A gathering in Hancock County, Tennessee will celebrate a mission school that offered educational opportunities to members of one of America's least-known ethnic groups. MELUNGEON HISTORY: A GATHERING AT VARDY is a one-day event scheduled for Saturday, June 23. The event is co-sponsored by the Vardy Community Historical Society (http://hometown.aol.com/vardyvalley) and the Melungeon Heritage Association (www.melungeon.org). The gathering will feature speakers, tours of the Vardy Community, and other exhibits. The Melungeons are a multi-ethnic people who were first documented in the Appalachian Mountains at the end of the 18th century. Since that time, they have become a part of Appalachian folklore - "sons and daughters of the legend." Recent research has suggested a possible Mediterranean or Middle Eastern component in the Melungeons' ancestry. They often faced discrimination, both legal and social, and tended to settle in isolated communities such as Newman's Ridge in Hancock County, Tennessee. The Vardy Community is at the foot of Newman's Ridge. The community was named after Vardemon Collins, one of the first recorded Melungeon inhabitants, and was first settled around 1780. The people of the community worked with the Presbyterian Church to establish the Vardy School Community in 1892. Until 1973, the Vardy School provided educational opportunities for students from Vardy, Blackwater Creek, and Newman's Ridge, as well as in neighboring Lee County, Virginia. Writer Libby Killebrew describes Vardy as "a model community, whose citizens learned strong values from close-knit families, and good skills from a fine school." Those citizens, Killebrew writes, have been "maligned in the past by journalists exploiting Appalachian stereotypes and myths, and the legend of the 'mysterious' Melungeons. "Contrary to popular myths, Vardy was actually one of the most progressive communities in our region.[on] average, children graduating from Vardy were ahead of their peers academically." The Vardy Presbyterian Church closed in 1980, but has now been restored as a museum. The school, unfortunately, was beyond repair. The Vardy School Community was the first site in Hancock County to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Speakers at the Vardy Gathering will include W.C. Collins and DruAnna Overbay, discussing the Vardy Church and School, and Dr. Brent Kennedy, author of "The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People; An Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing in America." A 1949 film on the Vardy Community made by Dr. Dave Swartz, a pastor at Vardy, will be shown, and Katie Doman will present portions of her doctoral work on an oral history of Vardy. An anthropologist studying the Spanish settlement of Santa Elena, Dr. Chester DePratter, will discuss the possible Spanish/Portuguese origins of the Melungeons, and Dr. Kathy Lyday-Lee will discuss writer Will Allen Dromgoole, who visited Newman's Ridge and wrote about the Melungeons in the 1890's. There will also be panel discussions on life in Vardy and walking tours of the community. The Vardy Church and Museum will be the focal point of the gathering in June. Also on the site is Mahala Mullins' cabin. The cabin was moved to the site from Newman's Ridge to protect it from deterioration and possible vandalism. "Aunt Mahala" is a legendary Melungeon figure; popular legend portrays her as a maker of "moonshine," so obese she could not be arrested by authorities who described her as "ketchable, but not fetchable." The truth about Mahala and her place in the community will be explored. At the Vardy Gathering. Tours of her cabin will be conducted, and VCHS board members Troy Williams, Jack Mullins, and R. C. Mullins will conduct walking tours of the community. Visitors may pre-register for the Gathering at Vardy by sending a check or money order for $10 per registrant to the Vardy Community Historical Society, P.O. Box 553, Sneedville, TN 37869. On-site registration will take place from 9 - 10:30 am on June 23rd. Sneedville is located on state highway 33 in northeastern Tennessee, near the Virginia state line. Nearby interstate highways are I-75 and I-81. To get to the Vardy Community, take highway 63 from Sneedville across Newman's Ridge 3.8 miles to Vardy Road. Turn right, and the Vardy Community is 3.8 miles. For more information, visit the VCHS website at http://hometown.aol.com/vardyvalley, or write to VCHS at the above address. Many thanks! Wayne Winkler Vice-President Melungeon Heritage Association http://www.melungeon.org [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>