Interview with Dean Phillip Jenkins, January 5, 1992

Interview Summary

Although he has an off-farm job as a construction worker, Dean Jenkins also raises tobacco and cattle at his family farm, which is near White's Station, in Madison County, Kentucky. The earlier farm was based primarily on tobacco production and a small dairy operation. This discussion of farming includes a somewhat detailed account of stripping tobacco and the various grades of tobacco leaf. He describes the transition in farming practices between hand-tying and baling tobacco and discusses the practice of using mules for farm traction on his parents' farm when he was a child. He gives an account of the process by which his siblings retained the farm and describes its impact on family cohesion. He also talks about the African American experience in rural Madison County, including relationships between races, the nature of African American churches, mutual support among neighbors, and the nature and impact of out-migration.

Interview Keyword

African American farming experience African American out-migration Black farmers Cattle farming Heritage farms Intergenerational succession Madison County (Ky.) Off farm employment Parent-child relationships Race relations in rural Kentucky Tobacco production

Interview LC Subject

African American farmers African Americans Agriculture--Kentucky Agriculture Family farms Madison County (Ky.) Tobacco farms--Kentucky

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.