Interview with Lucille Kincaid Armstrong, October 6, 1988

Partial Transcript: --and it's in Etowah...

Segment Synopsis: Lucille Kincaid Armstrong is introduced. She talks about when her family came to live in Etowah, Tennessee and talks about her family background.

[Audio quality is poor throughout this interview.]

Keywords: Family history; Farmers; Fathers; Grandparents; Mothers; Siblings; Stump Town (Tenn.)

Subjects: Childhood; Etowah (Tenn.); Families.

Partial Transcript: Now your father's father, uh, did you tell me that he was with the railroad?

Segment Synopsis: Armstrong talks about her family members who once worked for the railroad in Etowah and describes a memory of visiting the depot.

[Audio quality is poor throughout this interview.]

Keywords: Brothers; Family; Fathers; Jobs; Railroad depots; Train stations; Trains; Turn around; Work

Subjects: Employment; Etowah (Tenn.); Families.; Railroad stations.; Railroad tracks.; Roundhouses (Railroads)

Partial Transcript: So let's go back--drop back a little bit back to the earlier time.

Segment Synopsis: Armstrong describes the town of Etowah during her childhood in the early 1900s. She talks about the businesses and shops that were once located there and how it has changed over time.

[Audio quality is poor throughout this interview.]

Keywords: 1916; Boardinghouses; Building; Changes; Construction; Hotels; Houses; Memories; Railroad depots; Railroad workers; Restaurants; Shoe stores; Streets; Then and now; Towns

Subjects: Childhood; Communities.; Etowah (Tenn.); Railroad stations.; Railroads--Employees.; Railroads.

Partial Transcript: Uh, when, uh, when you were small, did you ever...

Segment Synopsis: Armstrong describes what it was like to ride the trains as a passenger, taking trips to Knoxville, Tennessee with her sister.

[Audio quality is poor throughout this interview.]

Keywords: Brothers; Cost; Family; Jobs; Knoxville (Tenn.); Railroad depots; Railroad passes; Riding; Tickets; Train stations; Trains; Trips

Subjects: Childhood; Employment; Etowah (Tenn.); Families.; Railroad stations.; Railroad travel.; Railroads--Employees.; Railroads.

Partial Transcript: Well, let's see. Your brother worked...

Segment Synopsis: Armstrong talks more about her family members who worked for the railroad and discusses the effect of the railroad strike.

[Audio quality is poor throughout this interview.]

Keywords: Employees; Family; Fathers; Jobs; Mothers; Moving; Railroad depots; Train stations; Trouble; Uncles; Work

Subjects: Childhood; Employment; Etowah (Tenn.); Families.; Railroad stations.; Railroads--Employees.; Railroads.; Strikes and lockouts

Partial Transcript: --(??)--by the time you were--by the late twenties, I guess, or early thirties, you were a teenager.

Segment Synopsis: Armstrong briefly mentions church in Etowah. She talks about clothing, mentioning her brother's railroad uniform. She lists some people she remembers living in Etowah during its early days. She talks about writing a column for the newspaper.

[Audio quality is poor throughout this interview.]

Keywords: 1968; Brothers; Churches; Clothes; Clothing; Family; Newspaper columns; Porters; Railroad employees; Railroad workers; Uncles; Uniforms; Writing

Subjects: Employment; Etowah (Tenn.); Families.; Newspapers.; Railroad stations.; Railroads--Employees.; Railroads.

Partial Transcript: Um, prior to the civil rights movement, the trains and the rest of the depot...

Segment Synopsis: Armstrong discusses how the railroad depot was segregated prior to the civil rights movement. She talks about how the facilities were split and how they were furnished.

[Audio quality is poor throughout this interview.]

Keywords: Civil rights movement; Dining cars; Furnishings; Railroad depots; Restrooms; Rooms; Segregated; Separated; Ticket offices; Train cars; Train stations; Trains

Subjects: African Americans--Segregation; African Americans--Social conditions.; Childhood; Etowah (Tenn.); Race discrimination.; Race relations; Racism; Railroad stations.; Railroads.

Partial Transcript: Oh, one little thing, uh, you mentioned was you liked to go out and watch the trains.

Segment Synopsis: Armstrong talks about watching trains pass through town as recreation, especially troop trains during the war.

[Audio quality is poor throughout this interview.]

Keywords: Entertainment; Railroad depots; Train stations; Trains; Troop trains

Subjects: Etowah (Tenn.); Railroad travel.; Railroads.; Recreation

Partial Transcript: --(??)--so many around here's lost their jobs to the strike.

Segment Synopsis: Armstrong talks more about the effects of the railroad strike. She talks about people who moved out due to a lack of jobs in the area, but also talks about people who moved in.

[Audio quality is poor throughout this interview.]

Keywords: Businesses; Closing; Industry; Job loss; Jobs; Leaving; Moving; Newcomers; Outmigration; Outsiders; Uncles; Work

Subjects: Employment; Etowah (Tenn.); Railroads--Employees.; Railroads.; Strikes and lockouts

Partial Transcript: Um, but you mentioned a few minutes ago...

Segment Synopsis: Armstrong talks more about entertainment surrounding the railroad, including circuses traveling through town. She talks about housing for railroad employees.

[Audio quality is poor throughout this interview.]

Keywords: 1930s; Boxcars; Circuses; Entertainment; Houses; Housing; Railroad employees; Shows; Streets; Trains

Subjects: Employment; Etowah (Tenn.); Railroads--Employees.; Railroads.; Recreation

Partial Transcript: Do you remember the last time you took a, a train ride out of Etowah?

Segment Synopsis: Armstrong talks about taking her grandson on her last ride on the train from Etowah before it was shut down.

[Audio quality is poor throughout this interview.]

Keywords: Atlanta (Ga.); Closing; Grandchildren; Grandsons; Knoxville (Tenn.); Train rides; Trains; Transportation; Travel

Subjects: Etowah (Tenn.); Families.; Railroad travel.; Railroads.