Oral history interview with Aaron and Jenny Cavenaugh, December 8, 1999
Subtitle: Interview K-0281, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Cavenaugh, Jenny, interviewee; Thompson, Charles D., Jr. (Charles Dillard), 1956- 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; Hurricane Floyd, 1999; Floods; Flood damage; Farm buildings; Hurricane effects; Emergency management; Disaster relief; Crisis management in government; Volunteers; United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency; United States
Other titles: Interview K-0281, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with Aaron and Jenny Cavenaugh, December 8, 1999; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: Aaron and Jenny Cavenaugh, long-time Duplin County residents, lost their antiques business and turkey farm in the flooding that accompanied Hurricane Floyd. They spend much of this interview describing their response to the flood and their efforts to rebuild afterwards. Damage to their home and businesses was so extensive that they have been consumed by it and have not had time to stand in line and request help from groups like the Red Cross. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been generally unhelpful, so they have relied on help from individuals and volunteer groups, but they seem to have done much of the recovery work on their own -- braving noxious mildew to clean their refrigerator with Q-tips and bleach, for example. This interview provides a picture of a poorly organized local and federal response as well as a devastated and fragile community held together by outsiders kind enough to volunteer.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on Oct. 8, 2007).

Interview participants: Aaron Cavenaugh, interviewee; Jenny Cavenaugh, interviewee; Charles Thompson, interviewer.

Duration: 01:26:24

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.  Sound recordings digitized by Steve Weiss and Seth M. Kotch.

Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files : 214.5 kilobytes, ca. 158.2 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series K, Southern Communities, interview K-0281, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Original transcript: 56 p.

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

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

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