This article appeared in the Volume 4, Issue 1 Spring/Summer Winter 2023 issue of the Appalachian Curator. Click here to view a PDF of the full issue. By Matthew Strandmark, Appalachian Studies Academic Liaison, Margaret I. King Library, University of Kentucky For over a century, Appalachian archivists, librarians, and cultural heritage professionals have actively curated and collected some of the most valuable archival and primary source materials in the world. As Appalachian archivists, our day-to-day responsibilities and professional interests often focus on these valuable archival resources. Yet many of us are also responsible for collecting Appalachian materials in general or circulating collections at our institutions. Secondary sources on Appalachia go hand…
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What’s new in Appalachian Special Collections?
This article appeared in the Volume 4, Issue 1 Spring/Summer Winter 2023 issue of the Appalachian Curator. Click here to view a PDF of the full issue. New collections in regional repositories: Appalachian State University University of North Carolina Asheville Western Regional Archives, Asheville NC Appalachian State University In December 2020, Appalachian State University Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center received the MerleFest Archives. The archives span the history of the festival, from 1988 to the present, and include recordings of performances, photographs, and ephemera. The collection was opened in time for the 35th anniversary of MerleFest in April. Below is a photo of the interactive viewing and listening station, which allows…
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Editors’ Column
This article appeared in the Volume 4, Issue 1 Spring/Summer Winter 2023 issue of the Appalachian Curator. Click here to view a PDF of the full issue. Welcome to the latest issue of the Appalachian Curator. We hope the summer’s going well for you, and that you’re finding time to catch up on projects and, hopefully, take some time off with family and friends. This issue features several articles from the University of Kentucky. Kopana Terry writes about the history of Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at Kentucky, describing the extensive Appalachian oral histories there. Matt Strandmark describes Kentucky’s initiatives to expand their Appalachian collections and offers an invitation…
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Champion Paper Mill collections at Western Carolina and UNC Asheville
This article appeared in the Volume 4, Issue 1 Spring/Summer Winter 2023 issue of the Appalachian Curator. Click here to view a PDF of the full issue. By Liz Harper (Western Carolina University) and Gene Hyde (UNC Asheville) When it opened in 1908, the Champion Fibre Company was the largest pulp mill in the world. For 60 years it was under the leadership of Reuben B. Robertson and was a source of employment, a site of innovation, and a hub of community life for the town of Canton. The population of Canton tripled in size between the start of construction and the opening of the mill and the local economy flourished.…
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Fifty Years of Appalachia at the Nunn Center for Oral History
This article appeared in the Volume 4, Issue 1 Spring/Summer Winter 2023 issue of the Appalachian Curator. Click here to view a PDF of the full issue. by Kopana Terry The Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2023. Under the Special Collections Research Center umbrella at the University of Kentucky Libraries (UKL), the Nunn Center is one of America’s largest oral history archives, with over 18,000 interviews from more than 700 unique projects. Here, oral history projects documenting American civil rights, industry, health care, veterans, the India-Pakistan partition, survivors of Haiti’s devastating earthquake, religion, small towns, legendary sports figures, Kentucky governors, and the commoner…
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Digitizing West Virginia’s Historic Newspapers 2011-2022
This article appeared in the Volume 3, Issue 3 Winter 2022 issue of the Appalachian Curator. Click here to view a PDF of the full issue. By Stewart Plein The history of West Virginia’s newspapers provides a valuable narrative of the state, from its war-torn separation from Virginia to its development as a state rich in natural resources and diverse populations. Newspapers reported the rapid growth of industry from coal mining to oil, lumber and glass. The variety of industry brought an influx of immigrant and African American populations who came to work in these burgeoning fields of commerce. Over five consecutive grant cycles, The West Virginia and Regional History Center…
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UNC Asheville adds Bill and Alice Hart Collection
This article appeared in the Volume 3, Issue 3 Winter 2022 issue of the Appalachian Curator. Click here to view a PDF of the full issue. By Gene Hyde Earlier this year, UNC Asheville’s Special Collections received the largest private donation in their history when Bill and Alice Hart donated their extensive private library to UNC Asheville. Containing more than 1200 monographs and 26 linear feet of ephemera and other materials, the William A. Hart, Jr. and Alice Huff Hart Western North Carolina Regional Library, known as the Bill and Alice Hart Collection, is the crown jewel of UNC Asheville’s Special Collections. Bill and Alice Hart curated and developed their collection…
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ASA Special Collections Committee Response to Kentucky Flooding
This article appeared in the Volume 3, Issue 3 Winter 2022 issue of the Appalachian Curator. Click here to view a PDF of the full issue. By Stewart Plein, Chair, ASA Special Collections Committee Following the devastating flooding in Kentucky, the ASA Special Collections Committee extended assistance on a number of fronts, individually and institutionally, specifically concerning Appalshop in Whitesburg and Hindman Settlement School in Hindman. Two committee members have been engaged in weekly response phone calls coordinated by the Kentucky Arts Council with others from across Appalachia. Discussions on funding sources, volunteers, best practices and other recovery topics were an important part of this weekly discussion. Members of the committee,…
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What’s New in Appalachian Special Collections?
This article appeared in the Volume 3, Issue 3 Winter 2022 issue of the Appalachian Curator. Click here to view a PDF of the full issue. New collections in regional repositories: Appalachian State University East Tennessee State University University of North Carolina Asheville Appalachian State University African American family photographs: This collection consists of a photograph folder containing six 4×4 inch photographs of an unidentified African American family in Greenville, South Carolina, circa 1950s. Edward Bobal photograph album: This photograph album was kept by Edward Bobal and his wife, Madelyn, while he awaited reassignment in the Army, in Asheville, North Carolina, during World War II. The album shows their 10 day…
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Post-flood cleanup at Appalshop – A First Person Account
This article appeared in the Volume 3, Issue 3 Winter 2022 issue of the Appalachian Curator. Click here to view a PDF of the full issue. By Jinny Turman I was in Denver, Colorado, wrapping up a vacation when I heard the news that portions of eastern Kentucky had been flooded by a series of thunderstorms. Thankfully my partner’s community, Morehead, was spared, but we quickly realized that certain areas of Wise County, Virginia, where I live, were underwater, as were locations in Letcher, Hazard, and several other counties in southeastern Kentucky. Like many people, I was shocked to see the images of flooded downtowns, homes, roadways, and hollers appear on social…
