Hunter's Clarion
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LIBRARY.WCU.EDU | APRIL 2013 Hunter’s ClARION The newsletter of Hunter Library at Western Carolina University Major New Donation of Family Papers Offers Closer Look at Kephart’s Life BY GEORGE FRIZZELL | [email protected] | Head of Special Collections Libby Kephart Hargrave of Pensacola, Fla., has immeasurably enhanced the Horace Kephart holdings in Special Collections with the donation of about 700 new letters, cards, photographs and published materials. The new collection will be called the “Horace Kephart and Laura Mack Kephart Family Papers.” Kephart, noted author, outdoorsman and proponent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, moved to Western North Carolina in 1904 and immediately began documenting Southern Appalachian life and the natural environment through his Laura and Children journals, publications and photographs until his death in 1931. His two major two were married. There are dozens of works, Our Southern Highlanders and Christmas cards simply addressed to Mr. Camping and Woodcraft, remain Horace Kephart, Bryson City, NC. There in print today. also is correspondence with family, friends and business associates from the 1890s Hargrave, who is Kephart’s great- through the 1920s. Other materials include granddaughter, is both the custodian and photographs, genealogical notes and letters caretaker of documents handed down by of condolence after his untimely death in a her family members over generations. Her car accident near Bryson City in 1931. Horace Kephart donation to the library coincided with a celebration held in September 2012 of the Kephart lived separately from his wife and 150th anniversary of Kephart’s birth. six children for most of the time he was INSIDE THIS ISSUE in Western North Carolina, though the The title of the collection emphasizes couple never divorced. Among the exciting its special importance. While original details emerging in the new collection are Mae Claxton’s Hunter Scholar Project 2 Kephart manuscripts that have been Special poignant stories of Laura and their children Classic Connections 3 Collections for many years focus heavily on as well as Kephart’s father, Isaiah. “Exciting Kephart’s research interests and professional to me are all the letters that he wrote to his Navigating Online News 4 life in Western North Carolina, the new family and that the family wrote to him, Activities and Accomplishments 5 materials reveal heretofore enigmatic especially the communication with Laura,” Welcome, New Employees 7 dimensions of him as an individual, which said Hargrave. “She knew he had to go until now could only be gleaned from his back to the mountains because his ‘back of New Digital Collection 8 published works and research notes. beyond’ was where he was comfortable. Life in Retirement 9 She knew his heart.” Remembering Billy Schulz 10 In the recent donation there are heartfelt treasures, such as a letter and a small Hunter Library welcomes this new Inside the Suggestion Box 11 bouquet of dried flowers sent by Kephart collection. It is fitting that it be housed in New Online Resources 12 to his future wife, Laura, before the the mountains that Kephart loved. HUNTER’S CLARION | 1 Hunter Scholar Project Keeps Growing An extensive research project on the Western North Carolina author and outdoorsman Horace Kephart has turned out to be far from a solitary experience in a private study carrel for Mae Miller Claxton, Hunter Scholar for 2012-13. “It’s been more like a community engagement project. So many people are excited that there is interest in him, and they want to help,” she said. “We have a lot of ideas in the works. This will be something that will go on for a while.” Within days after she started work on the project last summer, Claxton was busy collaborating in email exchanges with other researchers as close as Bryson City and as far away as New York. Throughout the academic year, there have been invitations to make Kephart presentations, write papers on him and serve on panels discussing his life and work. She has been in contact with a journal about a special Kephart issue. Mae Miller Claxton and WCU senior Andrew Benton work with the original Kephart journals housed at the library Claxton was pleased when several students expressed an interest in Kephart and got involved with his original Claxton is an assistant professor of English School and Research, Educational Outreach manuscripts. Her graduate-student intern and her Kephart work focuses on his literary and the Office of the Provost. Lisa Terrene, who conducted research contributions. Last fall, she and George in the special collections of Hunter Frizzell, head of Special Collections, made Interest in the life and work of Kephart Library and the University of Tennessee a presentation at the teachers’ symposium has grown by leaps and bounds in recent at Knoxville, is currently working on of the North Carolina Humanities Council. years. He was featured in a Ken Burns a transcription project for Kephart’s She also presented a paper on Kephart’s documentary on national parks that aired handwritten letters. Andrew Benton wrote writings on the Cherokees at the Southern on PBS in 2009. A new edition of his a paper, “Barbed Wire in Heartwood: The Appalachian Cultural Series held at Gardner- popular guidebook, Camping and Woodcraft, Endurance of Appalachian Stereotypes Webb College. Claxton, Frizzell and Kephart was published in 2011. Ellison and another from Horace Kephart to Ron Rash,” to scholar George Ellison of Bryson City will be Kephart scholar, Janet McCue of Cornell be presented at the National Council on a panel at an upcoming meeting of the University, are co-authoring a biography. of Undergraduate Research in April. Appalachian Studies Association in Boone. Stephanie Wooten, a student worker Claxton hopes to submit an application for Well educated and widely traveled, Kephart was at the library, transcribed dozens of grant funding to help with the digitization head of the one of the nation’s top libraries, articles, letters and other writings that of more of the original Kephart materials the Mercantile Library of St. Louis, Mo., when will eventually be available online on to enhance the existing collection, “Horace he made a drastic career change, moving in the library’s digital collections website. Kephart: Revealing an Enigma.” This 1904 to a remote section of the Western North Another student worker, Amelia Holmes, collection can be viewed at http://www.wcu. Carolina mountains. “He was interested in plans to do a Kephart literature edu/library/DigitalCollections/Kephart/. everything about the mountains. Coming from internship this summer. the city, he saw many things to write about Through the Hunter Scholar program, in everyday life here,” said Claxton. Kephart “It’s exciting to see the students’ interest, Claxton received some reduction in her dedicated the rest of his life to chronicling and the goal for them is to develop research teaching load for the academic year, a the people, dialects, culture, natural history skills,” said Claxton. “But at the same time $400 stipend for travel and supplies, the and environments of the region and became they’re having the interesting experience of use of a study carrel at the library, and instrumental in the establishment of the working with these manuscripts. We have the graduate-student assistance. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park. all learned their importance to the annual award to recognize outstanding For more information on Claxton’s history and culture of our university scholarly or creative work at WCU is jointly project contact her at [email protected] and the larger community.” sponsored by Hunter Library, Graduate or 828.227.3920. 2 | HUNTER’S CLARION Classic Connections BY DANA SALLY | [email protected] | Dean of Library Services One of the three books currently gracing On a recent cross-country trip, I was hoping cementing modern connections by “tag- my nightstand is Joseph Stiglitz’s The to conquer, between catnaps, this book’s teaming” a modern text with a work of Price of Inequality. Most recent nights, final chapter. While cruising to my next classic literature. The interplay of the I find it hard to put down. Stiglitz is a boarding gate, I bumped into a bookstore ideas through the different genre can be Nobel laureate in economics and when display of a new paperback release, which gratifying and the thematic connections not advising international agencies, he had been strategically placed in the middle stronger and more riveting. Also, more teaches at Columbia University. He is, of the terminal. Though slightly piqued fun … especially when the one writer by all accounts, a world class scholar by this sales technique—because now is “insanely brilliant” and the other and theoretician, sometimes described falling—I did look down. The book on this characterized his own novel as by other Nobel winners as an “insanely display-turned-obstruction, which I now “a religious work.” Hard to resist! brilliant economist.” I had hoped, I seemed to be hugging, was none other than suppose, that some of this economic Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables! brilliance (I’ll take the insanity, too) might rub off. Ahh! My annoyance dissipated and I softened. I mean, here was a book I had This book was published in 2012. It is actually finished reading … a long time a powerfully reasoned, moving, and ago no less! Yes, I had managed to glide thoroughly researched exegesis of our through all 1,260 pages. A true classic, this national economic circumstances and the one! Though I was nearly late for my next social, economic, political, and human boarding, I simply had to stop and pick up consequences that currently flow from this book, put it in my hands, and once again them. The book’s subtitle, How Today’s sense its physical and intellectual weight.