Oral history interview with Larry and Betty Kelley, December 9, 1999
Subtitle: interview K-0511, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Thompson, Charles D., Jr. (Charles Dillard), 1956- interviewer; Amberg, Rob, interviewer; Kelley, Betty, interviewee; Southern Oral History Program; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library
Edition: Electronic ed.
Publisher: University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill
Published: 2005
Place of publication: [Chapel Hill, N.C.]
Language: eng
Subjects: Interviews; Hurricane Floyd, 1999; Floods; Flood damage; Disaster relief; Swine; Farm life; United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States
Other titles: Interview K-0511, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with Larry and Betty Kelley, December 9, 1999; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: Although ostensibly about the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd, this interview presents a history lesson on the gradual extinction of independent farming in eastern North Carolina. Larry Kelley shares the details of a lifetime of farming and other rural work. He sees himself as among the last members of a generation of old-school farmers who were pushed out of agriculture by factory farms and new techniques. But although farmers are being forced to abandon their farms, especially as Floyd exacerbated their financial difficulty, Larry maintains his faith in the strength of his rural community. This is a lengthy interview, and it is sometimes difficult to glean useful information from it because of interruptions and sound interference. The interview's highlights are focused on the Kelleys' experiences. Researchers interested in Larry's father's experiences as a farmer can look to the first fifteen pages of the transcript. Both Larry and Betty Kelley participated in the interview, but Larry did virtually all of the talking.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on October 5, 2007).

Interview participants: Larry Kelley, interviewee; Betty Kelley, interviewee; Charles Thompson, interviewer; Rob Amberg, interviewer.

Duration: 02:07:54.

This electronic edition is part of the UNC-CH digital library, Documenting the American South.  It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.

Text encoded by Natalia Smith and Mike Millner.  Sound recordings digitized by Steve Weiss and Seth M. Kotch.

Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 211.6 kilobytes, 234.2 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series K, Southern communities, interview K-0511, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Original transcript: 55 p.

Funding from the University of North Carolina Library supported the electronic publication of this interview.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements:  Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player.