Interview with Terry L. Birdwhistell, August 7, 2018

Interview Summary

Terry Birdwhistell talks about the founding of what became the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History at the University of Kentucky. He talks about their first source of funding and the early interviews they conducted. Birdwhistell describes how in the early days of the oral history center, they did not know much about conducting interviews. He describes some of his most memorable experiences from those days and describes the heavy, large equipment they used to record at that time. He talks about some of the oral history projects that were proposed in the 1970s and 1980s.

Birdwhistell discusses the creation of the Kentucky Oral History Commission and its impact on oral history programs as a source of funding. He talks about the uncertainty of funding each year for the oral history program, including his own job and salary. He discusses the quality of the equipment and recordings in the early days of oral history and how they became aware of the importance of improving audio quality.

Interview Keyword

Oral history programs Kentucky Oral History Commission (KOHC) Charles Atcher Bill Cooper Bill Marshall

Interview LC Subject

Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History University of Kentucky Interviews (Sound recordings) Oral histories. Oral history recordings Sound recordings. Oral history interview Sound--Recording and reproducing. Oral history--Methodology. Interviewing--Technique.

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 only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.