When the College wasn't so 'boring' and disconnected from its true roots
Local resident remembers when Berea College traded on what she says is its uniqueness, to everyone's benefit
By Tenacious V
The College itself decreased the value of our community by systematically disassembling, devaluing, and downplaying Appalachian arts and crafts.
Former City Administrator Rose Beverly’s key advice to the City before she left was to “work together more” with Berea College (The Edge, January 10, 2025). If the College and the City are not presently fitting like kid gloves it wouldn’t take much to once again compliment each other with synchronicity and synergy. The college, city tourism, the Kentucky Guild of Artists & Craftsmen, and community artisans and craftspersons have an illustrious past of working together.
Berea College was known for the unique student labor program centered around Appalachian arts and crafts. Folk art. Primitive skills. Mountain music and traditional dance.
The College’s Appalachian Museum was open all day, every day. Visitors could tour the museum and college campus. Tourists witnessed the transformation of raw natural elements gleaned from the forest into a useful primitive item. Tucked in nooks around campus one could watch demonstrations of traditional broom making, hand looming, candle making, chair making, wood working, pottery turning, and black smithing.
A few steps from the college square was the College’s bakery and candy kitchen; stirring up sweet treats for sale to locals and tourists alike.
The college blacksmith shop was near the hospital. All of this was pared down when the College went generic and diminished its continued focus on traditional Appalachian life.
Take a look at the arts and crafts on the College’s website. The handmade items are not inspiring or interesting. Berea College no longer sponsors country dancers, morris dancers, Spring Festival, and Christmas Country Dance School. The College crafts are just like all others in the area.
There was the Berea College Puppetry Caravan touring the hills. Berea’s Neil DiTeresa, professor emeritus, conceptualized and created a traveling troop of marionettes complete with student labor operators.
Currently the College is homogenized, pared down, and ho hum boring. Boring, without its roots buried knee-deep in the history of the Appalachian Mountains.
The College itself decreased the value of our community by systematically disassembling, devaluing, downplaying Appalachian arts and crafts. The College is now just like many other run of the mill small colleges. Their directionally challenged sustainability vice president is tearing down the College houses.
The strategy advocates getting rid of BC rental properties in the name of thrift. If replaced, the new abode will be less valuable than the Craftsman era houses were. Rule of thumb, it is simply too expensive to build with the quality and craftsmanship of yesteryear.
Not too long ago, the College had a strong connection to mountain settlement schools like Betsy Lane, Pine Mountain, and Henderson Settlement School. Our elementary, middle, and high schools and the College participated in weekends at these schools and they all visited the College’s campus one weekend in the spring and during Christmas Country Dance School.
Hundreds of musicians and dancers travelled from overseas and around the US to attend. Visitors from North Carolina’s Warren Wilson College, Ohio’s Oberlin College, and similar locations were plentiful due to traditional mountain skills thriving here in Berea.
The College decided to put white shades in more than a couple shop windows of the College Square thereby taking from the critical mass necessary to attract foot traffic into the shops. Removing shop space on the College Square for corporate purposes is not helpful in boosting sales in the remaining shops.
The College used to enrich the community’s experience; providing opportunities in nontraditional learning, art and music instead of paying taxes. The College is nonprofit and pays little tax in comparison to typical businesses.
They have pared down the kindergarten, summer camps, day camps, after school care, and clubs. Once upon a time the College’s Hutchins Library welcomed community members using their library and separate children’s library. There was once a dedicated children’s collection librarian in the children's room.
These days the College is really bare bones, relying on townspeople to pick up litter on College property. People like me pick it up as volunteers. Not so long ago there was a designated litter picker-upper on College staff.
Beverly may not have recognized the complex variables when she stated that the City works toward attracting quality employees for the college. The College will always have educated and trained employees because typically each incoming professor brings a spouse who is also employed for non-competitive wages at the College.
Without the presence of College employees who live in the City limits, we likely would have a low- to moderate- income population across the board.
The College and community have a legacy of partnering to provide useful platforms for flourishing trade and tourism in the past. I would bet my bottom dollar that the spark can easily be rekindled.
Tenacious V is a Big Hill resident.
