I met Sheila Kay Rice in the basement of the old library at Mars Hill College. Sheila and I were both working in the newly formed Southern Appalachian Photo Archives under the directorship of Bill Tydeman.
I hadn’t been the mountains long and had been struggling to find access to a small mountain community where I could make photographs. Sheila was a local and knew the Madison County community and under the auspices of the archive we began traveling the county meeting people and making photographs. Eventually, she offered to take me up to her home community of Sodom to meet her Granny Del, Dellie Norton. I stayed around Dellie for the last eighteen years of her life, photographing, visiting, taping stories, taking her to the doctor and to music festivals. Dellie sang at my first wedding.
Now, almost fifty years later, I look back at my life in Madison County and am humbled by the understanding that it would have been much different had I not met Sheila and followed her to Sodom on that summer day.
Sheila turns 70 today. It’s hard for me to believe we’ve known each other as long as we have, closing in on 50 years. I’m not sure I, or we as a county, know how to adequately thank her for all she has given us. She’s told our stories, preserved our songs, shared her life with us, and helped us understand who we are and from where we came. And she’s done it, not without trials, but always with grace. Thank you, Sheila Kay. And Happy Birthday.
Sheila Kay Adams at the Old Marshall Jail, 03-15-23