An Appalachia Bluegrass Thank You
Noggin Hill
Everyone is invited to enjoy a free concert of bluegrass and Appalachian mountain music this Sunday, October 20, from 4 to 6 p.m. It will be held at the Swarthmore Borough Hall Amphitheater and will feature Noggin Hill, an authentic bluegrass, mountain, and country music band, incorporating musical elements of folk-jazz and the American songbook. The concert is a big “thank you” to the Swarthmore community for the assistance given to the Appalachia Service Project (ASP) this year, and the work done in Chavies, Kentucky, making homes there warmer, safer, and drier.
For more than 15 years, Swarthmore Presbyterian Church (SPC), Swarthmore United Methodist Church (SUMC), and the Swarthmore Rotary Club have sponsored teams of young people and adults to work on repairing and improving family homes in the Appalachia region. Congregations and other community groups are working together as one community in Pennsylvania helping to improve the lives of people in central Appalachia.
The ASP organization makes arrangements with the families who need repairs, purchases the materials, and organizes the efforts of work teams from across the U.S. Two Swarthmore ASP groups work together on fundraising, tool and safety training, and organizing the trips. Fundraising efforts include a food booth at the Rotary Fun Fair in May and a letter-writing campaign enlisting the participation of family and friends in the work in Appalachia.
This summer, two Swarthmore ASP groups volunteered their time and skills to work on selected homes, doing work that ranged from installing insulation, to adding plumbing to a bathroom, to re-roofing. Each work team consisted of two adults and five students between the ages of 14 and 21. At the concert on Sunday the teams will give a short presentation with photos showing the projects they worked on and explaining a little about the Appalachia region. Many participants are affiliated with churches and synagogues other than the two sponsoring congregations, and many others have no affiliation with any congregation. All are welcome! Those interested in learning more about ASP and about participating next summer should contact the SPC office at 610-543-4712, or at parish@swarthmorepres.org, or the SUMC office at 610-543-2110, or at office@swarthmoreumc.org.
Meanwhile, please come out on Sunday to hear great music, see and hear about this past summer’s trips to Appalachia, and have a fun time with your family and neighbors. Free refreshments will be served. In case of rain the concert will be moved indoors to SUMC, immediately next door.
