Interview with Kenneth McCoy, February 21, 1992

Partial Transcript: This is University of Kentucky Farm Families Oral History Project, Cane Creek Study Area.

Segment Synopsis: Rotenizer introduces McCoy and begins the interview.

Partial Transcript: When and where were you born?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy discusses his childhood and his family. He describes how his family made a living and where his parents and grandparents were born and raised.

Keywords: Dayton (Ohio); Epidemics; Family; Flu; Grandparents; Kentucky; Migration; Ohio; Oil fields; Parents; Powell County (Ky.); Roger's Chapel; Siblings; South Fork

Subjects: Agriculture.; Families.; Family farms.; Oil fields.; Powell County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Uh, what kind of farming did your father do?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy discusses his family farm and what they would grow on it. He also describes his childhood home and his grandfather's home, where he was born.

Keywords: Agriculture; Childhood homes; Corn; Family; Farming; Gardening; Grandparents; Hay; Kentucky; Log houses; Parents; Powell County (Ky.); Siblings; Subsistence farming; Tobacco

Subjects: Agriculture; Powell County (Ky.); Subsistence farming.

Partial Transcript: How far back d, do your best memories go back to, uh, living there?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy discusses remembering starting school at Roger's Chapel, where most of his family also attended school. He also describes some of his family living in his first home even after his parents and he moved to a newer home on the farm.

Keywords: Agriculture; Childhood homes; Education; Family; Farming; Grandparents; Kentucky; Parents; Powell County (Ky.); Roger's Chapel; School; Siblings; Subsistence farming

Subjects: Agriculture.; Education; Powell County (Ky.); Rural schools; Subsistence farming.

Partial Transcript: And you lived, you lived in this house until you got married?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy discusses moving out of his parents' house as a teenager to join the Navy. He discusses his time in the Navy, where he had basic training, and important parts of World War Two, of which he was a part. McCoy also discusses his time after the Navy and starting his family in Dayton, Ohio with his wife, Marie.

Keywords: Army drafts; Avon; Blue Grass Army Depot; Boats; Careers; Dayton (Ohio); Families; Illinois; Iwo Jima; Jobs; Marriage; Migration; Military drafts; National Cash Register; Navy; Okinawa; USS Waters; United States Navy; WW2; WWII; World War II; World War Two

Subjects: Dayton (Ohio); United States. Navy.; World War, 1939-1945.

Partial Transcript: Well, people in the South Fork area, did--when most of them came back from the war, did they stay and get into farming or did a lot of people leave?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy describes the process people went through after returning from World War II to find work. He also discusses his father's death that occurred before McCoy was drafted, and how all of the farm land stayed in the family.

Keywords: Avon; Blue Grass Army Depot; Dayton (Ohio); Death; Families; Fathers; Migration; Military bases; Military drafts; National Cash Register (NCR); Parents; Powell County (Ky.)

Subjects: Careers.; Dayton (Ohio); Powell County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Well this house you grew up on, um, can you describe the yard area?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy describes the smokehouse and cellar on his family farm. He discusses what each were used for and how they were constructed.

Keywords: Agriculture; Barns; Cellars; Chicken coops; Childhood homes; Family; Farming; Fruits; Grandparents; Hen houses; Kentucky; Meat; Parents; Powell County (Ky.); Siblings; Smoke houses; Storage; Subsistence farming; Vegetables

Subjects: Agriculture.; Family farms.; Powell County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: What kind of stuff did you mother grow in her garden?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy describes his family's garden and what was grown there, as well as how his mother would preserve the vegetables and fruits grown there. He describes how his mother would sometimes make soap and would often make hominy. He discusses the locations of different parts of the farm. He also describes how his family would hole some vegetables for storage and keep others in the cellar.

Keywords: Agriculture; Canning; Childhood homes; Cooking; Family; Farming; Fruits; Gardens; Holing cabbage; Holing potatoes; Hominy; Kentucky; Parents; Powell County (Ky.); Siblings; Soap; Soap making; Subsistence farming; Vegetables

Subjects: Agriculture.; Family farms.; Food--Preservation; Powell County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: How far were the fruit trees from the house?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy discusses the fruit trees his family had on their farm. He describes how his family would raise hogs and chickens for meat and eggs. He also briefly discusses the general store that was located about a half mile from his home and how the landscape has changed since his childhood.

Keywords: Agriculture; Barns; Chicken coops; Chickens; Country stores; Eggs; Family; Farming; Fruit trees; Fruits; General stores; Hen houses; Hogs; Kentucky; Livestock; Meat; Parents; Powell County (Ky.); Subsistence farming; Vegetables

Subjects: Agriculture.; Family farms.; Livestock.; Powell County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Well this land that your dad had on his farm, was it mostly, uh, mountainside?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy describes how his family's farm was mostly located on mountainside, so they used bench fielding (a process similar to terracing) in order to cultivate the land. He describes the role he had in bench fielding. He also describes in what order his father bought the land on the family farm.

Keywords: Agriculture; Bench farming; Bench fielding; Bench fields; Clearing land; Family; Farming; Farms; Kentucky; Livestock; Parents; Powell County (Ky.); Terraces; Terracing

Subjects: Agriculture.; Family farms.; Powell County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: What kind of pets did you have, um, when you were growing up?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy discusses the variety of pets his family kept on the farm. He also describes the various buildings on the farm including the barn, corn crib, and chicken coop.

Keywords: Agriculture; Animals; Barns; Buildings; Chicken coops; Corn cribs; Family; Farming; Fences; Kentucky; Parents; Pets; Powell County (Ky.); Subsistence farming

Subjects: Family farms.; Pets.; Powell County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Was there a spring house?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy describes the springs that were located on his farm and how his family piped in that water to be used in the house. He also discusses having a wood burning stove for heat, though the house also used natural gas heat for a short period.

Keywords: Family farms; Farms; Fires; Gas wells; Heating; Natural gas; Natural springs; Oil wells; Pipes; Plumbing; Spring water; Springs; Wood stoves

Subjects: Family farms.; Powell County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Thinking back with your dad, wha, what kind of--when he went to work, did he go to work like in the morning--early in the morning and get back in the afternoon?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy discusses his father and grandfather's occupations, working in the oil fields and farming, respectively. He discusses the decline of oil and natural gas, which he attributes to the EPA. He also mentions why there isn't coal mining around his farm.

Keywords: Careers; Coal; Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Families; Farming:Agriculture; Fathers; Grandfathers; Grandparents; Jobs; Natural gas; Natural resources; Oil; Oil fields; Parents; Subsistence farming; Work

Subjects: Careers.; Family farms.; Powell County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Well, um, when you--so you get out of the service, went to Ohio, went to Ohio and worked.

Segment Synopsis: McCoy describes where he lived when he moved back to Cane Creek after working in Avon, Kentucky. He discusses building the house where he lived at the time of the interview while he was renting a home in the area, and the land he bought upon which he built his house.

Keywords: Architecture; Avon (Ky.); Blue Grass Army Depot; Building; Construction; Homes; Houses:Family homes; Powell County (Ky.); Real estate; Real property; Renting

Subjects: Building.; Powell County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Now you mentioned earlier that this, uh, West heir's tract, that was, uh, the Andy West house?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy discusses a family that lived close to his farm growing up, the Wests. He describes his relationship with them and discusses what he thinks has happened to their family up to the time of the interview.

Keywords: Agriculture; Children; Families; Family farms; Farms; Homes; Houses; Indiana; Powell County (Ky.); West family

Subjects: Family farms.; Powell County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Was the pond up there built by him?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy describes the pond he built in the 1960s for his hogs. He discusses how many hogs he kept and why he decided to breed hogs.

Keywords: Agriculture; Animals; Building; Farming; Farms; Hogs; Kentucky; Pigs; Ponds; Powell County (Ky.); Water

Subjects: Family farms.; Livestock.; Powell County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: So while you were working at Avon you were also a part time farmer?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy describes farming tobacco and corn while he was working at Avon.

Keywords: Agriculture; Avon (Ky.); Barns; Corn; Farming; Kentucky; Powell County (Ky.); Subsistence farming; Tobacco; Tobacco bases; Tobacco farms

Subjects: Agriculture.; Family farms.; Powell County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: So when you first moved here, you, uh, rented and built, built the house which is across the road, but the termites got hold of it.

Segment Synopsis: McCoy describes where he would farm when he first moved to Cane Creek. He also describes the lumber industry in the area and how the Morton family owned a sawmill in the area.

Keywords: Agriculture; Barns; Building; Construction; Corn; Farming; Kentucky; Lumber; Lumber industry; Powell County (Ky.); Sawmills; Timber; Timbering; Tobacco; Tobacco bases; Tobacco farms; lumbering

Subjects: Agriculture.; Lumber industry.; Powell County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Now Eddy had mentioned that he thought there was--he said there was a cemetery up here next to this--

Segment Synopsis: McCoy discusses a cemetery located next to the Andy West house near the pond he built. He also discusses different events that occur in the area and his family's religious beliefs.

Keywords: Cemeteries; Churches; Families; Family reunions; Ponds; Powell County (Ky.); Religion; Religiosity; Reunions; Roger's Chapel

Subjects: Cemeteries; Family reunions.; Powell County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Was that a pretty common thing? I mean rooster fighting?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy discusses the popularity of rooster fighting in the area and when it started.

Keywords: Chickens; Farms; Law enforcement; Livestock; Powell County (Ky.); Rooster fighting; Roosters

Subjects: Livestock.; Powell County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Did, uh, South Fork have, have a lot of little moonshine stills, did you--you were told about up in the hollows and stuff?

Segment Synopsis: McCoy discusses his knowledge of moonshine distilling in the South Fork area.

Keywords: Alcohol; Distilling; Illegal distilling; Moonshine; Moonshine stills; Moonshiners; Powell County (Ky.); South Fork

Subjects: Distilling. Illicit.; Powell County (Ky.)