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MR . & MRS • ALLEN TOWNSEND
(Note.
Q:
Here the answere are from Mrs. Townsend)
What do you first r emember about the Depression?
How did you lmow it had
starte ?
A:
Well, food always- got so high .
It looked like you didn ' t have enough money
to go cwound, I guess , and you just got the notions of things like that .
Q.
Were you not liVli:ng somewhere w
here you could make your own food?
Did you
have to but it . ?
Ai
It's been for a few years that now at first we raised our own food and , you .
know, we had our own chickens and raised our own meat like that , but then we jus t
couldn 1 t do that so we 1 d just have to have money to buy it .
to work .
I ' ve worked myself to death .
Then Allen got unable
You know, with young ' uns you just can ' t
get out to do.
Q:
Was there anything besides the high prices that you knew that the Depression
was starting?
A:
Well, I re
ot .
It was just everything, you lmow , seemed different and a
shortage of everything .
Q:
What were sane of the things that you, that were hard to get, find , or buy?
A:
Well , I just don •t lmow.
Se emed like that we didn 1 t have much of anything
or couldn ' t get much of anything or something .
Back then there just wasn ' t much
work for anybody to do and we lived in Ashe County at that time .
awfully sick
just coul
1
t
d she had double pneumonia .
.. d1y g t to the doctor .
My mother was
She was going to die and , you lmow,
At that time it was hard .
daddy worked , on a school .gym at Fleet wood and he had to walk .
He worked ,
It ' s four miles
�2
there and
our miles back .
o ' clock in the mornin
~o
That's ei
t
Ue
get there in time .
got back and he was always so give out .
a
and he had to leave at four
It was alw
after dark when he
We young ' µns woul
ork in the crops
So , we cut wood ta make hea:b
around there at hane and we had to cut firewood o
and bad to carry our own water, for a right smart ways .
They couldn ' t hardly
make enough to buy soap and Mama would make ho.memade soap ; make it in a big
kettle to wash our clothes with .
Q:
What kind of crops did you raise?
A:
W
ell, we raised about everything that they could raise .
We raised potatoes ,
corn, cabbage, and we'd make corn bread out of the corn that we raised and we ' d
make what you call himiney out of it and then we canned a lot of stuff .
we dried apples .
Then
I can remember Mama drying a pumpkin, cutting it in rings and
hanging it on sticks over the fireplace to dry.
Q:
What did she do with them .
A:
Take it and cook it .
Make pumpkin pies for us to eat and dry apples and make
dried apple pies .
Q.
So , did you have enough to eat then at this t
A:
W
ell, we had plenty to eat, I reckon, and the way we managed it , you know,
'l
had to do the same thing .
Q.
Did you have to buy anything?
Was there anything that you had to buy'l
Well, there were a lot of people that raised wheat that made their own flour ,
but we ddidn ' t raise any wheat, so we had to buy our own flour , you know, and sugar .
The salt and stuff, fix something to eat and they used to be something like
chicory that people would raise to be a plant .
It would grow in great long roots
�3
and they called it chicory and people would dry that and grind i t up and make
coffee, chicory coffee .
They call it coffee, but it really wasn ' t .
They ' d
take it and percolate, or boil it in a pot like they did all their c offee .
Bout everybody in our neighborhood would raise that and make their own coffee .
There would be a lot of young people now that never heard tell of that .
They
wouldn ' t know what I 1d be talking about and you might not .
Q:
No , I never heard of it .
fas the flour and the sugar and all that hard to
find during the Depression?
A:
Yes , it was .
Q:
Where did you get the money or how dfri you get it?
A:
Well, a lot of times we gathered herbs .
How did you buy it?
Dried herbs like cherry bark and
we 1d pull big wood leaves and skin bi g
ood bar •
thing else to do he would go out in t.
woods and mountains , you know, and cut
When Daddy couldn ' t get any-
the cherry poles and those big wood poles and the closes t one would bring them
home and he ' d chop them up into firewood lengths and we ' d burn them , skin them
in the house of the night .
dry that .
Then burn the wood part of the day and you ' d have to
Some times it would take about a week, you know, to dry the bark and
the leave •
Q.
What did urou do with it?
A:
There was a lot of sang in the mountains .
called it .
I reckon it still grows .
They called it ginseng is what they
I haven ' t seen any in a long time , but we
were always •••• Now there was something you gathered mullen and when it began to
get dry it would stick you up .
bath .
Q:
What was it?
You just had to change your clothe s and take a
�4
A:
I don't know .
It was a little old fuzz or something, you know, and it would
get on you and just itch you to death .
Q:
Was there anything that you can think of that was good about the Depression?
A:
No , I think that everything was bad .
Q:
Well, what was the worst thing about it?
A:
Well, in clothes and food you just didn't have the money to buy it with and
you really couldn 1 t get it because it ;just wasn't there .
Q:
Well , did you or your mother make, your own clothes?
A:
Mama went and made our own clothes and she didn ' t even have a sewing mach-
ine.
She had to sew
with her fingers, or maybe there would be a neighbor some-
where around that would have a sewing machine that didn 1t mind, but usually people
just didn ' t have time for a neighbor to come in, sit down , and stay all day and
sew .
So , she would sew with her fingers and make our clothes and they would
make long dresses that really took more .
so hard .
I guess that was the reason times were
It took more to make the clothes because the dresses were way down to
your feet, you know, had big collars to them .
It really took a lot of material
to make clothes , now you can take a little bit just so your legs are had in it.
Q:
Where did you get the cloth?
A:
Well, thake and but it in
have now .
the town, city.
They didn't have cloth like they
What you could get, it was awfully hard to iron .
then, you lmow.
I wonder what we did make it out of .
varieties of material, you know, like they have now .
I didn 1 t notice it
They didn't have different
A lot of people that raised
sheep would make their own wool, you know , to knit socks and sweaters and things.
Q
:
What do you think caused the Depression?
�s
A:
Well, I just. don ' t know .
Q:
Did you hear any people around blaming any certain people for the Depression1
Ai
No , I don ' t remember if they did .
He was the Republican pres dent .
A lot of people blamed Hoover, you know .
A lot of pe9ple blamed him, because I heard
them say that he had a lot of grain thrown in the ocean that the poor people
could have usedo
It would have made it more plenti'ful, you know , wheat , in the
community.
Q:
They said he threw grain in the ocean?
A:
Instead of giving it out they did that , you know, to make the prices go up .
Q:
Did they, was that true or was the just what the people used to tell?
A:
W
ell, now ! don ' t know if it was true , but that is what they all said .
They
said what made the meat prices go up , they killed a lot of the animals when they
were little .
They didn ' t have feed to feed them.
I think in something like that,
if they managed it right, try to help everybody get a start to have sanething,
because it ain ' t everybody that is poor because they want to be .
Qa
So , did the local, what were the local at titudes towards the leaders of the
government?
A:
W
ell, I just don!.t remember much about them then , because we always lived back
from anybody else and didn ' t have much .
Then young ' uns didn ' t pay any attention
to what they. . . _-_ _ •
Q:
How were the farmers, what was their situation during the Depression?
Do you
thinlc they felt any differently than the people who didn ' t farm?
A:
Yes , because if they that farmed really fared better because they didn ' t have
to buy, you know, all that stuff o It really made a difference all the way around .
�6
Give the farmer some of his money back and give the people , you lmow, something
to eat that they woul dn ' t have had .
Q:
Did you ever sell any of your crops other than the herbs that you collected?
A.
No , not too many, because we were always renters , had the farm on the shares
and usually our part, it would take it, for us to eat .
was the farm that you were on?
Q
:
How big
A:
Well , it would just be small farms that we would be on .
Sometimes it would
be about fi'fteen acres of corn , and then maybe five acres of potatoes , or something like that .
Well , by the time the owner of the land would get his share out
of i t , we wouldn ' t have too much to sell.
We usually always had same potatoes and
beans , to sell .
Q:
How did you think the tenant system worked?
A:
W
ell, you could rent a place and you ' d get house rent .
of the stuff, they ' d give you half of what you made .
If you furnished half
If you couldn't affarEl to
pay for farming equipment, they'd pay for it and you could just end it .
That's
a preetty bad thing, because you had to work a whole lot to make all that .
would taice all your time to aake it .
It
Then , however , it was havested and divided
you didn ' t get much by getting a tmird of it .
So , if ycu were a big family,
you'd have to be careful to make it go around , you know , to do until it was raised
again .
thl~
Q:
Were there very many people doing
A:
Yes , there were a lot of people doing that .
during the Depression?
SeliU!lea to me like that there just
weren ' t too many people that did own their places .
all thouMt was wealthy.
It would be sanebody that we
Maybe there would be two or three tenants on one farm .
The one that did the renting, that owned it, he really come out pretty good , having
�7
several different people .
Q:
Did he sell crops?
A:
Yes , he would sell.
Q:
Did he sell maybe part of the CI'9PS that you harvested really?
A:
Yes , and take it off, maybe to the cities , the town .
were just small and maybe one or two stores .
could take .
Back then the
to~ms
They ' d but everything that you
Then the people that didn 't have it, would come and but it fDom them o
Q:
.Ih you remember any of the work proje cts that were started?
A:
Yes , I can renember that but not until I grew up and got married .
I had t wo
twin brothers so everything was gettin pretty well organized when they got up ,
you know , old enough to work .
Do you remember any of the things that these people on projects did?
A:
I don ' t .
Q:
Were there any other efforts that were made to help recover from the Depression?
A:
I think that what came out when there wasn ' t anything mcuh .
Now what was thi s
Democratic President after Hoover? What was his name?
Q:
Roosevel.t ?
A:
Now it seemed to me like whenever he got in, things began to change .
~an
to build these buildings for schools .
to good .
They be-
That gave people jobs but it didn ' t pay
They ept on until ••• I think they just changed the nam .of it about
the same time .
That was baxk when they started it , that building the gymnasiums
and bigger schools , different room.
Now, back when I went to school , it was
just a one room school building arJI they went from the first grade to seventh .
�8
O
.:
W your father on one-. of the work programs?
as
A:
Yes, that was where he had to work to walk eight miles a day.
miles there and four miles back .
He had to leave at four o 1 clock and cane in at
I don ' t know what time it was .
dark .
It was four
He was so far away, he had to take a light
of the morning to see how to go and we live in Ashe C
omty and that was down at
Fleetwood, you know, where tmy built .
Q:
What was the nome of it where they worked?
A:
It wasn't W . A.
.P
husban
used to
e
They had that going on when I was grown and married .
My
r k on i •
?
A
t
Yes , when me and him were married and then he quit after we got married .
Q:
Was the Depression about over by then?
A:
rle~ ,
yes, pretty much, because everything got to working around until there
was a right smart of work going on and it has been ever since .
Q:
·11e11, what kind of work did you do , Mr. 'l!ownsend?
A:
On thew .
ed buil
a
A.
He worke
hospital ~.
on it some clearing the roads, you know, and he help-
That was up there in town, well, she don ' t know where it
is but they had the old one .
�9
because there were just two brothers .
They was twins so everything
was getting pretty well organized when they got up , you know , old
enough to work .
Do you remember any of the, the t hings that these proje ts, any
of the work that was done on them, wh t they did?
A:
Q:
No, I don't.
fore there any other efforts that were made to help recover
from the
A:
ression?
I think that what came out when there wasn ' t anything much , ••• ow
what was this Democratic President after H
oover?
Q:
As
Roosevelt.
T
Jhat was his name?
l oosevelt?
ow it seemed to me like whenever he got in , things began to change ,
because they began to build, these buildings for the schools, and different
schools ·
1hat gave the pe ople that didn ' t have anything much to do or
to live on, it give them a job, but it didn 't pay too good at the time
being, 1 hey kept on until. •• I think they just changed the name of it
about the same thing is going on now only they raised it up , and gave
it different names •
11
t was back when they started it, th t building
the gymnasiums and bigger schools , different rooms .
Now, back when I
went to school , it was just a one room school building and they went from
the f irst grade t o seventh.
Q:
las
your father on one of the work programs ?
A:
Y
eah, that was where he had to work or walk eight mi les a day,
I.k-
�10
was four miles there and four miles back .
Had t o leave at four o ' clock
arrl cme in at dark j I don ' t know what tbne it was ,
He was
so far
away, he had to take a light , of the morning to see how to go and we
lived in Ashe County and that was down at Fleetw ood, you know , where
they built.
Q:
lhat was the name of it where they worked?
A:
Oh .
Q:
. • p • A•?
No , wasn't ·•• P .
and married .
A.,
because they had that going on when I was grown
y husband used to work on it .
He did?
Yeah , when me and him
~as
married and then he quit after we got married .
at year did you all get marrie ?
'38 .
Q:
W the Depression about over by then?
as
vell , yes , pretty much , because everything got to working around
till there was a right smart of work a going on and it has been ever since .
Q:
· ell what kind of work did you do , M . Townsend?
r
It was •••
Q:
On the work program?
A:
On the
1• .
P . A. he worked on it some
clearing the roads , you know 1
H.e built , helped build, you worked on a hospital, , , what ever hes pi tal ,
the old one , you know, where the old hospital was?
That was , up there
in town , well , she don ' t know where it is at , but they had the old one .
�1Tt.
11
I
(Jc.
He helped work on it and some of them back •••
( ote:
r . Townsend and Jane Efird have been carrying on a
short indecipherable conversation .
Q:
It will be picked up here . )
rlhy don 1 t you tell, talk into there and tell us about working on
the
• P. A., what you remember?
(Laughter)
Q::
ow , you just talk , go ahead and just tell us then .
ou said you
worked on the roads , what di d you have to do?
A:
ell, we fixe d the roads , fiXed the roads down in places ,
places , for people to get in and out .
0
fferent
W hauled dirt and rocks and we
e
fiXed the places so people could get in and out.
Trim the roads , keep
the road , trim the road of bushes and things like that, so people could,
roads would be open .
Q:
.
.
A:
Did you work on that before you were married or after?
Yeah , I worked before I married •
( rs . ·"Townsend)
You just worked before , when we was married and
quit right after .
Q:
at did you do at the hospital, what did you say you helped build
that?
I hauled cement and brick and mortar blocks , I mean cinder blocks .
(Jane Efird speakfng to Janice Young)
during the Depression
(} rs . Townsend)
he could
If they weren 1 t married,
tell something about it .
If you could get him to talk till he'd understand,
he don't seem to remember much.
Q:
(Jane Efird speaking to Janice Y
oung)
aybe if you could let
�12
her ask him .
( Janice speaking to Mrs. Tmmsend)
You could ask him
sane questions that yav. know he would know about .
A:
(l rs . Townsend speaking to
school house at
A:
Q:
A:
You helped build that
alle Crucis didn't you?
(Mr . Townsend)
eah .
• P. A. in that?
(M . Townsend )
rs
( r . Townsend)
Q:
• Townsend)
Yeah , the •T. P . A.
Y , the
eah
•
P . ~A .
built it.
Before you got married , where you living on the farm or · with your
parents?
W
ell, we just had a garden , that' s a ll .
Q:
~ as
it hard to get food then?
I
o, it wasn't so hard .
I just staye d hane an
(lielpe ) my
folks , my daddy and mammy and my brother was all there were of us , so
me and him just stayed there and helpeJ them , looked after them .
Q:
A
:
W
hat di d your father do f or a living?
Tell , he used to work on t he railroads till after he got disabled
till he couldn 't do anything , - couldn't work .
He used to carry the mail, too , didn ' t he?
used to carry the mail.
He kindly ••• ( rs . Townsend)
(M . Townsend)
r
Yeah , he
He carried the mail for several years and he
used to work on the railroad tracks .
Q:
What did he do ?
Y mean on the railroads?
ou
Q:
A:
\
Yeah .
He ftel{)id raise til es , I mean cross ties and things like that .
�13
Q:
Bid you have enough money during the Depression?
A:
Q:
ell , we kindly
made out .
\ ere there any things that were hard to get that you needed?
A:
ell, groceries and things like that weren't as high as they are
now .
There was more and seemed like they were cheaper back then than
there was now .
Oh , we did raise mostly our own stuff from the garden
and things like , we always had corn, corn and potatoes and stuff like
that .
Always had plenty of app les and things like that to live on.
· as there anything that you needed that you had to buy?
ell , we bought some stuff
that we needed such as flour ,
and stuff like that at the store that we needed .
Q:
A:
ere did the money come from to buy the stuff that you needed ?
ell, that was when I was working for that
r.
P . A. business and
then my mother she drew a check every month .
Q:
A:
t kind of check?
County check , they give her a county check , her
and my da dy, a
county check that way every month .
Q:
That was during the Depression?
A:
Y .
eah
Q:
What did they give it for?
A:
They all got it and, they all got rations and things like that with
it .
It was kind of what they called the 01
Age Pension .
I think he is mixed up, th t was just before they died .
(M . Townsend)
rs
�14
Q:
A:
How did you get started on the
• P . A. ?
ell, I just got out there and signed up f or it to give me a job,
something, a job t o work , so I signed up .
I worked up there , I worked
up there the whole time before I was married .
Q
:
~as
it hard work?
· ell , some days it was pre tty hard and some days it wasn ' t .
I
'blilt fires whenever it was col d weather , whenever it was cold why
again they built , kept fires going, to keep warm and everything around.
The bossman always told me , give me the job always keeping fires and
things like that .
Q:
How much did you get paid ?
A:
I couldn't tell you now , how much, it has been •• •
Q:
as it enough?
A:
Huh?
Q:
W what you got paid, was it enough to buy the tllings you needed?
as
O yeah , we ma e out, I made out alright .
h,
Again , I'd get stuff
on credit at the store and then I would soon pay up.
Q:
as +,he pay enough f or
people
t o live on or not?
A:
W
ell, a lot of those ot her peopl e they had rad i os or anything, but
they always paid out, took and got groceries and stuff like that with that .
Q:
A:
D d anybody else in y CfUI' fami l y work on any of those proj ects?
i
o, nobodyA but me worked on i t .
�15
Q:
as it hard to , to get on with work programs ?
A:
o, it wasn ' t so hard to get on and I signed up , up here at Boone .
It wasn't so hard to ge t on .
Q:
A:
Q:
D d people make fun of the people who worked on work projects?
i
o, they never di d, nobody never di
say anything about it .
W
ell, were a lot of people around in your neighborhood workin g
on the project?
A:
Y , there was a lot of people around over there where I lived
eah
that worked on it .
(EN
OF PA_T III )
�16
TAPE .u2 SIDE B PA. T IV
Q:
1
1ell, like over in, I was reading a book that said over in
Kentucky, people that worked in a coal mine •••
A:
Uh, huh •••
Q:
They had it real bad, couldn't get money, couldn't ge t food .
d
you all know people like that?
A:
No .
e never di d have •••
(· rs . Tmms en ) M
ost of the people were , th at would work , a few
people around that wouldn't work , no m tter what kinds of a good job
they had to help them out and they have it pretty rough.
I 'm a having it ri ght now .
Just like
(laughter) A it h s been a couple of
nd
years that I ain ' t been able to work .
The young 'uns helps me out some .
(M . Townsend ) A while back I used to work in the furniture shop
r
down in H
ibriten .
I was down there f or a year or two .
Y
eah, Allen did work in Lenoir at Hibriten some back in
( rs . Townsend)
' 43,
he worked
at H
ibriten.
( r . Townsend)
ibriten and at G
reer's Herb
I worked down there at H
ouse, where they had herbs and things like that you know .
H
I worked
both places down there .
Q:
That was after you got married that you were working down there?
(Mrs . Townsend )
Uh, huh , because what makes me remember it, my
little girl was born while he was working down there and he ha to
stay a week at a time.
�17
Q:
Oh, you didn't live down there?
(M . Townsend)
rs
o, we lived up here and he ' d go down there on
the mail of the first of the week and then he ' d come back the next
weekend .
(He ) Stay a week at the time and I went to my sister's .
They lived over in town and I stayed when my little girl was born.
Q:
D you ever hear of anybody making moonshine during the
id
pression to pay for things ?
Io , I didn't, but I want to tell you sanething my da dy- in-law,
A
llen's father , said that his mo her , the family that she stayed with
that raised her , that they made it and that was on up above where they
lived , and Mr . Townsend said that was why he married
randmaw .
It was
to get her out of the furnace , you know, she was hel ping them make •••
Q: M
oonshine ?
:
Q:
A:
0:
Yeah .
D you remember, during the Depression, the banks closing?
o
o, I don't remember too much about that .
How were businesses affected?
D they lose trade ?
id
ell , I just can ' t tell you , ju t didn't know much about it , you
see , he ' s fifteen years older than I am .
Q:
Did a lot of people move out of the mountains during the Depression
looking f or work?
Y , they did .
es
Q
:
There was a lot of people left, trying t o find work .
D they come back or what happened to them?
id
�18
A:
ell , I don 't know , some of them after so long a time , would
come back , but they waited, I reckon , till sanething,
better and , up here where it opened up .
eems like
ot a little
~it
took
me a long time to remember , I mean, since now , seems like that I
just can't remember back too far or something .
I mean, how things
went or , about business .
Q:
D you remember any women working on any of the Federal ·brk
o
Programs?
A:
The first that I remember about
working, I don ' t remember
wh~t
women
kind it was .
It was at
; ~st
Jefferson
and , it was , now, I ' ve knmri women th t , to be work in the stores , with
merchandi se .
They went and shipped an awful lot of cattle over there
at · rest Jefferson and I don ' t kno
1
where from, I guess it was from
everywhere and they had a stockyard over there and they would kill
them and fix them, give them out, to the people that needed them,
poor people
that.
and it was a job for , some of the women, to help do
To help
to give it out or fix it up , to the ones that
needed it, it give them a job, like people would .
Q:
A:
Q:
A:
That was during the D
epression?
eah .
And it was free?
eah, it was free , to the main people that didn 't have nothing at all .
�19
Q:
· ere there a lot of people like that around?
A:
\· ell , there were several big families , maybe where the families ,
the mother wasn't able to work , well there wasn't work then for .the
women, it's the first I knew women working except , maybe once in a
while , in
st~res
or something or school teacher .
they had great big crowds an
Q:
But -
where
the man, ju t couldn't provi de for them .
•ell, di d you know people like your father who didn 't want to
take things free?
There
was
a lot of people that just wouldn't want to take
things
like that .
Q:
A:
Thy?
ell, I don' t lmow , I guess that made them feel a little bit help-
less or something .
Q:
ell, were the schools affected by the
epression?
ell , back then they didn't have any lunch rooms as I can remember,
anything to offer them at school, they ha d to take their own lunch, those
that didn't live close enou gh , that they could
to eat .
And
rtm
back in a few minutes
so , about something like that I don't remember , the parents
had to buy the books , and the paper and everything that the child used,
see they had to , just buy that and the going to school, it didn't cost
them anything but, the books and the paper , the pencils , stuff like th8t ,
the parents had to pay for it .
Q:
~ell,
do you lmo
they didn't
:
anybody that had to quit because of that , because
ve enough money?
•Jell, they couldn't quit .
They wouldn't allow them to quit .
�20
If they didn 't have it and c
ldn't afford it now I guess it
was maybe scmeway from the school , to give them paper to do
their homework on .
But, it seemed like they didn 't do as
much , as , like they do now .
'·Tere the churches affected in any my?
A:
No, I don't think that they was .
i-. ell, what were , I guess you had people talking about it ,
what were their i deas or attitudes like durine the Depression,
were
they worried about it?
es , about everybody was woITied, afnaid that they cruldn 't
get what they needed, they were going to have to do without, things
that they needed and a lot of them did do without a whole lot and I
guess about everybody did to a certain extent.
Q:
Di
they feel like maybe it wasn't going to en ? W
ere they
afraid that it was going to keep on like th t?
r
ell, I don't know , but I imagine that they do because , now
things that happened, we feel like it .' s going an forever .
Q:
How did they get out of the Depress ion , how did the co1IDtry
get out of the
ression?
·Jell , I reckon everybody must have got together , and worked in,
something to give everybody scmething to do .
Q:
i
at, how did you know it was over, how did you know that the
Depression had ended?
A:
· ell , I guess when everything got better till people could make
it alright .
�21
Q:
A:
o you think that the work programs arrl the federal programs helped?
Y , that helped .
es
f hey gave jobs , but what else do you think helped
Q:
them out?
A: : ell, I don't know , I guess it gave people more ideals , till
they could, could go on and do more , to keep more going , more to do
and causing to be more,
' cause see I reckon it takes talents
and knowledge , to keep it up an
the more that they try to do, the
more you know how to open up , s omething else and I
ess , that's the
way everything got started and to make people feel better anyway and
eally did better .
It's been for a few years , seemed like everybody's
been doing pretty good , but they have to wo k .
Q:
D d you see any l asting effects caus ed by the Depression?
i
o.
Q:
'"ell, do you think , how would you canpare the
~ression
of the
'JO's to the way things are today?
A:
ell , there's been a lot of difference , but there's a lot of
similance (similarity).
H
ere about a year ago , when they began to
close down sane shops and things like that , that reminded me , what it
used to be way back yonder , they wasn ' t nothing open, to do .
Q:
at about family life? Has it been, could you compare the way it
is now as to how it was
A:
uring the Depres ion?
o, I think life goes on pretty well the same .
�22
Q
:
at about prices ?
A:
, ell , there's a difference in prices .
Q:
There are di fferences ?
.
Yeah, there are , there 's a lot of differences , well, everything
i s higher n
than it was back then, but you see , if the prices are
~
low and you don ' t get pay an money, ah , they ain't much difference
in whether you c
make a lot more and the prices are high, than it
i s when you don 1 t get anythin
anything .
0
and you don 1 t have to pay much for
So, it's just as hard, back then when prices were low ,
you didn ' t have anything to buy it with , you couldn ' t get any more
than enough , it's just like it is now , it's just hard life , I reckon ,
'
just you get a whol e lot of money, you have to pay a whole lot and if
you don ' t get much money, well, now if you ain ' t got much money you
have to pay, but then you didn t hav. . to .
Q:
Is there anything else you ' d like to tell about the D
epression,
anything you remember?
· ell, there ain ' t nothing really that I can remember .
Q:
fuat about you M . Townsend , i s there anything you' d like to add ?
r
A:
I don ' t know of anything.
Q:
0.
• , any more questions ?
( END OF
APE)
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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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
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed.
Townsend, Mrs. & Mr. Allen
Interview Date
9/25/1975
Number of pages
22 pages
Date digitized
9/18/2014
File size
10.2MB
Checksum
alphanumeric code
c08dbee4015362a0037fdd0be79ab830
Scanned by
Tony Grady
Equipment
Epson Expression 10000 XL
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.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
AC.111 Appalachian Oral History Project Records; 1965 - 1989
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Identifier
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111_tape335_Mrs&MrAllenTownsend_transcript_M
Title
A name given to the resource
Interview with Mrs. & Mr. Allen Townsend [September 25, 1975]
Language
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English
English
Type
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Document
Creator
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Townsend, Mrs. & Mr. Allen
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>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Mountain life--North Carolina--Ashe County--History--20th century--Anecdotes
Depression--1929--North Carolina--Ashe County
Ashe County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--20th century
Townsend, Allen
Townsend, Allen, Mrs.
Description
An account of the resource
Mr. and Mrs. Townsend talk about the Depression and how it affected their families. He explains: "It was just everything, you know, seemed different and a shortage of everything." Farmers were the ones who fared the best, because they didn't have to buy in order to support themselves. His family worked on a farm during the Depression, but they didn't own the farm. Most people in Ashe County, because they "lived so far back from everybody else" didn't know much about the political situation, or why the Depression was happening. He remembers that when Roosevelt things changed, and schools started to be built in his area. His father was assigned to a work program and had to walk eight miles a day to get to work.
Allen Townsend
Ashe County
crops
dried herbs
farming
Federal Work Programs
Fleetwood
Franklin Roosevelt
ginseng
Great Depression
Greer's Herb House
Herbert Hoover
herbs
Hibriten
Jane Efrird
railroad
work projects
Works Progress Administration
WPA
-
https://omeka.library.appstate.edu/files/original/43395a413921417dae7245f68e238901.pdf
b25813346867e8597f1d7abf616b108f
PDF Text
Text
Collection 111. Appalachian Oral History Project Records, Tape 79
Interviewee: Ted Potter
Interviewer: Karalyn Shelton
Date: 12 June 1973
Transcriber: J. McTaggart
Karalyn Shelton: This is an interview with Mr. Ted Potter for the Appalachian Oral History Project by
Karalyn Shelton at Mr. Potter's home on June 12th, 1973. Okay, where were you born, Mr. Potter?
Ted Potter: I was born up, back up there on the mountain.
KS: In this area?
TP: Yes.
KS: Okay. What year were you born in?
TP: 1908.
KS: Okay. Uh, do you know Tamarack got its name?
TP: Mm no. I don't know unless they got it from the Tamaracks and [inaudible].
KS: Okay, well um has anything happened in this community that you can think of that really changed it?
TP: It's changed a lot. They made that road. Roads are getting better.
KS: They're better now.
TP: Yeah.
KS: How did they used to be?
Female voice: [Inaudible].
TP: [Inaudible] rocky...
KS: Okay, do you know who some of the first settlers were in this area?
TP: The first settlers?
KS: Mm hm, what families?
TP: I reckon it was the Mains and Potters.
KS: Okay, what were your parents' names?
TP: Johno Potter and Lily Potter.
�KS: Where were they born?
TP: Well, I think Mama was born right here in the barn, wasn't she...
FV: I think so.
KS: Well, where was your daddy born, just in this area?
TP: Yeah, he must've been born...l wanna say, I believe he was born back up on the mountain.
KS: Well, how many children were there in your family?
TP: In my family?
KS: Yeah.
TP: Eleven.
KS: Eleven?
TP: Yeah.
KS: Well, what are their names and ages?
TP: [Inaudible]
Female voice: [Inaudible]
KS: Who came after Bert?
TP: [Inaudible] and then Lady Bell and then Boyd...
KS: You wanna read 'em to me?
Female voice: No, I can't see [inaudible]...
KS: Well after Lady Bell was Boyd then Nel and then Rosimer (?) then Ted Ward, Bonnie Lou and born in
1908, and then Ms. [inaudible] was born in 1910, okay. Well, what about your family, your mama and
daddy's family. How many young'uns was in that family?
TP: Five of us.
KS: What were all their names?
TP: Well, uh there's...
Female voice: There's Ted and Ennie (?) and Nan (?) and Charles and Rob of the [inaudible] first family.
Wasn't there?
TP: Yeah and then there's seven in the last one.
�FV: Well, we'll have to count 'em up I don't know how many. There's uh Fred and Howard and Dane and
Velma and Juanita, they call her Tu, who's the other ones?
TP:Johno.
FV: Yeah, Johno. That's six.
TP: And Bart.
FV: Bart's seven.
KS: That's a big family.
FV: I believe that's all of them. Then they've got three, three of the...one of the first one's to join
[inaudible]...
TP: Two, two's dead...
FV: Two's dead.
KS: Well, what did your daddy do for a living?
TP: Well, he uh carried the mail and...
FV: I give up [inaudible].
KS: He logged?
TP: Yeah, yeah, he logged for years when he wasn't carrying the mail.
KS: Well, how did he carry the mail?
TP: Well, he walked to the post office down here at the forks of the road up on the mountain and then
he'd ride from [inaudible] to uh [inaudible].
KS: So he walked and rode the horse?
TP: Yes,
KS: Well, um how much land did your daddy have?
TP: I believe this whole town. Well, when he was dying he was still in charge of 150 acres [inaudible].
KS: Well, did you move a lot or did you just stay around in this area?
TP: [Inaudible] You mean did he move or?
KS: No, you.
TP: No, I've lived right here all my life ever since I've been married and that's forty...43 years?
�FV: I don't know! [Inaudible]
TP: [Chuckles]
KS: But you've lived in this house right here for all them many years?
TP: No; we lived in an old house.
FV: No, we lived in a little ol' box house up here in [inaudible].
TP: I guess I moved well about 20 feet still from [inaudible].
KS: Mm hm, well where did you go to school?
TP: Down here at [inaudible] down by the post office.
KS: How many years did you get to go to school?
TP: Well, I didn't, well I [inaudible] third grade. I [inaudible] didn't go much.
KS: How many months did they have school out of the year?
FV: Six back then I think!
TP: Yeah, they had [inaudible] six months out of the year.
KS: Well, what were the teachers like?
TP: Well, there's uh Charlotte Thompson was my teacher [chuckles] and Ms. Rainy. She's a middle age
woman, wasn't she?
FV:Yeah.
TP: Uh, Louise Sutherland, you remember her don't you? How she looked?
KS: No, I don't believe I can.
TP: She teach school down here. [Inaudible] them [inaudible] that lives over there in the Cove Creek
they teach down here. [Inaudible] Weinberger he teach down here.
KS: Well, what were they like, were they strict with you?
TP: Yeah, they [inaudible] up on you. Well, they'd take kids back down uh make them [inaudible]. I
reckon they're meaner now. They're now [inaudible]. They had to be rough on us [chuckles].
KS: How were they meaner?
TP: [Inaudible] just [inaudible] right there. You know where [inaudible] and stuff like that. They wasn't
uh they hit, when I [inaudible] beat up on you and I reckon it'd make you a lot meaner.
�KS: Oh well, what kind of punishment did they have?
TP: Well, they'd [inaudible] roots with a [inaudible].
KS: Well, what subjects did they teach?
TP: You mean in Boone?
KS: Uh huh.
TP: Here at [inaudible] I don't know what it really, I forget really what was the highest grades. Back then
they had these old timey primers. You know when you first start middle school.
KS: Well, did you just have a primer in the first grade?
TP: Yeah, that's all we had just...
FV: They had ABC's and [inaudible].
TP: Yeah, you just had back in them days there wasn't like [inaudible]. [Inaudible] uh saw mills, logs and
timber.
KS: Mm hm.
TP: And you had to do all the work [inaudible] with horse and mules and steers and oxens would haul
'em.
KS: Well, did your whole family get to go to school?
TP: Yes, they all went a little, I reckon.
KS: Have the schools changed much over the years?
TP: Oh yeah, they've changed a lot.
KS: How have they changed?
TP: Well, you see they put this transportation on and they cut these schools out of the settlements. And
put the buses on them see takes uh the kids there.
KS: What was the first job you ever had?
TP: Well I, I've logged. I've logged here. It wasn't too long. [Inaudible] with a hoe was. Back then you
didn't have no work [inaudible].
KS: Well, what else did they have besides the hoe?
�TP: Maybe some old turning [inaudible] you turn the ground and then I don't reckon there's any
[inaudible] back in them days. One of these old wooden [inaudible] and most of 'em just go over and cut
'em [inaudible] brash, stone brash [inaudible].
KS: Oh, well did you do any...
FV: [Inaudible] just a dollar a day and sometimes it was like 90 cents.
TP: Yeah, now-a-day we [inaudible]. Way back years, before they had [inaudible] it was about 50 cents a
day.
KS: Well, did you have any other jobs besides logging?
TP: Not before I was married.
KS: Well, what else have you done?
TP: I've carried the mail and was carrying the mail when I was married. Then they build some bigger
roads to go on.
FV: You worked over yonder at [inaudible].
TP: I drove on that trade road from Craigstate(?) line. I have to build a [inaudible] over there on that
road that goes through [inaudible].
KS: When was the hardest time you ever had getting a job?
TP: Well uh, to take on the time uh you could hardly get a job.
KS: When was this?
TP: I had to [inaudible] married and...
KS: Was this during the Depression?
TP: Yeah, yeah right in there, the Depression.
KS: Well, how did it affect you and your family?
TP: [Inaudible] uh had to dig lots of roots and skin cherry bark to get along.
KS: Well, did you raise your own food?
TP:Yeah.
KS: What did you raise?
TP: Corn and beans and meat.
�KS: What kind of meat?
TP: Hog meat, killed about two hogs every fall.
FV: Raised buckwheat and make pancakes.
TP: [Laughter]
FV: [Laughter]
KS: Well, did you raise any of these crops to sell?
TP: No, took about all of 'em back then [inaudible]. It wasn't like it is now. You what you made, you see
people went through the summer made their uh what you say your meat and veggies. You raised your
corn and had it to your mill grain or go to the mill every couple during the week.
KS: Well, where was this mill at?
TP: Uh well, there's some all right along up and [inaudible] had one up here. Fred Emerson he lives up
there; he had a mill up there [inaudible]. Earl Lynn he had mill there for years.
FV: [Inaudible] had one up there.
TP: Yeah, Frank Naylor had one up there.
KS: Well, can you remember anything about the banks during the Depression?
TP: Well, the banks?
KS:Mmhm.
TP: Yeah, they went bank, they claimed that they went broke or busted.
KS: Well, did you have any money in at that time?
TP: No [chuckles]. You couldn't have no money back them days.
KS: Uh huh, well, where were you working during the Depression?
TP: Well, I had to quit carrying the mail I just make a [inaudible] around on the farm. Make what we eat
just skinning cherry bark and haw bark and digging roots.
KS: How much money did you get for this cherry bark and roots and stuff?
TP: Well, I don't know it wasn't...cherry bark it wasn't over 2 cents, was it?
FV: No.
TP: And the haw bark it run up 6 maybe cents a pound, wasn't it?
�8
FV: [Inaudible] for 5 cents then it went up to 8 [inaudible].
KS: Well, back during the Depression it took a whole lot of cherry bark and stuff to get money didn't it?
TP: Yeah it just, you had work pretty steady at it. Like [inaudible] you had to work pretty steady at it to
uh get something to eat.
KS: Well, did any of your children have to leave home or anything during that time to get a job?
TP: No, no they wasn't big enough to.
KS: Oh, they wasn't?
TP: And we got a pretty well grown [inaudible] Bernice she took that polio.
KS: Well, um do you remember any programs like WPA or CCC?
TP: Yeah, when they first started that WPA I think we first went to work on [inaudible] work up and
down the roads. And they give a lot, give us an [inaudible] that store up there at Boone. We'd go up
there and get had to go up there and take that [inaudible] team. Me and [inaudible].
KS: So you worked on...
FV: [Inaudible] talking [inaudible].
TP: Nobody gives them...they had to [inaudible]. The store gave enough wheat for your work all week
and you had to take it to Boone up there and [inaudible] the store and take that...
KS: Well, did you work on the WPA?
TP:Yeah.
KS: Well, what all did you do?
TP: Well, I helped build that surge line or sewage in Boone up there on the State Farm. And then later I
worked in Blowing Rock a year or two, didn't I?
FV: Yeah.
TP: Walk up there to uh go over there into Wade [inaudible]. It's through the mountain and catch the
state truck there and ride it on into Blowing Rock.
KS: Well, can you remember the first car that came in here?
TP: Yeah.
KS: Well, uh who had it?
TP: Will Sutherland.
�KS: What kind was it?
TP: I think it's an old A-Model and cloth top.
KS: Well, what'd you think about it when you saw that?
TP: [Laughter] I don't know what I thought about it them days. Shoot. My memories just a little bit
[inaudible]. Down there right well when that old road come up through there then is right in front of
that old house I lived on where my grandpap lived. He drove it up there and turned it. An old two seater,
cloth top A-Model.
KS: Well, before that how did people get around?
TP: [Inaudible] buggies, hecks (?), wagons...
KS: What's a heck?
FV: Riding horse.
TP: [Laughter] Yeah, it's an old four wheel outfit with two seats on it made like a buggy. It had a bed on
it and had two seats on it.
KS: Well, uh what churches did they have around here then?
TP: Uh Baptist Church it set down here where this Baptist Church is. And then the Christian Church uh it
set down right down uh just about where Curtis [inaudible] store is.
KS: Well, where did most people go to church around here?
TP: Well, they split up like they're now, part of 'em go to the Baptist Church and part to the Christian
Church.
KS: Well, do you think the preachers have changed much over the years?
TP: Well, I don't know whether they have or not. They, I know one thing they've done they've back them
days they would walk and now-a-days they ride they've got the cars to ride in [chuckles].
KS: Where did they walk from?
TP: Well, you see they'd walk from or ride horses from wherever they lived, you see, to church.
KS: Well, did they ever spend the night with any of the members or anything?
TP: Yeah, back them days they would stay over. Well, uh most of would have a week's meat and they'd
spend a week with uh Christians one day and members of the church and they'd spend the nights.
KS: Well, how did the teachers do? Did they stay with students or did they have their homes around
here?
�10
TP: Uh, you see Earl Wineberger he lived back in yonder there and he had a big he had him a horse, a
grey horse and a black one. He'd ride one of the horses and ask [inaudible] or one of the boys to ride the
other one across the mountain. And I don't know, I forget how Charles Hompson got over here. I don't
know, seemed like he boarded. [Inaudible] but I have I can't remember where exactly—it seems like he
boarded in [inaudible].
KS: Well, did the Depression affect the schools in anyway?
TP: Yeah, that Depression is hard on everybody.
KS: Well, how did the schools change during that time?
TP: Well, they never changed too much they just keep dragging along you know just people trying to
send their young'uns. Once they got big enough they had to help work the fields, making corn, and stuff
like that.
KS: Who do you think was hit the hardest by the depression?
TP: Well, I don't know. See if the banks went broke like they claim they did then them fellers that had
decent money in 'em of course it hurt them. But [inaudible] to keep something to keep the poor man he
didn't have [inaudible].
KS: Well, back in the days when you was younger, did they have any bad men or outlaws or anything
around here?
TP: Yeah, they were here. [Inaudible] Potters they think he was bad and then they had a killing, well a lot
a killing. Several was killed down there. And they spread the [inaudible]. There were several killed down
there and they [inaudible].
KS: Were those people born here or did they just come into to this section?
TP: Wel,l part of 'em come in from Kentucky. 01' man Brooms(?) then [inaudible] then they come in, you
see.
KS: Well, who was the sheriff then?
TP: I 'bout forgot [coughs] who was the High Sheriff. The first one I remember was uh I believe his name
was Young, Sheriff Young they called him. His name was Young. And he had a daddy that Ed Horton, I
think was his daddy [inaudible]. They change so much, you see, and I think the time I just can't...
KS: Did any of 'em ever get killed?
TP: No, not at all. Officers never did get killed,
KS: Did Tamarack have a jail or anything?
TP: No, no, they take 'em out. When they arrest 'em, they take 'em to Boone's jail just like they do now.
�11
KS: What kind of buildings did they have, like post office and stuff like that?
TP: They just old building, store house just like the one on old [inaudible], store house [inaudible]. Of
course, some of 'em was bigger but just like uh it like [inaudible].
KS: Well, where was the country store around here?
TP: Down there at the fork in the road. Frank Miller owned a store there for years. And then uh after he
quit uh Curtis Potter took up the store down there.
KS: What all kinds of things did they carry in their store?
TP: Well, they carried dried goods and groceries and uh every now and then you'd buy you coffee. You'd
have to buy and the grain. Most of the time you'd have to parch it, grind it at [chuckles] the mill.
KS: Well, did anybody moonshine around here?
TP: Yeah, they [inaudible] moonshining and bootlegging went on back them days, back when I was a
boy.
[END OF SIDE ONE]
TP: ...with a you can cook then you had a six gallon barrel and a little beat boxes back then. They took a
bushel of meal there to the barrel and they put the malt and rye chalk. I've even put a gallon of rye chalk
in the barrel. It takes that about a week to go sour and work off and make the alcohol.
KS: Was it good?
TP: Yeah, just like the on his grain [inaudible] back them days once drain for the [inaudible]. See they,
see they don't know what to make out of it.
KS: Did anybody ever try to stop 'em from making moonshine?
TP: Yeah, the law they's report 'em in and the law they would come and search and hunt for 'em, see. If
they had to arrest a man, they'd have to [inaudible] back when I was a boy put him on a horse up behind
them and take him in [chuckles].
KS: Any revenuers ever come in?
TP: No, I don't reckon there wasn't no federal [inaudible] back then it was just the county officers that
there.
KS: Well, what did they do to you when they took you to Boone?
TP: Well, they was pretty rough on 'em. They fined 'em maybe they'd have to go to jail cells.
KS: How much did moonshine cost?
�12
TP: I believe you could buy you uh it was you could buy a [inaudible] for $10 a gallon.
KS: It was that expensive?
TP: Huh?
KS: It was that expensive?
TP: Yeah, they'd sell it to trade for $10 a gallon and where'd they take a [inaudible] then they'd have for
about $6 a gallon. And take it back into Tennessee in [inaudible]. I believe they put about six and four,
they put about four cans to a hemp sack, tow sack they called 'em, and they'd put one on each side of a
horse roll up on the horse and take it to Tennessee. Take it over night and they'd stay overnight over
there. And then there was a drunk and they come at it. They would get them two or three half gallon
cans and they [inaudible] in their saddle pockets and ride off with it.
KS: [Chuckles] Well, what did you do for amusement when you was a little boy?
TP: For what?
KS: For amusement, what did you play with?
TP: I forget. You see, back then there wasn't no toys to play with it was just, I forget. Little kids back
them days there wasn't much to play with [inaudible]. We had no toys like there is now.
KS: What was Christmas like?
TP: Well, they [car horn honks] there's some difference in it, not too much. There's, now-a-days people
they buy most of 'em buys their cakes and stuff. Back them days they'd [inaudible] and bake.
KS: Did you have Christmas trees?
TP: No, no Christmas tree [inaudible, chuckles].
KS: Didn't anybody have a Christmas tree?
TP: No, they didn't. Nobody had a Christmas tree.
KS: Did anybody believe in Santa Claus?
TP: Well maybe, some of the kids would. And back then they'd go around your neighbors and go around
and fix up some kind of old [inaudible] spaces maybe the night before Christmas. They just [inaudible]
candy, there wasn't no toys then [inaudible].
KS: How much did candy cost back then?
TP: I forget just one cost but it was way damn cheap I [inaudible]. You can get a right smart little pop for
a dime [inaudible] candy in buckets. Well, I guess it [inaudible] in buckets, wooden buckets, the bulk
candy was. The stick candy was in boxes like it is now I'd say. And there wasn't no uh well there way up,
�Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, N.C.
This electrostatic copy is subject to United States Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code).
3
way up that [inaudible] I don't reckon it was the later I got going [inaudible] bark candy, you know,
would break your teeth, it was just all loose candy.
KS: What kind of medicines did they use back then? TP: Well, I don't know. If anybody gets sick they just go, go to the doctor. And I don't know I reckon he
made his medicine.
KS: What kinds did he use?
TP: Huh?
KS: What kinds of medicines did he use?
TP: Well there, use quinine and you know stuff like that most the time. And I don't know what else he uh
made medicine out of.
KS: Well, what about home remedies? What kind of home remedies did they have?
TP: What?
KS: That your mama made up.
TP: Well, they make bone-sift (?) tea and there's some other kind of tea. See there wasn't no aspirins or
none of these pills like there is now. No aspirins...nothing like that.
KS: Can you remember any legends or tales or superstitions that people had back then that's maybe
been passed down to you?
TP: No.
KS: Did your grandfather ever tell you anything about the Civil War or your Papa?
TP: No, I never did hear any him talk too much about it [inaudible]...
[Children yelling in background]
TP: You see, if they wasn't [inaudible] ol' Grandpap he was [inaudible]. He was just uh...his daddy
[inaudible] and Granny's daddy [inaudible].
KS: Was there ever any Negro slaves around here that you heard about?
TP: Yeah, up here on the [inaudible] place used to be a family of Negros that lived up there.
KS: Were they slaves?
TP: No, no they lived up there just like any other family go and make their, made their living.
KS: Well, how did people like 'em?
�Special Collections, Appalachian State University, Boone, N.C.
This electrostatic copy is subject to United States Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S. Code).
_4
TP: Uh they liked 'em all right. They had a little good I reckon they would you know barter with 'em and
ask somebody if they talked to 'em. Yeah they's...! forget what the nigger man's name was but the lady
her name was Reena [inaudible]. [Note: this is the Red or Read family.] Most of 'ems buried up there
just to go up and touch [inaudible].
KS: Would people around here very superstitious back then?
TP: No, they wasn't superstitious.
KS: Was there anything you can think to tell me about the old days?
TP: No [chuckles], you forget a lot.
KS: Mm hm, would you like to live back there in them days, now?
TP: Well I don't know whether I would or not. It's...back them days nobody much tried to save, save any
money like they do now-a-days. Always looking at any [inaudible] to make their what they went up on,
you know, to raise a family.
KS: Well, thank you.
[END]
�
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
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
2014-02-27
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
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Interview with Ted Potter, June 12, 1973
Description
An account of the resource
Ted Potter was born in Tamarack, NC in 1908 and throughout his life was a logger, mail carrier, and farmer.
Mr. Potter recalls childhood memories of Christmas, moonshining, and the Great Depression. He discusses the schoolhouse experience from his childhood as well as farming during the Great Depression.
Creator
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Shelton, Karalyn
Potter, Ted
Source
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<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
6/12/1973
Rights
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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
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14 pages
Language
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English
English
Type
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document
Identifier
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111_tape79_TedPotter_1973_06_12M001
Spatial Coverage
Spatial characteristics of the resource.
Todd, NC
Subject
The topic of the resource
Potter, Ted--Interviews
Depressions--1929--North Carolina--Tamarack
Farm life--North Carolina--Tamarack--20th century
Tamarack (N.C.)--Social life and customs--20th century
Boone
CCC
Civilian Conservation Corps
farming
Great Depression
moonshining
North Carolina
schoolhouse
Tamarack
Ted Potter
Works Progress Administration
WPA