- Katherine Pettit
Katherine Rhoda Pettit (February 23, 1868 – September 3, 1936) was an American
educator who contributed to thesettlement school movement of the early 20th century.cite web| url =http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9125927/Katherine-Pettit| title =Katherine Pettit| publisher =Encyclopedia Britannica online| accessdate =2008-03-26|]Background
Born on a prosperous farm in Fayette County,
Kentucky , Pettit attended two years atSayre School in Lexington. A member of theWoman's Christian Temperance Union and the State Federation of Women's Clubs, she left both to become a progressive educator.cite web| url =http://www.womeninkentucky.com/site/education/K_Pettit.html| title =Educators: Katherine Pettit| publisher =Women in Kentucky| accessdate =2008-03-24|]ettlement schools
Hindman Settlement School
In 1902, Katherine Pettit and
May Stone co-foundedHindman Settlement School inKnott County, Kentucky . Pettit said that the goal of Hindman was "to know all we can and teach all we can."cite web| url =http://www.hindmansettlement.org/about_us/mission.html| title =Mission & History| publisher =Hindman Settlement School| accessdate =2008-03-26|]Pine Mountain Settlement School
In 1913, Pettit co-founded
Pine Mountain Settlement School withEthel deLong Zande inHarlan County, Kentucky . At Pine Mountain, Pettit directed outdoor work while Zande directed academics.Founding Pine Mountain as an example of the
settlement movement , Pettit and deLong modeled the school afterHull House .cite web| url =http://www.berea.edu/hutchinslibrary/specialcollections/saa10.asp| title =Southern Appalachian Archives: Guide to Pine Mountain Settlement School Collection| publisher =Berea College| accessdate =2008-03-24|] According toBerea 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."
Pine Mountain Settlement School is a National Historic Landmark.cite web| url =http://www.pinemountainsettlementschool.com/about.php| title =About PMSS| publisher =Pine Mountain Settlement School| accessdate =2008-03-24|]
Appalachian culture
Katherine Pettit labored to preserve and encourage the teaching of
Appalachia n culture through arts, folk songs, and customs.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.cite web| url =http://wcudigitalcollection.cdmhost.com/u?/p4008coll2,3946| title =Katherine Pettit| publisher =Hunter Library Digital Collections| accessdate =2008-03-24|] 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."cite web| url =http://wcudigitalcollection.cdmhost.com/u?/p4008coll2,3849| title =The Katherine Pettit Book of Vegetable Dyes| publisher =Hunter Library Digital Collections| accessdate =2008-03-24|]References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
