One of Ashe County’s own has been inducted into the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame as Ola Belle Reed of Grassy Creek will join five other musicians in the hall’s class of 2009.

Reed made a life and a career out of writing and playing music about the beloved Appalachian Mountains she grew up in. Born Ola Wave Campbell in Lansing on Aug. 17, 1915, Reed progressed through the folk music echelons for the greater part of her life. Gladys Reeves, 91, of Lansing, remembers Ola Belle playing the banjo and singing to her while she did her homework. “She was real smart,” Reeves remembers. “And she didn’t have to study much after school.”

Although Reed has always identified with Ashe County as her true home, the harsh economic conditions of the Great Depression forced her family to relocate to Maryland. It was during her stay in Baltimore that she began performing on local radio stations with her brother Alex. It was also during this time that she met and fell in love with her future husband, Bud. Together, Reed, Bud, Alex, and his wife Lucy would later found the popular music venue, The New River Ranch. The Reeds would continue to perform together and would later be joined by a son to complete the trio.

Ola Belle continued to perform music with her family, including her husband and son David, often at informal gatherings she organized for her neighbors and friends. “I remember one time we were having a gathering,” she said in a memoir. “Everyone was coming ... we bought a new linoleum rug for the kitchen ... and we played and they danced round and round. ... And I’ll never forget, next morning - we never noticed it at the time - next morning, there was nothing left but black. They wore the whole top off.”

Through the years, Ola Belle wrote many songs about her Appalachian past and her commitment to family traditions, religious values, and social justice.

In 1978, the University of Maryland awarded her with an honorary doctorate of letters for her contributions to the arts and culture of Maryland and the United States. She was also recognized for her historical and musical contributions by The Smithsonian Institute, The Library of Congress and The Country Music Association.

She died in 2002, only one day shy of her 86th birthday.

Her musical prowess has been recognized by the nation’s top cultural and social institutions including the Smithsonian, the National Endowment of the Arts, as well as many other organizations, the Ola Belle Reed Homecoming Festival’s Web site stated.

She was also recently inducted into the Washington Area Musicians Association Hall of Fame. Over the course of her prestigious musical career, Belle has recorded over 200 songs including “High on a Mountain” and “I’ve Endured.”

Reed’s notoriety as a musician was later epitomized in the Ola Belle Reed Homecoming Festival which is held annually in Lansing. The festival has showcased popular folk music groups including the Ola Belle Reed Family, the Grayson Highlands Band, J.C. Kemps and Friends, and the Elkville String Band along with many other popular acts. Musical workshops, led by performing artists, have helped provide some musical instruction to aspiring musicians. Basically, the festival is part of a fundraiser under the Greater Lansing Area Development which is geared toward the revitalization of the downtown area.

Reed’s legacy will be joined by that of Nationally Known Artist Ralph and Carter Stanley, Songwriter Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith, Sideman and Regional Musician Eric Ellis, Recording Industry honoree Mike Seeger and Gospel recognized recipient The Primitive Quartet in the hall of fame.

According to the Wilkes Heritage Museum’s Web site, the BRHOF is a project under the museum and Old Wilkes Inc. and is geared toward showcasing and preserving the rich musical tradition of the Appalachian Mountains from Northern Georgia to Northern Virginia. The Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame is under the auspices of the Wilkes Heritage where it is housed. The museum is located at 100 E Main St in Wilkesboro, a press release stated. The induction ceremony will be held June 12 at The Walker Center on the campus of Wilkes Community College. Tickets may be purchased online at www.walkercenteronline.org or by phone at (336) 838-6260.

For more information on the life and work of Ola Belle Reed please visit www.olabellefest.com.