BLAINE MAN CROSSES MOUNTAIN TO LOUISA…

By Susan Salyer

CRATIS WILLIAMS HAD A GREAT CAREER ‘EXPLAINING DIALECT’ OF RURAL APPALACHIANS

Cratis D. Williams (1911-1985)

Cratis Williams has had an impact on people and the world. He was born and raised at Cains Creek, Kentucky. He is known as the “Grandfather of Appalachia. ”He made it popular to be Appalachian and talk the way we do and not be ashamed of the fact we have a different dialect and a little different way of thinking about things, Lawrence Co. tourism commissioner Wes Kingsmore said at the most recent meeting.

Lawrence County Fiscal Court members recognized Williams’ accomplishments by officially naming the Blaine Community Cter for him at this month’s meeting. (See Lazer story)

The LC Tourism Commission of Lawrence County wants to let people know who Cratis Williams was and what he has done.

On April 5, 1911 Williams was the first person to come across the mountain of Blaine, Kentucky to school in Louisa, Kentucky to continue his education until graduation. He became Principal at Louisa, Kentucky and went on to college at Appalachia Studies in Boone, North Carolina to continue his studies.

Here’s more on Cratis below.

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Short bio of Cratis Williams

Cratis Williams is known for his eastern Kentucky roots, his Scots-Irish heritage, his breadth of knowledge of Appalachian folk speech and cultural traditions, and his great wit and humor. Born in his grandfather’s log house on Caines Creek, in Lawrence County, Kentucky, he drew lifelong inspiration from his rural family and community culture. He initiated curricula and programs in Appalachian studies, became a professor of English and dean of the graduate school at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, and served as acting vice-chancellor for academic affairs and also acting chancellor before his retirement from that institution.

A nationally recognized spokesperson for Appalachian culture, Williams documented and interpreted ballads, folktales, language, historical traditions, and religious customs.

The first child of Curtis and Mona Whitt Williams, Cratis Williams was educated in the one-room Hillside Elementary School on Caines Creek. Later, he boarded with relatives in the county seat of Louisa to attend high school, from which he graduated in 1928. His interest in ballads had been sparked at Louisa High School, and he began a lifelong study of historical and cultural traditions of the community into which he was born.

He attended Cumberland College (1928–29), and then taught in one-room schools on Caines Creek (1929–33) while taking classes at Morehead State Normal School and Teachers College and the University of Kentucky, where he completed his B.A. degree in 1933.

Here is a great 8 minute video with Cratis explaining how we talk and why: