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Herstory
 In 1985, a
group of women had an idea --- let's write a book with stories of
Mountain Women who have inspired us. By 1988, the stories went to
press and the cover bore the title "In Praise of Mountain Women."Today, there are but a handful of these books remaining in an office in St. Paul, VA, but that first step primed the pump for better things to come. This began the process of having biannual gatherings of Mountain Women sharing, remembering, and strengthening each other. Women keep coming back because the celebration enlivens their spirit which frees them to be better women in their home and community relationships. Since 1988, In Praise of Mountain Women has hosted 7 events for learning/teaching mountain women skills; celebrating our strengths; and taking time to relax and be with other women. Check out our timeline below for more details! Timeline 1988 “In early 1985 the Women’s Task
Force of the Catholic Committee
of Appalachia decided to pay tribute to women they had met in
connection with their work. In praising them, we praise gentle people
everywhere who struggle to overcome overwhelming odds, and, by doing
so, show us how to light candles rather than curse the darkness of
despair.” (Introduction to In
Praise of Mountain Women, Beth Spence
with the women’s Task Force of the Catholic Committee of Appalachia,
1988).
Funds from this book were given to have first Gathering. 1991 First gathering – Abingdon
Virginia
From hollers, cities, and towns, these mountain women came, often with their children, to create a safe space in which to share, learn, and celebrate. Women took risks to tell stories of pain, struggle, oppression, and healing. Women danced the dance of anger. They also danced the dance of empowerment. The weekend together created dangerous memories and formed a unique community where women's gifts were shared and respected. As the first gathering drew to a close, women were already asking, "When will the next gathering be?" The question itself expresses the need women feel to gather and celebrate. 1993 Second Gathering –Ripley, West
Virginia
‘Healing Ourselves Into Wholeness Through Memories” The second In Praise of Mountain Women gathering was held on May 21-23, 1993, in Ripley, West Virginia, with 167 women participating. The women who came were form coal and farm communities; women who worked in factories and in the home; women who worked as community organizers as well as women for which this was their first women's event. The women described the event in the following words: "In faith we joined hands and moved together to discover freedom through circles of friends. We shook off our burdens as we lifted each other up. We experienced women upholding each other." The shared memories gave the women the courage to transcend the broken dreams and claim the power of change. 1995 Third Gathering – Faubush,
Kentucky
“Gathering As We Journey” The third gathering was held on May 12-14, 1995, at the Kentucky Leadership Conference Center in Faubush, Kentucky. The gathering focused on remembering women who had provided models and support for other mountain women. Time was spent identifying and sharing tools and resources which women had found useful in their journey toward health and wholeness. The Saturday night costume ball invited women to come as someone who had influenced them. A marvelous array of characters appeared in the form of mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and friends, as well as famous women like Susan B. Anthony, Mother Jones, Marlo Morgan, Amelia Earhart, Maya Angelou, et al. A key presence at this and previous gatherings was that of "safety women." Wearing coded scarves to identify them, their role is to be someone to whome a woman can go and say, "I'm hurting." The safety women will sit with the woman in need, listen to her, and try to help her (or find someone who can.)  1997 Fourth Gathering – Ripley, West
Virginia
“Dancing With Our Seasons, Rebirthing Women’s Vision” 1998 Roundtable writes “Our Book” “The
experiences that are expressed
and learnings drawn from them have come from many individual “I"s,
creating a “We” of In Praise of Mountain Women.
1999 Fifth Gathering – Bluestone, West
Virginia
“Balancing Our Blessings and Burdens” 2001 Applied to attend “Celebrating
Mountain Women”
 2002 In October, Renda Keith and Anne
Leibig returned safely from the
trip to Paro Bhutan, guided and supported by Elizabeth Byers of The
Mountain Institute. Contributions from individuals, the
Appalachian
Community Fund, Mary's Pence, The Mountain Institute and the National
Congress of Neighborhood Women helped pay their way to other side of
the world. They represented North America, the Appalachian
Mountains, and In
Praise of Mountain Women, meeting with 250 women from 35
countries.
After
returning home, Anne wrote Mountain Women of
Appalachia: A Report From Anne Leibig (126 KB, PDF.)
2003 October 4-5 Sixth Gathering –
Abingdon, Virginia
“Celebrating Our Voices”  2007 June 1-3 Seventh Gathering –
Wise, Virginia
"Celebrating our Home Place: This Earth is Home to Me" 2009 June 18-20 Eight Gathering – Harrogate, TN
"Celebrating our Home Place: This Earth is Home to Me" Read about the gathering. Or download our newsletter (2.3 MB, pdf) for clippings and more personal stories. Visitors since July 2008:
Last updated 3/09.
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