The free summer series Blue Ridge Traditions at the Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center in Old Fort brings another authentic mountain experience on Saturday, July 12. Well-known musicians George Shuffler and Family, Denise O’Sullivan and the New North Carolina Ramblers will perform in the amphitheater, beginning at 7 p.m.
Come early between 2 to 6 p.m. to see craft demonstrations and enjoy hands-on activities. Watch wood-carver Donald Duncan, stitch along with the Mountain Glory Quilters Guild, and see Alton Blankenship and Gina Wheeler make traditional brooms.
A weekly schedule of Blue Ridge Traditions is posted on ncarts.org/freeconcerts, or call Mountain Gateway Museum at 828-668-9259 for details.
Overview of Performers and Craftspeople
George Shuffler and Family – At a young age, Shuffler developed and refined a unique cross-picking style. His complex guitar method — in which he plays rhythm and lead simultaneously — came to define bluegrass guitar picking. After 20 years with the world-renowned Stanley Brothers, Shuffler made the transition from bluegrass to southern gospel, resulting in the formation of the Shuffler family gospel group.
From Burke County, Shuffler’s gospel compositions have garnered widespread acclaim. His best-known song, “When I Receive My Robe and Crown,” stayed on the national gospel music charts for 11 months.
Denise O’Sullivan – O’Sullivan grew up in the small community of Sodom Laurel in Madison County, an area widely celebrated for its rich musical heritage. For nine generations, her family has maintained the ballad traditions of the state’s mountain region. As a child, O’Sullivan learned to sing at the knees of relatives, such as Martha Norton Chandler, Dellie Chandler Norton, and Inez Chandler and Doug Wallin, revered singers who dedicated their lives to preserving ballads. In 2005 O’Sullivan won the coveted Bascom Lamar Lunsford Youth Award for Balladry for her exceptional singing.
“Every song is a reminder of someone special in my heart that has gone on,” she explains. “It just feels like going home.”
Kirk Sutphin – The Surry County native is widely recognized as a pre-eminent performer of old-time music. As a boy, Sutphin’s grandfather encouraged him to study the fiddle and banjo with fabled North Carolina musician Tommy Jarrell, who remarked that Sutphin, more than any other player, captured the intricate nuances of fiddling.
Together with his cohorts in the New North Carolina Ramblers — including Jeremy Stephens, Darren Moore and Kinney Rorrer — Sutphin is creating some of the most vibrant old-time music performed today.
“You can hear the spirits of the old-time masters in Kirk’s performances,” remarks acclaimed old-time musical performer and scholar David Holt. “It’s the way the best of music sounded years ago. It’s full of life and rhythm.”
Mountain Glory Quilters Guild – This group of enthusiastic quilters celebrates and promotes the quilting traditions of western North Carolina. All quilters are welcome to join, regardless of experience.
The guild members are active community members who donate quilts to children’s charities and programs. They view their craft demonstrations during Blue Ridge Traditions as a way to support and promote the rich heritage of hand quilting.
Donald Duncan – This North Carolina native has been carving wood for more than 40 years. After his retirement, Duncan began carving treenware, which he says comes from the old English word “treown,” which means “made of a tree.” Treenware refers to small utensils and wooden tableware that are functional in nature and most often are hand carved or made on a lathe.
For 18 years, Duncan has demonstrated his craft at the Village of Yesteryear at the N.C. State Fair. He fondly recalls the experience as “10 days of nonstop talking.” A member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, he carves spoons, ladles and letter knives from native wood that he gathers himself. His work is both decorative and functional.
Alton Blankenship – Born in Rutherford County, the broom maker first came to his craft out of necessity. “My father was a broom maker,” Blankenship recalls, “and he didn’t do it for any reason other than he needed something to barter with and something to sweep floors with. I became interested in making brooms out of necessity, and because my father did it.”
Blankenship returned to making brooms after his retirement, when he became inspired by the work of broom maker Ralph Gates. “I mentioned to Ralph that I could make brooms if I had the right supplies,” said Blankenship. “He had one stalk of broomcorn left, and he gave it to me and said, ‘Here’s enough to make a lot of brooms.’ That was more than 20 years ago.”
Asked about the most important aspects of his own brooms — which include whisk brooms, turkey wings, hearth brooms and kitchen brooms — Blankenship explains, “I want a broom to be sturdy and appealing to the eye.”
Gina Wheeler – The Barnardsville resident has always been surrounded by traditional crafts. Her mother is a gifted oil painter, and her husband, Michael, hails from a long line of chair makers.
It was during a chair-making demonstration at the Mountain State Fair in Asheville seven years ago that she met traditional broom maker Alton Blankenship. Says Wheeler’s husband, “After she met Alton, I didn’t see her for about a week. She got to watching him and fell in love with what he was making.” Wheeler assists Blankenship during his broom-making demonstrations, and the Wheelers grow their own broomcorn.
Blue Ridge Traditions is sponsored by Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center, the North Carolina Arts Council, the Department of Cultural Resources and the North Carolina Folklife Institute. Additional support is provided by McDowell County Tourism Authority. The media sponsor is WNCW-FM 88.7.
The summer series is presented as part of “Telling Our Stories,” a yearlong celebration showcasing North Carolina’s arts, heritage and cultural life. “Telling Our Stories” is an initiative by the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.
To reach Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center at 102 Water Street (the corner of Catawba and Water streets), take exit 73 off I-40, and go north four blocks. The museum is 23 miles east of Asheville and 50 miles west of Hickory.
Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center is part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives and History, an agency of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources. The department’s Web site is www.ncculture.com.