Browse Exhibits (20 total)

The Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival (originally known as the Delaware Bluegrass Festival) began on Labor Day Weekend in 1972 in Bear, Delaware. Founded by Ralph Stanley and Bill Monroe, along with Carl Goldstein, Mike Hudak, and Sheldon Sandler from the newly established Brandywine Friends of Old Time Music, it was to be the first bluegrass festival in the northeastern United States. The festival remained in Bear until 1990, when it moved to the Salem County Fairgrounds near Woodstown, New Jersey. Early on, the festival's producers began incorporating old-time, country, and other roots music artists, establishing the festival as one of the most significant and distinctive folk music events in the nation.

The current exhibit provides a curated introduction to the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival Recordings (1972-2018), held by the Archives of Appalachia at East Tennessee State University, with special attention given to the festival's first decade.

The exhibit features portions of digitized recordings, provided by the Archives of Appalachia for the purposes of research and education. Any commercial uses of the materials or any uses that exceed the limits of fair use and other relevant statutory exceptions require the permission of the Archives of Appalachia and the copyright holder(s). It is the user's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials. The Archives of Appalachia makes every effort to adhere to all known copyright and rights of privacy, publicity, or trademark of these materials. If you are a rights holder of material on this site and believe that inclusion of this material violates your rights, please contact archives@etsu.edu.

Charles F. Decker, a Master Potter, made his mark in the genre of pottery in Appalachia through a life committed to perfecting a craft that was an essential commodity in the 19th century.  A leading innovator of his day, Keystone Pottery was dominant in the industry.

Even more important than his contribution to the genre of art in Appalachia, is his acculturation into Appalachia.  German by birth, Decker discovered his sense of place, used the materials available to perfect his craft, immersed himself in the community, passed along the pottery trade to his sons, and became not only a successful potter, but a good friend and neighbor.  He was an Appalachian in the purest sense of the word; and his pottery is now considered Appalachian art.

Depots.  According to Webster there are several meanings of the word, but for the people of Appalachia, it was the information station.  Instantly recognizable in structure, this tiny building was the means of connection with the outside world. 

It is difficult in modern times to envision the critical role played by the centrally located railroad depot in a town.  One must erase the vision of multistory brick, steel and glass towers, smoothly paved highways, traffic signals, and clearly marked passageways.  When the railroad depots were built, the surrounding area was sparsely populated with long distances between homesteads and towns, and the crudest of conveniences.  Once this picture is ingrained into the imagination, the full impact of the critical importance of the tiny building known as the depot, or the train station, may be realized.

In the mid-nineteenth century, when railroad tracks were being laid throughout East Tennessee, steam-powered locomotives were fired by wood.  This required frequent stops on the line to refurbish wood and water, hence the number of depots.

In an age when travel was somewhat rudimentary and limited at best, and problematic at worst, train travel ushered in a new era for people in isolated areas and small towns.  Trips that took many days, or several weeks by stage, were reduced to hours or a few days by train.

The depot was an exciting place to be as there was a constant hustle and bustle of travelers, businessmen, merchants and farmers, either shipping local products or receiving goods, as well as daily news and communication via mail or telegraph.  The trains brought men, mail and merchandise.  The convenience of Fedex, UPS, and Amazon did not exist.  Customers were completely dependent upon the basic stock of local merchants.  Specialty parts, tools, or commodities were ordered from Sears and Roebuck or Montgomery Ward catalogs.  Growth of business and commerce was dependent upon the depot.  

In addition to the commercial benefit, the depot was also a place where the community gathered to welcome family and friends, or send them away. The arrival of the train at the depot was a much-anticipated event. People would come from all over to gather and socialize for a spell.  The most exciting topic of the day was who was coming and who was going.  The train depot was the nineteenth century version of Facebook and Instagram.

During wartime, many people said goodbye to their loved ones for the last time at the depot, or welcomed them home after long separations.  Parents sent their children off to college or to a new life in another town. Railroads soon became the lifeline of small-town America, creating thriving economies by providing employment, transportation, and shipping of essential goods.  The depot was the central hub of the town.

In a 1973 Johnson City Press-Chronicle article, housed in the Appalachian Vertical Files Railroads - Tennessee, East in the Archives of Appalachia, Dorothy Hamill interviewed Mrs. Lloyd Jones, a ticket agent at Johnson City's Southern Railway Station for 30 years.   Mrs. Jones exuberently shared numerous stories of her years at the depot saying, "The atmosphere was never dull."  She expressed that people would bring their lunch to the depot just to observe the activity of trains and people coming and going.  People also brought food to take on the train, and often showed her "half of a ham, fried chicken, cakes and pies."  Others would pass through the depot while walking from one side of town to the other.  There were excursions for school children, and special excursions for "places of interest."  On June 18, 1932, during the Depression, the railroad advertised a special rate of one cent per mile for that day only.  Mrs. Jones said there was a "constant stream of people from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m."  

The depot was more than just a place of business.  Mrs. Jones shared many stories of personally helping people in various ways, sometimes buying tickets for people who were sick, or who didn't have the money to get home.  She was also privileged to witness the visits of many famous people coming through the depot including Herbert Hoover, Eleanor Roosevelt and Elvis Presley!

In the beginning, many train depot structures in East Tennessee were purely functional, especially in small towns.  Built in the Gothic Style influence, many depots reflected vernacular construction and were rectangular, with a low roof featuring raking eaves, brackets, and one story.  Four walls, and enough space to conduct basic operations, was all that was required.  As the railroad industry grew, stations became larger for two reasons: to handle the ever increasing traffic flow and merchandise, but also to impress.  The realization that the depot was often the first impression for visitors fueled the desire to build more elaborate depots with many architectural styles: Greek Revival, Italianate, Romanesque and Beaux-Arts Classicism.  Some depots were a mixture of styles.

While many depots have disappeared, or transformed into other modes of commerce, East Tennessee is fortunate to have a few readily recognizable depot structures still in existence, running the gamut from the purely functional, to the more elaborate in architectural style.

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This exhibit highlights live recordings of bluegrass performances from the 1970s and 1980s, featuring recordings from the Leon McIntyre Collection in the Archives of Appalachia at East Tennessee State University.

The recordings showcase important shows, venues, and performers in bluegrass history.

Since Johnson City's founding in 1869, more than a dozen authors have written valuable histories of the city. From Samuel Cole Williams's first published history of Johnson City in 1940 to the Johnson City Press's 2019 book celebrating the city's sesquicentennial, numerous writers have brought their individual perspectives to bear by highlighting significant people and events from the city's past.

This exhibit draws attention to three published histories of the city written as theses for graduate degrees in Tennessee: Ophelia Cope Daniels's 1947 thesis at Tennessee A&I State College, Harold Handy's 1980 thesis at ETSU, and Mary Alexander's 2001 thesis at ETSU provide valuable new information about Johnson City's history and civic development. Highlighting the social, economic, educational, and political history of the city, with special attention to the role of Black citizens in advancing the city's standing, these works represent valuable perspectives from community members.

This exhibit features the complete theses of Daniels, Alexander, and Handy, along with brief biographical introductions to the authors.  A bibliography of additional resources provides recommendations for further study on Johnson City's history and development.

Sidney Gordon Gilbreath was the first President of East Tennessee State Normal School.  Elected by the State Board of Education, Gilbreath's term began in September, 1910, and ended after fifteen years of service in 1925.

The Archives of Appalachia houses the presidential records of Sidney Gilbreath, which include the "newspaper writings" featured in this exhibit.  A selection of writings will be posted each month.

Sidney Gilbreath's beautiful penmanship is featured in these newspaper writings written in fountain pen.  All have been transcribed.  Also featured is his wonderful sense of humor.

This exhibit focuses primarily on RICH-R-TONE recordings found in the Lewis Deneumoustier Collection in the Archives of Appalachia at East Tennessee State University.

RICH-R-TONE recordings are regionally and historically significant in their relationship to the early beginnings of bluegrass recordings and the onset of a smaller "cottage recording industry" in Johnson City. These early pioneers of small record labels were noteworthy in their approach to recording and making available bluegrass records in the 1940s and 1950s. 

Regionally, RICH-R-TONE recordings give listeners insight into local and regional music from the early days of bluegrass. The performers who recorded were eager to record and the owner of RICH-R-TONE, Jim Stanton, provided an outlet for their ambitions.

Lewis Deneumoustier was an avid collector and fan of old-time, bluegrass, and country music. His collection spans over one hundred years of country and traditional music history and includes nearly 25,000 recordings along with photographs, posters, sheet music, magazines, and other memorabilia.

In 1982, the Archives of Appalachia at East Tennessee State University received a matching grant from the Tennessee Committee for the Humanities to produce a series of three radio programs based in part on materials from the Archives’ holdings.  The series was intended to provide an entertaining and educational overview of various aspects of the social history and folklore of southern Appalachia.  Margaret Counts and Richard Blaustein wrote and produced the three programs, which aired on three separate Sunday evenings on the WETS radio station in May of 1983.

This exhibit contains audio of each of the three programs, along with versions of each respective approved script.  Additionally, it includes a guide for conducting oral history interviews and a bibliography for those interested in studying program topics in greater detail, both of which were created by original project staff in 1983.  Finally, the exhibit includes a number of related materials: press releases, newspaper reviews, and advertisements.

All materials in this exhibit are drawn from the Archives of Appalachia’s collection #0237, “Archives of Appalachia and University Archives Records.”

Between May 1946 and April 1947, the Vogue Picture Record label produced around eighty 78rpm discs.  While today the discs are best known for their colorful artwork, in the 1940s they were also respected for their innovative use of vinyl, instead of the more common shellac.  This resulted in a high quality recording with very little surface noise.  The label recorded a wide range of musical styles: from country to jazz to children’s music to Latin music.

Vogue discs sold for around one dollar each (three dollars for multi-disc albums), which was more than twice the average price of material from competing labels.  Combined with Vogue’s difficulty in signing leading popular performers of the day, this contributed to its short lifespan.

This exhibit highlights the five Vogue discs that are among the more than 25,000 recordings in the Archives of Appalachia’s Lewis Deneumoustier Collection at East Tennessee State University.  The exhibit includes scans of each disc, brief excerpts of each respective recording, and additional information including background context and suggestions for further study.

This exhibit highlights six specific World War II Newsmaps held by the ETSU Sherrod Library's Government Documents, Law and Maps Department, along with WWII-related materials held by ETSU's Archives of Appalachia. The newsmaps summarize weekly developments of military action abroad, while the newspaper articles, photographs, correspondence, and other materials draw attention to specific stories of the war's impact on residents of east Tennessee.

Published by the U.S. Army Information Branch, World War II Newsmaps were poster sized informational maps published weekly from 1942 until 1946 and were designed to motivate and inform American military personnel. Not intended for general distribution, the posters were distributed to military installations, government and civilian groups working on War Department projects, and federally-designated depository libraries such as East Tennessee State University's Sherrod Library, which became a federal depository in 1942.