Interview with Walter D. Huddleston, September 6, 2001

Partial Transcript: Okay, well Senator Huddleston I appreciate you doing this today--starting this series of interviews and it's, uh, what is it?

Segment Synopsis: Birdwhistell begins the interview by confirming Huddleston's birth date of April 15, 1926 and his birthplace of Cumberland County, Kentucky. Huddleston states that he was the seventh of eleven children in his family with eight of them living at the time of the interview. Huddleston discusses his father's family origin in Pea Ridge, Kentucky in Cumberland County and then how his father met his mother (who was a Russell by birth) when living in Taylor County, Kentucky. Huddleston explains that he moved around often since his father was a Methodist minister. Birdwhistell asks Huddleston if his family on both sides were rural farming families. He talks about spending many summers on his grandfather’s farm. He says that his grandfather moved the family into town so that his daughters could have an education. Most of his grandfather’s daughters did end up with an education, but his sons mostly stayed home and worked on the farm. He talks about how a dam later covered his grandfather’s land with water. Huddleston replies that his grandmother was the depiction of a pioneer woman who did a lot of work on the farm and always enthusiastic about seeing her grandchildren, recalling that she would prepare a blackberry cobbler when they visited her. Birdwhistell asks if Huddleston knew any stories about the Russell family’s history. Huddleston answers that he doesn’t know much about the family’s history other than his grandfather’s business with the government during WWI, but recalls references to the Civil War from his father’s family around Pea Ridge.

Keywords: Adair County (Ky.); Childhood memories; Civil War; Civil War--Kentucky; Dams; Family; Family farms; Family history; Farming families; Female education; Genealogy; Grandparents; Kentucky dams; Maternal family; Maternal grandparents; Maternal relatives; Methodist families; Methodist minister families; Methodist ministers; Minister families; Pea Ridge (Ky.); Robinson Creek (Ky.); Robinson Creek, Taylor County (Ky.); Tater Knob (Ky.); WWI; Women's education; World War I; World War One

Subjects: Burkesville (Ky.); Children of clergy; Clergy; Clergy--Kentucky; Clergy.; Cumberland County (Ky.); Dams; Dams--Kentucky; Grandparents; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926- --Interviews; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-2018; Methodist Church; Methodist Church.; Methodists; Taylor County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Okay. Let's switch over to your--then to your f--your, uh, your father's family.

Segment Synopsis: Birdwhistell asks Huddleston what he remembers about his grandparents on his father’s side. Huddleston doesn’t remember as much about them as he does his maternal grandparents, noting that his grandfather Huddleston was dead before his memory and he doesn’t remember him at all. Huddleston details that his Huddleston grandparents were also farmers and that two “old maid” sisters lived with his grandmother Huddleston along with one of her sons. Huddleston states that his family often visited his grandmother Huddleston and recalls her as a stern person who kept an immaculate house. Huddleston and Birdwhistell discuss genealogy and Birdwhistell mentions the sense of family that he’s gotten from interviewing people of Huddleston’s generation.

Keywords: Childhood memories; Family; Family farms; Family history; Farming families; Genealogy; Grandparents; Paternal family; Paternal grandparents; Paternal relatives

Subjects: Bowling Green (Ky.); Burkesville (Ky.); Cumberland County (Ky.); Grandparents; Green County (Ky.); Greensburg (Ky.); Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926- --Interviews; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-2018; Warren County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Tell me, uh, you, you were, uh, as we said, the seventh of, uh, of eleven children.

Segment Synopsis: Birdwhistell asks Huddleston what some of his earliest memories of him being a child. Huddleston replies that he can’t recall much from his family’s time in Cumberland County, Kentucky other than stories he has been told. Huddleston recounts that his family moved to Greensburg, Kentucky when he was three as part of his father’s movements as a Methodist minister. Birdwhistell asks Huddleston how his father became a Methodist minister. Huddleston answers that his father was a farmer who told him that he was called by God to be a minister. Huddleston describes his father’s beginnings as a minister, particularly the circuit he did while in Burkesville, Kentucky and then to a more permanent position in Greensburg. Huddleston mentions the amenities that his family had access to, such as electricity and plumbing, in Greensburg. Huddleston recalls being stung by an entire beehive of bees while having dinner with his family at a house of a member of his father’s congregation. He mentions that he could have died from the amount of stings he received had he not been wearing long pants. Huddleston and Birdwhistell remark how easy it was to die from childhood accidents in the past. Huddleston recalls the building of the courthouse in Greensburg, noting that he and his brothers used to go watch its construction and that a child drowned in a well across the street from the construction. Birdwhistell asks if the church Huddleston’s father preached in is still around and what it was called. Huddleston replies that it is still around and guesses that it is called the United Methodist Church. Huddleston details that he started grade school in Bowling Green in 1932 at 11th Street Elementary School while his father was pastor of the Broadway Methodist Church. Birdwhistell remarks that Huddleston’s father must have been a good minister because he moved up in the ranks so quickly and asks how he was able to do this. Huddleston agrees that it was a big difference between being a minister in Cumberland County and Bowling Green, but supposes his father was so successful as a minister because he was sincere, a good speaker, and worked hard. Birdwhistell asks if it was hard for his father to raise nine children on a Methodist minister’s salary. Huddleston responds that he looks back on this now and can’t imagine how his father was able to do it. He adds that part of what eased the financial burden was the supply of a residence (parsonage) by the church and that not all nine children lived in the house at once.

Keywords: 11th Street School; Childhood memories; Clergy housing; Eleventh Street School; Family; Family history; Methodist families; Methodist minister families; Methodist ministers; Minister families; Parsonages; United Methodist Church

Subjects: Bowling Green (Ky.); Children of clergy; Clergy; Clergy--Kentucky; Clergy.; Cumberland County (Ky.); Greensburg (Ky.); Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926- --Interviews; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-2018; Methodist Church; Methodist Church.; Methodists; Parsonages

Partial Transcript: How many--now the--the--the kids who are older than you, are they all boys? Did you say?

Segment Synopsis: Huddleston describes his siblings. Birdwhistell notes that the Huddlestons seemed to have come out of Virginia and Huddleston mentions that there was a Huddleston Castle in England. Birdwhistell and Huddleston discuss the dates of birth and death of Huddleston’s siblings and Huddleston explains the circumstances of the infant deaths in his family. Birdwhistell asks Huddleston which of his siblings he was closest to while growing up. Huddleston explains that he and his brothers Charles and Earl were the closest, sometimes being called the three musketeers, but his eldest brother Paul held great influence over his life. Huddleston describes Paul and the admiration he and his siblings had for him. Birdwhistell asks where Paul went to college. Huddleston answers that Paul went to Western Kentucky University to be a lawyer, but worked as a radio broadcaster and newscaster until he was financially able to obtain his law degree. Birdwhistell and Huddleston discuss how important the Jefferson School of Law was in turning out lawyers. Birdwhistell asks what Huddleston’s mother and father called each other. Huddleston responds that they called each other by their first names. Huddleston explains the reasoning behind his name “Walter Darlington” and how it got shortened to “Walter Dee” and “Dee” for convenience. He adds it could have been worse because the full name of the bishop he was named after was “Urban Valentine Williamson [Editor’s correction: Williams] Darlington.” Birdwhistell asks Huddleston if people who called him “Dee” wrote the name as D-E-E when writing something like a letter to him. Huddleston responds that they did and thinks most people thought that was his real name. Birdwhistell remarks that people get confused by whether “Dee” is just Huddleston’s middle initial or his name.

Keywords: Childhood memories; Family; Genealogy; Huddleston Castle; Jefferson School of Law; Methodist families; Methodist minister families; Millom Castle; Minister families; Name meanings; Siblings; Western Kentucky University (WKU)

Subjects: Brothers and sisters.; Brothers.; Families.; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926- --Interviews; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-2018

Partial Transcript: So your, uh, your, uh--what did your mother--you said your mother thought she was marrying a farmer and ended up being a preacher's wife.

Segment Synopsis: Birdwhistell asks how Huddleston’s mother adapted to being a preacher’s wife. Huddleston replies that it was an exception of will and mentions that his mother had musical talent. Huddleston states that his mother accepted the role placed upon her, stayed in the background and raised the family, and did what a pastor’s wife was supposed to do in those days. Birdwhistell remarks that that wasn’t an easy job. Huddleston responds that it was indeed a tough job and comments on the difficulty of integrating oneself into each new community as his family moved around because of his father’s role as a Methodist minister. Birdwhistell asks what year Huddleston moved to Livermore, Kentucky. Huddleston answers that his family only stayed in Bowling Green for about two years, so they must have moved to Livermore in about 1935, only staying there for one year. Birdwhistell asks how Huddleston and his siblings found out when they were moving to a new place. Huddleston explains that his parents would leave for a conference and the kids would wait in anticipation at home about whether or not they’d come back with orders from the church to move somewhere else. Birdwhistell remarks that it must have been tough as a child to deal with moving all the time and leaving friends behind. Huddleston says that it wasn’t too hard on him because it gave him the anticipation of moving to a new place. He explains that it was only hard for him one time when his family moved from Monticello, Kentucky to Jeffersontown, Kentucky, but that it ended up working out extremely well.

Keywords: Childhood memories; Family; Genealogy; Methodist families; Methodist minister families; Methodist ministers; Minister families; Minister spouses; Siblings; Spouses of Methodist ministers; Spouses of clergy

Subjects: Bowling Green (Ky.); Children of clergy; Clergy--Kentucky; Clergy.; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926- --Interviews; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-2018; Jeffersontown (Ky.); Livermore (Ky.); Methodist Church.; Methodists; Monticello (Ky.); Parsonages; Recreation--United States.; Spouses of clergy

Partial Transcript: Where, where is Livermore?

Segment Synopsis: Birdwhistell asks where Livermore is. Huddleston replies that it is a little town on the Green River in McLean County, Kentucky. Huddleston states that he has a lot of memories about Livermore. Huddleston describes how families, to make money during the Great Depression, put cane on the bottom of chairs for the local furniture factory. However, he says that his family didn’t participate in this activity and then describes the house his family lived in while in Livermore. Huddleston describes the recreational activity he and other kids participated in while in Livermore, particularly the dangerous game they played with the trains. Huddleston mentions that his father cut his and his siblings’ hair and recounts a story about getting a haircut from a barber while his father was out of town. Birdwhistell asks Huddleston if there were a lot of books in his home when he was growing up. Huddleston answers that there were and that his father often read the books to him and his siblings. Birdwhistell asks Huddleston where his father got his ideas about reading to children and reading literary classics. Huddleston replies that he thinks that it's something that he just picked up on his own as a pastime.

Keywords: Childhood games; Childhood memories; Childhood reading; Childhood recreation; Dangerous recreation; Family; Furniture factories; Genealogy; Great Depression; Livermore (Ky.); Methodist families; Methodist minister families; Methodist ministers; Minister families; Siblings

Subjects: Children of clergy; Clergy--Kentucky; Clergy.; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926- --Interviews; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-2018; Livermore (Ky.); Parsonages; Recreation--United States.

Partial Transcript: Did your father have a position on, uh, Prohibition that you recall?

Segment Synopsis: Birdwhistell asks Huddleston if his father had a position on Prohibition. Huddleston responds that his father was staunchly against alcohol and was a Republican who disapproved of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Birdwhistell asks Huddleston if he remembers the fireside chats that FDR conducted at the time. Huddleston replies that it had a large impact on him and he became a big Roosevelt fan after watching his programs be initiated, particularly the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Huddleston describes the criticism his father had for the WPA, but that he thought it was a good thing because it gave people jobs and dignity. Birdwhistell asks Huddleston if there were any political discussions done at home. Huddleston said that his father would discuss politics at home, but there wasn’t any debate or anything other than disagreements between his brother Paul and his father.

Keywords: Childhood memories; Democrats; Family; Franklin D. Roosevelt; Franklin Delano Roosevelt; Great Depression; Methodist families; Methodist minister families; Methodist ministers; Minister families; Politics; Republicans; Siblings; Welfare programs; Work Projects Administration (WPA); Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Subjects: Clergy; Clergy--Kentucky; Clergy.; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926- --Interviews; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-2018; Kentucky--Politics and government; Kentucky--Politics and government--1951-; Kentucky--Politics and government.; Methodist Church; Methodist Church.; Methodists; New Deal, 1933-1939.; Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945.

Partial Transcript: Tell me about, as you're getting older, you're a preacher's kid...

Segment Synopsis: Birdwhistell asks Huddleston about his memories concerning his father preaching. Huddleston replies that he marveled at anyone who could preach so often and that his father was very good at what he did because he didn’t read off sermon and was engaging. Huddleston remarks that everyone assumed, as a preacher’s kid, that you would be one of the worst kids in town and held you more accountable for your actions. He states that he and his siblings were expected to help clean the church and maintain it without any sort of compensation. Birdwhistell asks about what the schedule of being a Methodist looked like. Huddleston describes activities at church on Sunday morning and night along with Wednesdays. He recalls a story of his brother Charles acting up during church once and getting punished during the service. Birdwhistell asks if Huddleston ever resented being in church all the time. Huddleston said that he did sometimes and when he was in high school it became more of a burden. Birdwhistell remarks that growing up in a spiritual setting probably had many positive effects on Huddleston’s family. Huddleston responds that it kept most of them out of serious trouble at the very least. Birdwhistell asks if any of his brothers became ministers. Huddleston replies that they didn’t, jokingly saying that they went in the other direction and became lawyers. Birdwhistell asks if Huddleston thinks that this was due to the influence of his brother Paul. Huddleston answers that it was and describes how consumed Paul was with the study of law. He mentions that Paul often took on unpopular cases if there was a legal question to be solved, which hurt him politically when he served in the legislature during the mid-1950s. Birdwhistell asks if Paul was able to help his younger siblings financially or if they all did okay for themselves. Huddleston responds that Paul was always helping whoever needed help in the family and helped pitch in for their brother Harold’s education.

Keywords: Childhood memories; Family; Genealogy; Lawyers; Methodist families; Methodist minister families; Methodist ministers; Minister families; Politics; Siblings

Subjects: Childhood memories; Children of clergy; Clergy; Clergy--Kentucky; Clergy.; Family; Genealogy; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926- --Interviews; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-2018; Kentucky--Politics and government; Kentucky--Politics and government--1951-; Kentucky--Politics and government.; Lawyers--Kentucky; Lawyers.; Methodist Church; Methodist Church.; Methodists

Partial Transcript: What--what a--what--what are your memories of Smiths Grove then? You--you said you had a good time in Livermore and now your over in Smiths Grove.

Segment Synopsis: Birdwhistell and Huddleston discuss when Huddleston’s family moved to Smiths Grove, Kentucky. Huddleston states that his family decided around that time that they wanted a goat and recounts setting up a pen and cart for the goat. Huddleston describes foraging for walnuts while in Smiths Grove. Huddleston mentions that his father was mostly opposed to movies, but packed the family up in their car and took them to see “Tale of Two Cities” in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He adds that his father had won a car in a contest by writing an essay around the time Huddleston was born and this was still the car they had at this point. He recounts the story of his mother going to see “Gone With the Wind.” Huddleston states that basketball was becoming popular in Smiths Grove at the time and that his father had two churches, one in Smiths Grove and the other in Glasgow Junction, Kentucky [Editor’s note: now Park City, Kentucky]. He adds that his father went over to Park City once a month for a Sunday service. Birdwhistell asks what Huddleston what happened at the church in Smiths Grove when his father was in Park City. Huddleston responds that he and his siblings still went to church and that they had someone else there to preach a sermon while his father was away. Huddleston mentions that his father had a little church out in Monticello, Kentucky called Locketts Chapel. He recounts a story about helping his father and brothers build a new church for that congregation. Huddleston states that it's hard to imagine how scarce money was back in his childhood and jokes about how much he could have bought with the spare change he has in his house now.

Keywords: Childhood memories; Childhood recreation; Churches; Cinemas; Family; Films; Locketts Chapel; Locketts Chapel United Methodist; Methodist families; Methodist minister families; Methodist ministers; Minister families; Movies; Pets; Recreational activities; Siblings; Walnut foraging

Subjects: Children of clergy; Clergy; Clergy--Kentucky; Clergy.; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926- --Interviews; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-2018; Methodist Church; Methodist Church.; Methodists; Monticello (Ky.); Recreation--United States.; Smiths Grove (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Um, my father would let us alternate in driving, so that's the way I learned to drive a car.

Segment Synopsis: Huddleston describes how he learned to drive by driving the family car. Birdwhistell remarks that Huddleston must have learned a lot helping his father even if he didn’t want to do the work sometimes. Huddleston agrees with Birdwhistell and mentions helping build a basement for their house in Monticello. Birdwhistell supposes that Huddleston’s father was a hard worker. Huddleston agrees, but notes that he never saw his father in a work shirt and worked in a white collared shirt, blue jeans, and a ball cap. He doesn’t recall his father ever participating in athletic activities but describes how he would make baseballs and things for his kids.

Keywords: Childhood memories; Family; Health issues; Methodist families; Methodist minister families; Methodist ministers; Minister families; Siblings

Subjects: Children of clergy; Clergy; Clergy--Kentucky; Clergy.; Families.; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926- --Interviews; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-2018; Methodist Church; Methodist Church.; Methodists

Partial Transcript: How was your mother and father's health?

Segment Synopsis: Birdwhistell asks if Huddleston’s mother and father were healthy people. Huddleston replies that they were while he was growing up and both lived into their eighties. Huddleston doesn’t recall any health issues with his parents but describes his own asthma growing up and how it prevented him from playing many sports. Birdwhistell mentions that people back then suffered a lot more from allergies and asthma than they knew. Huddleston mentions that he had asthma spells after he was elected president of the Kentucky Broadcast Association and when he went to Washington. He acknowledges that it is better nowadays since there are things to treat it, but asthma is still not something to treat lightly. Huddleston recounts a story from his experience in WWII while having asthma. Birdwhistell is surprised that having asthma didn’t get Huddleston disqualified from enlisting. Huddleston responds that it would have and it was the first thing on the checklist, but he hadn’t had any problems for a month and thought he was over it. Huddleston describes how his brother Charles was partially blind from a childhood frisbee accident, but managed to still get enlisted for WWII.

Keywords: Asthma; Childhood memories; Family; Health issues; Siblings; WWII; World War II; World War Two

Subjects: Asthma; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926- --Interviews; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-2018; World War, 1939-1945; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American

Partial Transcript: So you, you, uh--did you leave your goat in Smith Grove or did you take it to--

Segment Synopsis: Birdwhistell asks if Huddleston had to get rid of the family goat after leaving Smiths Grove. Huddleston replies that they had to get rid of it because it kept jumping out of its pen and then they moved to Monticello. Birdwhistell and Huddleston discuss the significance of returning to the area he was originally from. Birdwhistell asks Huddleston if he was living in downtown Monticello. Huddleston affirms this and mentions that the family had a garden and a cow while in Monticello. Huddleston describes some of the antics that he and his brothers got up to, particularly about a story about a buggy. Huddleston states that he thinks his years in Monticello were important and mentions that his elder sister Virginia got married, his brother Earl went to college before being enlisted in the army, and his brother Charles went to college. Birdwhistell asks why all of Huddleston’s family went to Lindsey Wilson College. Huddleston explains that it was a Methodist school that was affordable and was a two-year school at the time. Huddleston mentions that he and his brothers Charles and Earl went to and graduated from the University of Kentucky at the same time.

Keywords: Childhood memories; Family; Lindsey Wilson College; Methodist families; Methodist minister families; Minister families; Siblings; University of Kentucky

Subjects: Families.; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926- --Interviews; Huddleston, Walter D. (Walter Darlington), 1926-2018; Lindsey Wilson College; Monticello (Ky.); Smiths Grove (Ky.); University of Kentucky; World War, 1939-1945; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American