Anne Carr Honored at Swappin' Meetin' 2004
Anne Carr has played an important role in the Kingdom Come Swappin’ Meetin’ since her arrival in 1969 at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College where she set in motion what has become a respected career in the world of academia and of service to her community.
During the summer of ’69 she was hired as an English instructor. It was during that blistering summer the world watched spellbound as Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, it was a time when the United States was turning on itself in disapproval over the conflict boiling in a far away Southeast Asian country named Viet Nam; it was also a bittersweet time that marked the finishing gasps of the “Flower Power Generation” as a half-million young people flocked to a dairy farm in upstate New York to participate in a rock festival called Woodstock.
“Many things have changed since that first year at Southeast,” she said, an air of disbelief accentuating her every word. “The college was one campus and consisted of one building, and we had about 300 students; the Swappin’ Meetin’ was still very much in its infancy, but I can’t remember when I wasn’t involved with the event. We go back a very long time.”
Serving as the long-time coordinator of the Kingdom Come Swappin’ Meetin’ quilt contest and exhibition, Ms. Carr has always had a certain degree of enthusiasm for the art form. She took over the competition in the early 1980s, and has seen it grow to the point that it has become one of the focal points of the entire festival. Each year, hundreds of patrons file through the gallery of the Appalachian Center to marvel at the beautiful and intricate work of the region’s finest quilters who eagerly display their handiwork for all to enjoy.
Carr, who grew up in Lynch, was born in Naples Italy at the close of World War II. The family, parents Gene and Rita and the infant, moved to the coalfields of Southeast Kentucky. Anne excelled in school, graduating with honors from Lynch High School and enrolled at the local college, then known as the Southeast Center of the University of Kentucky. She received a bachelor’s degree from UK and then earned a master’s in English from Eastern Kentucky University setting the stage for her return home and a career as an educator.
“I had grown up in the area and attended Southeast,” said Carr, “I never dreamed that I would return someday and be on the other side of the desk.”
Her involvement with the Kingdom Come Swappin’ Meetin’ had begun when she was a student at Southeast and took on a much more defined role once she began teaching at the college. She began working with the quilt competition, getting out publicity about the contest, arranging transport for quilters and spending long hours hanging the quilts for display.
She noted that her love for quilts had started when she was a child. Anne’s great grandmother, Lillie P. Wilson, made her a double wedding ring quilt, and the passion for the art form was sparked. While she admits she is not a quilter, she has, however, over the years, developed a keen eye for excellent workmanship and an appreciation for those who toil hours on end to produce such intricate and colorful quilts. “I may not be a singer,” she said, “but I do know a good tune when I hear one, the same can be said for quilts.”
She has researched the art form at great length and is an avid supporter of those women, who, over the duration of the Swappin’ Meetin’, have been honored as featured quilters. For more than 20 years, a local quilt artist has been honored during each festival. However, for 2004, a “retrospective” of quilts that once adorned the exhibition hall will be on display to be admired.
Quilts created by past honorees Opal Hopkins, Faye Brown, Mary Evelyn Carter, Belinda May and Shirley Sloas, along with the work of others, will be on display during the upcoming festival.
Carr, upon receiving news that she was to be the Kingdom Come Swappin’ Meetin’ Honoree, confessed that she was overcome by a wave of emotion. “It is such an honor to be singled out as the honoree,” she said. “The event has grown so much over the years, and offers something very unique that other festivals don’t have. There is not a big emphasis on commercialism at the Swappin’ Meetin’ like you see at other festivals across the region. Those who come to the Kingdom Come Swappin’ Meetin’ each fall are the true craftsmen.”
While humbled by the recognition, she nonetheless paid tribute to the many people at the college and in the community who work closely with her to ensure that the Swappin’ Meetin’ and, specifically, the quilt contest and exhibition run smoothly. “It’s a complete team effort, and I am grateful for all who have helped over the years. It’s a true labor of love.”
