Interview with Margaret Montemitro, July 23, 1986

Interview Summary

Margaret Montemitro, an Italian immigrant, talks about coal camp life in eastern Kentucky. Family played an important role for immigrants as they struggled to survive the rough transition from an agricultural to an industrial lifestyle. Contrary to popular belief, Montemitro maintains that immigrants did not arrive in eastern Kentucky because coal operators sent labor agents to ports of entry to recruit workers. Rather, the immigrants came to eastern Kentucky because they already had family there. It was through the urging of these family members that most immigrants settled in Kentucky. Other topics discussed include differenced between life in Italy and the United States, the role of women in the coal camps, the company store and the scrip system, and the trouble caused by the arrival of the U.M.W.A.

Interview Keyword

Appalachian Immigrant Community Appalachian Region coal camps company store discrimination Education immigrant clubs Immigrant Coal Miners Immigrants Italy scrip United Mine Workers of America

Interview LC Subject

Appalachian Region Appalachian Region--Social conditions Coal miners Coal mines and mining--Appalachian Region Immigrants Montemitro, Margaret Montemitro, Margaret--Interviews

Interview Rights

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.