Evening star., 1934-02-23

Copyright. 1894. by The Evening Star.)
"HE hamlet of Banner Elk, 5000
feet in the clouds in the Blue
Ridge Mountains of North
i Carolina. is a focal point In
the Tennessee Valley project.
In this little college town at the
headwaters of the Elk River are being
centered the test tube experiments"
designed to better the lot of that dis
tinctively American race-the Appa-
lachian highlanderS. Clinging to their
tiny mountain farms and cabins gen.
Grafton after generation in the face of
increasingly adverse conditions, pre-
even the language of their Colonial
ancestors, and carrying upon their
shoulders the heavy burdens of an
outworn past, these people constitute
a colorful element of the American
picture. The amazing material prog
ress of the last half century which
elsewhere so radically has changed the
life habits of a Nation largely has
passed them by.
The farmers around Banner Elk
represent the highlander at his best
a condition of independence and we'll
being from which many Of his COM
patriots have declined to a condition
of extreme degeneracy, but to which
they may be raised again. The noun
tain people constitute an important
factor in the ethnic makeup of the
region covered by the great expert
ment. They present difficult agricul-
tural, housing, industrial, educational
and medical problems.
Problems Partially Solved.
One reason for the centering of
activities around Banner Elk is that
here some of these problems already
are well on their way toward solu-
ton, due to the intelligence and
energy Of two or three men, long ia
miliar with conditions in the noun
tains. First is the problem of educa-
ton. Lees-McRae College here is one
of the most remarkable educational
institutions in the United States.
Originally a Presbyterian school for
mountain children, it is today a Junior
college of high standing which so COM
bines education and industry that
mountain boys and girls are enabled
to meet all their expenses. During the
long Summer the buildings are trans
formed into an up-to-date Summer
hotel, with all the work performed by
the students. The college, built with
student labor, operates the small
hydroelectric plant which supplies
power to the village and neighboring
farmers. There is a large farm at
tached to the institution upon which
the boys work out their board and
tuition. They operate a game-bird
breeding establishment and are trying
to restock the mountains with wild
turkeys. There is a woodworking
shop and an incipient chair-making
industry which is operated at a profit.
The college operates cannery which
has been a blessing to the mountain
people, besides making possible the
preservation of much of the food used
on its own tables.
Through working in these activities
the students are enabled to keep up
their schooling without actually pay
ing a cent. The college itself main
tains a high-grade faculty, fine lab
oratories and a library. Tuition can
be paid in money, labor or commodi-
ties. Students pay with apples and
potatoes. And there are no mental
and physical breakdownS in this
process OF earning college education
Quite to the contrary, one of, the
major objectives is the physical de-
velopment, largely through good feed
ing, of the often undernourlshed boys