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My Journey to Appalachia
A Year at the Folk School
Eleanor Lambert Wilson

Bright Mountain Books
978-0-914875-31-4
$20.00 paperback
6 x 9 
192 pages
67 b/w photographs
Published in 2004
Bio/Memoir, Appalachian, Historical

In 1941, three months after graduating from Vassar College, Ellie Lambert arrived in Brasstown, North Carolina, to join the staff at the John C. Campbell Folk School, an experiment in adult education modeled on Scandinavian folk schools. Naïve and idealistic, she decided to see the world by working in whatever different environments were open to a liberal arts major of the Great Depression years.

Ellie’s one-year commitment grew into a lifetime commitment. After World War II, she married a local boy and returned to Brasstown to farm and raise a family. She watched the Folk School grow into a thriving arts and crafts institution attended by people from all over the world. Her memoir is a slice of North Carolina history.

Reviews

"...Wilson's fluid, bright story captures the final moments of the Folk School's life before World War II changed everything. Her writing makes you a companion on a journey through times and places astutely observed and beautifully described. It is a strong portrait of a time, a school, and a community. It also has a delightful subplot: 'Vassar girl finds true love with wisecracking mountaineer."
Jan Davidson, Director, John C. Campbell Folk School

"Imagine what life must have been like in the Appalachian Mountains in 1941, before the United States entered World War II... In her memoir, My Journey to Appalachia, Wilson takes us back to those days, and the sentimental road trip is worth traveling."
Anne Barnhill, Our State magazine

Links

Official Website for John C. Campbell Folk School

A review of My Journey to Appalachia