1 50 2 https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/72eb3091cd66b7d29516ed058c5e7b5e.pdf bd40525eec5259655c582a9d5775c88d PDF Text Text This is an interview with Mr. and Mrs. G. L. Richards for the Appalachian Oral History Project by Donna Clawson at Rt. 7, Boone, en June 12, 1973. Q: Mrs.-Richards I'll start with you. Where were you born? A: Well, I was born at Silver Stone in 1902. March 5, 1902. Q: And your parents always lived in there? A: Yes. Q: They were born in Silver Stone two? A: Well, my mother was born rear Poplar Grove and my papa was horn there. Q: How many brothers and sisters did you have? A: Well, does that mean living? Q: No. A: Well I have six sisters and one brother all the others are gone. Q: Can you remember, do you have many memories of what life was like when you were growing up. Did you live on a farm? A: -fes. Q: What kind of crops did you raise? A: Well, Papa raised corn, wheart back then to amke our flour, you taow. WB used to gst out the Dutch oven, my brother is one of the younger ones, you know. Us girls, he used to cut his wheat with you've seen these old cradles you know. Did you ever see cne and cut wheat by hand? �We raised our corn, hogs and chickens, things like thata didn't have to run.to the store for everything. You It was pretty hard vork. Q: Did your father sell any of his crops or did he just A: Well, I didn't have ituch0 0 . I went to "the sixth grade. Q: How many months out of the yaar did you go to school? A: Well, when I first started in school it was four months. Then they got to having six month school. Q: What was the names of the schools you attended„ A: I always went to Silver Stone. Q: Do you remember you teachers names. A: Well, my first teacher was Mrs. Lottie Bowes, she's still living and I think my next .teachers name was Jack Greene and Mr. Charlie Haigaman, and Mr. Alie Tugman and Mr. Don Horton and that was all of them. Q: What kind of thing did you learn and what kind of text books did you have? A: Well, at first we didn't have anything only first reader, they called it. And then got a little high. We had a reader and spelling, arithmetic and grammer they called it, geography history. Q: About the same thing they teach no isn't it? A: I guess so. Q: I think it is0 Mr. Richards where were you born? �A: Caldwell County, I think. Q: And were your parents from these too? A: Vfell, ny father was. My mother and father lived there and I come back up here to this country in the mountains when I was six years old.. We lived up on Meat Camp from 6 til I was grown, about 20 or something like that. farmed you know. I lived up the 1s and About everybody ip there farmed. It was hard labor of course but we farmed. Q: What year were you born? A: 1897. Qi What kind of crops did you raise on your farm? A: Well, it was just about like she'd tell you. Corn, pota- toes you know wheat, rye, buckwheat alot of buckwheat«, thing to eat on too, you know. Some- And that was before they had the market crops like tobacco, beans and cabbage. In the later years we got to having market crops, like tobacco and stuff. Q: What kind of live stock did you have? A: Cattle mostly, worked steers. Did you ever see any steers? Q: Yeah, I seen 'em. A: Steers to plow throught the harvest. Had an old cross cut saw to saw up wood in the winter, to put in the fireplaces about half as wide as this house. Q: Go diead. A: One time one side would burn up and the other side would freeze. �Q: I didn ' t know. A: My father would, Jater years got to rasing tomatoes and cabbage to sell0 Q: What about school? How many years of schooling did you bave? A: I don't know. I did n't do no good when I did go. About quit between fifth and sixth grade. Q: Howmany months out of the year did you go? A: About ibru months sometimes we'd run short about three monthso It didn't take long sessions like they do now. children most of them any account at all had to work. to farm the time I was twelve yaars old on. The I had We all had to work seem like to make it. We didn't have a bif family no how. Just myself and two sisters. One of them lives in California and the other one passes away a week ago Saturday. My mother married, you know Jason Muller don't you. Q: I don't know. A: He lived here and was raised up on Meat Camp up there and never traveled around too much. He was Larken Miller's brother. All passes away I think but Jason. But he married my mother and I had a step father for about five or six years. up about 12 years old0 (Mrs. Ro 'I think he was about 10')) A: Well, something along there. (Mrs. R. 'I know he's 94') I can't remember0 I was �Q: When did you two get married? A: Miy the sixteenth, 1918. Q: Where did you live then? A: Well, he lived on Meat Camp and I lived. . 0 Oh, you mean where we lived after we got married. Q; Yeah0 A: Well, we lived on Meat Camp awhile and we moved over to Silver Stone over there. while aid out And we moved over to Howard's Creek a little to somewhere. Q: You've always lived in this county then0 A: Yes. A: (Mr. R.) No we lived about four years in Cleveland, Ohio, wasn't it. R: Well we didn't exactly move up there. A: We lived up ther with Sally Roten (Mr. R). A: You was vorking up there and I would go up there awhile. Q: Mr. Richards what kind of jobs did you have? A: All kinds. I've worked in several shops. I've worked in a shop up there in Cleveland and I used to work at Lenior in a furniture shop. And I've had several jobs sawmilling, car- pentry work and I never could be very choicy about that. I had to work at something or another that wasn't hardly right to work awhile and find something better. Jones, don't you. feymond Jone's brother. You remember Hubfoard Joneses sons. I �worked for him a whole lot. I reckon liked him alot. Most of anybody that sawmilled I don't guess you remember a bunch of Jews around run a pie factory a few years ago. when ve first moved out here wasn't it. ago0 It was Close to 30 years I don't imagine you're that old. Q: Not qiitec A: I vrorked there 10 years ago or longer around and about, around and around. Q: Can you remember a time when you had a hard time getting a job? A: Yeah, yeah, oh yeah, lots of times you couldn't hardly get a pi?. Eack then they didn't pay much, they got labor real cheap» I used to vrork alot for a dollar a day and wages like that. And now they don't like tlBt you know. A: (Mrs. R) If you got a hold of five dollars you thought that was a whole lot of money , didn't they. A: (Mr. R.) How much was it a dollar and seventy five cents or a dollar and a half, something like that. He was awful good to pay what he promised,, I don't remember. It wasn't very much, but still we sorta lived about all you could expect was to live and went to Cleveland, then and made better there, better than I ever had in this county. Q: What kind of wrk did you do in Cleveland? A: I worked in a factory or where they made �R. I call them clothers hampers.) Clothes hampers. For people to carry their laundry around in. like that*, All kinds of stuff I did so many different things I can't remember all of it. A: (MrSo Ro) . . „ we have had it a long time andit's getting old. A: Bunch of Jews I worked for and they were from New York and ate these0 I cut out all that stuff outl I cut it all out on a shaping machine a saw, a big table saw, and shaping machine and a , they tad all kinds of machinery and I ran a machine all the time myself. They vent to a lot of. . . They was alot of people worked there0 We went to a more colored people. QK How many hours a day did you work? A: Well, I worked eight„ We were supposed to work about eight hours, but they let me work a lot of overtime„ 10 hours, 10 orU hours alot of days. I'd work avbout We got time and a half for o/er forty and thats the reason I made pretty good, was the over time. The pay wasn't but about a dollar and sixty cents, I believe it was0 Then I'd get couple hours, maybe 3 everyday of overtime and when it ran over forty hours I got time and a half. Then carried up pretty good when payday come. Q What year was it you were working up there? A: 1952, fall wouldn't it. 3952, I went up there then about four years later I come back about '56 or '570 Something like �8 about 1956 or 1957. Then messing around here I haven't done too nuch work since I came back0 On a job. I've been busy all the time but it's been a farming and messing around,, Q: What about diurches in the area. Can you remember churches that been around here? A: ¥>u Mean. Q: The denominations. What kinds of churches? Just in the county and around. A: (Mrs. R.) You nean we've attended. Q: Well, yeah, Just any you can remember. A: Well, I can remember Methodist Churches and Lutheran, we still have them. Baptist, we always went to the Baptist Church. Oh, I have been to the Methodist Church that was up at Silver Stone. I don't think to any denomination outside of the Baptist Church since we lived over here* Q: To which church did most of the people belong. Which church did most people attend? A: (Mrs. R.) I always thought it was the Baptist, of course I dan't know for sure. Q: What were the churches like, have they changed slot? A: Well, some of them have , but I like the old time way. Q: How are they different. A: Well, I don't know what. You go to diurch now. the people have the interest that they used to did0 then they had monthly meetings0 Seem like Of course The preacher would preach once. �They'd have Saturday meetings to attend to all of the business you friow, and on Sunday. Of course we'd have Sunday School every Sunday, but we wouldn't have preching any more till next month. Aid I remember the fourth Sunday was the monthly meeting in Silver Stone. once a uear. And , oh, they'd have revivals you know about Sometimes they'd last two weeks and they would have a big time. Have services in the daytime, then at night. Q: Do you know how this community got its name? Rainbow Trail community. A: I dan't rightly know0 Thats the name as far back as I can remember. (Mr. R.) A: (Mrs0 R, > Maybe Mr. Walter Cullins could know. Q: Yeah, I talked to him. A: They used to call it the Doe Ridge Section back up in yonder that mountain right thea is Doe Ridge Mountain. This used to go by the name of Doe Ridge Road till after we moved out here then they got to calling it Rainbow Trail., come they to change. I don't know how (Mrs. R.) Q: Well this road here goes in around to Doe Ridge Church, years ago, It maybe now that it's impassable back up there in that mountain. I've been through these a couple of times, it's just a dirt road , around through there years ago. I can remem- ber a person could walk up throug there. (Mr. R) A: (Mrs R) Well we've not been out in there in 7 or 8 years have we. �10 A: (Mr. R) Yeah, I guess, A: (Mrs. R) We've been living out in here nearly fifty years0 A:(Mr. R) What? A: (Mrs. R) We've been living out in here nearly 30 yearso Johnny wasn't hit about 3 years olcU Johnny's 32, maybe 29 or 30 years. Q: How has the community changed over the years? A: (Mr. R) Everybody living, buildt em a new house. A: (Mrs. R) Much better ttiat it was then. moved in town yonder. I know when we Lots of barns looked better than it did. A: (Mr. R) You remember, that old house down yonder0 A: Yeah, A: (Mrs. R) She did n't look to see if it looked worse. A: (Mr. R) You oould tell from the outside before we tors it down. Couldn't possibly be very much on the inside. A: (mrs. R)) I wonder how we kept from freezing to death of a winter time. Q: How long did you live down there? A: (Mrs. R) Law we lived down there. We moved into this house from down there in 1960 and I never stopped to count. A: (Jtfr. R) Down there about 12 years. A: (Mrs. R) Down there about 29 or 30 years then 1960 we moved up here. A: (Mr. R) From "72 it been 12 or 13 years0 �11 A: (Mrs. R) From 1960 on, no 1959 then it come that awful, can you remember that awful snow that come in 1960= Q: Yeah, A: We vas moved in this house thei?,we was lucky we got moved, Well, the weather seemed colder on us you knowa One winter time0 Q: I bet these alot more people lived around here now than they used to be. A: (Mr. R) Yeah. A: (Mrs. R} The 0 . . moved in there. We moved out here. Who moved out there at that house? Anybody living over there at time? Well, he lived over there awhile and Mr. Ladkey. A: (Mr. R) Oh yeah he lived there longer than us. A: (Mrs,R) Yeah, he bought up that place and then Gladys Smith, she moved up here in this house a little while after we moved in that old house dswn there0 where John Greene lives now. And Mr. Hartley lived up there Ed's mother. But they Mr. Lewis and Hartlys were off down the country a working. daddy moved back. When their Mr. Colors he lived up in the hollar and Donald Miller and ttet was about all. And Mr. Woodry. And we lived down in the old house which we tore down. That little house that stood over there and they tore it down. I forgot them, and I believe Jeff Garner lived out there where Mr. in an dd house that s$bd over there and they tore it down. Where Mr. Woodring lived„ Of course they lived in another �12 home. And then there is Glenn Pierce the were living out there in a house that got burned. I can't remember. I guess the, Mr. and Mrs. Lackey living over there across the river. A: (Mrs. R) Yeah, I remember em living over there along time. A: The old road was like a stieeps path, the road down there„ The bushes out the other side of Mr0 Woods would generally lap across the road. A: (Mr0 R) You couldn't meet somebody two a walking, you couldn't hardley passing0 Holler and a scare you to death. Car couldn't come out in here at that tLme0 A: (Mrs. R) There was one once in a while, I don't hardly see how it did. A: (Mr. R) The bushes was high and the cliffs down in here one time. Antler's one, hung on the youngest one, what's his name? A: Petty A: (Mr. R) Help me cut out the bushes off the bank of the road so they wouldn't lap over the road. cut em let the state cut em0 And they said let -ftie state The state wouldn't come out here. No electric lines, nothing out here. A: (Mrs. R) We did have no maid; out there0 A: Yeah, we had to put our mail box out theie at Mrs. Barnes0 (Mrs. New Barnes0) A: (Mr0 R) And they says let the state and I think to myself you've got a long wait. Q: The way it goeso Well how long wag it till the mail started �13 coming ip in here? A: I don't Know but it was a good long while. A: (Mrs* R) I took awhile. I don't remember how long it took. The School bus come out there at to Mr. Judd Barnes and turned there and the mail gst coming out that far. And it wasn't too many years till ttie moil got to coming out that far. And as to where you used to turn over to your house. And then a little later on it got to going to the top of the hil!0 Q: Wello A: (Mr.R) There was Clyde Rumbarger. Do you remember Clyde Rumbarger? Q: "feaho A: Me and him used to go to school together. We while, we was raised up on Meat Camp and he carried the mail back here A: (Mrs. R) I know a Johnny. Tried to rush around and get out to Mr. Woodring to catch the bus. Of course after they left home, they's poke around and let the school bus leave them. I'd get so aggravated. Q: How did people get"around back then, when you were growing up? A: (Mr, R) They was a few people had horspes/ some wouldn't or couldn't buy a saddle hores and buggy0 A buggy would just run over you0 A: fclrse R) If you can believe it, I have gone to church and other places in an ox and wagon. Roads rough , rocky �14 you know, just jolt around. Q: I'll bet it would. I guess it could. A: (Mrs. R) Well, my daddy always kept an exxtra team. out horse to work on the farm. He kept an ox, Rent you'd better b elieve they were pretty slow, but they started to plow farming -he done with them oxen., here on the mountain0 Around the old turnpike you know up Hauled all over the whole county0 Q: Where did most of the roads run? Well just where were the roads you had there? A: (Mr. R) They were mud roads. You sorta know this one was when you fold moved in the old road. in the country, where we growed up. Gravel road or two like that. worked About like they all was They wasn't no paved roads. on them a little. labor wanted the people out you know setting roads. Free Then they would go in and take a rake, I call it a hoe. A: (Mrs. R) Well a lot of the old new roads now run pretty close to SDiaejof the old roads o A: (Mr.R)> Pretty much the way they do now0 A.s Mrs. R They didn't used to be any old roads0 them pretty close to where the old roads were. End of Interview Alot of � 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 2014-02-25 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 Mr. and Mrs. G.L. Richards, June 12, 1973 Description An account of the resource Mrs. Richards was born March 5, 1902 in Silverstone, NC where she was raised on a farm. Mr. Richards was born in Caldwell County in 1897. He worked many different jobs including sawmilling and carpentry. Mr. and Mrs. Richards recall their childhoods growing up on farms and their small amount of schooling. Mr. Richards talks about the hard time he had finding jobs and describes his working experience in his different career paths. He worked for four years in Cleveland, Ohio. The couple talks about the community and the changes it has experienced in transportation and religion. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Clawson, Donna Richards, Mr. & Mrs. G.L. 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_tape75_Mr&MrsGLRichards_1973_06_12M001 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Boone, NC Subject The topic of the resource Richards, G. L.--Interviews Richards, G. L., Mrs.--Interviews Watauga County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--20th century Avery County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--20th century Farm life--North Carolina--Watauga County--20th century Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-06-12 Caldwell County carpentry church Cleveland crops farm furniture shop G.L. Richards Lenior Meat Camp North Carolina Ohio Poplar Grove sawmilling Silver Stone Sunday School transportation https://omeka-test.library.appstate.edu/files/original/d0485fd74f5e05df52012b3553c39d89.pdf b00bf27a59c06c4a8346d18fd3cd95d9 PDF Text Text 1. This is an interview with Walter Culler for the Appalachian Oral History Project by Donna Clawson at Rainbow Trail Road on June 11,1973. Q: Grandpa Culler, where were you born? A: I was born in Boone. Q: What was the year you were born? A: 1882. Q: 1882. Where were your parents born.? A: My father was born in Wilkesboro. And I declare, honey, I don't know where my mother was born at. Q: What were your parents' names? A: John. John Culler. Q: What was your mother's name? A: Nancy. Q: Who was she before she married? A: She was a Beach. Q: When did your father come to Boone? A: I declare, honey, I don't know. Q: How many brothers and sisters did you have? �2. A: I had five sisters. I had five sisters and four boys. Well, they was six boys but two of them died in infancy. Q: Have you lived in Watauga County all your life? A: All my life. Q: How long did you go to school? A: Honey, I couldn't tell you how long I went to school. Q: How rnany months out of the year did you go when you were going to school? A: How many months in school? Oh, about three months. Q: How many different parts of Watauga County have you lived in? A: I've lived all my years in Boone Township except five years I lived in Watauga Township. Q: When was it that you moved to Watauga Township? A: I declare, honey, I don't know what year it was. Q: Was that after you were married? A: Yeah, yeah. It was after all the children were born that I moved over there. I went over there when they had that big works over there. That big timber works over there, you know. I went over there. We stayed over there five years. Then we came back here, down in the holler down there, to take care of my wife's daddy and mother. We took care of them. �3. Q: When you were a young boy did your family grow your own food? Did you live on a farm? A: Yes, we lived on a farm. All my childhood days, we lived on a farm. Q: What kind of work did you have to do around the farm? A: Oh well, different kinds of work. We done all the farming. Planted potatoes, corn, and rye and wheat, like that cabbage. Q: What was your biggest money-making crop? A: Well, our biggest money-making crop was corn. Q: Where did you sell it? A: We didn't sell it. We used it. We never sold no corn. We just made enough for us to live on. That's what we had to live on then. living on our farms. here. We had to make our On, we'd go to the store and buy what we couldn't make W e ' d go to the store and buy that. But what we could make on the farm, why, we'd use that. Q: What kinds of jobs have you had throughout your life? A: Well, my biggest job I've had throughout my life was a carpenter. Q: I've seen some of your work. A: Last house I built was Joe Miller's house down there. house I built. Except this one. I built this one. That's the last �Q: Have you been a carpenter most of your life? A: Most of my life I've been a carpenter. Q: Have you ever had a hard time getting a job? A: No. I never had a hard time getting a job. Q: Can you see any way that work has changed over the years? A: Yes. Q: What ways are they? A: Well, I don't know, honey, hardly what to tell you about that. Of course the carpenter work has changed a whole lot from what it used to be, you know. Used to, we just had to do it all by these here (indicates his hands) you know, just main strength. Now they got that machinery, you know, and they can do most of that work with that machinery now. We didn't have that then. We just had to do all that work with our hands. Q: What year did you get married? A: The year 1900. Q: What was Granny Culler's name before she married you? A: What was her name? Q: Wasn't she a Hodges? �5. A: Yeah, fa Hodges. Minerva Hodges. Q: Where was she from? Was she fromaround here too? A: She was born over on Meat Camp. Q: How many children did you have? A: We had five. One little girl died when she was twenty months old. Q: What are your children's names? A: The oldest one's Vance, then Tracy, then James, and then the little girl that died, and Beulah. Q: Do you remember how much schooling your children had? Did they go to school mic h? A: No, they just got a common school education. Back then, we just had about three months of school a year, you know. Q: Do you think children are brought up the same way now that they were when you were bringing up your children? A: No, I don't. Q: What ways are different about the way they're brought up? A: Well, the difference is that then children would do just exactly what their parents said to do, and now the children do about what they want to do. We had to obey our parents, and if we didn't we got a whooping for it. �Q: You don't see too much of that anymore, do you? A: Don't see much of that anymore. Q: That's right. Can you remember any of the disasters around this area, like the 1916 flood? A: No, not that I know of. Q: Or the one in 1940? A: I don't remember that, about what time it was. flood through here in the 1940's. didn't put them down. They was a right smart I can't remember the dates or nothing. I I don't allow nobody did. Q: I guess you weren't affected by the flood too much then, were you? A: No, we wasn't affected by them. The greatest flood that we've had here was the time it washed those folks away down the other side of the mountain, a few years back. I've got the history of it here. A woman wrote it down there and had it printed in a book and I've got one of them. Q: What kind of churches have been in this area, like were they mostly one kind or the other? A: Most of the churches, back in my time, was Baptist. Boone , lived in Boone till I was twelve years old. I was born in Then my father bought a piece of land back here on the mountain and we moved back there then. there when I was married, 1900. I was living �7. Q: Do you think that the churches today are the same that they were when you were younger? A: No. Q: How are they different now? A: Well, the difference between now and then is the difference between the members of the church attending the church. Back then, if you didn't attend that church why you went out. Now, they can just do what they please and stay in church. You had to obey those church rules. They was strict on it. Throw you out if you didn't obey them. Q: What are some of the things that people got thrown out of church for doing? A: Well, most of the people, honey, got thrown out of the church for non-attendance. Those church rules said, the Baptist church rules now, I don't know nothing about them other churches. But in a Baptist church the rules said if you miss three meeting times they'll come and see you. And what's the matter, and if you ain't able to attend the church you're free. can't attend it, why you was free of that. Or if something happens that you But you didn't stop going just cause you didn't want to go, they'd tell you now next meeting time if you ain't there we're going to turn you out. And if you wasn't there, out you went. See how strict them rules was back then? If we used them no they wouldn't be nobody in the church would they? Q: What about things like cussing and lyingchurch for things like that? Did people get thrown out of �A: Yeah, yeah. Throw you out for lying. You had to walk those church rules if you stayed in there. Q: Do you think that made a better church, for people to obey the rules? A: Yeah. When we disobey them church rules we're disobeying what that Book says. I've read that Book through five times. Q: I'm sure you've lived it too. A: I've tried to. Q: Was there any way,to get back in the church after you got thrown out? A: Oh, yes. You go back there and make your acknowledgement to the church, why they'd forgive you and take you back. If they hadn't, it wouldn't of been according to the Bible. God'11 forgive us for our disobedience if we'll come and ask Him to. If we ask Himwith a repentant heart. Just go and tell I'm going to do this, that, and the other. He won't pay any attention to that. You come to Him and repent about what you've done and then He'll forgive you and you can go back to the church. Put you back in the church. Q: Do you know how this community got its name, Rainbow Trail Road? Do you know how that name came about? A: Well, it's been Rainbow Trail for, let's see, about I guess twenty years ago. It was Rainbow Trail Road when I came back fromShulls Mills when I lived overthere, I came back over here to take care of my wife's daddy and mother. They were building this old railroad went around here where they got that �9. timber out up in here, you know. And they called it Rainbow Trail because of that train coming in here. That's been about twenty years ago. Q: How has this community changed over the years? A: Oh well, the community has changed a whole lot. There was nobody living here then, much. Nobody lived past, Gov Lane, they lived right down in a house down in the woods there. That was about all the folks that lived here except my wife's daddy andmother. They lived down in the holler down here. When we moved in here, that was about all. know if they lived in here then. And Ed Hardy's, let's see, I don't I don't know if his father lived in here when we moved in or not. I believe he did. He had a little log house right down there. But that's about all the houses tkoAt were in here then. Q: How did you get around back in those days? A: Oh, we went by wagon or horseback. We went afoot most of the time. Didn't have nothing to go in. Q: Can you remember the first car you saw? A: No, honey, I don't know what year it was. But the first car I saw was in Boone. And that car was built like a hack. I don't know whether you ever seen an old hack or not. Q: I don't know either. A: Big old hack, pulled by horses. It was made just in the shape of that. And �10. it had, the motor was in thefront end. Of course the motor's in the front end of a car yet. But the motor was in the front end, and they had a chain belt then, that would run from that motor back to that back axle back there. And it backed around that axle there and had little places on it for them chain makes a hook in. And when they started why that got to going and rolled that hind wheel. Course the hind wheel is what rolls now. But it was a lot like a chain belt. And it went about as fast as a horse could trot. That's the first car I ever seen. Q: They'll go a lot faster now, won't they? A: _,Oh Law, yes. A mile a minute now. Q: Wherewere most of the roads? Can you remember the main roads that were around here? A: No, I don't. Q: What about railroads? You just mentioned the one that ran through here. Were there any more railroads in the area? A: No. Q: Was that used just mainly to take the lumber back and forth? A: Yes. Q: Do you remember when that railroad was built? A: It was built about 1921, cause I came back here in 1922 from Shulls Mills, �11. and that railroad was, they had just built it when I came back here. Because when I came back here they were hauling those logs out of this country and back away back in here plumb back to Rich Mountain back yonder to the Bald. They went plumb back there and got all that timber in there and hauled it out here. When I come back here I worked on this old railroad here. They had a bunch of hands stayed on it all the time to keep it fixed up, you know, -"-nd I worked with that. That was 1922 when I come back here. That's when that old railroad was built. Q: How much did you get paid for working on the railroad? A: Oh, we got about a dollar a day. Q: I guess it was hard work, wasn't it? A: No, it wasn't too hard a work. Three or four of us worked on it, and the boss man along with us. ride from place, to place on it. on it; we just pushed it along. you know, We had a little old car we kept on the road to We just had to push it. We didn't have no power Going downhill we'd all jump on that thing and ride down. We kept the presses all fixed up so they wouldn't have a wreck or something. Q: Are you interested in politics of any kind? A: Yeah. (Laughter) Q: Do you remember any elections in the past? Any that stood out in your mind maybe? �12. A: Well, I don't know. I know a right smart about the elections. There's some I remember but don't know what I could say about them. Q: Can you remember anything about local elections, like county elections for sheriff, and the county officers and things like that? A: Well, I don 't know that I could. You know, when I first got to vote, the first time ever I voted, why the Democrats held this county, you know, for years and years. My generation was all Democrats and we all voted a Democrat ticket. Yeah, the Democrats held this county here for I don't know how long. I guess fifteen^or twenty years. Q: When was that? Do you remember the years that they held power? A: I don't remember the years. Q: Do you think politics today are dirtier than they were in the past? A: Yeah, they're dirty now. They're dirty. On both sides. Q: How do you think they're dirtier now? A: Well, I think one thing, the main thing about them being dirty is trying to buy people over and such stuff like that you know. My generation was all Democrats. My grandfather was a Democrat. And all our generation was. My grandfather lived to be 128. Q: My goodness! He had a long life, didn't he? Did he live around here? A: He was born and raised in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He came to Williies �13. County when he was forty years old. He rode from South Carolina on horseback to Wilkesboro. He came to Wilkesboro when he was forty years_old and married a woman there in Wilkesboro. He wasn't married till he was forty years old. He stayed there a while and then he moved to Boone and spent the rest of his life here. Well, the last few days of his life he spent, he went back down to Wilkesboro. But he spent most of his life in Watauga County. Q: What was his name? A: Benjamin. Benjamin Culler. Q: Why did he leave Orangeburg and go to Wilkesboro? A: I don't know. Now his father, his niother was a German, his father was an Englishman. His father died when he was six years old. then, you know, had a bunch of niggers. It was slave time He had 640 acres of land there, his father did, in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Course he come over from the old country there and when they come over in that time they gave them so much land. They gave him 640 acres, his father. His father died when he was six years old, and there was another boy and a girl, that's all. Three of them. Grandfather, and Uncle Frank, and Aunt Frances. That's all the children there was. He came there to Wilkesboro. He stayed there a while and then he married a woman there and came on to Watauga County. Now after I was big enough to know anything a 'tall about it, there was a Clarence Glover, a lawyer in Orangeburg, South Carolina, wrote Granddad a letter and said, "Your brother and your sister's dead, and they weren't ever married, they didn't have no children. " �14. And he said, "I want you to come down here now and take charge of this land. This 640 acres. " Granddad never did go down there. Now that 640 acres of land down in Orangeburg would of made the Cullers all rich, wouldn't it? Q: It might have. A: He didn't even go down there to see about it. Q: Well, do you know what ever happened to the land? A: No, honey, I don't know. Q: When somebody in your family got sick, what could you do for them? Could you get them to a doctor? A: Well, we had different doctors. oh, I couldn't mention them all. We had a Dr. Council and Dr. Reeves, and That old Dr. Council was the first doctor they was in Boone, over there. And then Dr. Reeves came there, I don't know how many years Dr. Reeves stayed there. There's been so many doctors in there I can't remember them now. But old Dr. Council was the main doctor there in the time of the Civil War. Q: Do you remember any stories about the Civil War that you heard your parents tell about or anything? A: No, honey. I don't know nothing about that. Only the time they came here to Boone, you know, and shot up Boone, down there. Killed three people there. I've heard them tell about that. I didn't know anything about it though. That was before I was born. But I've heard an old soldier that lived here, old man Max �15. Norris over yonder, he was one of the soldiers, I've heard him tell about it. They killed one or two of them there too. Boone cemetery, over there. I saw them buried over there at the That was the North against the South, the Civil War. Q: Do you remember hearing about any badmen or outlaws, any stories about any of them ? A: No, I don't honey. Q: I heard people mention Clarence Potter and Boone Potter. Do you remember anything about them? A: Oh, yeah. I knowed about Clarence Potter and Boone Potter. they killed him. Clarence Potter, they tried him in the court here at Boone for killing a man, and sentenced him to be electrocuted. hun him. Boone Potter, I don't really know. I reckon maybe they And he took an appeal to the Supreme Court for a new trial. And they granted him a new trial and the next trial he was clear. And then after that they had him in court up yonder again for throwing a rock through a man's window, over there in Pottertown where he live, you know. And the same judge that was there, when he come to trial for throwing that rock, the same judge was there that gave him the sentence to be electrocuted. And when they called him up there, the judge said, "Clarence, I convicted you to be electrocuted," And he said, "They pardoned you. The governor pardoned you. " And he said, "Now you're right back here before me for throwing a rock in a man's window. " And Clarence just got up there and said, "Judge, your Honor, " he said, "I never killed that man. " The judge said, "You didn't ?" "No," he said, "I didn't." The judge said, "Who killed him then? " He said, "Boone Potter killed �16. him. " "Why didn't you tell it?" Says, "I was afraid to. Boone would a killed me if I'd a told it! " See, he suffered all that time. He stayed in jail now while he was trying to make his appeal to the Supreme Court. two months, till his other trial came along. Tried him again and he come clear. you know. He stayed in jail forty- They was going to try him again. Yeah, he come clear. Told who done it, Judge said, "Why didn't you tell it?" Said, "I was afraid to. Boone would kill me if I told it. " But they finally killed Clarence. him. there. Had up a watch for Took a bunch of deputy sheriffs or sheriffs or deputies or something over Send plumb iover thereto get him. Clarence put up a fight with them and shot them and finally they shot him and killed him, Q: Were there any other outlaws or badmen in this area? A: No, not that I know of right around close here. Q: When somebody got sick or something, did you use some cures? A: I guess we used some cures. Mulligan tea. Homemade cures. Make catnip tea for colds, And different things for hoarseness, you know. Something like that. Q: Did the cures work? A: Yeah. Q: DCF you remember any folk tales or legends from around this area? A: No, I can't. �17. Q: What about mysteries? Can you think of anything that happened that never was solved? A: Well, no. Q: What about superstitions and things like that, like planting in the signs and all that kind of stuff? Did you go by that? A: Well, yeah, people went by those signs. Went by signs of the moon, and so on like that. Most people way back then, you know, would wait till the moon got in a certain place before they'd plant a crop or something like that. Q: Do you know if there's any difference in courting or sparking today than what there was when you were growing up? A: Well, I don't know. I guess there is a difference now. Looked after them more than they do now. Q: When you were courting how did you get to your girlfriend's house? A: I walked. Q: Then did you just stay around her house? A: Yes. We walked to church then, you know. Some folks had horses, they rode horseback. Most of us poor mountain folks here, we had to walk to church. Q: How far did you have to walk? A: The farthest ever we had to walk, I guess was about two miles. Some people �18. had to walk more than that. Where we lived in my boyhood time we went to church, and we lived about two miles from the church house. Q: Did you do that in the winter and all through the snow? A: Oh, yeah. We didn't care about the snow. We went right on. Q: There's a lot of people that wouldn't go now if they had to do that. A: That's the truth. Snow was so deep, why we'd take something along with us and come back that evening. Course the most of us then had to walk. have no other way of going. know. We didn't Some people had horses. They could ride, you But we didn't have horses. Q: Are there any preachers that stand out in your memory? Can you remember any of the names ? A: Yes, I can remember nearly all of them. Uncle Ed Greene, he was the pastor of Doe Ridge Church. And he was pastor of Howards Creek Church for a long time. I don't know much about any of the other churches. all the churches we ever went to. Doe Ridge and Howards Creek. That's about Oh, we'd go once in a while to Rich Mountain. I don't remember any of the pastors' names there. � 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 2014-02-18 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 Culler, June 11, 1973 Description An account of the resource Walter Culler was born in Boone, North Carolina in 1882 and grew up on a farm. He lived in Watauga County his entire life and made his living in carpentry. Mr. Culler begins his interview discussing his childhood on the farm. Mr. Culler talks about transportation in the past like cars and the railroad. To end the interview, Mr. Culler recollects the stories he heard of Boone outlaws. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Clauson, Donna Culler, 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. 18 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_tape69_WalterCuller_1973_06_11M001 Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Boone, NC Subject The topic of the resource Farm life--North Carolina--Watauga County--19th century Farm life--North Carolina--Watauga County--20th century Watauga County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--19th century Watauga County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--20th century Mountain life--North Carolina--Watauga County--History--19th century--Anecdotes Mountain life--North Carolina--Watauga County--History--20th century--Anecdotes Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1973-06-11 carpentry farming outlaws