Cover Photo: “Heart-shaped woodcraft made by Joe McInroy” from the Augusta Archive, 1994, Helvetia, WV
Photo: Snowy View from the Wilt Building
As snow flurries across Third Street in front of the Augusta office, I begin to muse over my last few months spent in Elkins. This mountain town has brought me so much joy and music since September. I watch a snow bank form over the Davis Trust Company’s roof across from my office as Frank George explains the appropriate way to play a hammered dulcimer to a class that happened 47 years ago. I turn to my laptop to type out the next tune name, “Tune Number 3. The Old Spinning Wheel” into a spreadsheet containing thousands of iconic tunes, musicians, and speakers that have left a lasting mark on Augusta over the decades. All of them recorded, digitized, and typed out by Augusta employees and AFNHA AmeriCorps members like me who took the time to care about the archive and ensure that these tapes, photos, and countless other items are preserved for our future generations.
The snow seemingly levitates over Davis Avenue, I’m reminded of the roads that brought me here. How the research done for my master’s dissertation at The University of St Andrews in Scotland somehow led me to Elkins. I arrived in Charleston, West Virginia to my grandma’s home last summer with a vague mission to interview bluegrass and old-time musicians about their experience playing traditional tunes on a modern stage at The Vandalia Gathering. Through this research, one name kept popping up. People would say, “Have you checked out Augusta yet?” and “You should really drive up to Elkins and interview people there!”. While my research period was limited to late May and early June, meaning I missed the iconic Augusta Summer Programming, the name Augusta stuck with me. And suddenly, through pure coincidence, I found myself applying in June for a position at Augusta as their Collections Preservation Coordinator as an AFNHA AmeriCorps member. I’d been wanting to give back to West Virginia communities because of how much they had given me during my dissertation research, but I never could have imagined it would end up with me living in Elkins and continuing my work in Augusta’s archive.
I continue watching the snow build up on the eaves of The Oxley as I keep a careful eye on the cassette deck spinning a 1978 tape recording of Nimrod Workman. I hear his voice singing a beautiful rendition of “In The Pines”. It recalls my lifelong love of music in all forms. From classical guitar at seven to show choir in high school to chaotic punk shows in college all the way to my clumsy plucking as I try to learn clawhammer banjo in my Elkins apartment. I still laugh at a memory from one of my first weeks here when my neighbour Maddi passed by the door, hearing me play the banjo and exclaimed, “Bum Ditty! Bum Ditty!” jokingly as I laughed from inside my apartment. My time here has revived a deep seated need to play and listen to music that had become dormant in college and grad school. I now spend every day surrounded by a different tune, a different instrument, and often, a different genre. From Old Time to Bluegrass to Gospel to Cajun to Blues to lectures on how music brings people together, the cassettes expand my mind. Singing in the Lift Your Voice choir on Tuesday nights connected me more with the people in Elkins and gave me another outlet to share music with others.
I retreat up the stairs to my apartment for lunch and stare out my window as snow continues to pile on the roofs of Elkins businesses and City Hall. As a tenant of the Wilt building, Augusta’s new project that fosters a community brain trust of volunteers and artists, I’ve built lasting friendships and been inspired to participate in the Elkins community with my neighbours. I spend hours talking with Zoe about her upcoming bakery and experience in the culinary world. Maddi and I love our weekly walk from the Wilt to The Arts Center for choir practice where we catch up on each other’s lives (I can’t wait for the Spring choir season to start!). We all support each other’s work and passion projects, often over delicious dinners and music blasting from a Victrola record player.
The snow here in Elkins continues to fall as I write this blog post, but I can’t feel too bummed about being stuck here. I’ve loved the last few months surrounded by the Appalachian mountains with hiking, music, and an amazing community that supports my work. I make myself rose tea that I bought from a shop in London with local West Virginia honey and consider how the merging of my past experiences and today make me into a better, happier person. While the snow will eventually melt away, my time here in Elkins is far from over.
Madeline Ricks is an AmeriCorps member with the Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area serving at Augusta. She is using her year of service to continue the mission of digitizing Augusta’s large archive, as well as adding to the collection through new recordings and blog posts about Augusta happenings and stories of West Virginia culture. While she was born in Georgia, raised in both Indiana and Montana, and has traveled around the world, she has a special place in her heart for West Virginia, as her mother’s side of the family still lives in Kanawha County. She received her BA in English Literature and a minor in Italian Studies from Gonzaga University and recently finished a Master of Research in Social Anthropology from the University of St Andrews in Scotland. She hopes to leave a lasting, positive impact on the organization and community during her short time at Augusta.