West Virginian Vocabulary: Whistlepig

Ruth Ann Musick- West Virginia's Most Important Folklorist

 

Ruth Ann Musick (retrieved from the West Virginia Encyclopedia)

             Ruth Ann Musick was born on September 17th, 1897 and passed on the day of July 2nd, 1974. Of all the individuals who have specialized in the folklore of West Virginia, it cannot be denied that Musick's impact on the field has been the heaviest and most profound. 

              Originally born to Levi Musick and Zada Musick (Goeghegan) in Kirksville, Missouri, Ruth Ann's venture academia was swift. She received her BS in Education from Truman State University (formerly Kirksville State Teacher's College) in 1919, and went on to teach high school kids in Luana, Iowa until 1921. From there she earned her Master's in Mathematics in the year 1928, teaching in places through Arizona and Wisconsin until 1938 when she moved to Iowa to begin her doctoral studies. She earned her PhD in English in 1943. 

               

              Her dissertation/novel entitled "Hell's Holler" did not receive publication until 2020. The book was based on the folklore of the Missouri Charlton country and can be found in a special issue published the Missouri Folklore Society here .

               For those interested in the writings of Ms. Musick, I urge you to read the following titles, as they are exemplary works of folkloric research on the Mountain State. 

Coffin Hollow and Other Ghost Tales

Green Hills of Magic: West Virginia Folk Tales from Europe

The Telltale Lilac Bush

Thanks for reading

-Dalton Miller