Nola Jean Davison: Growing up in a One Horse Town in Appalachia

Creator: Lee, J.W.

: Davison, Nola Jean

In this project, J.W. Lee interviewed grandmother, Nola Jean Davison, to find out actual deatails about Ms. Davison’s life. Growing up poor during the Great Depression in Clinchburg, Virginia was a topic of interest in this interview, as was how the family got by, what superstitions did and did not get passed on, and many details about the specific life of Nola Jean Davison. 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.