To Walk on Land that's Ours: Honeysuckle Baskets, Clean Mountain Air, Pure Mountain Water

Abstract

Completed Baskets by Betty and William Mills. All photos by Lance Hill. TO WALK ON LAND THAT'S OURS HONEYSUCKLE BASKETS, CLEAN MOUNTAIN AIR, PURE MOUNTAIN WATER by Sidney Saylor Fan We stopped the car at the foot of a steep road and got out; we were afraid to attempt driving the rest of the way to Betty and William Mill's house at the head of York Branch. There had been a shower of rain a short time before we got there, but now the sun shone in an almost clear sky. A mountain stream ran alongside the path, crossing it in a couple of places. Wild ferns, still wet from the rain, grew beside the stream and lifted green fronds to the sun and fresh air. Betty and William greeted us. We sat on the front porch awhile visiting before I talked about the article I proposed to write about them and their lifestyle. I said I was especially interested in writing about the beautiful honeysuckle baskets they made to sell. Betty told me that she grows almost all of the food they eat. "There's no way in the world that we could get by if we had to buy everything we eat," she said. "If I 31 Assembly line: Betty and William Mills make skeletons of baskets before they start weaving. 32 Putting together the rim and handle (left) and the framework (right) for honeysuckle baskets. didn't raise corn to feed the livestock and chickens, and raise a garden for us, we sure would have a tough time of it." Several years ago while working with a logging crew, William lost one of his legs. That made his wife, Betty, the chief breadwinner of the family. The little money they earn making and selling honeysuckle baskets, plus William's social security check, is the extent of their cash income. Basketry has meant that they can continue to have remarkably independent lives on their beautiful 24 acres of mountain homestead. On the hillsides surrounding their home, there are still big beech, hickory , spruce, maple and pine trees—rejects from the first cutting done after World War II by a lumber company. Betty planted apple, peach, cherry, and chestnut trees several years ago, and they are now producing. In addition, she has ordered and planted some dwarf fruit trees this past year. She has raspberry canes, a strawberry patch and grapevines planted. There are always blackberries in summer which she picks and cans or freezes. The crops she raises consist of beans, cabbage, corn, cucumbers , onions, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkins, and tomatoes. "I've learned by trial and error that these grow best up here," Betty commented. They also grow most of the hay and grain for their livestock. Before William's accident, he and Betty connected pipes to a spring on the hill above their house and piped in water and installed a bathroom. They have an electric stove, a freezer, and refrigerator. Betty freezes, cans, dries, and preserves food 33 Completing the "ears" (left) and starting to insert ribs (right). for the winter months. She is the chief worker since her husband's accident. She takes care of the livestock, the chickens, does the housework, cooking, and laundry, assisted as much as possible by William. I asked why she started making and selling baskets when she obviously already had all the work she could do. "We need extra money," she replied. "Things got so high we couldn't afford anything extra with just the social security check. I started looking for something I could do to earn a little more money. That's how I got started making baskets." Since she makes all of her own clothes, Betty thought first about sewing, but her neighbors up and down the creek don't have money to pay for sewing. Most of them also raise gardens, own livestock and are not in the market for any of the food she might have to sell. "I thought about it a long time," she continued. "Then I remembered the willow baskets Mama and Grandma used to make. They used them for everything from bringing in potatoes to gathering wild...