On Saturday, December 3, I was invited to join a group of about 30 friends at Hendersonville's gorgeous Spring Haven Mansion for a unique evening celebrating the art of storytelling. The event served not only as a perfectly charming way to welcome the holiday season, but was also a fundraiser for Explorastory of Hendersonville TN, a non-profit dedicated to the preservation of the art of storytelling.
An Appalachian Christmas: A Celebration of Old Christmas, began as guests were greeted in the grand entrance hall of Spring Haven Mansion by the property's current owners and residents, Kevin and Cara Hogan. Spring Haven Mansion is likely familiar to Middle Tennessee's bridal set, as the lush grounds have, in recent years, become one of the area's most sought-after wedding party destination locations. Even country music stars have taken note of Sumner County's unique Federal-style home. Country mega-star, Taylor Swift's 2008 Country Weekly cover and three-page story featured several shots of Swift on the grounds of the mansion, as photographed by Tony Baker . Following a bit of socializing early Saturday night, Kevin and Cara shared a brief history of the home as the small group of holiday revelers were given a tour of historic site.
As part of the informal tour, Kevin and Cara not only told of the home's history, but also, the significance of the mansion's place in Sumner County's past. The tour included a look at the impressive staircase, an intimate look at the dining room, the home's current and former kitchen. The latter has since renovated into a guest bedroom. Then it was a quick trek outside to see the smokehouse, the original two-room house utilized during the building of the mansion and a larger than usual springhouse. The fact that Andrew Jackson was a frequent guest of Spring Haven during its early days was among the many interesting facts revealed during the impromptu tour.
Following the tour, guests were seated in the large dining room and just as we were being served a delicious meal of starter salad, pork loin, mixed vegetables, cornbread and rolls, noted Tennessee storyteller, Patsy Hatfield Lawson gave those in attendance a sampling of her storytelling talents to come as she welcomed everyone again. After the meal, while everyone enjoyed a traditional dessert of a multi-layered apple stack cake, Patsy relayed the favorite Appalachian delicacy's origins.
After dinner, everyone retired to the parlor and Patsy was joined by acoustic guitarist and singer, Hunter Carmen. The two have joined forces recently to perform a 60-minute set called Blues and News, during which, as Patsy explained, "Hunter sings the blues while I share the news."
And share she does. Patsy's style of storytelling reminded me of my own favorite aunt, you know, the one who doesn't mind sitting at the kids table, in fact, she prefers it. From the first "I remember" to the final "and that's the story of", Patsy engages her audience, whether she's speaking to you one-on-one, or sharing her unique gift of gab before a sold-out audience.
First Patsy recalled a childhood memory of her mother and aunt making quilts. As onlyPatsy can, she peppered her story with humor, emotion and even a bit of education. During her storytelling, Patsy would pause on occasion and Hunter would pick and sing a song mirroring the sentiment of Patsy's true tale. Patsy detailed her initial teenage disdain for her mom and aunt's never-ceasing quilt-making, admitting at the time she was more interested in becoming a baton-twirler. As her touching story unfolded, Patsy drew the audience in. The story culminated in a bit of an 'ah-ha' moment in which Patsy, as a grown woman, with children of her own, finally understood the significants of The Christmas Quilt.
Next, Patsy told of The Melungeon Gift, with songs by Hunter detailing another aspect of her Appalachian upbringing. In this second and final story of the evening, Patsy remembered her family's lifelong friendship with a hired farm hand named Lidgie (short for Elijah). As Patsy's story unfolded, Lidgie quickly became one of the family after her uncle's then-unheard-of decision to hire him and offer him an also then-unheard-of substantial salary. What made the decision to hire Lidgie so ground-breaking at the time was that Lidgie was Melungeon, an East Tennessee term used to categorize multi-racial people of African-American, Native American, Caucassian and other origins, who during the time of slavery, were free people of color. With the audience's attention turned toward the civil unrest of the 1950s and 60s, Hunter performed an slow-paced, emotionally-charged acoustic version of Bob Dylan's now-classic Blowin' in the Wind. As the story continued, Patsy revealed that her family grew to consider this man a part of their family, inviting him to dinner, family reunions, holiday celebrations and the like. An apple tree, and what became of it, thanks to Lidgie, figured prominently into the story as Hunter's wife, Nancy provided harmonies with her husband on Ralph Stanley's iconic bluegrass gospel tune, Going Up Home to Live in Green Pastures. The night of traditional music, song and socializing ended as Patsy's words revealed the story's moral, that of finding the blessing of those around you with the simplest gift, the gift of continued love.
Patsy and Hunter's holiday calendars are filled with private engagements during which she'll share more Appalachian memories as Hunter provides musical accompaniment. For more information on Patsy, or to book her and/or Hunter Carmen, CLICK HERE. If you'd like to learn more about Explorastory of Hendersonville, TN, CLICK HERE. To inquire about booking Spring Haven Mansion for an upcoming wedding, event, private dinner or even a weekend get-a-way in the old log cabin, CLICK HERE.
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