Baskets, quilts, and the dancing dolls made by R.O. Slusher, Jr.
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Technology New and Old

Hello everyone! As we mentioned last week, we really appreciate holding our workshops in the high school library where we make good use of the computer display technology. But last week we enjoyed a new venue. We met in the heart space of our sponsor, the Old Church Gallery. The Gallery motto, “We remember, we collect, we protect,” made perfect sense to me when I visited the Gallery. 

The Gallery and the Floyd Story Center tell stories through artifacts and oral history. The Gallery holds artifacts that allow our community to see the beautiful craftsmanship and hard work that many people dedicated their lives to. I saw a display of beautifully hand woven baskets made by Charlie Hylton, Clovis D. Boyd, and many others. We were able to see the “Sweet and Sassy” exhibit — of feed sacks turned into functional art — before it is replaced by a new exhibit for the seasonal opening of the Gallery.

The exhibit filled the main room with beautiful pillowcases, aprons, boys’ shirts, and quilts, to name a few. They are all handmade with care and love. The colors on these quilts are so vibrant. I even learned that onion skins were used as dye to project a beautiful yellow color. Visiting the Gallery really made me realize how rich the cultural history is in Floyd County and how many families have ties in the County.

Baskets, quilts, and the dancing dolls made by R.O. Slusher, Jr.
Baskets, quilts, and the dancing dolls made by R.O. Slusher, Jr.
Students with ecording equipment
Mary Dickerson, Katie Thomas, and Jason Burgard learn about recording equipment in the Gallery’s newly renovated work room.

After Catherine Pauley gave us our Gallery tour and Alice Slusher provided a tea break, we got down to business learning how to use professional audio recorders and microphones. We want to know how to use the recording devices properly so that we will have successful interviews with no lost audio.

A sign of the times arose when Floyd Elementary fourth grader, Claire Burgard, sat in with us to learn about the recording equipment and readily absorbed the how-to’s. Then after class, Claire was puzzled by an item on the Gallery wall. What IS that? Catherine demonstrated the use of a telephone switchboard and party-line telephone – where everyone’s phones rang when anyone’s phone rang.

Catherine Pauley demonstrates a wall phone to a young student
“Granny, are you there? Aunt Dorie, are you there? Aunt Idie, are you there?” Catherine Pauley demonstrates for Claire Burgard how several people on a party-line could learn the latest news simultaneously (like e-mail Reply All or a Facebook post).

 
 

Baskets, quilts, and the dancing dolls made by R.O. Slusher, Jr. 
After Catherine Pauley gave us our Gallery tour and Alice Slusher provided a tea break, we got down to business learning how to use professional audio recorders and microphones.  We want to know how to use the recording devices properly so that we will have successful interviews with no lost audio.
Mary Dickerson, Katie Thomas, and Jason Burgard 
learn about recording equipment in the 
Gallery’s newly renovated work room.
 
A sign of the times arose when Floyd Elementary fourth grader, Claire Burgard, sat in with us to learn about the recording equipment and readily absorbed the how-to’s.  Then after class, Claire was puzzled by an item on the Gallery wall.  What IS that?  Catherine demonstrated the use of a telephone switchboard and party-line telephone – where everyone’s phones rang when anyone’s phone rang.  
“Granny, are you there?  Aunt Dorie, are you there?  
Aunt Idie, are you there?” 
Catherine Pauley demonstrates for Claire Burgard 
how several people on a party-line could learn the latest news
 simultaneously (like E-mail Reply All or a Facebook post).