THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
The Matheson
Cove: In the Shadow of the Devil's Post Office
Earns Prestigious Award
Through this column more than a
year ago, I
introduced you to author, Dr. Eva Nell Mull Wike and her book on local
and
family history entitled The Matheson
Cove…in the Shadow of the Devil’s Post Office.
With beginnings in
On
Awarded by the North Carolina
Society of
Historians, Inc., the annual award comes after judges examine carefully
numerous books of history published the previous year. Several
notations from
judges are worthy of note about The Matheson Cove:
"We found the book to be very
appealing to a wide range of people. It is the genealogy of a family
written in
'story' form, which is 100% reader-friendly, and downright
entertaining."
James Wike, illustrator,
received praise
for his part in making the book appealing: "Adding to a delightful text
are some wonderful sketches housing original artwork appropriate to the
current
story being told. We can actually 'see' the scenes the author wants to
relay
through these pictures. Also included are some very colorful, clear
photographs
and family portraits."
The book is a composite of
"poetry,
ghost stories, letters, … family hardships…successes…emotions."
Included
as well is the author's frustration that an industrialized society bent
on
development of mountain areas is "wanting to erase all traces of an
area's
past so quickly and so willingly."
Since I first recommended The Matheson Cove for your
reading pleasure over a year ago, I have had the privilege of meeting
Dr. Wike
and her husband. I welcomed them to our Dyer-Souther Family Association
Annual
Reunion at Choestoe in July. In person, both are warm and personable,
as I knew
they would be. We frequently exchange e-mails on various subjects, and
especially pertaining to our common love for writing.
I rejoice with Dr. Wike (Eva
Nell to me)
that copies of her book have been placed in seven North Carolina High
Schools
and in the
I shared this poem with Eva Nell
and James
Wike at the Dyer-Souther Reunion in July. Eva Nell, being the kind and
accommodating person she is, wrote a letter to the Clay County Progress
and
commended the value of family reunions, including my poem.
I congratulate Eva Nell Mull
Wike on the
deserved honors she has received on her excellent book. She appreciates
heritage and ancestors' struggles, as do I. To her, her husband, and to
me,
indeed:
These Are My People
Ethelene Dyer Jones
These are my people
Whom we honor today.
Born to hard times,
Nurtured by solid stock,
Dislocated from
To worship and to work,
Pressing toward far frontiers.
In my veins runs their blood,
The same as they shed
On far-flung battlefields;
No enemy too formidable
To face for freedom's costs,
No shore too distant
To traverse and claim as home.
These
are my people.
Their lives are high beacons,
Their deaths strong testimonies
Of the price they gladly paid for liberty.
Look to the mountains of home,
Majestic, like God, our help and shield.
My people, many long gone,
Are one with each other and with God.
Dr.
Eva Nell Wike's book honors "our people." We are happy that it is so
widely distributed. If you haven't a copy yet, check at the Tennessee
Valley
Publisher's website, www.tvp1. com, or "The Book Nook" in Blairsville
or at Phillips and Lloyd Bookstore on the Square in
c2007 by
Ethelene Dyer
Jones; published Oct. 18, 2007 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville,
GA.
Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
[Ethelene Dyer
Jones is a retired educator,
freelance writer, poet, and historian. She may be reached at
e-mail edj0513@windstream.net;
phone 478-453-8751; or mail 1708 Cedarwood Road, Milledgeville, GA
31061-2411.]
Updated August 9,
2009
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