Katherine Pettit

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Katherine Rhoda Pettit (February 23, 1868 – September 3, 1936) was an American educator who contributed to the settlement school movement of the early 20th century.[1]

Contents

[edit] Background

Born on a prosperous farm in Fayette County, Kentucky, Pettit attended two years at Sayre School in Lexington. A member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the State Federation of Women's Clubs, she left both to become a progressive educator.[1][2]

[edit] Settlement schools

[edit] Hindman Settlement School

In 1902, Katherine Pettit and May Stone co-founded Hindman Settlement School in Knott County, Kentucky.[2] Pettit said that the goal of Hindman was "to know all we can and teach all we can."[3]

[edit] Pine Mountain Settlement School

In 1913, Pettit co-founded Pine Mountain Settlement School with Ethel deLong Zande in Harlan County, Kentucky. At Pine Mountain, Pettit directed outdoor work while Zande directed academics.[2]

Founding Pine Mountain as an example of the settlement movement, Pettit and deLong modeled the school after Hull House.[4] According to Berea College's Southern Appalachian Archives,

"[Pettit and deLong] hoped that their modern ideas about health, nutrition, work efficiency, farm management, and the cultural value of indigenous crafts would permeate the surrounding communities -- both through the children, and through direct contact with adults."[4]

Pine Mountain Settlement School is a National Historic Landmark.[5]

[edit] Appalachian culture

Katherine Pettit labored to preserve and encourage the teaching of Appalachian culture through arts, folk songs, and customs.[2]

Her teachings on natural vegetable dyeing were recorded in The Katherine Pettit Book of Vegetable Dyes. Wilmer Stone Viner, who had worked at Pine Mountain Settlement School, published this in 1946 after moving from Kentucky to Saluda, North Carolina. Consequently, Pettit's recipes have influenced craft practices in western North Carolina.[6] The book, dedicated to the memory of Katherine Pettit, quotes a memorial tablet in the Pine Mountain Settlement School Chapel:

"Katherine Pettit, 1869 - 1936, pioneer and trail-breaker. Forty years she spent creating opportunity for mountain children here and elsewhere. In life, she ever refused praise. In death, she is too great for it."[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Katherine Pettit. Encyclopedia Britannica online. Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
  2. ^ a b c d Educators: Katherine Pettit. Women in Kentucky. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
  3. ^ Mission & History. Hindman Settlement School. Retrieved on 2008-03-26.
  4. ^ a b Southern Appalachian Archives: Guide to Pine Mountain Settlement School Collection. Berea College. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
  5. ^ About PMSS. Pine Mountain Settlement School. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
  6. ^ Katherine Pettit. Hunter Library Digital Collections. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
  7. ^ The Katherine Pettit Book of Vegetable Dyes. Hunter Library Digital Collections. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.