A downloadable 22-page zine about the folk music of Pennsylvania. Within her wild woodland borders lies a key crossroads between the common folk inheritance of the Appalachian Mountain Region and the gloomy, industrial mood of the Rust Belt spanning across the Great Lakes.
Volume two brings to life the heyday of Pennsylvania’s lumber industry in the mid-to-late 1800s. The lumberjacks and spar-raftsmen who labored there were romantic and rugged, carrying with them a rich tapestry of stories and songs. Five of them are featured here, including an original composition of my own that tells the lumber-era legend of Susan Hillbish and her fiddling raftsman. I also touch on deforestation and reforestation in this one, discussing the impact of the Department of Forestry and FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps. Included are stunning glass plate photographs by William T. Clarke, discovered in a toolshed in the 70s and salvaged by the Barden family.
Please reach out through my contact form if you are a folklorist or musician who can’t afford the fee and I’ll be happy to send this PDF along for free.
A downloadable 22-page zine about the folk music of Pennsylvania. Within her wild woodland borders lies a key crossroads between the common folk inheritance of the Appalachian Mountain Region and the gloomy, industrial mood of the Rust Belt spanning across the Great Lakes.
Volume two brings to life the heyday of Pennsylvania’s lumber industry in the mid-to-late 1800s. The lumberjacks and spar-raftsmen who labored there were romantic and rugged, carrying with them a rich tapestry of stories and songs. Five of them are featured here, including an original composition of my own that tells the lumber-era legend of Susan Hillbish and her fiddling raftsman. I also touch on deforestation and reforestation in this one, discussing the impact of the Department of Forestry and FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps. Included are stunning glass plate photographs by William T. Clarke, discovered in a toolshed in the 70s and salvaged by the Barden family.
Please reach out through my contact form if you are a folklorist or musician who can’t afford the fee and I’ll be happy to send this PDF along for free.
