Stan Madden, Appalachian Poet

(Volume 1 of Stan's poetry is available on Amazon in Kindle eBook or Paperback form)

Stan Madden near his Dizney KY home

Stan Madden, Appalachian Kentucky Poet, was born Sunday, April 7, 1935 deep in the mountains of southeastern Kentucky in Harlan County, in a little coal mining community known as Dizney.  His life ranged from being an awarded author to being bed-bound with a severe handicap for decades but through it all, he wrote, penning poems and short stories which shared accounts of life in Appalachia, love, patriotism, God and general reflections. 

Although the mountains can be beautiful in the springtime and it was only two weeks before Easter when he was born, all was not well. The Depression raged across America. Stan was born during the “Bloody Harlan” years – a time when men died in too frequent coal mine accidents, tuberculosis, influenza, gunfights and violence related to unionization efforts by miners. Stan’s paternal grandparents died in a flu epidemic and left 8 children, ranging from about 3 to 14. His other grandfather died in a gunfight in front of the family home. His grandmother contracted TB and survived but was badly affected by the disease.  

            

Levi Thomas & Lige Madden, Stan's parents

Life was hard in Harlan County and while the coal was making a few men rich, most were barely able to support their families and shortened their lives with black lung from time in the underground mine tunnels with limited ventilation. Yet, there were times of joy with fiddles playing, singing, church services or for some, moonshine made in their own hidden still (distillery).

Stan was the youngest child of eight. he had grey eyes and brown hair and early photos show a slender young man.  Perhaps it was natural that he was considered to be a bit “spoiled” since the two children before him had both died in infancy and he was the final child of the family. Stan was afflicted early in life with severe physical issues. One relative remembered that he was working in the apple orchard during a very hot summer and seemed to suffer a heat stroke. The doctor advised he should go to a Spa for therapy but that didn’t happen. Like many young people of the time, Stan enjoyed riding horses. Cars were a rarity in Harlan County at that time and the only way to get from place to place was your own feet or a horse!  Stan’s physical afflictions may well have contributed to his bigger-than-normal wish to have horses nearby as walking would have been difficult at times.

Stan Madden

His 6’2” frame eventually shrank to about 5’10” with the degenerative effects of disease.  Other family members remember that he was badly handicapped with rheumatoid arthritis (then known as crippling arthritis). He drank a lot to mask the pain but for the last 25 years of his life he was sober and committed to a Christian life.  Much of his life he had very limited mobility and was often unable to leave his bed.

His writing gave him a voice and he earned some recognition which was encouraging for a poor, crippled man from a remote mountain coal camp.  Stan’s short story about a dog won the National Enquirer story of the year.  The National Enquirer ran a story about him, and he had bags and bags of mail delivered from readers who wanted to contact him – it was estimated that he received over 26,000 letters. This was a huge show of love for Stan who led a fairly isolated life due to illness. He was excited to be awarded a 1992 Golden Poet Trophy at The World of Poetry; this award was presented to many amateur poets but he really valued it. In 1995 He won First Prize award at the Legacies contest. These recognitions were among the high points of his life and made him feel he was making a difference through his writing. His poetry resonates with his love for God, country and the mountains. Some writings give voice to his despair over seeing the world mostly through a window but, at the same time, showing much greater insight than you would expect for a handicapped man who rarely left Kentucky and spent most of his life in the deep mountains or confined to a room.

Stan was always fairly dependent on family members who loved and assisted him. For some years he had a wife to whom he devoted many of his poems during that period. His sister Dorothy and her family were his primary caretakers for many years.  He passed away at the age of 67 and was buried in Harlan County in the Dizney Church of God Cemetery by his mom and dad – a wish he had expressed in his poetry.  

Stan’s legacy, his memories, are reflected in his writings. We are publishing them so that his voice remains, and it is our hope that some readers will enjoy a glimpse into the musings of the Appalachian poet in years to come.

(Volume 1 of Stan's poetry is available on Amazon in Kindle eBook or Paperback form)

Elizabeth M Hartmann Mueller  (1894-1938)

Elizabeth “Betty” Hartmann was born in Chicago on Wednesday, March 14, 1894 to 36 year old John J Hartmann and 32 year old Catherine M Meyer Hartmann. She was the 2^nd of 5 children and the middle daughter. Her parents were both born to German immigrant families.   St. Patricks day was 3 days after her birth – this holiday was celebrated even then in Chicago with a parade.  She is listed in some census as Lizzie though the family typically referred to her as Betty. Her maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Kecheison Meyer, was born in Hannover, Stadt Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany and died in Chicago just one month after Betty's birth. S

1900 Census Chicago Ward 4

We often think of people marrying very young in the late 1800s and early 1900s but that was not always the case.  When Peter and Elizabeth married June 14, 1924 in Chicago, IL they were both 30 years of age. In fact, this was not unusual among midwestern Catholic families where the family stayed together longer, often working large farms. Her parents were 29 and 25 when they married, his were 34 and 24.  

In 1900 (census above) Betty was attending school at age 6 while her father was noted as a teamster (wagon driver, later to be truck drivers). According to Teamster.org in 1900 the typical teamster worked 12-18 hours a day, seven days a week for an average wage of $2 per day. A teamster was expected only to haul his load, but also to assume liability for bad accounts and lost or damaged merchandise. Within a year of the census, in 1901 a group of teamsters formed the Teamsters Union right there in Chicago.

We find her 10 years later in the 1910 census as a stenographer in an office. Generally a stenographer indicated a clerical worker, typist or secretary at that time although the word stenographer is also used for court recorders. At the 1920 census her occupation was indicated as “Mail order house – office.” Interestingly, Sears Roebuck had a big business at that time selling Craftsman style homes via mail order. Sears Roebuck did originate in Chicago (remember the Sears Tower?). We haven’t yet confirmed which company she worked with in 1920, but that’s a possibility.  Census records indicate that she lived with her parents until her marriage. We don't know a lot about Betty's childhood but daughter Rose Ella tells about going back to the family home on Cicero in Chicago and having fun with grandparents, aunts and cousins. 

In Chicago in 1924 at the age of 30 she married Peter Michael Mueller (1893-1976), who was just a few months older. Peter lived in Racine County, Wisconsin with his family who were also first generation German immigrants.  His parents were Frank “Franz” and Maria Fischer Mueller.  Peter is listed as farmer, farm hand, Manager-Implement Shop, business owner and fireman during his life.

Elizabeth had two children, lovely daughters. Rita arrived in 1929 followed by Rose Ella in 1931. They had moved to Sturtevant, a village near Peter’s family farm in Mount Pleasant. Peter was a business man and fireman. The family was active in their church, St. Sebastian’s where generations of their family would continue.  She had heart issues and passed away when her girls were just 9 and 7 years old. At the time of her death she was living in Sturtevant, Wisconsin in a white frame house downtown. She was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery near generations of the Mueller family.

Peter’s brother, Joe Miller and wife Barb, became a big part of the family with Aunt Barb providing lots of maternal care and guidance for the girls through the years. Rita and Rose Ella each had large loving families (8 and 5 children, respectively) and we are sure that Elizabeth would have been proud of her beautiful daughters and their influence on so many lives with laughter and love.