THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
Some of the stories were written
down in a
century-old ledger book that belonged to James Harry Turner's
grandfather,
James Lon Turner (
Harry Turner (1928-2005) added
to these as
long as he was able, collecting choice anecdotes that dated back to
Revolutionary War times and reached down to the present. He always
intended to
publish them, but feared that he might somehow offend someone still
living who
might recognize familiar stories as being part and parcel of their
family
folklore. And so it was, after Dr. James Harry Turner's death in 2005,
his son,
Dr. Joseph Blair Turner, assumed the cloak of storyteller, compiling
his
father's tales and adding some of his own to form a delightful
compendium with
the signal title of High Humor of the
Hills. It has both Drs. Turner as joint authors and was
published by
Nathan House Books,
The book is a valuable addition
to our
mountain literature and lore on several levels.
The first level is given in the
title. It
is a book of "High Humor," coming from our mountain folk for many
generations, kept alive by repetition, and serving to add a bit of
levity to
what was often a "hard road in a rough land."
Dr. Joe Turner has done an
exceptional job
editing the stories and arranging them by eras. If you want a tale from
the
Revolutionary period, "How Skinflint
Won the Race" will pit the frontiersman against a "Virginia
Dandy" in a bare-foot race
(only the story says they were "bar-foot").
The Civil War era brought forth
such tales
as old Ben Nix and "The Mule Shoe
Dentist" when a blacksmith doubled as the community's tooth-puller.
Through various decades, the true tales of humor represent a people,
humble and
unpretentious, who found entertainment by listening and telling events,
often
with themselves as the subjects. Neighbors had time to exchange
stories, share
laughs, lift each other's burdens.
Altogether, the book contains
200 stories
and 139 pages of delightful vignettes. The reader will enjoy the volume
as a
straight read-through, but will return again and again to reread and
learn the
variable shades of humor certain favorite tales convey.
So on the level of historical
reference
book, this volume has merit.
Another level of the book's
value is in the
language. A five-page "Appalachian Glossary," alphabetized and with
meanings of now almost obsolete mountain words and phrases is a
reference not
only for the vernacular of the stories but for a language that is
rapidly
passing away. It has been said that the Appalachian people, especially
those of
previous generations before the media rendered a "standard English"
language for us all, was one of the truest Scots-Irish and Elizabethan
English
tongues still practiced. Dr. Joseph Blair Turner writes in his
foreword:
"I have attempted to capture the more folksy expressions. If it seems
different, remember that socio-linguistically there are no right or
wrong
accents or dialects, only some people who do not appreciate the beauty
of
folk-tendered expression, preserved by the folk themselves. This
culture is
vanishing. I am thankful I was there, warmed by its fading rays" (page
xv).
High
Humor of the Hills
will bring laughs. But, further, it will bring understanding. The
storytellers
who people its pages are real, proud of their heritage, unafraid of
hard toil
and life's knocks, able to pick up and move forward, always keenly
compassionate and ready to lend a helping hand. As both Harry Turner
and Joe
Turner state: "These are my people. I am one of them." And those of
us born and reared in the Appalachian region-or Union County, Georgia,
in
particular- can relate to the tales, to the thread of hope that lies
beyond the
pranks, to the people seeking some respite from grueling work and
sometimes
drab life. As Dr. Harry Turner states in "The Prologue":
"You wouldn't dare call them
'hillbilly.' They aren't. Just real honest- to-goodness folk, getting
more of
life's blessings than you might be, dear reader." They care not for
aberration nor embellishment, but life as it comes." (page xii).
Many of the stories show strong
faith held
by Appalachian people. Even though these stories deal with faith laced
with
humor, that faith is, nevertheless, an unswerving dependence on God.
Harry
Turner expressed this faith of the people well: "Neither are they
complacent in their fear of God—their Divine Master. They are His
stewards of
the soil. They toil and grow strong on it. They laugh deep and long
there in
the valleys, next to Heaven's crests, heeding the only call that counts
to
them: God's." (page xiii).
The author who first started
recording the
stories, Harry, son of a dirt farmer, and the author himself a longtime
agricultural agent in the mountain counties of
For purchasing information, see
the website
at NathanHouseBooks.com. I think you (as am I) will be glad to have
your own
copy for $12.95 (price includes shipping). If you do not have internet,
you may
order from Nathan House Publishers,
I personally congratulate Dr.
Joseph Blair
Turner for completing this book. He invites readers to contribute their
own
stories of true mountain humor. In the future there very likely will be
a
Volume II of High Humor of the Hills.
But first, I highly recommend that you get Volume I of this brand new
publication for yourself or for a gift. And if you hear of a book
signing at a
book store near you, I recommend that you go to meet compiler Dr.
Joseph Blair
Turner who felt it his mission to complete the work his father had
begun.
c2006 by
Ethelene Dyer
Jones; published Sept. 14, 2006 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville,
GA.
Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
[Ethelene Dyer
Jones is a retired educator,
freelance writer, poet, and historian. She may be reached at
e-mail edj0513@windstream.net;
phone 478-453-8751; or mail 1708 Cedarwood Road, Milledgeville, GA
31061-2411.]
Updated July 8, 2018
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