Interview with Kenneth McCoy, February 21, 1992

Interview Summary

McCoy describes his family farm and growing up there. He discusses his first and second childhood homes, both built by his family. He discusses how these homes got heat and water, and describes the various pets his family had over the years separate from their livestock. He describes how his family made a living and what his and his siblings' roles were on the farm. He describes the various buildings that were on the farm and each of their functions, going into detail about both the smokehouse and the cellar. He also discusses how each of the farms in the area would help one another whenever they had meat and how the community worked during his childhood.
McCoy discusses being drafted into the military and joining the Navy. He discusses his involvement in the second World War and how he started working after the war was finished. He describes living in Dayton, Ohio after the war, meeting his wife, and moving back to Kentucky to work and then start his own farm. He describes many of the features of his farm and his family's farm, and discusses various things that have happened or changed about the area of Cane Creek and South Fork since he was a child.

Interview Keyword

Appalachia log architecture Bench fields Coal mining Educational background Estill County (Ky.) Family reunions Farm animals Farm buildings Fence types Fruit production Heritage farms McCoy family history Oil production Religion Residential history Rogers Chapel Sawmill operation Subsistence farming Tobacco production World War II

Interview LC Subject

Agriculture--Kentucky Country life Family farms Farm life. Powell County (Ky.) World War, 1939-1945. Agriculture

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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.