The collection consists of audio, visual, and printed materials documenting the Appalachian migration to Maryland (1930s-1960s) and the career and family of musician Ola Belle Reed. The collection includes Reed’s autoharp, personal affects and clothing, as well as recorded sound, photographs, and material collected by Reed.
Language:
English
Citation:
Ola Belle Reed collection, Maryland Traditions Archives, Collection 122, Special Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (Baltimore, MD)
Administrative/Biographical Note
Ola Belle Reed (nee Campbell) (1916-2002) was a singer, songwriter and musician from Lansing, North Carolina. During the Great Depression, she moved with her family to Northeastern Maryland, where she lived until her death in 2002.
Reed’s grandfather Alexander Campbell was a Primitive Baptist preacher and fiddle player and her father played fiddle, banjo, guitar, and organ and formed a string band with his brother and sister Ellen. An uncle, Herb Osborne, sang mining songs from the coalfields of West Virginia. Her grandmother and mother sang ballads and topical songs in the Appalachian tradition. As a member of the North Carolina Ridge Runners with her brother Alex, Reed played oldtime banjo and sang for the Appalachian migrant audience in the Maryland-Delaware- Pennsylvania area.
From 1949-1960, local radio station WASA delivered a broadcast of “Campbell’s Corner,” a live broadcast from Campbell’s Corner – a general store located in Oxford, Pennsylvania, which was operated by Alex Campbell and Ola Belle (Campbell) Reed. The back of the store had a stage on which live music was played (typically bluegrass, including Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers, and others) and a small number of seats for a live audience. Alex and Ola Belle and the New River Boys were the musical hosts and emcees of the program, which expanded from a 30 minute broadcast to a 3 hour broadcast between 1949-1960. Beginning in 1960, the “Campbell’s Corner” show was broadcast on WCOJ in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, before being picked up by WWVA in Wheeling, West Virginia. In addition to performing and broadcasting, the family opened a country music park called the New River Ranch near Rising Sun, MD.
Through the years, Reed wrote a number of songs about her Appalachian past and her commitment to family traditions, religious values, and social justice. In 1978, the University of Maryland awarded her an honorary doctorate of letters for her contributions to the arts and culture of Maryland and the United States.
Scope & Content
Materials from the Ostend Street office consist of digitized copies and related printed material from selected audio tapes at the National Council for the Traditional Arts. Materials from the NCTA consist of other audio tapes. Materials at the Maryland State Archives include personal ephemera (musical instruments, stage outfits, crafts, letters, photo albums, etc.) donated by Ola Belle Reed to MSAC for use in museum exhibitions related to Maryland folklife.
Organized into two series: Series I. Manuscript materials, files, and personal correspondence, 1888-1988. Series II. Ephemera, circa 1950-1980.
Series I. Manuscript materials, files, and personal correspondence
Promotional Materials
Personal documents and correspondence
Media and Materials
Series II: Ephemera
Textiles
Musical instruments
Provenance Information
Collection donated to the Maryland Folklife Program by Jason David Pate in the 1980s. The collection was donated by the Maryland State Arts Council in 2014 in three accessions: the first on January 14, 2014 from the NCTA; the second on March 5, 2014 from the Arts Council’s Ostend St. office; and the third in 2014 from the Maryland State Archives. Accessions: MSS 2013-06, MSS 2014-02, MSS 2014-08.
Processed primarily by Nichole Procopenko in 2015, with assistance from Yuri Zietz. Collection processing included reuniting a previously dispersed collection of materials that originated with the Reed family. Materials from the Maryland State Arts Council office consist of digitized copies and related printed material from selected audio tapes at the National Council for the Traditional Arts. Materials from the NCTA consist of other audio tapes. Materials at the Maryland State Archives include personal ephemera (musical instruments, stage outfits, crafts, letters, photo albums, etc.) donated by Ola Belle Reed to MSAC for use in museum exhibitions related to Maryland folklife.
Access & Use
No restrictions.
Reproductions allowed for research purposes. Copyright maintained by the creator.
