Interview with Billy Dixon, April 10, 1979

Partial Transcript: This is an interview with Billy Dixon for the Frontier Nursing Service oral history project by Sadie W. Stidham, at 9:30 on April the 10th, 1979, at London, Route 1.

Segment Synopsis: Billy Dixon is introduced. He discusses his family history. He talks about his education from grade school to law school, including discussion about games he played, teachers he had, and taking the bar exam.

Keywords: Ancestors; Bar exams; Baseball; Basketball; Games; High schools; Law degrees; Law schools; Learning; Parents; Playing; Roads; Rural communities; Students; Teachers; Wooten (Ky.)

Subjects: Berea College; Education; Families.; Genealogy--Appalachian Region; Hyden (Ky.); Rural schools--Appalachian Region; Rural schools--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: Right after you got out of law school, what did you do then?

Segment Synopsis: Dixon discusses his involvement with the construction of local roads including obtaining the rights to the land from local citizens.

Keywords: Building; Construction; Contracts; Cooperation; Costs; County judges; Equipment; Highways; Jobs; Land; Lawsuits; Lawyers; Local people; Locals; Machinery; Money; Negotiations; Permission; Property; Rights; W.P.A.; WPA; Workers

Subjects: Clay County (Ky.); Harlan (Ky.); Hyden (Ky.); Leslie County (Ky.); Roads--Design and construction--Kentucky.; Rural roads; United States. Works Progress Administration.

Partial Transcript: Billy, do you remember who--uh--was county judge when the--um--the first roads were--uh--well, the first--first--uh--roads were laid out in the county?

Segment Synopsis: Dixon discusses his father's involvement with the construction of the state highway through Hyden.

Keywords: Bonds; Building; Construction; County judges; County seats; Funds; Graded highways; Highways; Money; Politics; Road systems; Teachers; Voting

Subjects: Roads--Design and construction--Kentucky.

Partial Transcript: What do you remember--uh--about Hyden in your--as far back as you can remember? What was it like?

Segment Synopsis: Dixon describes the town of Hyden, Kentucky including stores and the people who ran them. He talks about some of the local doctors and blacksmiths. He talks about the hotels in town.

Keywords: Banks; Blacksmiths; Buildings; Cashiers; Doctors; Drugstores; Hardware stores; Hotels; Post offices; Roads; Rural communities; Streets; Towns; Traveling salesmen

Subjects: Families.; Hyden (Ky.); Physicians--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: Uh--well, wh--I want you to tell me something about the old man--uh--[Bicknell ?].

Segment Synopsis: Dixon describes several local citizens and their habits.

Keywords: Civil lawyers; Fortune tellers; Gingerbread; Humble; Income; Locals; Secrets; Social activities; Social life; Surveyors; Tobacco

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social life and customs

Partial Transcript: This is part two of the interview with Billy Dixon.

Segment Synopsis: Dixon discusses Leslie County politics including his own involvement and his father's campaigns.

Keywords: Army; Campaigns; Candidates; Commonwealth attorneys; County judges; Elections; Gingerbread; Opponents; Politicians; Public offices; Sheriffs; Speeches

Subjects: Leslie County (Ky.)--Politics and government

Partial Transcript: Tell me about the campaigns. How l--when you started campaigning, and how the campaigning went.

Segment Synopsis: Dixon talks more about local political campaigns and tells two stories about incidents that occurred with political opponents during his father's campaigns and a story about his own campaign.

Keywords: Ballots; Burning dresses; Campaigning; Candidates; Conflicts; County judges; Elections; Neighbors; Opposition; Political opponents; Politicians; Precincts; Screaming; Speeches; Support; Voting

Subjects: Elections; Kentucky--Politics and government; Political campaigns--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: Who--who were some of the earliest--uh--officers that you can remember back in your daddy's time? Not your time.

Segment Synopsis: Dixon talks about the local government positions and recalls the people who held those positions.

Keywords: Audits; Ballots; Circuit court clerks; Commonwealth attorneys; County attorneys; County court clerks; County judges; County magistrates; Courts; Drinking; Government officers; Politicians; Records; Sheriffs; Superintendents; Tax commissioners; Trials; Votes

Subjects: Kentucky--Elections; Kentucky--Politics and government; Political campaigns--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: And Jack--Jack Duff was jailer?

Segment Synopsis: Dixon talks about the local jail and jailers and some of the people who committed crimes in the area.

Keywords: Abuse; Arrested; Court; Drunk; Evidence; Illegal; Indictment; Jailers; Jails; Killing; Law-breaking; Lawyers; Legality; Murders; Preaching; Sheriffs; Shooting; Shot; Trials; Women; Wounds

Subjects: Rural crimes--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: This is tape number three of Billy Dixon. [Interruption in tape]. Tell me about the flu of eightee--uh--1918.

Segment Synopsis: Dixon discusses the effects of the influenza epidemic of 1918. He talks about the Great Depression. He talks about his negotiations with a coal company to build railroad tracks through the local area to begin commercial mining.

Keywords: Ailments; Banks; Coal; Conflicts; Deaths; Disagreements; Diseases; Doctors; F.N.S.; FNS; Flu; Graded roads; Illnesses; Jobs; L & N Railroad; Mines; Money; Negotiations; Railroad tracks; Railroads; Scarcity; Sickness; Stock market crashes; Threats; Trains

Subjects: Depressions--1929--Kentucky; Frontier Nursing Service, Inc.; Influenza Epidemic, 1918-1919; Leslie County (Ky.); Medical care--Appalachian Region; Medical care--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: Uh--what about these midwives or "granny women"? Were they--any of those in your community?

Segment Synopsis: Dixon discusses local midwives that practiced prior to the arrival of the FNS. He talks about local doctors and people he called herb doctors who prescribed natural remedies. He talks about the Frontier Nursing Service and whether he ever used their services.

Keywords: "Granny" midwives; Ailments; Clinics; Colds; Deliver babies; Deliveries; Diseases; Doctors; F.N.S.; FNS; Flu; Ginseng; Herb doctors; Home remedies; Home visits; Illnesses; Influenza; Injuries; Medical treatment; Moonshine; Objections; Plants; Roots; Schoolhouses; Sickness; Wounds

Subjects: Breckinridge, Mary, 1881-1965; Childbirth; Frontier Nursing Service, Inc.; Leslie County (Ky.); Medical care--Appalachian Region; Medical care--Kentucky; Medicine, Rural; Midwifery--Appalachian Region; Midwives--Appalachian Region; Nurses; Physicians--Kentucky; Traditional medicine

Partial Transcript: During--during the times when y--we had floods in Leslie County, what did--uh--you do as county judge to help the victims of those floods?

Segment Synopsis: Dixon discusses a flood that damaged Leslie County. He talks about working for a logging company transporting logs down a river. He discusses whether stock buyers ever came to town.

Keywords: Brands; Cattle; County judges; Cows; Funds; Hauling; Hogs; Honesty; Houses; Jobs; Land; Logs; Lumber; Property; Richmond (Ky.); Sawmills; Stock buyers; Timber; Trees; Trust; Victims; Work

Subjects: Floods--Kentucky; Lexington (Ky.).; Logging; London (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Alright, what about the churches in your community? What different kinds of churches did you have?

Segment Synopsis: Dixon talks about the local churches and church services he attended. He mentions several local preachers.

Keywords: Arrested; Baptist; Civil War veterans; Community centers; Denominations; Graveyard meetings; Illiteracy; Illiterate; Memorial services; Preachers; Preaching; Revivals; Schools

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Religion; Churches--Kentucky; Presbyterian Church--Kentucky; Rural churches

Partial Transcript: Uh--Billy, do you remember when you f--uh--s--saw the first car in Leslie County?

Segment Synopsis: Dixon talks about when he first encountered several inventions including cars and radios. He discusses his involvement with getting electricity in Leslie County. He talks briefly about various local people, including Mary Breckinridge and her family. The interview is concluded.

Keywords: Automobiles; Cars; Clifton Rodes Breckinridge; Congress; Deeds; Electricity; Franchises; Inventions; John C. Breckinridge; Kentucky Utilities; Kentucky Utility Company; Lights; Local people; Locals; Memories; Mining; Patents; Power plants; Radios; Rights; Televisions; Thomas Edison

Subjects: Breckinridge, Mary, 1881-1965; Families.; Leslie County (Ky.); Rural electrification