More from Smyth County...still don't have my own pictures

I'm having a hard time trying to figure out exactly where to start in writing this blog about my week in Smyth County. Just like last week, in Henry County, there weren't a whole lot of "gems," for the same reason--the students have already studied Jamestown and the Revolutionary War so each of my programs were more of a refresher course for the SOL tests. What made this trip so unique and memorable was the fact that the children were quite unique. It is not uncommon to have a few learning disabled or physically disabled students in the school who are mixed in with other students of the same age. In Smyth County, however, each class had between 7 to 10 challenged students, in addition to each school having one full class of severely disabled students. But we'll get to that.

The trip started off with a quick tour of one of the oldest Indian reservations in the nation, only a few miles outside of Williamsburg. My teaching partner is a Pamunkey/Mattaponi (a descendant of the Powhatan Indians of Jamestown). His grandfather was chief of their tribes (which thanks to a few important marriages a few decades ago are now combined) and his uncle is the current chief. I was shocked to see what the reservation looked like: nothing like what I've seen out west when I visited Uncle Bill and Aunt Connie in Arizona, or visiting Uncle Jim, Aunt Pam, and Grandma Higgins up in Washington State. Out west the reservations are a bit rundown to say the very least. THIS reservation was just an adorable riverfront town! Cute little brick houses, yards with horses and cows and chickens, a quaint little church right next to a one room schoolhouse straight out of a book. I asked Sam why this reservation was so nice, while the others I've seen are downright sad. His answer made sense--this is the same land that his people have been on for thousands of years. The first treaty granting them that land off of the York River was signed with England back in the 1630s (and only in the 1980s was a treaty officially signed with the United States!!) The land is made of rich soil for farming, and the river provides endless supplies of fish so the Pamunkey/Mattaponi are able to continue using the land in the same way they have for centuries. Reservations out west are essentially on dead and useless land, and NOT the original land of those peoples (at least not meant to be a permanent home). It was a wonderful start to 6.5 hours in the car....

FAST FORWARD to our arrival in Smyth County! We're talking rural here--the whole county has a population of around 33,000 people (Loudoun County is at about 270,000). The house across the street from our hotel had an outhouse. I kid you not. If I lived at that house, I'd walk the 30 seconds across the street to the hotel and ask to use the bathroom in the lobby...I mean really.

These are two of my teaching partners for the week, when we went out to dinner at a really nice restaurant. The picture was posted to Facebook, so I stole it for my blog! The big dude in the center is the Pamunkey/Mattaponi---check out the hint of his traditional tribal identification tattoo peeking out from his sleeve.


The classes were relatively easy. Only one day out of the week did we have to teach 5 classes (which is a very exhausting day!!) That left plenty of time and energy for exploring this interesting little area. After the first day of teaching, Sam and I went on a beautiful 3.5 mile run/hike. I ran the flat parts, and we hiked the hills. This place we hiked--Hungry Mother State Park--was absolutely beautiful. The hillsides were covered in wild magnolias and massive white pines, and the trail that we chose ran right along a stream. What an interesting name for a state park, huh? Rumor has it that the name comes waaay back in the day when Native Americans attacked a bunch of new settlements in the area. A mother and son were able to get away, and spent the next couple of days wandering the woodlands eating berries. The mother died somewhere along the stream, and the boy was able to find help, but all he would say was "hungry mother." Hmmph. I learned that story AFTER enjoying the breathtaking views and peaceful atmosphere, thank goodness.


Another day after teaching, Sam and I went on an excursion looking for green stone. Green stone is a specific stone that is perfect for Powhatan axes. Centuries ago, the Powhatan would need to trade with other tribes in order to get this precious stone for their tools (when it is sharpened to an edge, it is a VERY sharp and VERY strong stone). Today, Sam and I just hopped in the state van and I drove along the rivers and streams while he stared out the window, every couple of minutes yelling, "Pull off here!!" And then we would hunt for green stone! He still makes a number of Powhatan tools, such as axes, so it was a wonderful find for him to collect these stones. In our search for green stone, he pointed out that we were literally less than a mile from the Tennessee border. I had never BEEN to Tennessee!!! Now I can check that state off my list!


Finally, on our last full day in Smyth County, we checked out Saltville. I had never heard of Saltville, but I bet you all can guess what they are famous for. They actually use salt wells, rather than salt mines, which I found interesting. That means they force water into the ground, and just like a traditional well, pull up buckets of brine which they then extract the water from. Clever. In addition to SALT, they have this place called "Museum of the Middle Appalachia." I really wanted to check it out, so we headed over there after the 5 classes and arrived at 4:22. The museum closed at 4:00. As we were sitting there trying to figure out what to do, this man came out the front door and asked, "Are you all [actually, most likely 'y'all'] from around here?" We said no, that we were headed back to our own museum the next day, and that we had spent all week working in the schools. Well that did the trick! He let us into the museum, after hours, and led us on a personal tour of each exhibit. Like I said, I had never heard of this place Saltville, but our guide would argue (and I agree!) that it is a very important historic site. One of the great draws to the museum is that they have a huge collection of Ice Age fossils that have been perfectly preserved in the salt muck hundreds of feet below the surface. One of those fossils is a FULL Wooly Mammoth!! Incredible!!!


A number of things that I learned at the museum brings me to my final part of the story. The kids. And all those disabilities. We knew that something was not right after spending a few days in the schools. The percentage of disabled children was just entirely too high. I taught just over 200 children this week, and I am willing to bet that easily between 100-150 of them had some sort of physical deformity (an enlarged jawbone, bugged eyes, giant skin flaps, and my friend with the 6 thumbs) or an obvious mental disability (more than just the average ADHD--I'm talking Turrets syndrome, severe rocking, random screaming, lack of control over bodily functions). Some of those questions were answered at the Museum of Middle Appalachia. A few decades ago, the Holston River was terribly polluted with a huge amount of chemical waste when a dam broke at a nearby alkali company. The Holston River was, and still is, a water source for the region, and never has returned to normal. Unfortunately, our guide also told us there is also a long history of drugs (specifically cooking meth), younger generations trying to make moonshine in stills which can get very dangerous and damaging, and very common incest of first cousins to contribute to some of these problems. Wow.

Well, I leave tomorrow morning for Wise County, and I think there will be some good stories out there! And thankfully, I have my camera back :) Thanks Mom and Dad!!