Storytelling is a gift.
It is a gift that we give our children, whether we snuggle up with an illustrated book, tell a story from our childhood or repeat a tale passed down through the generations.
Dr. Ruth Ann Musick, who compiled many of the old stories told by families, purposefully came to Fairmont from her Missouri home. It was an “unmined” area, and her deep interest in folklore brought her to the hills of West Virginia. She sat in parlors and around the dinner tables of Marion County and asked the families to tell their stories.
Her most popular collections of stories, “Coffin Hollow” and “The Telltale Lilac Bush,” are supernatural tales with ghosts returning from beyond to settle scores, help others or wander about as if they were still living. Spine-tingling? No. These aren’t the CGI ghosts who walk through walls and horrify movie-goers.
No, these stories require some audience participation. The stories are very basic — someone does someone wrong. Someone dies. The guilty party is haunted by the spirit of the deceased. They are almost morality tales. But they all require the readers to use their imagination to fill in all of the details.
Musick collected these stories from her students, through newspaper columns — one which ran in our predecessor, The Fairmont Times — and from people she met from time to time. They were stories passed down from 100 years or more. They were stories that gave us goosebumps and also told us about our past and history here.
“To know your past is to know where you are going,” said Judy Byers, the director of the Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center at Fairmont State. “If you have appreciation of culture, you have a deeper understanding of the beauty of diversity around you. You understand people by understanding their culture.”
And that’s what many of these “ghost” stories are — reflections of the lives of our forefathers.
We don’t tell stories anymore — the kind that make you laugh, the kind that give you a bit of a fright. We don’t even tell jokes anymore, it seems, unless it is one of those forwarded e-mails. The tales collected in Musick’s work were the sole source of entertainment of our ancestors, who didn’t have the Internet to forward jokes, prime-time television or movie theaters to waste away the hours between sunset and sunrise.
As we progress into a more digital and disposable society, we cannot forget to pass down our stories. While the written record is very important, we must also take time to tell our stories.
Some of the efforts made by the folklife center are dedicated to the identification, preservation and perpetuation of the region’s rich cultural heritage through academic studies, educational programs, festivals, performances and publications. The ninth annual Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center Gala, which will will take place Saturday, Oct. 31, at Fairmont State University, will feature some of that in action. Stories will be shared in the effort to keep the art alive.
While Musick and others made every effort to document our region’s rich oral tradition, our generation must be ready to keep the oral tradition active in our society.
Opinion
Storytelling a great gift to preserve in our society
- Opinion
-
-
Quit playing games; ‘do what is right’ in renewing extension of the payroll tax cut
Once again, lawmakers in Washington, D.C., are working on a deal to extend a payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans beyond the end of the month.
And once again, debate has ensued. -
Superintendent, BOE must find accord if schools are to progress
We’re a little confused.
In October, an item appeared on the agenda of a Marion County Board of Education meeting to hire an administrative assistant of Human Resources and Student Support Services. But the item was pulled from the agenda with no public discussion about why, and the position was not filled. -
George Esper: Outstanding man as correspondent and WVU professor
Many West Virginians would no doubt be shocked to learn that the outstanding correspondent from the Vietnam War was a West Virginia University graduate from Uniontown, Pa.
His name was George Esper, one familiar for many years around the WVU School of Journalism for his tenacious coverage of the Vietnam War that established him as a highly revered print reporter of the 20th century. -
Hiding state records has no place in a democracy
In private business and personal life, people may hide some activities, exercising their right of privacy. But government is different.
-
Results about Twitter, free from censorship
So Twitter announces that it will allow country-specific censorship. What followed was #outrage, #disbelief, #protest, #RighteousIndignation, #TwitterBlackout and #rage.
-
West Virginia must develop plan to fulfill highway needs
There is no dispute that improving West Virginia’s roads is one of the state’s biggest needs.
We use them daily — out of necessity and for pleasure.
They’re also vital to West Virginia’s economic health. -
Best interests would be served if FGH and city both move on
In December, Marion County Circuit Court Judge David Janes ruled that the Fairmont General Hospital Board of Directors can appoint its own members and that the City of Fairmont’s charter no longer applies to the hospital.
-
Educational partnership a step in the right direction
Officials involved in a new educational partnership between Pierpont Community & Technical College and FirstEnergy Corp. call the endeavor a “great opportunity.”
We think it’s even more than that. -
Meth causes senseless waste, terrible damage in West Virginia
Terrible damage is inflicted on West Virginia — and upon abusers and their families — because dopeheads feel compelled to blank out their minds with drugs of many sorts. We can’t understand the sad need that impels them. It causes a senseless loss to society and individuals, filling prisons and wrecking jobs.
-
Limited funds for workforce training can’t be wasted through drug abuse
There’s only so much money to go around when it comes to workforce training. And with the national economy still in a bit of a slump, there’s even less money to go around and even more of a reason to make the money invested in these programs count.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
Quit playing games; ‘do what is right’ in renewing extension of the payroll tax cut
