The Porch Years

Lou's favorite spot: on the porch of her house on Valley St. in Abingdon,admiring her wisteria.

"Lou bought her...home at 313 Valley St. for $4,000 dollars, money she'd 'saved up' from teaching, and moved into town in 1960 as a widow with five teenagers."
["The River Hills & Beyond," Introduction, Lee Smith (xi)].

She taught High School Social Studies and English and after that continued to teach classes informally, both GED and English as a Second Language. She also published her first book after which the world started showing up on her doorstep.

"After the publication of Sweet Hollow [in 1984] at the age of 72, Lou Crabtree's life changed. Reporters came calling. Willard Scott put her on The Today Show. The Barter Theatre traveled across the state performing Calling on Lou a play about her life and stories. She was named Virginia Laureate in Literature [1999]."
["In her own words: for Lou Crabtree, writing is a way of making sense of her life," Beth Macy (Extra, 10]

"But none of this means much to Lou. She calls the current phase of her life 'the porch years.'" [Lee Smith (xi)]

Lou's front porch...,looking up at the sky? Lou was "interested in space." She even took a Univ. of Va. Astronomy course

"...there is more to Lou than awards and accolades. Her lessons to generations of writers, including me, remains a major contribution to letters in our region."
["What kind of egg are you? A Profile of Lou Crabtree," Judy Miller (85)]

"Larry Richman, whose Sow's Ear Press published Crabtree's latest edition of poetry [The River Hills & Beyond]..., calls Crabtree a 'lighthouse' to fellow writers."
["An Abingdon Treasure: Author Lou Crabtree reflects on her life & works," Carol Fields (5E)]

More than just a light and guide to aspiring writers, Lou was a warm sun, with an ever-expanding solar system of students, townspeople, wanderers, and pilgrims of every stripe.

"Now 87 years old, Crabtree receives visitors from all over the world. Some are friends she has known throughout her lifetime of living and teaching in Washington County, others are strangers who visit her since her more recent fame as an Appalachian writer and poet." [Fields (5E)]

"Lou Crabtree’s porch is sacred. To the uninitiated, it merely looks like a simple wood construction with white paint peeling from exposure to the elements. An old rocking chair, rubber car mat, decorative iron grillwork, boxes and a coat rack, are scattered across the porch like discarded props left out in the cold. But those who come here in the summertime, when Crabtree holds court, know that her porch is actually a stage, classroom, sanctuary and confessional."
["Porches in Paradise," Jeanne Johnson. RU Magazine: the Magazine of Radford University. May, 1999]

Lee Smith recalls spending time with Lou on her porch, "...talking to everybody that came by. We had potato chips and Moon Pies for dinner." [Dimestore, 91]

"...almost without notice Lou Crabtree's front porch has become one of Virginia's finest institutions of higher learning where poets, writers, Viet Nam boat people, climbers of Mt. Everest, Buddhists, and others have gathered for years;and I have become one of the fortunate ones to have a chance to study there."
["What Kind of Egg Are You? A profile of Lou crabtree." Carol Fields (87)]