Review of "Yancey County" by Elaine Dellinger and Kiesa Kay

Review by Janice Willis Barnett, author of Unicoi County and Limestone Cove.

Part of the appeal of an Images of America book lies in the unexpected photographs found amidst the usual family portraits and school groups. In this pictorial history by Elaine McAlister Dellinger and Kiesa Kay, one of my favorite such photographs is of three midwifes standing in front of a building with long rows of large windows. The brief caption beneath the picture tells us these women were sisters and the large white bag each one holds in her left hand contains the crochet hooks and other instruments they used to deliver babies. The building with the windows isn’t identified. This “appetizer” nature of the captions usually found in Arcadia pictorial histories is one of the things that make them so appealing. The more succinct the caption and provocative the picture, the more it stirs our imagination.

Dellinger and Kay’s book features photographs related to Yancey’s cultural history from the late 1800s to the present, including its legacy as a mountainous county rich in natural resources. Yancey’s relationship to its abundant waters is illustrated in pictures of its rivers and old bridges and mills. Images of mica mines, timber operations, and the old bowl factory from 1907 also help preserve the county’s resource history. Farm life from bygone days is pictured in the chapter titled, “Sweet Taters, Corn, and Tobacco.” The chapter titled “Down the Dirt Road” includes many photographs of families whose roots go way back in Yancey’s early history.

One of the distinctions of the book is the obvious care the authors took to include photographs portraying aspects of mountain religious life. The opening chapter features creek baptisms, old-time preachers, faith groups, and even Decoration Day celebrations.

Other features of Dellinger and Kay’s book that illustrate their efforts to include as many aspects of Yancey’s history as possible can be seen in images related to the Shirley Barnett Whiteside story. Whiteside’s admission to the school system ended segregation in the county before the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. The book also contains a few images related to Celo, the alternative community founded by Arthur Morgan in 1937.

Dellinger and Kay have done well in their efforts to preserve in images and words this part of beautiful Yancey County’s history and heritage.

Dellinger will present her book and stories at the History Museum at 4:30 on Friday and Saturday.