Interview with James W. Martin, November 11, 1980

Partial Transcript: The following is an unrehearsed interview with Mr. James W. Martin for the Alumni/Faculty Oral History Project of the University of Kentucky Library.

Segment Synopsis: James Martin is introduced. He talks about his childhood visiting his grandfather's farm and being given a pig to take care of. He talks about his reaction when his pig was killed. He also talks about his childhood dog.

Keywords: Fathers; Grandfathers; Hog killing; Pets; Pigs

Subjects: Childhood; Farm life.; Muskogee (Okla.); Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: Tell me a little bit--i, if you remember that well at that period of time, tell me a little bit about your house that you lived in.

Segment Synopsis: Martin talks about his father's work as a tenant farmer in Oklahoma and Texas in the late 1800s. He talks about the arrangements between sharecroppers and landowners, camping out while waiting for a house to become available, and growing his own crops as a child. He tells a story about the man his father worked for who was a former Texas Ranger.

Keywords: Camping; Contracts; Cotton; Crops; Farming; Fathers; Grandfathers; Houses; Housing quality; Land; Landowners; Money; Neil O'Neil; Renters; Sharecroppers; Sweet potatoes; Tenant farmers; Texas Rangers; Wages

Subjects: Childhood; Farm life.; Farm tenancy; Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: Was hard currency difficult to come by?

Segment Synopsis: Martin talks about the state of the United States economy around 1907.

Keywords: Banking systems; Currency; Farmers; Panic

Subjects: Economics.; Graham (Okla.); Muskogee (Okla.); Texas; United States--Economic conditions--1865-1918.

Partial Transcript: Going back to, um, what we were just talking about, being in Oklahoma, um, waiting to get into the tenant house and being in the tent, you related a story about a rattlesnake in your bed.

Segment Synopsis: Martin tells the story of discovering a rattlesnake in his bed while living in Texas, during the period when his family lived outside while waiting for a house to become available.

Keywords: Camping; Colorado; Mothers; Oklahoma; Sagebrush; Texas; The West

Subjects: Childhood; Farm life.; Rattlesnakes; Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: Did you take your stock with you when you moved?

Segment Synopsis: Martin tells the story of his family and their livestock crossing the Canadian River during their move from Oklahoma to Texas, and the farmer who became their guide across the river.
[An interruption in taping occurs during this segment.]

Keywords: Automobiles; Cars; Cattle; Dangers; Dogs; Farmers; Horses; Livestock; Migration; Moving; Payment; Railroads; River crossings; Routes; Trains; Transportation; Traveling; Wagons

Subjects: Canadian River; Childhood; Rural conditions; Young County (Tex.)

Partial Transcript: What size is your family?

Segment Synopsis: Martin talks about how many siblings he has, their birth order, and the children that did not survive.

Keywords: Accidents; Brothers; Child loss; Children; Sisters

Subjects: Childhood; Families.; Family histories.; Family--history; Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: Talking about diet, what did you normally eat?

Segment Synopsis: Martin talks about the food his family ate and the methods of preservation that were available during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Keywords: Cellars; Cooking; Diet; Food; Red River; Weather

Subjects: Childhood; Family farms; Farm life.; Food habits; Food--Preservation; Rural conditions; Traditional farming

Partial Transcript: You had a--let me go back to your family.

Segment Synopsis: Martin talks about each family members' chores and responsibilities on the farm and talks about why some jobs were or were not divided along gender lines. He talks about his interest in gardening which has continued throughout his life. He describes the problems he is having with his garden at the time of the interview.

Keywords: Atlanta (Ga.); Backyards; Brothers; Cattle; Chores; Cooking; Cotton; Crops; Emory University; Fathers; Gender roles; Grandmothers; Libraries; Mothers; Neighbors; Parents; Relationships; Responsibilities; Roots; Sisters; Teaching; Trees

Subjects: Childhood; Families.; Family farms; Family histories.; Family--history; Farm life.; Gardeners; Gardening.; Gardens.; Rural conditions; Sex role.; Traditional farming

Partial Transcript: Getting back to, um, your family, uh, tell me a little about your early schooling.

Segment Synopsis: Martin talks about his early education in Oklahoma. He talks about why he could not attend school regularly, and tells the story of how he learned to read.
[This segment ends abruptly.]

Keywords: Books; Cotton picking; Learning to read; Literacy; Parents; Reading; Schools; Siblings

Subjects: Education; Families.; Farm life.; Rural conditions; Traditional farming

Partial Transcript: We were talking about the Indian school. The fact that you were there six weeks, give a week or two here or there.

Segment Synopsis: Martin talks about how attending school in Oklahoma among students of other races helped shape his views on race relations. He talks about how this continued while writing his college thesis on African American doctors in Tennessee.

Keywords: "Indian school"; African American doctors; Chicago (Ill.); Children; College; Friends; Influence; Living conditions; Masters thesis; Teachers; Visiting

Subjects: African American physicians; African Americans--Social conditions.; Childhood; Creek Indians.; Education, Higher; Indians of North America.; Nashville (Tenn.); Native Americans; Racism; Rural conditions; School integration; United States--Race relations.

Partial Transcript: Before--I, I'd like to g--continue about your schooling, but before I--

Segment Synopsis: Martin talks about how often he attended church, and talks about how the church was related to a community singing group that he led. He talks about his love of music and why he did not continue with music as a career.

Keywords: Attendance; Christianity; Community; Methodists; Moving; Organized religion; Pianos; Red River; Schools; Singing; Teachers; Voices

Subjects: Church; Music; Religion; Young County (Tex.)

Partial Transcript: Do you remember holidays like Christmas and so on?

Segment Synopsis: Martin talks about how his family celebrated holidays during the late 1800s and early 1900s, including the time his family went possum hunting on Christmas.

Keywords: Alabama Women's College; Celebrating; Christmas trees; Gifts; Possum hunting; Santa Claus

Subjects: Childhood; Christmas.; Families.; Family histories.; Family--history; Farm life.; Holidays.; Rural conditions; Young County (Tex.)

Partial Transcript: Let's go on a little bit with your schooling.

Segment Synopsis: Martin talks more about his early education and why he did not attend school regularly. He talks about learning to be self-reliant in school, why he considered becoming a stenographer, and describes some of his teachers and how they influenced him.

Keywords: Algebra; Character; Cherokee Indians; Commercial colleges; Cotton picking; Exams; Geometry; Mathematics; Military; Problems; School year; Schools; Self-sufficiency; Snowstorms; Stability; Stenographers

Subjects: Childhood; Education; Farm life.; Race discrimination.; Racism; Rural conditions; Teachers; Traditional farming; United States--Race relations.

Partial Transcript: Now you moved from Young County to--

Segment Synopsis: Martin talks more about his father's farm in Montague County, Texas and how the flooding of the Red River affected his father's land.

Keywords: Floods; Land; Property; Red River; School terms; School year

Subjects: Family farms; Farm life.; Montague County (Tex.); Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: And you didn't start, you know, to college until, what? 1915?

Segment Synopsis: Martin talks about the operations of East Texas Normal College, which he says had short terms of approximately ten weeks each so students could join classes at almost any time. He talks about his mother and father's influence on his education, and talks about why he was delayed in beginning college.

Keywords: Changes; East Texas State College; Fathers; Independent study; Injuries; John Mayo; Mayo family; Mothers; Registration; Schedules; School terms; School year; Self-sufficient; Students; Texas A&M University–Commerce

Subjects: College environment; College students--Conduct of life.; College students--Social conditions; Families.; Family farms; Farm life.; Rural conditions; Texas A&M University; Traditional farming; Universities and colleges.

Partial Transcript: Okay so you've gone off to school but you're also working at this time aren't you?

Segment Synopsis: Martin talks about teaching school while attending college and talks about why he changed schools on several occasions during this time. The interview is concluded.

Keywords: Friends; Jobs; Marriage; Moving; Public schools; Tuition; Wages; Working

Subjects: Bonita (Tex.); College students--Economic conditions; College students--Employment.; College students--Social conditions; Educators; Nocona (Tex.); Teachers; Teaching