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ﾓBecause we stood so long in one place, our rocky old farm and the abundant earth of the continent were linked together in the long tides of the past.ﾠ Because the land kept us, never budging from its rock-hold, we held to our pioneer ways the longest, the strongest; and we saw the passing of time from a place called solid, from our own slow, archean and peculiar stance.ﾔ Louiseﾠ McNeill, ﾓThe Milkweed Ladiesﾔ

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Author and poet Louise McNeill was born in 1911 on the old Thomas McNeill farm near Buckeye, one of four children born to Douglas ﾓG.Dﾔ and Grace McNeill McNeill.

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The love of the land and agriculture are in the blood of this family, and McNeill found her voice and lifeﾒs work in putting words, not plows, to the soil.

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In celebration of her life and work, the Friends of the Hillsboro Library will present the second in a series of literary events, ﾓPoets of the Pocahontas Hills: Louise McNeill to Presentﾔ on Saturday, October 16, from 4:30 to 9 p.m. at the Hillsboro Library.

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Receiving her education at Edray District High School and at Concord College (AB, 1936); Miami University of Ohio (MA, 1938); and West Virginia University, (PhD, 1959), McNeill left the farm, but the farm never left her.

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In her book, ﾓThe Milkweed Ladies,ﾔ she introduces herself:

ﾑUntil I was 16, until the roads came, the farm was about all I knew: our green meadows and hilly pastures, our storied old men, the great rolling seasons of moon and sunlight, our limestone cliffs and trickling springs.ﾠ It was about all I knew, and, except for my father and before him, the old Rebel Captain, all that any of us had ever known: just the farm and our little village down at the crossroads, and the worn cowpaths winding the slopes; or the winter whiteness and stillnessﾅﾔ

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In 1927 at the age of 16 she penned her first poem and in 1939 published her first book, ﾓGauley Mountain,ﾔ a collection of poems that narrate the settling of a fictional land called ﾓGauleyﾔ by the first white people who crossed the Allegheny Mountains into western Virginia.

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In 1967 she was selected as ﾓTeacher of the Yearﾔ at Concord College, and in 1977 as West Virginiaﾒs ﾓDaughter of the Yearﾔ by the West Virginia Society of Washington, DC.ﾠ She was given the distinction of Poet Laureate of West Virginia in 1979 and was recognized as West Virginian of the Year in 1985. In 1988 she received the Appalachian Gold Medallion from the University of Charleston.

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McNeill and her husband, Roger Pease, had one son, Douglas, a research Physicist at the University of Connecticut, at Storrs.

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In her poem, ﾓHill Daughter,ﾔ she writes, ﾓIt has taken me long to return, and you died without knowing, but down where the veins of the rock and the aspen tree run ﾖ Land of my fathers and blood, oh my fathers, whatever is left of your hearts in the dust, I have brought you a son.ﾔ

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The story is told that when Douglas was a student, his mother sent him a container of dirt and some seeds from the farm and told him to plant them outside his dorm so he would never forget where he came from.

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McNeill died in 1993.

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But her writing in the ﾓ Appalachian voiceﾔ will endear her to future generations.

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Keynote speaker for the evening will be McNeillﾒs former student, Dr. John Baker, Professor of English at Concord University.

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Baker was introduced to McNeill through his college roommate.

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ﾓWhen I was a freshman at Concord, I got put in with a junior,ﾔ Baker remembers.

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The year was 1964 and the junior was Jerry Miller from Sundial, West Virginia.

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ﾓJerry was in Louiseﾒs American Literature class.ﾠ On his bed were books of poetry.ﾠ I knew Jerry couldnﾒt stand poetry, but he had checked out her books.ﾠ He was intrigued with her,ﾔ Baker said.

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Story after story flow from Baker as he talks about McNeill - his teacher, mentor and friend.

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McNeillﾒs first book, ﾓMountain White,ﾔ included love poems. Jerry promptly asked her about them. She welcomed the question and Baker recalls that she laughed when she answered, ﾓOh, Jerry, I was so young then.ﾔ

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Baker believes that Jerry represents why students loved her and Baker loved her, as well, when he was able to get into her class.

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ﾓLouise was very intellectual, amazing, but so down to earth ﾖ so West Virginian. Jerry found a voice he understood,ﾔ Baker said.

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ﾓShe was so in tune with the dialect and the expressions of the people.ﾠ It was admirable and she did not try to get rid of it.ﾠ She very much valued and respected the language of her people.ﾔ

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McNeill had an amazing vocabulary, Baker recalled, but it included the simple language of this region. Thatﾒs what made her work so fresh and inviting.

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Baker gives an example of her depth and versatility.

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McNeill, as an older woman, studied physics, math and the space age. She learned much from her physicist son.

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She wrote a lot of poetry incorporating what she had discovered.

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ﾓShe felt a need to beﾠmore in tune with the world at large. She managed to intertwine and merge the old with the new,ﾔ Baker said.

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McNeillﾒs siblings were Ward, who worked for the federal government as chief statistician in the office of Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service for Ohio, and later retired to Buckeye ; sister Elizabethﾠ married C. P. Dorsey and together they worked as Pocahontas County Agent and County Extension Home Demonstration Agent.ﾠ Elizabeth founded the first Farm Womenﾒs Club in Pocahontas County, the Swago Club in 1930 and C. P. went on to serve as state 4-H Club leader for many years.

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Her brother, James W. ﾓJim,ﾔ and wife, Annabelle Dunbrack McNeill, remained on the farm that has been in the family for nine generations.ﾠ Jim tended to the land until his death in 1997. The work and the trust of their ancestors has today passed to son, Blix, and grandson, Jamie McNeill.

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The dedication of McNeillﾒs book, ﾓElderberry Flood,ﾔ reads, ﾓTo all who love the mountain earth.ﾔ

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As a friend of the Hillsboro Library, Helena Gondry, of Droop Mountain, formerly of Toronto, Canada, has literally put her heart and soul into the preparation for this event.

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In doing so Gondry, like Bakerﾒs roommate, finds herself enamored with the words and works of Louise McNeill Pease.

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ﾓShe, to me, says, ﾑthis place means somethingﾒ, so Iﾒm here and I mean something and I want her stories to continue,ﾔ Gondry said.

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For Gondry, McNeillﾒs writing reinforces the advice she received from her mother years ago.

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ﾓYou need to stand on firm ground in the land that you love.ﾔ

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And so, an invitation goes out ﾓto all who love the mountain earth.ﾔ

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Come to the Hillsboro Library on Saturday evening, hear the music of these mountains, the memories of Dr. John Baker, and the poetry and stories of McNeill and others. Share your life experience and find your ﾓplace called solid.ﾔ

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