THE STATE
The Jessie Wilson Bedspread
A TALE of inoiiiiljiiii \v<*«»v«*r.s and of
Ihelr tfifl fo I lit* former pr«\4idoiif s
dun filter. Also of I lie w ork done by
Mrs. Findley >lasl in reviving this in-
(ere.sling art.
lift IDA
ШШ.С.Ч
IIE\DFIISO\
MANY beautiful, fascinating
stories and tradition* ha
been woven around the dwell¬
ers of the Southern Appalachians.
Among these, perhaps, none carries
stronger appeal than the story of the
weaving of the Jessie Wilson Bed¬
spread.
To make my story more comprehen¬
sive I want to tell you something of
the background of Mrs. Findley Mast.
She, n typical daughter of our glorious
hills, lived a few miles beyond Cros.<-
norc at Valle Crusis . . . just a tiny
place nestling under the shadow r.f
hoary old Grandfather mountain. The
name Valle Crusis is symbolic: sup¬
posed to be a corruption of Valley
Cross, ns two valleys bisect each other
at that point to form a perfect cross
in contra-distinction to nil other valleys
of Appalachians which invariably run
parallel.
Reviving the Art of Weaving
Mrs. Mast, a score of years ago. be¬
came absorbed in the ancient craft of
hand weaving. Sho conceived the idea
of reviving this art to the extent where
it could be placed upon n commercial
basis and thus give willing workers a
profitable outlet for their time and
energy. She was aware that alt
through the hills the women had
sacredly preserved the cards, hackles,
distaffs, spinning wheels and hand
looms of their grandmothers: in these
women there lived an inherent love of
beauty that because of their isolated
homes, impassable roads, and conse¬
quently very restricted lives, laekcJ
means of fulfillment. Thus their souls
were starved for the lovely things of
life which naturally fell to the share
of more fortunate sisters who lived in
urban communities.
Mrs. Mast traveled horseback for
many bng miles
over tortuous
trail* to see the
mountain women
and gain their
cooperation, and
soon was able to
organize them
into coordinated
hands of weavers.
She found them
receptive to her suggotions, and also
sho discovered sporadic attempts at
weaving. She gathered these loos*1
threads of effort to twist them
gradually into a mighty rope of com¬
munal industry which now binds these
people of the Blue Ridge into a com¬
pact body of worker* whose united ef¬
fort* have consolidated into one of the
most important industries of Western
Xorth Carolina.
It is practically impossible to travel
any of the highway* which unroll like
rild*ons of concrete in every section of
the Blue Ridge without seeing dis¬
played in roadside shop*, in little open-
air structures and on the porches of
l ho humble homes, hand-woven speci¬
mens of the weavers art. Undoubtedly,
Mrs. Mast deserves to he called. . . .
“The Mother of Hand-weaving in the
Blue Ridge." for not only did she do
thi* missionary work among the women
to revive this craft, but she took the
finished products to State fairs and tc
large cities so as to create a demand
for these articles and, in this manner,
helped to place the handicraft upon a
marketable basis.
Known from Coast to Coast
Xow this great diversity of moun¬
tain craft, typical of the towering hills,
has become known from coast to const
through the medium of the ubiquitous
tourist who are never in too much of
a hurry to stop, look and buy. Thu*
the song of the loom is humming
Elcmeda Walker, of Valle Crusis, who practiced the art
of weaving until over eighty years of age. She was active
in this art to the last day of her life.
through the mountains in a mighty
pnen «if industry.
Back in the day- when the name of
Woodrow Wilson was enshrined in the
hearts <>f the great American public,
the news seeped into the isolated eov»4
and valleys of the Carolina mountain*
that his daughter. Jessie, was to be
married. That the daughter of thi*
Southern president, for whom they fel:
intense loyalty, was to be married in
the White House aroused the keenest
interest among the mountain women.
When Mrs. Ma*t learned of this ap¬
proaching marriage, she conceived the
idea *-f sending to thi* daughter of th •
South a wedding gift from her moun¬
tain sisters; the gift, in its entirety, t<>
be typical of the South in material
and workmanship. She wrote to Mrs.
Wilson, outlined her idea and requested
Mies Jessie's favorite color: also the
dimensions of floor space, window*,
l- d. dresser* and table* in Mis* Jessie’»
bedroom. Mrs. Wil*on promptly and
cordially replied to this request by giv¬
ing measurement* and stating that’
“Jessie is very fond of blue.”
The weavers enthusiastically began
work on this unique gift, and com¬
pleted it just before the wedding date.
The gift arrived at the White Home
the day before the wedding. Even
though she was the center of great
activity, Mrs. Wilson was so interested
in this particular gift that sho re¬
quested one of the nidcs to have the
(Continued
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