Oral history interview with Zeno Ponder, March 22, 1974
Subtitle: interview A-0326, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Finger, William R., 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: 2006
Place of publication: [Chapel Hill, N.C.]
Language: eng
Subjects: Interviews; Politicians; Politics and government; Political violence; Economic development; Mountain life; Democratic Party (N.C.)
Other titles: Interview A-0326, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with Zeno Ponder, March 22, 1974; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: Zeno Ponder helped rebuild the Democratic Party in western North Carolina in the 1950s and is considered one of the most respected and influential leaders of Madison County. The interview begins with his descriptions of his family heritage in the mountains and of local Democratic and Republican traditions. Like many in the region at the time, his father and brother supported the Union during the Civil War. Ponder recounts going to small schools during the Depression and attending Mars Hill College. He also recalls the local employment situation during the Depression and during World War II. He and his wife trained as chemists, but he decided to return to Madison to farm. He became involved in county political organization by teaching in a GI training program following the Second World War. Working on his brother's run for sheriff solidified Ponder's loyalty to the Democratic Party. The latter portion of the interview describes the growth of Ponder's farm and personal wealth and unique aspects of the political culture in the North Carolina mountains. It ends with his description of the 360-degree mountain view from his living room.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on August 28, 2008).

Interview participants: Zeno Ponder, interviewee; William Finger, interviewer.

Duration: 02:07:02.

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 Mike Millner.  Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.

Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 143 kilobytes, 232.6 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series A, Southern politics, interview A-0326, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Transcribed by Linda Killen. Original transcript: 59 p.

Funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

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