Ruth Ann MusickFolklorist Ruth Ann Musick was born in Kirksville, Missouri in 1897. She grew up on a small farm surrounded by talented parents and siblings immersed in the songs, arts, customs, and tales of the region. She earned a math degree in 1919 from the loca college (now Truman State), and after years of studying, teaching and adventuring, a Ph.D. in English from what's now the University of Iowa. Hell's Holler, a novel set near Kirksville, was her 1943 dissertation. Musick eventually settled in Fairmont, West Virginia, where she revived the West Virginia Folklore Society, created the state's Folklore Society Journal and developed the Folklore program at Fairmont State College (now University). She published four major collections of folklore, wrote two popular folklore columns and dozens of journal articles, mentored countless student collectors, and advocated for environmental causes. Musick died in 1974. Read More Read Less