Hazel Green Academy
Life Long Learning Center
Appalachian Heritage Alliance logo
Back to AHA
Main Page




Partners:
Christian Appalachian Project
Steele-Reese Foundation
Wolfe County Arts Association
Kentucky Arts Council
National Endowment for the Arts
Kentucky Humanities Foundation
Wolfe County Adult Literacy Program

Regional Schools

Regional Arts Organizations

Impact Missions

Hazel Green Academy
Life Long Learning Center
1998-2003

HGA Life Long Learning Center.

Although the title, Life Long Learning Center, proved to be overly ambitious we are very proud of our accomplishments in the five years we operated. The facility was renovated and maintained by the Christian Appalachian Project. The Wolfe County Arts Association managed the facility and provided programming with the support of the Steele -Reese Foundation. It was a great run.

The Hazel Green Academy Life Long Learning Center was committed to providing high quality educational, artistic, cultural, and spiritual opportunities for the people of the community, the region, and beyond.

Life Long Learning sign.

While at Hazel Green Academy, our programming served approximately twenty-two thousand people. Young people represented almost half that number. These numbers do not reflect the patrons of the Jot 'em Down store or the Mobile Health Clinic.

The following report contains a complete listing of the Wolfe County Arts Association activities at Hazel Green Academy. WCAA events at the Academy prior to 1998 are included to show the the development that culminated in the Life Long Learning Center. This information can also be found embedded in the Arts and Education page and Community page of this web site. It is listed here to give a picture of what occurred at Hazel Green Academy during our watch.

In 2003, The Life Long Learning Center closed when the owners of the facility cast their lot with a religious business organization that received a $3.2 million Faith-Based Initiative Grant. The campus became a retreat for their denomination and now is in need of serious repair.



Programs

COMMUNITY EDUCATION: Arts and Humanities, Educational Field Trips, Classes, Workshops and Meetings, Lecture Series, Summer Art Camp, Youth Programs.

COMMUNITY PERFORMANCES: Music, Theater, Chautauqua's

RETREATS: Spiritual Retreats, Mission Groups, Art Retreats, Educational Retreats, Organizational Retreats

JOT'EM DOWN STORE: Thrift store.

EASTERN KENTUCKY MOBILE HEALTH CLINIC: Located once a week on campus.



Staff and Volunteers

Darrell Davis.
Darrell Davis,
CAP Facility Manager
Janine Musser.
Janine Musser, Director
David Musser.
David Musser,
Education Director
           
Pat Beasley.
Pat Beasley, Jot'em Down Store
Alice Davis.
Alice Davis, Quilter Extraordinaire


Educational Field Trips

We are very pleased with the success of our Educational Field Trips. Our Goal was to present high quality learning experiences for the students of the region provided by professional, experienced individuals and organizations from throughout the state. Our Educational Field Trips supplemented and enhanced the educational goals of the schools as mandated by the Kentucky Education Reform Act.

Our Educational Field Trips served approximately 8,000 students

We served students from seven counties: Breathitt, Lee, Powell, Magoffin, Menifee, Morgan, and Wolfe.

Students from thirty-four different schools were bussed to the Life Long Learning Center.

Forty three (43) Field Trip events.

Dozens of artists, presenters or facilitators.

Forty-two (42) professional performances.

Two hundred and forty-seven (247) student workshops.

Field trip               Lex Children;s Theater



Review of Educational Field Trips

Juliet                    Boy meets girl meets Shakespere

 ballet espanol

Lexington Children's Theater                  Madcap Puppets

Russian Princess.                        Old Believers, from Russia.

Inflatable Planetarium
Inflatable Planetarium, crawl on in!

drama                            drama day

performing

auditoriun            busses



Community Performances

Hazel Green Academy Life Long Learning Center was dedicated to bringing high quality arts performances to the community. Our aim was to highlight and celebrate the Appalachian heritage as well as to feature performers from outside our area. When possible, we tied community performances to other events by, for example, adding an evening community performance to the schedule of a field trip artist. Sometimes, we could schedule a community performance in conjunction with another conference or retreat.

Applebutter Bunch        Jim and Leslie Cable

Swift Creek Band Sam Peck's Back Porch Pickers Gospel Crossroads High Fall's Jamboree
East KY Mt. Boys Sam Wilson Band Lee Allen Band Lennie Center Band
Apple Butter Band Natural High Homeplace Jamie and Jesse Wells

on stage          River City Drum Corps



Jot 'em Down Store

The Jot ‘em Down store was far more than ‘just another second-hand store.” It was a center for social activity and a vital part of the lives of many people. The importance of a good second hand store in an economically distressed community cannot be overstressed.

Pat Beasley, an HGA alumnus, managed the store. She and her dedicated staff (all volunteers) understood their clients, knew their circumstances, and treated them with respect.

The Jot ‘em Down store was a ministry, not a business. For many people, the store was a part of their routine. It provided relaxation and comfort. Sure, they were looking for a “good deal,” but the store was far more meaningful than a clothing bargain. We did not keep a daily count of the number of people served at the store. It was often a very busy place.

We extend a special “thank you” to the many churches, organizations and individuals who contributed to the Jot ’em Down Store. The funds generated from the Jot ‘em Down were used to help pay the utilities for the Life Long Learning Center.

Jot 'em Down Store         inside Jot 'em Down

            

Eastern Kentucky Mobile Health Clinic

Hazel Green Academy Life Long Learning Center, in partnership with St. Joseph’s Hospital, and through the leadership of Representative John Will Stacy secured the Eastern Kentucky Mobile Health Clinic for one day a week on the Academy grounds. This facility provides much needed medical services to the community.

Eastern Kentucky Mobile Health Clinic            



Art Studios

We had five Art Studios: Stained Glass, Pottery, Bookmaking/Paper Marbling, Jewelry, and Quilting.

Stained Glass Studio Jewelry Making Studio Pottery Studio
Bookmaking/Paper Marbling Quilting Studio



Ballet

We are particularly proud of our ballet class. Our Instructor, Adahli Aranda, was the Director of the Kentucky Ballet Theater in Lexington, KY. We were extremely fortunate to get an instructor of this high caliber. If you took your child to ballet lessons in Lexington, your child would receive instruction from one of Adahli’s assistants rather than Adahli herself. Our Ballet Classes were among the best ballet instructions available in the entire state.

Ballet           Adhali and ballet students



Mission Groups

Mission groups, such as The World Servants, Impact Missions and others, used our facility as base of operations as they helped low income families of the region with home improvements. These groups were often church youth groups from cities across the United States. This was often our guests’ first experience of Appalachia. Mission Retreats typically lasted one week and occurred throughout the summer.

Mission Group from Michigan         Mission group from Pennsylvania and Indiana



Retreats

The lovely, rural setting of Hazel Green provided a wonderful place for retreats- overnight, weekend, or longer. Our guests could sense part of the one hundred year old history of the Academy. They could almost hear the footsteps of the former students in the halls of the old dormitories. The Academy was a splendid and exalted place for our guests to "get away from it all" and renew their inner health through arts, educational or spiritual retreats.

Gurney Norman Writer's Retreat

writer   Crystal Wilkinson   Charles Simpson, author

contra dance



Community Education

The Hazel Green Academy Life Long Learning Center was dedicated to continuing the spirit of Hazel Green Academy’s original mission by providing educational services to the people of the region. Our Community Education programming was divided into four categories: Arts and Humanities, Lecture Series, Workshops and Meetings, and Classes. The Humanities Speakers and Chautauqua's were held at the Academy or elsewhere in the community as part of an established Wolfe County Arts Association outreach program.



Community Education - Arts and Humanities

Kentucky Humanities Speaker Bureau

Kentucky Chautauqua Presentations

Other



Community Education - Lecture Series

carnival



Community Education -Workshop and Classes

making a basket



Community Education - Classes

Appalachian Dulcimer

Empty Auditorium