1 50 2 https://omeka-test.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 A name given to the resource 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 An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Shelton, Karalyn Potter, Ted 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> 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. 14 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_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 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-06-12 Boone CCC Civilian Conservation Corps farming Great Depression moonshining North Carolina schoolhouse Tamarack Ted Potter Works Progress Administration WPA https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/ff152edd4a927d0087a1a8a20281098e.pdf 7b1713a24c85f18fb4f3b9b6449b88ac PDF Text Text This is an interview with Mr. Walter South for the Appalachian Oral History Project by Karen Wards at Mr. South's house, on June 12, 1973. Q: Where were you born Mr. South? A: I was born in Watauga County. Q: Have you lived here all of your life? A: All my life, yes. Q: Uhm...so you've lived in Tamarack. A: Yes. Q: How did TamalCack get started? A: Uh, it was named after the timber, the Tamaracks. Tamarack timber and it got its name from there. The Q: Do you remember some of the first families that lived here? A: Well my Grandpa was about one, and then my daddy. Watson used to live in this county. Q: Eric Uhm...what year were you born in? A: 18 and 99. Q: What were your parents names? A: Jim South and Liddy South. Q: Where were they born? A: Uh, my daddy was born here and uh my mother was born in Beaver Dams. Q: How many children were in your family? A: 8. Q: Do you know all their names and ages? My daddy's family? 8. A: Well, I know the names, but I don't know whether I can get the ages right or not. Q: OK, you can try. A: Well. Jenny was the oldest girl and mother had 6 girls and 2 boys. And the Jenny. And she's dead, but I don't know to her age or not. Uh, you mean now how now, or when they passed away? my daddy and my oldest one was named whether I get close old they would be �Q: A: Just whatever you can remember to tell me. Then Lizzie, was the second girl, and she died about 3 years ago. was 86 when she died. And Jenny was the oldest but she died younger. Florie was the third girl and she died at the age of about 55. was the fourth and she died at the age of about 30. She And Then Rosie And uh Josie is next. She lives in Tenn., she's 78 and Flory, lives over here at Track,; she's about 60 I guess. And then there comes on to Sam, my brother, and he died at the age of 70- And I guess I'm next. I'm 74. That's a long story. Q: That is. What did your father do for a living? A: He farmed. Q: What kind of crops did he farm? A: Well, he didn't do very much farming, he put up a lot of hay, but he didn't raise no big amount of crops; corn, wheat, and rye. cattle and sheep. He mostly raised He always kept a big bunch of cattle and sheep. made his livin off them. Marty But he did work on the farm oh, all of his life. Q: How much land did your family own? A: Well at one time my daddy owned, I believe it was 300 acres, and he give it all to the children and myself. He bought property out at that Wilson, what's his name? Q: Curtis Wilson? A: No, it was another. Anyhow, he bought a farm out there and he give it to �Flory. And he bought a farm up here of Eric Wilson, and give it to Sam. And then he utilizes so much land over here. I bought a lot of land that he had off in them and said Josie down $1000 dollars, and paid Jenny Reece, my bony sister $1000. 0: So you have a lot of land? A: Well, I did have, I've done like my daddy, I've divided it up among the children. I once had 270 some acres. at home. It's all divided up and all living Well, they all grown, the children is all makin their own way. All of/them got more than I ever had. Money used to be hard to get. But you can get money now whenever, why it ain't nothin' now. 0: Where did you attend school? A: Tamarack. 0: How long did you go to school? A: I was in the seven grade when I quit. Q: What were the teachers like, back then? A: Well, they wasn't nothin' like they are now. Down here, schoolhouse is torn down now. I quit at 15 years old. They wanted you to study and wanted you to learn and if you didn't they'Id use the hickory and send you home. They, that's how come I quit, they uh Charles Hobson was the teacher. He got toOhard on me and I wouldn't take it. Why I'd just ___ 0: Really? A: Thats right. . But is was my fault you know, he was a good teacher. went to school with my sister, Rosie. First school I ever went to. I �Q: What subjects were taught? A: Well, I can't hardly explain that, uh, geography, history, and, uh, I can't think of the rest of 'em. Q: Did- your whole family attend school at one time or the other? A: My brother and sister. Q: How many went out of your family? A: Well - uh- there was 7 years between me "n Sam. with any of 'em but Floy. Q: What was the first job you ever held? A: Puttin' up hay and workin1 on a farm. Q: Have you held any other jobs beside that? A: No. Q: Just workin' on the farm. A: No, worked on it all my life. Q: What church did you attend? A: Elk Knob Baptist Church. Q: Never did go to school Are there any other churches in this area? A: Yeah, they's a church of Christ. I guess there's another church down the road, but a that about fell through . Q: Wher did most people, in this community go to church when you were growing up? A: Elk Knob Baptist Church. Q: Has religion played an improtant part in your life, do you think? A: Yeah. Q: Can you tell me how? A: Well, its a pretty hard to explain, but it's a better life if your dependin' on the Lord and all. It's wonderful to think bein' saved we'll have a better life here after. I would say been the most fullest thing here in life. It's bein' a Christian. That's the way I've found it. Q: When you were growing up, were politics very important to the people? A: Not at all. Q: Can you remember any elections or any thing like that? �A: Yeah, I can remember elections way back when I was just a boy. They took it more like, just to have a good time, and gettin' together is some of 'em would get drunk. Just , they didn't care much who was elected. Q: What party did most people belong to around here? A: You mean uh... Q: Democrate or Republican. A: Well the majority of this, well this township is Republican. But ,uh, ain't no Democrats hardly in the township. I'Id say 8 or 10. There's a 100 and some Republicans. Yeah, the Demacrats is hard to come by. Q: What different kinds of transportation were used when you were younger? A: Well, it was horseback and buggy. Q: Covered wagons, did they ever have that? A: Yeah. Q: Can you remember the first car that you saw? A: Yea. Q: Do you remember when, what year, or how old you, were or anything? A: No, don't. I just...I, just don't remember where it was at or how long ago it was. Q: Can you remember how you felt about it when you first waw it? A: Well, it was kind of a surprixe, uh, kind of a wonder. Q: Did they have bad men or outlaws when you were younger,growing up? A: Yea. Same as today. Q: Can you tell me anything about them? A: Ueah- they was a family lived down a mile and a half up the road here, sold liquor- they used to get in to drink, shoot, and kill and then they'd get out and be enemies to each other and go off and shoot one another. Some of them drive around the corner of the house and shoot- they'd shoot and the others would shootsome of them got killed. Q: All because they were drunk? A: Yup. I could tell you quite a bit about it- but itwouldn't be necessary. �Q: If you want to tell me... A: Well this family sold liquor from Kentucky in kegs and sold liquor down here. And people would go over there to get their liquor, ya know. There's a fella that come from Kentucky, well, there was two of 'em. And they took up in this country and one of them married here. This family was pretty rough and there was something agoing on that they didn't like between his daddy and his son and they shot one of 'em. And one of them got well and the other one died. So outside of that, that was cleared up when I was fifteen, ten or fifteen years old and they all had vanished away and they got out of this country and died out. It's been a very good country since outside of a few spats and little falling outs, there's been a few kills but as of for now, it's, it's an average country. Q: Can you think of any legends that have been passed down to you? A: Q: Well, I don't know... How did the deression affect you and your family? A. Boy, it got the best of us. Q: Was it really bad? A: Yea. Like to went broke and my neighbors did, they went lum broke, it was an awful time. I bought cattle, calves at 17.00 a head just before the depression and kept them two years and sold them for $17.00 a head. Ted and them andgrazed them for two years and when they got when they got fat my neighbor bought some from some old man in South Carolina that fed cattle in the winter on straw, that's what they told me, and he brought 'em up here and I sold him a bunch of cattle at $17.00 a head, that weighed 900 pounds. And so when you don't make anything for two years you get down and out, and that's the way it was. ? Q: Urn, you were workin' on the farm during the depression? A: Yeah. See, I raised my wheat and bread and taters, about everything I lived off of in the depression. I had a few things you know, ate with groceries. It really scared us all bad. I hired a man in here to come to work for me to cut briars and bushes and told him I didn't have no money to pay him. I couldn't hire him and said he, I had to, I had to, I told him I'd pay him coin in corn and they worked for a half a bushel of corn a day, cuttin' bushes righr in back of the hollar here, it was Frank Andrews and Bud Johnson, and Wes , and everyone and I paid 'em off in corn that did already had made, but I didn't pay no money for them to have it. It was a good while that it went that away. Q: Did you always have enough food? A: Yea, never have been of food, milk, butter, meat, eggs, always lived good but you know, it takes a little money along �with it and we couldn't get it. Q: Do you remember any programs such as the WPA or CCC? A: Back in mu young days? Q: Yea. A: I didn't hear tell of anything like that. Q: Did you hear of it later. A: Yea, I heard of it for several years, but there wasn't anything like that when I was young. Q: Can you tell me anything about it? A: No, I can't. Q: During the depression were families closer to each other or did the conditions couse hard feelings between them? A: Well, I don't know htat it made very much difference. We got along about the same. Of course when people's down and out they wouldn't yodel and all like they would. Q: Did people go to church as much, more, or less during the depression? A: About the same. Q: It didn't affect the attendance? the schools? How did the depression affect A: Well, I don't know outside of our own community schools. It would run just about the same. That is the schools out here. I know if they were affedted any other way or not. Q: Who was the most affected by the depression in your community, like farmers, people like that? A: It affected the farmers more in this part of the country. Q: I want to ask you about when you were raising your family. Did you think it was the father's place in helping raising children? A: Yea, sure did and she helped me. We didn't have, there wasn't much doctoring going on only the herbs and stuff that we made at home. The doctors was far and wide at home and don't know whether there was such a thing as penicillin or anything like that, they just give you a few drugs to ease you and the suffering or you just had to buck it out yourself, mostly. Q: Did you have doctors, around.'.in here and you know doctors that would come to see you or anything? A: Yea, there's doctors around here, most doctors we depend on �were Dr. Robinson and Dr. Long. Q: I heard that Dr. Robinson was a real rough doctor. him to treat you.? A: Yea. Q: Did you ever have Was he pretty rough? A: Well, not too rough- the roughest one I ever had was Dr. ^ He come in this country when I was about twenty or twenty one years old, and he had his office over here at Zionville. And I had,ssee this scar there and one there? I had my throuat swelled up - knots under each side here. And they festered up and uh needed to be opened and I went over there to him and he took an old dull knife and went through 'em and opened 'em up and I told him, I said, "Doc I can't stand that, that knife's too dull. Ain't so;anuch dangerous otherwise. Never knowed it from another. Q: What kind of home remedies did they have? A: I didn't understand... Q: What kind of home remedies did they have when you were a boy? A: Our parents? Well, they had catnip tea for babies when they was first born. Fed on catnip tea, sweeten it, and uh fed on that about day, couple of days, then put on their breast. And penny royal tea; it was it was good for colds and we used that and cherry bark, they get it and boil it down to a syrup and it was good for sore throats. Care a sore throat or a cough. That was about the most remedies that we used. A: Did they ever have anything that you wore all winter long to keep from getting colds that you wore around your neck? Q: Seems like I remember somebody wearin' the nome was Fitity, don't know, something like bees was or something. I've heard of people wearin' that round their neck way back then. A: Were people very superstitious over here back then? A: Yeah, right quite a bit. cats across the road. Q: They went by signs in winter and black What other kinds of signs did they go by? A: They went altogether by signs of moon, sign on the calendar to plant stuff and do a lot of thins. Q: Well, did it seem to work? A: Well, they thought it did but, since I got grown and on my own I didn't pay no attention to it. Q: Well what kind of farmin' utensils did y'all use? �A: Well, it was an old horse drawn plow and home-made shovel plow and a hoe, pitchfork and a mowin' scythe. That was our tools. Rough. Q: What about houses? Y'know some of them have got real intricate little markins' and stuff on them. What kind of tools would the carpenters use on them to make them so pretty? A: Well they had home-made tools and my brother, when he was young then he made a toung and groove thing to match hardwood together, y'know, a tool that could do that, press together. And Erick Wilson, he had tools like that and they could take and cut figures and fix 'em up pretty, y'know. But it took a long time to do it, it was a. slow process but they got it done. Q: When did electricity first come in to this area? A: Oh, let me see, 35 years ago. Q: What was the first electrical appliance you got? A: Uh, washing machine. Q: Really? Bet you liked that didn't you? A: to ask her about electricity. Things like the refrigerator, deep freeze and uh televisions come in. I don't know when so it was awful handy but, gettin' awful expensive now. Q: What company was it? The same one as now? A: Yeah. Q: Which one was that? RCA? A: Uh-huh. Q: Well, who were some of the most outstanding people in this community when you were a young boy? Most influencial families? A: When I was a boy? Well, I'd say, uh, my daddy and my uncle, Frank South, lives up here, Eric Wilson, that was my daddy's brother-in-law, and Alaway Maines, was my wifes friend for a . Q: Well, do you know where most of these people come from that moved in here? What if they were Scotch-Irish or English or anything? A: Well I don't know, just where all they came from the first settlers in here was my grandaddy. Q: So they didn't have any strays around in here? A: No, not that I can remember. Q: You said you knew, the hashing, what is that? A: It's a peak. Q: Is it a mountain? 9 No, in this part of the country. �A: Yeah, I know but its called by Raskins, it's at the foot of Peak Mountain. Q: Who named that do you know? A: A Peak? No I don't. Q: Did anybody from your family? A: No. Now they could have but a family of niggers lived up there a year, raised a great family young. 0: Well then how did people around here feel about that, then? A: Well they, I guess societies together worked together and my daddy hired him to work for him. Frank South, my uncle, he hired 'em to work for him. But they wasn't considered as blackes, they paid 'em money and they had a home. They's a nigger graveyard up there. 0: What if just that family, they were just there? Or are there more in the county? A: Well, they uh, this family was a-co-livin' kinda with me. And the older one was, he was the daddy of and he lived up there 'till he died. dreg's family. Ouite a few niggers buried up there. Q: Eo you know what their names are? Their last name.? A: Greg, (sp.?) Q: Did you know where they come from to settle here? A: No I don't. 0: Are any of them still livin'? A: I, believe they all dead. They left up here, this last family that was raised up here, only got up to, some of 'em about 50. Anywhere from 35 to 50 and 60 years old, they left, in this country up here. And just strode off from town. Yeah they's one of 'em named Walt Red and Tom Red and Jim Red and Phip Red. I don't believe they had any girls. So, uh, they was just considered in this country, in my growin1 up, until they left here. They wasn't any difference from them and a white person, just all'sociated together, the best family of niggers you ever want to, uh, they didn't bother nobody, they wouldn't get drunk, they wouldn't, uh, just nice people, I know of Phip Red, he attended church down here and got baptized. Q: Wo they went to the whiter-church down here? A: Yeah. 0: Is their old home place still up there or is it rotted down? A: No it's gone. 40 years. Buildings all gone. I guess it's been gone here 'round 0: Well, do you know if there's any markers up there for the grave site? 10 �A: I wouldn't say, I ain't been there in uh, ever since I was a boy. They got it fenced off near . They tell me . Jim ran one of the oldest one. He went west and he come back in that boat was in "50. And they call it the Reeny (sp.?) graveyard. That was his mother's name, Reeny. And Wesley then cause . 1 know old man Anderson, he was a nigger. All I know 'bout him was he "was called "Old Man Anderson" or He lived, in California, and he'd come in this country and hunt for gold". Hunt for a mine up and down the creeks. And he was a fine old nigger he, he's been here and doing well. He was an old man when I was a young one. And he'd bring 'em grapes, great big boxes of grapes and uh, California grapes, And he'd stay with 'em up here, uh 2, 3 weeks and he'd go back to California. 0: Did he ever find any gold? A: Nope. Q: Has there ever been any gold found around in here? A: Not that I know of. 0: No precious minerals here, huh? A: (laughing) No. 11 � 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 2014-02-24 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 Walter South, June 12, 1973 Description An account of the resource Walter South was born in Watauga County, North Carolina in 1899 on a small farm. Mr. South's interview is mostly about his childhood and his memories from when he was younger.He talks briefly about Tamarack's history and his grandfather being one of the first people to settle there. Some topics he mentions while talking about his childhood include church, politics, the Great Depression, and home remedies. He also recalls memories of the only minority family he can remember growing up. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Ward, Karen South, Walter 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> 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. 11 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_tape78_WalterSouth_1973_06_12M001 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Todd, NC Subject The topic of the resource Watauga County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--20th century Mountain life--North Carolina--Watauga County--History--20th century--Anecdotes Depression--1929--North Carolina--Watauga County Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-06-12 church Great Depression home remedies Politics Tamarack