Ballad of Calamity Creek

By: Elisabeth Hamilton Friermood

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Synopsis: When her father put his foot down, saying that one year of college was quite enough for any girl, Ann Todd left Indianapolis for the newly established Stoney Hill School, deep in the mountains of southeast Kentucky. If she couldn’t learn any more herself, then she would teach, but her vision of bringing light into the wilderness soon vanished. Ann’s pupils were children of Kentucky mountaineers, many of whom had never seen a book before, and instead of teaching English poetry, she found herself keeping the school records, comforting a dormitory of small homesick boys, and helping out at cooking and weaving classes. At the same time, Ann was learning by being drawn into the busy activities of the mountain folk, hearing their mournful ballads, seeing their handicraft, and unconsciously absorbing some of the courage and self-sufficiency that were an everyday part of isolated mountain life.