Interview with Alma Johnson, June 15, 2001

Partial Transcript: I'm speaking with Alma Johnson.

Segment Synopsis: Johnson discusses her birth year and her birthplace of Marcum, Kentucky. She talks about how the town got its name. She also notes the birthplaces of her parents and how far back she can remember her family's history in Kentucky.

Keywords: Clay County (Ky.); Kentucky genealogy; Marcum (Ky.)

Subjects: Childhood; Families.; Family histories.; Genealogy

Partial Transcript: Alright, um, would you tell us a little bit about, um, your schooling, your livelihood, those kinds of things, just a little bit about your life.

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes her schooling as a young girl after moving to London, Kentucky. She talks about her mother's death and her father's remarriage. She also describes attending a one-room schoolhouse.

Keywords: Childhood; County schools; London (Ky.); Marcum (Ky.); One-room schoolhouses; Schooling; Schools

Subjects: Childhood; Education--Kentucky; Rural children; Rural conditions; Rural schools--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: Now, when you finished the eighth grade, what did you do at that point?

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes working as a child picking tomatoes outside a canning factory in the summers between school sessions. She relates an anecdote of her sister working at the canning factory.

Keywords: Child labor; Summer jobs

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social conditions; Canning and preserving; Childhood; Country life; Employment--Kentucky; Food--Preservation; Industries; Kentucky--Social life and customs; Rural children; Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: What, what, did you do, uh, uh, just, in terms of livelihood or, or whatever, after, after, your schooling and after, the, uh, the agricultural jobs and that sort of thing.

Segment Synopsis: Johnson recalls a local baseball field and how it was a site of recreation and socializing with other children. She discusses how city children coming to the field would learn songs and games from the country children. Glasscock also asks about the names of Johnson's parents.

Keywords: Baseball fields; Childhood anecdotes

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social conditions; Baseball--Anecdotes.; Baseball.; Childhood; Country life; Kentucky--Social life and customs; Rural children; Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: Now, if you would, uh, thinking back to when you were a kid in London, or outside London, what--did the, uh, place, the rural area that you lived in, did it have a--was there a community name for it?

Segment Synopsis: Johnson discusses traveling from her family farm to downtown London, Kentucky with mules and a cart. She talks about the transition from mules and horses to automobiles in the town. Johnson adds that she traveled downtown to pick up supplies.

Keywords: Laurel River; London (Ky.); Rural transportation; Rural travel

Subjects: Childhood; Country life; Education--Kentucky; Families.; Family farms.; Farm life.; Land use, Rural.; Rural children; Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: Now, the, the farm that you grew up on, um, along, uh, Laurel River Road, would you describe that for us?

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes her farmhouse growing up. She discusses the livestock that her family raised, as well as her family's involvement in producing sorghum for molasses as a crop. She also briefly describes the process of turning the sorghum cane into molasses with the help of neighbors. She also describes the neighbors' help during hog slaughtering season.

Keywords: Agriculture; Bridges; Farm descriptions; Farms; Laurel River Road; Livestock; Sorghum

Subjects: Agriculture.; Childhood; Country life; Families.; Family farms--Management; Family farms.; Farm life.; Food--Preservation; Land use, Rural.; Livestock.; Rural children; Rural conditions; Subsistence farming; Traditional farming

Partial Transcript: Now, let me ask you about the, the forests. Did you, did you have forest land that was on your farm?

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes the forests that grew around her childhood farm. She talks about the trees she encountered and stories of the boys going into the hills to gather chestnuts.

Keywords: Chestnuts; Forests; Kentucky forests; Sarvisberry trees

Subjects: Childhood; Country life; Family farms.; Farm life.; Habitat (Ecology); Land use, Rural.; Rural children; Rural conditions; Subsistence farming; Traditional farming

Partial Transcript: What else do you remember about the forest?

Segment Synopsis: Johnson recounts the plants and animals she would encounter in the forests surrounding her childhood home. She talks about seeing butterflies and woodpeckers, as well as the presence of bees.

Keywords: Animals; Forests; Wildflowers

Subjects: Childhood; Country life; Families.; Family farms.; Farm life.; Land use, Rural.; Rural children; Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: So, you, uh--did you, you cut down trees for your, uh, firewood for one thing, I suppose?

Segment Synopsis: Johnson recounts the ways that the wood of the forest was used in her family. She talks about firewood and using the wood to mend fences and barns on the farm. She also recounts an anecdote of her brother making a churn dash out of chestnut wood.

Keywords: Chestnut wood; Childhood anecdotes; Trees; Wood uses

Subjects: Childhood; Country life; Families.; Family farms.; Farm life.; Land use, Rural.; Rural children; Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: Okay, now, um, how did, how did things go with--how long did y'all stay on the farm?

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes moving into London, Kentucky from the farm. She discusses her experience living away from the farm. She also discusses what she missed while living in the city. Johnson briefly discusses moving to the city due to her father's injury following a snake bite.

Keywords: Anecdotes; City life; London (Ky.); Urbanization

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social conditions; Appalachian Region--Social life and customs; Childhood; Country life; Families.; Family farms.; Farm life.; Industrialization; Land use, Rural.; Livestock.; Rural children; Rural conditions

Partial Transcript: Okay, now, when you were a young woman, where did, where did you go at that point?

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes meeting her husband after the end of the second World War, and moving between Kentucky and Indiana. She also describes what special memories she had of Kentucky that helped inspire her to move back to Kentucky. She reminisces about the uniqueness of Kentucky countryside.

Keywords: Anecdotes; Indiana; Kentucky; War industries; World War II

Subjects: Country life; Land use, Rural.; Rural conditions; World War, 1939-1945

Partial Transcript: Does it concern you today when you, when you hear about logging and, and, and what have you in eastern Kentucky?

Segment Synopsis: Johnson discusses her views on logging in eastern Kentucky. She offers her thoughts on what she considers the best practice for helping save the forests, crediting the methods used at her and her husband's farm in working with the government.

Keywords: Eastern Kentucky; Forests; Government programs; Logging; Trees; Woods

Subjects: Country life; Family farms.; Farm life.; Land use, Rural.; Logging; Rural conditions; Subsistence farming; Traditional farming

Partial Transcript: Okay, now, when you, uh--what you're talking about now is when you moved back to eastern Kentucky.

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes her return to eastern Kentucky from Indiana in the 1970s and 1980s. She notes the animals that appeared as she and her husband cleared the forests around their new home.

Keywords: Animals; Eastern Kentucky; Forests; Morgan County (Ky.); Trees; White Springs (Ky.); Wildlife; Woods

Subjects: Country life; Family farms.; Farm life.; Land use, Rural.; Logging; Rural conditions; Subsistence farming; Traditional farming

Partial Transcript: --and Alma's talking about, uh, her recollections of living down at Whites Branch.

Segment Synopsis: Johnson describes living at Whites Branch. She notes the friendliness of the community and joining together to enjoy Whites Branch rock arches, which she referred to as "rock houses."

Keywords: Stone arches; White's Branch (Ky.); Whites Branch (Ky.)

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social life and customs; Country life; Family farms.; Farm life.; Kentucky--Social life and customs; Land use, Rural.; Rural conditions