Loyal Jones (January 5, 1928 – October 7, 2023) was an American folklorist,

Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...

n culture scholar, and writer.

Biography

Loyal Jones was born in

Marble, North Carolina Marble is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Cherokee County, North Carolina, Cherokee County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had a population ...

, on January 5, 1928, one of eight siblings in a farming family. At the age of 12, his family moved to

Brasstown, North Carolina Brasstown is an Unincorporated community (United States), unincorporated community located mostly within Clay County, North Carolina, Clay County, North Carolina, United States, though roughly one third of Brasstown is within the adjacent Cheroke ...

, in proximity to the John C. Campbell Folk School established in 1925. After completing high school, he served in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

towards the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Jones pursued higher education upon recommendation from an individual associated with the folk school. Jones earned his B.A. in English from

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. It was integrated from as early as 1866 ...

and an M.A. from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

. Before joining Berea College as a faculty member, he taught in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

and at Jefferson County Public Schools. Jones began working at the

Council of the Southern Mountains The Council of the Southern Mountains (CSM) was a non-profit organization, active from 1912 to 1989, concerned with education and community development in southern Appalachia. Origins Formally organized as the Conference of Southern Mountain Wor ...

in 1958 and served as the organization's executive director from 1967 until 1970. From 1970 to 1993, Jones directed Berea College's Appalachian Center. He was considered the "father of modern

Appalachian studies Appalachian studies is the area studies field concerned with the Appalachian region of the United States. Scholarship Some of the first well-known Appalachian scholarship was done by Cratis D. Williams. His 1937 MA thesis in English from the Uni ...

". In 2008, the center was named the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center after him. Jones was inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame in 2022. Loyal Jones died in

Black Mountain, North Carolina Black Mountain is a town in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,426 at the 2020 United States census. It is part of the Asheville metropolitan area. The town is named for the old train stop at the Black Mountai ...

, on October 7, 2023, at the age of 95.

Bibliography

* ''Appalachia: A Self-Portrait'' (1979) * ''Radio's 'Kentucky Mountain Boy' Bradley Kincaid'' (1980) * ''Minstrel of the Appalachians: The Story of Bascom Lamar Lunsford'' (1984) * ''Reshaping the Image of Appalachia'' (1986) * ''Appalachian Values'' (1995) * ''Faith and Meaning in the Southern Uplands'' (1999) * ''Country Music Humorists and Comedians'' (2008) * ''My Curious and Jocular Heroes: Tales and Tale-Spinners from Appalachia'' (2017)

Biography

Bibliography

References

Further reading