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Students learn to appreciate history by songs

By BROOKE BINNS

The Inter-Mountain

ELKINS, W.Va. — As part of an oral history section of the folk music class at Elkins High School, students visited the Randolph County Senior Center on Thursday to learn from area residents about their lives and different parts of history.

Elkins High School students Kelly Bennett, left, and Lexus Hicks, right, interview Ruth Hepler as part of an oral history portion of their folk music class on Thursday afternoon at the Randolph County Senior Center.
Elkins High School students Kelly Bennett, left, and Lexus Hicks, right, interview Ruth Hepler as part of an oral history portion of their folk music class on Thursday afternoon at the Randolph County Senior Center.

In the semester-long class, students are able to do more than simply learn about the history of folk music, as instructor Liz Marshall-MacVean works to actively involve folk art, various musical instruments, crocheting, bee keeping and dancing into the course.

“It’s basically studying the folk way of life in this area in Appalachia. The instruments are just the avenue in – you almost can’t teach folk music and not address everything else that goes along with it,” MacVean said.

This class has been offered for three years, and Michael and Carrie Kline have offered their assistance and perspectives to classes each of those years.

Michael Kline said, “In some ways, it’s the same offering that we give to students at many different levels, and it’s getting at a sense of the past through old songs.

“As we begin to explore the past through singing these old songs — they’re old hunting songs, songs from the Civil War and songs that just talk about the past in different eras,” Kline said. “So, after singing those for awhile, we start asking, ‘Who are the people in your life, either in your family or close by, who talk about their lives and what they’ve done?’”

With this question in mind, students were sent home to interview someone in their lives who could offer them a story about something in their lives or in history that they experienced.

“The biggest lesson of all is how you listen to somebody else talk,” Kline said.

Students in the class agreed they learned much about their families or close friends from these conversations.

“The kids in our area live the folk traditions,” MacVean said. “A lot of our kids come from mining families, so they have that identity. These kids live on farms, and so many of them have an overall interest in it.”

Several students shared highlights from stories they heard at the senior center on Thursday.

Bristol Petrice said, “(David Rice) said he had a hand in the Apollo and Gemini missions because he was actually working for the people who set off explosives to get the right consistency to get the rockets up in the air.”

“Daniel Rubianto said, “I interviewed Richard Jones, and the most memorable part was when he was talking about him being stationed in Hawaii. He remembered seeing the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor bombings, and he also lived through the assassination of (President John F. Kennedy), where all of the phone lines were cut, so no one could receive any calls and nobody could call anybody else.”

Other students said the people they interviewed offered stories about going to Elkins High School, coal mining and other careers, time spent outdoors growing up and many other memories.

Following their time spent at the senior center, the students were praised by not only their instructor but also Michael and Carrie Kline for their attentiveness and their respectful attitudes.

As a collective, students said that the interesting stories and narratives that the interviewees had to offer were engaging and interesting.

In the first year that the course was offered at Elkins High School, ArtsBank worked with MacVean to bring individuals in to teach students different dances and songs, as Michael and Carrie Kline were among those who took part. MacVean offered her appreciation for the couple who continue to work with students at Elkins High School without the involvement of ArtsBank.

“They believe enough in what they are doing and how important it is, and they are willing to volunteer their time to come in and talk to the classes,”MacVean said.

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