Appalachian History

John Jacob Niles composed the Appalachian influenced Christmas carols 'The Carol of the Birds,' 'The Flower of Jesse,' 'What Songs were Sung,' 'Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head,' and 'Sweet Little Boy Jesus.''

'I wonder as I wander,' one of his most popular carols (as of 2008 it’s been recorded at least 231 times) illustrates the working methods of this inveterate collector of homegrown musicality:

"I Wonder As I Wander grew out of three lines of music sung for me by a girl who called herself Annie Morgan,” Niles explained. “The place was Murphy, North Carolina, and the time was July, 1933.

"The Morgan family, revivalists all, were about to be ejected by the police, after having camped in the town square for
some little time, coking, washing, hanging their wash from the Confederate monument and generally conducting themselves in such a way as to be classed a public nuisance.

“Preacher Morgan and his wife pled poverty; they had to hold one more meeting in order to buy enough gas to get out of town. It was then that Annie Morgan came out--a tousled, unwashed blonde, and very lovely. She sang the first three lines of the verse of "I Wonder as I Wander". At twenty-five cents a performance, I tried to get her to sing all the song.

Duke Park in 1910/1911, Murphy, NC, where the Morgan family probably camped.

“After eight tries, all of which are carefully recorded in my notes, I had only three lines of verse, a garbled fragment of melodic material--and a magnificent idea. With the writing of additional verses and the development of the original melodic material, "I Wonder As I Wander" came into being. I sang it for five years in my concerts before it caught on. Since then, it has been sung by soloists and choral groups wherever the English language is spoken and sung."

I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
For poor on'ry people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky

When Mary birthed Jesus 'twas in a cow's stall
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all
But high from God's heaven, a star's light did fall
And the promise of ages it then did recall.

If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing
A star in the sky or a bird on the wing
Or all of God's Angels in heaven to sing
He surely could have it, 'cause he was the King

I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
For poor on'ry people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky

sources: http://johnjacobniles.com/
www.uky.edu/FineArts/Music/Niles/
www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/Biographies/john_jacob_niles.htm
www.familychristmasonline.com/music/trad_american_carols/i_wonder_as.htm



Christmas+in+Appalachia John+Jacob+Niles Murphy+NC appalachia appalachian+history appalachian+mountains+history

It's an important part of the local religious landscape.

That's probably the easiest way to sum up Fields of the Wood in Murphy, North Carolina. If you leave my hometown of Cleveland, Tennessee, headed east on U.S. Transcontinental Highway 64, you'll go through Polk County (the southeastern most county in Tennessee) and then cross over into North Carolina. And, soon, you'll see the turn-off to Fields of the Wood.

Fields of the Wood was started by Bishop Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson in the early 20th Century. He was a preacher from Indiana who came to Western North Carolina to pass out tracts to the mountain people. He and a few of his followers decided they wanted to start a church, one that would be the true way to Christ. So, one day, he hiked up one of the local mountains and prayed. When he returned, he claimed God had showed him what kind of church it should be. And, thus, the Church of God of Prophecy was born.

Fields of the Wood in 1945. Note form of the two tablets outlining the 10 Commandments center of photo.

When his church formed, Bishop Tomlinson decided its birthplace would be a good place to mark. The church bought 210 acres, including the mountain where Tomlinson went to pray, and it was named Fields of the Wood.

The centerpiece of the park is the world's largest display of the Ten Commandments. The letters are 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. When Bishop Tomlinson died in 1943, the letters were spelled out in lime. In 1945, the letters were upgraded to white-painted concrete.

Since Tomlinson died, the park has developed. Now, it includes the world's largest altar, an 80 foot concrete structure where Tomlinson prayed. There is also the world's largest New Testament; it's 30 feet tall and 50 feet wide. And, the park holds the world's largest cross, measuring 115 feet wide and 150 feet long.

Original caption: Brother Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson prays at the site of his June 13, 1903 prayer in Fields of the Wood.

In addition, the park includes: Prayer Mountain, Psalms of Praise, puppet shows, the Solid Rock Café, the 1 Fold 1 Shepherd Marker, the Arise, Shine Marker, the Baptismal Pool, the Bethlehem Star, the Chapel, the Duck Pond, the Golgotha replica, the Gospel Theatre, the Hidden Treasures Gift Shop, the replica of Joseph's Tomb, nature trails, a pavilion, and picnic areas.

Meanwhile, the Church of God of Prophecy has grown to over 700,000 members in 115 countries.

There's something about the park, though, that bugs me. Heaven forbid I come between anyone and what gets them through the night. But, the whole Ten Commandments thing makes me wonder.

The premise of the church is to "find the true way of Christ." But, the Ten Commandments listed are not the happy ones; they're the "Thou shalt not" collection. In Matthew’s Gospel, when Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment is, he says, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

But, those aren't listed in the world's largest display of the Ten Commandments.
And, at the Last Supper, Jesus said, "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

I didn't find that there, either.

But, hey, what do I know?

TWH

[Sources: http://fieldsofthewoodbiblepark.com
www.westernncattractions.com/fieldsof.htm
www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2613]



Church+of+appalachia appalachian+history appalachian+mountains+history Ambrose+Jessup+Tomlinson God+of+Prophecy Fields+of+the+Wood Murphy+NC