“It’s like a family” is how many Village of Yesteryear crafters describe the tight-knit bond that is central to the success of the 74-year educational exhibit held annually during the N.C. State Fair.
That description is equal parts figurative and literal as over the years children and great grandchildren of long-time crafters have returned to the Village as second- and third-generation exhibitors.
Former Village director Jim Trantham and his family are one example of that generational legacy. Two of Trantham’s granddaughters, Sara Gatilogo and Emily Fleanor, who spent much of their childhood at the Village every October, will be part of the Village this year, returning to exhibit during the Fair and to participate in the special guest booth that has become a regular fixture in the crafting circle.
Gatilogo will be demonstrating Ukrainian egg making for all 11 days of the Fair. Her sister, Emily and her husband Josh will set up in the guest booth on weekends of the Fair, also demonstrating Ukrainian egg making.
To recognize the many contributions of the Trantham family, the Village will include a special tribute this year that will include a photo and poster display of family members over time, plus some of Jim Trantham’s musical instruments and music from the family, said Pam Earp, director of the Village of Yesteryear.
“Every year since the Tranthams retired from the Village, people stop at the front door and asks where is that family that sings,” Earp said. “I am excited they will be here this year, and I think people will be excited to hear the music again.”
In the history of the Fair, only three people have served as directors of the Village of Yesteryear, a position that has created, guided and continues to define the purpose and focus of the Village, which is education about heritage crafts.
The first director, who was tapped in 1951 by then Fair Manager J.S. Dorton, was Mary Cornwell, an extension agent for Cherokee and Haywood counties. In founding the Village, she was tasked with bringing crafters from Western N.C. to the fair to showcase and educate about heritage crafting traditions. That first year, 13 crafters exhibited at the Fair. Today, this year there will be 77 crafters in the Village.
Cornwell, who served for 38 years, also set the tone for the Village, establishing rules that are largely still adhered to today. Trantham, who had spent 18 years exhibiting his handmade musical instruments at the Fair before being elected to follow Cornwell, was its second director. Trantham served for 20 years in the dual role of director and crafter, with a combined 38 years in the Village when he retired.
Under Trantham’s leadership, the Village grew and maintained both its educational focus and professionalism. Jim Trantham’s wife, Caroline, son, Doug, grandson and granddaughters were regulars during that time. Impromptu musical performances by members of the Trantham family and others in the Village were popular with fair visitors.
Earp said there are several examples of generational families at the Fair, but the Trantham family stood out.
“There were three generations at the fair at the same time,” she said. “Often times you will have a generation that will take over for another generation, but all the Tranthams were all there performing together.”
Anne Allison and her late husband David joined the Village in 1997 as weavers and spinners, before “inheriting” the 18th-century loom to showcase weaving for fairgoers.
That first year, the Allisons were set up near Trantham’s booth, which is part of a tradition of placing first-time crafters near more experienced crafters to help show them the ropes.
“Jim and I just hit it off immediately,” Allison said. “Jim had an awesome sense of humor. He was strict and serious about the Village and that we needed to be professional and that we needed to be in our booths unless we were on a break, but he also believed it should be fun for the Village people along the way, too. And, he was very encouraging to people.”
One funny moment came a few years before Trantham retired.
“The rumor was going around that Jim would be retiring, so we had the idea that we would crown him emperor of the Village. We had a ceremony, and as part of that he had a crown, he had a robe and he had a scepter. And his golf cart was decorated, too,” Allison said. “He drove around in a complete circle in the village and after that everybody in the village referred to him as the emperor and he enjoyed that position for a couple of years and after he retired.
“He was really proud of that,” she said. “It was special way for us to honor him with humor, but there was also a lot of love involved in that.”
Allison has been a lifelong crafter and since retiring from the Village she has continued to share heritage crafts regularly at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, hoping to spark interest in crafting for another generation.
Within the Village, crafters were eager to share their knowledge with one another, with the crafters’ kids and with fairgoers and school groups that came through.
“The Trantham kids and grandkids ended up knowing about everything at the Village,” because of the time they would spend time with crafters within the Village, Allison said.
“The young people were interested so you’d bring them in and they became a working part of the village. Pam’s daughter, Heather, started out and she was helping with the cornhusk dolls, and she kept gravitating over to the loom. And I would show her what she needed to do, and we had her doing some of the looming. And Heather is working the loom alone now. The Webber children were interested in the pottery, and they were doing that.”
“The Village is educational as well as a place for collection. It is important to everybody. If we don’t pass these crafts on to the children, we will lose these crafting traditions,” Allison said. “The opportunity is there for people to learn. You can connect them with classes where they could learn about the different crafts. And having that whole room full of people who are knowledgeable is just a real treasure.
“I can’t say enough about the village – my years there – and the friendships that I made during my time there were just a very important part of my life. I just couldn’t imagine not having had that experience. It was something you looked forward to from the time you left, and you got all those hugs as everyone was leaving, until you got back the following year and there were those hugs and all that love you got in the Village greeting you.”