Interview with Larry M. Greathouse, September 28, 1990
Project: Appalachia: War On Poverty Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Larry Greathouse, a member of the Workers Compensation Board, discusses his experiences during the War On Poverty. Greathouse grew up in Tennessee and Indiana where his father worked for the Dupont Corporation. He attended Berea College, but he states that ended up working for the War on Poverty by accident. An injured hand kept him from starting a master's degree program at the University of Indiana. He ended up doing a survey project for Berea College on high school dropouts, and eventually received a job on a project for the Department of Labor. Greathouse describes his work and the lack of knowledge regarding program implementation on the part of the federal government. He also states that the federal directors of War on Poverty programs had already formed ideas about what kinds of resistance they would receive in Appalachia even before the programs began.Greathouse eventually attended law school. He mentions defending Flem Messer, an Appalachian Volunteer (AV). He describes the positive results of the split between the Council of the Southern Mountains and the Appalachian Volunteers. He talks about the Office of Economic Opportunity's (OEO) and his belief that the OEO officials did not have any idea about the political dynamics of the Appalachian region. Greathouse also discusses his work with the legal services board and states that the legacy of War on Poverty is the emergence of new local leadership.
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Greathouse, Larry M. Interview by John Glen. 28 Sep. 1990. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Greathouse, L.M. (1990, September 28). Interview by J. Glen. Appalachia: War On Poverty Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Greathouse, Larry M., interview by John Glen. September 28, 1990, Appalachia: War On Poverty Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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