Oral history interview with Richard Lee Hoffman Jr., November 8, 2000
Subtitle: Interview K-0505, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Amberg, Rob, interviewer; 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; Real estate agents; Social conditions; Population; Country life; Community life; Social change; Real estate development
Other titles: Interview K-0505, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with Richard Lee Hoffman Jr., November 8, 2000; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: In this interview, Richard Lee Hoffman Jr., a real estate broker in Mars Hill, NC, describes his response to the area's growth, ushered in by the construction of the I-26 corridor. Hoffman is ambivalent about change -- he longs for the undeveloped land he explored as a child, but is willing to sacrifice it in exchange for the economic development that he will likely benefit from and contribute to as a real estate broker. But economic growth seems uncertain, as housing values are rising but few people seem willing to buy. In Hoffman's account, Madison County seems trapped between the past and the future. Longtime residents mingle awkwardly with newcomers, pockets of undeveloped land hide between housing developments, and an expanding population challenges community bonds.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on Sept. 25, 2007).

Interview participants: Richard Lee Hoffman Jr., interviewee; Rob Amberg, interviewer.

Duration: 01:34:29

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 : 118.6 kilobytes, ca. 173 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series K. Southern Communities, interview K-0505, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Transcribed by Sarah Schuckman. Original transcript: 32 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.