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Page 1
This is an interview with Mrs. Ollie Blackburn at
Todd by Joy Lamm for the Appalachian Oral History Project
on March 9, 1973.
Q:
I already introduced you, but you might tell us
how old you are and how long you've been living
here.
A:
Well I was reared in Watauga County.
Q:
Were you?
A:
Right up here.
What part of Watauga County?
Todd was our post office, but we
'uz back up where that girl's camp is.
Do you
know where it is up the creek there as you come
down here"?
I don't guess you do.
Q:
Interlaken?
A:
Yeah, we lived right on up the creek there.
where I grew up.
family.
JN
That's
there was twelve of us in the
One died when he was little.
Daddy raised eleven of us.
Momma 'n
Seven girls 'n three
boys.
Q:
When were you born?
A:
I was born in 1&92.
Q:
That sounds like a long time to some of us.
A:
Does sound like a long time to young folks, but it
�2.
don't seem so long to me.
Don't seem like it's been
near as long as it has been.
Q:
So did you always live in this part of the . . .?
A:
I grew up there 'n then after I got out a school,
I left 'n went down to Cherryville, Worth Carolina.
I'se engaged to Ed when the war come on.
to the war.
He volunteered 'n went on.
' /fe went
' 'Tlien I
went to Cherryville 'n worked till he came back.
Got married, 'n then we"' moved to Virginia.
lived in Virginia.
We
But when we were growing up,
we didn't have things like we have now in the mountain.
I've helped my Daddy roll logs, 'n if we'd saved
our timber till a few years back we'd a been a
millionaire.
But we just rolled our timber up 'n down
in the valley 'n set fire to it when it got dry 'n
just burnt it all away up the valley.
Q:
When you were clearing out the pasture - land?
A:,: When we were clearing our land up there, yes.
Just
had about an acre of clear land when my daddy built the
house on the land.
a man.
He had 57 acres.
I worked like
Daddy when he'd start to work, he'd say,
"Come on, boys.
Let's go to work."
We didn't have
no boys until all the seven girls was grown.
we had any boys.
Q:
And then they had the three boys?
Before
�3.
A:
Yes, had three boys.
I don't know anything in the
world to tell about how I grew up.
We just worked for
a livin.
Q:
One of the things I was interested in was whether
girls were treated differently than boys when you were
growing up.
A:
Well, not that I know of.
Q:
Did you go to school just like
A:
We went to school just like the boys, exactly. 'N
we all played together at school.
have any colored people.
Of course we didn't
There's never been any colored
people lived right around here.
My grand-daddies,
on both sides, I guess, had slaves, ya know.
stayed with 'em after they was freed.
But they
They stayed with
'em till they died.
Q:
They did have slaves.
Where did they get their
slaves?
A:
Well, I don't know.
I guess they bought 'em.
I don't
know.
Q:
Did you ever hear any stories about
A:
No, I never did hear any stories, but I used to go to
my great grand-daddies'.
them?
I mentioned my
�grand-daddy, but they lived with my great grand*-daddy
ya know.
An old colored man lived there"n an old
colored lady was there.
We used to love 'em just like
we loved the white people.
We never thought about
pushin 'em around or anything.
I mean their children did.
But they soon left.
There used to be a liauor
still just about a half a mile, I guess, from our house.
Maybe a mile from our house.
People went 'n bought
their liouor from the still.
It was government still
then, ya know.
Q:
How long did it stay in operation?
A:
Well
it went out 'a operation in a little while after-
I must have been about 12 years old when he cult.
don't know whether it 'uz outlawed then or not
ouit.
But he had the still.
I
why he
My daddy used to bring
liouor in a peck bucket f n they'd drink it with a dipper.
Q:
Did your daddy help make it then?
A:
No, he wouldn't make it at all, but he;d buy it.
bought it for a long time.
ouit buying it.
He got saved though 'n
We used to go to parties.
People
loved each other better then than they do now.
they were closer.
He
Neighbors were closer.
I mean
�Q:
Why do you think that was?
A:
Well. I don't know why.
There's just so much more
to be Interested in, I guess, than they was then.
But we'd maybe all the whole family'd go to a
neighbor's house.
We'd play games that night
till midnight and come home and go to bed.
Sometimes
we'd go to one of the homes 'n have a da,nce.
daddy played.
My granddaddy played the violin 'n
my daddy played the banjo.
nicked the banjo too.
Q:
My
One a my neighbors
We had plenty of music.
Would all the little children 'n everything join
in?
A:
Yeah, they'd go with us.
Well, everybody'd just
have a good time.
Q:
What kind of games did you play?
A:
Well- we just played dancing games.
partner, ya know.
a Dartner.
Steal your
We'd get in .the corners 'n get
And we wanted another partner we'd dance
over to this one 'n take it away from that one.
it 'uz really fun.
Oh
(laughter)
Q:
Did the girls steal partners from the . . . .?
A:
Yeah, the girls would steal the boy 'n the boys the
�6.
girls, ya see.
Q:
That could get pretty wild.
A:
Then we'd go back to our corner, but by the time we
got back somebody 'ud be stealin our partner again.
That's really a game that's fun.
of the time.
We had to work.
We worked most
Not many of the girls
in our community had to work like we did in our
family 'cause we didn't have no boys.
just like boys.
We had to work
But we got along good.
We all loved
each other 'n love each other right on.
One brother
died when he was thirty-some years old.
And he's
the only one of the family that's died.
Q:
Do the rest of them still live around here?
A:
No. I'm the only one that lives in this community.
They're scattered.
Some of 'em live in Gaston County
'n some in Avery County.
Q:
When you were going to school or when you were growin
up were you taught that women had a certain place in
life?
A:
No.
Never heard tell of such a thing.(laughter)
Q:
Really?
Did you have any kind of ambition of what
you wanted to do with your life?
�7
A:
Oh, I wanted to be a nurse.
be a nurse.
All my life I wanted to
But we didn't have money enough, and
we's back in the sticks
n I couldn't start out here
on a wagon or a. buggy to go to Winston or Charlotte
or somewhere to get a job.
I didn't go.
But
they got the college at Boone "n a lot of our people
went to school and got a good education.
I went
to a church school over at Valle Crucis.
Q:
Well
that was ouite a trip, wasn't it?
Did you
live over there?
A:
No,
We went in a steer wagon over there one time.
When we got over there, we had a good time.
But
my sister, (she went with me), she got homesick she
ran a.way 'n come home.
. years there.
I liked it.
I stayed three
It was an industrial school, ya know.
They taught us to do everything.
Taught us to make
walks around the houses, the school rooms, from
one dormitory to the other.
They just taught us how
to do lots of things that workin people had to do.
I learned a lot. didn't learn too much in books. I
don't guess.
Q:
How old were you when you went to school over there?
A:
I'se 16.
�Q:
And how long did you stay?
A:
I stayed 3 years.
Q:
And so that was really kind of like a college.
I
mean it was after your regular schools.
A:
Yes.
Q:
Where there boys and girls together?
A:
Yes, no, they just kept girls.
school.
It 'uz a girls
But they had day students that came in.
They had boys in the day school.
There wasn't no
boys that board there.
Q:
Did they teach you anything about nursing?
A:
They taught us first aid, 'n things like that.
About what they teach in the elementary school now
They taught us how to sew, how to embroider, how to
keep a clean house.
'N it don't look like I learned
much, does it?(laughter)
Q:
Well did you date fellows when you were in school
over there?
A:
Yeah.
Every/time a fellow 'ud come 'n wanna date us
we'd date 'em.
in a while.
We didn't get to date only just onc>e
We'd have from seven o'clock till nine
�9
of the evening to entertain our boy friends.
Our
boyfriends could come see us of the day and we'd go
take a walk.
a. buggy.
We didn't have nothing to ride in. but
We'd take a buggy ride once in a while.
Wadn't no cars then.
Just about the year I guess
that I left, why cars began to pass.
Q:
I wanted to ask you your opinion on some things and
then I'd like to talk to you some more about your
past.
Well, maybe I'll ask you this first.
How long
did you and Reverend Ed court before you were married?
A:
Eleven years.
Q:
Eleven?
A:
That's the reason he's all the time telling us we
My Lord.
got no business a being in a hurry.
Q:
Did y'all live in the same community?
A:
Yes.
Just about two and a half miles from here to
my house.
Q:
How old were you when you got married?
A:
Twenty-five.
Q:
Was there any special reason why you waited so long?
A:
Well
I didn't wanna get married 'n I don't guess
he did.
He must not because he went - a.fter we
�1Q
were engaged we were to be married.
Well, we hadn't
set any date when he volunteered for the army.
'N he changed his mind when he went - or he tells
that.
He stayed over in France 'n he got to be
an alcoholic.
He was a drunkard, he wasn't an
alcoholic, but he drank.
'N he liked it so good
over there - those girls, ya know, those pretty
French girls - he thought he wanted to live there
forever.
He tells that tale now.
When he got dis-
charged, he wanted to come home, ya know.
knew he wouldn't a gonna be happy.
But he
That he 'uz goin
back over there just as quick as - I don't know,
3 months I guess, leave they got - discharged 'n
then if they'd re-enlist before they came out that
they could have that long a time to go back.
aimed to go back he said.
He
But I was at Cherryville
when he came home 'n he wrote me a card from New
York - he knew I was at Cherryville - 'n told me to
be at home 'n what time he'd be at home, ya know.
I wrote 'n told him that I'd not be at home, I wasn't
gonna hunt him up.
wanted to come.
He could come after me if he
So I just stayed down there.
So
he did, quick as he got home - he spent one night
at home 'n here he come on down there.
married down there.
We got
�133.
Q:
Very shortly after that?
A:
The very next day after he come home.
Q:
The next day?
A:
The next day after he come out a the war.
Q:
And he never did get back to France?
A:
No.
He didn't go back."
He said after he seen me
he *uz contented to stay with me.
up in the pulpit.
He tells that
He preaches to these men, ya
know, about treatin their wives right, about lovin
their wiy.es.
'N he tells 'em if they love'em like
they ought to t.hat.
, «n then he tells that,
ya know, how when he saw me, he didn't wanna go
back to France.
But that 'uz just a tale he told.
So we moved from here then after we got married.
We moved to West Virginia, but he was sick with
T.B. when they discharged him from the army.
I
guess we lived in Virginia two years "n he had to
quit work there.
The doctors told him to go out
in the open 'n fish 'n hunt 'n rest.
Q:
Is that when he went in the Baptist Hospital?
A:
No.
He's sick.
in the Veteran's Hospital a year.
He stayed
A year and four
days, I think, that he'uz in the Veteran's Hospital
before they discharged him.
touch of it since.
But he's n^ver had a
�12.
Q:
When you all got married did you kinda divide up the
chores?
A:
Well, I helped him do everything that he had to do
'n he helped me.
wash dishes.
He helped me do everything except
He didn't wanna wash disheis 'n he
don't yet hardly.
He'll pile the dished up to the top
of the sink 'fore he'll wash 'em. (laughter)
Q:
What are some of the things that he helped ya do?
A:
.Things he helped me do?
Well, he'd make up our bed
every mornin when we got up 'n always made the fires
n 1 started the stove to cook.
He swept the livin
room 'n the kitchen 'n the dinin room nearly everytime.
He's always helped me.
field with him.
'N then I'd go to the
When we got our work done here I'd
go and help set out cabbage.
Q:
So he'd help you get everything done and then you all
would go together.
A:
Yes.
If we had to make a fence why I'd go with him
'n make a fence.
Q:
That must have been wonderful to be together like
that.
A:
It was wonderful.
We've had a wonderful life, 'n
we didn't either one kill ourself with work.
�13.
Q:
Were you raised to believe that you should share all
your tasks?
A:
Sure.
My mother always did it.
Q:
Your mother and father used to work together like that?
A:
Yes.
Well, my daddy, I don't guess he ever washed the
dishes even when Mama was in the bed.
help her do anything of her work.
He never did
But I was the
oldest child of the twelve 'n I had a lot 'a that to
do.
They were married in 1$90.
Maybe a year later.
I was born in 1$92.
Q:
Was your husband raised in a different kind of family
where the husband did help his wife in the home?
I
mean did his ma and daddy do like you all?
A:
I don't know.
Ed's mother never worked out anywhere,
done any 'a his work except milk the cows.
had four or five cows to milk.
They always
She always helped him
milk the cows.
Q:
Well don't you think that helps people stay close together when they work together like that?
A:
Sure.
This here woman a goin this way to work 'n man a
goin that way to work, comin in 'n the woman give tee
totally out when she comes in.
Why, my gosh.
see how people take it. (laughter)
I don't
�14.
Q:
Well, you're describing me.
I don't know how they
do either.
A:
No.
I don't see how they - I think they get farther
'n farther apart.
We have to counsel with people -
just everyday or two we have people comin.
The man
or the woman one- or the children a comin to us 'n
tellin us they just can't make it any longer the way
they do.
The husband will
come 'n the wife's come
in before him maybe 'n dressed again'n gone somewhere
with the children.
'N the man comes in - Well, I
went the other day, they called us to come to a
home 'n when we got there the man was sittin there
eatin some applesauce 'n bread, I reckon - no
cookie, it 'uz a Graham cracker.
he had for supper.
for supper.
Now that's what
He told me that 'uz what he had
They don't have any home life.
think the place for women is in the home.
I
I know -
in a few cases, I think, it'd be all right for the
woman to work - where the husband 'uz dead or an
invalid or somethin.
Maybe he wasn't quite an
invalid, but he 'uz able to take care of the
children while she worked, 'n they could get along
'n love each c.ther like they ought to.
ya, it's destroyin the world.
People tell me they
can't live without they all work.
enough.
But, I tell
Can't make
�.15,
(At this point on the tape, Mr. Blackburn comes
into the room and makes a comment about working in
the mines.)
Q:
Did you work in the mines?
A:
I used to.
Q:
Where did you work?
A:
Oh, Kentucky 'n Virginia, West Virginia.
Q:
Did you really?
A:
I did for years.
Q:
Where in Kentucky and Virginia?
A:
At Jenkins.
Q:
Well I've got to talk to you^.about that .sometime
because I've got<friends over in Pippa Passes,
which is in Knott County, pretty close to Jenkins.
A:
Yeah.
Jenkins is in Letcher County.
Q:
When were you workin in the mines?
A:
Oh, I've forgotten, honey.
It's been so long.
(Mrs. B.) He went to the mines when we got married
That's where we bought our home in Virginia.
Coeburn, Virginia.
�16,
Q:
Oh, you worked in Coeburn then?
A:
Yes, we bought our home there'n lived there till we
had 2 children.
Q:
I'd really like to talk to y'all about this.
point, a neighbor arrives.
(At this
Several minutes of the tape
is conversation between the Blackburns and their
neighbor.
Comment is made about A.S.U.)
(Mr.) I used to sell meal to the college at Boone.
Q:
Did you grind the meal?
A:
(Mre)' I did grind it.
Bought the corn-big trailer
loads-'n ground it 'n sold it to 'em.
I'd go up 'n
sell 'em meal 'n eat dinner with 'em.
Q:
Where was your mill?
A:
It was over at Todd.
Todd used to be a big place.
Railroads 'n banks 'n drug stores.
(Mrs.) Washed away.
(Mr.) Used to be a railroad in here, darlin.
Q:
Is that what brought in the drug
A:
That's what brought it in.
here.
stores and banks?
We had numbers of stores
It's what broke us up.
Come in 'n hauled
everything off we had 'n left us sittin high 'n dry.
Q:
What did they haul off?
�17,
A:
Lumber, all of our fine lumber.
(Mrs.) Tannin bark, stove wood . . . .
(Mr.) Yeah, everything we had. Left us sittin dry.
(Mrs.) Came in on us like the mining business,
Q:
Did ya not get fair prices?
A:
(Mr.) Yeah, I guess.
No, not fair.
dollar meant something then.
But you know a
Now we get eighteen,
twenty, twenty-two dollars a day for workin.
We
worked ten hours 'n got a dollar 'n a half.
150
an hour.
Q:
Did you have the great big old trees?
A:
(Mrs.) Oh mercy.
(Mr.) Four foot through, darlin.
around.
'N twelve foot
Oh, chestnuts, ya know, in piles. Big,
brown chestnuts.
Q:
Chestnuts would grow that big?
A:
(Mr.) Oh, yes ma'am.
Four foot across 'em.
I can
take ya up here on our land and show ya chestnut
stumps that's four feet across.
Couldn't saw 'em.
The saw 'uz so big they'd have to saw down this way 'n
turn 'em in.
Honey, ya can't understand.
(Mrs.)
Alec, his daddy, 'ud be a millionaire if he had that
timber to sell now, that he sold off 'a this place here.
�18.
Q:
Do you know the name of the company or companies?
A:
(Mr.) It was the J. Walter Wright Lumber Company in
Mountain City, Tennessee.
In Bristol, really.
they was other companies in here.
bought a lot of the lumber.
an individual.
any company.
'N
Mr. Charlie Steele
He's from Lenoir.
He's just
So far as I know he didn't go by
He just went by his own personal name,
but he bought lots 'a timber.
Q:
Well now, when was this?
A:
Oh, I don't know.
in
In '24 (Neighbor) Train come up here
1916.
Q:
And when did it go out?
A:
(Neighbor) Did it go out in '36?
(Mr.) I don't know.
(Neighbor) Wasn't it 20 years it 'uz supposed to run?
Q:
So it went through part of the Depression then, didn't
it?
It kept running?
A:
(Mrs.) Yes.
Q:
Well what did they use the wood for?
A:
(Mr.) No.
Do you know?
They'd extract, make tanning acid. Took
it over here to Damascus 'n ground it up 'n made acid out
of it. Make moccasins . . . .
�19.
(Mrs.) Take cowhides 'n all kind 'a hides 'n made
shoes.
We could 'a been rich in this country if
we hadn't loved our dirt so good we wouldn't sell
nobody an acre of it.
SIDE II
Q:
Would you have wanted the furniture factories here?
A:
(Mr.) Yeah, I guess I would have wanted 'em in them
days 'n would 'a still would, I guess.
Q:
Would you want to give up you land?
A:
(Mr.) No. I wouldn't give 'em a inch.
I guess.
the way it is.
(Mrs.) That's
That's the way everybody felt about
it.
Q:
I get so concerned.
I guess particularly since I
never had a place, and to be able to see this land
and to see it going.
A:
(Mr.) You love it, honey?
Q:
Oh, yes.
The fact that it's all being built on,
and bulldozed down.
A:
Once its gone, its gone.
(Mr.) It's gone forever, little girl.
Mama 'n me
'uz trying to keep our little piiot here for our
children.
We got five children.
We just got
27 acres, but we hope we can keep it.
�20.,
(Mrs.)
so what?
Q:
Are all your children still around here?
A:
(Mrs.) No.
One of 'em lives in Ashe County.
One
lives in Abingdon, Virginia; one in Virginia Beach,
Virginia; one in Moorestown, New Jersey; and one
in Cherryville.
Q:
Do they feel about land like you do?
A:
(Mr.) Feel worse than we do.
(Mrs.) Law, they're
worse than us about this mountain land.
(Mr.) I
told my little daughter, I said,"I can sell our land
now 'n divide upp the money 'n Ma 'n me go to the
rest home."
'N our little daughter 'said, "Not a
spoonful 'a mine ' 1 be sold."
1
Didn't wanna sell
a spoonful.
Q:
So they hope to come back here?
A:
They're plannin on comin back.
Our little boy-
lives in Virginia Beach- he'll soon be retirin.
He's a printer for the United States government.
'N we've got a little boy in Cherryville.
for Carolina Freight.
He drives
He hadn't got many more years
'n he wants to come back.
They wanna come back now.
'N our little daughter in New Jtersey -she's a librarian.
She's got a model librarian/ I don't know what
-" you'd call it' where teahcers come in.
She teaches
�21,
them.
'N our little daughter in Ashe Gounry -she
married a sanitarian -she teaches school.
Ma 'n
me's SO years old, 'n I'm a preacher 'n she's my helper.
Q:
Well that's what we were talkin about.
I thought
it was so wonderful the way she said you all did
things together here in the house then you would go
out 'n work together.
A:
She asked me what I thought - if back when we were young
'n able to work - what I thought about the people that
leave home goin off to work, women out 'a the home again
to work.
I told her it had ruined the country.
It has.
(Mr.) If they'd come home 'n stay at home I'd get me a
job.
(Mrs.) You've got a job. One that keeps ya busy 24
hours a day. That's the truth.
(Neighbor leaves)
Q:
Let me ask you something that you do know a lot about,
and that's raising children.
you're a good mother?
How do you know when
What do you think it takes to be
a good mother?
A:
(Mrs) Well, I couldn't tell you that.
I've never
been one. (laughter)
Q:
How do you know if you're raising your children right?
�22.
A:
(Mrs.) Well, ya don't.
(Mr.) That's easy.
'em.
Get the Book 'n read the Bible to
Ya don't know if they'll take it, but that's
the way we raised ours.
Niarly every night, read the
Bible 'n prayed with 'em, put 'em to bed. 'N God sent
'em all out to good jobs.
fine people.
All
All have good jobs 'n all
Christian people.
At home they'll
pray with us.
(Mrs.) I had to paddle some of 'em pretty much.
didn't never do Ben any good.
I had to use a good switbh
on him. He'd do anything in the world.
psychology on that fellow.
wife has to.
Spanking
You had to use
'N you have to now.
His
I'd give him a whippin, but I can see now
if 'a had time to have been reasonable, 'n reasoned
with him 'n let him understood what it meant to be a
doin that, why I think I could 'a done more with him.
But when I'd get through whippin him he'd say, "Now
go to the church 'n shout tonight!"
Lots of others
would 'a thought 'Law, I've plum ruined him now. I
know I've ruined him.'
'N I'd say, "Well honey, I'll
have to because I know that I've done my duty."
'N that'd settle him down.
Q:
Well do people raise children differently today?
A:
(Mrs.) Well, the children raise their parents now, the
way I see it.
�23,
Q:
What do you mean by that?
A:
(Mrs.) Well, they just do what the children say.
(Mr*) Ma 'n me 'uz the boss among our babies till
they's married.
Sweethearts 'ud come here 'n I'd
say, "You boys goin to church?
church.
We're goin to
You can go to church or sit here till we
get back.
My girls is a goin to church this mornin."
'N they'd usually go.
big jobs.
Now they're nice men with
One of 'ems worth a million dollars
'n come 'n hear me preach.
a fine job.
'N the other un's got
'N the other 'uns a aeronautical
engineer for the United Stated government.
Q:
Really?
One of your boys?
A:
No. One of my son-in-laws.
Honey, we raised 'em —
we's just Christians 'n we just worked with'em 'n
told 'em what they ought to do 'n we prayed with 'em
three times a day.
They got along good.
trouble with the law.
No
Married lovely girls.
Look's like God's made 'em rich.
Q:
Did you take them with you?
A:
I took 'em to.church.
I didn't send 'em.
Thank
God, I'd gather 'em up 'n take 'em.
Q:
I mean, did you take them with you when you were
working?
�24.
A:
(Mr.) Go on preaching tours?
Kept 'em 'n bedded era
down, honey, on the church bench.
(Mrs.) Gene says he's raised under a church bench.
(Laughter)
(Mr.) We took 'em, darlin.
Just -
(Mrs.) It 'uz a good place to raise 'em.
(Mr.) We took our babies to church, 'n they honor
us for it now.
Q:
Well were there certain things that you felt like were
your duty, and certain things that you felt like were
yours in raising the children?
A:
(Mr.) Yeah.
I felt like it was our duty to raise 'em
so they could
(Mrs.) Well, I never criticized Daddy if he corrected
'em and he never criticized me, either.
'N I never
did threaten 'em with their daddy, like a lot 'a people
did.
A lot 'a people did
in my time, when they's
rearin their children, they'd threaten 'em to tell their
daddy when he come home what they'd been a doin or
how they'd done.
I never did do that.
I never would.
Children have to have a boss, 'cause when you get out
in the world you're gonna have a boss or you're gonna
have your own business 'n ya have to control yourself
with that.
'N if you never learn to ."abide by rules,
it's hard to teach people when they get grown to abide
by certain regulations.
My daddy taught me that.
thought he's awful rough on us, but he 'uz a pretty
We
�25,
good daddy.
He didn't abuse us a tall or in any way,
but he laid the law down.
He meant what he said 'n
we just learned that he meant what he said.
I've
often said that that's how I learned to trust the
Lord 'n obey the Lord.
'Cause the Lord's supposed to
talk to you, ya know, lead you, and I had learned
obedience at home.
If you learn to obey when you're
young, it's not hard to do when you get old, when
you're grown.
Q:
That's right.
A:
(Mrs.) A lot 'a children now never learned obedience.
(Mr.) Ollie's brother-a little boy about 9 years
old - his daddy told him to do something
fn
upset 'n he went out 'n slammed the door.
said,"Jim, come back in.
door."
it kindly
'N his father
Now go out 'n shut the
Jim went out again 'n slammed the door again.
'N he made come back 'n open the door 'n close it 7
times, till he learned to close it nice 'n mild.
Seven times, closed it so nice 'n sensible.
God.
Thank
Made him come back 'n close it 7 times before he
ever got it settled down, (laughter)
(Mrs.) He hadn't forgotten it yet.
(Mr.) No. He'll all the time close the door nice.
(laughter)
I .heard somebody preachin that.
Didn't you
Ollie, the other night?
(Mrs.) Yeah, just somewhere.
(Mr.) Yeah, learnin how to close the door.
thought about that.
'N I
�26.
(Mrs.) Said it's your personality, ya know, by the
way you closed the door.
(Mr.) 'N that lady said- she visited homes, ya know,
that she wasn't wanted by the way they shut the
door.
Q:
A lot of these questions that I wanted to ask you I
almost know
the answers to from talking to ya'll.
One that I was kind of interested in was what was the
most important thing that you remember your mother
teaching you?
Is there anything that she taught you that
really helped you, you know, in your life?
A:
(Mrs.) Yes, it wouldn't mean nothin to anybody else,
but Mama believed in bein born again, of the Spirit.
'N she believed with all her heart that ya had to be
born again, 'n so when I started off to school- well,
when I was gettin ready to go - I hadn't never been
born again.
'N she says, "Children, I don't want 'cha
to go over there till ya get saved.
saved 'n know the Lord before ya go."
I want cha to be
'N she said,
"I'm afraid, if you's to go over there, they'd
get ya
in that church that don't believe in bein born again."
That 'uz the Episcopal church.
remembered that.
And, so I always
She never taught us much about
religion, but she was interested.
�27.
Q:
What did she mean by being born again?
A:
(Mrs.) That's committing yourself to the Saviour,
accepting his salvation , 'n knowing that you have
accepted it, because that's what we have to do.
Jesus come to redeem, so we have to accept that
salvation 'n I hadn't never accepted it, 'n didn't
know for myself that Jesus died for me, ya see.
'N when I realized that I'se lost because I hadn't
never accepted the salvation he made for us. 'N
that's what she was afraid of.
She was afraid that I'd
go on all my life, ya know, like a lot 'a people do,
'n think because they join the church they're
saved.
'N that's what I mean by bein born again.
Daddy
might could explain it better.
(Mr.) No, I couldn't.
Lord, honey.
know.
Becoming a new creature in the
That's it.
Dangerous drunkard.
mines.
I used to be a drunkard! ya
Carried liquor in the
It's a miracle of God I didn't blow
'em
square
Q: Did you really?
A:
(Mr.) Sure, in the place 'a takin water I'd take in
liquor.
The night boss didn't know it, ya know.
We all took water, ya know, in the bottom of our
buckets.
it.
Had to.
It 'uz the only place we could get
'N I'd take liquor in the place of water.
in there all day, three miles underground.
Worked
�ad.
I crimped 10 thousand dynamite caps.
Stick 'em on the end 'n fuse em.
'N if I'd a missed a thousandeth part of an inch I'd
a blown my head off.
(Mrs.) Ya ought 'a known better than that.
(Mr.) I'se careless.
Q:
I want to come back and talk to you about your
experiences in the mines.
I've got a whole lot 'a
questions I've been wanting to ask somebody.
A:
(Mr.) Bless ya, honey.
I'se young, ya know, 'n
God wouldn't bother me to preach I'd go back.I
love to work in the mines.
interesting things in there.
Oh, there's so many
Find anything on
earth you's looking for. Picture of anything you'd
want.
Oh trees 'n all kinds of plants, 'n just
anything.
Animals, 'n bears, find a lot of bears.
'N all kinds of little trees 'n beautiful ferns
in the top, ya know.
And oh just anything,
(Mrs.) 'N that coal.
(Mrs.) You come back
anytime ya wanna come back
little darlin, but let me tell ya somethin.
You can
find so many nice people that can tell ya so many
more things than Uncle Ed can, 'n you'd better
go'n see them.
I can just tell ya about how mean
I used to be, 'n how I game to the Lor$.
And instantly
�29.
he took all this drinkin 'n all this cursin away
from me, 'n I became a new creature.
'N from that
day till this its never come back on me.
a soldier of God ever since.
'n used to be a curser.
Used to be a drunkard
That's all I done.
do somethin nice for ya.
made
me a new creature.
I been
Thank God.
The bfoange
Old things
passed away, 'n behold, all things became newt
what little Ma means about bein born again.
(Mrs.) That's what Mama meant.
That's
I guess.
(Mr.) What we done now, little darlin - anybody
will do for a Christian 'n anybody can be a Christian
if they will be.
But we got to get started to be
a Christian. Tore God ' 1 ever take us to heaven.
1
You've got to meet the Lord for yourself, 'n when
you meet him you'll always be a different creature.
Bless ya.
You've done met him as far I know.
Q:
Yeah.
A:
(Mr.)'Bless ya.
Come back any time you want to.
(Prayer) Father in heaven, we're shocked to find
this\Little girl, Mrs. Lamm, a little darlin.
Itttle enough to be in high school.
Just
And little
Alec, our little boy, was here. And they said
they's interested in comin back 'n talkin to us.
Oh Father, if they
ever come back to our house again
�30.
may they feel just like coming home.
come to Uncle Ed
fn
When they
Aunt Ollie*s house, may it seem so
good and so restful that they just felt like God had
taken 'em in, 'n they had a home away from home.
Bless us all, 'n help us to be good 'n nice 'n quiet
'n sensible.
Always minding our own business.
Always
looking for some place to help somebody who needs
help.
Always kind, always gentle, always willin to
go the second mile, always willin to turn the other cheek
when men don't like us, not pick it up 'n turn it over
again, just leave 'em alone, 'n love 'em so good we'll
kill 'em on pure love.
Bless little Alec 'n his darlin
daddy 'n mamma, this little girl's husband 'n what she
does in life.
Make her great, God.
In Jesus' name
help her to see that her 'n God can do anything they
want, God.
Thank God.
Help 'em to see how big God
is 'n what He'll do for us if we'll just trust Him,
in all of our paths.
We send 'em away today with
the blessings of the Lord on 'em.
Amen 'n amen.
�
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Appalachian Oral History Project Interviews
Description
An account of the resource
In 1973, representatives from Appalachian State University (ASU) began the process of collecting interviews from Watauga, Avery, Ashe, and Caldwell county citizens to learn about their respective lives and gather stories. From the outset of the project, the interviewers knew that they were reaching out to the “last generation of Appalachian residents to reach maturity before the advent of radio, the last generation to maintain an oral tradition.” The goal was to create a wealth of data for historians, folklorists, musicians, sociologists, and anthropologists interested in the Appalachian Region.
The project was known as the “Appalachian Oral History Project” (AOHP), and developed in a consortium with Alice Lloyd College and Lees Junior College (now Hazard County Community College) both in Kentucky, Emory and Henry College in Virginia, and ASU. Predominately funded through the National Endowment for the Humanities, the four schools by 1977 had amassed approximately 3,000 interviews. Each institution had its own director and staff. Most of the interviewers were students.
Outgrowths of the project included the Mountain Memories newsletter that shared the stories collected, an advisory council, a Union Catalog, photographs collected, transcripts on microfilm, and the book Our Appalachia. Out of the 3,000 interviews between the three schools, only 663 transcripts were selected to be microfilmed. In 1978, two reels of microfilm were made available with 96 transcripts contributed by ASU.
An annotated index referred to as The Appalachian Oral History Project Union Catalog was created to accompany the microfilm. The catalog is broken down into five sections starting with a subject topic index such as Civilian Conservation Corps, Coal Camps, Churches, etc. The next four sections introduced the interviewees by respective school. There was an attempt to include basic biographic information such as date of birth, location, interviewer name, length of interview, and subjects discussed. However, this information was not always consistent per school.
This online project features clips from the interviews, complete transcripts, and photographs. The quality and consistency of the interviews vary due to the fact that they were done largely by students. Most of the photos are missing dates and identifying information.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Collection 111. Appalachian Oral History Project Records, 1965-1989
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1965-1989
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Scanned by
Wetmore, Dana
Equipment
Hp Scanjet 8200
Scan date
2014-02-19
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Ollie Blackburn, March 9, 1973
Description
An account of the resource
Ollie Blackburn was born in Watauga County, North Carolina in 1892. She attended an all girls church school in Valle Crucis when she was 16, after she had a general education. She then lived in Cherryville, North Carolina and Coeburn, Virginia at one point.
Mrs. Blackburn explains doing chores around the house and the different activities her family would participate in as a child. She then describes her education and how she met her husband through courting. Mrs. Blackburn's husband is also in the interview, and they about how they got married and moved to different places. While talking about marriage, they explain their theories on raising a family. Mr. Blackburn ends the interview talking discussing his personal experience working in the mines in Kentucky and Virginia.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Lamm, Joy
Blackburn, Ollie
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<a title="Appalachian Oral History Project Interviews, 1965-1989" href="https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/195" target="_blank">Appalachian Oral History Project Interviews, 1965-1989</a>
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
3/9/1973
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright for the interviews on the Appalachian State University Oral History Collection site is held by Appalachian State University. The interviews are available for free personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that proper citation is used (e.g. Appalachian State Collection 111. Appalachian Oral History Project Records, 1965-1989, W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection, Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC). Any commercial use of the materials, without the written permission of the Appalachian State University, is strictly prohibited.
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
30 pages
Language
A language of the resource
English
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
document
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
111_tape35_OllieBlackburn_1973_03_09M001
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Todd, NC
Subject
The topic of the resource
Watauga County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--19th century
Watauga County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--20th century
Virginia--Social life and customs--20th century
Kentucky--Social life and customs--20th century
Cherryville
Kentucky
mining
Virginia