Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 20, 1993                   TAG: 9305200444
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: E-1   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: WENDI GIBSON RICHERT STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

MOUNTAIN SPIRIT ALIVE AT GARDEN CITY SCHOOL

Then, he puts aside his scholastic demeanor, adopts a thick Appalachian dialect, places his thumbs ever-so-carefully in his belt loops and commences to tellin' a juicy old Jack Tale.

The kids at Garden City Elementary School eat it up. "These children have really gotten into it," says fifth- grade teacher Deborah Sprinkle.

But they get more than a good tale from their principal.

Their whole curriculum incorporates Appalachian studies - from art to music, to social studies, to language arts - because Galbreath knows kids growing up on the edges of Appalachia need to know something about their culture to appreciate it.

All year, Garden City kids have been learning folk songs and reading folk tales in class. They've been making stenciled pillows, just as many of their Appalachian ancestors did years ago.

And they've interviewed their grandparents, learning about tiny one-room schoolhouses with no cafeterias. They've heard some of the colloquialisms and pronunciations of the mountains - such as how folks would "take up the food" when it was time to eat, and "rinch the dishes" when finished.

The studying paid off a couple of weeks ago with a visit by honest-to-goodness Appalachian kids - The Mountain Kids from Dublin Elementary School.

In two assemblies, the 40 to 45 fifth-graders presented original skits, some down-home clogging, some of Appalachia's oldest folk songs and even a few contemporary dance moves.

It's possible that, in all Appalachian history, clogging has never met the Electric Slide quite this way.

"You get a line and I'll get a pole, honey, honey.

You get a line and I'll get a pole, babe, babe.

You get a line and I'll get a pole.

We'll go fishin' at the crawdad hole.

Honey, oh baby mine."

The Mountain Kids are entertainers, spending many of their nights and weekends performing for civic clubs, churches, nursing homes and government functions. Their blend of Appalachian storytelling and song and dance changes somewhat each year, when a new batch of fifth-graders takes over. This year's kids are good with vocals, so they sing a lot, say Sherry Vaughn and Joyce Covey, the directors and teachers at Dublin Elementary.

There are no tryouts to be in the Mountain Kids, but only fifth-graders may join. And they must maintain good grades while practicing twice a week - on Mondays, to concentrate on dance and jazz, and on Thursdays, for clogging.

For the Garden City kids, the Mountain Kids' visit was a special Appalachian treat.

"All of our kids were just so excited. They were just mesmerized, I thought," Galbreath says. "We'll try to continue to keep the spirit of the mountains alive at Garden City."

Indeed, the pupils there seem to have caught the mountain spirit already. Even the most active kids, Galbreath pointed out, were still and quiet during the performance, save, of course, when asked to join in on the music and clapping.

And as one girl marched in line back to her classroom after the show, she happily acted out her favorite line from "The Quilters," an original skit by the Mountain Kids about four old and hard-of-hearing ladies quilting: "Why, I DO NOT FLIRT!"