Issuu

Septem ber-O ctober 1989

The Mountain Spirit T h e M agazine of the C h ristian A ppalachian Project

V o l. V II I , N o. 5

Septem ber-O ctober 1989

Contents Features 4

4‘I H av e a D ream ” by Sister N ancy Sherm an, OSB For twelve years a group o f w om en from R hode Island and the surrounding states have been traveling to K entucky to conduct Bible Schools for area children. M eet these “ fools for C h rist,” who worked in Floyd C ounty this sum m er.

Summer tutoring, p. 16.

T u torin g — K en tu ck y Style by Ike Adam s The sum m er tutoring program at the Family Life C enter School took a different twist this year, as students im proved their basic skills by studying the richness o f K entucky’s culture.

T he C apture o f Burke R iley by M ilton Hankins A flesty elderly w om an m eets a reporter and regales him with the whole story— a story o f faith— o f how she and her husband captured an escaped crim inal.

“ U nless you Becom e . . . ” by the C A P N ew s Service Som etim es our greatest lessons com e from children. H ere, y o u ’ll learn som e o f the im pressions that C A P ’s child developm ent students have about the glory and m ystery o f God.

Departments 3 9 14 19

A T hought From the E ditor L etters T he CAP C loseup A round the Project

Bible school, p. 4.

The September-October Theme T rad itio n ally , spirituality is the them e for the N ovem ber-D ecem ber issue of The Mountain Spirit, b u t this year w e’ve decided to shake things up a bit. Because C A P will shortly be celebrating its 25th an n iv ersary, the N ovem ber-D ecem ber issue will focus on the celebration. W hen we decided to explore spirituality in Septem berO ctober, we were delighted to realize th a t w riting stories in the sum m ertim e w ould enable us to introduce readers to Bible school, and “ C o n c e rn ,” the group of w om en who have been com ing to K entucky for over twelve years to conduct them . O n the C O V E R a “ C o n c e rn ” m em ber puts on C hrist to get h er m essage across (photo by G abriel). O n the B A C K C O V E R the dog days of sum m er start to w ind dow n (photo by M iller).

P ublished by the C h ristian A ppalachian P roject. Editor: M a rg aret G abriel. A d visory Board: F ath er R a lp h W . Belting, M ike M cL au g h lin Leslie B L arsen , Bill Begley, R an d o lp h Jo rd a n , J u n e W id m an , K athleen F ord Leavell; P atric ia M iracle P adgett. G raphics Coordinator: E lizabeth R eed M iller. C irculation: L in d a C u rtis G rider. The Mountain Spirit is published six tim es a year. T h e an n u al subscription price is $5.00. S ubscriptions an d o th er correspondence should be sent to The Mountain Spirit, C h ristian A ppalachian P roject, 322 C ra b O rch ard R oad, L an caster, K entucky 40446. C o p y rig h t, 1989, the C h ristian A ppalachian P roject, Inc. All rights reserved. M e m b er, C atholic Press A ssociation. T h e C h ristian A ppalachian Project is a non-profit C h ristian service organization operating th roughout E astern K entucky. T h e project operates on the philosophy th a t “ helping people help them selves” is the best approach to A ppalachian poverty.

A Thought From the E ditor

I must admit, as I write this column, that my mind is really somewhere else. Pardon me for jumping you into the future, but my thoughts are racing ahead to the NovemberDecember issue of The Moun tain Spirit, which will concen trate on the celebration of CAP’S 25th anniversary. Then I reflected that, perhaps, my thoughts about this issue and the anniversary are parallel. One of the events of the 25th anniversary will be a CAP volunteer reunion. You’ll read about it in more detail in the next issue, but we plan to celebrate three of the major focuses of the volunteer pro gram—we’re going to work together, play together and pray together. The reason my mind skips ahead to the event (aside from the fact that I’m E v ery m o rn in g b efore ch ild ren go to th e ir classroom s th e y w atch a B ib le eagerly anticipating a good story p erform ed b y “ C o n c e r n .” H e re , th e y w atch “ T h e P ro d ig a l S o n .” time!) is that I’ve been focus ing my thoughts on faith concerning this issue, equally faith-filled volunteer. specifically how a group of volunteers have been Every year for the last six summers, “Concern” such an excellent example of faith. has arrived in Floyd County (and for the six sum “Concern” is a group of eight to ten women mer prior to that, in Lancaster) with their duffel from several New England states, who band bags-full of clown costumes on their shoulders together, travel to Kentucky, become “fools for and armed with everything they need to plant the Christ” by donning bright clown garb and work seeds of their faith in the children they meet, pray for three weeks, spreading the word of God to ing that those seeds will take root, grow and be children in Kentucky. ready for water and fertilizer again next summer. Some of the women return more than one year (Sister Maria Rosa has just completed her ninth Kentucky Bible school), but for many, their trip to Kentucky is a once in a lifetime experience. To my way of thinking, this type of volunteer work re quires the greatest degree of faith. It’s a lot easier to dig in and serve when you’re going to be around for a long time to see the fruits of your labors. It almost seems that rewards for longevity should be reversed in this context. In stead of awarding a gold watch for fifty years’ ser vice, let’s commend a volunteer who comes for a short time to build onto a foundation that was started by someone else and who then has the faith that it takes to walk away, knowing that the work will be continued by another equally dedicated, Septem ber-O ctober 1989

My mind is drifting back to the anniversary. It’s the kind of faith that “Concern” displays with their repeated trips to conduct Bible school that has been a cornerstone of the work of CAP. Through the grace of God, CAP is able to observe its impact on the area, but as for individual peo ple, most are extremely transient, making longlasting relationships difficult. There again, our faith tells us that the service we provide to people will improve their lives, and that they will know that the reason we provide these services is because we are reaching out in response to God’s love for them and for us. In this issue of The Mountain Spirit we’re going to talk a bit about faith. Be sure to see the next issue for an example of faith in action.

‘ ‘I Have a Dream ’ ’

by Sister Nancy Sherman, OSB Photos by M argaret Gabriel 4

1 have a dream,” said Martin Luther King, Jr., and Father Beiting had a dream when he came to the mountains, too. Another dreamer is Presen tation of Mary Sister Sue Bourret, from the New England area. Fourteen years ago, with the help of others, she began a program called “Concern.” In the summer of 1975 eight women set off for upstate New York. That summer, and the follow ing one, various women went to help in that area. The group conducted Bible school and visited shut-ins in Plattsburg, New York. Sister Sue heard about CAP when she volunteered with “Quest,” and thought the project The Mountain Spirit

sounded like the kind of work that would interest the group, so twelve years ago “Concern” made its first summer trip to Lancaster, Kentucky to conduct Bible school in the mountains. For six years “Concern” made the trip from the New England area to the foothills of the Appalachian mountains. And for six years the children of the area would come together in the summer and meet in one of the local churches to sing, pray, play, and talk about God. When Father Beiting moved to Floyd County and expanded CAP, “Concern” moved on with him. This marks the sixth year that “Concern” has come to Floyd County and its twelfth year with CAP. Many women have come and gone in those twelve years, though some have returned several summers. The women are of various backgrounds and ages —some are sisters, others are teachers and students. All must have had a desire within them to dare to be creative in their desire to serve the poor and their desire to serve God. Let’s take a look at a typical day of Bible school and the lives of these women in that day. In a trailer located behind St. Martha Catholic Church in Watergap, Kentucky, you will find eight women. It’s 6:00 a.m. and all is quiet in the trailer except for one or two gals getting up a little early to beat the traffic rush to the two bathrooms located at each end of the trailer. There are only two bedrooms: bodies are sleeping on couches, in make-shift beds and on the floor but nobody seems to mind. By 7:00 a.m. everyone is awake and if you were to follow the last straggler, you would find yourself in the church preparing for

morning prayer. Prayer is important to the women because it is a time to prepare for the busy day ahead and a time to quiet their minds and bodies for a short time as they seek to listen to God speaking within them. That little extra shot in the arm reminds them of the real reason they’re here. By 8:00 a.m. the crew is in the dining hall ready to devour Cecilia’s delicious breakfast. This may be the lucky morning when you get sausage, biscuits and gravy, but you better be quick or it’ll be gone in a flash! As they eat you may hear them planning the day’s activities and thinking ahead as to what needs to be done before the first carload of students arrive. It’s enough to make your head spin. After breakfast one or two stay to help clean up and the rest go back to the trailer or to one of the back rooms in the church and the real fun starts. First begins the parade of dashing, colorful clothes as each person wriggles into her outfit. Follow them to a mirror and you see the world of color continue to unfold as reds, greens, yellows, blues, and oranges meet and a clown is born! The clowns represent the resurrected Christ, says Sister Maria Rosa, the director of the group. “It’s the idea of putting on Christ, and being a fool for Christ. We explain that concept and the idea of the spirituality of clowning to the kids at the beginning of the week.” By 9:00 a.m. the clowns are in their classrooms working on last-minute details or they are loading into vehicles to pick up students. Amidst the ac tivity you hear talking, joking around, and

T h e clo w n s b eg in the d a y b y sa y in g T h e L o r d ’s P ra y er, a cc o m p a n y in g th em selv es in sign la n g u a g e.

Septem ber-O ctober 1989

R ig h t, the in term ed ia te class w ork s on a p roject. L ater, th e y h a v e a d iscu ssio n .

laughter as the gals unconsciously continue developing relationships and building community. Community living is an important aspect of “Con cern” says Sister Maria. Sister Maria also belongs to the Presentation of Mary order, and teaches kindergarten during the year. She devotes her summers to Appalachia and to her group. To her, community is about living together, working together, sharing, giving and receiving, being able to disagree and yet respect the differences, and be ing able to be who you are without fear of being rejected. This doesn’t come overnight. The month that these women are together is a continual pro cess of growing into community. For most, it will be an experience they will never forget when they

return home. To meet them, you would think that the women have known each other for a very long time, then you discover that they didn’t meet until they came together for their journey to Kentucky. It is now 9:45 a.m. and many students have ar rived, carrying towels and anticipating the ac tivities ahead. If you have been here in previous years you recognize the faces of students who have come 2, 3, 4, 5, or even 6 years; they just can’t seem to get enough. The group averages 70 to 100 each week, with ages ranging from 7 to 16. By 10:00 a.m. all the vehicles have returned and the students form a circle on the lawn outside. You stand tall and listen proudly as the students sing a song about our country while they face the flag before them. Just minutes before they gathered into age groups, found their clownteacher and met new people. As the song finishes, the clown-teachers move out ahead and students follow as everyone quietly goes into the church and sits in the pews. The clown-teachers go over important safety rules, then you may hear “Beep Bop” ringing out in the church as 100 bodies sway and clap to the music or you may hear the words, “Kumbaya, my Lord” as 100 bodies solemnly sing out to the Lord. Finally a hush comes over the whole church as the clowns line up and dramatize a story that captures your heart and mind. And then very quietly the teachers lead their students to the appropriate classrooms for prayer, discus sions, snack, activities, games, exercises, crafts and more singing. At 11:30, as students are loading buses to go to Allen Elementary School for lunch, the clownteachers disappear while other adults supervise.

The Mountain Spirit

When they reappear there is no trace of makeup and their bright clothes are stored away for tomor row. Instead they, like the students, have towels tucked under their arms and you may see a trace of their swimsuit straps under their shirts. Anticipating lunch and ready to cool off, everyone finds a seat in the vehicles for the short trip to the school cafeteria and to the local pool. Sometimes singing breaks out as some students try to make the time go by fast and other students are silent as they think of the cool water they can’t wait to get into. After lunch, the vehicles arrive at Jenny Wiley State Park, and those people already swimming may be overwhelmed at the sight of the mass of teachers and students unloading quickly. For the next hour you see the teachers going back and forth, keeping an eye on students who are having fun in the pool. This is the only chance some of these students get to come to the pool because of the financial status in their homes, so CAP pays the small admission fee so that the children are able to swim. Great care is taken to make sure no one is lost or hurt and that everyone has a good time. When the whistle blows at 2:00 p.m. teachers bustle around, getting head counts of all their

students to make sure no one is left behind and then everyone proceeds back to the vehicles for the trip home. Some teachers ride with the students while the rest of the teachers return to the church. Much takes place in the next hour as bathrooms are cleaned and classrooms are restored to order for the next day’s activities. Sighs of relief may be heard as teachers return from the bus runs and as others finish up their chores. Some head for showers; others find a place to rest their weary bodies for a short time. These women know the day is not over yet, so some take advantage of the break while they can. Others, the more energetic, go hiking or shopping. The creative ones are scheming up funny pranks or planning future par ties. And others are writing letters home to friends and family who are being missed at this time. By 5:00 p.m. everyone gathers in the dining hall for another one of Cecilia’s good meals. At this time stories are shared of things that took place in class or at the pool—whether cute, funny, embar rassing or just plain frustrating. Sometimes an en couraging word is heard: “hang in there, tomor row will be better.” This time of sharing is good for the women to let off steam or to just get a good laugh and continue the bonding of com munity.

As the ch ild ren are tran sported and gather at St. M arth a C hu rch b efore B ib le School classes start each m o rn in g , the clow n s alw ays h a v e p le n ty o f gam es and a c tiv itie s read y to k eep ev ery o n e o ccu p ied .

Septem ber-O ctober 1989

the unpredictable things make Bible school more difficult at times, but also makes it worthwhile. Sister Maria says that the things she enjoys most are “working with the people and the children, liv ing in community with the women and the fast bonding that takes place.” “Concern” keeps coming back because they always feel welcomed by the people. Sister Maria also said that “the children respond to us and we like to work with the poor.” Sister Maria said that she hopes in the future to have year ’round missions here. Sister Denise, another Presentation of Mary Sister, said that she hopes “Concern” is exposed to the needs of the other people here in the area, such as the elderly. Last year the group donned their clown outfits and went to a nursing home, performed a clown singing show, then visited with the people as they passed out animal balloons. The folks really en joyed that, Sister Denise said.

T h e B ib le S ch ool a c tiv itie s and d iscu ssio n that w eek con cen trated on T h e L o r d ’s P rayer.

After dinner, several gals chip in to help clean up. This, too, is a part of community-building because it is a time for more personal sharing with one or two people. The evening is a time for community. They share Mass, or have prayers, which the women take turns leading, and then they go out home visiting, to register students for the following week of Bible school. By the end of their second week in Floyd County, most of the initial fear and hesita tion is gone because much visiting has been done in previous days. And some of the surprise at what kinds of homes and people you may run into is gone, too. Some homes are nice and others are rundown. Some people are very friendly and may invite you in for a glass of water; others will barely open the door and they’ll tell you they’re not in terested.

“Concern” raises money needed for their mis sion through donations from family and friends. This year they raised quite a bit of money by con ducting a Walk-A-Thon. I hope to keep seeing “Concern” come back each summer because they definitely have made an impact here in the moun tains of Floyd County. They’re all dreamers and just like Martin Luther King, Jr. and just like Father Beiting, that dreaming has created a wonderful program.

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After an area has been visited, the group returns to the church for free time to unwind, relax and have some fun after a hard day’s work. Of course not all days go this smoothly. Sometimes a car breaks down and causes prob lems. Or one of the students won’t cooperate in class and the best thing to do is to take him or her home. Sometimes (horrors!) rain comes and the students can’t go to the pool, so there’s a need to find a quick fill-in activity. Sister Maria said that 8

S w im m in g is alw a y s a p o p u la r a c tiv ity .

The Mountain Spirit

Letters You did it again, another ex cellent issue of The Mountain Spirit. I’ve not finished it, but already the May-June issue has produced this response. I like the mix of interesting stories. MEK’s story was especially compelling. Your use of pictures surely con tributed to the story of the work you do in the Christian Appalachian Project. Congratulations. Bill McManus San Francisco, CA

Just finished reading the JulyAugust issue of The Mountain Spirit. The awards article was so in formative—and the recipients in spiring! The last article —“Emphasis on Scholarship” —really packed a wallop. May I suggest you start your new list for The Mountain Spirit award for next year (or whenever) and put Shirley Cox right on top! A great example of one person making a difference. Margarite Reynolds Louisville, K Y

I come from Indian heritage. So, I’m always interested in learning more about my people. I enjoy The Mountain Spirit magazine very much. I really enjoy reading what other Christian people feel about the beautiful work being done through CAP. Sometime in August Pm going to be moving to Palm Desert, CA, and I will have an opportunity to do volunteer work at that time, so, I guess I need to contact Kathy Kluesener about the volunteering part. The article on “Learning, Caring, Becoming” by Cathie Bailey was Septem ber-O ctober 1989

well written and I felt a real feeling of kinship with this couple. Praise our Lord, Jesus Christ, that He puts that desire in us to serve those less fortunate than we.

good work in Eastern Kentucky, and CAP’S cooperation with them. -E d .

Marilyn E. Brown Pleasanton, CA

My mother gave us a subscription several years ago because my hus band was born and raised in Wayland [a small farming com munity in Lincoln County, Ken tucky. —Ed.] We both enjoy reading your magazine. My husband, because it keeps him in touch with his “roots,” so to speak, and me, because I learn more about where he is from. We enjoy trying to find names that are recognizable.

In 1988 my wife, a computer con sultant and myself, a controller, were both working and doing nicely. 1989 has been unkind because my wife is disabled with a heart condi tion and I have been laid off. We are getting by in spite of these pro blems. However, our situation doesn’t begin to compare to those destitute people of Appalachia. Keep The Mountain Spirit com ing—and keep up your good work. Dick Barndt Haddon Heights, N J

I would like to read about how Christian Appalachian Project coordinates and cooperates with other civic, United Way and religious agencies in the work of Ap palachia. Also, is the emphasis on encouraging people to move out of Appalachia and find jobs elsewhere or is the emphasis on developing new job opportunities and business enterprises in Appalachia? Robert W. Koch Verona, PA One o f the goals o f our economic development department is to en courage and help to develop business and job opportunités in Eastern Kentucky. We realize that there will be always be a certain number o f people who leave the area to work —as there are anywhere —but we dream o f people being able to make a choice based on something besides the job market outside o f Appalachia. The Moun tain Spirit tries to enlighten readers as to other organizations doing

LaDonna Allen Sedalia, MO

The Mountain Spirit is a precious documentation of what happens in Appalachia and what can be done! I share many of these facts with my students at DePaul University, who prepare themselves for the teaching profession. Quite a few have been encouraged to go to Ap palachia and help as volunteers and see for themselves “the other America.” The return with a new perspective: “Our world is no longer the same!” Keep the format and the “mix”, the stories are valuable and most worthwhile! God bless your good work. Hans Schieser Professor o f Education DePaul University Chicago, IL Letters to the editor are welcome.

They should not exceed 150 words in length, and we reserve the right to edit them fo r space. Address letters to The Mountain Spirit, Christian Appalachian Project, 322 Crab Orchard Road, Lancaster, Kentucky 40446. 9

The Capture o f Burke Riley

A Short Story by M ilton H ankins 10

l ’s seventy-eight years young, bless you,” the old woman said through a toothless grin, her ebony face glistening, black eyes sparkling under the single cord light bulb hanging from the papered ceiling. “Too old to shoot!” she said, laughing heartily. I knew I was in the presence of an extraordinary human being, knew it’d been worth the drive up the steep, winding dirt road to the ramshackled cabin up in the backwoods country. She was hungry for somebody-to-tell kind of company, had come alive while pushing those big, old-fashioned bobby pins through her thick hair, re-tying her apron strings, pulling up a chair for me to the kitchen table, the place where she obviously spent most of her time, and punctuating her rapid-fire monologue with “bless yous”. “‘Bless you, God loves you, chile!’ that’s what I done tol’ him. ‘You gone and done wrong, but, bless you, God He done loves you just the same.’” I’d jumped right on it when word came over the wire they’d captured Burke Riley. You could feel the tension easing down in the newsroom The Mountain Spirit

that afternoon. Even if you felt for certain you were safe, you couldn’t guarantee your family was, or anyone else you cared about. Burke Riley was a two-time murderer, a reckless, ruthless killer, a mean character of the worst kind. He’d been locked up in the state pen on the outskirts of our town for six years, long enough to work out a plan and execute it well. He wasn’t just dangerous, he was wild and desperate, and he’d boasted if he ever got out nothing or nobody would ever take him alive. Burke Riley was the one who’d sworn with a chilling snarl after his sentencing he’d bust out and blast hell out of everyone who’d testified against him. And he did bust out —on a bitter cold evening two weeks ago when a sick, tired veteran guard who shouldn’t have been on duty that shift suffered a failing, lax moment. As soon as the break was discovered every state trooper and every deputy in a three-county area was on twenty-four hour alert with one terse directive: “Get Burke Riley —dead or alive!” When the word spread, no one within miles slept well that night; and no one went anywhere they didn’t absolutely have to, and every light in every house stayed lit, and no strangers were welcome in Cotton Bend, period. The manhunt proceeded with unparalleled urgency. No one was allowed to forget that Burke Riley was on the loose. At half-hour intervals his face appeared on every television screen, nerves tightened every time a siren wailed and they screamed every time somebody thought they’d seen him, and there was the continual clack-clack-clack of chopper blades back and forth across the county. But none of the tips paid off, and none of the sophisticated surveillance techniques uncovered the hiding place of Burke Riley. Burke Riley was out-oftown! I slowly cut into the piece of homemade pound cake she’d set down in front of me. Septem ber-O ctober 1989

“Pop’d gone out back to chop wood. Bless you, this ole shack’s cold to the bone ’cept for this here ole Warm Mornin’. Like I say, Pop was out back there splittin’ up kindlin’ for in the mornin’ and I’s a mixin’ up this here cake you’s eatin’ when I hears this rattlin’ at the winder there. Bless you, you are hongry! Kin I getcha some milk?” “No, Ma’am,” I said. “This’s fine.” “Pop he ain’t knowin’ any of this’s goin’ on, you see. Well, bless you, I weren’t even skeered, ‘cause I figgered the wind was a-bangin’ them tree limbs ’gainst the sides of the house like they is now.” The cake was rapidly disappearing under her watchful gaze. I wasn’t asking any questions, just patiently waiting on her like a school boy waiting for the next step in the process. I knew she’d tell me the whole story in her own time. “They says we’s real lucky to be alive.” I nodded, taking in the last piece of the cake, gathering up the crumb bits between the tines of the fork. “You’re lucky,” I said. “Bless you, we don’t hold with no luck,” she said seriously. “God he done works everything out the way He done got it all planned.” I nodded my assent, mostly for her benefit. I can’t say whether or not I really believed what she was saying was true. Somehow it didn’t seem exactly proper that Burke Riley should have gotten loose in the first place if God “done got it all planned.” On the other hand, Pm not much for disputing that sort of confidence, or faith, or whatever you call it, that makes life a little more bearable for poor folks like these. “He just busted right in here through that there door. Come right in pretty as you please, he did, bless you, come right on in just like he done owned the place. I says to him, ‘Chile what you want?” I was paying closer attention now. “Why, the poor boy was half-starved to 11

Her face was radiant. She was a true heroine and a much better one than the news accounts had earlier revealed.

death! Bless you, he was as hongry a feller as I ever did see. I says to him, ‘You hongry? You want some chicken? He just pulled up that chair, the one you is a-sittin’ in, he just pulled it right up to the table, bless you, and I commenced to gettin’ him some chicken.” I was wondering about Pop. “He was stuffin’ that chicken in his mouth like he hadn’t et no food for weeks. I said, ‘slow down, chile, you gonna get one of them chicken bones catched in your throat and you gonna choke plumb to death.’ Bless you, he was hongrier than you is!” “Shut up your yappin’ old woman!’ he done said to me then. ‘Who’s that old scag out back there at the shed?’ Well, I didn’t rightly want to go makin’ him mad. I done seen that shotgun he was a-totin’ with him, but I ain’t skeered of no shotgun, no siree!” she laughed nervously and began to wring her hands through her apron, glancing about the room. “Bless you, but Lord o’mercy, I didn’t want to go a-messin’ around with that thing in my kitchen.” “I said, ‘that’s my ole man, he ain’t a-gonna hurt you none. You just finish up this here chicken, chile. Pop he’ll be in in a little bit with mo’ wood and we get you warmed up some. You looks mighty cold and tired. Bless you, you real hongry, too,’ I says.” “You like some mo’ my pound cake?” I shook my head. I was wondering what I would have done in a similar situation. I’d probably have gone for the shotgun while Burke Riley was busy cramming down his last meal. I’d probably have gotten myself killed right here, but this sweet, old wiry woman had kept her wits about her and probably saved both of their lives. “Then I just pulled up this here chair and I says to him ‘Bless you chile, but you oughta not be a-sayin’ things like that to this ole woman. This old woman’s old ’nuff to be your 12

grandmammy.’ Then I says to him ‘I ain’t got no idee what you up to or what you’s done, chile, but I does know God loves you just same as He loves me.’ And he done just set there lookin’ all tuckered out with his belly full of my chicken and he done ask me if I let him lay down a spell and rest and I say ‘You go on in the front room there and rest a spell.’ ” “Then he say ‘Go out there and get your old man and don’t go doing nothing foolish, old woman.’ ‘You ain’t aimin’ to hurt Pop, chile,’ I says to him, but he don’t make me no promise. He just say ‘Go on out there and bring your old man in here.’ “I shows him that old couch in there and tell him to go on lay down, I’s a-goin’ to fetch Pop into the house. I say ‘You go on now. Ain’t nobody a-gonna bother you. You go on in there and rests up some and I’ll go get the old man.’ I knew how it had ended, of course, but I wouldn’t have denied her the privilege of telling me in her own way for the whole world. She picked up the plate which I had cleaned down to the last crumb, offered me another piece of pound cake for the second time, and returned to sit opposite me. Her face was radiant. She was a true heroine and a much better one that the news accounts had earlier revealed. The reporters had given her words their final endings, but in doing so, they had stolen away her charm. They had sacrificed her naivete and her basic goodness, which I thought, after all, was largely the reason she had succeeded in bringing Burke Riley in. “I set back down here at the table after I’d brung him a couple of blankets and a piller. He didn’t say nothin’ mo’ right then, but I don’t think he went right off to sleep. Bless you, you know, a man can’t hardly sleep none too good when he got all them kinds of problems on his mind, can he?” I had to agree. The Mountain Spirit

“Once’d he starts to go and get up, but I says to him ‘Now I done tole you ain’t nobody a-gonna bother you none. You go to sleep like this ole woman tell you to,’ and he does, just like that. “Then I puts on my coat and I goes out to the shed to fetch Pop, and I says to Pop ‘Pop, we’s gots ourselves a big situation on our hands.’ “And Pop he just keeps on stackin’ up that wood and says to me ‘You better get on in the house out of the wind, woman.’ I was awhile tellin’ him about this feller done breakin’ in on me, but he don’t get all frustrated by it. He started out pickin’ himself up an armful of wood . . . ” It was very hard for me to keep a grin of utter amusement from spilling the end of the tale. I kept seeing the situation out there at the shed in my mind, her telling him what had taken place inside —laboriously, in great detail, him listening patiently, impatiently, neither of them remotely aware of the gravity of the circumstances, neither of them getting overly-excited, and both of them trying bravely to figure out what to do next. “Well, bless you, we brings in the wood and puts it in that box over there next to the cookstove, and your Mr. Burke Riley is a-sleepin’ like a baby. I goes over and shakes him, pokes him right hard, but he just roll over like and snort. Then’s when Pop goes on down the road to get somebody to call the po-leese. We ain’t got no telephone, bless you. And whiles Pop is gone, I just sits here at the table a-waitin’ on them to come. “Then I says to myself, ‘What this here man needs is the good Lawd.’ That what I says.” The streak of amusement vanished, and I nodded seriously, looking at her with rapt attention. She had come to the part the newspapers had omitted and the part I thought was most intriguing, most satisfying. Septem ber-O ctober 1989

“So I just goes over and picks up his shotgun. I reckon I’s skeered just a bit right then, but I figgers if I is a-goin’ to tell him ‘bout the Lawd I needs something mighty convincin’ and I reckons I needs to get his ’tendon. Then I aims his shotgun right at his head and I says ‘wake up!’ I says ‘wake up, chile!’ real loud and he does and then I tells him I’s a-goin’ to tell him about the Lawd, and I tells him he goin’ to listen. “It weren’t too long ’fo the sheriff he come up here with his men and I tells them they kin just wait outside ’til I’s finished. I tells him they’s all out there. They is ever where, all ’round the house, on the front porch, some of ’em peekin’ though the winder there. They’s a couple sneak in the back door there, but I finishes what I is a-doin’ and I says to him ‘Now I thinks we should say a word of prayer ’fo you goes’ and so I makes him close his eyes real tight and I says ‘Lawd, you done knows all this here young feller’s did, how he got lots of problems and how he need you. Now, Lawd, I wants you to look out after him and see that he don’t come to no great harm over all this commotion’ and then I thanks the good Lawd I’s been able to help. “Then I just lays that shotgun down over in the corner next to the Warm Mornin’ over there and I says ‘Come on, chile, it’s time you is a-goin’ and I walks out on the porch with him. “They’s all talkin’ loud and carryin’ on and cheerin’, pointin’ them guns at him and I ain’t sure I done the right thing, but now I figgers ever thing’ll work out just fine for him, bless you.” I said my goodbyes to the old lady, and carried out the piece of pound cake she had wrapped up in waxed paper for me. All the way back to town I went over the story she had told me, and I was glad for her and Pop, that they’d come through the capture of Burke Riley safely, but most of all I was glad there are still folks in the world who have that simple kind of faith that accomplished more than we’ll ever know. 13

The C A P Closeup Gabriel

A Friend To All Ricky Catching by Terry H arm on

Volunteers have long been the under-pinning of the programs and services offered by the Chris tian Appalachian Project. For nearly thirty years, volunteers from Maine to California have been coming to Eastern Kentucky to give themselves in love and service to the poor of this area. Their stays are relatively short, they work hard at their jobs, and are often sorely missed when they leave. Hopefully, both the volunteers and the people of the area have benefitted from their work. People of the Appalachian area also benefit a great deal from those who haven’t travelled great distances to serve but who were born and raised here and who give of their time and effort to help in the neighborly way that is often associated with country living. Ricky Catching is one of those neighbors who has spent nearly twenty of his twenty-nine years involved with the activities of the Christian Ap palachian Project. Ricky has a disability that prevents him from working full time at a regular job. But, he is a classic example of one who makes the most of the gifts that God has given him. His warm smile and cheery greetings are familiar to almost everyone within CAP and to many who live in the community of Lancaster, Kentucky, the location of CAP’s administrative offices. 14

Ricky’s volunteer efforts are varied and include involvement with the garden seed program, the outreach and emergency assistance program and Operation Sharing. On any given day, one can find Ricky assisting the emergency assistance worker to deliver air conditioners as part of the summer emergency cooling project, or you might find him assisting the garden seed program with preparing their Christmas basket appeal mailings; answering the telphone; wrapping presents for the up coming Christmas basket season. Ricky also spends time helping Charles Deaton, manager of Operation Sharing, CAP’s in-kind donation distribution program, and his staff load and unload goods received at the Operation Sharing warehouse. “Ricky never says ‘no’ to a request for help around here,” says Charlie. “Ricky’s reliable and is truly a giver,” says Keith Gilbertson, manager of the garden seed program. “He can be counted on to help and is good at keep ing work crews enthused about performing some pretty menial tasks. He’s also gifted at putting new volunteers and other workers at ease when they’re first starting an assignment.” Ricky often attends morning prayers at the CAP office and has been known to lead a song or prayer during the services. The Mountain Spirit

Gilbertson

Ricky’s vounteer efforts are not just limited to CAP. He is an active participant in recycling ef forts in the area and is certified to teach the Labauch literacy training program. He is quite ac tive in his local church where he sings in the choir. Ricky says that his most enjoyable CAP activity comes during the Christmas season when he gets to travel to the various communities that CAP serves and hand out Christmas baskets, sometimes even dressing up as Santa Claus during distribu tion stops. “Working at CAP,” says Ricky, “makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something, I feel like I’m a part of something.” Ricky’s involvement with CAP has also includ ed participating in the summer camp program when he was a child during the days when camp was held at Camp Nelson and at Cliffview Lodge. He also worked for several years at the CAPrice Industries sheltered workshop in Lincoln County. Ricky has travelled extensively through Eastern Kentucky as a part of his volunteer efforts with CAP. When he’s not busy with CAP or some other ac tivity, Ricky likes to collect baseball cards (he’s always looking to add to his collection), make leather key chains, listen to music, and “I always like to make new friends.” Ricky has made several friends throughout the years, particulary among the volunteer communities. He has several pen pals, among them several former CAP volunteers. Two that he mentioned specifically are Trudy Rausch from South Dakota and Paula Quick from Pennsylvania. Ricky says “Hi” to Trudy and Paula and his other friends in distant places.

R ick y h elp s d e liv e r seed p o ta to es to gard en ers.

Ricky’s involvement with CAP is a part of his active Christian witness and his good works, not only with CAP but elsewhere in the community. His witness allows him to live out his faith and as he puts it, “to help others know that God is real.” Ricky doesn’t plan to retire from his efforts at CAP any time soon. “As long as CAP’s around and there’s work for me to do, I’ll be there. Besides, CAP keeps me busy and helps me stay out of trouble.” Ricky Catching might not have travelled a great distance to be a part of CAP and the community it serves, but his efforts are a highly regarded part of the larger impact of CAP on the people of the southern Appalachian region.

R ick y en jo y s w o rk in g w ith and m ee tin g tem p orary as w ell as p erm a n en t v o lu n tee rs. H e gets to m eet p eo p le from all o v er the co u n try and th e v o lu n teers h a v e th e o p p o r tu n ity to share w ith a p erson from the area. Septem ber-O ctober 1989

U uring the summers of the last two years the Family Life Center School has offered a tutorial program designed to help students from the Rockcastle County Public Schools improve their comprehension of the “three r’s” (readin’, ritin’ and ’rithmetic). In theory the students expand on what they already know, have fun while they are doing it and ultimately have a less difficult time in the classroom when they start school again in the fall. The ultimate goal is to improve grade cards and make learning a more enjoyable experience. Although the success of such an endeavor is dif ficult to measure, feedback from the students in dicates that the program has accomplished what it set out to do for numerous students. But Gary Eldridge, program manager of the school, is never satisfied with success. In a conversation with Gary regarding his program, chances are good that he will say, “we can do more” at least one time every ten minutes. This summer he is attempting to do much, much more.

Tutoring Kentucky Style —

b y Ik e Adam s P hotos courtesy o f FLC School

A b o v e, Garrard C o u n ty b eek eep er Sam V an o v er d isp la y ed h is h o b b y to the ch ild re n . B e lo w , the ch ild ren sp en t m an y h ours on w ritin g p rojects.

The Mountain Spirit

Gary, like many other folks native to Ap palachian Kentucky, is in a position that enables him to observe the break-neck pace at which our culture is changing. To the extent that preserva tion of mountain traditions and cultural in heritance is occurring, it is aimed primarily at adults and even then is often more academic than practical. Gary believes that far too many young folks are growing up in the mountains with scant, if any, sense of cultural identity. “There’s not much pride in being a mountaineer or a hillbilly in this young generation”, Gary in sists, “because kids simply aren’t being taught the things they have to be proud of. The Appalachian cultural experience is so rich and so unique —so wonderful that it should be a source of great pride. But we’re on the verge of losing it unless we get our young folks to see and accept its value. I believe that all we need to do is make sure that we share it with them —let them experience it directly and they will sense its value and be glad to identify themselves with it.” Several months ago Gary became aware that a small group of teachers scattered throughout the mountain counties shared his concern for the deterioration of our cultural values and that they were doing something about it. Calling themselves the Eastern Kentucky Teachers Network, this group of 50 or so individual teachers representing as many schools were attempting to relate the Ap palachian experience to their students and teach educational basics at the same time. Each teachers was attempting to translate the experience of

A lo ca l sin g er /sto ry teller w as a fa v o rite am ong the ch ild ren in the FL C su m m er p rogram .

Eliot Wigginton, who began Foxfire Magazine in a high school class room in Rabun Gap, Georgia, to their own situation. Foxfire is internationally famous for its documentation of traditional values, crafts, music, homebuilding, gardening, politics and other aspects of rural Appalachian lifestyle. It has published several books written entirely by high school students from Wigginton’s English class. He has functioned primarily as an “enabler,” mak ing sure that his students have transportation and recording devices so that they can get to people who have lived the culture and record their ex perience. After doing that, the students write about it. Late this spring, Wigginton conducted a 2-week seminar at Berea College that was financed by the Mellon Foundation, wherein he shared his philosophy with other teachers and, in essence, told them how he was able to get his students to start Foxfire. Gary Eldridge was one of the 25 teachers out of 56 applications selected to attend the seminar. This summer he is putting what he learned into practice.

In d e p e n d en t stu d y w as an im p o rta n t lesso n .

Septem ber-O ctober 1989

Thirty students from fourth through seventh grade are participating in this summer’s tutorial program. Instead of learning mathematics from a textbook, the students, under the tutelage of Lenore Rivers, Cindy Taylor and Linda Argentati are making a quilt. The mathematical description 17

A m on g the a c tiv itie s at th e FLC School th is su m m er w as soap m a k in g , left. B e lo w , an exam p le o f grap h ics that the stu d en ts used to p rod u ce th e ir ow n n ew sletter. T h e b ack grou n d o f th e p ictu re w as “ d rop ped o u t ,” so the im age w as su rroun ded b y the d raw in g o f th e a p p le.

of a quilt is almost mind-boggling. Students learn to compute how much thread they will need to sew the quilt based on the number of stitches per inch after they have computed the number of stitching inches required to sew the quilt. Ditto for the number of yards of several different kinds of cloth based upon the number of square inches per block times the number of blocks required to make the quilt. And that’s just the beginning. Computations on the time required to make the quilt based upon the number of people working on it divided by the average number of minutes each person will work per day —give me a break.

“If we are as successful in this endeavor as we believe we will be,” says Gary, “we will go further in terms of teaching the basic comprehension skills than we have in the past because we believe the students will enjoy this learning experience more. And at the same time we will have instilled a sense of pride about growing up in the mountains that these students can have for the rest of their lives. That’s what this summer is all about.”

Suffice it to say that nobody has ever written this up before. By the end of the summer the students will have done it. In the process they will have learned much about traditional quilt making by actually experiencing it and their math, reading and writing skills will have improved at the same time. Instead of using conventional literature, the program, which Gary is calling Appalachian Celebration ’89, will use storytellers to relate folklore to the students. They will visit beekeepers where they will learn first hand how honey is made. They will visit a few Appalachian museums to view the remnants of times gone by. They will listen to mountain music and learn to clog. They will learn about basket weaving and making pot tery; candle making and home remedies; soap making and wood carving. There’s even a session on making musical instruments. And if that’s not enough, Gary has borrowed 60 films on various aspects of mountain culture from Appalshop, the internationally acclaimed media group based in Whitesburg, Kentucky. 18

The Mountain Spirit

Around the Project

by the CAP News Service

C A P G ives C liffv ie w to D iocese LANCASTER-In June, 1989, CAP gave Cliffview Lodge, the first piece of property that Father Ralph Beiting bought for programs, to the Catholic Diocese of Lexington for use primarily as a retreat center. In 1957 Father Beiting, CAP’S founder, was pastor of parishes in Garrard, Rockcastle, Jackson and southern Madison counties. As Father Beiting met the people in the area, he learned about and tried to address many of their needs. He purchased 550 feet on Herrington Lake to begin the programs he hoped would enable needy people to help themselves out of poverty. Cliffview Lodge, as the land was named, was the site of a summer camp for boys, and started in 1958 with six campers, two counselors (Father Beiting and Father Leo Sudkamp, his associate at the time) and a tarpaulin. By meeting and becoming involv ed with the children of the area, Father Beiting was able to meet their parents and begin his work helping people through economic assistance and education. Father Beiting said that CAP owes much of its initial success in the 1960s to the dedication of many volunteers, including his six brothers, his brother-in-law and his parents, Ralph and Martha Beiting. CAP president Mike McLaughlin said that the work of the Beiting family during CAP’s early days, especially their work at Cliffview, symbolized the help that Father Beiting recieved from many friends in Northern Kentucky. “For our board, the important thing is the memory of Mr. and Mrs. Beiting, and their years of hard work that made so many things possible for the Appalachian people as well as Septem ber-O ctober 1989

C liffv ie w L od ge w as the first p iece o f p ro p erty p urch ased b y F ath er B e itin g .

CAP,” Mike said. To honor the memory of the Beiting family’s contribution, CAP will mount a plaque in the main building at Cliffview expressing love and gratitude to the family. Mike said that during recent years Cliffview has been used primarily as a retreat center and that Catholic groups have been frequent visitors. “We knew, after the new diocese was established, that they would have needs and that church groups were using Cliffview frequently. We thought we could assist the diocese to gain control of the property by making it a gift.” Carl Roney, a member of the Cliffview Retreat Center board for the diocese said that he can see a lot of potential in the retreat center. “There’s a lot of work to be done, initially, but it will be worth it.” Carl said. “We need a lot of volunteers to paint, fix up and work the place over. “We don’t know exactly what’s going to h ap p en w ith th e neighborhood, but we hope to be there for a good long while,” Carl said.

He said that the board would like to involve everyone in the diocese with making the retreat center a suc cess and plans to mail information to churches, encouraging diocesean events, parish get-togethers and retreats. They would like to pro mote use by groups from other denominations, too, he said.

Father B eitin g Pastors St. M ich ael C hurch CAP founder Father Ralph W. Beiting received a new assignment in June, from J. Kendrick Williams, the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Lexington. Father Beiting has been assigned pastor of St. Michael Church in Paintsville, and its mis sions in Johnson, Lawrence and Martin counties. Father Beiting said that although he enjoyed his old job, traveling and speaking on behalf of CAP and the diocese and acting as the part-time chaplain to the Sisters of St. Benedict at Mount Tabor in Floyd County he, is delighted with his new assignment and has some exciting plans for the churches in that part of Kentucky. 19

around the project . . . continued

“ T u rn in g P o in t’’ C hanges D irectio n Project Turning Point, which started in 1988 as CAP’Soutreach to teenagers and families in crisis, is developing new services in the areas of preventive education. Workers believe the services will be of value to troubled youth before they are labeled as delinquent or status of fenders, according to program manager, Jane Grise. When the program first started, she said, services concentrated on counseling and life management skills, but are shifting emphasis to education. “Many times we are working with teens that just need to talk over a problem with someone who’ll listen, not necessarily direct them. Sometimes their crises only last ten minutes, as long as it takes for them to talk them out.” If counseling does seem to be necessary, Jane said that youth will be referred to Family Life Counseling services. Support groups will be a major cornerstone in Project Turning Point. “I’ll be working in three counties [Garrard, Lincoln and Rockcastle], so groups will allow me to narrow down and offer high quality programming. I’m hoping to be able to expand our staff with v o lu n te e rs ,” Jan e said . Backgrounds in nursing, education, and home economics will be especially valuable for volunteers in volved in the program.

these kids together to talk about their problems and get involved, they’ll be more inclined to stay in school. “I’m really excited about the direction we’re going. It’s going to be a good program that can go as far as anyone is willing to take it.”

L in co ln C ou n ty W orkers H o ld O pen H ou se STANFORD-Workers in CAP’s Lincoln County programs invited friends involved in their past and current programs to gather on July 25-28. Since the Stanford Attic clos ed in June of 1989, folks have not had as many opportunities to gather and meet with their friends in other parts of the county. From 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day, workers in CAP’s garden, Christmas, outreach and elderly programs registered Lincoln Countians to receive Christmas baskets, operated a school clothes exchange, sold and traded fresh vegetables and gave away canning jars, lids and school supplies. The idea for the Lincoln County celebration was the collaborative

idea of Keith Gilbertson, manager of Christmas basket and garden programs and Wendy Weinrich, manager of the Lincoln County outreach programs. “The only thing different in Lin coln County is that the Attic closed,” Keith said, “but people think we’ve closed everything. This gathering has helped to reassure people that even though the Attic has closed, for the Christmas basket and garden programs, we’re still do ing the same work we’ve always done. Something we wanted to do was answer any questions people might have. Keith said that in the weeks before the celebration he, Wendy and Susan Scott, manager of CAP’s elderly program, mailed about 400 notices and invitations to people in their programs. “We wanted to target our ‘regulars,’ but of course, we told people they were welcome to bring their friends or neighbors.” On Tuesday July 25, nearly 200 people came by and Keith and Wen dy estimate that over twice that many stopped in the rest of the week.

“We’re doing a lot of develop ment and paperwork right now, so I don’t have a lot of contact with kids, but we’ll have a lot of contact with the Garrard and Rockcastle Teen Centers after school gets started again. “One thing I’m looking forward to is starting groups of people who have been identified by school counselors as truant or potential drop-outs. There was a problem last year with a lot of people dropping out, so we’re hoping that by getting 20

T h e L in c o ln C o u n ty O p en H o u se h o sted h u n d red s o f c itizen s w h o w ere in terested in ex ch a n g in g school clo th es and reg isterin g for C hristm as b a sk ets.

The Mountain Spirit

around the project . . . continued

E n trepren eu rs F in ish T r a in in g Program McCREARY COUNTY-In mid summer, the first eight students graduated from CAP’S new en trepreneurial training program. Each was presented with a diploma signifying completion of the classroom training. “One of the reasons unemploy ment is so high in this county is because of a lack of business oppor tunity,” said Casey Sterr, the pro gram manager. “We hope to teach people business skills they need so they can use the skills they already have to run a small business.”

The program equips the students with the knowledge to successfully operate a small business. Casey learned that his students have good business ideas and the motivation and commitment to be successful. “They still have some inhibitions, though,” Casey said. “Like a knowledge of paperwork, where to get necessary information and financing and how to write a business plan.” Casey said that through the en trepreneurial training progam, CAP hopes to eliminate inhibitions for the students so that they can use their motivation to start businesses.

The program assists dislocated workers in four counties who are unemployed as a result of a business closing, to begin small businesses.

The Mountain Spirit

The three-phase program lasted six months. Phase one studied recruitm ent and selection of students; phase two stressed classroom training; phase three began implementation.

At its annual convention in Baltimore in May, the Catholic Press Association honored The Mountain Spirit with second place honors for General Excellence for mission magazines in 1988 and for its January-February 1988 cover.

During recruitment, ads were placed in newspapers and posters were put in local businesses to advertise the program. The Ken tucky Department for Employment Services also provided help in con tacting people who had lost jobs. Each interested person was inter viewed, and selections were made based on motivation and commit ment. The classroom training covered self-management, small business m anagem ent, and m arketing modules. Of the self-management unit, Casey considered the unit that focused on motivation to be the most important, because of the im portance of motivation in the suc cess of a small business. During the final phase, im plementation, students completed business plans, obtained financing, and launched small businesses. Septem ber-O ctober 1989

W hat You D o n ’t K now About W ills Can H urt Your H eirs . . . Find Out W hy. Request Your Free Copy Of:

W ins C PA A w ards

The judges in the General Ex cellence category said, “In second place, The Mountain Spirit preaches through the photograph. Its message is hopeful and smells of real life.” Of the single color covers entered, the judges commended The Moun tain Spirit, saying, “The Mountain Spirit takes second place for their awards issue cover. A full page photo of a potter’s hands creating a piece of pottery is clean and clear and portrays an intimate view of man’s creation. The mast com pliments the photo, showing the mountain spirit of the people of the area.” The photo was taken by Ran dolph Jordan, former associate editor of The Mountain Spirit. The staff of The Mountain Spirit thanks the Catholic Press Associa tion for this recognition, and pledges to its readers a continued ef fort toward this type of excellence.

M uch of w hat you know about wills m ay be m isinfor m a tio n th a t h a s b e e n floating aro u n d for years. If you th ink, for exam ple, that wills are prim arily for rich people, or the elderly, you m ay be the victim of a com m on m isconception. T h e helpful booklet offered here will explain how your will can save yo u r heirs from costly delays an d confusion. Send for your copy today. C lip an d M ail

C hristian Appalachian Project 322 C rab O rchard R oad Lancaster, K entucky 40446 Please send without obligation, your booklet, “ 37 T hings People ‘K now ’ A bout Wills T hat A ren ’t Really S o .” Nam e ________________________ Address________________________ C ity __________________________ S tate ___________Z ip ___________

“Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; fo r the kingdom o f heaven belongs to such as those. ” Matthew 19:14

“ Unless You Become . . .

by the CAP News Service 22

The Mountain Spirit

x rayer and discussions of God are common occurrences at CAP’s child development centers. At school (and for many children, at home) meals begin with a prayer and prayer is an everyday part of life. Even though the explanations we give and lessons we teach about God to our children may be perfectly clear to us, the way children interpret what adults say can often be very surprising. The Mountain Spirit visited five of CAP’s child development centers and asked the children questions about God and to draw some pictures of what they think God looks like. They gave some wonderful answers that were funny, touching, inspirational, but especially insightful. Perhaps the keys to the kingdom of heaven are held fast in the palm of a small child. *

Jennifer, 5, Family Life Child Development, Renfro Valley: He’s God and He lives up in

heaven. God makes people and He gets to heaven by doing His magic. When I was asleep, He came by and touched me, then He went away. It made me feel special. * Kevin, 3, CAP Child Development, Berea: God lives in Africa.

Septem ber-O ctober 1989

LaToya, 5, Children’s Discovery Center, Somerset: God lives up there in heaven. You can’t

see Him because He’s dead, but He arose. * Jessica, 5, Eagle Child Development, McCreary County: God lives up in the sky, in the clouds, but

you can’t see Him because He’s way up in it. He makes all the stuff like trees and people but the best thing He ever made was food. * Felicia, 5, Eagle Child Development: God lives in heaven, up in the sky. When He’s behind the clouds you can’t see Him. You can see Him if there aren’t any clouds, but there’s always clouds. He makes people to make new people because the new people can have babies. He’s making babies for my two sisters. * Jessica, 4, CAP Child Development: God looks at you. When I talk to him, he talks to me. * Andy, 6, Eagle Child Development: He lives in this here house. You can’t see Him, even when there aren’t any clouds. All these hearts are to show how much I love Jesus.

Dustin, 5, Eagle Child Development: He’s a good man what lives up in heaven. You can’t see Him, ’cause He’s too far up there. He came down and got killed for our lives, to make us be one and make our lives free. His friends put Him in a cave and He rose and came back alive in three days. This angel and two women who were God’s friends were there. The angel said, “He’s risen. He said for me to guard this place and when you’uns get here to tell you ‘I’m risen.’” Now Jesus is up in heaven and watches over us to make sure that nobody get us until we get old and die. * Jessica, 5, Family Life Child Development: He’s just God. He makes us do what we want to do. *

D.J., 5, Family Life Child Development: God does all kinds of stuff. He gets on a horsie and He rides on it. He lives up in the air, but you don’t see His house. * Jeremy, 5, Family Life Child Development: Jesus

helps us do things like He gets food for us. I can see Jesus, but I forgot what He looks like. * 24

The Mountain Spirit

Alana, 5, Sunshine Center, Lancaster: He’s the one who’s up in heaven, up in the sky. You can’t see Him, because He doesn’t live down here. He makes everything grow and makes the sunshine and the rain, because the plants need water and sunshine. * Adam, 5, Family Life Child Development: God lives up in the sky and eats cabbage. * Lisa Beth, 5, Children’s Discovery Center: He’s the Lord, and that means that He lives up in heaven, in the clouds. You can’t see Him because He’s in the house, in bed asleep. When He comes down out of heaven, then you can see Him. When you die He comes down to get you. * Adam, 5, Eagle Child Development: Jesus is a person up in the sky who makes things for us. You can’t see Him, ’cause He’s way up there, but He made us alive. * Kimberly, 4 Family Life Child Development: God lives up in the air. He’s my best friend. *

* Tara, 4, Family Life Child Development: He makes people and magic. He makes big ones and little ones and small ones. He makes clouds and thunderstorms and does things that people can’t do. He makes sunlight and clouds so people can pick flowers and have shade in the summer time. * Jessica, 5, Children’s Discovery Center: God lives in heaven, way, way far away. You can’t see Him, because He’s up in the sky. He protects you and watches over you because He loves you. * Danielle, 5, Children’s Discovery Center: God takes care of people. He makes them well because they’re sick. * Heather, 4, Eagle Child Development: God is way up in the sky, someplace up there. Sometimes Jesus comes out, though, ’cause I saw Him once. He was a little bit out of His house. I threw some bread up to Him. He didn’t want to catch it, ’cause He didn’t know what it was, but He wanted to eat something.

Septem ber-O ctober 1989

He protects you from strangers, and He’s got little angels that help Him to watch over you. They have little feathers on their sides. Denisha, 5, Sunshine Center: God takes care of people, ’cause He’s Jesus. When my grandma died, He took care of her. He lives up in the sky, and you can’t see Him ’cause He’s up in the sky.

Richard, 5, Sunshine Center: Jesus is somewhere, but I don’t know where.

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Nicholas, 5, Sunshine Center: God helps people, He helped me when He died on the cross ’cause He didn’t want us to die and He came alive. When Easter came, it was a new life to Him. He wears a white robe and a blue scarf around Him. I see Him in my room at night, but He’s a shadow.

Steven, 4, Family Life Child Development: You can’t see Jesus because He’s buried in the clouds. He makes us feel better when we’re sick.

Jeremy, 4, CAP Child Development: God watches

Crystal, 4, CAP Child Development: God loves to make rain, and He loves me, too. He lives up in the sky, and I used to not be able to see Him, but I can see Him now, because I drew a picture of him.

Matt, 6, Eagle Child Development: God is my

friend. He lives in the sky, but I can’t see Him, ’cause He’s in the clouds. I can see Him when there aren’t any clouds, though. He helps people, and He helps me get out of mud puddles. Desiree, 5, Sunshine Center: God makes people laugh. The old ladies call Him to come to His house. It’s messy.

out for us and comes down from uptown. He always comes by my house. He wakes me up, then disappears. Charles, 5, Eagle Child Development: God builds things like toys and houses, so we can live in them and play with the toys. He wants us to be nice to them.

David, 5, Children’s Discovery Center: God is Jesus. He lives in heaven a long way away. You can’t see Him because He’s invisible, but He makes people happy and people make Him happy by loving Him.

Jamie, 5, CAP Child Development: God makes it Derek, 4, CAP Child Development: God eats food

’cause sometimes he’s hungry. He cooks breakfast for some people, maybe hamburgers. You can’t see Him, ’cause He’s way up there, but Jesus can see you.

Brittany, 5, Children’s Discovery Center: God lives way up in the sky. You can’t see Him, ’cause He’s too far up. You’d have to have an airplane.

rain and God makes the cold, so the flowers can grow. He lives up in the sky, but you can’t see Him, ’cause He’s too far up there. Erica, 5, Sunshine Center: If I’m up in the air, I can see God. He’s at my house and He touches you.

Brian, 5, Children’s Discovery Center: God lives in the clouds. He helps you up into the sky when you’re dead. You can’t see Him, ’cause He’s in your heart.

A Search for Furniture

A lm ost every w eek C A P ’s em ergency assistance a n d o u trea ch offices receive calls from fam ilies in the a re a in need o f household furnishings a n d appliances. N ow th a t we are p re p a rin g for the w in ter m o n th s— a n d th e inevitable b u rn o u ts th a t are the result o f in a d a q u a te h e at stoves an d p o o r in su la tio n — the n eed for these item s is even g reater. O r m ore often, fu rn itu re a n d appliances th a t are old an d in b a d re p a ir to b egin w ith finally w ear o u t because o f the n o rm al w ear an d te a r o f fam ily living. E very fam ily has this experience, b u t for m an y o f o u r fam ilies h e re , they have no m eans to replace a n eed ed refrig erato r o r stove. C a n you help us rem ed y this p roblem ? If you have item s th a t we could use to help an A p p alach ian fam ily w ith h o u sin g pro b lem s, please contact: C h ristia n A p p alach ian P roject 322 C ra b O rc h a rd R o a d L an c aste r, K en tu ck y 40446 A ttn : O u tre a c h P ro g ram s (606) 792-2553 W e realize th a t ship p in g is a big con sid eratio n for these types of d o n atio n s. If y o u ’ll call, we see w hat kinds o f details we can w ork out!

N O N -P R O F IT O R G A N IZ A T IO N U .S . P O S T A G E P A ID Christian Appalachian Project

C H R IS T IA N A P P A L A C H IA N P R O J E C T 322 CRAB ORCHARD ROAD LANCASTER, KY 40446 The Mountain Spirit

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