Stratton\'s Survival: the Nelson County Flood of 1969
Creator
Woodson, Lindsay
Stratton, Robert A.
In this project Lindsay Woodson interviewed Robert A. Stratton about his experiences during the Nelson County flood of August, 1969. The flood was the result of Hurricane Camille, which came through the area and got stuck in the mountains. Torrential rain caused more than 27 inches of rain to gather in a period of eight hours causing flash floods, mudslides, and debris to be strewn across the county. Catastrophic flooding and long term power outages in addition to road travel being reduced or eliminated made survival in certain areas a struggle. Mr. Stratton talks of the floods and how his family survived. The family had canned foods in their house and were able to survive from eating those and cooking on a woodstove for the approximately one month they were without power and telephone. This interview is among projects created by students enrolled in English 446 (initially English 452), “Appalachian Folklore,” 1981-2019, and in graduate level counterparts English 548 and 648 “Appalachian Folk Culture(s)” offered 17 fall semesters between 1987 and 2009. Minimally contain collector’s introduction and analysis, transcribed informant interviews, and excerpted and labeled examples of oral, customary, and/or material folklore/folklife collected primarily within the Appalachian region. Most include also tables of contents, informant information, indexes (outlines) of interviews, photographs, miscellaneous paper items, and indexes of informants, genres, and geographic locations. Accompanying audio recordings (several minutes to 2+ hours). Transferred to McConnell Library Archives & Special Collections from Appalachian Regional and Rural Studies Center, Fall 2013.