Interview with Lowell Phillips, December 9, 1988

Interview Summary

This is a second interview with Lowell Phillips who grew up in Van Lear, Kentucky in the 1920s and 1930s. He states that he thinks people came to the coal camps because they had a general desire to better themselves. He notes the importance of education in the decision to move to the camps, the longing for the "the necessities," and the desire for leisure time. He explains that the county schools were not adequate. Phillips also talks about mining technology, specifically about mining low coal and about the duckbill and shaker machinery that came with the mechanization of the mines. He mentions working in a company shop where they did everything from winding armatures to building motors, and he remembers the unionization of the coal mines. Phillips states that the women of Van Lear were brave. They would see the injuries and the fatalities in the mine, but then go and help their husbands prepare for work. He explains, "Now she didn't want her man to go back in there, but she wanted to feed these little children."

Interview Keyword

Appalachian people Appalachian social issues Coal mining Consolidated Coal Company Education Gender roles George Evans Harlan County (Ky.) Harlan (Ky.) Johnson County (Ky.) United Mine Workers of America Van Lear (Ky.) Coal camps Coal mines and mining Coal miners Coal mining equipment

Interview LC Subject

Appalachian Region Phillips, Lowell, 1914- Phillips, Lowell, 1914- --Interviews

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.