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JERRY VENCILL
“Let me say from the start that I do not consider myself a writer. I am a storyteller; a teller of tales. So, I got to thinking, if I can tell them, I can put them on paper. And that’s what I’ve done. Everyone likes a tall tale and believe me, they don’t get much taller than the ones in these books. I chose to write these books in the Appalachian Mountain dialect as a way to preserve it, as well as to pass it along to people who might enjoy it but do not come into contact with the mountain dialect often. We here in the Appalachian Mountains have often been ridiculed and labeled hillbilly and ignorant because of our speech and our ways. In truth, many people do not understand that out language is a true language, taken from the Old English language. And our ways have kept us going through years of hardship and trials. Up here in the mountains we call it “good ol’ common sense.” Today, in the mountains of southwest Virginia, some people, me included, still speak many words and phrases from the Old English language. They speak words such as: hyar, thyar and over yander and phrases such as “ye best git hit fer me, I’m jist too tard to move airy an inch” or “git hitout’n hyar afore I knock a knot on yer haid.” I have added a glossary of these mountain words to help you better understand the stories as you read them.”
Jerry “Old Jonah” Vencill grew up during the 1950’s and early 1960’s in the Clinch Mountains of southwest Virginia when storytelling was still an important part of rural life. Many people did not own TV’s and shopping malls and video games were still a long way off. So, storytelling was still the best entertainment to be found. Old Jonah’s Dad was a true mountaineer with a story or tall tale always ready. Whether he was driving to Little Tumbling Creek to catch trout or Lick Creek to hunt squirrels, Old Jonah never found it hard to coax a story from his Dad. It was at an early age that Jerry “Old Jonah” Vencill realized the importance of storytelling and that it must be kept alive for all those to come. Having had it handed down to him from his father, Jerry has worked for many years to preserve the art through a character he created called Old Jonah, the Storyteller.” Dressed in buckskin shirt and breeches, wearing a hat made out of raccoon, skunk or fox, and carrying a long flintlock rifle, he travels all over the country keeping alive the tradition of storytelling.
Old Jonah lives at the foot of the Clinch mountains in a beautiful and rustic old farmhouse, built in the 1880’s. His dog, Biskit, accompanies him on the many walks around the farm, and, of course, Biskit’s nose is always sniffing the ground “fer the scent of a grizzle bar, catrwampus, or a fresh baked pan of biscuits.”
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| COPYRIGHT
©2007 APPALACHIAN ARTS CENTER OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE |
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