On 11/19/12 11:52 AM, "Carole D. Bryant" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> For others interested, Hollow Folk may be read on-line:
>  
> _http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b297150#page/1/mode/1up_
> (http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b297150#page/1/mode/1up)

Just in case anyone reads this book and comes away thinking they now know
the real, authentic story of the "Hollow Folk", well, things are not always
what they seem and Truth is a slippery little devil indeed.

"Hollow Folk" is a product of it's time, filled with all sorts of romantic
mythologizing about 'primitive peoples untouched by modern society,
veritable human antiques, ancient relics of blah, blah....', along with
wishful thinking, turn of the century prejudice against 'hillbillies' (well,
you know about those Hatfields & McCoys), and outright baloney.

It is not good social science by today's standards. It is not a history
study. It needs to be taken with a large handful of salt, if at all.

There is plenty of information available which contradicts the book, good
solid archaeological research, among other things.

For a more nuanced perspective, please read the on-line articles by Audrey
Horning, who conducted in depth archaeological survey studies in Shenandoah
National Park (and also wrote a book about it, "In the shadow of Ragged
Mountain: historical archaeology of Nicholson, Corbin, & Weakley Hollows") -

http://www.nps.gov/shen/historyculture/displaced.htm

"To the social science community of the 1930s, the isolated Blue Ridge
hollows contained "a wealth of material for science and laymen who are
interested in the growth and decline of human culture" according to Fay
Cooper Cole of the University of Chicago. Since the eighteenth century, the
hollows had existed "without contact with law or government" claimed
sociologist Mandel Sherman and journalist Thomas Henry in their 1933 work
Hollow Folk, which purported to describe the degraded state of Nicholson,
Corbin, and Weakley Hollows and two neighboring communities.[...]"


There are several other articles on the NPS site - linked on the left side
of the page. Read "Mountain Settlements" and especially the article on
Miriam M. Sizer for background on what was really going on.

See also:
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG99/anderson/appalachia/intro.html

http://www.usgennet.org/usa/va/shenan/

http://rothsteinsfirstassignment.blogspot.com/

In short, "Hollow Folk" rings very hollow!

C.Etter

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