Benji Reece is interviewed by Skyler Singleton on May 27, 2016, as part of Mountain People, Mountain Lives: A Student Led Oral History Project. Reece is a county ranger for the North Carolina Forest Service. He talks about forest service work in…
Cherokee potter, Bernadine George, discusses how she began making pottery after observing her mother at work, and developed her skills while working and raising her family. She was a founding member of the Cherokee Potters Guild and was one of the…
Born in 1940 in Concord, the oldest of nine siblings, Bernard Davis Jr. discusses his experience with segregation and integration of schools in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. Living on the border of black and white communities, Davis shares his…
Betsy Swift reflects on community influences throughout her life. Swift talks about coming out later in life as a lesbian, involvement in LGBTQ community groups, and navigating identity within the regional community. With these reflections, Swift…
Mathew Nickols interviews Betty Beaver on November 24, 2004. Betty talks about her practice of woodcarving and the presence of woodcarving in the surrounding area. Betty describes how she became introduced to woodcarving, her specific practices, how…
Betty Carlson and her daughter Karen Carlson Hall are interviewed as part of the "Native Plants Project"--a research project of the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University. In this interview they discuss their interest in native…
Betty DuPree of Cherokee, the manager of Qualla Arts & Crafts Mutual, begins by discussing the history of Qualla Arts & Crafts, which began in 1946 and has been important in preserving traditional Cherokee crafts and has had a great impact on the…
Betty Sue Queen Moore is interviewed by a Smoky Mountain High School student as a part of Mountain People, Mountain Lives: A Student Led Oral History Project. Moore was born in 1934 and grew up on John’s Creek in Jackson County as the youngest of ten…
Bill Crawford is a lifelong resident of Jackson County and a historian at the Jackson County Genealogical Society. Born in 1935, Crawford reflects on the Flood of 1940 and the devastation caused by it and its related waterspouts. He discusses the…