Interview with Georgia Bell Helton, June 27, 2014

Partial Transcript: Georgia, will you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Segment Synopsis: Helton recalls where she was born and grew up, moving to Jenkins, and her husband's work for the Consolidation Coal Company and Bethlehem Steel. She describes Jenkins, what it was like when the Consolidation Coal Company was in Jenkins, and East Jenkins.

Keywords: East Jenkins (Ky.); Marshall Branch (Ky.); Movie theaters; No 3 Hill (Ky.); No 3 Section (Ky.); Taxi lines; Taxis

Subjects: Bethlehem Steel Company; Company stores; Consolidation Coal Company; Husbands.; Jenkins (Ky.); Letcher County (Ky.); Pike County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Will you tell me a little bit about what you would do on a typical day?

Segment Synopsis: Helton talks about raising a small garden. Helton talks about the kinds of dishes she cooked.

Keywords: Lime jello; Peach cobbler; Rhubarb cobbler

Subjects: Cooking.; Dumplings.; Gardening.; Gardens.; Jenkins (Ky.); Letcher County (Ky.); Rhubarb

Partial Transcript: I never can hardly forget our old well.

Segment Synopsis: Helton describes how to draw water from a well. Helton describes living in a boarding house in the No. 3 Section, and the house she lives in now.

Keywords: Linoleum floors; Marshall Branch (Ky.); No. 3 Hill (Ky.); No. 3 Section (Ky.)

Subjects: Furniture.; House furnishings.; Houses; Housing; Jenkins (Ky.); Letcher County (Ky.); Paneling; Pike County (Ky.); Wells.

Partial Transcript: What was it like moving to Jenkins from the country?

Segment Synopsis: Helton talks about visiting her sister in Jenkins often before moving there. She talks about her grandfather, her grandson, and how her grandfather's nickname was passed on to her grandson. She talks about the Bell name lineage.

Keywords: Family inheritance; Family names; Marshall Branch (Ky.)

Subjects: Grandfathers.; Grandsons; Jenkins (Ky.); Letcher County (Ky.); Names, Personal.; Nicknames.; Pike County (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: What kind of chores would you girls do around the house when you were younger?

Segment Synopsis: Helton talks about tidiness and girls doing all the chores growing up. She talks about table manners for her family. She talks about playing games with her siblings but not much with other neighborhood children. She talks about finding wood and helping in the garden with her brothers.

Keywords: "Annie Over"; Cabbages; Childhood play; Family guidelines; Family rules; Gender roles; Marshall Branch (Ky.); Siblings

Subjects: Brothers; Childhood; Chores; Cleanliness; Games.; Gardening.; Gardens.; Jenkins (Ky.); Letcher County (Ky.); Parents.; Pike County (Ky.); Potatoes.; Sisters

Partial Transcript: He never did offer us one quart of milk or nothing and he went with a wagon-load by our house everyday.

Segment Synopsis: By recalling a milkman, Helton describes the attitude of giving food to children who were poor. Helton talks about marbles her grandson used to play with going missing and asking girls who worked for her about them.

Keywords: Marshall Branch (Ky.); Milkmen; Social dynamics; Social relations

Subjects: Housekeepers; Jenkins (Ky.); Letcher County (Ky.); Pike County (Ky.); Pike County (Ky.)--Social life and customs

Partial Transcript: How old were you when you got married, Georgia?

Segment Synopsis: Helton talks about meeting her husband, his personality, dating him, and their marriage. She talks about her family-in-law and about socializing with other young, married couples after moving to Jenkins. Helton talks about attending a different church from her husband. She talks about his attitude towards their children, birth control, and family planning.

Keywords: Burdine Freewill Baptist Church; Dances; Dating; Dorton Old Regular Baptist Church; East Jenkins (Ky.); Family-in-law; Gardner Helton; In-laws; Regular Baptist; Relationships; Romantic relationships

Subjects: Birth control.; Burdine (Ky.); Children.; Daughters.; Family planning.; Fatherhood.; Husbands.; Jenkins (Ky.); Letcher County (Ky.); Marriage.; Mothers-in-law; Parents-in-law; Socialization.

Partial Transcript: Were there any black families that lived in East Jenkins?

Segment Synopsis: Helton discusses attitudes towards African Americans in East Jenkins. She talks about general social relations between African Americans and white people in the community.

Keywords: Community dynamics; East Jenkins (Ky.); Racial dynamics; Social dynamics; Social relations

Subjects: African Americans--Kentucky; African Americans--Social conditions; African Americans.; Jenkins (Ky.); Letcher County (Ky.); Race discrimination; Race discrimination--Kentucky; Race relations.

Partial Transcript: Will you tell me about the Consolidation stores?

Segment Synopsis: Helton describes what the Consolidation Coal Company stores in Jenkins and the No. 3 Section sold. She talks about shopping at non-company stores in East Jenkins frequently. She talks about ordering from mail order catalogs.

Keywords: Businesses; Company stores; East Jenkins (Ky.); Furniture stores; Mail-order catalogs; No. 3 Hill (Ky.); No. 3 Section (Ky.); Record shops; Sears; Shops; Stores

Subjects: Barren County (Ky.); Clothing; Commercial catalogs; Consolidation Coal Company; Furniture.; Glasgow (Ky.); Jenkins (Ky.); Letcher County (Ky.); Norton (Va.); Shopping.; Whitesburg (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Did you ever, um, did you ever socialize with folks from the Lakeside District?

Segment Synopsis: Helton talks about not knowing many people from the Lakeside District. She does not recall many company-sponsored programs. She talks about what subjects children learned in school.

Keywords: Burdine School; Company classes; Company garden competitions; Company programs; Garden competitions; Jenkins Independent Schools; Jenkins School; Lakeside District (Ky.)

Subjects: Barren County (Ky.); Burdine (Ky.); Consolidation Coal Company; Education; Education--Kentucky; Jenkins (Ky.); Letcher County (Ky.); Schools

Partial Transcript: What's your favorite memory about Jenkins from the 1930s or forties?

Segment Synopsis: Helton talks favorably about the community in Jenkins. She talks about how Jenkins is not as busy now as it used to be. She talks about how the older population is often unappreciated for keeping Jenkins alive and how there are not enough jobs in town.

Keywords: Churches; Clean neighborhoods; Community dynamics; East Jenkins (Ky.); Employment; Jobs; Senior citizens; Town identities

Subjects: Careers; Careers & opportunities; Changes & transformations; Communities.; Community relations; Jenkins (Ky.); Legacies; Letcher County (Ky.); Neighborhoods.; Older people.; Work.

Partial Transcript: Do you have any stories about your family you'd want to share with me?

Segment Synopsis: Helton recalls the story of a bad childhood burn injury. Helton talks about how well her parents cared for her and her siblings during a particular bout of illness. Helton talks about her mother's passing and caring for her father after.

Keywords: Burdine Hospital; Burn injuries; Jenkins Community Hospital

Subjects: Burdine (Ky.); Caregivers.; Families.; Family--history; Fathers.; Illnesses; Jenkins (Ky.); Laundry; Letcher County (Ky.); Memories.; Mothers.; Parenting; Parents.; Sickness

Partial Transcript: Where's Nagatha going to give you directions to?

Segment Synopsis: Helton receives a phone call about Komara's next interview. Helton asks about Komara's previous interviews and recommends other people to interview. Helton talks about calling the White House.

Keywords: Campgrounds; Referring; White House

Subjects: Interviews.; Jenkins (Ky.); Letcher County (Ky.); Pound (Va.); Scheduling; White House Administrative Office (U.S.)