Interview with Deborah King,

Partial Transcript: --eighteenth, nineteen ninety four.

Segment Synopsis: King lists her parents' and grandparents' names, and states that she was born at Paint Creek, West Virginia. King's father was an electrician for a coal mine. The company installed a bathroom in their home in order to convince the family to move to the area, so that her father could work for the mine. King describes some jealousy among the townspeople because this was the first home in the area with indoor plumbing.

Keywords: Appalachia; Electricians; Kanawha County (W. Va.); McDowell County (W. Va.); Paint Creek; Running water

Subjects: Kanawha River (W. Va.); McDowell County (W. Va.); Sanitation, Household

Partial Transcript: Okay, so taking us back to where you were born.

Segment Synopsis: King describes looking out at the mud at Paint Creek, which, as a young child, she associated with the coal mine. King names her siblings. She describes her best friend, who was her first black friend. King did not think that black people were coal miners, but she realized later that her best friend's family, who she describes as clean, good people, were coal miners. Her next door neighbors, however, were dirty and loud, were always fighting, and left junk cars out.

Keywords: Black coal miners; Muddiness; Paint Creek

Subjects: African American coal miners; African Americans--Social conditions; Childhood

Partial Transcript: So then, right before I went into school, we moved.

Segment Synopsis: King moved from Crown Hill to Paint Creek. Growing up, her father worked most of the time, so that she didn't know him. Her father owned a mine and offered to take her into the mine. This led to her change of attitude to have respect for mining, which she had been ashamed of and despised for her whole life. She discusses the stereotypes of men and women of coal country. The men like coal mining, and are not forced to mine.

Keywords: Black Lung; Dangers of mining:Workaholics

Subjects: Appalachian Region--Social conditions; Lungs--Dust diseases; Workaholism

Partial Transcript: Uh, growing up, uh, where did you go to school?

Segment Synopsis: King describes Livingston Elementary School as being an old, dark, damp school building where learning wasn't much fun. Then King went to Pratt Junior High. In this time, she realized that she was a coal miner's daughter. King recounts the differences in social class, including women who were able to drive. Through all of it, there was an emphasis on family values. King mentions her experience with the Southern Baptist Church.

Keywords: Elderly parents; Livingston Elementary School; Pratt Junior High School; Southern Baptist Church; Strokes

Subjects: Aging parents; Bible study; Cerebrovascular disease; Families; Southern Baptist Convention

Partial Transcript: It's interesting.

Segment Synopsis: King describes abandoned buildings and mines closing. People emigrate from McDowell County, stay awhile, and come back because the social services are more effective in McDowell County. In the time before the mines, there was not much work except for making moonshine. Then the mines came in, and people were dependent on the mines. King describes life following the decline of the mines.

Keywords: Abandoned buildings; Development Corporation; Emigration; McDowell County (W. Va.); Social Services

Subjects: Abandoned buildings; McDowell County (W. Va.); Social service--United States

Partial Transcript: It's taken many, many years for people to see we have allowed, McDowell County has--well the entire state has...

Segment Synopsis: King describes a "brain drain" of ideas in the state of West Virginia, so that the state takes McDowell County's ideas and does not act on the ideas in the county. King describes the McDowell County Action Network. She describes political change in the county, and exchange of favors at the political level. Then King describes friction between the County Commission and the McDowell County Action Network due to a personnel matter.

Keywords: Appropriation of ideas; Brain drain; Circuit judges; County commission; Economic Development Board; McDowell County Action Network; Politics

Subjects: Brain drain; Economic development; Judges; Political science

Partial Transcript: Okay, let's move beyond that, I guess, to what, what--so you're on the educational committee of--

Segment Synopsis: King discusses her plan to create a documentary describing the process of establishing the McDowell County Community Action Network. Norris describes his future PhD program work as an ethnographer. Norris offers to edit the documentary footage that King is proposing. King then goes on to describe her vision of creating one facility for families and individuals to come to access social services, to be housed in Stevens Clinic Hospital.

Keywords: African American vision; Documentary; Families; Grants; Human services; Job training; Minority students; Stevens Clinic Hospital; Writing

Subjects: African American students; Human services; Minority students; Proposal writing for grants

Partial Transcript: Let's back up.

Segment Synopsis: King talks about her decision between being a secretary or a school teacher. She went to West Virginia Tech, and later, to Concord College to become a language arts teacher. After discovering that she did not want to be a language arts teacher, she went on to become a behavior disorder teacher.

Keywords: Behavior disorder teachers; Concord College; Language arts; Preschool handicap teachers; Secretaries; Student teaching; West Virginia Tech

Subjects: Behavior disorders in children; Concord College (Athens, W. Va.); Language arts; Secretaries; Student teaching; West Virginia Institute of Technology

Partial Transcript: Okay, now, after you--and you've taught ever since--

Segment Synopsis: King moved with her family back to McDowell County after the death of her father-in-law in a mining accident. King and Norris discuss some union activists known to them, including Mother Jones, Arnold Miller, and Samuel Church. King got involved in politics after ten years of seeing how things were being done in county government.

Keywords: Arnold Miller; Conflict of interest; McDowell County (W. Va.); Mining accidents; Mother Jones; Politics; Sam Church; Unions

Subjects: Church, Samuel Robbins, 1863-1945; Conflict of interests; Jones, Mother, 1837-1930; Labor unions; McDowell County (W. Va.); Miller, Arnold, 1923-; Mine accidents; Political science

Partial Transcript: Oh, okay, we gotta hurry.

Segment Synopsis: McDowell County Family Resource Network merged with other groups into one umbrella group called McCAN. The plan is to purchase the Stevens Clinic Hospital and to establish a facility in the geographic center of the county, Coalwood, West Virginia.

Keywords: McDowell County Family Resource Network; McDowell County Family Resources Network (McFRN)

Subjects: McDowell County (W. Va.)