Acknowledgments
Our aim to invite true “Voices of Tradition” to speak through the pages of Wayfaring Strangers has guided us into the company of many extraordinary people. The conversations we shared provide a first-person perspective throughout the unfolding narrative. Each contributor is profiled following the text as a measure of our gratitude. Though some of these voices are now stilled, to all of them we extend our eternal admiration and deepest thanks.
The book’s art editor, Darcy Orr, applied herself diligently to the task of accumulating illustrations from both sides of the Atlantic, trawling through the centuries to compile a visual match for this epic story. She provides a review of the process and sources elsewhere in this appendix. She also journeyed with us and assisted with the collecting and research, sitting in on a number of the interviews and contributing countless ideas and valuable text proofing. Darcy joins us in thanking all the artists and photographers for their stunning contributions to this volume.
We could not have accomplished this without our families: Ian Hodgson, always available to illuminate new pathways into the language of the story, offered boundless humor, insight, and cups of tea to Fiona. Their children, Eilidh and Finley, were continually supportive during Mum’s many hours at the computer, sitting close by in quiet solidarity with their homework and reading projects. Gordon, Joyce, Stewart and Ella Ritchie backed the venture all along with heartening encouragement and helpful feedback. Other family members Heather and David Abernathy and Holly Orr and Jenn Lindenauer patiently abided by Doug’s and Darcy’s unceasing time commitments and deadlines. Their offspring are mentioned on the dedication page. Don and Mary Hart Orr lent their ever-present support with reminders of our shared family Scottish heritage.
With ease and good nature, Margaret Kennedy endured many spells when her colleague shifted energy and time from radio to book production. The enclosed CD is a vital and valued accompaniment to Wayfaring Strangers. It would not have been compiled without Margaret’s dedication, a logistic task she juggled with her many responsibilities managing The Thistle & Shamrock® radio program in the United States. Thanks also to all the musicians who made it possible for us to create, with their music, a wonderful sonic accompaniment to the text.
Seven generations of Dolly Parton’s family have lived where our story unfolds, and so she is perfectly placed to reflect upon the enduring impact of this music and its tradition bearers. With her foreword, she contributed generously and enthusiastically to our book, highlighting how her family legacy lives on in her own work and musical passions. The warm and sincere support of Dolly and Grammy-winning producer Steve Buckingham reinvigo-rated us greatly. We are also grateful for Steve’s support, along with Teresa Hughes, in assisting us with the completion of our CD project.
The Swannanoa Gathering at Warren Wilson College, now in its twenty-second year, has been a treasure trove of musician friends (many are our “Voices of Tradition”) and a vital source of background information, ideas, and inspiration. We thank director Jim Magill, his staff and theme-week coordinators Julee Glaub Weems, Phil Jamison, Al Petteway, David Roth, and Julia Weatherford for their leadership in helping establish the gathering as one of the nation’s premier summer music camps, drawing attendees from throughout the world to the Blue Ridge Mountain setting. Also at Warren Wilson, library director Chris Nugent kindly provided us workspace as we reconvened each summer during the Swannanoa Gathering, taking advantage of the opportunity to work shoulder to shoulder on the book.
We were extremely grateful to receive permission to excerpt interviews with Mike Seeger and Joe Thompson, recorded in conversation with Banning Eyre for BBC Radio 3’s World Routes, produced by Peter Meanwell. “An Appalachian Road Trip,” which first broadcast on October 17, 2009, preserved the insights of these two tradition bearers not long before they passed away. Peter Meanwell was conscious of their importance in our story and kindly supportive in allowing us to add his work to our “Voices of Tradition” passages.
Three individuals tapped their expertise to carefully review particular segments of the book. Through suggestions large and small, Jack Beck (Scotland and France’s Occitania), Len Graham (Ulster), and Ron Pen (the southern Appalachians) contributed greatly to the narrative. Ron was also joined by Rosanne Cash, William Ferris, Brian McNeill, Kathy Mattea, and Cerys Matthews in offering honest appraisal of our work on the book’s cover. Thank you all.
Our own wayfaring journey in researching this project carried us through the Appalachians to Washington, D.C.; New York; Scotland; and Northern Ireland. Special thanks to Edinburgh’s Ian Young for driving us along the back roads of Scotland and Northern Ireland, for the animated conversations en route, and for his artistry with camera and song. Always helpful were Paddy Fitzgerald and Brian Lambkin—noted authors of the emigration story in their own right—at Northern Ireland’s Centre for Migration Studies and Ulster-American Folk Park. The Centre’s library and the Folk Park’s reservoir of “living history” images were invaluable resources. Brian and Paddy have served as hosts and are stalwarts of the biennial Ulster-American Heritage Symposium, which brings together knowledgeable scholars of the many-faceted Scots-Irish story. Nancy Groce at the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress is a noted researcher, author, and curator. She was so helpful in guiding us through the center’s vast collection of materials. Her prior work at the Smithsonian Institute Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage is likewise much appreciated. The staff and resources at the Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, Virginia, located along the historic route of the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road, helped us relate the story of the wayfarers’ migration as they made their way into the southern Appalachians through the Shenandoah valley.
The Scotch-Irish Society of the United States of America offers a welcome to the descendants of families who followed our migratory path. As with other ancestral organizations, their volunteers help sustain one of the many rich cultural traditions of the American melting pot.
Our shared musical journey began in 1983 at the Charlotte Folk Society. To this day, it draws together devotees of Appalachian musical traditions and their Celtic roots. Our thanks to Folk Society founder Marilyn Price and countless friends who share the music with schools and civic organizations, preserving tradition, passing it on, and enriching the community.
Thanks also to NPR® and its member stations throughout the public radio system for their partnership in bringing authentic music, from a myriad of evolving traditions, to audiences across the United States and the globe. Our readers may be especially grateful for the precious airtime public radio dedicates to music from Appalachian and Celtic roots. Please remember your local stations at fund-raising time.
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to special friends and organizations that provided financial and moral support that sustained our work and assisted with production costs: Joel, Marla, and Dot Adams of the Beattie Foundation; Tom Schwartz; and the Susan Marcus Collins Foundation. Warm thanks also to everyone who helped fund the enclosed CD by supporting the online North Carolina Arts Council power2give campaign.
Many friends and kindred spirits lent a hand and created a chorus of encouragement along our way. Elspeth Baillie transcribed some of the earliest interviews as the fledgling book took shape, and Richard Blomgren, a Warren Wilson marketing master, advanced the promotion of Wayfaring Strangers with ideas and support. Thanks also to Robin Bullock, Celtic guitar wizard and dedicated student of the music’s origins; Wayne Erbsen, author, musician, and public-radio music host for old-time and bluegrass music; Arlin Geyer, whose photography artfully captures the Swannanoa Gathering each year and who contributed images to this book; Joe and Karen Holbert, music companions with a reservoir of information about Appalachian and shape-note songs; Sara James, who offered an author’s wisdom, guidance, and encouragement by phone from Australia; television director and author Andrew Johnson, who first suggested our book title; and Eliza Lynn, musician, singer, songwriter, and theology student, who transcribed most of our “Voices of Tradition,” tackling their diverse accents with care and enthusiasm. Along the way, she also placed a clawhammer banjo on Fiona’s lap and thus provided a fitting musical retreat for writing breaks. Elizabeth Kostova, gifted best-selling author, helped point the way through the maze of the literary world. Christine Kydd and her community vocal group Just Singin’ affirm the power of shared song each week and offer many insights into the treasure “kist” of tradition. Ever supportive, Dougie and Jenny MacLean carry the torch for Scotland’s evolving music and bring it all home to their Perthshire Amber music festival. Enthusiasm for this project radiated from Beth Magill, whose virtuosity with the Celtic flute enhances and sustains the tradition, while she encourages and mentors the next generation of young musicians. Al Petteway and Amy White produce superb photographic images that capture the spirit of the mountains, and Al made excellent recordings of some of our “Voices” interviews for radio. Rowena Pomeroy transcribed interviews and provided many years of thoughtful support. Cathie Ryan’s God-given voice inspires us all as she shares the magic and mystery of Irish song and folklore. Elizabeth Sanderson helped keep Fiona’s Scottish office and studio running and was always available to exchange ideas on the book. Michael Scoggins, of the Center for Scotch-Irish Studies at the McCelvey Center in York, South Carolina, offers fine scholarship regarding the Scots-Irish music legacy. Peggy Seeger made possible our inspiring visit to Beacon, New York, to interview the late Pete Seeger, an afternoon etched in our minds. Steve Solnick, Warren Wilson College president, advocates and offers unfailing support for sustaining the music traditions. And finally, grateful thanks to Pete Wyrick, lifelong friend, talented book editor, and music buddy spanning the decades.
We have been blessed to work with a highly talented professional staff at the University of North Carolina Press in Chapel Hill. Our senior editor Mark Simpson-Vos possessed a sixth sense in guiding us through what he first called the “braiding and weaving” of a story line that sweeps across time and place. With skill, patience, support, and an eye on the big picture, Mark applied his fine editorial hand to the task of integrating many component parts and gave us confidence to work as coauthors. UNC Press project editor Jay Mazzocchi guided us through the copyediting and production process, and we could not have wished for a more gifted and detail-conscious editor. Kim Bryant, Heidi Perov, and their design and production colleagues brought a sharp eye to the considerable layout issues, seamlessly combining illustrations, interviews, sidebars, and text. The UNC Press marketing team—Dino Battista, Ivis Bohlen, Ellen Bush, Michael Donatelli, Jennifer Hergenroeder, Gina Mahalek, and Joanne Thomas—worked diligently with us in the far-flung promotion of the book. Finally, we appreciate the visionary leadership of UNC Press by director John Sherer and his predecessor, Kate Torrey, whose tenures have spanned the years of our work on Wayfaring Strangers.
The swell of a thousand voices carried this book to shore upon the waves of ten thousand tales. So we raise our parting glass to the untold nameless souls, across generations, who lived through this unique migration saga, lifting their hearts with songs, fiddle tunes, and dances. We have savored this chance to dwell among them for a while, all the better to tell their remarkable story.
