{"id":29255,"date":"2019-05-01T11:22:10","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T15:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=29255"},"modified":"2024-07-02T17:11:06","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T17:11:06","slug":"savoring-southern-apples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=29255","title":{"rendered":"Savoring Southern apples"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A
Southern apples (by Diane Flynt).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Digital research projects in a senior seminar in Southern studies illuminate the history, stories, locations and culture of Southern apples. Students at UNC-Chapel Hill are the first to explore a new collection of papers on Southern apples in the Southern Historical Collection in Wilson Library.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Lee
Lee Calhoun (left) and Elizabeth Engelhardt. (photo by Donn Young)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Apples. Apple butter and biscuits. Fried apple pies. Fermented apple cider. The celebration of the Southern apple was on mouth-watering display at a recent end-of-class gathering in Wilson Library.<\/p>\n

Students in Elizabeth Engelhardt\u2019s senior seminar in Southern studies showcased their digital research projects on Southern apples on a big screen at the front of the room. Apple enthusiasts \u2014 growers, festival organizers, researchers, chefs, cidery and nursery owners \u2014 nibbled on treats as they gathered to mark the official acquisition of the \u201cCreighton Lee Calhoun Papers on Southern Apples, 1970s-2010<\/a>\u201d in the Southern Historical Collection. Ann Marie Thornton of James Creek Cidery organized the food donations, which included contributions from James Beard award-winning chef Andrea Reusing, owner of Lantern restaurant.<\/p>\n

Lee Calhoun, the evening\u2019s special guest, wrote the definitive history of Southern apple varieties, Old Southern Apples: A Comprehensive History and Description of Varieties for Collectors, Growers and Fruit Enthusiasts. <\/em><\/p>\n

After the first edition of his book was published in 1995, Calhoun received hundreds of letters from apple enthusiasts, which he collected in a 400-page-plus notebook. He also helped to establish the Southern Heritage Apple Orchard at Horne Creek Farm<\/a>, a N.C. historical site. The orchard has more than 400 varieties of Southern apple trees.<\/p>\n

Students spent the spring transcribing the contents of the binder (which was also digitized by the library), and they developed cutting-edge team research projects<\/a> to make the collection more accessible to the public. They created two mapping projects that explore both the stories of the people and the apples; a third project highlights recipes made with Southern apples. They also completed individual research projects.<\/p>\n

\"Lee
Lee Calhoun discusses the students’ projects with them at a celebration at Wilson Library. (photo by Donn Young)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Engelhardt said she asked students to go on a \u201cresearch adventure\u201d with her over the course of a semester, and she was impressed with their ambitious undertaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe digital projects they have begun carry so much potential to make this collection visible. We\u2019ve used the best of our digital humanities capabilities to showcase the stories of culture surrounding Southern apples,\u201d said Engelhardt, the John Shelton Reed Distinguished Professor of Southern Studies and interim senior associate dean for fine arts and humanities in the College of Arts & Sciences. \u201cLee built his life around his love of apples and his love of mentoring, and we want people to know that this collection is open to the citizens of the state and the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also no small task to transcribe a notebook, she added, \u201cbut that is the work we have to do as researchers. You have to have good information to begin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Planting the seed of an idea<\/strong><\/p>\n

Diane Flynt, the founder of Foggy Ridge Cider, the first full-time cidery in the South, and Engelhardt had served on the board of the Southern Foodways Alliance together. Flynt had been mentored by Calhoun for more than 25 years, and she first called Engelhardt to make the connection. Joined by librarians from the Southern Historical Collection, they visited Calhoun\u2019s home orchard in Chatham County last summer. Claire Bunschoten, an American studies Ph.D. student, accompanied the group to record an oral history with Calhoun that will become a part of UNC\u2019s Southern Oral History Program. This summer she\u2019ll work on adapting the students\u2019 transcription of Calhoun\u2019s notebook so that it is digitally searchable.<\/p>\n

\"Ann
Ann Marie Thornton of James Creek Cidery organized food donations, like these fried apple pies. (photo by Donn Young)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cLee has a scientific mind, but also a curiosity in exploring lost treasures. He has an archivist\u2019s brain,\u201d said Biff Hollingsworth, collecting and outreach archivist with the historical collection, part of University Libraries. \u201cThis could be the collection that launches more. It\u2019s really helping us to fill out our archives on the foodways of the South.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flynt, who attended the end-of-class gathering and also guest-lectured with Calhoun in the class, was heartened by the student\u2019s creative research projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cApple growing is a long game. There are fifth and sixth generation growers all around me in Virginia,\u201d she said. \u201cTo see this through a young lens is part of [Lee\u2019s] continuing legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pomology (n: the science of growing fruit) and humanities research<\/strong><\/p>\n

Peter Cohen, a public policy and food studies major, said participating in undergraduate research has helped to contribute to his well-roundedness as a student.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo know we were the first people to spend time with this material was very empowering. A lot of trust and responsibility was given to us,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Maddie Dyer, a southern studies and media and journalism major, did her individual research paper on Southern foods, starting with apples, but expanding to include examples like the Georgia peach, and the ongoing \u201cbattle\u201d between Duke\u2019s and Hellmann\u2019s mayonnaise.<\/p>\n

\u201cFood is definitely a way for people to express their Southern identity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Diane
Diane Flynt has been mentored by Lee Calhoun for more than 25 years. (photo by Donn Young)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Andie McKinnon, a food studies major and sustainability minor, said the value of Calhoun\u2019s collection will only increase over time and that it was an honor to help preserve these stories because \u201cwithout the stories, these apple trees lose their meaning.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKinnon will continue work this summer in a new direction related to the class \u2014 through a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, she\u2019ll create a GIS map of fruit trees and shrubs on Chapel Hill public lands with the hope of using that information to help address food insecurity.<\/p>\n

Bunschoten said she enjoyed working with the undergraduate students in the small seminar.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis course attracted so many students of different backgrounds \u2014 on my team, I got to work with business, math and statistics majors,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s been so valuable to have their perspectives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sweet partnerships<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the celebration event, a new grower with an orchard in Ashe County asked Calhoun to sign a copy of his Old Southern Apples<\/em> book. Others offered up toasts and congratulations to their mentor.<\/p>\n

\"The
The honored guest at the celebration, Lee Calhoun, with his book on Southern apples. (photo by Donn Young)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Calhoun, the connection with the library is a sweet partnership that goes back years ago to when he first searched the North Carolina Collection for old nursery catalogues. He calls the acquisition of his papers \u201ca godsend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had all of this stuff and I couldn\u2019t figure out what to do with it. This has been our life\u2019s work for my wife, Edith, and me for 40 years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For the library, the collaboration with the class was a natural fit. The staff of Wilson Library have a deep commitment to providing unique learning experiences to Carolina students. Engelhardt first approached research and instruction librarian Sarah Carrier with the idea for the seminar. Carrier and Hollingsworth co-led weekly workshops in the library for hands-on work with Calhoun\u2019s papers. Maria Estorino, associate university librarian for special collections, was supportive of the effort.<\/p>\n

In terms of opening up the collection to the public, Hollingsworth noted, \u201cAll you need to get started in the library is a photo ID and some curiosity.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more on Lee Calhoun, read this essay by Diane Flynt, \u201c<\/em>The Orchard of Last Resort<\/em><\/a>\u201d from a 2018 issue of <\/em>Southern Cultures journal and <\/em>watch a short video.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Visit the course web site<\/em><\/a> for more on the student projects.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Kim Spurr, College of Arts & Sciences<\/em><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Digital research projects in a senior seminar in Southern studies illuminate the history, stories, locations and culture of Southern apples. 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