The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1921-09-07

Kentucky and other Southern States
but also in the Kentucky center o
Middletown, o., where q large mum
Der of people from Eastern Kentuck,
are making their homes. The great ma
jority Of people who have migrated
to Middletown have gone from thei
mountain homes in search Of work
They have found substantial, and II
many instances lucrative, employ
ment in the mills and factories Of
Middletown. Some person found his
way from an isolated Kentucky com
munity to Mddletown and after max
ing good in his job, spread the news
back home and others followed
Great streams from Kentucky have
thus gone to Middletown until now
there are more than three thousand
people living in the Ohio city.
These people represent the classes
that are to be found in every COM
munity in the mountains or else
where. Some are very poor, and very
ignorant; some are very intelligent
and are developing independence
while others are above the average
in intellect and education and are
making their way in the world.
A few years ago it was discovere1
by the social workers of the Ameri-
can Rolling Mills Company that they
were not able to make the proper
contact with the growing number Of
Kentuckians. Up to that time, there
were three classes of people living in
Middletown-the very wealthy manu-
facturers and professional people, the
foreigners and the negroes. The
mountaineers would not associate
with the foreigners or with the ne
groes; they were not able to asso-
ciate with the millionaires, hence they
became a distinctly separate group.
and it was to meet the needs of this
isolated group, who felt themselves
to be a citizenry without a country,
that Berea was called upon by the
American Rolling Mills Company to
send a social worker to MiddIetown.
Mr.. and Mrs. Meredith Gsbbard
were sent, and the results Of their
FIVE years service have been marvel
Gus. Mr.. Gabbard is making a place
for the Kentucky mountaineer in the
city of Middletown. He is bringing
to the attention of the millionaire
manufacturers the possibilities of the
well-bred and intelligent mountain
GERS in a way that would have been
absolutely impossible without such
service as he is rendering.
Mr.. Gabbard has made his way in
to the best homes in Middletown. He
has as his friends and sympathizers.
not only the owners of the American
Rolling Mills, but the millionaire
owners of Paper Mills, Tobacco Fac
tories, Shirt Factories, all of which
make up the industrial life of the
city.
For five years the Gabbards have
conducted an annual Kentucky Home
Fair. The display of spreads, quilts,
table covers, rugs, needlework, and
canning brought forth real and en-
thusiastic applause from all the
visitors. Among the hundreds of
dollars worth Of handmade articles
that were put out by the native
women under the direction
OF Mrs. Gabbard was a nice collection
from the Fireside Industries of Be-
rea College. Hundreds Of dollars
worth Of orders were taken during
the fair, and it is no wide stretch of
to see that the homespun
business will be a permanent thing
in Middletown.
My one trip to Mr.. Gabbard's fair
convinces me that the handcraft art is
in for a great comeback in the United
States. Middletown alone, a city of
less than 10000 population, can sup
ply an adequate market for a fair
sized Home Industry. The field of
that work is Unlimited and it is hoped
that hundreds of Berea girls in the
future will turn out scores of patterns
of handmade articles for the rapidly
increasing markets of America.
Mr.. Gabbard is not only working
FOR the people who come from East
5rn Kentucky, but is doing a large
service for every stranger who comes
INTO Middletown. For example, he
the great need of home
for girls, and as a result of his eff
forts, a beautiful Girls Club Build
ing has been purchased and is now
the headquarters of hundreds of
girls.