Kathleen A. Ernst, Midnight in Lonesome Hollow, Story Behind the Story

I have always loved the southern Appalachian mountains. Although I've lived in Wisconsin for many years now, I went to college in West Virginia, spent many summers in western Maryland, and have enjoyed many hikes and rambles through the mountains in the southern states.

My editor at American Girl knows that, so when she invited me to write a second Kit mystery, she suggested setting the book in Kentucky. In the original Kit books, readers meet Aunt Millie, who lives in the fictional community of Mountain Hollow, Kentucky. Setting the new mystery in that region, during a visit Kit makes to Aunt Millie, opened up all kinds of new possibilities.

I did some preliminary reading about Eastern Kentucky during the Great Depression. Then, I headed to Kentucky!

I started at the Kentucky History Center. Members of the Folklife Program staff were kind enough to show me some of their collections, and advise me about potential people to talk with and places to visit.

Then I visited the archives. The helpful staff there helped me identify some wonderful audio tapes made in the 1960s. Elderly people were interviewed about their lives, and many of them talked about life in the mountains during the Great Depression. I learned a lot, and picked up some great details to use in the mystery.

The Kentucky History Center

Kentucky museum signs

After that, I was ready to go exploring. I stopped at a number of museums, libraries, and historic sites.

One of my favorite places was the Hensley Settlement, part of Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. One of the preserved homes is pictured below.

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Preserved school at the Hensley Settlement, at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

The Hensley Settlement was established on top of Brush Mountain in 1904, and was occupied until 1951. I was able to tour the preserved buildings in this remote community. The park ranger who led the tour was great!

Ranger at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Kentucky School, Library of Congress

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Whenever possible, I try to look at a variety of sources relating to a particular topic I'm researching. I loved being able to walk into the Hensely Settlement School. To learn more, I decided to look for old photographs. When I got home from that trip, I looked for images of schools in the Kentucky mountains during the Great Depression.

The photograph at left helped me further imagine the experience of students attending Aunt Millie's fictional school in the Kit books.

I was able to find many photographs taken in Eastern Kentucky during the Great Depression. Some of the photographers were hired by the government to document life in the mountains. All of the historic photographs on this page are part of the Farm Security Administration collection in the Library of Congress. They were taken by Marion Post Wolcott. The number beneath each photograph is its identification number.

Historical photographs help me describe things, such as the miners' lamps or the potted flowers on the porch in the images below. Portraits like these also help me imagine characters. Do these people remind you of anyone in Midnight in Lonesome Hollow?

Kentucky woman churning, Library of Congress

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Kentucky coal miners, Library of Congress

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Kentucky woman and child, Library of Congress

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Photographs also help me develop scenes. Remember how Kit and her friends used creek beds as paths in steep terrain? Below left is an image of two boys walking to school. (Note their lunch pails.) And below right, a mailman on horseback stops to deliver letters, packages, and news--just as Mr. Tibbets does in Midnight in Lonesome Hollow.

The steep terrain in the rural Kentucky mountains provided lots of transportation challenges. The boys riding the mule, below left, are using the most reliable method of getting from one place to another. The photograph at the right shows that people who tried to bring cars into the mountains sometimes got into trouble! These men were using the mule to pull the car from the creek.

Kentucky woman with supplies, Library of Congress

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The photograph at the left was labeled "Mountain woman with groceries and supplies resting by the roadside." During the 1930s and 1940s, people were transitioning from using home-made items to store-bought ones. Although this woman brought some sacks to carry her supplies, she still carried one beautiful basket as well.

To see some of the Kentucky baskets in the Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College's Appalachian Archive Collection, click HERE.

Midnight in Lonesome Hollow

Kathleen Ernst

The Story Behind the Story