Use Restrictions

Copyright interests held by the donor, Barbara Wright, have been transferred to James Madison University Special Collections Library. All other copyright interests have not been transferred to James Madison University Special Collections; Rights assessment is the responsibility of the researcher. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Access Restrictions

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Alternate Formats

The interview with Vastine Fisher can also be found at: Vastine Fisher interviewed by Barbara Wright, April 10, 1994, SdArch SNP-48, Shenandoah National Park Oral History Collection, 1964-1999, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Barbara Wright Oral Histories of Virginia and West Virginia Folkways, 1994-1996, SdArch 34, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University.

Acquisition Information

Materials were donated by Barbara Wright on July 15, 2009.

Processing Notes

Interviews were recorded by Wright on 14 audiocassettes. In July of 2018, the audiocassettes were digitized (mp3 and wav files) by Digital Project Specialist, Kristin Mlodyna, of Carrier Library Innovation Spaces and Services.

Bio/Historical Note

Barbara Wright was raised in Hanover County, Virginia and studied at Madison College and Blue Ridge Community College, before graduating with a degree in History from Mary Baldwin College in 1996. She served on the board of the Augusta County Historical Society, starting in 1996, and was involved in Augusta County Historical Society Oral History Project conducted at that time. Wright conducted several of the interviews while working on her honors thesis at Blue Ridge Community College, which was later published as, "Some there be which have no memorial," in the VCCA Journal 9:1, in 1994. Her research on the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was the basis for her article, "The Civilian Conservation Corps in August a County, Virginia, 1933-1940," published in the Spring 1996 issue of the Augusta Historical Bulletin (included in the collection).

Scope and Content

The collection is comprised of sound recordings, transcripts, photographs, and research notes related to folkways of people living in the mountains near the Shenandoah Valley, and the history of the CCC in Augusta County. Most of the interviewees are people born between 1910-1925, who lived in or near the Blue Ridge and Alleghany Mountain ranges in eastern Virginia and West Virginia. Interviewees recall childhood stories, and memories of livestock, churches, moonshine, and the CCC. One interview includes a tour of a gravesite now located within the Shenandoah National Park boundaries. Wright also records her own responses to the interviews, and recalls stories not captured on tape. The collection includes Wright's research materials related to the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Augusta County. This includes "George Washington National Forest: a History," written by Jean L. Sattherwaite of the Forest Service Southern Region in 1991, photocopies of camp inspection reports from the 1930s, and other papers. The collection also includes Wright's research notes, newspaper clippings, and notes on the history of the town of Stokesville, Virginia, particularly related to the family of Ambrose Cramer.

The photographs depict old home sites on or near Shenandoah National Park land, including Vastine Fisher's paternal grandparents' home; cemeteries on private land above Shenandoah National Park land; photographs of the CCC camp sites at Mt. Solon and Grottoes, and other photographs that relate to interviews conducted by Wright.

Arrangement

Interviews are arranged in no particular order.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Augusta County (Va.) -- History
• Civilian Conservation Corps (U.S.) -- History
• Country life -- Appalachian Region, Southern
• Mountain life -- Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.)
• Mountain people -- Blue Ridge Mountains -- Social life and customs
• Mountain people -- Virginia -- Shenandoah National Park -- Social life and customs
• Shenandoah National Park (Va.) -- History, Local
• Shenandoah River Valley (Va. and W. Va.) -- History
• Skyline Drive (Va.) -- History
• Wright, Barbara
• oral histories (literary works)
• transcripts