Growing Up in Coal Dust: An Account of Life in a Coal Mining Camp in Inman, Virginia

Creator: Collier, Jessica Paige

: Collier, Paige

: Caudill, Jim

: Burchett, Joyce

: Marcum, Nancy

In this project, Jessica Collier interviewed members of her family to report on life in a coal mining camp. The family lived in an inactive coal camp, but were still tied to coal mining and this project gave Ms. Collier a chance to learn detailed family history, and to ask questions with the intent to preserve the answers for future readers. This 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.