RAVENSCROFT RECOVERY

BY - Iris Webb Glebe

When the Ravenscroft mine closed in 1936, some 300 families were abandoned and left in a state of shock. Mining was their way of life, and when that was taken away so suddenly, they did not know what to do or where to turn. All they had left was a roof over their heads; the mine operators at least allowed them to remain in the shabby little red houses.

As the shock wore off, some families left Ravenscroft to seek work in other coal fields - a bleak prospect in those lean depression years. Others stayed, awaiting they knew not what. The story of their work as they gradually rebuilt their lives and their town provides a heart-warming sequel to the history of coal mining in White Co. A few years later they would survive a second shock also one which they never envisioned in those bleak days following the closing of the mine when survival depended so heavily on outside help.

0ne of the first who came to the rescue was Rev. Edwin E. White, pastor of the Pleasant Hill Community Church, accompanied by Dr. May Wharton of Uplands. Rev. White had been pastor at Pleasant Hill for ten years, during which time he sought to uplift mountain life by instituting various programs for instruction in better health, agriculture, and home life, wholesome recreation, etc. His "outreach" work encompassed a number of communities, including Ravenscroft. For monetary assistance he appealed to benefactors in northern churches, government agencies, private foundations, etc. Sorority girls from various universities assisted him during the summers. When the mine closed he and members of the Pleasant Hill Community Church at once launched a community welfare program, with Dr. May and the Uplands staff providing medical assistance. The base of operations was established in a large house on the hill in Ravenscroft, which overlooked the town on one side and the mine on the other. (This house had been the home of my grandparents when my grandfather, L. O. Matthews, was general foreman of the Ravenscroft mine.) Rev. White's wide range of contacts brought in shipments of food, clothing, garden seed, canning jars, etc. A hot lunch program was set up for the children, so they would have at least one good meal a day. Dr. May held weekly medical clinics in the house on the hill. Thus the first steps were taken to help Ravenscroft back on its feet. In addition to Rev. White and Dr. May, three other names stand out prominently as leaders. They were Dr. Lillian Johnson, Olive Myers (Southard) and Vivian Tenney.

Lillian Johnson was a university professor in Memphis and obviously a woman of means and influence as well as heart. When she learned of Ravenscroft's plight, she enlisted the aid of friends in sending milk and cod liver oil for the children, and clothing, bed linens and other necessities for others. She purchased the old company store from the Tennessee Products Corp. for possible future use. She provided furniture and a new sink, stove and recreational equipment for the house on the hill when it became the "Community House," where at times she stayed to assist Rev. White in the organization of activities, even though she was at the time an elderly woman. She foresaw the great need to come to some understanding with the Tennessee Products Corp. over the land, knowing that at a whim of the company the whole mission could be erased. She thus became the spokesman and correspondent for the community in later negotiations to buy the property, and was instrumental in forming and chartering a cooperative. Olive Myers joined the work when Rev. White realized that a full-time "head worker" was vital to coordinate activities when no one could be available. Much as he cared for Ravenscroft, his main duties and obligations lay elsewhere; as of course did those of Drs. May and Johnson. Olive Myers was a Pleasant Hill Academy graduate, had taught there and was a social worker. She more than filled the job of "head worker." She moved into the house on the hill and made it into a true home, not only for herself and Dr. Johnson but also for the community. It became the center of activities and the heart of Ravenscroft - a clubhouse, recreation center, library, office. Weekly folk-dancing socials and songfests were held, organized by Olive. The joys and sorrows of Ravenscroft were her joys and sorrows, its – people her people. She was friend and confidant to old and young alike, and of course a godsend to Rev. White.     Her monthly salary of $50.00 was provided by one benevolent society one year, by another one another year. When it seemed even that small amount was in jeopardy, Rev. White's gentle prodding somehow lined up another donor. By such dribs and drabs the work continued.

Vivian Tenney was a young New York medical student in 1937 with a desire to spend the summer in Kentucky with a nurses' association. It would be a lark because the nurses made their rounds of horseback! But she was turned down for the simple reason that she was not a nurse. Her father in New York, however, knew Rev. Edwin E. White in Pleasant Hill - who didn't? - and wrote to the minister.   The response: "Send her down." She could perhaps assist Dr. May, or teach health education, or something. All contributions welcome. Vivian arrived in Nashville, bought a little rattletrap car for $50.00 - she named the car Ermintrude - and on to Ravenscroft. For that summer and the next three, Vivian Tenney and "Ermintrude" - and frequently a carload of children - made their medical rounds. Vivian not only taught health, she gave shots, treated injuries, delivered babies and gave medical attention to the best of her ability wherever and whenever it was needed. Her salary was $35.00 a month, paid by a friend of her father's. I met and interviewed Dr. Tenney in Pleasant Hill in the summer of 1987", when she came back to visit Olive Myers Southard and other old friends. She told me that her presence in Ravenscroft in 1937 was indirectly responsible for bringing the Farm Security Administration to the aidof Ravenscroft. She had written a letter to her mother in New York, describing conditions as she found them at the time. Her mother, Gina Branscomb - considered at one time to be America's leading woman composer and conductor - was a personal friend of Eleanor Roosevelt's. Vivian's letter was forwarded to Mrs. Roosevelt, who responded that both she and thePresident had read it, and something would be done. Thus in the fall of 1937, an F.S.A. representative arrived in Ravenscroft. Shortly thereafter a Farm Supervisor - Pleasant Hill's T. L. Cunningham, and a Home Demonstration Agent, Nellie Mae Davis (Hembree) were assigned. They began working in March,1938.

The contributions of these individuals discussed naturally did not happen all at once with a cut-and-dried course of action. It was a time of learning and making do, of searching for solutions, making mistakes, faltering for them as well as the Ravenscroft people. There were no doubt hurt feelings at times and conflicting opinions. But as they got to know each other, they all worked together. The community was on the rise before the F.S.A. involvement; some men had found work with the WPA and CCC, so a little money was coming to some. They'd planted their little gardens and crops with donated seed and canned some food in donated _ jars. But their little steps of progress gained dramatic impetus under the trained supervision of the FSA workers. Loans were secured for seed and fertilizer, and miners-turned-farmers were taught the best and most progressive methods of farming. Through their newly-formed Farm Club they learned to save money by cooperative purchasing of supplies. For instance, one man took out an agency with a fertilizer company, thus saving about $5.00 a ton. A similar plan worked in getting seed potatoes.

The women under Miss Davis' leadership formed their own group, The Homemakers Club, and were educated in nutrition, more efficient methods of canning and preserving food. They learned sewing of clothes, drapes, etc., and methods of home organization, cleaning and beautification. In time each age group belonged to and took pride in its own organization, from the men's Farm Club to the little girls' Busy Bee Club. Small grants from the FSA from time to time enabled the purchase of cows to provide milk and butter, better equipment, etc. Flowers began appearing around the little red houses.

But one ever-present fear hung over the community like a dark cloud: what would they do if the company suddenly asked them to leave? They were, after all, squatters on land that was not theirs, even though the Tennessee Products Corp. agreed onApril 1, 1938, to lease them the Ravenscroft tract at $100.00 a month for the rest of the year, with the suggestion that rent be charged to pay for it. In August, 1938, Dr. Lillia Johnson wrote to the company stating that she, Rev. White, Dr. May and several others, listing them, had met, formed and applied for a charter as the Ravenscroft Cooperative (later Cumberland Plateau Cooperative). They wishedto purchase 2000 acres of land, including Ravenscroft. She stated that since the unsold buildings had little value, the timber had been cut off, and the soil eroded, they thought $5,000.00 would be the right figure to pay, and offered $500.00 down, the balance to be paid in 9 yearly installments at 5% interest. The offer was unacceptable to the company; they wished to sell the cooperative 10,000 acres at $3.00 an acre.  Possibly the company had its eye on the FSA and saw a chance to unload property that was a burden to them. Certainly the people of Ravenscroft hoped the FSA would grant enough for a down payment, which would secure their homes.

On Sept. 29, 1938, a second offer went out from Dr. Johnson to buy 5,000 acres for $15,000.00 including Doe Creek Lake and the pumping station. Available records do not disclose the company's response. (Nor does Dr. Johnson's name appear on the list of directors of the Cumberland Plateau Cooperative, nor any information as to how the Ravenscroft Cooperative, if it existed, became the Cumberland Plateau Cooperative. The Board of Directors of the latter organization were C. T. Nelson, druggist, Sparta, Pres.; E. E. White, Sec.-Treas.; Dr. May Wharton; Eleanor Slater, Sec., American Friends Service Committee, Philadelphia; K. F. Potter, Potter Freight Lines, Sparta; Alva W. Taylor, sociologist and manager of the Homesteads; Mrs. Pete Walker, homemaker; Claude Hembree, rural mail carrier; John Ervin, farmer,and Beecher England, farmer, Ravenscroft.)

It seems apparent that T. L. Cunningham, or whoever was responsible for such matters, applied early on for a grant from the FSA to purchase, or provide the down payment for the Ravenscroft property, whereby each farmer could own his own acreage andrepay the FSA in small payments. Sometime in 1939 the Cumberland Plateau Cooperative opened negotiations anew with the Tennessee Products Corp.; they offered to purchase 8500 acres at $3.50 an acre, with the assurance that "a government agency" would provide the down payment. The company accepted the offer - hooray! But the good news was dashed when the government appraiser came in to assess the property. It was worth only $2.00 an acre, he said, not $3.50.The long-suffering company agreed to the lower figure. But when the legal department in Washington required absolute warranty deed guaranteeing title to every acre, the company balked. Vice President McFarlane told Rev. White that it would take all they got for the property to prepare such a deed. He said he would be glad to deed to the government all rights he had in the land, which the company had had for 30 or 40 years, but he could not consider guaranteeing every acre.

One promise he could make, however: if the men would fill in the 4 mine shafts - "Peerless," "Carola," and their air ventilation shafts, he would grant a year's lease free, and would forget about the $200.00 still owing from the previous year. The men did a little balking of their own at this suggestion; some said it would take a year to fill one shaft, let alone four. But they went to work at $1.50 for an 8-hour day, to be paid against their rent, and in a "relatively short time" filled the Ravenscroft mine and half the airshaft. Rev. White wrote of these developments to Dr. Johnson in March, 1940. He stated he hoped the work would go as well at the Carola shaft in Bon Air. (The two shafts at Bon Air at some point were sealed with cement slabs. ) Rev. White further stated that he still wished the necessary money could be found so they could buy the land.

Life went on. The communityhad startedpublishing its own little newspaper in 1939, the Ravenscroft News, and later printed a cookbook by the Homemakers Club, with the names of contributors of recipes. In 1941 the same clubalso printeda yearbook, listing  its activitiesfor that year. Activities ofthevariousclubsinthecommunitywereregularly publishedin the Ravenscroft News: the 4HBoys Club, Girls 4H Club, BusyBees, Young Men's Club. These included a contest for the 4Hboys individualgarden , with aprize for the best; the 4H girls and their splendid work in decoratingandremodelingtheirrooms, the little Busy Bees decorating and remodelingtheir dollhouse at the CommunityHouse. Further developments in 1940-41 included the opening of a cooperative store, the installation of a wood-working shop and iron-working shop.

In 1940 an offhand comment led the women of Ravenscroft to join competition in an annual county event in which towns vied with each other for a prize as the most attractive community in the county. It was called the Better Home Week contest. The comment: "You all won't be joining, will you? No point in fixing up a place when it doesn't belong to you." The speaker might just as well have waved a red flag ata bull. The women organized themselves, their husbands, children and anyone else available into such a work force that within weeks the fences and steps were repaired or replaced and painted. New walks were laid, grounds thoroughly cleaned, windows shined, walls painted with a mixture of local white clay, linseed oil and furniture polish, the latter two provided by the FSA. New flour-sack curtains were hung, new homemade bookcases and tables appeared, new burlap slipcovers made, flowers planted. When the dust settled,  if any dust was left to settle, the squatters of Ravenscroft were awarded First Prize as the neatest, most attractive community in White County. Now they could get back to the interrupted project of collecting scrap iron for the war effort.

Mountain Life and Work devoted part of an 1941 publication to acclaiming the accomplishments andassets of Ravenscroft: 125 milk cows and 60 work animals, everyone with a garden. 64,000 quarts of fruit and vegetables were canned, another 14,000 pounds dried. The number of chickens quadrupled over a four-year period; 6,000 bushels of potatoes produced, 2/3 of which were sold on the commercial market; enough green beans sold commercially to bring in $4,271.00. The article ended with an announcement that the greatest news was definite promise that the FSA would finance purchase of the land.

When the December, 1942, issue of the Ravenscroft News came out, it sported an extra last-minute half-page pinned to the cover:

THE REAL NEWS ABOUT RAVENSCROFT IS THAT ARRANGEMENTS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED FOR THE PURCHASE OF THE LAND.

The survey has been finished and transfer of title is expected at any time. Thus the families that have courageously learned and applied the best farming methods on land they had no assurance of keeping can now go ahead and develop places of their own. And the folk who have worked together for a good community life where there was no assurance that there would be any community at all the next year can now make long-time plans for the building of a good rural community. We hope to be able to tell you all about this in the next issue of Ravenscroft News.

The next issue never appeared. Even while this joyous news was being read, a storm was breaking in Washington over the various farm bureaus. The powerful American Farm Bureau Federation, the most influential farm bureau, had been watching the FSA with wary eye ever since the latter's establishment in 1937, just as it had watched the predecessor, the Resettlement Administration, both established by the President to assist poor rural farmers. They had posed no real threat to the AFBF as long as Congress, influenced by opposition to spending money on rural poor, continued to grant only small sums - that, and the political weakness of clients of the smaller organizations. In 1938 Sec. of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace decided to elevate the Bureau of Agricultural Economics as central planner of the various farm programs, thus coordinating them. That was too much for the American Farm Bureau Federation. Officials, to them, seemed too interested in rural poor and urban consumers. They were afraid they would be deprived of their status as leading representative of farmers. They thus embarked on a campaign to check the trends they feared and to expand their power. They were successful in the early war years; Congress killed the BAE's program of state and local planning and appropriations to the FSA.

The people of Ravenscroft did not know, of course, that the promised loan to buy their land was in grave jeopardy in Washington. They waited expectantly, hoping each day would bring the word and the celebrating could begin.

While they waited, a realtor in Crossville quietly contacted the Tennessee Products Corp. and bought the Ravenscroft property.

This second great shock suffered by the Ravenscroft community was surely more devastating than the first one, when the mine abruptly closed. That blow came out of the blue. But to think of all that was accomplished during the "squatter" years in mingled hope and fear - to be told, "Fear no more, the prize is won" - then at the last hour to have it all snatched from their grasp! Well, it's painful to contemplate, even to an outsider, even after all these years. The realtor immediately set a high price on the old company houses that the people had cared for, and transformed from shacks to homes. He offered them the land they themselves had salvaged from wasteland, at $20.00 an acre. The beloved Community House was offered to Olive Myers for $1,000.00; she responded that she could not be interested in it at that price, and the community could not pay so much either. Someone else could. Within the hour it was sold. She was told to move at once, as the new owners wanted to move in.Some families began packing; either they could not afford to stay or didn't want to. If they did not have much to take with them in material possessions, they did have knowledge and experience in ways to enrich their lives elsewhere, as well as a wealth of memories. Other families adopted a wait-and-see attitude, stalling to see what developed. They later were able to buy their farms at $15.00 an acre.

In 1948, 40 families lived in Ravenscroft on their own farms, which they had continued to clear and develop. A few, or some of their descendants, are still there today.