Interview with David Lee Webb, November 19, 1988

Interview Summary

David Webb was born in 1930 in Webb Hollow, just outside the corporation limits of Van Lear, Kentucky. He describes attending the Van Lear schools. He remembers just three families of African Americans living in Van Lear in the 1930s, and describes his experiences with them. He states that the black families only attended church once a month when an African American minister and his wife would come to Van Lear for services.

Webb’s parents were farmers and he explains that they “peddled” their produce throughout the town. He remembers that large groups of people would sometimes gather down at the soda fountain in the center of town on a Saturday night. Ward speaks highly of the town police, and recalls that the Northeast Coal Company would hire the older boys to cut grass, pick up trash, and clean out ditches every summer. He also recalls that during the Depression people always had enough to eat.

Interview Keyword

Appalachian people Appalachian social issues Coal mining Consolidated Coal Company Gender roles Great Depression Jenkins (Ky.) Johnson County (Ky.) Letcher County (Ky.) Marriage Police--Kentucky Segregation in education--Kentucky Van Lear (Ky.)

Interview LC Subject

African Americans--Kentucky--Van Lear Appalachian Region Childhood Economic conditions Education--Kentucky Gender issues Sex role Social classes--Kentucky--Van Lear Webb, David Lee, 1930- Webb, David Lee, 1930- --Interviews

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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.