Celebrate the Time-Honored Traditions of Heritage Handcrafts in this All-New Documentary!
Sing Behind the Plow: John C. Campbell Folk School

Celebrate the time-honored traditions of heritage handcrafts in Sing Behind the Plow: John C. Campbell Folk School, a documentary special weaving the stories of unforgettable crafts and crafters with the creative culture they’ve cultivated.

 Sing Behind the Plow: John C. Campbell Folk School, presented by UNC-TV, provides a captivating look at the charismatic couple that imported the Danish concept of folkehojskole (folk school) to the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina in the 1900s. 

This unique look at traditional mountain craft making is offered nationally (check local listings), through American Public Television (APT).

“The Appalachians were seen as a people still living in some ignorance in inadequate housing on hillside farms not necessarily using the best of agricultural practices,” remarks folklorist and author Loyal Jones, in Sing Behind the Plow: John C. Campbell Folk School. “As a result, no place attracted more Christian missionaries to come to ‘save’ people who called themselves Christians already.”

The hour-long documentary tells the story of one such missionary who, with his bride Olive Dame, traveled from West Virginia to Georgia to interview farmers about agricultural practices, collect ancient Appalachian ballads and study the handicrafts of these mountain people. John C. Campbell and Olive Dame Campbell hoped education could improve the quality of Appalachian life while preserving the everyday traditions and sharing them with the rest of the world.

The Campbells’ selfless study resulted in the dream of building a school in the rural South as an alternative to higher-education facilities that drew young people away from the family farm. After John’s 1919 death, Olive and her “friend” Marguerite Butler traveled to Europe studying folk schools in Denmark, Sweden and other countries. They returned, “full” of purposeful “energy” and “determination” to start such a school in Appalachia. With enthusiastic support, free labor and pledged building materials from the far west town of Brasstown, North Carolina, the John C. Campbell Folk School was born in 1925—providing non-competitive instruction of the Appalachian folk arts.

Over 80 years later, the John C. Campbell Folk School continues to offer a unique combination of rich history, beautiful mountain surroundings and an atmosphere of living and learning together.

Don’t miss the premiere of this unique local exploration into this one-of-a kind learning experience in Sing Behind the Plow: John C. Campbell Folk School, (check local listings).

For more information about the John C. Campbell Folk School, please visit www.folkschool.org.

For more information about UNC-TV’s presentation of the documentary Sing Behind the Plow: John C. Campbell Folk School, please visit www.unctv.org/folkschool.

UNC-TV is North Carolina’s only member-supported statewide broadcasting system, made possible through a unique partnership of public investment and private support. Sing Behind the Plow: John C. Campbell Folk School is part of UNC-TV’s commitment to producing and broadcasting programs for and about North Carolina.

Sing Behind the Plow: John C. Campbell Folk School is distributed nationally by:

For 46 years, American Public Television (APT) has been a prime source of programming for the nation’s public television stations. APT distributes more than 300 new program titles per year and has 10,000 hours of programming in its library. It is responsible for many public television milestones including the first HD series and the 2006 launch of the Create™ channel featuring the best of public television's lifestyle programming.

APT is known for its leadership in identifying innovative, worthwhile and viewer-friendly programming. It has established a tradition of providing public television stations with program choices that strengthen and customize their schedules, such as JFK: Breaking the News, Battlefield Britain, Globe Trekker, Rick Steves' Europe, Great Museums, Jacques Pépin: Fast Food My Way, America's Test Kitchen From Cook’s Illustrated, Broadway: The Golden Age, Lidia's Family Table, California Dreamin’ – The Songs of The Mamas & the Papas, Rosemary and Thyme, P. Allen Smith's Garden Home, The Big Comfy Couch, Monarchy With David Starkey, and other prominent documentaries, dramatic series, how-to programs and classic movies. 

For more information about APT's programs and services, visit APTonline.org.