July 12th begins the annual John Henry Weekend celebration in John Henry Historical Park in Talcott, West Virginia. There in Talcott, is the Great Bend Tunnel, which they claim to be the one John Henry helped carve from stone in his race with the steam engine. There are all sorts of events, honoring the John Henry-man vs machine.
I have the book “John Henry” by Roark Bradford, 1931. This tells the story of John Henry. The author was famous for his writings of different American dialects. It is an interesting book. He was very popular until lately, where he is now seen by some as a white author patronizing Black characters. There are some unusual woodcut illustrations in the book, from that era as well.
I have used this book before for Paul Bunyon, “American Folktales” by Barbara Wells Price, circa 1972. This is a nice little pop-up book.
The page for John Henry is a movable tab. Pull it and you can see him swinging in the cave.
This next book is a rather new book “Steel Drivin’ Man. John Henry, the Untold Story of an American Legend” by Scott Renolds Nelson, 2006. The author really delves into the history of John Henry; and says that the tunnel where he was raced against the steam engine was the Lewis tunnel in Virginia. Nelson makes a very compelling story of the real John Henry.
“When John Henry was a little tiny baby
Sitting on his mama’s knee,
He picked up a hammer and a little piece of steel
Saying, “Hammer’s going to be the death of me, Lord, Lord,
Hammer’s going to be the death of me.” from “Ballad of John Henry”
I have books on folk tales and fables from countries all around the world. I like to relax and read such stories. I also have a bunch on American folktales and lore, which I find terribly interesting. It is all part of our American past, some real, some fantasy. Either way, I truly enjoy these stories of what may have been. It is healthy too for the brain, to imagine when reading. Folk tales are good for us.
Thanks for following along.
Librarytomes 