12/1/99

Rural Resources presented the second of its "Dinners on the Land" recently, featuring the results of the project, "Stories on the Land: Understanding Our Past, Choosing Our Future." The project, directed by Tusculum College English Professor Dr. Alice Loftin, is supported by several faculty and staff members and students at Tusculum College.

Funded by the Tennessee Humanities Council and the East Tennessee Foundation in partnership with the Lila Wallace Reader's Digest Fund and the Community Partnership for Cultural Participation Initiative, Rural Resources has been coordinating a process of collecting and documenting stories of the people of Greene County. The project's objective is to collect local perspectives and to document changes that have taken place in land use in Greene County and the surrounding region of Southern Appalachia over the past few decades.

According to Loftin, Project Director of "Stories on the Land," "We have been collecting stories from all types of Greene Countians with varying views on land use. We have encouraged citizens to talk about their connection to the land and the changes they have observed in their time here. It is important in these times of change to provide an arena for citizens of all views to come together to discuss their values and to determine common goals, so that they may better plan for the future."

According to Loftin, volunteers have worked for months collecting and compiling stories, which were then creatively presented at the Dinners on the Land. The dinners' menu featured locally produced food and was prepared by Deidra Harruff of "Deidra's" Restaurant in Greeneville.

Rural Resources is a Greene County-based not-for-profit organization working to preserve disappearing farmland through community-based projects focused on sustainable agriculture education, development of new markets, and advocacy around land use planning policy.

Traditional dinner music included the sounds of mandolin, banjo and guitar.	Tom Sanders, director of communications at Tusculum College, and Dr. Andrea Sanders were among the participants who entertained the group during the "Reader's Theatre." Seated at left is Delina Hensley, Arts Outreach coordinator at TC. At right is Jeannie Douglas of Rural Resources.
Deidra Harruff and Jeannie Douglas of "Deidra's" in Greeneville provided guests with beef stew and cornbread, traditional local fare.	A view of Stories On The Land participants as they enjoyed the dinner. The event was held at Shiloh Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Greene County.