Interview with Patricia M. Hatfield, April 16, 1994

Partial Transcript: Today is April the 16th, approximately 11 o'clock Eastern standard time in Grundy, Virginia.

Segment Synopsis: Patricia Musick Hatfield gives some background information about her maternal grandparents: where they were from in southwest Virginia, their marriage and their children. Her grandfather worked as a barber, while her grandmother was a teacher.

Keywords: Family members--Grandparents; Grundy (Va.); Hillsville (Va.)

Partial Transcript: She was a major influence on my life because from an early age, she was a person who loved books...

Segment Synopsis: Hatfield describes her grandmother's influence on her life through her love of books and storytelling. Storytelling by her grandmother revealed what school did not: that the realm of fantasy was exciting.

Keywords: Beatrix Potter; Br'er Rabbit; Storytelling; Teaching

Partial Transcript: I don't like to bring politics into it, but there was a period after the war that things almost went into a recession.

Segment Synopsis: She tells of the difficult economic situation for that area after the war, and of time she and her grandmother spent with orphans from the Mountain Mission School. This time period also helped her decide to return to school and pursue a masters degree in library science.

Keywords: Mountain Mission School; Orphanages; Recession; War

Partial Transcript: Your mother was going back to school taking business courses and your father was running a gas station.

Segment Synopsis: She describes her parents' work and some of the childhood experiences of "Baby Boomers" in Appalachia.

Keywords: Childhood experiences; Family members--Parents; Poverty; Slag heap (mining); mine accidents; mudslides

Partial Transcript: Childhood experiences very much aware of being in th3 coal fieldsl.

Segment Synopsis: Describes story told by father about a mudslide after a mine explosion; gave the picture of danger and threat of death that surrounded growing up on the mountain and around the mines.

Partial Transcript: You went to high school here in Grundy.

Segment Synopsis: She talks about her education in high school through college and her transition to teaching. She met her husband while in school and married during her Junior year.

Keywords: Grundy High School; Husband; Pikeville College; Teaching

Partial Transcript: I taught for probably another eight years and that's when the opportunity came about for the library job.

Segment Synopsis: She describes what it took to acquire her library degree. She graduated two years after enrolling in library school.

Keywords: University of Kentucky; University of Tennessee

Subjects: University of Kentucky; University of Tennessee (Knoxville)

Partial Transcript: So, growing up in the coal fields then you had a real positive experience.

Segment Synopsis: She talks about her experiences growing up in the coal fields as a part of a closely knit family and community.

Keywords: Florida; New Jersey; coal fields

Partial Transcript: When did you become of aware of stereotypes and what kinds...

Segment Synopsis: She tells of her experiences helping children to overcome stereotypes and the problems stemming from letting others define a person.

Keywords: Berea College; Europe; Scotland; self-confidence; stereotypes

Subjects: Berea College; England

Partial Transcript: There is a community of self-confidence and pride and I'm wondering where does it come from?

Segment Synopsis: She talks about overcoming the tough life of the mountains and offering ways for low-income children to begin succeeding at an early age.

Keywords: community aspirations; traditions

Partial Transcript: When we had the incident with Roger Coleman, and we were dealing with the media a couple of years ago.

Segment Synopsis: She shares an incident of a local resident committing a sexual crime that finally culminated in rape and murder, and the media's handling of the case.

Keywords: Roger Coleman; mental disabilities; mudslides; news media campaigns; police; prisons; prosecution; rape; sexual deviants

Partial Transcript: I think one of the things too...

Segment Synopsis: She explains how the Coleman incident impacted her life and the struggles she went through as the case played out.

Keywords: DNA testing; execution; guilt; intimidation; sexual crime

Partial Transcript: We dealt with the idea of the Appalachian image so much with that...

Segment Synopsis: She gives her views on the media coverage of the Coleman legal case. She considers it to have been poorly handled and rather unfair due to the assumptions they made about the area.

Keywords: Time magazine, Newsweek, the New York Times, Hatfield-McCoy feud, murderer, evidence

Partial Transcript: I like to think that information and the fact that computers, and networks and fiber-optics will make even Appalachia accessible...

Segment Synopsis: She discusses the technology recently put into use in the Appalachian region, specifically in libraries. She hopes for future expansion and access so that the area will be able to connect with the rest of the world.

Keywords: Solanet; computers; interlibrary loans; networks; virtual reality

Partial Transcript: I really think the greatest gift we all have is the sense of the Appalachian culture...

Segment Synopsis: She points out the importance of Appalachian culture, though she also affirms how important it is for the area to participate in a global environment rather than staying isolated.

Keywords: Appalachian Culture

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social life and customs

Partial Transcript: Well, it's the sense of the potential of the people, that you don't want to be lost.

Segment Synopsis: She reflects on the importance of a "sense of self". She advocates serving others rather than focusing on self-serving pursuits.

Keywords: Scott Peck; personal growth; personal reflections

Subjects: Self-perception