Hindman Family Folk Week 2009 Part 1

During the first week of June, Mommy, Daddy, Emma, and I went to Hindman Settlement School to participate in Hindman Family Folk Week for the second time. Hindman has meant a whole lot to my family ever since my granddaddy, Raymond Kane McLain became the recreation director and then the executive director there. Mommy and her siblings closest to her age Raymond and Ruth grew up there in a house nearby the May Stone Building, which Granddaddy had designed and built. Unfortunately, their house burned down in a fire on when Mommy was around twelve years old. Granddaddy was away during that time. Mommy and Ruth managed to carry out Nancy Ann and Michael, who were extremely small. Grandma Betty and Raymond got out okay too. The instruments were saved, but everything else was lost. They moved to a small older log cabin on the hillside facing Troublesome Creek. Granddaddy then built an addition to the cabin to house the family and run the school. The building was dedicated as the Raymond Kane McLain Office Building in July of 2004, with the McLain Family Band performing. One of the first things I did this year was to stand on the hillside in front of Granddaddy's office building and gaze upon Troublesome Creek. I like to think of the tune "Troublesome Creek" that Mommy's family wrote to describe the wildness of the creek when it goes over the bank. The creek was calm and low right now, not very troublesome. I took this photo of the footbridge that had been the main access to Hindman Settlement School while Mommy was growing up. The raised footpath on the other side of Troublesome Creek is a much newer addition done by Mike Mullins, the current director of Hindman Settlement School. The guardrails bordering the street is slightly visible near the top of the picture.


Here is a big tree I like on this side of the bridge.

I stood on the bridge to get this picture. Granddaddy's office is visible behind the tree to the left.

Here is a view of the creek looking from the other side of the bridge. The raised footpath bordering the creek is reflected in the water. Right as I was taking the picture, a ripple appeared in the water right above the footpath reflection.

On the way back towards the May Stone Building, I took a picture of the log cabin part of Granddaddy's office building nicely framed by these trees and an outbuilding. I was fascinated by the greenery surrounding this outbuilding.

Here is a smaller log cabin. Mommy told me that this is Uncle Sol's Cabin. I love seeing such historic looking structures. The outbuilding is to the left side of it. Behind the cabin, you can see a part of the addition that Granddaddy built to what was then their house.

I took this photo of the Raymond Kane McLain Office Building as I was walking up the hill past the May Stone Building. Granddaddy's addition is more in view, backing up to the hillside behind it. He built the deck and the walkway too.

That Monday, Mommy and Daddy were going to perform in the second half of the evening concert in the May Stone Building. Shortly before the concert, I took this picture of people playing music on one of the two front porches of May Stone Building. The porches were a popular gathering place.

Teenagers loved to play games on the hillside in front of the May Stone Building. Here some of them are, as part of a team ready for action. The cabin we stayed in is seated in the hillside, with Mommy and Deborah Thompson standing in front of it. As Mommy was getting ready for the concert, Deborah had met her on the pathway and let her talk to the person on Deborah's cell phone.

A few minutes later, Daddy came walking down the path carrying his instruments, and our cabin became a backdrop to his part of the cell phone conversation.

The Monday evening concert was about to begin, and I got my preferred seat across the aisle from my friends Alison and Pumpkin in one of the back rows. Pumpkin is a severely handicapped boy in a wheelchair. He is both physically and mentally disabled, and mostly stares ahead, muttering sounds when excited. I first encountered him at the first evening concert last year. I was very interested in him then, since I am attached to other handicapped people like myself. I started sitting across the aisle from him, and eventually became great friends with his mother Alison. I loved reuniting with them this year. It was one of the best things about going to Hindman.

Mike Mullins, the current director of Hindman Folk School, came out and welcomed everybody.

Now Ron Pen, the Master of Ceremonies, had a turn to speak. He always wore these overalls throughout the week. The baseball cap was a regular feature too. I got to be great friends with Ron through meal times together and such. He enjoyed being with my family.

Angie DeBoyd led the first half of the evening concert with her storytelling. She made many dramatic gestures, waving her arms as part of introducing herself.

For her first story, she got a girl volunteer to help her act out the story.

Here, she is imitating an unhappy tree come to life in the second story. I was quite amused.

Finally it became Mommy's and Daddy's turn to perform. Daddy started out by playing his fiddle wildly.

Here they are both singing.

Here's some guitar playing and singing.

Someone was taking a video up front.

It was nice being right on the aisle.

Daddy did some solo playing with Mommy listening.

Right at the end, Mommy was asked to sing "The Cuckoo". I took this individual photo of her.

After the concert, my parents moved to a side table, selling CDs. They got plenty of business. The nightly dance began with other musicians playing. My sister Emma is seen in the center with a white shirt and a purple skirt.

I got a better view of the musicians in this picture. Ron Pen is one of the multiple fiddle players. Deborah Thompson is calling, visible off to the far right. I enjoyed having her at Hindman.

Here's another view of Deborah calling.

I got this picture of my parents watching the dancing. Jean Ritchie was seated neat to Mommy, with her husband George Picklow on her other side. Jean performed later on in the week, but unfortunately my camera battery was being charged up at the time.

During the afternoons, various instrument lessons were being taught. Mommy taught a bass class while Daddy taught a beginning guitar class. I stood by our cabin and took this picture of Mommy's bass class in action. Mommy is in a purple shirt to the right.

Rich Kirby was teaching a mandolin class with just two students, and I sat on a wooden bench facing them just as class was coming to an end. I took this picture of Rich holding his mandolin propped up on one knee, talking to his students. I felt this was a nice pose, just before Rich put the mandolin in its case. Mommy's bass class provided a good backdrop, with a tree on each side of the picture.

At 4:00 each afternoon, two white vans arrived to take the children to a nearby swimming pool. The children did not always get to go swimming however. On the first day for example, it began to thunder soon after they drove away. I suspected this storm threat would cancel their plans, and sure enough, I was walking beside the May Stone Building a few minutes later, when the vans returned, dropping the kids back off. Another time it was raining, but the kids were allowed to swim in the rain, since there were no thunder and lightning. In this picture that I took, the kids were hurrying to the vans, eager to get to the pool. Emma is visible climbing into the van on the left.

The Shape Note Singers started singing on the porch as the vans were loading with kids. Mommy is visible in her purple shirt beside the right post. This seems to be a classic camp picture.

It rained hard that Wednesday morning in Hindman. After the morning rains, I went to the far side of the footbridge to take this picture of Troublesome Creek. The creek was visibly fuller.

I wanted a good picture of the log cabin part of Granddaddy's office building with the creek in front.

This tree looked lovely with the creek running alongside it.

Cari Norris was giving a concert, playing her guitar.

Ellwood Donnelly eventually joined her, making this horse and rider dance, along with other wooden puppets. His movements were often a blur when I tried to take pictures.

Aubrey did the unique feat of clogging and playing the banjo at the same time. That was enjoyable to watch.

Mommy and Daddy were playing music this time during the dance.

I got my very first photo of Alison that night as she was enjoying the dance. She, Pumpkin, and their helper Alice were staying in a room right below the dance hall. Alison tried putting Pumpkin to bed after the concerts, but all the dancing and the music kept Pumpkin awake. On this night, Alison decided to remain upstairs and take part in the dancing herself.

That Thursday, I took this close-up picture of the bass class.

I got a picture of the mandolin class in action this time.

The rains had caused a small stream of water to form, going downhill towards Granddaddy's office. A corner of the addition that he built is visible in the distance. The stream seemed so lovely and peaceful.

I turned around to face our cabin in the trees.

I wanted to get a better view of the Raymond Kane McLain Office Building, so I walked down to take this picture. Architecture was indeed one of Granddaddy's talents as this building shows. I like how he built into the hillside, making for a very unique structure. I think he did well to provide his family a home after their first house burned down. Mommy said the basin beside the office buiding was originally intended to be a swimming pool, fed by natural water flowing into it, but water kept escaping. I was accustomed to seeing it dry, with a lot of greenery growing through the cracks. This tree looked lovely growing there.

I have a lot more photos to be posted as well as many more comments about the week concluding. I was quite active at Hindman, enjoying it very much.