Making Do With What You Have: Growing up in the 1930\'s

Creator: Hackler, Shilah

: Hackler, Margaret

In this project, Shilah Hackler interviewed her grandmother, Margaret Hackler about her experiences cooking. During the interview it was learned that Ms. Hackler did not necessarily enjoy cooking, but did it because it was necessary. She discussed various ways that cooking and ideas about cooking had changed over the years and how she would grow what she needed to live on because she didn’t often get to go to a store to buy things. These interviews are interesting because they provide a different perspective from many depression stories we have heard. 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.