Carter Taylor Seaton explores the success
stories of West Virginia’s adopted
artisans in “Hippie Homesteaders.”
Local author Carter Taylor Seaton, known for her novels Father’s Troubles and amo, amas, amat…An Unconventional Love Story, delves into new territory with her acclaimed nonfiction work Hippie Homesteaders: Arts, Crafts, Music and Living on the Land in West Virginia. “Hippie Homesteaders” tells the story of the back-to-the-land artisans who came to West Virginia in the 1960s and 1970s in an effort to avoid the Vietnam War. “I thought, ‘Here are all these West Virginia artisans, approaching their 60s, and someday we’re not going to have them, and no one has even told their story,” Seaton said.
From 1971 to 1984, Seaton was the executive director of Appalachian Craftsmen, a rural cooperative between the Junior League and the Southwestern Community Action Council that benefited the region’s low-income women, which eventually became an independent, private nonprofit.
During her time as executive director, Seaton attended the annual Mountain State Arts and Crafts Fair, where she met and befriended many of the artisans whose stories she tells in “Hippie Homesteaders.”
“Back then, I didn’t really question why they had come here,” Seaton said. “It wasn’t until the 1990s that someone asked me and said, ‘That might be a good idea for a book,’ so ‘Hippie Homesteaders’ has been a story I’ve wanted to tell for quite some time.”
Seaton credits Don Page, who then worked for the Department of Commerce, and Tim Pyles, then coordinator of the crafts program at Cedar Lakes, for agreeing with her conclusions that the state would have been different without the artisans, including the theory that Tamarack, West Virginia’s tourism hot spot, may never have come into existence.
“It was really affirming to have that idea of mine supported,” she said.
From 2005 to 2007, Seaton traveled the Mountain State on weekends with a tape recorder. She followed the West Virginia hills up many back roads and hollers, meeting with more than 40 artisans eager to tell their stories.
“Every single visit was special because it was a chance to connect to a story I felt I was part of,” Seaton said. “I am a West Virginian by birth, and I lived through that
time and was very familiar with the troubles of that era.”
Seaton said there is something unique about a person who chooses West Virginia as his or her home, and finds success in his or her art career.
“We tend to celebrate when artists are born here, but not when they came here and lived, in many cases, a hardscrabble life that they chose and still became
successful.”
Seaton, an alumna of Marshall, said her journey to graduation was not the typical road of most college students. She attended classes on and off for 15 years, during which time she was working for Appalachian Craftsmen, but eventually completed her undergraduate career with a dual degree in English and business.
Seaton majored in English because it was something she always enjoyed growing up.
“I believe that in order to be a good writer you have to be a good reader, so I think it worked out very well for me.”
Seaton was honored at this year’s Alumni Awards Banquet when she was presented with the 2015 Award of Distinction from the College of Liberal Arts.
“That was quite a surprise,” she said. “I was so thrilled by it. To be honored by the college from which you graduated was truly special to me.”
Since “Hippie Homesteaders” release, Seaton has turned her full attention to completing a biography about Ken Hechler, as well as freelance writing and fleshing out ideas for future books.
With the success of three books, Seaton’s passion and talent for writing is evident and it’s easy to see if there’s a story worth telling, she will certainly tell it.
Rebecca Stephens is the managing editor of the Marshall Magazine.
Photos: Carter Taylor Seaton is the author of the acclaimed novels Father’s Troubles and amo, amas, amat…:An Unconventional Love Story.
Seaton embarks on a new journey with her nonfiction work, Hippie Homesteaders: Arts, Crafts, Music and Living on the Land in West
Virginia.