS history campus in downtown Frankfort. Summer 2012 classes are filling fast! Visit www.history.ky.gov/camp for more information.

Arab and Jewish Women in KY

A new addition to the University Press of Kentucky Oral History Series, Arab and Jewish Women in Kentucky: Stories of Accomodation and Audacity reflects the not-so-hiddent diversity in the state, and also illustrates the power of oral history to document the human story. This project was proudly supported in part through a Kentucky Oral History Commission project grant. Author Rosie Moosnick shares this blog post as an enticement for her recent publication:

 

Arabs, Jews. Kentucky? Strong images surface when thinking about Arabs, Jews, and their religions and lands. Kentucky is not normally a state that comes to mind when talking about Arabs and Jews. It’s not New York or Michigan. The book, Arab and Jewish Women in Kentucky: Stories of Accommodation and Audacity, seeks to challenge misconceptions and to overcome neglect of Arabs and Jews in out of the way places in America by imparting the stories of ten Arab and Jewish women in Kentucky. The intention is to confound simplistic notions of Kentucky that offend and belittle and to reveal likenesses between Arabs and Jews.

Arabs and Jews have been largely discounted as residents of the region even though, as business owners, they have provided goods for residents across the State. Their stories are ones of immigrants who supply daily lives and have done so for several generations, the people who provide(d) movie entertainment, clothes, meats, fine furnishings, shoes, and cell phones among other items. Vibrant communities exist(ed) in Kentucky. According to the Arab American Institute, for instance, Kentucky’s Arab population “is among the fastest growing Arab populations in the country.”

Placing KY Arab and Jewish women side by side, moreover, shows intricate lives. Lives like those of the Myer sisters, who never married or had children in Hopkinsville, Kentucky from the 1930s to the 1980s but were movers and shakers in the community and in their elegant women’s dress shop, Arnold’s. These unlikely Jewish Kentuckians also longed for New York. “Don’t bury me in Hopkinsville, don’t bury me in Hopkinsville” was a refrain they repeated to their only nephew.

Or take the life of Teresa Isaac. She is a contemporary Arab American politician who was mayor of Lexington, the second largest city in Kentucky, from 2002-2006. In some ways she is like any other politician today, raising funds and shaking countless people’s hands. Unlike other politicians, however, she claims an Arab American identity, and unlike other Arab American Christians with long roots in this country, she does not shun  Muslim Arabs, but instead reaches out to them publicly. She also owns her roots in the Appalachian mountains of Kentucky. “I identify very much with the mountains, very much with the mountains, and always when I meet somebody else from the mountains, it’s like there is an automatic connection.

Somebody tells me they’re from a county in Harlan, around Harlan, it will feel like an immediate connection even if I may not have ever met them before. I feel like an immediate bond, same way as I would feel if somebody came up and said that they were Lebanese, it’s the same feeling if they told me they were from the mountains.”

In a political environment where tensions are high between Arabs and Jews, even in America, women’s stories have the potential to bring the two groups together and to promote a deeper understanding of Arabs and Jews who have settled outside of the Middle East and urban locations in this country.

--Rosie Moosnick 

(Author Nora Rose Moosnick is a visiting scholar in the department of sociology at the University of Kentucky. She is the author of Adopting Maternity: White Women Who Adopt Transracially or Transnationally and lives in Lexington, Kentucky.)

(Images: Top, book cover. Middle, Arnolds Store in Hopkinsville, KY. Bottom, Teresa Isaac while visiting Pakistan - courtesy R. Moosnick)