Interview with Clara E. Robinson, June 15, 1988

Interview Summary

Clara Robinson was born in Auxier, Kentucky in 1918 and lived her whole life there. She describes the home that she lived in as a child and explains how they got their furniture and household goods at the company store. She states that the boys and girls were not raised differently when she was young.

Robinson married a miner in 1935, and although they did not have children of their own, they raised her sister's daughter. She states that the company paid a fair wage, and explains that there were not any problems in Auxier when the union organized. She remembers professional women in the town and women who worked for wages. In fact, her sisters both worked in company offices, but Robinson never worked outside the home. She recalls trying to keep the house clean from all the coal dust, and she states the people in town helped each other out. They would not let their neighbors go hungry. She also describes the Methodist church in Auxier.

Interview Keyword

Alcoholism in coal camps Appalachian People Appalachian social issues Auxier (Ky.) Childhood Class divisions Housing Mining camps Coal mines and mining Families

Interview LC Subject

Appalachian Region Robinson, Clara E., 1918- Robinson, Clara E., 1918- --Interviews

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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.