2014-07-10: Day 15 A Day Off the Bikes

It specializes in Appalachian art. There are many art galleries in town and at Berea College. Berea (the city) was founded in 1852 by a very vocal anti-slavery advocate. In 1855, he also founded the college. While Kentucky stayed officially neutral during the civil war, the area was held alternately by Union and Confederate forces back and forth several times. The college shut down. It reopened one year after the war ended. That year in 1866, it became one of the first institutions to admit both black and white students. The college today focuses on the students from the under developed Appalachian mountain regions of Kentucky using a interesting business model. It does not charge any tuition. In exchange all the students work 15 to 20 hours each week for the college either on campus or making art which is sold in various galleries on campus and around town. The wooden furniture created by these students looks exceptional. Apparently there are 77 hands similar to the one pictured below around town. We saw perhaps 8 of them today. Jon has never played a Mountain Dulcimer but stepped right up to one and started playing. I asked him to do that again for this recording. He literally had not touched this instrument until 30 seconds before this recording. Check this out.