Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
Session 7.07 Folklore and Folkways
Presentation #1 Title
Hippie Homesteaders: Art, Crafts, Music, and Living on the Land in West Virginia
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
It’s the 1960s. The Vietnam War is raging and protests are erupting across the United States. In many quarters, young people are dropping out of society, leaving their urban homes behind in an attempt to find a safe place to live on their own terms, to grow their own food, and to avoid a war they passionately decry. During this time, West Virginia becomes a haven for thousands of these homesteaders—or back-to-the-landers, as they are termed by some. Others call them hippies. When the going got rough, many left. But a significant number remain to this day. Some were artisans when they arrived, while others adopted a craft that provided them with the cash necessary to survive. Three panel presenters will tell their stories of the movement and the times. They came to the state, lived on the land, and created successful careers with their craft. Tom & Connie McColley made baskets coveted by the Smithsonian Institution’s Renwick Gallery. Photographer Ric MacDowell came as a VISTA volunteer, and dancer Jude Binder transplanted an entire commune to the hills of West Virginia. Along with these stories, Carter Taylor Seaton, the author of newly published Hippie Homesteaders, will examine the serendipitous timing of this influx and the communal and economic support these crafters received from residents and state agencies in West Virginia and present her argument that this movement lead to the formation of Tamarack, and the birth of Mountain Stage.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Huntingtonian Carter Taylor Seaton is free-lance writer, novelist, and essayist. Hippie Homesteaders is her third book.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Former VISTA volunteer Ric MacDowell became a well-respected nature photographer because of West Virginia. He has lived in Lincoln County for nearly forty years.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Tom & Connie McColley came to West Virginia during the back-to-the land movement. Former nationally acclaimed basket-makers, they still live in Calhoun County, WV.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Jude Binder, maskmaker, dancer, film maker, and teacher brought an entire commune to the hills of West Virginia in the 1970s. Her school of performing fine arts, Heartwood in the Hills, which trains all ages of students, is the culmination of her earliest dreams.
Hippie Homesteaders: Art, Crafts, Music, and Living on the Land in West Virginia
Corbly Hall 244
It’s the 1960s. The Vietnam War is raging and protests are erupting across the United States. In many quarters, young people are dropping out of society, leaving their urban homes behind in an attempt to find a safe place to live on their own terms, to grow their own food, and to avoid a war they passionately decry. During this time, West Virginia becomes a haven for thousands of these homesteaders—or back-to-the-landers, as they are termed by some. Others call them hippies. When the going got rough, many left. But a significant number remain to this day. Some were artisans when they arrived, while others adopted a craft that provided them with the cash necessary to survive. Three panel presenters will tell their stories of the movement and the times. They came to the state, lived on the land, and created successful careers with their craft. Tom & Connie McColley made baskets coveted by the Smithsonian Institution’s Renwick Gallery. Photographer Ric MacDowell came as a VISTA volunteer, and dancer Jude Binder transplanted an entire commune to the hills of West Virginia. Along with these stories, Carter Taylor Seaton, the author of newly published Hippie Homesteaders, will examine the serendipitous timing of this influx and the communal and economic support these crafters received from residents and state agencies in West Virginia and present her argument that this movement lead to the formation of Tamarack, and the birth of Mountain Stage.
