Al Forney was born in Waynesville in 1954. He attended the Pigeon Street School in his earliest years. Forney recalls how the staff at Pigeon Street School were strict yet loving. Teachers expected all their students to learn because they believed…
William McDowell grew up in Canton, NC and attended Reynolds School. The local segregated institution insisted on excellence from its student body and taught first through twelfth grade. According to the businessman and community activist, the school…
Skagit and Snohomish Counties in Washington saw an influx of Western North Carolina migrants between 1900 and 1950 settling in Darrington, Sedro-Woolley and Lyman and bringing their customs, culture, and traditions. In 1947 the census shows 500 out…
Sandra McMahan is interviewed by a Smoky Mountain High School student as a part of Mountain People, Mountain Lives: A Student Led Oral History Project. McMahan talks about growing up in the remote Little Canada section of Jackson County. She relates…
In this 2017 interview, Martin Fowler talks about growing up in Cashiers, North Carolina located in southern Jackson County. His family owned most of the businesses there, including a grocery store.
Norma Kimzey is a Scottish immigrant who came to Haywood County in 1968. She taught first grade at Hazelwood Elementary School and remembers Ms. Elsie J. Osborne fondly. After the consolidation of the Pigeon Street School, Ms. Osborne was assigned to…
Truman Brown is interviewed by a Smoky Mountain High School student as a part of Mountain People, Mountain Lives: A Student Led Oral History Project. Brown talks about growing up in Little Canada, building roads, logging, and running bulldozers.
Ann McAdams and Lunia Williams are members of Haywood County’s Reynolds High School 1964 graduating class. After high school, Ann worked in the school system, and Lunia went to nursing school to become a nurse. In this 2017 interview, both women…
Skagit and Snohomish Counties in Washington saw an influx of Western North Carolina migrants between 1900 and 1950 settling in Darrington, Sedro-Woolley and Lyman and bringing their customs, culture, and traditions. In 1947 the census shows 500 out…