Road Trip – Day 5
Mabry Mill
Mountain Folk Music & Flatfooting
Sunday, August 22
The group who played the old time music said they play here on the third & fifth Sunday afternoon during the summer months. Visitors bring lawn chairs and stay as long as they want. (There is a different band each Sunday.)
People from the audience were encouraged to flatfoot dance with the music.
Flatfooting is an individual dance with the emphasis on “playing the tune” with your feet. Feet are kept close to the ground allowing intricate fast rhythms with minimal effort so you can dance for hours. Flatfooting goes with old-time mountain folk music like clogging goes with bluegrass music.
The little girl was learning while the couple on the left and the single woman on the right were quite skilled at flatfooting.
This woman did not let a missing lower arm keep her from keeping time with spoons or flatfooting.
During a break Cerwin talked to the woman on the right, asking questions about the band and the music here at Mabry Mill. Following the break she dedicated a song to us.
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When the Wagon Was New
There’s an old rusty wagon, that’s left to rot a way,
It’s the one the family rode in, back in the good old days,
People all loved the neighbors, everybody was so free,
And ridin’ in a brand new wagon was something to see.
I can see my Daddy sittin’ on the wagon seat,
Mom in an old sunbonnet, she looked so nice and neat,
Children all in the wagon, Grandma and Grandpa too,
Oh, we used to go to church on Sunday,
When the wagon was new.
Red wheels were on the wagon, and the body was green,
And we were just as happy as ridin’ in a limousine,
People used to gather ’round, from over the mountainside,
Take a look at the brand new wagon, and all take a ride.
The automobiles are here now and the wagon days are through,
The airplanes are a-hummin’, good neighbors are so few,
Everybody’s in a hurry, it’s money that takes you through,
But we didn’t need much money, when the wagon was new.
~~~
That song took me back to my childhood, and reminded me of my grandparents who liked this song.
At one point the pretty ranger did a great job of flatfooting.
When a song was slow, several couples enjoyed waltzing.
It was great to see these couples together.
The afternoon sun was glittering on the water wheel when we left.
Delightful describes our afternoon
This breathtaking view was suddenly there as we came into an opening in the mountains. This area is called Lover’s Leap because of a legend concerning a white settler and an Indian maiden. Their relationship caused a conflict between the settlers and Indians, so the couple leaped to their death so they could be together.
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Tomorrow – Greensboro, North Carolina
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