Voices of the Past Heard at Appalachian Festival

By Amy Barkman

ENGL 336.003

Voices were heard mid-Saturday afternoon at Frostburg State University's Appalachian Festival. More specifically, the voices of Sparky and Rhonda Rucker were heard, singing and telling of "African-American Voices From Spirituals to Freedom," a combination of songs and stories from the time of the Underground Railroad to the Civil Rights Movement.

The duo started their performance with a "plantation song," called "Cindy in the Spring Time, Cindy in the Fall," featuring lyrics such as "If I can't have Cindy girl, then I don't want none." Sparky played guitar, and Rhonda played the banjo. Following that song, Sparky spoke of "the horrors of slavery," such as not being able to control their own dreams or raise their own children, and how by the end of the Civil War, nearly 4,000,000 people had lost their lives. He said, "The only way to fix our country is to educate ourselves." He spoke of Thomas Jefferson and how, even in the Declaration of Independence; he said it was up to the citizens to change our nation.

Sparky spoke of Abolitionists, such as Abraham Lincoln, who when, at age 19, he saw babies "being carried away from their Mamas," said he would do anything he could to change this.

Sparky then began to sing "Children, Children, Get on Board" while playing the guitar and as Rhonda accompanied with the harmonica. He then spoke of how the slaves would come up with songs while they were working to get through days where the only thing they could look forward to was a few sips of water. They then sang "Bring a Little Water, Sylvie" acapella, encouraging the audience to participate in the sing-a-long type song.

Another famous person Sparky spoke of was Pirate Joe, who was known as the "Scourge of the Seven Seas," until he had his right leg blown off by a cannonball, thus becoming known as "Peg Leg Joe." The pirate later became a well-known Abolitionist preacher. Sparky also spoke of the Fugitive Slave Law and how it gave slave owners the right to come into the northern states to reclaim their stolen property. He also told of a conversation between Lincoln and the famous author, Harriet Beecher Stowe, in which Lincoln said, "So you're the little woman who started this big war."

The duo went on to sing several songs about the Civil Rights Movement, including "Hold On" and "My Dog Loves Your Dog," during which Rhonda played an old instrument known as the "bones," and Sparky played the spoons. Sparky also spoke about Jim Crowe laws, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., saying "It's okay to go to jail if the cause is good."

There were also many vendors at the festival, including the Sommers family and their apple butter and cider stand. According to Marita Sommers, this was their third year at the festival. She was using the Pioneer Method to make apple butter, which consists of constantly stirring apples and apple cider in a kettle over a fire for eight to ten hours. She said the family attends many festivals, and her father makes apple butter for a living at Sam Beachy and Sons, a large plant close to Springs, PA, though they don't use the Pioneer Method in their plant.

Darlene Terlizzi of Sunnyside Wools in Garrett County, MD, had a display of Christmas stockings and other crafts featuring her very own handcrafted wool. She said that from shearing the animals to making the craft, one item can take up to eight hours to complete. She enjoys weaving, felting, needle felting and sewing and has been to a few of the campus festivals, although missing the last couple of years. She said she was glad to be back and is now looking forward to visiting five different festivals in five weeks.

There was an assortment of activities available for visitors to the Appalachian Festival. From music and story telling to a large variety of food and crafts, there was something for everyone.