5-14-08

Thank You from Wallins Elementary!
Cinco de Mayo proved to be to be an especially exciting day for a group of lucky sixth graders from Harlan County, Kentucky, who visited Berea College’s campus courtesy of Admissions and the Appalachian Center. The children were treated to a tour of the campus, including lunch in the Mitchell Room topped off with traditional Appalachian music featuring Deborah Thompson and Ashley Long. It seems that Hutchins Library was a big crowd- pleaser, as well as eating in food service! The following are thank you notes the children sent upon their return to Wallins Elementary. Read More...

4-30-2008

The Rain Barrel Festival Lives up to its Name!

By Kit Cottrell

Appropriately enough, the Berea Rain Barrel Festival at Memorial Park was launched in a drizzling rain as people sought dry shelter beneath tents, huddled under brightly designed umbrellas, or simply gave in to Mother Nature, strolling in the misty rain that fell for most of the early afternoon. The festival could easily have been a soggy disaster; instead a cheerful, almost celebratory atmosphere prevailed as folks examined the rich, vibrant designs on the sixty-eight rain barrels due to be auctioned; either in a silent auction that morning or in a live auction later that day. Read More...

3-13-2008

The Affrilachian Way: A Writing Workshop

By Kit Cottrell

Frank X Walker coined the word “Affrilachian” in 1991to describe people of African descent who are from the Appalachian region.  Seventeen years later, the word has taken on a life of its own; originating a new entry in the Oxford American Dictionary, producing the periodical PLUCK! The Journal of Affrilachian Arts and Culture, as well as creating a collective of writers known as “The Affrilachian Poets” whose members include acclaimed authors Frank X Walker, Kelly Norman Ellis, Crystal Wilkinson, Nikky Finney, and Bianca Spriggs. 

3-3-2008

I Love Mountains Day 2008

By Beth Bissmeyer

Last Valentine’s Day, I hopped a ride with two of my friends from Berea to go to KFTC’s I Love Mountains Lobbying Day in Frankfort. After navigating the icy roads and getting turned around a few times, we made it to the Capitol. I remember feeling intimidated by the place—I had never lobbied before and hadn’t been to Frankfort since elementary school—but after an orientation, I joined a group of KFTC members with lobbying experience and headed off to meet with legislators, which proved to be worthwhile as a few of the people we met with expressed interest in co-sponsoring the Stream Saver Bill. Read More...

2-28-2008

Appalachian Foodways – Food for Thought

By Kit Cottrell

Biscuits and gravy for breakfast; beans and cornbread for lunch; all topped off with sweet potato pie for dessert. This scrumptious menu may serve to conjure up images of dinner at grandma’s house, dining at the local country kitchen, or dishing out some delicious southern delights at moms house, but it’s actually the ingredients that made up “Appalachian Foodways”, a short-term class taught by Natalie Moretz, Instructor; Child and Family Studies, that explored the food history of the Appalachian region.

11-26-2007

Gurney Norman Reads for Appalachian Heritage

By Kit Cottrell

Renowned Appalachian writer Gurney Norman, the featured author for the Summer 2005 issue of Appalachian Heritage, read in tribute to the Fall 2007 issue featuring Thomas Wolfe. The edition introduced three previously unpublished story fragments by Wolfe, as well as photographs and other writings.

11-15-2007

Identity and Diversity in Appalachia

By Kit Cottrell

The college-wide symposium exploring identity and diversity in Appalachia was a tremendous success with more than 800 people attending the event. After a brief prologue by Chad Berry, Director of the Appalachian Center, the symposium got underway with brief presentations from a panel of esteemed speakers.

10-10-2007

Sustainable Appalachian Communities Class Takes Field Trip to Mountaintop Removal Sites

By Kit Cottrell

Richard Olson’s Sustainable Appalachian Communities class recently took a field trip to Eastern Kentucky to discover first-hand the effects of mountaintop removal, a mining technique that involves the removal of up to 1,000 vertical feet of a mountain, which is blasted away to get to the thin coal seams underneath.  The debris is typically scraped into adjacent river or creek valleys and is known as valley fill.   According to Olson, “The trip is an essential part of grounding theory in reality in Central Appalachia.  It brings a lot of concepts to life.”  Read More...

10-10-2007

Russian Environmentalists Visit Berea

By Kit Cottrell

Eight Russian environmentalists visited Berea on October 3rd to learn about the effects of coal mining on the land and people of Eastern Kentucky.  The visitors were chosen by the U.S. State Department Embassy in Russia to spend twenty-one days in various places of environmental interest in the United States.  Our distinguished guests included; Irina Nesvetaeva, Nadezhda V. Storozhenko, Dmitry Ivanov, Ekaterina V. Kolesova, Yan A. Tsygankov, Marina Ryzhenkova, Mikhail Samsonov, and Vera Tankeeva. 

10-2-2007

Silas House at the Appalachian Heritage Featured Author Reading

By Kit Cottrell

Silas House received a warm welcome at the Appalachian Heritage Featured Author Reading, which highlighted the Summer 2007 edition of Appalachian Heritage honoring founding editor Albert Stewart (1914-2001).  House is the author of such well-known novels as Clay’s Quilt (2001), A Parchment of Leaves (2002), and The Coal Tattoo (2004), as well as the play The Hurting Part (2005).  House is also a two-time recipient of the Kentucky Novel of the Year Award. Read More...

10-2-2007

BC-EKU Appalachian Centers’ Picnic

By Kit Cottrell

Food, fun, and friendly conversation were in abundant supply at the Appalachian Center picnic and the weather cooperated by providing a gorgeous sunny afternoon for the festivities.   The event, held September 22nd, was organized and coordinated through the efforts of a new Appalachian student organization whose purpose is to raise awareness on the issues facing the Appalachian region, as well as promoting the rich diversity of the people in the region. Read More...

9-25-2007

Forty Faculty & Staff Attend Appalachian Seminar and Tour

By Kit Cottrell

It has been more than forty years since the first group of new faculty and staff to Berea College embarked on a tour of Appalachia with the goal of gaining a deeper knowledge of the Appalachian region, as well as an understanding of the College’s Appalachian Commitment.  Today, the Appalachian Seminar and Tour is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, recognition of the significance and value of the tour. Read More...

9-25-2007

Writers Exchange Sparks Imaginations

By Kit Cottrell

The New Mummer Group, a theatrical group based in New York City, joined forces with local writers this week to hold the first ever Writers Exchange on campus. Six plays were performed throughout the day on June 10, as well as the reading of nine poems. Read More...

9-25-2007

Brushy Fork holds 3rd Annual Institute

By Kit Cottrell

Community and nonprofit leaders from the Central Appalachian region gathered at Berea College September 12-14, 2007, for the third Brushy Fork Annual Institute.  Approximately 135 area leaders took part in 11 different tracks on community economic development topics ranging from leadership and executive problem solving to website design. Read More...