a visit to foxfire

The Savannah House, originally uploaded by lalapapawawa.

I think childhood memories are interesting when you shine the light of adulthood on them. When I was growing up, I remember a set of books my parents had, hardbacked volumes called Foxfire. They looked like Reader's Digest Condensed books, which my parents also had all over the house. But they were different.

I admit - I did not read them closely. First, they weren't exactly stories, more like mini documentaries, and at that age, they did not rate higher than my music. But my opinion of the books was that they contained fascinating stuff I wanted to know LATER, when I was old and intellectually engaged.

What's Foxfire? First, Foxfire is a fungus, growing on rotted fallen wood in warmer months. I can only assume it grows in other places as well, but I don't know. Better yet, it glows. Who can beat that? In 1966, a group of English class students chose the name for a magazine they wanted to publish, containing interviews of elderly folks in their community.

What you should know is that these kids were growing up where the conception of Appalachian people was that they were irrelevant hillbillies. Irrelevant. Hillbillies. Hi kids. You come from nothing. Welcome to your life. Well, they rejected that concept. Or maybe they didn't reject it. Maybe they were truly worried that the press was right. Either way, as they interviewed the elders of their community, they discovered something altogether different. They found people with a stubborn self-sufficiency, and quite honestly, the skills and craftsmanship that built lives from raw materials. Can you say that? Can you say you built your house, made your clothes, and not only that, can you say you raised the sheep which were shorn, then spun the wool, then weaved it into cloth to make your clothes? No, you can't, so maybe WE are the rather useless and irrelevant generation, have you considered that before? So, that magazine turned into a book. Well, books... with volumes... And moreover, the book money was used to buy property, in the northeast Georgia town of Mountain City.

In other words, the students found exactly what they were looking for, legacy included. Because what happened in the mountains wasn't just a school project, but a redisocvery, and a connection to people who shouldn't be forgotten. And it became a land trust, a mind trust, even a teaching method, which connects students to their local community, showing how the community is a resource in your learning, suggesting even that where you live, where you come from has SIGNIFICANCE, should be ACKNOWLEDGED, should be REMEMBERED. I know, how old-fashioned is that?

So here's the funny part. I visited Foxfire for the first time last month. I've lived in Georgia since I graduated from university. I lived in Rabun County, where it's located, for five years before moving to metro Atlanta. So, in late March, after I spent the week training at one of my company's Center's, I decided it was time to correct that.

The grounds are very discreetly tucked away up the side of a steep hill. Advertised, but not well advertised. The poor car is used to gravel roads by now, but that doesn't mean she likes them. You may never visit this place. I may never visit them again. But they are doing their part to preserve important things. If you have a chance to visit the website I linked to above, you might consider making a donation to the cause. They need your help. I did. Because 30 years after I gave those books a first glance, I'm finally there - I'm old, and intellectually engaged.

Right now, it's time to interact with the real world. I'll share some pictures from Foxfire later.

--Laura