Drawn2Mountains

Whenever Genevieve travels to the mountains to visit her parents and siblings, she’s stunned by the beauty of the mountains.  She reminisces about her childhood summers spent on the catwalk, being Tom Carter’s daughter, dancing in colonial costumes, garden parties, indians, and “Ham, beans, corn, greens, sweet huckleberry pie…”  Oh, the ache.  A good one, but nevertheless a wistful haunting of simpler days, brief mountain showers, and living a creative life.  Even the Texas dirt doesn’t seem as yucky as it once was to put on each evening.  I LOVE that I have these memories.

The mountains hold them for me.  So does my husband and family.

P.S.  I grew up, every summer, on the stage of Horn in the West, in Boone, NC.  My father, Ed Pilkington, directed the outdoor drama for 20+ years.

This quote is taken from the opening lines of the play.

In the evening West, beyond the last mountain peak,

slowly dies the sun in a sea of bronze and crimson.

In its setting is the majestic assurance

that tomorrow will rise,

that a new day will dawn.

Always the hopes and dreams of mankind

lie not in the East,

but in the fiery land of the sunset.

The gaze of man is westward

as if he could glimpse,

somewhere beyond the great golden reaches of Eternity–

as though he could hear, blowing in the distant sunset,

the Horn of Freedom.

12 thoughts on “Drawn2Mountains

  1. Timaree says:

    Beautiful picture. It’s nice to have good memories of childhood. Love your view of the mountains but I want to be west of those right in view of the pacific coast! Years ago my husband and I drove through Texas and thought we’d never seen such a flat state. A couple years later we drove back the other way but on a much different route and found out the state wasn’t so flat after all!

  2. Jay Lingle says:

    Would you be “Piper” Pilkington? I was in the show in 1977. This beautiful day got me thinking about the show and oddly that first line (at that time delivered by that giant of a man with the great gray beard and jawbones that rattled eardrums on the top row) came into my head. I couldn’t remember past it so I entered it into google to see if the rest would come up and I stumbled onto this sight. I would have been 23 then. I am 60 now. You of course were a small child. That summer remains one of the most joyful times of my life.

    • jenpedwards says:

      Hi Jay! I am Jennifer Pilkington Edwards, Piper’s older sister! I would have been in the show as well that year. My dad and mom are visiting me right now and so I read him your comment here. The Horn is indeed a memorable enchantment that we all carry dear in our hearts. Were you a chorus member? Dancer? Lead? Tech crew? The Horn is still going, amazingly, though not to the same kind of packed out crowds we once enjoyed. You are referring to Glenn Causey who played Dan’l Boone and was the narrator of the story in those years. So glad you left a comment here!

      • Jay Lingle says:

        Oh thank you so much for replying! I was a dancer. I got to hold one of the big fire hoops on either side of the fire dancer! No! The man who gave the opening monologue (I just looked up his name on imdb as I remembered he was in a movie w/Robert Mitchum called Thunder Road) was Charles Elledge. It is my understanding and I could easily be mistaken that he had been a fixture with the show for decades and that when he died the monologue was given to Glenn Causey. Glenn was Dan’l Boone and Charles was a seperate character.

      • Jay Lingle says:

        Annnnnd…….if I am wrong about that bit of history of the show Please set me straight. I should not remain confused any longer. 🙂

  3. Don Hickman says:

    Charles Elledge played the part of a preacher, and his wife was in crowd scenes. They were educators, teachers. In the late 50s & early 60s, I played bit parts—Gov. Tryon, a settler who gives a tear jerking speech, etc. Happy Days!! Don Hickman, ASU, 1961.

      • Jennifer Edwards says:

        My father, Ed Pilkington, directed Horn from 1970 until around 1998, I think. My whole family grew up on the stage in various roles, mainly as villagers when we were kids. Such fond memories. Just last night, as I heard the sound of cicadas here in our neighborhood, it transports me back to summers on the catwalk and on stage with that same sound all around me. Thanks for commenting here. I think the Horn has been a source of wonderful memories for so many people throughout the years.

Leave a Reply to Timaree Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *