Oral History Commons^™

Oral History Interview: James A. Harmon, James A. Harmon

0064: Marshall University Oral History Collection

James A. Harmon was born in 1890 on his grandfather’s farm outside of Red House, WV. Mr. Harmon reminiscences about his childhood growing up on a 350-acre farm. He earned a sixth grade education at a two-room schoolhouse. When he was 14 years old, Mr. Harmon started his career on the river on the Steamer Calvert. During his interview, Mr. Harmon focuses on his varied jobs on many steamboats. Although he performed well in all of his duties, his greatest passion was engineering. He received his engineer’s license when he was 21 years old. In the audio clip provided, …

Interview With Ms. Lovett, Dale Lovett, Jay Fraser, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections Oral History Collection

Ms. Lovett, Dale Lovett, and Jay Fraser were all interviewed by Esther Mallard, ca. 1975.

Oral History Interview: Helen Adams, Helen Adams

0064: Marshall University Oral History Collection

Helen Adams was born on January 13, 1898, and was raised in Strange Creek, West Virginia. She lived on a farm with her family. She was one of seven children and her parents also raised two other boys who were orphaned. During her interview, Mrs. Adams discusses working on the farm, raising livestock, and preserving food. She discusses going to church and attending social events like box suppers and socials. She also focuses on folk medicine and the uses of alcohol for medicine and recreational purposes.

Oral History Interview: Alice Hall, Alice Hall

0064: Marshall University Oral History Collection

Alice Hall was born in December 1897 in Cabell County, WV. She lived with her grandfather on a farm in Putnam County, WV, after the death of her parents. During her interview, she discusses quilting and peddling food items in Huntington, WV, with her grandparents, the lack of supplies during World War I, and the rationing of sugar and coffee during World War II. She also focuses on folk medicine, with emphasis on the herbs and barks her uncle used to make medicines. In the audio clip provided, Mrs. Hall discusses food preservation, specifically making apple butter and preserves.

Oral History Interview: Josephine R. Gorby, Josephine R. Gorby

0064: Marshall University Oral History Collection

Josephine Gorby was born on February 24, 1908. She began her teaching career in a one-room school in Wimmer, McDowell County, WV. In 1931 she began teaching in Lawrence County, OH. Mrs. Gorby’s interview focuses on growing up on a farm near Proctorville, OH, her experiences as an educator, her family’s experience during World War I, and the 1937 flood of the Ohio River and its tributaries. In the audio clip provided, Mrs. Gorby discusses the impact of the 1937 flood on the school house in Athalia, OH. During her interview, she also focuses on the construction and use of …

Oral History Interview: Edward C. Jackson, Edward C. Jackson

0064: Marshall University Oral History Collection

Edward C. Jackson was born on January 17, 1911, in Canfield, Braxton County, WV. In 1926, he moved to Fenwick, Nicholas County, WV, to pursue jobs in saw mills. In his interview, Mr. Jackson describes in great detail the design and structure of the log home he lived in as a child. He focuses on growing up on a farm and places emphasis on the type of work he did and food preparation and preservation. Mr. Jackson also discusses the tight-knit community in which he was raised. In the audio clip provided, Mr. Jackson discusses working in the lumber industry. …

Oral History Interview: William Allen Cross, William Allen Cross

0064: Marshall University Oral History Collection

In his interview, William Allen Cross discusses Prohibition and bootlegging in Huntington, West Virginia. Mr. Cross was a theater manager for the Keith Albee Theater (referred to as the State Theater) in Huntington, WV. Although he did not make moonshine, he was a buyer during Prohibition. He discusses how bootleggers sold their whiskey and provides locations for stills. Mr. Cross also focuses on how to make moonshine, whiskey, and wine. He reminiscences about “the Strip” between 10^th and 11^th Streets in Huntington, WV, that served from 1925-1945 as a red-light, gambling, and bootlegging district. In the audio clip …

Oral History Interview Transcript With Abilene Christian University History Professors, Marsha Harper, John Robinson, Ralph Smith, Earl Brown

Owen Glen Cosgrove Papers

No abstract provided.

Oral History Interview: William T. Arnold, William T. Arnold

0064: Marshall University Oral History Collection

William T. Arnold (Bill Arnold), a Native West Virginian, lived the majority of his life in Clay County. Mr. Arnold spent his early childhood on a farm on Galon Mountain. After the death of his father, Mr. Arnold moved with his family to various towns within Clay County. In 1911, when he was eleven years old, Mr. Arnold started his first job in coal mining, working thirteen hours a night as a water dipper. When he was eighteen years old, Mr. Arnold began working as a postman and delivered mail on a route near the New River, between the towns …

Oral History Interview: Forrest Atkinson, Forrest C. Atkinson

0064: Marshall University Oral History Collection

During his interview, Forrest Atkinson reminisces about growing up on a farm in Cabell County, West Virginia. His father was a tobacco farmer and timber cutter. He focuses on food preservation processes and home entertainment, including music and books. He also focuses on changes in technology during his lifetime. In the audio clip provided, Mr. Atkinson discusses raising and selling tobacco.

Oral History Interview: Frank Brooks, Frank Brooks

0064: Marshall University Oral History Collection

Frank Brooks was born in Fayette County, WV, but grew up in Carter County, KY, in the early 1900s. He attended a one room school house through the third grade. Mr. Brooks began working in coal mines with his father in Borderland, WV, when he was 13 years old. In the audio clip provided, he discusses his first time in a coal mine. He focuses on how he tried to appear bigger than he was in order to be able to work. In his interview, Mr. Brooks compares and contrasts the labor conditions in the mines before and after unionization. …

Oral Interview Of Viena Hendrickson, Viena Johnson Hendrickson

Oral Interviews

Viena Hendrickson discussed her parent’s involvement with the socialist and workers’ movements among the Finns of northern Minnesota. She described their political and social organizations. Hendrickson also talked about her own involvement in the Socialist and Farmer-Labor parties and the latter’s eventual union with the Democratic Party. She described how women became involved in politics, especially in the Farmer-Labor Women’s Federation, and then shared her impressions of Eugene Debs, Floyd B. Olson, Elmer Benson, Henry Shipstead, Harold Stassen and Hubert Humphrey. Finally, Hendrickson discussed red baiting in the 1940s and 1950s, isolationism and her views on the United Nations.

Oral History Interview: Ethel Barnes, Eva Ethel Barnes

0064: Marshall University Oral History Collection

Eva Ethel Barnes, who is referred to as Ethel Barnes during her interview, was born on February 25, 1900, in Ivydale, Clay County, West Virginia. She attended a one room school house as a child. In the audio clip provided, Mrs. Barnes discusses her education as a child in a one room school house. She focuses on the classroom schedule and her teachers at this school. During her interview she also discusses preserving and preparing food and soap with her mother.

Oral History Interview: Bertha May Asbury, Bertha May Asbury

0064: Marshall University Oral History Collection

Bertha May Asbury was born in 1888 and began attending school in a one-room school house in 1894 at the age of six. She attended school through the ninth grade. She left school at the age of 17 when she began “courtin’” with young men. In her interview, Mrs. Asbury discusses living on Route 4 in Kanawha County, West Virginia. She focuses on food preservation and preparation, planting and harvesting crops, building a new home, going to square dances, and quilting. In the audio clip provided, Mrs. Asbury discusses what it was like to attend a square dance. She focuses …

0064: Marshall University Oral History Collection, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

Tape recordings and transcripts of oral interviews with residents in the West Virginia-Ohio-Kentucky Tri-State region regarding such topics as farming, schools, health care, folk customs, and many others related to life in this Appalachian region.

To view materials from this collection that are digitized and available online, search the Marshall University Oral History Collection here.

Interview With Ron Carman, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections Oral History Collection

Ron Carman interviewed by an unknown interviewer ca. October 17, 1972. Find this collection in the University Libraries' catalog!

Interview With Anna Jeanne Moore Price, David Harrell Jr.

Oral Interviews Collection

A transcript of an interview by David Harrell,Jr. of Jeanie Price Moore, daughter of Jack Moore, about the healing revivals of the 1950s. Audio of this interview is held in the Holy Spirit Research Center. https://webopac.oru.edu/record=b1250846~S13

Speech By Governor Lester Maddox, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections Oral History Collection

Speech by Governor Lester Maddox, 1969-70. Find this collection in the University Libraries' catalog!

Ua37/44 Diary To Kelly, Gordon Wilson

Faculty/Staff Personal Papers

Excerpt from Gordon Wilson's Diary to Kelly regarding student unrest.

12/21/1944, University Of Southern Maine Special Collections

Luther I. Bonney Papers

No abstract provided.

12/18/1944, University Of Southern Maine Special Collections

Luther I. Bonney Papers

No abstract provided.

12/1944, University Of Southern Maine Special Collections

Luther I. Bonney Papers

No abstract provided.

10/24/1944, University Of Southern Maine Special Collections

Luther I. Bonney Papers

No abstract provided.

07/24/1944, University Of Southern Maine Special Collections

Luther I. Bonney Papers

No abstract provided.

07/06/1944 (V-Mail), University Of Southern Maine Special Collections

Luther I. Bonney Papers

No abstract provided.

07/03/1944, University Of Southern Maine Special Collections

Luther I. Bonney Papers

No abstract provided.

06/27/1944, University Of Southern Maine Special Collections

Luther I. Bonney Papers

No abstract provided.

06/19/1944, University Of Southern Maine Special Collections

Luther I. Bonney Papers

No abstract provided.

06/18/1944, University Of Southern Maine Special Collections

Luther I. Bonney Papers

No abstract provided.

06/16/1944, University Of Southern Maine Special Collections

Luther I. Bonney Papers

No abstract provided.