Log Cabin Pioneers: Stories, Songs & Sayings [Paperback]

Wayne Erbsen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 28, 2001

Step inside the door of Log Cabin Pioneers as Wayne Erbsen takes you on a personal journey of finding and restoring a historic log cabin. By the magic of a crackling fire, he'll introduce you to authentic pioneers who will sing you ancient songs, spin yarns about Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone and Thomas Jefferson, and tell spell-binding tales of bear hunting with moonshine or give you advice on how to buy a mule. Join other settlers in a house raising, hew logs for a cabin, shop in an old-fashioned general store, eat ash cake and dance your socks off at an old-fashioned barn dance. Includes remedies, superstitions, romantic advice, 143 vintage photos, words & music to 19 songs.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Wayne Erbsen is a professional historian and musician with a B.A. in American History from UC Berkley and an M.A. from the University of Wisconsin. He is president of Native Ground Music and the author of 18 other books published and distributed by Native Ground.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Native Ground Music (March 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883206367
• ISBN-13: 978-1883206369
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #657,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Wayne Erbsen has made it his lifelong passion to teach, collect, record, perform, write and publish Southern Appalachian music and folklore. A master of both the clawhammer and bluegrass banjo styles, Wayne also performs and records on fiddle, guitar and mandolin, and has authored twenty-eight books of instruction, lore and history. An instructor for over forty-five years, Wayne has taught literally thousands of people to play stringed instruments.

In addition to Wayne's deep interest in old-time Appalachian and bluegrass music, he has also researched, recorded and written on numerous other themes of American culture such as The Civil War, Victorian life, log cabin culture, cowboys and pioneers, railroads and gospel music.

For the past twenty-four years Wayne has taught Appalachian music at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina. He is an active instructor at his own teaching facility called The Log Cabin Cooking & Music Center in Asheville, NC. (www.nativegroundmusic.com). As a book publisher, he is the founder and general manager of Native Ground Books & Music (www.nativeground.com).

For radio listeners, Wayne has a popular radio show called "Country Roots," which just celebrated its 25th anniversary on Asheville North Carolina's public radio station, WCQS. Wayne's show is now streaming, so you can listen to it live every Sunday evening from 7:00 - 9:00 PM EST at http://www.wcqs.org/.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Log this book as a good one, January 1, 2005

By 

grasshopper4 (Arkansas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Log Cabin Pioneers: Stories, Songs & Sayings (Paperback)

The back of the book includes a witty epigraph by none other than Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln notes "For those of you who like this kind of a book, this is that kind of book you will like." The tautology rings true! What kind of people might like this book? If you're interested in the history of log cabins, Erbsen provides an interesting historical context for these types of buildings. He cites current authorities in vernacular architecture and even critiques some of the myths of the log cabins. He replaces the inaccurate ideas about log cabins with good information about the cultural context that supported these constructions. There is good information about cabin-raisings, ways that musicians "fiddled up a cabin," and the various construction techniques used in a range of buildings. The book provides special attention to ways in which log buildings continue to provide important themes within old-time fiddle tunes, ballads, and bluegrass music. The book includes the words and music to a number of ballads and folksongs, and readers will also appreciate the way that Erbsen included mountaineers' proverbs, folk-speech, and even recipes. I also like the presentations of clever tall tales, legends, and other narratives that pertain to the life of those who lived in these types of houses. Even though Lincoln wasn't born in a log cabin that he built with his own two hands, the book does provide a good understanding of the types of cabins that Lincoln actually lived in. It even includes some of the actual ballads that he sung as a youngster. As Lincoln stated, this book will appeal to people who like this kind of book: namely, those with an interest in the folklore and history of rural America.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sounds and lives of Pioneers, November 3, 2002

By 

Thomas (WATERFORD, MI, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Log Cabin Pioneers: Stories, Songs & Sayings (Paperback)

As one would expect from a Mel Bay book, Log Cabin Pioneers includes easy playing music for the amateur guitarist or pianist, or for not difficult playing on any treble clef instrument. Captured in less than a dozen measures, the accessible melodies have simple keys and no chord more difficult than a 7th. Several verse of lyrics accompany these songs. However, such music is just the songs of "Stories, Songs & Sayings." The text is strewn with colorful aphorisms from the pioneer period. Examples are "Better a lame donkey than no horse" from 1854 and the undated bit of meteorological advice, "don't stand in the sun if you have butter on your head." The stories come in two varieties. We get homesteaders' tales, like "The Shrinking Britches" and a swindle worthy of Huckleberry Finn, "What has 4 Eyes, 3 Heads, and 2 Tails?" But, we also get the stories of the songs and pioneers themselves. The stories of the people cover their fashion, building techniques and more - including methods to hide a still. Stories of the songs give the reader insight into the history and meaning behind "Darling Cory", "Mary of the Wild Moor" and more. All this material is arranged topically by section: Cabin History, Pioneer Construction, Log Cabin Music, Whiskey Making, Cabin Kids, Home & Cooking, Pioneer Beauty Secrets and Log Cabin Ghosts and Lore. More entertainment and information can be had in the pioneer slang glossary that defines such obscure archaisms as explatterate (to crush or mash) and "light and hitch" (come and visit).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enhanced with 143 vintage photos, February 6, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Log Cabin Pioneers: Stories, Songs & Sayings (Paperback)

In Log Cabin Pioneers: Stories, Songs & Sayings, author Wayne Erbsen takes the reading along on his personal journey of finding and restoring an historic log cabin. There the reader is treated to authentic pioneers yarns of such log cabine pioneer notables as Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, as well as tales of bear hunting, moonshine, even advice on how to buy a mule! Then there are the songs sung by our pioneer forebears, and such pioneer staples as house raising, log hewing, husking bees, frontier remedies for ailments, superstitions, romantic advice, and an old-fashion barn dance. The entertaining and informative text is enhanced with 143 vintage photos, along with the words and music to nineteen pioneer era songs. Log Cabin Pioneers is a unique and wonderful addition to any personal, school, or community library American history collection.