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This is another episode from the first season of FOLKWAYS in 1982. While most of the artists in that first series are no longer with us, this is a chance to visit them again and see some of the very best and authentic folk art practiced in the southern Appalachians. Although the production tools available then can't match the quality of today's digital video, it's still a fascinating look back at part of our cultural heritage.
Life was rugged in the southern mountains, but it was far from bleak. People put the same creativity that went into carving a living from the land into their entertainment, including making toys for their children.
Willard Watson is both a toy maker extraordinaire and something of a professional character. His carved toys are full of unique details....stage coaches pulled by shod horses in leather harness, carved men with moveable legs and full-dress costumes, and mechanicals such as a man chasing a bouncing pig. As Watson says, one of the great satisfactions of life comes from knowing "the things we're doing now is gonna linger on."
May Ritchie Deschamps elevated the craft of making cornhusk dolls into a high art. She adds carefully created details of crochet collars, parasols, baskets, and hats. Prized by collectors throughout the country, her dolls cradle babies in their arms, churn milk and play dulcimers.
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