Description
The segment opens with the host, speaking about his family history and location in Caldwell County near Blowing Rock, on a place called Bailey's Camp. He describes his great-grandfather's self-sufficient farm with a water wheel, gris mill, and sash sawmill powered by a river. He mentions that the house he lives in, 110 years old, was sawed on a sash sawmill by his great-grandfather who hand-planed the lumber. He details the progression of power sources used for the sawmill through the generations: his grandfather used a steam engine, his dad a kerosene burner, he uses a diesel, and his son plans to use electric.
Following this, he presents a spoken piece about being a sawmill man, describing the methods and power sources used by his great-granddaddy with a water wheel, his granddaddy with a steam boiler, his daddy with a kerosene burner, and himself with a diesel engine, detailing aspects like hauling timber with horses, blowing the whistle for supper, and using automatic equipment. After the sawmill piece, the host states he will play a song on the hammered dulcimer and shares an image and a story titled "Simple Gifts", describing finely crafted handmade furniture on a hardwood floor in a log home filled with antiques which are seen by Shakers as the present and future, noting that for Shakers, finely crafted is a process and way of life. He mentions the strings of the guitar and dulcimer catching light through the window.
The host then introduces Orville Hicks, identifying him as a storyteller and cousin to Ray. He talks about Orville doing school programs and being an enthralling storyteller who travels and has recordings. He asks Orville about winning awards, and Orville mentions receiving a Kentucky Colonel award and appearing on a television show in Missouri. The host welcomes Orville, who then introduces himself, stating he is from Beech Mountain and comes from a family of eleven. Orville says he learned many of his tales from his mama and Ray, crediting Ray with helping him get started in storytelling. He recounts a story about his missionary Baptist preacher father not caring much for storytelling and giving him a whipping for asking for a Mountain Dew because he thought it was moonshine.
Orville tells a story about selling pumpkins as "mule eggs" to a man and the man returning after the "egg" didn't hatch, followed by the same man chasing a rabbit that ran out of a busted pumpkin, believing it was a baby mule. He then says he might have one or two "mule eggs" for sale. Orville tells a "jack tail" called "Jack and the robbers," detailing how Jack ran away from home, met a steer, a donkey, a cat, a hound dog, and a rooster, and how they found refuge in a house that belonged to highway robbers, scaring the robbers away using their various animal abilities. He follows this with a hunting story about encountering a bear while eating blackberries and narrowly escaping by grabbing a tree limb on the way down after missing it on the jump up.
Orville mentions that Council Harmon was his great great grandpa and receiving funny books from Ray's boys when his father didn't allow them. He talks about not getting electricity until 1964 and walking to school, mentioning getting 42 Fs on a report card and telling his daddy it stood for fire. He notes having five boys and telling stories to his youngest at night or the boy listening to his tape. Orville says "This is Beech Creek".
The host introduces a final song and asks someone to come up. A song titled "Fly Away" is performed.
Subject
Folk music
Appalachian Region, Southern
North Carolina, Western
Shannon, Joe Wayne, 1949-2014
Orville, Hicks
Jack tales
Storytelling
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