Interview with Mary Geneva Chambers, June 11, 1992

Interview Summary

Geneva Chambers talks about her family and their history in the Cane Creek area of Powell County, Kentucky. She talks about the line of inheritance of her family's land. She talks about her responsibilities on the family farm, and her outside employment as a postal worker for 28 years. She describes the house she grew up in and the additions her father constructed over the years. She talks in detail about the types of food her family raised, how they preserved their food, and other places they occasionally bought food. She talks about the sharecroppers that worked on her father's farm; the crops he grew and where he sold them; the animals he raised; and cutting timber. Chambers talks about the types of recreation available on Cane Creek during her childhood, including dances, spelling bees, and childhood games. She talks about the distance to the nearest doctor, and talks about various home remedies and the ailments they were used for. She talks about how Cane Creek was affected by World War I, including rationing and school closings.

Interview Keyword

Recreation--Kentucky Chambers family history Farm buildings Farm labor Food preservation Health care Heritage farms Traditional medicine Subsistence farming Tobacco production Upper Cane Creek School Cane Creek (Ky.)--Social life and customs Rural schools--Kentucky Inheritance and succession. World War, 1914-1918

Interview LC Subject

Agriculture--Kentucky Country life Family farms Farm life. Family histories. Food--Preservation--Kentucky Country life Traditional farming Agriculture Families

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

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