Interview with Bertha B. Kretzer, November 5, 1988

Partial Transcript: Ms. Kretzer, tell me your whole name.

Segment Synopsis: Kretzer talks about her parents. Her father died when she was very young, then her mother remarried but her stepfather didn't stay long. She tells the story of how she came here with her husband. She talks about the different jobs her husband had in the coal mine.

Keywords: Brothers; Children; Husbands; Mothers; Moving; Remarriage; Roads; Sisters; Trains; Van Lear (Ky.); West Virginia

Subjects: Coal miners' spouses; Coal mines and mining--Appalachian Region; Families.

Partial Transcript: When, uh, you first moved here to west-- to Van Lear, were there a lot of black people, or a lot of foreign people?

Segment Synopsis: Kretzer talks about the black people and immigrants that lived in Van Lear. She talks about the women she knew who worked outside the home. She talks about the things she did in her home and raising a garden. She talks about her husband getting sick.

Keywords: Black people; Boardinghouses; Cancer; Children; Chores; Cleaning; Drinking; Foreigners; Gardens; Hotels; Lungs; Meetings; Quilts; Raising children; Sewing; Sickness; Vegetables; Women; Working

Subjects: African Americans--Kentucky; Appalachians (People)--Kentucky--Social conditions; Families.; Mining camps

Partial Transcript: Um, I want to ask a question about, about your marriage.

Segment Synopsis: Kretzer talks about her kids growing up in the mining camp. She talks about how her husband didn't make much money, but they always had plenty to eat. She talks about the women she knew who made money, making apple butter, and her husband getting baptized.

Keywords: Apple butter; Black people; Boys; Children; Christmas; Churches; Foremen; Girls; Playing; School; Toys; Women; Working

Subjects: African Americans--Kentucky; Appalachians (People)--Kentucky--Social conditions; Mining camps; Rural children

Partial Transcript: Um, in your opinion, do you feel like a family should have a head of the household, and that's the male?

Segment Synopsis: Kretzer recalls her father's sickness and death. She describes how Van Lear was organized when she moved there the second time. She talks about how her husband didn't make much money, though they were able to get by with help from her garden.

Keywords: Clothes; Consumption; Death; Family; Fathers; Houses; Husbands; School; Strikes; TB; Tuberculosis

Subjects: Coal miners' spouses; Coal miners--Kentucky--Van Lear; Families.; Mining camps

Partial Transcript: How much, uh--did, did you worry about your husband's, uh, safety in the mines?

Segment Synopsis: Kretzer talks about how she worried about her husband's safety in the mines. She recalls the mine explosion in Van Lear in 1935, and two of her husband's brothers were killed, though her husband happened to be off that day.

Keywords: Brothers; Foremen; Mine explosions; Moving; Sister-in-law; West Virginia; Worrying

Subjects: Coal mine accidents; Coal miners' spouses; Coal miners--Kentucky--Van Lear; Coal mines and mining--Safety measures; Mine safety

Partial Transcript: When, uh, when you were having your babies, did you have a doctor each time?

Segment Synopsis: Kretzer talks about giving birth to her children and her mother working as a midwife. She talks about meeting her husband, and how she feels about growing up on a farm. She talks about how the men in Van Lear would stand on the bridge and talk for hours.

Keywords: Babies; Birth control; Childhood; Doctors; Farms; Germans; Husbands; Midwives; Mothers; Nurses; Sorghum

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social life and customs; Appalachians (People)--Kentucky--Social conditions; Families.; Reproductive health.

Partial Transcript: Did, uh, other--you kept your kids close to home. Did other kids come to your house?

Segment Synopsis: Kretzer talks about her children playing with other kids who would come to her house. She talks about keeping a couple of boarders at her house. She talks about how her house is over 200 years old, and talks about her grandmother coming to Van Lear when she was a child.

Keywords: Bedrooms; Children; Grandmothers; Houses; Trains; Traveling; Van Lear

Subjects: Appalachian Region; Appalachians (People)--Kentucky--Social conditions; Families.; Mining camps