Sunday, November 2, 2008

First Heart Of Joy LIVING LOCAL HISTORY FOLKSHOP A Success!

YSNewsArticle-Oct.16 2008.docHeart Of Joy Folkschool is officially launched as of October 17-18, 2008, with our first event - a living local history-based folkshop, held at the Outdoor Education Center in Glen Helen, the nature preserve adjacent to the village of Yellow Springs, Ohio.

A group of us had been planning the event for months, talking about what a folkschool is, or can be; talking about the history of the folkschool movement; talking about folk skills, simplicity, community harmony, our multicultural village history, and the importance of honoring the wisdom and experience of our elders.

All of these discussions found expression through the folkshop, in one way or another. Friday evening we opened with a three-part program of "theatrics:" Kay Reimers' audience-involvement scene based on the mid-19th century controversy over whether the brand-new village should allow a railroad station or not. We, the modern Yellow Springers, had a ball reading our lines in turn, and hearing typical Yellow Springs town-meeting dialogue coming out of characters more than a century old. Kay has a great ear for dialogue. Actress Robin Jordan Henry, descendant of freed slaves who settled in Yellow Springs, gave a dramatic reading based on family stories of her ancestors' escape from slavery. She was assisted by her husband and two grandchildren.There's quite a tradition of abolitionists and underground railroad safe homes in this Quaker-values village, and so Robin's reading meant a great deal to her audience. For the third theatrical we traipsed out into the dark, led by flashlights, to sit on wooden benches before Mockingbird Theatre Company's big red theater wagon, to watch Bill and Phillipa Gay and their assistant, "California," perform an authentic old-time Medicine Show. We loved it, and we all sang along on the choruses of familiar old tunes and listened to the deadly symptoms of various diseases and the spiels touting the even deadlier-appearing cure-all nostrums.

After everyone left Friday evening, I stayed a while to put the beans in to soak overnight, for the bean soup I'd be making the next day. I was back at the O.E.C. by 8:30 a.m., cutting up carrots and celery, to add to the huge pot of simmering beans. Sarah Strong came ready to demonstrate paper-making, and later became a valued supper cook; Marianne Wolfe, our greeter and registrar, arrived full of enthusiasm and encouragement; JoAnn McKee came in to set up her knitting area; Sue Rudolf and other Embroiderers' Guild members arrived to set up their quilting area; Diana Nelson came in loaded with things for her weaving activity; Selwa Whitesell came in with spinning wheel and all kinds of fibers for her demonstration; Eric Wolf came prepared to lead tracking activities, which later became an herbal remedy-making class; Jim Rose brought in a great assortment of marionettes for his puppetry demonstration; Joe Cook set up his woodworking area outside, where during the day he fashioned breadboards, a whimmy-doodle, and two beautiful applewood stools; and the Gays returned with two beautiful draft horses. As I cut and chopped and stirred in the kitchen, I sang and did a little yodeling (you'd be amazed at how much yodeling can help your cooking along); and in between I could hear the hum of friendly conversation from the quilters and weavers and knitters and our spinning lady. Susan Gartner, who had written a wonderful article on the Folkschool for the Yellow Springs News, had brought along a videocam from Channel 5 and was documenting the folkshop, in between bouts of participating in needleworking activities. Sandy Morris, who'd planned to do some history-sharing, stopped in for a bit, too.

By the time the bean soup was nearly ready, as judged by Jim Rose, our "living treasure" master puppeteer, it was time to get the cornbread put together. I threw in the towel on cooking it from scratch. I had buttermilk, eggs, and butter - so I sent my friend Marianne out to pick up cornbread mix. People were perfectly happy to keep doing what they were doing - needlework indoors; and outdoors, there were several other activities: Bill Gay's horses were being thoroughly groomed, having gotten themselves into burrs the day before. Bill was preparing them to be harnessed for his team-driving activity. Joe was busy sawing boards and gluing and planing, making the breadboards for us to serve the cornbread on at lunch; and Sarah had her paper-making operation set up and was attracting interested folks to her activity.
Finallythe cornbread was stirred up and on its way to the oven, with the batter poured into two incredibly huge oiled cast-iron skillets. Jim Rose helped me get them lifted and positioned. Marianne Wolfe and her friend Bruce, a lifelong farmer who decided to come to the folkshop because there were draft horses there, began to set the tables for lunch. We pushed several tables together so we could all sit down family style. Finally we were gathered, and holding hands, singing a little gratitude song before we ate. It was just right. Just as the Friday theatricals had been just right, so was lunch, all together, just right.

After lunch there was dish-doing and so forth, with Diana Nelson playing a major role. Jim Rose and little Bonnie, 5 years old, began playing with Jim's marionettes, entrancing and entertaining us all for a good while. Smiles lit up the room, and our laughter just encouraged Jim and Bonnie to keep going. We nearly had a disaster when Bonnie stuffed the baby from Jim's PUNCH AND JUDY show into the crocodile's jaws....But we all remembered what Bonnie had kept saying: "They're only puppets."

I got a chance to wander around and see what all the groups had been working on; to go outside and try my hand very briefly at driving a team of work horses; to visit with Sarah the papermaker, and Joe, the woodworker. I was privileged to hear Bruce the farmer describe horse-farming as he had experienced it, comparing horses to tractors and sharing the history of the change from horsepower and horse wisdom, over to machine farming - from the farmer's point of view. The activities wound down for the afternoon at last, and there was some good quiet time. Then dancer/librarian Ken from Wittenberg showed up, zucchini in hand, to add to the supper fare; and the Gays, who had taken the horses home, came back to load up the theater wagon onto its trailer, and to have some supper and then call the dancing. More musicians showed up - Karl and Deborah Colon of CHANGELING, and Joe Cook; and more dancers - the dancing naturalists of Glen Helen! - , and so we had ourselves a lovely supper of leftover bean soup and cornbread, with zucchini on the side, and mulled cider to drink; and then we had ourselves a dance, and a lovely musical experience as well.

The event took place only a few days ago, and now people are asking when the next one is. I'd say that's a good sign.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Heart of Joy Folkschool Receives Grant

Heart Of Joy Folkschool has received a generous grant from the Yellow Springs Community Foundation, enabling us to put out the advertising needed, offer honoraria to teachers, buy supplies and food, and pay the rest of the fee for use of the Outdoor Education Center in Glen Helen.
We're now talking about the dimensions of the quilt we'll be making for the quilt class project, and the dimensions of the quilting frame the woodworking class will build on the spot. We're talking about bread recipes and soup recipes for the homemade lunch and supper we'll serve on Oct. 18. We're getting details on the historical folk drama for Friday night, Oct. 17. We have yet to round up a gang of musicians for the Old-Timey Dance on Saturday night - but that shouldn't be hard.
The display ad for the Yellow Springs News goes in this week - we'll see it by Wednesday afternoon. Linn Bobo, graphic artist and fellow librarian, is cleaning up my graphics and typesetting, adding her own touches for the production of a flyer/poster and a 3-fold brochure.
It's pretty exciting, getting this show on the road. Yeeha! And another YEEEEHA!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Friday, May 23, 2008

PLANNING THE FIRST FOLKSHOP: October 17-19 2008

As the ideas for the first folkshop present themselves along with new folks and situations, there is a growing sense that we could support something like a Yellow Springs Village living history movement. With a brief glance online to see who's doing what, where - I found fascinating references to all kinds of reenactment groups, specialists and workshop leaders. It's fun to imagine the wealth of deepening that can occur in the Village as these folkshops progress through various periods and re-living of our history. Not the least of the many positive effects might be opportunities for gaining healing insights concerning the character of the village itself, and what sorts of conflicts and gifts it tends to produce. Also, since humanity is speeding along leaving our un-processed past in our wake at super high speed nowadays, it might just be that the occasional living history village folkshop could provide vital opportunities for reconnection with lost or dropped cultural "threads" which may prove essential to personal and community future. Three of these threads are:
1. The Shawnee people whose tribal lands and sacred sites were taken by European settlers
2. The Conway Colony, a group of freed slaves
3. The visionaries - artists, healers, inventors, scientists, educators, religious, communal life and others - who are consistently drawn to the Village of Yellow Springs and its surrounding area.

We're getting hints of what the first folkshop will hold: an evening dance event featuring the kinds of dances popular during the period when the Village was beginning, for one thing. String band music to accompany the dancing. Weaving, quilting, woodworking - firebuilding - horses - and children's chores and games as well. Woodscraft - tracking, forest awareness. Hambone-rhythm singing after meals. Perhaps a story-theater historical play with plenty of audience involvement for another evening's entertainment.

It's as if the folkschool is quite alive, and calling together all those who are to build it and make it work now and down the years. Indeed - that Heart-of-Joy is thumping in our dreams.

FOLK SCHOOL IN THE WORKS

HEART OF JOY: FOLK SCHOOL IN THE WORKS

My first experience with the idea of the folk school came years ago, in the early seventies, when I was a young married woman/artist living in Minneapolis - and then Granite Falls MN. I was involved with musicians, painters, writers - and I attended a Southwest Minnesota Arts And Humanities Council [SMAHC] workshop at a wonderful place called Danebod. It had been founded by Scandinavian immigrants, patterened after their beloved folk schools and adhering to the principles of the Scandinavian FOLK SCHOOL movement. Danebod's history so inspired me that I never forgot it. That's been 30-odd years ago, and there's been a lot of water under the bridge since then.

Looking up folk schools online, I came across the John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina. Everyone I've met who's had experience with John C. Campbell has great things to say about it. Another good model. Each village, each folk school, should grow its own culture from the ground on which it stands - but should also adhere to tried-and-true principles that support the truth embodied in all folk schools everywhere. I believe in the folk of the world - the simple, good-hearted ordinary people, who are the majority of humanity. These are the people who will feel truly supported by folk schools, and these are the people who carry that great gift for humanity and the planet: common sense. Common sense, good will, stick-to-itiveness, all done with practical down-to-earth love. Folk School!