Berea College -- Fireside Industries

Scope and Contents This collection contains personal items of Anna Ernberg, director of Fireside Industries at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. Anna Ernberg was one of the most visible proponents of the Appalachian weaving revival in the early 20th century. Included in the collection is a Redpath Chautauqua poster, a personal photograph book, a scrapbook of weaving drafts, correspondence, a piece written about the history of Fireside Industries by Ernberg and Fireside Industries brochures, a scrapbook of...

Scope and Contents

Reports of the various industries run by Berea College combined in folders by year. Reports include those of the Bakery and Candy Kitchen, Department of Properties, Maintenance Department, Water Works, Laundry, Berea College Press, Berea College Store, Electrical Department, Student Industries, Fireside Industries, Needlecraft Department, Woodcraft, Creamery, Dairy, Garden and Grounds, Livestock Farm, Poultry Farm, College Forester, Heat and Power, Maintenance, and Utilities.

Abstract Carlos Cortez Coyle (1871-1962) was a self-taught painter who spent the early part of his life in Dreyfus, Kentucky. In 1889, he briefly attended Berea Foundation School where he was introduced to Appalachian arts and crafts through teacher and Director of Fireside Industries Jennie Lester Hill. Coyle left Berea before graduating for reasons unknown and moved to Florida and then to Canada in an attempt to make a living in farming. Drought caused him to make a career change into the building...

Abstract

Since 1883, Student Industries at Berea College provided necessary support to the early community that grew around the college and today's crafts program at Berea College were born of the early student industry model that included a brick-making facility, bakery, candy kitchen, needlecraft and handicrafts, laundry and College farms. While many of the industries have been closed, the Berea College Crafts program is a continuing tradition.