Interview with Betty Feltner, Paul Feltner, July 17, 2001

Interview Summary

Betty Feltner talks about growing up on a farm in rural Kentucky and describes her family's work with livestock. She discusses surviving on a farm without electricity. She discusses her mother selling beans to afford materials to make clothes. Betty Feltner also discusses canning and preserving foods for winter before electricity was brought to the area. She then tells how the Great Depression affected their food preservation habits. She discusses the inter-connectedness of the community and discusses the arrival of electricity in her community in 1949 and how it impacted rural life. Paul Feltner discusses the Daniel Boone National Forest and the local economy. He discusses the clearing of forested areas for farmland and the destruction of timber. He also discuses how the area has changed over time and the arrival of subdivisions. They discuss the Native American history in the area and the traditional medicines that were used. He discusses education and isolation in the rural area.

Interview Keyword

Appalachian development Appalachian Region Environmental protection--Kentucky Urbanization Electricity Rural economy Rural jobs Native Americans American Indians Traditional medicine Isolation

Interview LC Subject

Appalachian Region Appalachian Region--Social life and customs Feltner, Betty Feltner, Betty--Interviews Feltner, Paul Feltner, Paul--Interviews Depressions--1929--Kentucky Family farms. Farm life--Appalachian Region Subsistence farming Childhood Country life Families. Farm life. Food--Preservation Land use, Rural. Livestock. Rural children Rural conditions Traditional farming Canning and preserving Rural electrification--Kentucky Daniel Boone National Forest (Ky.)

Interview Rights

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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.